Phantom 101! Getting started! What else to buy?

[Jay_Z]

Hi All,

New to the forum and look forward to learning through the archives!

I have my new Phantom on order! What's next? Which battery would you recommend? Any other immediate options? Otherwise, I think my next purchase will be the Zenmuse H3-2D.

If you have any other recommendations as I get started on my Phantom (S800 trainer!), I'd appreciate the info. What would be on the top of your list to buy next?

Ready to log some flight/practice time!

Thanks.

 

[Gizmo3000]

Consider the Tarot gimbal for a fraction of the price.

Watch all the DJI instructional videos.. many times

Lots of battery options, they're all mostly similar, tho there's a few pricier 2800mah batteries that people are digging.

Before you ask a question, it's probably been asked/answered before, multiple times, so do a search.

 

[FangsCPO]

Before you ask a question, it's probably been asked/answered before, multiple times, so do a search.

Best advice ever!!!! I will offer this advice, what the DJI videos over and over and over. It will make your life easier. Also, if you don't get only a green light blinking...............DON'T FLY!!! Good Luck!!!

 

[miskatonic]

The biggest advice that I can give you is to only buy what you need and keep your Phantom's weight down as much as possible to increase flight time. I did things like add a gimbal, landing gear, and a battery tray. The more weight the less flight time.

The first thing you should do is add 9 inch propellers along with prop guards. You should also get a spare set of screws, propellers and landing gear. The Phantom's camera mount needs to be augmented with an anti jello mount.

If you want to fly at night or at a great distance, get these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Upgraded-Re...pt=Radio_Control_Vehicles&hash=item258401600d

 

[netphreak]

10 inch props won't fit on the phantom... And prop guards just add weight. I only use those if I'm flying indoors.

 

[Jay_Z]

Consider the Tarot gimbal for a fraction of the price.

Watch all the DJI instructional videos.. many times

Lots of battery options, they're all mostly similar, tho there's a few pricier 2800mah batteries that people are digging.

Before you ask a question, it's probably been asked/answered before, multiple times, so do a search.

Thanks, I do plan to keep on reading! I know as I get rolling, every question/issue has likely been addressed! I'll check on the 2800mah batteries.

 

[Jay_Z]

Before you ask a question, it's probably been asked/answered before, multiple times, so do a search.

Best advice ever!!!! I will offer this advice, what the DJI videos over and over and over. It will make your life easier. Also, if you don't get only a green light blinking...............DON'T FLY!!! Good Luck!!!

Good advice - well, especially if it's the best advice ever Thanks!

 

[Jay_Z]

The biggest advice that I can give you is to only buy what you need and keep your Phantom's weight down as much as possible to increase flight time. I did things like add a gimbal, landing gear, and a battery tray. The more weight the less flight time.

The first thing you should do is add 9 inch propellers along with prop guards. You should also get a spare set of screws, propellers and landing gear. The Phantom's camera mount needs to be augmented with an anti jello mount.

If you want to fly at night or at a great distance, get these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Upgraded-Re...pt=Radio_Control_Vehicles&hash=item258401600d

Thank you! Yes, I can imagine, every item reduces the flight time. Good info, I'll check out the 9 inchers, screws - and, especially an anti jello mount. Which did you go with? An eBay option or something else?

Cool lights for night, down the road - need to make sure I'm flying good in the daylight first!

 

[Gizmo3000]

The biggest advice that I can give you is to only buy what you need and keep your Phantom's weight down as much as possible to increase flight time. I did things like add a gimbal, landing gear, and a battery tray. The more weight the less flight time.

The first thing you should do is add 9 inch propellers along with prop guards. You should also get a spare set of screws, propellers and landing gear. The Phantom's camera mount needs to be augmented with an anti jello mount.

If you want to fly at night or at a great distance, get these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Upgraded-Re...pt=Radio_Control_Vehicles&hash=item258401600d

My advice, ignore the spam crap above. You don't need training wheels (prop guards), 9 inch propellors nor the overpriced LED lights that this clueless idiot scumbag continues to try to hawk on many posts.

LOL :lol:

name calling aside, it is kinda laughable that someone would say "don't add weight" .. and then recommend adding prop guards and lights. both of which unnecessarily add weight.
Don't jump on the CF/tri-blade bandwagon until you've got plenty of flights under your belt, stick with stock props or look into other prop options. in a few months or so.

 

[miskatonic]

Is that sociopath calling me names again? I actually would not know what he is saying because I blocked justsomejerk some time ago. I came to the conclusion that he is never going to stop attempting to "win" and it looks like he has been banned from lots of forums for exactly the same negative behavior towards others.

Enough talk about the board's resident troll, back to the important stuff. 95 grams is not a whole lot for a mostly unlaiden Phantom. Prop guards do have their place and they should be the first thing you should ditch once you learn how to fly the Phantom properly.

Just FYI, I do fly with prop guards when I need to mount navigation lights. Also not good to fly into things like the Oracle boat's sails when the wind is blowing.

 

[martcerv]

Id say just get used to flying it a bit a is and maybe just add a gopro, the more expensive bits you put on the more likely any early mistakes will end up costing more in damages. Best to be pretty comfortable with the controls before getting any addons as it will fly a little differently once loaded down a bit. You can have plenty of fun and practice controlling a quad with a stock phantom. Then once you have mastered LOS flying you may want to look into FPV then a gimbal but learning to fly los is the best method as once you start relying on fpv if you lose your video link for any reason youd want to be able to still comfortably fly it without relying on a video feed.

Also if going for FPV id suggest learning to fly FPV without a gimbal if you are only using one camera as FPV with gimbal stabilized footage is a very different thing again. Much easier if you can see the pitching motions then with a dead stable camera unless you also have a good OSD showing you pitch angles.

Take it slow and get a few flights in before looking at any addons, if flying with a camera then look into a prop balancer and some form of isolation mount if you want better footage.

 

[OI Photography]

prop balancer

Let me reinforce that suggestion. No matter what size/types of props you have or what load you're carrying, balanced props improve the stability of flight in general as well as of any video you capture. 15 minutes with a decent balancer and some sandpaper can make a big difference.

On the point of propguards, I definitely recommend them for anyone just starting out, until both the pilot and aircraft are "dialed in" a bit. Once you have faith in your setup as well as your ability to avoid crashes, removing them will grant you enough weight capacity to cover most of your FPV gear if you go that route. I'll gladly accept being laughed at for using "training wheels" as they saved my phantom from destruction on 2 separate occasions.

Another must-buy for new pilots is some type of basic kitchen timer or something similar (I use this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004PY ... UTF8&psc=1). Attach it to your controller to help track flight times and judge battery life.