Some UK specific newbie questions

[bliffman]

Hi,

I've got a few questions that I'd appreciate if anyone can give me some pointers on to save me hours of trying to research each one online. I've read happydays' newbie intro and these items aren't covered in there.

I've got a PV2+ and I'm wondering:

1. Insurance whilst in the UK - I've signed up for FPV UK so have their insurance but what about if the phantom was stolen from my house/car/some chavs who mugged me for it? Have you added added your phantoms to your house insurance and if so did it cost a hefty additional premium or do you use a separate specialist UAV policy?
   
2. Insurance whilst abroad - I want to take the Phantom to Italy at the end of the month. Do people find that they can add it to their existing travel insurance policy as a named item or do you use a separate specialist UAV policy?
   
3. Separate GPS Tracker - does anyone use one of these in the UK and if so do they have any recommendations/costs?
   
4. Sunshade for mobile phone - does anyone know of a place to buy these in the UK or am I best to fashion something for myself (I have a Galaxy S3 LTE)
   
5. Flying two P2V+s in the same area - will they cause interference or do they have some kind of unique frequency/lock for each one?
   
6. CE/FCC - is it legal to fly in the UK with FCC mode and is it worth changing over to?

Thanks in advance for any tips shared!

 

[ToThePoint]

I live in Belgium so i can't answer all your questions.
I do live in the EU and that means its the CE setting when i got that bird.
In the EU its range is limited to 400m, thats the law.
You can set it to FCC and get 800m range but you are violating the law and if they discover it its could give you huge problems.
It can be a huge problem when your bird is involved into some major incident and your bird is the cause of it.
But your holding the RC and turning back that pot is easily done.
So its your call to set it to FCC.

 

[bliffman]

Thanks ToThePoint, sounds like I'll be sticking to CE.

Has anybody got anything to add on the other points please?

 

[bliffman]

Anyone?

 

[vortigern]

Your house insurance probably covers you in the UK
Abroad you would add it on to the policy
If in CE mode limiting you to 400 m a tracker is probably overkill. They all seem to cost however.
Insurance when flying the Phantom contact the BMFA
For a shade maybe these people can help Koolertron 7 inch Sun hood they probably do different sizes
Mine came set to FCC i.e. it bleeped twice
An American on this board say it is possible to fly two Phantoms together without interference. A problem not many of us have I would have thought.

 

[bliffman]

Thanks vortigern for the tips, I appreciate it!

 

[Brammo]

Hi

For insurance I've registered my Phantom with American Express My Essentials - it's £12.99 a month and covers all mobiles / laptops / tablets / cameras and any other gadget in your house, so it's pretty good if you have a partner or children, and if you have to claim there's no excess to pay. But, if you already have home insurance you should be covered as per vortigern's comment.

I bought a GPS tracker off of eBay, seems to work well so far. It cost £16ish - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131175326952?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT and I use it with a giffgaff SIM.

 

[bliffman]

Thanks for taking the time out to reply Brammo.

I feel like there should be a country based "setup" thread that people can update with their setup, experience of and recommendations for:

Insurance (home + away)
Accessories - screens/sunshades/GPS/battery charger/lipo bags
etc

Recommended places to purchase the above

 

[bliffman]

Hi

For insurance I've registered my Phantom with American Express My Essentials - it's £12.99 a month and covers all mobiles / laptops / tablets / cameras and any other gadget in your house, so it's pretty good if you have a partner or children, and if you have to claim there's no excess to pay. But, if you already have home insurance you should be covered as per vortigern's comment.

I bought a GPS tracker off of eBay, seems to work well so far. It cost £16ish - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131175326952?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT and I use it with a giffgaff SIM.

Brammo, how light/heavy is that tracker and whereabouts have you attached it and with what?

 

[Brammo]

I believe the tracker weighs around 50g, but I haven't weighed it myself. I've only tested the tracker so far, yet to attach it to the phantom. I saw a photo posted by another member where he has taped it to the underside of the phantom - I'll prob do this until I can get around to finding a more permanent solution.

