Moving from Syma X5UW

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guinnsquirrel

Guest
Hello,

I am interested in Drones. I have used the Syma X5UW for a while now, and loved it. However its not well built and finally died on me :(

I would like something stonger/better built, but still just fun to fly. I recenlty purchased a Hubsan H501a, with the Pro controller. No tried it yet, as I feel it maybe too much for me. Am contemplating returning it.

Is that sensible? Are there better alternatives?


Thank you in advance
 
Rick M

Rick M

Absent-minded professor
As far as the X5UW dying on your, this is nearly guaranteed to be one or more of the brushed motors, which you should expect to replace periodically. Replacing the motors is not a difficult job, and replacements are readily available. I would suggest you do a YouTube search on replacing the motors on a Syma X5 (any variant). You can even do it without any soldering if you insist. However, learning basic soldering isn't hard and it will be an invaluable skill if you stay in this hobby. Be sure you get the right replacement motors - some X5 models use 7mm x 20mm motors, and some use 8mm x 16mm motors.

As far as the 'best' next quad, opinions will be all over the map. Do you want a camera quad primarily? Or a sport flyer? If flying by FPV is a priority, the WiFi FPV quads aren't going to do that very well because at its best the FPV will be a bit laggy and at its worst it may interfere with the control signal, since they are on the same frequency. If you can clarify what features/uses you are most interested in we might be able to help more. Honestly, the H501A wouldn't be my recommendation, but opinions will vary and that's just mine.
 
G

guinnsquirrel

Guest
Hi,

I like just flying the drone around. In the garden, or in a park with my kids. I know I don't want a sports flyer. Guess the features I cared about are:
* Build quality
* Easy to control
* Comes with a remote control
* HD images/photos. Not fused about a gimbal

Why not the Hubsan 501a?
 
G

guinnsquirrel

Guest
Hum... looks interesting. Rather tempted now :)

Few questions:

* I live in the UK. Can I get spare parts?
* Has anyone here tried it? Is it really a good as it looks to be?
* Whats the difference between the Bugs 2 and 8?


Thank you all for you help. Really do appreciate it.
 
Rick M

Rick M

Absent-minded professor
The Bugs 8 has no GPS, but adds a 5.8 Ghz FPV video transmitter which will have decidedly better range than the WiFi (2.4 Ghz) FPV. It's designed as an FPV sport flyer (I don't buy that it's any kind of a 'racer', even a beginner one, since it only has stabilized flight mode, no acro mode). The motors and all basics are the same as the Bugs 2, if I'm not mistaken, but the Bugs 8 has independent ESC's and should be faster. I fly a Bugs 3 (it's faster than the 2 or 8, but no FPV, GPS, or much of any other 'features') and I love it - it has independent ESC's and is significantly faster than the Bugs 2's, although they are still quick. I'm connecting the dots on the independent ESC's versus 4-in-1 ESC being the reason for the speed difference, so don't take my word for it without doing your own research. ;)

I know a couple of guys who are flying the B2C and are saying a lot of good things about it. The RC Saylors did a good review of the B2W and loved it. Your FPV range will be limited on it, but it seems to be surprisingly decent. Most of the claims I've seen put it in the neighborhood of 100 meters without noticeable lag.

I'd suggest you do some online research on all the Bugs variants and also price shop. Banggood.com has the B2C and B2W both pretty cheap right now. MJX is making some real quality quads for very reasonable prices.

Edited: Forgot to add: do some research on parts availability. All these models are pretty new, so won't be great availability yet, but was the same with the Bugs 3 and within a couple of months the parts were widely available. Banggood and Gearbest are good places to start, and they both ship to the UK.
 
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