Must Have Accessories/Upgrades

[Coons84]

I just bought this off from woot for $429, super pumped can't wait to fly. Was just wondering what are some obvious accessories/upgrades that I should pick up?

Guessing batteries should be definite, but should they be the stock ones or ones that hold a little more juice?

 

[Gizmo3000]

Congrats.
Now be prepared to blow wads more money on accessories and upgrades!

Extra batteries are a must.
you can find many aftermarket ones that are less expensive than stock ones, plus some 2800mah ones that will fit as well.

Also for longer flight time consider adding larger Vision style props.

Then take your time and follow all the threads here..
eventually you'll probably get frustrated with unstable footage, and you'll want to get a gimbal.
..and then you might want to consider FPV so you can see what the GoPro is seeing from the air.
you might want to keep all that stuff in a case as well

Then down the line you might want to upgrade the Transmitter
and get a better battery charger, battery tester, etc

 

[laskypilot]

So many upgrades.......

I feel like I should buy Phantom2 vision plus.

Do I have to buy P2 Vision+ instead of buying FC40?

In few days, I have to buy one of them for my son.

Thanks.

 

[Coons84]

Holy Mother of God.

I'm just getting into this hobby, can only throw a small amount of money at a time at it, wish I could go all in and get the best but being a amatuer, I didn't even want to take the risk of buying something so expensive. I knew batteries were going to be the first thing, but as such this is a hobby and hobbies tend to be expensive and expansive.

 

[jerrymac12000]

RELAX. Enjoy the FCC40. This is something new for you. Like the man said earlier, read the threads and watch the videos. Have fun.. You don't have to spend alot of money unless you want to.

 

[rustysd]

I just bought this off from woot for $429, super pumped can't wait to fly. Was just wondering what are some obvious accessories/upgrades that I should pick up?

Guessing batteries should be definite, but should they be the stock ones or ones that hold a little more juice?

P2 Vision Props.

Extra batteries.

Gimbal.

Neewer undertray - use velcro strap to strap big 5200 battery or 2 2200s.

Parallel battery connector.

 

[Harlequin]

I've had my FC40 for a while now, a few weeks anyway and here's what I have splashed out on thus far:

Extra batteries x 3
Prop guards
Battery warning indicator sounding alarm thingy
Props, lots of em

Considering plates and battery splitter and yeah, gimbal.

 

[Coons84]

Does the wifi extender for the phantom 2 work with the FC40?

 

[J.James]

Does the wifi extender for the phantom 2 work with the FC40?

From what I have been reading up on not that wont work on the FC40 Because its not for 2.4GHZ

But there are a few that have been making there own. Using a WIfi repeater and a battery pack to power it and for about the same or less cost then the phantom wifi extender. like this -----> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xr_CHLscqo

 

[Gizmo3000]

Holy Mother of God.

I'm just getting into this hobby, can only throw a small amount of money at a time at it, wish I could go all in and get the best but being a amatuer, I didn't even want to take the risk of buying something so expensive. I knew batteries were going to be the first thing, but as such this is a hobby and hobbies tend to be expensive and expansive.

Well, once you get hooked on it,. the sky's the limit (or the limit of your credit card :lol: )

I do not recommend the dual battery/dual tray stuff, many find it makes the Phantom too heavy and less fun to fly.
just be happy with the flying time you get from 2200 or 2800mah batteries.

Do the larger props, and do start learning about the gimbals and FPV, and start saving up (or take out a loan )
theoretically you could go the cheap route and get a $100-$150 gimbal and then perhaps a FPV set up (using monitor) for under $200 (I think? anyone). - combined, those make for a much more enjoyable aerial filming experience and results.
being able to see what your GoPro see's is amazing

 

[T0Rtur3]

Holy Mother of God.

I'm just getting into this hobby, can only throw a small amount of money at a time at it, wish I could go all in and get the best but being a amatuer, I didn't even want to take the risk of buying something so expensive. I knew batteries were going to be the first thing, but as such this is a hobby and hobbies tend to be expensive and expansive.

I suggest you just fly it stock for a while, and then upgrade as you feel you need them. Everyone's purposes and fly styles will be different. What works for others, may not work well for what you want to do, so just have fun, and research upgrades as they become a necessity. The fc40 is a great quad stock, and will give you a lot of joy right out of the box. Also, before taking off, be sure you have a full understanding of all procedures you need to follow. Read the manual. Otherwise, you might just be watching your $430 fly away into the sunset, never to be seen again... or worse, hurting someone.