 

[noiseboy72]

Sounds like you are making all the right choices. Insurance - both liability and loss/damage is good, not using the illegal FCC mode etc.

Worth reading up on the legalities of where you fly as well. You see far too many videos on YouTube of people flying over towns and too close to people and other objects.

 

[p fandango]

i've ordered one of these trackers LINK

 

[jarrah31]

Regarding cover from your home insurance, you need to double check it is covered because the quadcopter wasn't on mine (I think the term was self propelled object). I can swap to one that does cover but it would be an extra £9 a month.

Regarding FCC/CE - it's due to power output rather than distance. In the UK there is no range limit, but the key thing is you must still be able to see the quadcopter - if you can't then it's illegal.

This video is worth a watch, along with reading the comments. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djS3Q0d7CcU - Also worth subscribing as Simon Newton has a wealth of great knowledge in his videos.

 

[jonboy73]

Hi

For insurance I've registered my Phantom with American Express My Essentials - it's £12.99 a month and covers all mobiles / laptops / tablets / cameras and any other gadget in your house, so it's pretty good if you have a partner or children, and if you have to claim there's no excess to pay. But, if you already have home insurance you should be covered as per vortigern's comment.

I am pretty impressed with this policy, but I rang them today to specifically ask about insuring the phantom, there response was "probably not" covered, can you confirm if they replied when you registered that it was covered? I haven't taken this policy out yet, but suspect you can register items, which may turn out not to be covered, of course, if they have said it is, then that is a whole different ball game.

The person who I spoke to went away to ask, but came back with, as it is not a "separate camera, with a separate power source" it probably would not be covered. This sounded to me like, had I got the p2, with a go pro, the go pro may have been covered, if not the p2.

 

[Brammo]

Well, this is a concern of mine as well. I did explain to them what the product was, told them it had multiple serial numbers for the different parts (phantom, camera etc) and I supplied them all - the person I spoke to was happy to register it. However, I assume they have no specific policy regarding drones at the minute as they're still relatively obscure. Ultimately I think the decision of whether to honour a claim will fall to a claims handler, for the minute at least - until they reform their terms and conditions

If anyone has any better insurance ideas then please let me know - best to be on a solid footing!

 

[bliffman]

Sounds like you are making all the right choices. Insurance - both liability and loss/damage is good, not using the illegal FCC mode etc.

Worth reading up on the legalities of where you fly as well. You see far too many videos on YouTube of people flying over towns and too close to people and other objects.

Funny, I just bought and finished reading your book this week. Some really good advice and tips in it

 

[bliffman]

Well, this is a concern of mine as well. I did explain to them what the product was, told them it had multiple serial numbers for the different parts (phantom, camera etc) and I supplied them all - the person I spoke to was happy to register it. However, I assume they have no specific policy regarding drones at the minute as they're still relatively obscure. Ultimately I think the decision of whether to honour a claim will fall to a claims handler, for the minute at least - until they reform their terms and conditions

If anyone has any better insurance ideas then please let me know - best to be on a solid footing!

I've just got off the phone to my home insurer - Esure.

I have personal possessions (not specified items) cover up to £1,000 so my P2V+ just falls under that. The call centre guy confirmed it'd be covered if stolen from a locked house, garage/outbuilding. Also covered if mugged whilst out and about with it and the cover applied to trips abroad under 60 days too (bonus!). However, if stolen from a car max cover is £750 so I'd take a bit of a hit there. There's a £150 excess for any claim by the way.

I'm happy with that

 

[noiseboy72]

Sounds like you are making all the right choices. Insurance - both liability and loss/damage is good, not using the illegal FCC mode etc.

Worth reading up on the legalities of where you fly as well. You see far too many videos on YouTube of people flying over towns and too close to people and other objects.


Funny, I just bought and finished reading your book this week. Some really good advice and tips in it

Thanks, glad you like it!