Should I go for this P2? (Help Needed)

[Haitham]

I’m totally new to the world of quadcopters. I got excited to their capabilities by watching many videos and decided to start my journey with quads. As a total beginner, there was lots of options to choose from. The main decision I’m inclined to go for is the Phantom 2 (no vision). The following was recommended to me by the seller to go with P2 body:

- Zenmuse H3-2D Gimbal
- DJI AVL 5.8 (no video receiver)
- 5.8 GHz Bluebeam Ultra Antenna Set (RHCP) IBCrazy
- LILLIPUT 664/W 7" w/5.8 GHZ 8 CH RX - FOR DJI 5.8
- Monitor Bracket
- Power Suppy Filter L-C Type
- DJI iOSD Mini
- Additional P2 Battery and charger
- GoProfessional P2 Hard Case

The cost whole package assembled is $ 2,100.

Is there anything I need to have and not mentioned above? Are there items that I don’t really need from the above? Is this a reasonable price for what I’m getting?

I would really appreciate your experienced feedback. Any tip at this stage of learning will help. The most expensive items are the monitor ($ 350), the case ($ 200) and the DJI AVL TX ($ 140). Should I consider alternatives?

The extra battery and charger would cost me $ 200, are they important to have?

Many thanks in advance for the valuable assistance

 

[rilot]

That case is crazy expensive for what is actually a $60 case with foam cut to shape. There are alternatives but I'm not sure in the US where you would get them. Have a search.
The monitor is also very expensive. Check out the Black Pearl or the Boscam LCD5802. Black Pearl: http://www.rangevideo.com/index.php/bla ... -32ch.html
The AVL58 is a good vTx but there are cheaper alternatives that are just as good. However, saying that, if you get the DJI FPV Hub as well (about $15) it's all plug and play with no soldering required so I'd probably stick with the AVL.

Extra battery charger should be about $50 for the DJI item. You can use a 3rd party charger if you want more power or to charge multiple batteries at once but it requires building your own charging connector for the P2's propitiatory battery connector. I'd just stick with the stock charger until you know what you need or decide that the stock one isn't doing what you want.

 

[goldfishrock]

If you wanted to go down the 3rd party charger route you can always get one of these to make make connecting the battery easier.

http://www.align-trex.co.uk/multi-r...-power-plug-dji-visioninternalpower-body.html

I'm running a Black Pearl Diversity Monitor which is great and does the job well. It's far less than the Lilliput. Also if you are looking at wiring in a Power Suppy Filter I presume you are comfortable with a soldering iron? If so I would say go for a Fatshark 250mw vTX or ImmersionRC 600mw. They require a little soldering of the wires but weigh a lot less than the AVL58 and cost significantly less.

Also consider an IBCrazy Helical antenna for your receiver.... I've been doing some testing and range / quality definately improved using one of those.

 

[Haitham]

That case is crazy expensive for what is actually a $60 case with foam cut to shape. There are alternatives but I'm not sure in the US where you would get them. Have a search.
The monitor is also very expensive. Check out the Black Pearl or the Boscam LCD5802. Black Pearl: http://www.rangevideo.com/index.php/bla ... -32ch.html
The AVL58 is a good vTx but there are cheaper alternatives that are just as good. However, saying that, if you get the DJI FPV Hub as well (about $15) it's all plug and play with no soldering required so I'd probably stick with the AVL.

Extra battery charger should be about $50 for the DJI item. You can use a 3rd party charger if you want more power or to charge multiple batteries at once but it requires building your own charging connector for the P2's propitiatory battery connector. I'd just stick with the stock charger until you know what you need or decide that the stock one isn't doing what you want.

Thanks Rilot for the assistance. I will surely look for cheaper options especially that I won't travel a lot with it.

The monitor offeried is all-in-one: monitor, receiver and included battery. would this justify a $ 200 difference?

I'll go with your tip and leave extra battery and charger to later

 

[Haitham]

If you wanted to go down the 3rd party charger route you can always get one of these to make make connecting the battery easier.

http://www.align-trex.co.uk/multi-r...-power-plug-dji-visioninternalpower-body.html

I'm running a Black Pearl Diversity Monitor which is great and does the job well. It's far less than the Lilliput. Also if you are looking at wiring in a Power Suppy Filter I presume you are comfortable with a soldering iron? If so I would say go for a Fatshark 250mw vTX or ImmersionRC 600mw. They require a little soldering of the wires but weigh a lot less than the AVL58 and cost significantly less.

Also consider an IBCrazy Helical antenna for your receiver.... I've been doing some testing and range / quality definately improved using one of those.

Thank you goldfishrock, I guess I will wait on extra charger for now. As a new user, I'm not familiar with all that ironing stuff, so I asked for it to be assembled by them. I'm afraid to screw my first experience, so I'm not taking risks

IBCrazy antenna is a great tip, I will consider it. But would my P2 control match that range or will it be the bottle neck?

 

[goldfishrock]

I'm afraid to screw my first experience, so I'm not taking risks

Wise, there are several threads on here of people who's blown their P2s or bit of them because of errors!

IBCrazy antenna is a great tip, I will consider it. But would my P2 control match that range or will it be the bottle neck?

It's hard to stay. I guess you'll just have to try it and if you find that you lose range of the controller before video then you can always look at replacing the stock receiver and transmitter with a nice new shiney Futaba alternative.

 

[rilot]

The monitor offeried is all-in-one: monitor, receiver and included battery. would this justify a $ 200 difference?

Black Pearl has a 32 channel receiver and a built in battery. There are versions of it without the battery so check before you buy. The one with the battery is usually about $20 more expensive.

 

[goldfishrock]

Black Pearl has a 32 channel receiver and a built in battery. There are versions of it without the battery so check before you buy. The one with the battery is usually about $20 more expensive.

+1 from me.