 

[Davztrk]

I have had mine for one month now. I got mine and could not wait to fly, and read a lot of posts first, and ordered prop guards, spare props, etc. The prop guards and PH40 arrived on the same day. And crashed it also. Everyone crashes, it is tough, so. . . .

Prop guards and one spare battery are a must, along with spare props and guards I found out (did a hard crash, broke the guards). The second must is making sure everything is calibrated. My best flight so far was after calibrating the controller in a wind.

 

[Harlequin]

Tested my FC40 recently for flight time with different batteries and here's the results:

2800 Mah battery with guards and stock props: 10 minutes

2800 Mah battery with 9" props and no guards: 14 minutes

I have an alarm on the battery set at 3.6 volts and a nice benefit of this was that when the battery ran low I flicked the TRB switch (set in Nav Assist) and it returned to base and the alarm sounded while it was descending. Not necessary but if it did have people underneath it when it was coming down there's no way on God's green earth they could say they didn't see hear or feel it coming down.

Awaiting dual battery tray and will post results later on that.

 

[Nada1]

Stay with the 40.....once you get use to it, start flying it in manual mode....not near as hard as people think it is, and opens up an whole new word. I use 9" prop guards but with 8" props, then buy some batteries......lots and lots of batteries....and dont forget an extra charger or two.......

 

[EliasD]

I havent timed my batteries yet but I think I got about 15 mins or so flight time just playing with it the other day, couldnt fly yesterday as we got a massive hailstorm with high winds & possible tornado in the area. Just wasnt going to risk it with less than a week ownership.

But I got the stock battery, picked up a spare, I got guards but havent put them on..yet, not sure if I will or not. I also ordered spare props but ordered the wrong ones, they need screws so maybe they would work with the guards instead of the self tightening? I'm hoping I didnt order the wrong CF props also but I think I did, dang it.

Now I have on order a backpack with foam, 3 more stock batteries, a set (4) of 8" self tightening from B&H (they say they are official DJI), a set (4) of Vision 9" self tight props. Also ordered a couple them alarm thingies along with a couple lipo fire bags.

And I ordered up a set of the stickers & such from another here on the boards, well, my wife did actually.

She has a ipad mini so I ordered up a holder for it, now I just need to figure out how to attach it for the camera. I thought I saw another poster here put something about a custom bracket but the price point for something that might not work for me, I'll hold off on getting it & just do something temporary. Sides, I can always use the holder I ordered with my photo equipment or in my vehicle as it fits a tripod tip & I can make it fit my arkon mount. :lol:

And I'm gonna paint it but I want to fly this weekend so that will wait till after the weekend, plus some of the stuff will be in midweek. She is gonna kill me! :lol:

 

[dronesetc]

Brand new. Tactical backpack. Awesome! dronepacks.com

 

[robinb]

Tested my FC40 recently for flight time with different batteries and here's the results:

2800 Mah battery with guards and stock props: 10 minutes

2800 Mah battery with 9" props and no guards: 14 minutes

I have an alarm on the battery set at 3.6 volts and a nice benefit of this was that when the battery ran low I flicked the TRB switch (set in Nav Assist) and it returned to base and the alarm sounded while it was descending. Not necessary but if it did have people underneath it when it was coming down there's no way on God's green earth they could say they didn't see hear or feel it coming down.

Awaiting dual battery tray and will post results later on that.

Which 9" props did you get ?

 

[Harlequin]

Tested my FC40 recently for flight time with different batteries and here's the results:

2800 Mah battery with guards and stock props: 10 minutes

2800 Mah battery with 9" props and no guards: 14 minutes

I have an alarm on the battery set at 3.6 volts and a nice benefit of this was that when the battery ran low I flicked the TRB switch (set in Nav Assist) and it returned to base and the alarm sounded while it was descending. Not necessary but if it did have people underneath it when it was coming down there's no way on God's green earth they could say they didn't see hear or feel it coming down.

Awaiting dual battery tray and will post results later on that.

Which 9" props did you get ?

I got the ones that apparently are no good for use with the vision 2 but seem to work perfectly well with my FC40 and I tested the balance, perfect.

 

[Knight3909]

I just ordered my Phantom 2 and cant wait to get it in. I have been reading the forums looking for extras to buy, but like everyone has said, it cost $$$$$. The first thing I am thinking of picking up is the Phantom Bluetooth Datalink as I want to use the Waypoint function. Has anyone else used this?