Drone - Help with Purchase

[zenwhipper]

I'd like to buy a drone to use when I am out in my Mach - grand touring style on the open road. Have absolutely no clue on how to approach this purchase. I know I'd want it to fit in the trunk and have good video capabilities. Any recommendations?
Thank You

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[Balr14]

It isn't that simple. First of all, you need to provide a price range. You have a ton of available options, so you need to decide what you want. DJI made one of the first and best early models called the Phantom, which was around $700. They are still one of the best but they now cover a huge price range. This is a reasonable start: https://www.amazon.com/DJI-Stabiliz...msclkid=9001f02fc8a213ec3abd97e848ff1267&th=1

Without knowing where and how you would use a drone, keep in mind these are fixed pitch air craft, so they will not withstand wind very well. The smaller and lighter they are, the worse they are in wind. Keep in mind the more bells and whistles it has, the more likely you will experience some glitches, so it pays to buy good equipment. Avoid brushed motors. Get a hex blade model, instead of a quad, if you can afford it.

I have always had the best luck with models that had a minimal amount of extras and let me do the flying. I recall helping a buddy do the setup for his new drone on the kitchen table. He turned off the transmitter, which caused the drone to attempt to return to home because it lost signal. The damn thing tried like hell to fly in the kitchen before crashing and doing a ton of damage... to itself and the kitchen.

 

[Balr14]

Here is my personal choice: https://www.ebay.com/itm/304874763552?_trkparms=amclksrc=ITM&aid=1110006&algo=HOMESPLICE.SIM&ao=1&asc=281459,281315,280569&meid=21182649443c4b7db0d872d7fa89198e&pid=101875&rk=2&rkt=4&sd=156698751743&itm=304874763552&pmt=1&noa=0&pg=2332490&algv=SimVIDwebV3WithCPCExpansionEmbeddingSearchQuerySemanticBroadMatchSingularityRecall&brand=Unbranded&_trksid=p2332490.c101875.m1851&itmprp=cksum:30487476355221182649443c4b7db0d872d7fa89198e|enc:AQAKAAABQOqalcCsb07ituDYLOrUrH2eG1DBUcAU1siB%2B881ennut1KqikNJ--C2JmJJYbnGBSq9s1cAaLR3u1P2GFHP6cOkMtiQrPwhnArZTi0NFnCkYNs9wPMPnRY0lLYAH0ZUZH1xvdCmgQXtmJVgNR1%2BzXk9ZYMtQ8B3TgrPu1vVAPI3yhjY9nezM3cXGJIUcbjfNwAAzbaX2lXjbd9aCtqASAIc4SK5gAGUwqYVxVJ4PnyHO5F87Fz4rumZ%2B4gx%2FDCJ%2BZWdKybQQA9KU0wSVpWxtffV0qbSHtSMHdS1FVom02tjniC%2BQmsVAIyx4y3k9uhzFwiRXXNWELrUJLSZm%2F090zWhf9HWVwNCB9LZSeWFGbGST02Veoz1BqBAeYAn1p312Ni8nY%2Ffvx1Xpropgu99QXBWk065yjyb8senpkkBkJoR|ampidL_CLK|clp:2332490&itmmeta=01JNJ7F91TKQTNYGV452HTD3AN

You have to build it yourself, so you know what goes in it. If you break something, and you will, you will have a decent idea of how to fix it. If you buy a ready-to-fly model, especially an expensive one, you will have one hell of a time fixing it. Odds are you won't know what broke and will have a hard time finding parts. 6 arms is much better than 4 arms, more granular control and if you lose a motor you can still fly. With 4 arms, lose a motor and you are going to crash. They don't fly with 3 motors. Actually an 8 arm model is even better, but complicated and really expensive.

Buy a cheaper ready-to-fly model, see what features you need to have, then build your own good drone.

 

[Balr14]

One more thing I forgot to mention. Almost all of the better ready-to-fly drones require a proprietary battery, which costs a lot and are often hard to find. If you build your own, you can use a variety of $20 - $40 readily available batteries.

 

[zenwhipper]

^^ Thanks

 

[Balr14]

I don't mean to try to discourage you, but I have seen a lot of people buy $500 - $1,000 drones, and never really understand how to setup and use them. They end up broken or sitting on shelf somewhere, while their $100 battery dies. Especially if you are using first person video. It's very easy to lose your orientation or not see something because your field of vision isn't adequate.

I used to be part of a crew that shot videos for Civil War re-enactments. I flew the drone, a second person handled the camera gimbal and a third person maintained line of sight for us. Maintaining line of sight is very important, especially until you have a lot of experience.

 

[Balr14]

I've recently been shown the SkyHawk 4K drone. It's about $130 and I've seen 10 YO kids flying it. It's got a lot of features and seems well built (for the money). It is definitely something you might want to try, before getting into something more serious.

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