QuadAddict
New Member
Disclaimer: I do not get paid for these reviews. The manufacturer and supplier may change specifications or included items at any time. This is beyond my control.
This quadcopter was provided to me by Banggood.com for a comprehensive, unbiased review.
The Daming DM003 is a micro sized quadcopter, using a stealthy design and a quiet-running direct drive configuration. It is a scaled-down version of the popular DM007. This is a non-camera model, designed for sporty indoor/outdoor flight.
Packaging and Contents:
There are two versions of the Daming DM003 available, one with a full size transmitter, and one with a small gaming style transmitter. I received the small transmitter version.
The small transmitter version of the Daming DM003 is adequately packaged to prevent damage. The box is not large and flashy, but rather has been kept small to reduce shipping costs.
The quadcopter sits snugly inside molded styrofoam, well protected from damage. The removable battery sits in the quadcopter's battery bay.
On the bottom are the transmitter and the bag containing the charger,one set of spare propellers, and the landing gear. The instruction manual is at the bottom.
The complete contents.
The user manual is written completely in English, but is not very intuitive, and contains errors. The illustrations show a different quadcopter, indicating that it is simply copied from another model.
Design and Battery:
The quadcopter is a stealthy all black design, made of a translucent plastic. The propeller guards are preinstalled, and have a single screw each holding them in place, keeping them secure but also easy to remove if desired.The guards are designed well, although they provide no ceiling protection. There are no screws for the landing gear. It is installed by simply pressing it on place into the sockets on the bottom. The battery is removable, a desirable feature. It is held securely in place and is removed by bending the bottom rear tab slightly downwards.
he body seems strong, and the 7x20mm motors are encased above and below, with some of the motor exposed for cooling.
The battery is a 1S 300mAh.
Lighting:
There is an LED in each arm, blue in front, red in back. They are mounted completely inside the arms at the fuselage end, not exposed. The LEDs shine through the body. They are decently visible in the dark, but not visible very well in bright lighting.
Transmitters:
As stated above, there are two transmitter options. The full size transmitter range is listed at 50-100m, and the small gaming-style one at 30-50m. Image pulled from the www:
Since I received the small version, I can only provide information on it. This transmitter operates on 3 AA size batteries, instead of the usual 4 that are required for similar models.
There are all the usual buttons on the front, and the shoulder buttons on the top. All are operational, except the bottom button on the left.. The thumb pads are not rubberized, instead are recessed in the center with the screws exposed. A conversion to sticks if desired would be very simple.
Small transmitter functions:
The manual appears to contain a copy of a button layout from another model. The left buttons are marked incorrectly, as shown in my corrected picture.
Performance in Operation:
This is a stable, agile and fast flyer. It is also surprisingly quiet, compared to similar micros. This fits perfectly with the all-black stealthy design. Controls are instant to respond, and precise. Trimming is simple indoors or in calm weather,with only minor adjustments required to achieve a stable hover. Hovering can be tricky however as the throttle is quite responsive. Even in low rate, the quad achieves a decent speed, so indoor flight could be tricky for beginners. Intermediate rate steps the speed up to an outdoor flight level, with a small difference between intermediate and high rates. Orientation can also be tricky outside for beginners, with the all-black design combined with barely visible lights in daylight, even up close. Intermediate and high rates are quite fast, making this a fun sport flyer. They yaw rate remains constant through the three rates, but is adequate for sport flying, without being so fast that control gets difficult.
Headless mode is well implemented without a compass, and functions comparably to other models in this class, and comparable to larger models. With simple forward/back and side-to-side flight, the headless bearing remains accurate, and the one key return flies the quadcipter in reverse to the bearing. Keep in mind that this will only bring the quadcopter back to the pilot if the quadcopter is directly in front of them. Otherwise, it simply flies backward to whichever side it is on in relation to the pilot. As is typical of quadcopters without a compass, headless bearing accuracy does degrade as the quadcopter is yawed and flown around normally. After a couple minutes of flight, the headless bearing can become quite inaccurate, with the one key return being useless to save the quad from a flyaway emergency. Because of this, I definitely suggest not relying on the one key return to save this quadcopter from a flyaway. The one key return also only works with the quadcopter in headless mode. Flying in headless mode should only be attempted after a full power cycle, rebind,and calibration.
Battery life is decent, with flight times that average of 7 minutes and 30 seconds for calm indoor flight, and 4 to 5 minutes of outdoor sporty flight. LVC tends to kick in early, with up to 2 minutes possible flight before the quadcopter slows and then shuts down after a few seconds, with my model leaving a charge of 3.35 volts average.
