Newbie - Michigan

[Cobra54]

Hi. New to hobby, started with a toy drone through Groupon and learned a couple of valuable lessons... keep the drone in site, fly where there a no trees or buildings, beware of wind gust and finally, to quit trying to fly an indoor drone outside in winds (3 mpg is probably okay but anything higher and I'm chasing a fly away).
Just purchased a Bugs 3 (red) and decided to learn to fly, forget the heads up/return to home/taking pictures and movies. I've also resolved to only fly this at an open field....and not to let it get too far away.
Technically I'm ignorant. Hence I have a couple questions...if I have a battery that's 7.4 volts, c25 (?) and 1800 mghrtz and I increase the capacity (megahertz), do I get longer flight time? I've seen someone used a 5800 mghrtz (sure I'm butchering this) would I double/triple my time? I figure it's likely a bit heavier and perhaps a heat or life penalty with (brushless) motors that weren't designed to run for 25-30 minutes?
Secondly, the transmitter or controller...would a better controller extend my range and is there a a better controller I could purchase that would work with the Bugs 3 and anything else that I may purchase in the next couple years (inexpensive, more specialized, maybe a pocket fly, fly around, selfie drone and/or inexpensive GPS or Goggles to learn on) with the thought it could also be utilized with a hobby grade drone as I mature in my skills. It just seems that it would be easier to have something standard, that I can become familiar with and justify a bit more expensive purchase with a wide application and long usage life. Recommendations on a hobby class controller?

Ive read too that motors, even brushless, have a service life of only around 20 flights. Are spare motors something I should consider with the higher end toy drones or just plan on a "throw away"? At what point do you consider keeping a flight/maintenance log - or am I just being sillly?

Sorry about running on, got caught up in it for a moment. Thanks for any consideration or response.

Cobra54

 

[Rick M]

... Hence I have a couple questions...if I have a battery that's 7.4 volts, c25 (?) and 1800 mghrtz and I increase the capacity (megahertz), do I get longer flight time? I've seen someone used a 5800 mghrtz (sure I'm butchering this) would I double/triple my time? I figure it's likely a bit heavier and perhaps a heat or life penalty with (brushless) motors that weren't designed to run for 25-30 minutes?
Secondly, the transmitter or controller...would a better controller extend my range and is there a a better controller I could purchase that would work with the Bugs 3 and anything else that I may purchase in the next couple years (inexpensive, more specialized, maybe a pocket fly, fly around, selfie drone and/or inexpensive GPS or Goggles to learn on) with the thought it could also be utilized with a hobby grade drone as I mature in my skills. It just seems that it would be easier to have something standard, that I can become familiar with and justify a bit more expensive purchase with a wide application and long usage life. Recommendations on a hobby class controller?

Ive read too that motors, even brushless, have a service life of only around 20 flights. Are spare motors something I should consider with the higher end toy drones or just plan on a "throw away"? At what point do you consider keeping a flight/maintenance log - or am I just being sillly?

Cobra54

The battery rating is mAh, or milli-amp hours. That means that if you have an 1800 mah battery (like the one on your Bugs 3), the battery can theoretically provide 1800 mA current for one hour. That's not strictly true, because you can't draw 100% of the theoretical capacity from the battery. You're on the right track in terms of flight time. Let's say you put a battery on it with the same voltage (7.4 volts), but a 2700 mah capacity. On paper, that would give you 50% longer flight time. In reality it will extend your flight time (assuming the same current draw), but not by 50%. The battery will be heavier (more than a "bit" heavier, btw) and again, you can't use 100% of the rated capacity. You should get 15 minutes or so on the stock battery. I have a Bugs 3 and that's what I was getting before I started flying it on 3S higher capacity batteries.

The Bugs 3 isn't compatible with other hobby grade transmitters (Spektrum, Frysky, Flysky) unless you modify them with a "multi protocol" module which is way more hassle than you want to get into at this stage. At least for now, you will find the range is all you probably want. Even the multi-protocol modules have range issues because almost all of them carry their own antenna rather than using the transmitter's stock antenna.

The Bugs 3 can be easily modified for FPV via a number of different options. There is now a "plug in" camera for it, the MJX C5820, that is quite cheap. There is also plenty of room to install after-market FPV cameras. Once again, YouTube will be your friend for fiding out all your options.

Even brushed motors are good for a lot more than 20 flights. Brushless will last a long time barring damage. If a motor starts to go, you will likely notice the performance of the quad getting weird (mostly sluggish, because the good motors will be adjusting for the bad one).

For now, I'd suggest you buy an extra stock battery (or more) for the Bugs 3 and have a blast learning to fly it. Keep it in low rate for a while.

 

[Cobra54]

Thank you Rick!
Appreciate the advice, I'll get the extra battery as you suggest.
You mentioned you were using a three cell. I'll guess that "cells" are actually separate batteries (hence the need for a "balancer" plug) that charge independently, at least with some overlap or commonality. I'll assume 2 is better than 1, 3 is better than 2? Longer flight time? More capacity or same capacity but for a longer period of time?
Cobra54

 

[Rick M]

You're correct about the number of cells, and about the balancing. I"d suggest you consider buying a decent balance charger when possible.

The Bugs 3 board and ESC's will handle 3S (3 x 3.7V cells wired in serial = 11.7V) batteries fine, and it's definitely fast with the extra voltage. However, with a 3S battery and stock props, it behaves really badly when coming on or off power quickly. Most people who use 3S batteries on the Bugs 3 also go to tri-props. This hurts performance some, and battery life as well, but compensates for the bad power transitions and it ends up being both fast and stable. I fly mine on 3S 2700mah batteries with 5045 tri props and get 14 minutes or so if I'm really flying it hard, 15-17 minutes flying slow.