I do not think I am interested in a phantom v2.

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My phantom has upgraded dji red motors, zenmuse, futaba radio. She flies like a beauty.

Now If I was a fpv guy then the situation would be different.

But I am not a fpv guy yet!
 
Even some of us fpv guys aren't interested. We've already invested time and money putting our fpv systems together.
 
Agreed. While the techie in me likes the revolutionary all-digital 2-way communication, the whole deal with batteries costing 10x as much has kind of soured me to the idea. My Phantom 1 flies beautifully and it's got long flight times, stabilized video recording and FPV. If I need to upgrade platforms, it'll be to something completely different.
 
I just got a Spektrum Dx7s and some Fatsharks. My Phantom is a beast.

I would not go to a Vision.

Fdnyfish said:
My phantom has upgraded dji red motors, zenmuse, futaba radio. She flies like a beauty.

Now If I was a fpv guy then the situation would be different.

But I am not a fpv guy yet!
 
ElGuano said:
Agreed. While the techie in me likes the revolutionary all-digital 2-way communication, the whole deal with batteries costing 10x as much has kind of soured me to the idea.

If you consider that the flight time is around 3x longer, battery cost is 'only' 2x rather than 10x :)

Miika said:
The issue what makes Phantom 2 Vision even worse is that instead of using 2,4ghz for RC control, Vision uses 5,8ghz.

2,4ghz = 1000meters range
5,8ghz = 300meters range

It has an FCC mode that is quoted at 500m range, but the wifi FPV is the limiting factor (2-300m max). Some ppl who've boosted their wifi range with 14db antenna has found out that the Tx works as far as 900m.
 
LeoS said:
ElGuano said:
Agreed. While the techie in me likes the revolutionary all-digital 2-way communication, the whole deal with batteries costing 10x as much has kind of soured me to the idea.

If you consider that the flight time is around 3x longer, battery cost is 'only' 2x rather than 10x :)

Miika said:
The issue what makes Phantom 2 Vision even worse is that instead of using 2,4ghz for RC control, Vision uses 5,8ghz.

2,4ghz = 1000meters range
5,8ghz = 300meters range

It has an FCC mode that is quoted at 500m range, but the wifi FPV is the limiting factor (2-300m max). Some ppl who've boosted their wifi range with 14db antenna has found out that the Tx works as far as 900m.

The reseller here in Finland has tested the Phantom V1 control range, and has been able to control the Phantom when it was 2km away from the RC controller (with the stock RC/TX). Ofcourse there were no obstacles between the Phantom and the TX at that time.

In Finland we have a lot of restrictions with different ghz. Like 5.8ghz is limited to 25mw and so on. Even with those restrictions you can buy system that has 1km of range, that combined with the 2.4ghz (Phantom v1) TX is a good combination for FPV.
 
LeoS said:
If you consider that the flight time is around 3x longer, battery cost is 'only' 2x rather than 10x :)

I still have some questions about the battery (a 340g weight for a 5200 + plastic shell + electronics and LEDs is extremely light, my 4400mah batteries are over 320g). But $160 for 25 minutes versus $18 for 17 minutes is not 2x price for me, and I'm carrying a gimbal to boot :)
 
ElGuano said:
LeoS said:
If you consider that the flight time is around 3x longer, battery cost is 'only' 2x rather than 10x :)

I still have some questions about the battery (a 340g weight for a 5200 + plastic shell + electronics and LEDs is extremely light, my 4400mah batteries are over 320g). But $160 for 25 minutes versus $18 for 17 minutes is not 2x price for me, and I'm carrying a gimbal to boot :)

Woah

How on earth are you getting 17 minutes with gimbal. Is that on a Phantom 1.x?
 
LeoS said:
ElGuano said:
LeoS said:
If you consider that the flight time is around 3x longer, battery cost is 'only' 2x rather than 10x :)

I still have some questions about the battery (a 340g weight for a 5200 + plastic shell + electronics and LEDs is extremely light, my 4400mah batteries are over 320g). But $160 for 25 minutes versus $18 for 17 minutes is not 2x price for me, and I'm carrying a gimbal to boot :)

Woah

How on earth are you getting 17 minutes with gimbal. Is that on a Phantom 1.x?

My Phantom is heavily modded to reduce weight. It's currently 1210g AUW with a single 4400mah battery.

But even then, it's not quite in the same league as the 25min P2V! I think some folks who have modded their P2Vs with zenmuse gimbals are getting ~20 minutes flight time, which is the ultimate target for me.
 
ElGuano said:
My Phantom is heavily modded to reduce weight. It's currently 1210g AUW with a single 4400mah battery.

But even then, it's not quite in the same league as the 25min P2V! I think some folks who have modded their P2Vs with zenmuse gimbals are getting ~20 minutes flight time, which is the ultimate target for me.