Transmitter range on mine is only around 90 feet/under 30 meters. This is below the low specification listed for the small transmitter. Upon signal loss,the quadcopter will continue to run for about 1-2 seconds, then shut down and fall. This is good for stopping flyaways, but bad for losing it over trees,buildings,etc. Care should be taken to keep the quadcopter in range. Operation resumes when the quadcopter is back in range.
Wind resistance is decent in high rate, but this quadcopter is too light to be a windy day flyer. The wind will still carry it away if flying at a considerable altuitude.
The LEDs show bright enough to fly at night, but not as well as most other models in this class. They are adequate for the small transmitter's range, but would be difficult to see if flying far with the large transmitter.
Other Observations:
This is a quiet, fast,and sporty flyer with a design that will appeal to many. However it isn't without it's flaws.
The landing gear falls off easily in crashes, and is easy to break. Within my first few flights indoors, a small crash resulted in a broken landing gear pin. Unfortunately the quiet props are also easy to break. The props also fit somewhat loosely, and tend to fly off now and then. I would suggest flying without the landing gear, and stocking up on spare props, because it will go through them rather quickly.
Because of the dim lights, LVC is useless in daylight. It is best to time flights on this model.
The standby mode, while a nice safety feature, can be troublesome since sometimes it will require a complete power cycle to re-bind. For example, after a crash across the yard..
Range on the small transmitter is short. The large transmitter model may be the better one to buy.
This is not a beginner's quadcopter because of the fast speeds in low rate, all-black design, and dim lights during the day.
PROS:
Good value for the price.
QUIET.
FAST and stable.
Maneuverable, sporty flyer.
Decent flight times considering performance and battery size.
Headless and one-key return on a micro.
Stealthy design.
Screw-mounted prop guards stay secure and are easily removed.
Removable battery.
CONS:
Short control range with small transmitter.
Landing gear falls off and is easily broken in crashes.
Brittle, loose fitting propellers make it a must to stock up on spares.
No ceiling protection on propeller guards.
Dim LEDs are useless in daytime, and not comparable to other quads in this class at night.
Fast low rate can make it difficult to fly indoors.
Non-intuitive user manual with errors.
Not a beginner quadcopter because of speed,color and dim lights.
Link to purchase this quadcopter at Banggood.com:
http://www.banggood.com/DM003-Mini-...Axis-3D-Roll-RC-Quadcopter-RTF-p-1011093.html
The link is for both models.
This quadcopter was provided to me by Banggood.com for a comprehensive, unbiased review.
The Daming DM003 is a micro sized quadcopter, using a stealthy design and a quiet-running direct drive configuration. It is a scaled-down version of the popular DM007. This is a non-camera model, designed for sporty indoor/outdoor flight.
Packaging and Contents:
There are two versions of the Daming DM003 available, one with a full size transmitter, and one with a small gaming style transmitter. I received the small transmitter version.
The small transmitter version of the Daming DM003 is adequately packaged to prevent damage. The box is not large and flashy, but rather has been kept small to reduce shipping costs.
The quadcopter sits snugly inside molded styrofoam, well protected from damage. The removable battery sits in the quadcopter's battery bay.
On the bottom are the transmitter and the bag containing the charger,one set of spare propellers, and the landing gear. The instruction manual is at the bottom.
The complete contents.
The user manual is written completely in English, but is not very intuitive, and contains errors. The illustrations show a different quadcopter, indicating that it is simply copied from another model.
Design and Battery:
The quadcopter is a stealthy all black design, made of a translucent plastic. The propeller guards are preinstalled, and have a single screw each holding them in place, keeping them secure but also easy to remove if desired.The guards are designed well, although they provide no ceiling protection. There are no screws for the landing gear. It is installed by simply pressing it on place into the sockets on the bottom. The battery is removable, a desirable feature. It is held securely in place and is removed by bending the bottom rear tab slightly downwards.
he body seems strong, and the 7x20mm motors are encased above and below, with some of the motor exposed for cooling.
The battery is a 1S 300mAh.
Lighting:
There is an LED in each arm, blue in front, red in back. They are mounted completely inside the arms at the fuselage end, not exposed. The LEDs shine through the body. They are decently visible in the dark, but not visible very well in bright lighting.
Transmitters:
As stated above, there are two transmitter options. The full size transmitter range is listed at 50-100m, and the small gaming-style one at 30-50m. Image pulled from the www:
Since I received the small version, I can only provide information on it. This transmitter operates on 3 AA size batteries, instead of the usual 4 that are required for similar models.
There are all the usual buttons on the front, and the shoulder buttons on the top. All are operational, except the bottom button on the left.. The thumb pads are not rubberized, instead are recessed in the center with the screws exposed. A conversion to sticks if desired would be very simple.
