Quadcopter/Drone Thread

Daruk said:
Looking for a good used drone for my son's final year at Uni. What would be a ballpark figure for something that's fairly robust and can manage automated flight using gps waypoints - doesn't need to carry a large payload. What would you get and are there good used drone online shops in SA?
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Most any DJI drone and https://flylitchi.com

What does he want to do with it? And what sort of payload?
 
Daruk said:
The payload will be relatively small - a small LiPo battery, Arduino and wireless analyzer (relatively small circuit board) - so probably 50-100 gm max. It's meant to travel to waypoints over an area and take snapshots of the wireless interference. It's a proof of concept so needn't be in the air for 30 minutes or anything. I'm a big DJI fan. Going to check out the fly litchi site now, ta!

What prices would be considered relatively good for (any) DJI models? I don't mind an older design, they've been solid for some time now.

*EDIT* updated the weight.
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Anything from a Air and up should suffice.

I'm thinking maybe an older Phantom 2 or 3 would be ideal if that's all he wants to do with it. You should be able to pick one of those up for a song.
 
I have a dji phantom 2 with a damaged battery. There is possibly more wrong with it. If anyone is interested pm me. Im in durban. Pickup only.
 
its free. i got many years use out of it before it went bust. battery was damaged on a crash land. From what i can see the drone looks good besides the battery
Daruk said:
Sorry for the direct question, but it sounds to me you suspect there's definitely more wrong with it, otherwise it's better to replace the battery and sell it working, right?
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Does anybody know of a local website I can use to purchase drone parts, for a DIY project? I want to 3D print the body and other plastics and purchase the needed electronics separately
 
Updated the design.
 

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Loaded DJI Go onto a Kindle Fire HD we have lying around and it works pretty well on the controller. The big screen is nice to have but I'm going to have to make some sort of sun shade for it to combat the glare.
 
Daruk said:
Yeah, this is when you realise not all screens are created equal. Just a pity OLED is so expensive
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I think my dad paid $40 or something ridiculous for it. I'm just waiting for the paint to dry on the sun shield and I'll test it out.
 
bwana said:
Commercial print shop in town. R35 for a cut A4 sheet of adhesive vinyl. If I had a white drone I'd probably use clear vinyl but since mine is black I have to use white.
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Does the R35 incl the printing onto the vinyl?
Daruk said:
Yeah, this is when you realise not all screens are created equal. Just a pity OLED is so expensive
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The Samsung Galaxy S tabs have Oled screens, you can pick up a 2hnd Tab S1 for R2k
 
bwana said:
Loaded DJI Go onto a Kindle Fire HD we have lying around and it works pretty well on the controller. The big screen is nice to have but I'm going to have to make some sort of sun shade for it to combat the glare.
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I'm in the process of getting an iPad Mini 2 to use with my controller. The phones are just too small to be useful; hoping the iPad will make a difference and glare hopefully won't be too much of an issue.
 
Tander said:
I'm in the process of getting an iPad Mini 2 to use with my controller. The phones are just too small to be useful; hoping the iPad will make a difference and glare hopefully won't be too much of an issue.
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I've got one of the kids' mini 2s to test as well - however it's only supported by DJI up to DJI GO 3.

If I was you I'd do some research before I bought the Mini 2.
 
Looking for some advice ...

Been wanting to get one of these for a long time
From looking at various drone shops I am somewhat familiar with the different DJI offerings.

I eventually ( when the budget allows ) intend to get something like a previously owned Phantom 4 Pro ( or equivalent ) for about R15,00.00
In the mean time I would like to get something to -- cut my teeth on ( not literally of course )
I do not want to spend a lot of money on one of the smaller DJI models bearing in mind my eventual choice

I see Makro ( and other places ) has what looks like , judging from the specs / features written on the box -- a full size flyable drone for about R1,500.00. I appreciate that you get what you pay for. However I am not looking for DJI Phantom type performance merely something to start into the technology

Any thoughts on this level of drone as a "starter" ?
Any other suggestions ?
 
bwana said:
I've got one of the kids' mini 2s to test as well - however it's only supported by DJI up to DJI GO 3.

If I was you I'd do some research before I bought the Mini 2.
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Although it's only supported up till DJI Go 3; the DJI Go 4 app does run on it just fine.

Before I pull the trigger, would you mind testing it out and see how it preforms? I'v seen some YouTube videos and it looks decent enough?
 
Tander said:
Although it's only supported up till DJI Go 3; the DJI Go 4 app does run on it just fine.

Before I pull the trigger, would you mind testing it out and see how it preforms? I'v seen some YouTube videos and it looks decent enough?
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Yeah, I can test it out - I was planning on it anyway. Might not be today unless the rain passes by.

The reports I've read indicate it's an unpleasant experience. The Mini quickly overheats due to the demands placed on the CPU.
 
MidnightWizard said:
Looking for some advice ...

Been wanting to get one of these for a long time
From looking at various drone shops I am somewhat familiar with the different DJI offerings.

I eventually ( when the budget allows ) intend to get something like a previously owned Phantom 4 Pro ( or equivalent ) for about R15,00.00
In the mean time I would like to get something to -- cut my teeth on ( not literally of course )
I do not want to spend a lot of money on one of the smaller DJI models bearing in mind my eventual choice

I see Makro ( and other places ) has what looks like , judging from the specs / features written on the box -- a full size flyable drone for about R1,500.00. I appreciate that you get what you pay for. However I am not looking for DJI Phantom type performance merely something to start into the technology

Any thoughts on this level of drone as a "starter" ?
Any other suggestions ?
Click to expand...
Not sure if a "starter drone" is worth the expense TBH. My FIL has one that he got from Game (I think) and it's very limited in range and battery life.

The Phantoms are awesome but keep in mind just how big they are. I went for the Air for this very reason.
 
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