this hobby gets expensive quick!
- Thread starter Zentg
- Start date
Yeah, I'm sure about all hobbies are this way, but I know for sure this is common to get in on a little budget build and keep upgrading to the point of realizing ou could be making car payments on a nice vehicle
rosco11
Well-Known Member
build build build, test, build build, test, FLY, fix fix fix, FLY, fix fix fix, FLY, Wife takes credit card away, hussle hussle hussle, fix fix FLY, hussle hussle hussle, ...
what we give/pay for a few minutes in the sky. dronaholics unite. Only war with China can keep us chained to the ground.
what we give/pay for a few minutes in the sky. dronaholics unite. Only war with China can keep us chained to the ground.
Zentg
Well-Known Member
Yeah exactly, looking at all my hobbies, dollar per hour this is without a doubt the most expensive.
Like I play final fantasy 14 and have to pay 13$ a month, but I get countless hours of fun.
With quads its like each minute is 10$
Was gonna get into some CP quads but thought better of it for the cost reason hahaha.
Looking to get into paragliders in the next year or two though. I want to take some lessons before I hop into the air first though. It looks like a big cost to get started, but only gas and the occasional repair to continue vs the cost of quads, planes or maybe helis hahaha
rosco11
Well-Known Member
Yep. Looking back i wish there was someone to talk to or material that i could have used for a guild in getting started. Most of the crap on the web assumes you have a million dollars and the cost of parts are a pita. Racing this, racing that, all i want to do is fly.
For those getting into the sport, AFTER you graduate from the plastic indoor models, AFTER you are fairly comfortable with the controls, FORGET everything you have read on the web about what is great and what is not. Focus on cost and effect. You do not need GPS, you will never learn to fly using it. You do not need return to home, super powerful video transmitters, high resolution cameras, altitude hold, follow me, or any of that other crap. All it will do is hold you back from learning how to fly and cost you hours in front of your computer sifting through a lot of garbage trying to get it to work.
Buy a qav250 clone carbon fiber frame. No, buy two. For 15 bucks a pop, think of the second as spare parts. Buy a CHEAP Naze32 FC with absolutely no features what so ever. The more crap is has on it, the more likely it will fail. Buy a CHEAP power distribution board that does nothing else. Buy a CHEAP camera, 600tvl no frills, no night vision, nothing. Why? because when it fails due to blunt force trauma, it will cost you 10 bucks instead of 40. Buy a CHEAP 200mw or less video transmitter. Buy CHEAP antennas. Buy CHEAP props, Dal props are very bendable after crashes. streighhten it out and off you go. Buy LAST YEARS motors. Can get a whole set for the cost of ONE latest and greatest. Buy bargain basement 20a ESC's. You do not need more and will not for a long time to come.
Buy a cheap soldering iron and band-aids. Lots of band-aids. Get the 10 dollar model not the 80 dollar workstation.
You could put a FPV 250 quad together this way for under a hundred bucks and keep it flying for minimal cost. Spend your money on goggles and a transmitter. Goggles, do not buy the best. Fatshark's 500 dollar goggles with hd do not look any better with a 600tvl camera than the 200 dollar pair. Forget head tracking. A lot of hype for something you will rarely use unless you want to spend a zillion dollars on a three way gimbal to hold your 400 dollar go pro. Just strap on last years mobious cam for about 60 bucks and call it a day.
Then STOP reading forums about what everyone else has and go fly. It is upgrades that suck your wallet dry. upgrades you will not have the skills to enjoy for a year or two. And be kind to your batteries. Rechargeable sounds like a bargain until you start replacing them every three months or so.
Buying a RTF kit sounds like the way to go until you discover a lot of the parts are proprietary, like frame parts, built in PDB's and pre wired flight controllers that use micro connectors. And they are all more expensive than generic. Screw bolting stuff down, double sided tape is your friend. Electrical tape is better than liquid electrical tape. It comes off easier and is cheaper to buy. Heatshrink looks cool but doesn't work any better than that one dollar roll of electrical tape. If you crash a lot, it is all going to have to come off again at some point.
The super cool looking quad with all the right stuff on your work bench is no where near as fun as the generic, super cheap qav250 clone you are flying at the park.
I have a parts bin full of stuff i wish i had never bought. I have OSD's on PDB's, FC's, VTX's, Camera's and stand alone units and yet the quad i fly the most doesn't have it at all. I have motors that have less than an hour on them. I have Esc's, FC's and spare frame parts i will never use.
The only two things i have bought i do not regret are the goggles and transmitter. Everything else has been a fee for learning what i DO NOT need.
For those getting into the sport, AFTER you graduate from the plastic indoor models, AFTER you are fairly comfortable with the controls, FORGET everything you have read on the web about what is great and what is not. Focus on cost and effect. You do not need GPS, you will never learn to fly using it. You do not need return to home, super powerful video transmitters, high resolution cameras, altitude hold, follow me, or any of that other crap. All it will do is hold you back from learning how to fly and cost you hours in front of your computer sifting through a lot of garbage trying to get it to work.
