A few beginner questions...

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For the past couple months I've been reading every forum, (this forum is my favorite) watching every YouTube video, and learning everything about the DJI Phantom 2 that I possibly can. Although to haven't yet purchased the phantom 2, I have a GoPro Hero 3+ black edition, and a 5.8 ghz Boscam FPV system consisting of a 200mw TS351 vTx and a Boscam RC701 diversity monitor. The antennas I've purchased are a set of Boscam Cloud Spirit clover leaf antennas, and a small patch antenna for the second input on the diversity receiver. Sorry for all of the information, but I felt like it would help people better understand my beginner questions.

1. Is my Boscam system of sufficient quality to put on something as expensive as a DJI Phantom 2 ?
And if so is there a plug and play cable to hook up the vTx to the phantom 2?

2. How reliable is the RTH feature in the phantom 2 ? This is the one feature I look forward to using the most, but is this when most fly aways occur?

3. What are the benefits to using a Futaba transmitter, and how hard is it to set up, and pair to your phantom?

4. Lastly, what are the first things I should do when I receive my P2 in the mail to ensure that the P2 operates properly?

Sorry for all of the questions, but these are the questions that we're troubling me the most, and I knew that posting them on this incredible forum would be the best way to get the right answers, thanks for helping a newbie out like me and I hope to learn a lot more in the future from great phantom pilots like you all.

Thanks, David


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Hey David,

The only one on which I can comment is your fourth question - what you should do when you first get it.

First thing I would do is be sure you can devote a good hour or so to unboxing the Phantom and getting it ready. Even after doing exactly as you did, reading through all of the forums, watching the YouTube videos, rewatching the same YouTube videos, researching all of the common issues that people were having and the like, I still didn't feel like I really knew what to expect when my Phantom arrived.

Once you've unboxed it, the main Phantom battery is fully charged and you've got your AAs in the transmitter, you'll need to create an account on DJI's website and download the DJI Windows Driver, the Phantom 2 Assistant and RC Assistant software. I did mine in that order and it all went very well. Don't worry about plugging the Phantom into the PC beforehand - it will prompt you to plug it in during the installation(s). The natural succession for my installations had me boot up the Phantom 2 software first, where I needed to upgrade the firmware of the Phantom by one version. That went incredibly smoothly. After that, I powered down, opened the RC Assistant software and then plugged in the transmitter only. Its firmware also needed to be updated by one version - that firmware upgrade failed the first time, but I failed to power the transmitter down and back on again between the Phantom updates and the transmitter updates, so doing a full power cycle fixed that issue and it upgraded successfully on the second attempt.

Then, I powered it down and plugged the Phantom back in. I went through every menu and every option, reading through them all and researching what I didn't know. Then, I switched it into NAZA mode by clicking the gray "Phantom 2" button in the upper-right. I then went through all of the IOC options, setting my preferences and such, testing the S1 and S2 switches after my changes were made to ensure everything I set was working properly by watching the LEDs on the Phantom.

After that, I topped off the main Phantom battery and went for my first flight.

As for things to do when flying, aside from following the basic pre-flight checklist, I always let the Phantom hover for about 30-45 seconds, send it out about 200ft or so, checking to make sure it doesn't drift too much out of line on its way out, spin it around a few time and then test Home Lock to ensure the home point was set successfully. After that, I cut her loose and go for a flight.

Good luck and I hope you have your Phantom soon!

Fink
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Thank you so much fink.
What is naza mode, and do you have to use it?


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Trash the stock motors! I had less than an hr on my p2 when 2 motors gave out and I had a catastrophic crash for no reason. And of course I had a 3 flight log zenmuse gimble with a new gopro cam.
Have swapped out the pos dji motors and replaced with the tmotor anti gravity moters. Everything is good now.
 
Yes your fpv system should be fine. Most people are getting a vtx with 400-600mw, but if you aren't trying to go too far and have good antennas it should be fine. The P2 comes with wires ready to receive the vtx and iosd mini, but you will need to do a little light soldering. There are plenty of videos on YouTube about how to connect them. I had never really done any soldering and I did fine.

I have not tried the RTH feature yet but from what I've read it works great. I like and have used the Home Lock mode many times which is similar. If you get disoriented you can switch to home lock, pull back on the stick and it will come back to its home point no matter where it is or which way it's pointing. You need to switch to NAZA mode in the assistant software and enable IOC (intelligent orientation control) to enable this feature.

Before you get it, download and read the manual. Read it twice. Once you get it, download the phantom assistant and RC assistant programs from the DJI website and update firmware on the controller and the phantom.

Dont have a futaba so cannot comment. Good luck and have fun.
 

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