Searching For My First Hobby Grade!!!

[ejimbo4]

So I have caught the drone bug and I have it bad!!!! I have been into one form of RC or another for the last ten years and when I get into something I jump in with both feet! Closet thing to drones is I flew RC air for a couple years. I started with a Cub Cadet which when I showed up at the air Field they kinda laughed and snickered but they were cool and told me I should get a Trojan T-28 to learn on so I did and they buddy boxed me until I got signed off to fly solo and then I went from there and got me a Twist 3D and had a blast. I tell you that so you know that I understand that I need to learn before I go crazy and just pound a bunch of dollar bills into the ground! LOL
So right now I am practicing with a Syma XC5-1 and a Sharper Image DX-4 and I have two minis on the way so I can practice inside. I am starting to shop around to purchase my first hobby grade and I am a bit.... No wait...... TOTALLY confused by all the info I am trying to take in! So I am hoping that I can lay out what I am thinking as far as money and expectations and maybe I could get some suggestions on where I should start looking?
My price range is $350-$400(possibly could go a little higher if need be.
I want to fly FPV.
I was really looking into DJI and I am willing to pay for it but I noticed that when I am practicing with the two I have now I am already wanting to sling them around and sling every which way I can and I don't see that the DJI platform is really geared that way. Plus all the bells and whistles they come with makes me nervous as far as possible things that can go wrong electrically that I can't fix and would have to send it in for repairs or are these DJI drones that solid of a platform? So I'm guessing that I'm looking for some type of sport drone? When I flew fixed wing I liked learning tricks and getting a little crazy in the air.
I came across the Rise Vusion

https://www.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXGFEX

Which looks pretty cool and I could operate the 200mW as I hold a ham operators license already. Just when I watch the reviews that thing is quick and I wonder if it would be to much? I do understand that it will only go as fast as I let it go. It has some cool features that I like so that is one of my possibilities. Can a race drone be considered a sport drone?
I want something with parts availability and quality made so a name brand in the market.
I will leave it at that for the moment and look forward to the conversation! Thanks in advance for any and all input!!

 

[holtneil]

Hi mate build your own it's not that hard . The DJI are more towards camera platform but if you pop into manual more it will flip easy
If you go on you tube to rcmodlereviews or painless360 they have some really good 250 racer set ups to give you an idea of what you can build

 

[ejimbo4]

Thanks holtniel I will check it out!

 

[Jackson]

Can a race drone be considered a sport drone?

Totally.

The Rise is too proprietary especially it's bare bones, proprietary controller. As an example take a peek at this much more versatile combo. Nothing proprietary and it has many of the most up to date components.
https://www.banggood.com/Eachine-Wi...mds=detail-bottom-alsobought&cur_warehouse=CN

It now comes with FlySky's latest i6X controller.
https://files.banggood.com/2016/09/FS-i6X User manual.pdf

Note with extra receivers it can handle up to 20 unique models/setups each with their unique settings.

Many BNF quadcopters now come FlySky ready, the little guys are quite popular these days.
https://www.gearbest.com/brushless-fpv-racer/pp_791923.html?wid=21

Food for thought.

 

[ejimbo4]

My worry is that I watched a couple videos on that eachine wizard and they are spitting out numbers letters and components I can't even wrap my mind around. I am 48 years old and need to start with something I can fly and relate to so as to make the learning curve a little easier and progress from there I think.

 

[SLFLY]

a racing drone, is a freestyle drone, is a sport drone etc. They are the same thing.

The Rise Vusion should easier to get flying straight out of the box if everything is pre-configured.

FPV quads are technical, there is not much getting around that. Those numbers, letters and components are no different to any other racing/freesyle/fpv quad. Either pre-built or custom. They all work on the same principle and technology. You will become familar with the tech side and the lingo either way. It's looks complicated at first but it gets simpler and easier to understand. And anything you don't understand can be goggled.

