DRONE

[bmccaffrey]

Thinking about buying myself a drone for xmas.

Don't want to spend a ton of money. Just a play toy.

Anyone have any experience or recommedations??????

Thanks

[Bob Denman]

Isn't there some sort of weight threshold? I think if you get one that weighs more than 9 ounces; the government wants you to register...

[Highwayman2013]

I just looked on Ebay they start around $68 with a camera.

[Mazo EMS2]

I think one would be fun too, for a while. My fear, these days, would be somebody wanting to sue for invasion of privacy

[bmccaffrey]

Geez

Guess may need to do some research.

Qvc had some decent priced ones for under 200.00 but don't know about quality.

Don't need camera to spy. Only to show me where i'm going. Don't even know if that's how it works

[blacklightning]

I have been considering one also. I just want to wait until I get some reviews from someone who has one. Also looking to spend less than $200.

[Bfromla]

Been considering one as well, fyi will not find a POV (point of view) live feed under $200 mark. One of the better ones I've been looking into is better operated off wifi video to tablet or phone, called parrot drone, this may give you idea. lots out there find local RC hobby shop & spend time talking with people in the hobby learn inside story's, battery life will be key, for weight & flight time.

[ThreeWheels]

A bit more pricey, but I'm seriously looking at the Lily Camera:

I'm most concerned because the marketing for the camera reminds me too much of the Elio.

[cuznjohn]

i want one but can't justify the price for a toy

[Saluda]

I want one but don't need one. I'll wait for the urge to pass.

[Bob Denman]

Besides; the neighbors on both sides of me really aren't worth spying on...

[bscrive]

I have been looking at them as well. It seems that flying time is reflective in the price. Most of the cheaper ones will give you about 6 - 10 mins of flying time where the more expensive ones will give you up to 25 mins of flying time. You have to watch out because some of them do not include the price of the controller. Some of them are @ $500. I have realized that to get a decent one you would have to pay around $1000 with the controller. Too much for a toy that I don't really need. I see a lot of them for sale used, but it looks like the sellers may have got bored with them, so I probably would as well.

[Jdr00ejr]

It really depends on what you are wanting to do with it. Where do you want to fly, inside or outside? Do you want to record video or not? Do you want little bitty, or bigger? Market is getting saturated with the small ones that are dirt cheap - but often you get what you pay for. I have 7 in current working/flying condition and more that don't fly anymore and I've not taken the time to repair/pitch them. My largest is longer/wider than my keyboard and my smallest is smaller than my mouse. ;-) If you have a local hobby shop close by - check them out. Even if you don't buy from them - it's good to know what they stock in case you want replacement parts quickly. http://www.bladehelis.com is a good hobby grade yet still affordable toy option. They have many to chose from in various sizes and prices.

As for registering - it's not required yet - but yes, many of us are watching the regulations like a hawk and the AMA is fighting on our behalf.

[finless]

Do yourself a favor..... Do not buy anything below the $200 mark as it is a junk toy and you will have nothing but dissatisfaction with it.
Even then anything below $400 is still pretty much junk but will at least allow you to have some fun and see what it is all about.

In the end, it all comes down to what you want to do with it!

I suggest getting on a forum about the subject. A good one that I have been on for years is Helifreak.com
But there are drone specific forums out there too.

Do your research or trust me you will waste your money.

Bob

[Devious56]

I have to disagree with Bob, I have a couple which work pretty well, and started out with one made by Air Hogs and sold at Wal Mart for under $50.00. It is strictly an indoor quad, but can be flown outdoors with no
wind. It is pretty easy to fly with a little practice as long as you remember to turn off your ceiling fans, and is almost indistructable. Uses ducted (may not be the correct terminology) fans instead of open propellers so they don't hit stuff while flying it around.

To me it was a nice purchase to find out if I wanted one without spending the big bucks. I now have a couple of more expensive ones but the Air Hog, to me, was a good choice to get started. But all in all, I think I will stick with my radio controlled cars and planes.

David

[Chupaca]

Have hundreds of them living in a hive in the cable box next to my mail box.... can only get mail certain times of the day cause they watch me all the time.. but I do have great fruit on our trees...

