Multirotor, multicopter and quadcopter discussion - The Drone thread

cainer · 22 Jan 2017 at 12:50

big drone thread here that might have some answers https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18363033

Bigpops · 22 Jan 2017 at 15:58

lixxus said:
Hi all,

I recently bought a drone for xmas. I did a bit of research and found majority of local authorities in london have banned them with the exception of two places where it is allowed to be used.

wormwood scrubs
Richmond park - flying field

Is there any other drone users in london that can advise of any other places. I have check both pdf bylaws and phone the park police to confirm.

I have come across blogs which say hampstead heath heath,victoria park, clapham common, gunnesbury park ?
But cant find anything to support this claim.

I can't help with your question, but good on you for actually checking where you can and can't fly. <applause>

geuben · 22 Jan 2017 at 16:38

lixxus said:
Hi all,

I recently bought a drone for xmas. I did a bit of research and found majority of local authorities in london have banned them with the exception of two places where it is allowed to be used.

wormwood scrubs
Richmond park - flying field

Is there any other drone users in london that can advise of any other places. I have check both pdf bylaws and phone the park police to confirm.

I have come across blogs which say hampstead heath heath,victoria park, clapham common, gunnesbury park ?
But cant find anything to support this claim.

I saw that they were banned in the Royal Parks, including Richmond Park, but the commons were still ok. I couldn't actually find anything from Merton council (where I live) about being able to fly or not.

fadetoblack · 22 Jan 2017 at 18:54

Think theres a few apps on app that can help where you can fly. I use uav forecast

Draeger · 22 Jan 2017 at 19:13

DJI owners here, is anyone using an iPad Mini 2 to run DJI Go? Does it till run the latest version of the app smoothly, video feed wise? I'm looking to pick one up used solely for flying my P3. Opinions?

lixxus · 22 Jan 2017 at 19:17

geuben said:
I saw that they were banned in the Royal Parks, including Richmond Park, but the commons were still ok. I couldn't actually find anything from Merton council (where I live) about being able to fly or not.

its ok to use in richmond park but only in the designated area "flying field"

I called to check with royal park police

TheOtherOption · 22 Jan 2017 at 20:37

fadetoblack said:
Think theres a few apps on app that can help where you can fly. I use uav forecast

Indeed there are - with the CAA / NATS "Drone Assist" being a very good one to use to show where is off limits and where isn't.

It doesn't include small exemptions such as the flying field at Richmond Park & the flying that goes on at Wormwood Scrubs however.

Good starter for ten in any case.

Nameless_87 · 23 Jan 2017 at 08:52

Rilot said:
So, to do all that you will need an OSD that has an in-line current meter between the drone and your battery. You will also need one that has a GPS receiver so it can do the home location thing.
What sort of craft is this going on?

To be honest, for a acro quad for fast FPV flying, all you need is battery voltage, RSSI, flight time, and artificial horizon. The rest is nice to have but just adds a lot of complexity and weight.

Thanks for the input!

Yes it is for a FPV acro quad.

The reason I wanted the distance to home feature is cause I am still learning and I find sometimes i lose my bearing of where I am and end up going too far. Altitude is the same thing, I sometimes end up going too high.

But I can get one like you said with horizon and see how I go!

Any suggestions on what I can get?

I was looking at the Micro minimOSD maybe?

Musty Pie · 23 Jan 2017 at 20:11

Sega Mega Dave said:
Used mine for the first time today, got it from banggood.

Have to say for the price im pretty impressed, was quite windy but held up well.

Don't expect high quality images from the camera but for a beginner drone with RTH, GPS, follow me etc... it's cracking.

It's nice and quiet too... basically it's a stepping stone for me and it's already making me want more.

Only thing I'll say was the video range wasn't as great as expected but it's nOt bad.

Thanks for the info Dave!

Jase · 28 Jan 2017 at 22:46

Jase said:
in that case I'll probably get to use my set before you. Hope the weather is OK at the weekend.

I tried the filters today and they seemed fine, they fitted OK and did the job, it was quite a sunny day so had to use the ND16 which did what I needed them to do.

