Drone X is it a scam or a good toy for my 10 year old?
John G - 6/2/19 at 09:20 PM
I have seen the Drone X advert on the net for around £80. The blurb looks good. Can anyone advise as to the honesty of the spec?Regards Jon
Gersen - 6/2/19 at 10:49 PM
While I've not flown a Drone X in person I would make three comments on the spec:
1) It's open rotor - as a novice YOU WILL crash alot - spend time replacing rotors - replacing bust motor caps - running to collect punctured
LiPo cells about to incinerate themselves (I know I did). And getting hit in the face by an open rotor hurts.
2) It weights over 250g - so you're under the bigger drone rules - you must register, no flying near people, dogs, roads, houses, footpaths,
major international airports, prisons, hot air balloons, exhaust ports of major galactic orbital battle stations etc etc - it really limits you on
where you fly legally. Technically I am too close to an airport boundary to fly anything over 250 g in my own garden.
3) You need to get yourself first person video (FPV) goggles - and this can be a major investment in itself.
As a new starter I would suggest a sub 250g drone with all the bits included.
See the link below to the drone I started with - under £50 included goggles, drone, spares and transmitter - under 250g and enclosed rotors. I bought
5 spare batteries and a charger for £12
I laughed myself silly flying round the house from my office - while learning to control the thing - annoying the wife....and letting an 8 year old
learn to fly (when she finally wrenched the controller from me).
Eachine E013 Drone
nick205 - 7/2/19 at 10:27 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Gersen
While I've not flown a Drone X in person I would make three comments on the spec:
1) It's open rotor - as a novice YOU WILL crash alot - spend time replacing rotors - replacing bust motor caps - running to collect punctured
LiPo cells about to incinerate themselves (I know I did). And getting hit in the face by an open rotor hurts.
2) It weights over 250g - so you're under the bigger drone rules - you must register, no flying near people, dogs, roads, houses, footpaths,
major international airports, prisons, hot air balloons, exhaust ports of major galactic orbital battle stations etc etc - it really limits you on
where you fly legally. Technically I am too close to an airport boundary to fly anything over 250 g in my own garden.
3) You need to get yourself first person video (FPV) goggles - and this can be a major investment in itself.
As a new starter I would suggest a sub 250g drone with all the bits included.
See the link below to the drone I started with - under £50 included goggles, drone, spares and transmitter - under 250g and enclosed rotors. I bought
5 spare batteries and a charger for £12
I laughed myself silly flying round the house from my office - while learning to control the thing - annoying the wife....and letting an 8 year old
learn to fly (when she finally wrenched the controller from me).
Eachine E013 Drone
Good points - certainly the open rotor one!
My lads have small drones and do indeed crash them. The drones have gaurd rails around the rotors, which protects the rotors and has kept them
intact. That in itself has saved time, effort and cost in not having to replace the rotors after a crash.
When they were first flying them we took them to a large open park area with no trees. Easier for them to see what they're doing and fewer
things to crash in to.
steve m - 7/2/19 at 10:29 AM
What Gersen said above is perfect advice, and I also have not flown a larger drone, although would like to,
as I live near Gatwick 
If this drone you are thinking of buying is for a minor, then I would be VERY careful buying such a beast, as you will be at work, and your son and
his mates will be using the drone when your not there, and probably not as you intended, all boys will do it !!
I started off with a £20 Lidl indoor drone, its tiny, and was difficult to fly as its so small, but does have prop guards and crashed a lot, infact
its still able to fly now, 3 years on
the next two were about 400mm across, with cameras, and aerobatics, but I never fly them much, as it has to be a pretty calm wind,
So I fly the smaller one, in the house regularly, just to annoy my wife
steve
nick205 - 7/2/19 at 12:32 PM
quote:
Originally posted by steve m
just to annoy my wife
steve
Now there's a thing I'm quite good at (annoying my wife not yours).
Often being asked to do something in the house and simply forgetting or sometimes just doing my own thing drives her up the wall
coyoteboy - 7/2/19 at 02:02 PM
I have an Eachine falcon 250.
I've spent more money replacing rotors and flight controllers due to crashes than I spent on the drone, and I'm handy with RC kit.
You need to have presence of mind not to take out your own fingers and each others eyes, they're beasty. Your fingers lose the battle.
Mr Whippy - 8/2/19 at 12:52 PM
just mind they can crash anywhere, like straight onto the roof of someones 80k Audi from 50ft... yeah the price of rotors won't seem all that
expensive after that
little toy drones like those struggle in anything more than a little breeze even with the rates set at full with the lovely habit of not being able to
come down
tbh that thing won't last very long, the motors are from pager vibrators and wear out very quickly and the battery is cooked both when charging
and flying. As for flying VR absolute total nonsense. The delay in system makes it like a few seconds behind what's actually happening or it
will just cutout at which point you'll be looking around trying to work out where it even is! don't try it, it will end in disaster
I quite like my drones but I got fed up with the cheap toy one very quickly
Gersen - 9/2/19 at 12:30 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
just mind they can crash anywhere, like straight onto the roof of someones 80k Audi from 50ft... yeah the price of rotors won't seem all that
expensive after that
They can't crash anywhere - only where you fly them. If you can ask yourself the question "If (when) I crash am I going to hurt anyone or
damage anything" and if the answer is yes then you are reckless and inconsiderate (I originally wrote "a complete tool" but changed it
to "reckless and inconsiderate" so as not to give offence ).
The guys I fly with fly with have some really big stuff (fnar fnar) requiring licensing (big jets) or just plain nutso fast with a colossal amount of
energy (F3F and dynamic soarers) - amazingly none have ever hit an Audi.
Join a club for £20-30 a year and you'll be covered by £5 million or more of public liability. The reason the insurance is cheap is the same
reason kit car insurance is cheap - the people that do the flying them are not costing the insurer
....but if you are considering flying into an £80k Audi...do the decent thing...put the innocent drone away and use a perfectly ordinary
housebrick.
quote:
.... the lovely habit of not being able to come down...
....so been having the opposite experience.
quote:
As for flying VR absolute total nonsense. The delay in system makes it like a few seconds behind what's actually happening or it will just
cutout at which point you'll be looking around trying to work out where it even is! don't try it, it will end in disaster
It's an instantaneous TV transmission - if you have lag you are using an FPS transmitter - the full kit F013 (drone, transmitter and goggles) I
mention above is less than £50 and FPV ie instant. Sounds like you had a video camera on an LOS drone?
[Edited on 9/2/19 by Gersen]
[Edited on 9/2/19 by Gersen]
Gersen - 9/2/19 at 12:33 AM
After two corrections to add missing tags - now I definitely need a drink!