Small transmitter functions:
The manual appears to contain a copy of a button layout from another model. The left buttons are marked incorrectly, as shown in my corrected picture.
Performance in Operation:
This is a stable, agile and fast flyer. It is also surprisingly quiet, compared to similar micros. This fits perfectly with the all-black stealthy design. Controls are instant to respond, and precise. Trimming is simple indoors or in calm weather,with only minor adjustments required to achieve a stable hover. Hovering can be tricky however as the throttle is quite responsive. Even in low rate, the quad achieves a decent speed, so indoor flight could be tricky for beginners. Intermediate rate steps the speed up to an outdoor flight level, with a small difference between intermediate and high rates. Orientation can also be tricky outside for beginners, with the all-black design combined with barely visible lights in daylight, even up close. Intermediate and high rates are quite fast, making this a fun sport flyer. They yaw rate remains constant through the three rates, but is adequate for sport flying, without being so fast that control gets difficult.
Headless mode is well implemented without a compass, and functions comparably to other models in this class, and comparable to larger models. With simple forward/back and side-to-side flight, the headless bearing remains accurate, and the one key return flies the quadcipter in reverse to the bearing. Keep in mind that this will only bring the quadcopter back to the pilot if the quadcopter is directly in front of them. Otherwise, it simply flies backward to whichever side it is on in relation to the pilot. As is typical of quadcopters without a compass, headless bearing accuracy does degrade as the quadcopter is yawed and flown around normally. After a couple minutes of flight, the headless bearing can become quite inaccurate, with the one key return being useless to save the quad from a flyaway emergency. Because of this, I definitely suggest not relying on the one key return to save this quadcopter from a flyaway. The one key return also only works with the quadcopter in headless mode. Flying in headless mode should only be attempted after a full power cycle, rebind,and calibration.
Battery life is decent, with flight times that average of 7 minutes and 30 seconds for calm indoor flight, and 4 to 5 minutes of outdoor sporty flight. LVC tends to kick in early, with up to 2 minutes possible flight before the quadcopter slows and then shuts down after a few seconds, with my model leaving a charge of 3.35 volts average.
Transmitter range on mine is only around 90 feet/under 30 meters. This is below the low specification listed for the small transmitter. Upon signal loss,the quadcopter will continue to run for about 1-2 seconds, then shut down and fall. This is good for stopping flyaways, but bad for losing it over trees,buildings,etc. Care should be taken to keep the quadcopter in range. Operation resumes when the quadcopter is back in range.
Wind resistance is decent in high rate, but this quadcopter is too light to be a windy day flyer. The wind will still carry it away if flying at a considerable altuitude.
The LEDs show bright enough to fly at night, but not as well as most other models in this class. They are adequate for the small transmitter's range, but would be difficult to see if flying far with the large transmitter.
Other Observations:
This is a quiet, fast,and sporty flyer with a design that will appeal to many. However it isn't without it's flaws.
The landing gear falls off easily in crashes, and is easy to break. Within my first few flights indoors, a small crash resulted in a broken landing gear pin. Unfortunately the quiet props are also easy to break. The props also fit somewhat loosely, and tend to fly off now and then. I would suggest flying without the landing gear, and stocking up on spare props, because it will go through them rather quickly.
Because of the dim lights, LVC is useless in daylight. It is best to time flights on this model.
The standby mode, while a nice safety feature, can be troublesome since sometimes it will require a complete power cycle to re-bind. For example, after a crash across the yard..
Range on the small transmitter is short. The large transmitter model may be the better one to buy.
This is not a beginner's quadcopter because of the fast speeds in low rate, all-black design, and dim lights during the day.
PROS:
Good value for the price.
QUIET.
FAST and stable.
Maneuverable, sporty flyer.
Decent flight times considering performance and battery size.
Headless and one-key return on a micro.
Stealthy design.
Screw-mounted prop guards stay secure and are easily removed.
Removable battery.
CONS:
Short control range with small transmitter.
Landing gear falls off and is easily broken in crashes.
Brittle, loose fitting propellers make it a must to stock up on spares.
No ceiling protection on propeller guards.
Dim LEDs are useless in daytime, and not comparable to other quads in this class at night.
Fast low rate can make it difficult to fly indoors.
Non-intuitive user manual with errors.
Not a beginner quadcopter because of speed,color and dim lights.
Link to purchase this quadcopter at Banggood.com:
http://www.banggood.com/DM003-Mini-...Axis-3D-Roll-RC-Quadcopter-RTF-p-1011093.html
The link is for both models.
