DJI Phantom 2 with OEM retractable gear!

Unless you like the fisheye wide view or are shooting in 4K, you should always use a medium or even narrow FOV. No landing gear, no props, and a whole lot less of the coke bottle effect. I have yet to see landing gear in a single one of my shots.
 
ianwood said:
Unless you like the fisheye wide view or are shooting in 4K, you should always use a medium or even narrow FOV. No landing gear, no props, and a whole lot less of the coke bottle effect. I have yet to see landing gear in a single one of my shots.

Of course that assumes the sole motivation for wanting a retractable LG mechanism is framing. In my case it's because I want a stable landing platform that doesn't tip-over the moment you have to land on anything but pavement, combined with a dash of cool. The Phantom's stock LG lacks both of those criteria. Once you've got a larger LG that's doesn't blow for stability, you do run into framing issues.
 
varmint said:
ianwood said:
Unless you like the fisheye wide view or are shooting in 4K, you should always use a medium or even narrow FOV. No landing gear, no props, and a whole lot less of the coke bottle effect. I have yet to see landing gear in a single one of my shots.

Of course that assumes the sole motivation for wanting a retractable LG mechanism is framing. In my case it's because I want a stable landing platform that doesn't tip-over the moment you have to land on anything but pavement, combined with a dash of cool. The Phantom's stock LG lacks both of those criteria. Once you've got a larger LG that's doesn't blow for stability, you do run into framing issues.
The retracts referenced in this post are the same legs so no increase in stability. If anything it is less stable as it just as wide but slightly taller. I have seen this set up in person and there is some wiggle in the hinges. I am a medium shooter so its only cool factor for me..
 
PhantomPhreak said:
The retracts referenced in this post are the same legs so no increase in stability. If anything it is less stable as it just as wide but slightly taller. I have seen this set up in person and there is some wiggle in the hinges. I am a medium shooter so its only cool factor for me..

Clearly the same or worse for stability, which is why I was critical of the stability in my previous posts, and also posted that I was primarily interested in looking at the activation module. They seem to have shipped mine, so I'll certainly post what I find out.
 
I have to say that some of you tech guys talk in a completely different language! Ha ha. I might as well be reading chinese! :)

I think the largest "pro" for me personally was the cool factor since there's really no other reason to add it. It adds weight, requires modification to the controller, will undoubtedly be less stable (servos and added height) and possibly interfere or affect some other functions (resetting systems). So there's no real reason to spend $250 unless you just "have to have it."

I have experienced the occasional skid in my videos during windy days when performing a 360 (the drone fighting the wind) but that is probably 1 in 10 videos. So that's not even a legitimate issue. I just think it's very cool ... :)
 
Well having had this for a couple of days now, I can definitely say it's nice (better be for $250). The IOC channel interception scheme works as they intended and does NOT interfere with resetting home point. If you toggle S2 5 times, the gear ignores it as it should.

The servos included are Hitec HS-65MGs, which are a high quality metal gear servo with high torque. These retail for about $30 each, so at least they're not using cheap micro servos.

The hinges are what appear to be machined A/C grade aluminum (not the cheap Chinese stuff). The gear can be a bit wobbly without power applied, and could potentially cause a tip-over if you're not careful prior to powering up. It won't tip over EASILY, but it CAN if pushed too far. Once power is applied to the battery, it's quite solid and I would have no qualms about landing on it. The hardware has the added advantage of extending the legs about 1/2 inch, which as any P2V+ owner will tell you, is a welcome addition.

The CF "ledge" that houses the mechanism also doubles as a nice place to drill a couple of holes for Phantom-side antenna mods. As you can see in my pics, I've got 2.4 and 5.8 Ghz LHCPs installed in them. Also, contrary to the instruction video, you do not ned to drill holes in the side of your phantom in order to install the servo leads. They're plenty long enough to cleanly go through the openings in the hinges and up through the leg mount holes into the body along with (in my case) the antenna leads.

I can't vouch for the functionality of the compass mount (which I didn't need), because I use an external GPS/Compass puck mounted above the shell. However I don't see any reason why the provided mount (which places the compass in a fixed position above the hardware shelf) wouldn't work unless there's EM issues being closer to the electronics.

Overall, well engineered and clever product that works well and I have not noticed any appreciable loss of flight time, although based on the fact that it IS extra weight, there must certainly be some penalty. I bet if these guys could get the price $100 lower it might catch on, at least with the "gotta have it" crowd.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0019.jpg
    IMG_0019.jpg
    381.5 KB · Views: 365
  • IMG_0024.jpg
    IMG_0024.jpg
    394.5 KB · Views: 377
  • IMG_0020.jpg
    IMG_0020.jpg
    344.1 KB · Views: 305
  • IMG_0023.jpg
    IMG_0023.jpg
    318.9 KB · Views: 279
  • Like
Reactions: dougmckenzie

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,358
Members
104,935
Latest member
Pauos31