Ready to upgrade. Need some advice.

[Kevin806]

Hi guys. Hope Im not posting questions that are frequently asked. I did some searching and looking first and came across some great info. But I still need some opinions. I have been flying for about 6 months now. I currently have a Dromida Ominous and a WL toys V262 Cyclone. I really like the ominous and learned to fly on it. Not to crazy about the v262 but cant complain for its price. So I have been considering making the jump to a hobby grade quad. I am really interested in a quad that has GPS and RTH. I would like to stay around the $300 price range if possible. I can budge on that a little but not wanting to spend $5oo right now. I have been looking at the Cheerson CX-20 and like it best so far but like everything....it has its negative reviews, and that worries me. Carrying a camera is great but I also want it to be fun to fly like the Ominous. Does that make sense?

Does anyone have any experience with CX-20? Are there different models of the CX-20 that I need to look for or avoid? Any other models that I need to consider? And just for sake of asking.....would the DJI Phantom 1 be worth the extra $100 or is it just in the name? Thanks

 

[holtneil]

Hi mate the Phantom 1 is worth every penny , I just got one for my wife and its good so easy to fly once you understand how it works , but thats not hard , You can get parts easy for it the Phantom 1 runs on normal 2200mah 3 cell batteries so are cheap I paid £30 for 2 batteries, the smart battery for the Phantom 2 is £80 each , the fail safes on the DJI is top ,all the Phantoms have the full Naza M ( not the lite ) so there £250 just in FCB it has IOC so no matter what way the quad is facing if you push forward on the stick thats the way it goes ( so its easy to fly) , if you fit a power gimbal the transmitter has a stick to tilt camera down ( must be version 1.1.1)
So I would pay the extra and your not be sorry
Sorry welcome to the forum

 

[Kevin806]

Thanks bud. Do I need to look for a certain version of the phantom? Also. Is the Fc40 the same as the phantom 1 just with a camera? Which should I look for?

 

[holtneil]

Hi the Phantom one will be cheaper than the FC 40 the FCB are the same but batteries are more cost than the Phantom 1 batteries as they are just 3 cell 2200mah

 

[Kevin806]

Went to the local hobby shops in town today and the only thing they had close to the DJI was the Blade 350 QX3.

 

[Kevin806]

The more research I do on the Blade the more I like it. Anybody have any experience with it?

 

[GJH105775]

This looks like a great budget copter.

Blade 350 QX3
http://www.adorama.com/BLDBLH8180.h...XQhaNWnVOEUtGWYwHcHH_4uvDtSA_oDNBgaAqhv8P8HAQ

 

[Kevin806]

I think I am going to bite the bullet and get the QX3 today.

 

[holtneil]

Hi mate DONT buy it , it has loads of problems and after sales is crap its the worse quad they have ever made

 

[Desert Dave]

@Kevin806 I'm in the same boat. I started with a Syma X1, added a Syma X5C-1 and now I'm ready to bump up to a "featured" aircraft. Looking in the $300 £200 price point there is the Cheerson CX-20, the Quantum Nova (seems to be an exact clone of the CX-20) the Walkera QR X350 or the Flying 3D X8. If there are other options at this price point, I haven't found them yet.

Being a "featured FC" n00b, I'm at a total disadvantage. Beyond reading reviews... and let's face it, you can find good and horrible reviews for every model... I have no idea how to make my choice. I'm placing quite a bit of weight in my decision making on FC capabilities. I want GPS capabilities (RTH at a minimum, would like some flight plan/waypoint ability) and would like follow-me ability. I would also like IOC. FPV isn't as much a priority for me (yet?) but the ability to add a 2d/3d gimbal is (very frustrated by the motion-sick inducing videos from my x5C-1).

So how are guys like @Kevin806 and I supposed to decide?

 

[holtneil]

Hi mate I know its hard at times but if i say buy this and its not right I will feel bad , But I will say Dont touch the walkera there helis are rubbish and over priced, I would think the quads are the same
The nova has cloned the Phantom Spec of RTH/ IOC /GPS/COURSE lock
Syma started with toy helis and they were very good I still have one , but the nova looks upgrade able ( normal brushless motors/camera/FCB/)

 

[Kevin806]

Hey Dave. I went ahead with the Blade before I saw Hotneils advice. But I have to say that i love this quad. It has almost everything you mentioned. It has safe mode with IOC lock and its so easy to fly my kid can do it. But the fun really begins in agility mode. This thing will handle better than my little dromida and will shoot straight up like a rocket. There are 3 other modes to choose from and each designed for a specific purpose.

I also almost went with the CX-20. But decided on the blade purely because of its abundance, support and parts I found locally. I have about 5 full flights with it so far and have no regrets.

 

[holtneil]

Hi Kevin806 Glad your sorted mate , we did have a thread running on bad items and there were a few modes for the qx but i hope by now they have sorted some problems out , sounds like they have I do like blade stuff too , If you find time do a review and post on here , I will put the Blade back on my to get list now you have rated it so high

 

[Desert Dave]

I also almost went with the CX-20. But decided on the blade purely because of its abundance, support and parts I found locally. I have about 5 full flights with it so far and have no regrets.

Thanks for the info on the Blade. I've looked at it previously, but the RTF version is around $500... quite a bit above my $300 target. The specs look good, but I can't justify that much dosh right now.

Glad you're enjoying it!

 

[Desert Dave]

...the nova looks upgrade able ( normal brushless motors/camera/FCB/)

All I've read leads me to believe the Cheerson CX-20 and Quantum Nova is the exact same bird. There's tons of info on the OpenSource FC in the Cheerson and lots of folks doing mods and such. Plus, the Chinese suppliers have it for around $280 including P&P, so it seems like maybe one of the best options.

I'd love to build a hex rather than throwing another $300 into a RTF, but I really think I need to resist that temptation and spend some time playing with tuning on a RTF kit first. I'd hate to get into a self-built and find I'm unable to tune it sufficiently to fly well.

 

[holtneil]

Go for it mate the cheerson mini quad is really good so I think that will be from the same stable

 

[Desert Dave]

Go for it mate the cheerson mini quad is really good so I think that will be from the same stable

Well, this weekend I went ahead and dropped the dosh on a Open Source APM Cheerson CX-20 from BangGood. Unfortunately, with the Chinese New Year in full swing they won't be shipping until the end of this week. So in three to five short weeks I should be taking delivery and working through the challenges of upgrading firmware and learning to use Mission Planner and the lot.

 

[holtneil]

Hi mate start doing your research now , thats what i do watch loads of videos and read up as much as i can

 

[Desert Dave]

Hi mate start doing your research now , thats what i do watch loads of videos and read up as much as i can

Thanks for the advice. I've been reading everything I can find on the APM and Mission Planner. Trying to get familiar with all the various components and features. Plus, learning that this is NOT the kind of thing I can just take out of the box, cram in a battery and start flying. So I'm compiling a pre-flight checklist of all the bits I'll need to calibrate and configure before trying to take to the skies.

Looking forward!

 

[holtneil]

Hi Dave thats a really good idea , I feel your the kind of guy that will get on well with this hobby