Buy a qav250 clone carbon fiber frame. No, buy two. For 15 bucks a pop, think of the second as spare parts. Buy a CHEAP Naze32 FC with absolutely no features what so ever. The more crap is has on it, the more likely it will fail. Buy a CHEAP power distribution board that does nothing else. Buy a CHEAP camera, 600tvl no frills, no night vision, nothing. Why? because when it fails due to blunt force trauma, it will cost you 10 bucks instead of 40. Buy a CHEAP 200mw or less video transmitter. Buy CHEAP antennas. Buy CHEAP props, Dal props are very bendable after crashes. streighhten it out and off you go. Buy LAST YEARS motors. Can get a whole set for the cost of ONE latest and greatest. Buy bargain basement 20a ESC's. You do not need more and will not for a long time to come.
Buy a cheap soldering iron and band-aids. Lots of band-aids. Get the 10 dollar model not the 80 dollar workstation.
You could put a FPV 250 quad together this way for under a hundred bucks and keep it flying for minimal cost. Spend your money on goggles and a transmitter. Goggles, do not buy the best. Fatshark's 500 dollar goggles with hd do not look any better with a 600tvl camera than the 200 dollar pair. Forget head tracking. A lot of hype for something you will rarely use unless you want to spend a zillion dollars on a three way gimbal to hold your 400 dollar go pro. Just strap on last years mobious cam for about 60 bucks and call it a day.
Then STOP reading forums about what everyone else has and go fly. It is upgrades that suck your wallet dry. upgrades you will not have the skills to enjoy for a year or two. And be kind to your batteries. Rechargeable sounds like a bargain until you start replacing them every three months or so.
Buying a RTF kit sounds like the way to go until you discover a lot of the parts are proprietary, like frame parts, built in PDB's and pre wired flight controllers that use micro connectors. And they are all more expensive than generic. Screw bolting stuff down, double sided tape is your friend. Electrical tape is better than liquid electrical tape. It comes off easier and is cheaper to buy. Heatshrink looks cool but doesn't work any better than that one dollar roll of electrical tape. If you crash a lot, it is all going to have to come off again at some point.
The super cool looking quad with all the right stuff on your work bench is no where near as fun as the generic, super cheap qav250 clone you are flying at the park.
I have a parts bin full of stuff i wish i had never bought. I have OSD's on PDB's, FC's, VTX's, Camera's and stand alone units and yet the quad i fly the most doesn't have it at all. I have motors that have less than an hour on them. I have Esc's, FC's and spare frame parts i will never use.
The only two things i have bought i do not regret are the goggles and transmitter. Everything else has been a fee for learning what i DO NOT need.
RENOV8R
Well-Known Member
Well, I guess it's just a matter of opinion. I love to build as much as flying and having that "super cool looking" quad with all the "latest and greatest" stuff is just as much a thrill to me. The there's the guys who become involved in competitive racing where 1/100 of a second can make the difference between winning and losing.. They're not going to buy a set of Emax MTs just because they're 10 bucks cheaper than a set of Oomphs or T-Motors. Different strokes for different folks.
rosco11
Well-Known Member
Agree. My point is better to wait until your flying skills get to the point where it matters. Everything you purchase during that learning curve will be long gone by then and all those hours you spent on the computer trying to get it to work will only delay getting to that goal. I have a box full of motors, esc's and FC's that will probably not work with the equipment that will come out in the next year or two. It is money that could have been spent better elsewhere.
I have about 500 dollars worth of goodies that will be completely useless by the time 1/100 of a second matters to me. i am not rich. I am now on the cheap train until i can fly full throttle without having a spectacular explosion of parts and hard earned money spilling across my driveway. Not saying you shouldn't, only that you should wait unless 500 bucks in miscellaneous parts to you is...a Tuesday. For me it is two months of scrimping and saving under the disapproving eyes of my wife.
You know that look. Arms folded across the chest and eyes calling you an idiot as you try to explain why you need new motors to replace the motors you bought last week.
I have about 500 dollars worth of goodies that will be completely useless by the time 1/100 of a second matters to me. i am not rich. I am now on the cheap train until i can fly full throttle without having a spectacular explosion of parts and hard earned money spilling across my driveway. Not saying you shouldn't, only that you should wait unless 500 bucks in miscellaneous parts to you is...a Tuesday. For me it is two months of scrimping and saving under the disapproving eyes of my wife.
You know that look. Arms folded across the chest and eyes calling you an idiot as you try to explain why you need new motors to replace the motors you bought last week.
Ryan63
Well-Known Member
Ha! I just had this look from the wife YESTERDAY as I'M buying new esc's at the local hobby shop!
Gyro Doctor
Electronics Tech for over 45 years
... If I had a dollar for every time MY wife gave me "that look" I'd be flying with the latest and greatest of EVERYTHING instead of clones 
Trazyn1010
New Member
All hobbies get really expensive, really quick. I can still feel the hole in my wallet when i bought my first drone. Though what really hurts is when you lose it trying to capture aerial views of the woods.
Man after that first one i got a GPS tracker for my other drones.
Man after that first one i got a GPS tracker for my other drones.
mozquito1
Well-Known Member
Think your on the wrong forum. Hehe