[Jdr00ejr]

I'd have to say I'm with David and also disagree with Bob. I've not paid more than $250 for any of mine. I do buy used quite a bit though. Some of mine have higher MSRP (in the $400 range) but many of mine still have MSRP in the $100-200 range and do just fine for what I want - a fun distraction. As I said early - it very much depends on what your expectations are/what you want to do. If you want to fly outside in wind with a camera attached - yeah - more money - if you want to fly indoors or outdoors and just enjoy a 5-8 minute flight - there are several options sub $200. Anything that says BNF means it doesn't have the controller - so you do want to pay attention to that. If you are new, you are problem looking for an RTF - Ready To Fly - which would include the quadcopter (I hate the term drone), the controller, the battery, and a charger. Helifreak is a good site - RCGroups is another good one.

[Devious56]

I'd have to say I'm with David and also disagree with Bob. I've not paid more than $250 for any of mine. I do buy used quite a bit though. Some of mine have higher MSRP (in the $400 range) but many of mine still have MSRP in the $100-200 range and do just fine for what I want - a fun distraction. As I said early - it very much depends on what your expectations are/what you want to do. If you want to fly outside in wind with a camera attached - yeah - more money - if you want to fly indoors or outdoors and just enjoy a 5-8 minute flight - there are several options sub $200. Anything that says BNF means it doesn't have the controller - so you do want to pay attention to that. If you are new, you are problem looking for an RTF - Ready To Fly - which would include the quadcopter (I hate the term drone), the controller, the battery, and a charger. Helifreak is a good site - RCGroups is another good one.

~
I agree

David

[finless]

Ok to dissagree but realize I have been into RC Helicopters and RC for 40 years.
Google search Finless Bob and you will see....

So I have plenty of experience.

But in the end its what you expect out of any RC product. If your happy with the cheap toys great!
Just don't expect to get a $50 drone and do things with it a $1,000 drone can do.

Bob

[Devious56]

Bob, I have to agree with what you just said, but I will add that a beginner will have a much better luck designed for a beginner than one with all the bells and whistles. It's better to crash a $50.00 "toy" that won't break, than a $1,000.00 pro model that will. I don't have quite the experience that you do, but I did get my first R/C plane in 1972.

David

I don't want to turn this into a war, Bob has much more experience that I do, but I'm just talking about what I have experienced in the many times I've started over in this hobby. My biggest problem was getting ahead of my skill level, or trying to use more of an aircraft than I could handle.

[Jdr00ejr]

Ok to dissagree but realize I have been into RC Helicopters and RC for 40 years.
Google search Finless Bob and you will see....

So I have plenty of experience.

But in the end its what you expect out of any RC product. If your happy with the cheap toys great!
Just don't expect to get a $50 drone and do things with it a $1,000 drone can do.

Bob

Sorry Bob! Totally didn't mean to sell you short or undercut you - and I think I sounded that way. Wasn't my intent. I've gleaned a ton of knowledge from your posts on Helifreak. Actually - when I saw your post - I literally went "Hey - I didn't know he rode a Spyder!" I'm quite jealous of guys like you and what you are able to do with some of these machines.

My intent was simply that with mitigated expectations, a beginner doesn't have to spend hundreds to have some fun and see if they like it - before they one day work their way up to Finless Bob status.

If you got big and fancy expectations, as Bob is saying - you are going to have put out some big and fancy dollars.

[lwrydr]

I just bought (yesterday) a drone for 145 bucks from a tv add. Have never flown one but want to try it. I should get it in a couple of weeks and
it should probe interesting.

[DrewNJ]

I have a DJI Phantom 3 pro that has a 4k camera. Had the phantom 2 prior. You really do get what you pay for.
The "follow me" feature is fantastic, speeds at 27+mph, the 1.2 mile range is hugely under rated as I've had mine 3+ miles out with still fantastic signal.
Even the changes from the phantom 2 to the phantom 3 are worth the upgrade.
Personally, I wouldn't waste my time with the toys.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[finless]

By the way, you should also know the difference to what a "drone" is vs a quad helicopter. In the media and non-RC people too much use of the word Drone in this hobby.

Drew, nice setups you have there buddy!

Bob

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

i'm looking at a lily type drone for next spring, the new generation i was told may do up to 60mph when following, i plan
on spending $1200-$1800