Rocky's Quadcopter "Stuff"

RockyNH_RIP

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
Later on Feb 2nd, I attempted a short Night Video... It came out ok, but definitely noise. I did some research after and there are a couple video settings I can adjust to help improve it some. Also, a selection of venue with more lighting surrounding the subjects and less "dark areas" will produce a better video. Not as simple as putting on a tripod with a long shutter! :)

Here is what I got, after applying some noise reduction via photoshop.




Pat in GA
 
RockyNH_RIP

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
Feb 7th... I wanted to get in a "distance" test, where I fly maybe 1/4 mile or so just to get comfortable with that aspect. I had a couple errands to run so took the Phantom with, stopping at the school yard. I felt the "breeze" as I exited the truck but figured I would try anyway since I was there. Immediately after a takeoff, I could see the copter leaning like 12 - 15 degrees to compensate for the wind... I flew a short bit and just felt it was too windy for the test I wanted, so I brought it back and landed.

Later looking at the flight log, winds were gusting at 19 mph.




Pat in Savannah
 
RockyNH_RIP

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
480sparky said:
10 MPH is my personal limit, but if push comes to shove, I'll make short flights up to 15 MPH.
Click to expand...


I am beginning to think that is what I need to do.... Both times it was over that with gusting to 18+ the Phantom handled it but I was not comfortable flying it. Thank you for the comments.

Pat in GA
 
RockyNH_RIP

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
Well, I flew the phantom, it was cool but calm... several issues but in spite of those I still consider it a success....

1. SD Card ran out of room 5 minutes into flight (need to clean files off quicker and maybe buy a bigger one!

2. Lost sight of the quad... was glad that it had home lock (which I used to get it back in my view!)

3. 1st attempt at home lock, noticed it was flying aware by the telemetry. Realized that I had to say APPLY after I selected HL (I was in essence flying it further away.

4. Home lock worked great, once it was back in view, i put it back in GPS mode and manually flew it home to land.

5. I did get a Weak Signal Report (for about 3 seconds) but never lost control and FPV video stream never lost but stuttered.


All in all, a good flight and test... She was 1/4 mile away at one point and total travel was near a mile. Gained some experience with lost sight and home lock. I did not fly all I wanted (or get the vid I was after) due to the Memory card filling but I cvan do that flight another day!!!


I will share the video I did get later....


Pat in GA
 
RockyNH_RIP

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
Here is the video from yesterdays flight. On the map, you will notice location to lower right of Pond. That is where my SD card filled. Not seen in video but the Phantom flew clear across the back of pond, over the tree line by the next housing development.






Pat in GA
 
S

SteveL54

Senior Member
Very nice, Pat. Can't wait to get back out there flying again.
It's just been too windy and cold here the past week or so. Low temps high winds this weekend with the wind chill down to -30.
Just not good flying weather. When I get enough practice on the Syma, I've decided to move up to the DJI. Can't beat the price it's at now.
 
RockyNH_RIP

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
SteveL54 said:
Very nice, Pat. Can't wait to get back out there flying again.
It's just been too windy and cold here the past week or so. Low temps high winds this weekend with the wind chill down to -30.
Just not good flying weather. When I get enough practice on the Syma, I've decided to move up to the DJI. Can't beat the price it's at now.
Click to expand...

Been a little of that here (but not as cold!) Did fly briefly today with 2 friends after breakfast. One could not even fly (too windy) and the other (syma) struggled some. The Phantom flew like a champ! You could see it canted at an angle from the wind but the Alt & Position Hold worked great and the gimble kept the camera steady.

Took one picture out over Rincon GA, our 3 trucks can be seen in the bottom of the frame.

DJI_0024.jpg



I would not let lack of experience stop you from grabbing the P3. It is actually easier to fly with the built in
GPS controls, RTH, Course Lock etc. I bought it and have continued to fly my Syma to hone my raw flying skills etc.

The Phanton is easier!

Pat in GA
 
RockyNH_RIP

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
Been busy so I have not had a chance to fly since Saturday. Spent yesterday out doing still photography at the refuge.

I did take some of my videos and pop them into photoshop. I "select all" on a frame and then manually scroll through the vid. When I reach a scene I like, I just hit copy and paste it in a photo editor like irfanview and just save it.

Here are a few I extracted this morning...

Clipboard01-2.jpg

Clipboard02-2.jpg

Clipboard03-2.jpg

Clipboard04-2.jpg


Pat in GA
 
J

john*thomas

Senior Member
Pictures look great.....I've been messing with the video as it's something new but in the end I'll concentrate more on still photos.