That is still awesome!

Can you tell me where to get 4400mah battery for less than $20? Are they plug and play?
My brother would be interested in that for his phantom!
 
LeoS said:
ElGuano said:
My Phantom is heavily modded to reduce weight. It's currently 1210g AUW with a single 4400mah battery.

But even then, it's not quite in the same league as the 25min P2V! I think some folks who have modded their P2Vs with zenmuse gimbals are getting ~20 minutes flight time, which is the ultimate target for me.

That is still awesome!

Can you tell me where to get 4400mah battery for less than $20? Are they plug and play?
My brother would be interested in that for his phantom!

Sadly, not plug and play. I solder together my batteries from 2200s. Doing so saves anywhere from 40-80g from just running in parallel. But you can certainly get most the benefit of 2x2200 without going to that level of effort.

eAXqx4C.jpg
 
OI Photography said:
ElGuano said:
Doing so saves anywhere from 40-80g from just running in parallel.

Due to not needing an external mounting option, or...?

There's a lot to it:

1. You lose packaging/tape/metal plate/connector/copper wire weight when you solder two batteries into one - a single Phantom battery weighs ~173g. 2x that is 346. My 4400s all weigh about 321-324g, and they could be less if you want to cut some corners.

2. Widening the battery door and bottom chassis to fit the batteries removes a few grams as well (but you can argue academically about structural integrity).

3. External mounting with plastic or CF plates, velcro, screws, etc. add 50g or more. Plus, many mount the batteries directly in the downdraft of the props, further impeding efficiency. You'll also need a parallel XT60 harness, which is pretty heavy (lots of copper).

Put all of it together and the weight savings for going dual this way is MASSIVE. It's up to 100g less the entire way. That's more than half a battery of weight. Soldering/in-shell, it's even less than the weight of the second battery to go dual.

If DJI's numbers are all accurate, with the P2V you get 800mah more for 20g extra. That's impressive.
 
ElGuano said:
OI Photography said:
ElGuano said:
Doing so saves anywhere from 40-80g from just running in parallel.

Due to not needing an external mounting option, or...?

There's a lot to it:

1. You lose packaging/tape/metal plate/connector/copper wire weight when you solder two batteries into one - a single Phantom battery weighs ~173g. 2x that is 346. My 4400s all weigh about 321-324g, and they could be less if you want to cut some corners.

2. Widening the battery door and bottom chassis to fit the batteries removes a few grams as well (but you can argue academically about structural integrity).

3. External mounting with plastic or CF plates, velcro, screws, etc. add 50g or more. Plus, many mount the batteries directly in the downdraft of the props, further impeding efficiency. You'll also need a parallel XT60 harness, which is pretty heavy (lots of copper).

Put all of it together and the weight savings for going dual this way is MASSIVE. It's up to 100g less the entire way. That's more than half a battery of weight. Soldering/in-shell, it's even less than the weight of the second battery to go dual.

If DJI's numbers are all accurate, with the P2V you get 800mah more for 20g extra. That's impressive.

Nice! I didn't realize just the process of marrying the batts (the soldering and joining) could save 30g alone. I really want to try this, but while I'm good with soldering, I've never disassembled a lipo before. The rest of the airframe modifications would be easy enough.
 
OI Photography said:
Nice! I didn't realize just the process of marrying the batts (the soldering and joining) could save 30g alone. I really want to try this, but while I'm good with soldering, I've never disassembled a lipo before. The rest of the airframe modifications would be easy enough.

The Phantom batteries each have 2 metal plates (to prevent damage from punctures, protect against drops on corners, etc.). Double them up and you can get rid of two plates. The heat shrink and tape wrapping around the foil pouches can be consolidated. But a lot of the weight reduction is in "copper weight" - those heavy gauge discharge leads and an extra XT60 connector. You do have to take special care when working with and soldering lipos; there's a chance for real explosive/fiery discharge!

Everything seems like minuscule weight on a Phantom, but the little stuff adds up way faster than you expect. Did you know the USB cable weighs 1/2 of a 600mW vTX, and XT60 parallel cable can weigh more than the vTX?
 
ElGuano said:
Everything seems like minuscule weight on a Phantom, but the little stuff adds up way faster than you expect. Did you know the USB cable weighs 1/2 of a 600mW vTX, and XT60 parallel cable can weigh more than the vTX?

Definitely, I weigh/log anything and everything (including cabling, mounting hardware, etc) that gets attached or installed...and yes it's a real eye-opener when you see what some things actually weigh compared to others.

I may try combining batts like that at some point, the dangers you warn of are exactly why I've been hesitant. Splicing on a new connector type is one thing, but what you've done there is a whole different ball of wax.
 

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