I will sell them on when Polar Pro cinema series arrive as they were the ones I wanted but wont arrive until end of Feb.

Absolutly loving the Mavic though, my pilot skills are not that good but hopefully will improve!

Lisapete · 29 Jan 2017 at 09:00

Found a really simple way to live stream my FPV to YouTube. I did a quick and dirty bench test and it worked perfectly. Shame the weather has closed in. Might go have a sort out of all my spares

free upload

Draeger · 29 Jan 2017 at 18:37

Further to my previous question on those of you running DJI Go on an iPad I've just bought an iPad Air first gen, should arrive tomorrow. Anyone running one? I already use an Inspire 1 mount on my Tx so size won't be an issue.

Rilot · 30 Jan 2017 at 09:38

Draeger said:
Further to my previous question on those of you running DJI Go on an iPad I've just bought an iPad Air first gen, should arrive tomorrow. Anyone running one? I already use an Inspire 1 mount on my Tx so size won't be an issue.

I use a Mini 2 solely for flying. Similar guts to the Air 1 but with a worse screen. The Air 1 will be perfect.
I went with the Mini 2 because it fits perfectly in the Inspire 1 case along with a fold-able sun visor.

reefoid · 31 Jan 2017 at 11:20

Just been notified Banggood have shipped my Eachine X220/FlySky i6/Eachine Goggles Two. Couple of questions:

1. I need to order some extra batteries. It comes with a 3s battery. so want to get some 4s. Can I order any 4s battery with an XT60 connector? The bit I'm not sure about is that some batteries have 70c, others have 45c. I have no idea what this means, can anyone clarify?

2. I understand the camera on the X220 isn't great. Anyone got any recommendations for a replacement camera?

Thanks.

ArchAnGeL · 1 Feb 2017 at 16:19

You will end up with 4S anyway so why not? Does the charger that comes with the wizard support them? You will end up with a better charger eventually too

The C rating is an "indication" of the discharge rate. So if you have high amp draw motors with appropriate ESC's and/or aggressive props (like 5045 bull nose tri blades), the amp draw on the battery will be high. Lower C ones will give voltage sags where they temporarily drop very low on punch outs and this will likely shorten the life. Higher C should cope better (you can't believe the actual figures really but can compare offerings from the same brand)

I have no first hand knowlege of the wizard on 4S to tell you if this is a problem. My quads run 30A esc's, Emax 2205s 2300kvs and 5045 tri blades. This pulls a lot of power

My old 3S batteries really struggle. My 4S lower C (I think they are turnigy nano-techs) are not a great deal better.

My Drone lab Chaos editions and Tattu Race packs are much better

In short, buy decent quality batteries

reefoid · 1 Feb 2017 at 16:28

The included charger only does up to 3s so am going to need a 4s charger anyway. I'll take a look at the Tattu and Drone Lab packs.

The Wizard has 20A esc's, 2205s and 5040 blades so won't pull as much juice as you, but seems 4s is the way to go.

Thanks.

Drollic · 1 Feb 2017 at 17:31

What's the consensus on using second hand Lipos that haven't been used in 6 months and you've not much idea of how they've been used previously? The outside casing isn't in great condition. They're 6s 3000mah turnigy. This is on £380 ish worth of heli.

Rilot · 1 Feb 2017 at 18:10

Drollic said:
What's the consensus on using second hand Lipos that haven't been used in 6 months and you've not much idea of how they've been used previously? The outside casing isn't in great condition. They're 6s 3000mah turnigy. This is on £380 ish worth of heli.

I wouldn't risk it. It's not like they are super expensive.

Drollic · 1 Feb 2017 at 20:22

Rilot said:
I wouldn't risk it. It's not like they are super expensive.

I'd need 4 ideally, decent ones and that's about £200.

Rilot · 2 Feb 2017 at 11:13

If you do want to do it, check the internal resistance of each cell (assuming your lipo charger can do this). Most by iCharger such as the 308 Duo can do this.
Do a cycle charge and make a note of the IRs of every cell. Any cell that is of significantly higher resistance then the others is shot and should be ditched.