It's been cold and windy here so my flying has been very limited. Highest I've gone up is 180 feet. You don't think about the pucker factor until you are controlling one. :)
 
RockyNH_RIP

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
john*thomas said:
Pictures look great.....I've been messing with the video as it's something new but in the end I'll concentrate more on still photos.

It's been cold and windy here so my flying has been very limited. Highest I've gone up is 180 feet. You don't think about the pucker factor until you are controlling one. :)
Click to expand...


Thank you! Most of the stills are actually extracted from the Videos. You have unlimited selection as you may choose any frame! I see you have the Yuneec, very nice choice. I fully agree with your comments on the pucker factor. :) Losing sight of it does the same thing! :)


Pat in GA
 
R

Ruidoso Bill

Senior Member
RockyNH said:
Ok folks.... Taking a minute to update you all on my Quadcopter Journey... I know some here have them ... some have toyed with them and moved on... and some are doing some Beautiful work with them.

I am a raw beginner, drawn into this hobby over a year ago watching Don get involved, later seeing Scott and Sparky progressing and watching videos of others. This year, at Christmas I decided to try it out and picked up an inexpensive ($50) Syma X5C to learn to fly and play with the little 2 megapixel camera. I had fun!!!! No flying aids with this but that was good as I was learning to control from the beginning. The videos were not much but between the copter and playing with the videos (2 mpx camera) I knew I wanted to progress.

View attachment 196828


I began following various videos on YouTube, learning about what was available, what features etc... I was somewhat enamored with the DJI Phantom Line but the price point was a bit prohibitive for me. I began looking at lower priced options that I could work into a better camera with some flying aids (as in GPS modes). I had issues with some, others would cost near a Phantom when done. I continued to study and play with my X5.

Then I saw an ad from B&H Photo where they dropped the price $200 on the P3 Standard. I looked online but then they added shipping. I checked at Adorama and they had free shipping so my wheels started turning. The next day, they were out of stock! As I looked around, I realized the price was dropped everywhere. I looked long and hard at the differences between the STD, Advanced and Pro. The other 2 were clearly out of my price range and after analyzing the differences, came to the conclusion that for me, I would be satisfied with the STD. On January 20th, I picked it up local at BestBuy.

View attachment 196837

View attachment 196838


Very impressive machine... I will follow up with my learning to use/fly etc this impressive machine. Trust me, I am nervous so proceeded very slowly.

This shows the size difference between the little X5C and Phantom 3 Standard!

View attachment 196839


Pat in Savannah GA
Click to expand...

I finally had a minute to follow your start. Maybe I should buy one of the inexpensive ones like you started with. I'm gonna go broke if I crash another one. Note to Bill, don't fly by water!!!
 
RockyNH_RIP

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
Ruidoso Bill said:
I finally had a minute to follow your start. Maybe I should buy one of the inexpensive ones like you started with. I'm gonna go broke if I crash another one. Note to Bill, don't fly by water!!!
Click to expand...


Hi Bill, glad that you were able to jump in here.... it does track my progress reasonably well... I did learn a lot flying the little Syma X5C ... crashed it often and it had no aids like gps etc!! Good learning tool for basic flight...

Pat in GA
 
R

Ruidoso Bill

Senior Member
RockyNH said:
Hi Bill, glad that you were able to jump in here.... it does track my progress reasonably well... I did learn a lot flying the little Syma X5C ... crashed it often and it had no aids like gps etc!! Good learning tool for basic flight...

Pat in GA
Click to expand...

Was that particular inexpensive (don't want to offend by saying cheap) drone the same with the joy sticks or recommended?

I saw a youtube that recommended one if your're gonna fly a dji

My fleaby auction is up to $51 and the controller alone is worth $75. 20 folks watching it so I know it will go up.
 
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RockyNH_RIP

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
Ruidoso Bill said:
Was that particular inexpensive (don't want to offend by saying cheap) drone the same with the joy sticks or recommended?

I saw a youtube that recommended one if your're gonna fly a dji

My fleaby auction is up to $51 and the controller alone is worth $75. 20 folks watching it so I know it will go up.
Click to expand...

Cheap is ok, not offended!! :) Yes, it has stick operation the same as the DJI but no alt or position hold so you have to fly it totally... Short range but useful for getting comfortable with orientation and flying controls without a Headless or course lock mode. I still fly it out front for fun and practice! :)

Pat in GA
 
R

Ruidoso Bill

Senior Member
RockyNH said:
If it looks too good, it probably is... check his feedback... only 67% Way too low to take a chance... and if you look at his Feedback, last 2 were Negatives on the Phantom for him never shipping the product!!

You are likely better off... :)


Pat
Click to expand...
Yep, you're right, mine is on its way, hate missing a deal. I di buy a practice drone, I will send you what I bought.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
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