The Rise Vusion package doesn't look that bad or terrible. It has everything you need to get started. Price seems abit on the high side. But if you like the look of it, go for it.

It has some drawbacks. You are giving up flexibility for out of the box ease of use. The transmitter is locked onto that model only. a typical aftermarket transmitter will give you alot more features and programming options, say if you wanted to assign custom switches or knobs, or buy more quads,planes,heli etc. The same transmitter can be used for multiple models.

The flight controller is locked and it's flight characteristics cannot be changed. a custom quad with a open source flight controller can be configured to your liking. You may not have any interest in that right now, but could want to easily down the road as your piloting skills improve.

The camera mounting is proprietary to that frame, and it's only a CMOS camera. for $350 it should be CCD. If you ever wanted to upgrade it, you would need to get creative and make a new mount. Not really that difficult, just pointing out the frame doesn't cator for it like most other frames do.

For the same money spent, you can buy a top notch transmitter like FrSky Taranis QX7 for $100 or a Flysky FSi6 for $50, a pre-built chinese quad like a Bfight 210 or Wizard 220 for $140 or less, a Set of Eachine EV800 box goggles for $55. Leaving you $100 or more for a charger and lipo batteries.

Yes it does require additional steps to bind everything and configure software before taking off but at the end of it. You'll have a better quad and setup and more bang for your buck.

If you were ever to loose interest and decided to sell it all. You would also retain most of your resale value.

I dont think the Rise Vusion kit would hold the same value.

 

[Gyro Doctor]

... Yeah ... What they said ... lol

Without necessarily needing to know what it is, or why, THESE are the things you want to see in your choices:

SBUS (receiver)... simplifies wiring and is cleaner/faster electronically
DSHOT (ESCs)... cleaner/faster electronically and no calibration needed
BRUSHLESS (motors) ... the only way to go
F3 (flight controller) ... feature loaded fast/solid core units that are universally applicable
2.4 GHz Control and 5.8 Ghz FPV ... no 2.4 control and video together and no WiFi either

I too have been into RC in one form or another (for several decades now) and I can tell you, once you get the hang of
FPV Racing Quads you will absolutely LOVE IT !

I've had gas and electric street race cars, gas and electric off-road cars and trucks, gas helicopters, and more planes than
I can remember (balsa kits, "foamies", and glass ones too) with props, multi-props, and ducted fans (always wanted a real jet too
but never got around to those before getting bit by the Quads bug) but racing around in an FPV quad is the best !!!

Your quad kits may come and go, but (if only one word of advise to give) your radio controller will always be there, so invest in a GOOD ONE.
My TX of choice is the Taranis X9D+ .... This thing is absolutely off the charts with versatility and features that you simply will not find elsewhere.
You can spend countless hours on rainy days just playing with this radio alone. Mine talks to me in a sultry female voice or gives me sage advise in
Yoda's voice while I fly. It has more knobs, sliders, and switches than you'll ever need and can be programmed and accessorized to control absolutely ANYTHING. Get this baby and you won't ever need to get another radio again. Sure it's about $200 and you can get it's little brother (QX7) for maybe
half that, but jump in with both feet and make a big splash I (also) say

Now, a word about goggles ..... Fat Sharks ARE NOT the "end all, be all" goggles of choice (I don't care what anybody else says) because lately there
are others out there that have the same specs and more features for a lot less $$$ than frikkin Fat Sharks (Aomway Commanders are a good example).
Goggles, like quads, are something you CAN invest more heavily in as you progress. Some folks like box types for many reasons, although binocular types
are the predominant choice you'll see being used. Eventually you'll likely have someone you'd like to share your (live) FPV experiences with and that first
pair you had (after getting your "dream pair") are perfect for that

 

[ejimbo4]

Well someone hooked me up and got me a Parrot Bebop 2 FPV for Christmas!!! Don't know that it was at the top of my list but I am very excited! This will leave me open to do more research and maybe build my first race/freestyle/sport drone instead of buying one rtf/bnf!