Tarot 810 (or other)

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OK... after babbling about different options for the 550, looking at prices, and getting everyone on this forum to answer my many questions, I've decided to not build a heavy lift 450 or get another 550 (or modify the one I have) - but just go a step up and build an 810 (Tarot). The buy-in price is not too much more than for a full 550 rtf but it gets pricey quickly... as in... fast...

I'm fairly locked into the Tarot 810 since I have already ordered some of the parts - some of the more expensive parts of course.

Anyone out there playing with the medium class hex like this or the 800? I know there was a 960 build thread but I think it went stale ( or at least hasn't been updated for a bit).

About the only thing I haven't settled on is the camera/gimbal setup. Will paste the GoPro and gimbal on it after I get it tested just to take some pictures but *might* upgrade to a mini-DSLR...

Now for the best part - why am I doing it? Well... I think it is because I'm crazy... but I'll be a smiling while I'm crazy. :roll: ... and I want some company in my madness...
 
The T810 is probably going to be my next build, when I'm ready to run a 6S setup and kv300-450 motors, longer props, etc.

Lifting a compact pre-DSLR like a NEXT 5/7 or a GM1 on a 3-axis gimbal would be a piece of cake for that rig.
 
I asked around a lot (dealers) and they seemed to all recommend the 4114 - 320kv with 15" props. Most of the ARF kits come with those.

I figure it will take a few weeks to get all the basic parts and get the airframe running. Then I can look for a gimbal solution (and probably a camera for the gimbal - I don't have a mini-DSLR).

Would anyone like to send a poor hex pilot a token amount ($1000 increments please) so he and his family can eat this month? :cry:
 
Yeah I know that's a bit steep, but for the rig I'd be using them on I don't want to cut any corners in critical areas like that. They may not be my final selection, but I'm placing a much higher premium on component quality for the motors in that build. If/when I do build something in the 800+ class, it's going to be a workhorse and one I'll need to be as reliable as possible.
 
Was looking at the NEX series as a possible camera. The NEX 5 seems to have the best balance but has smaller pixel resolution. The NEX 7 has awesome resolution.

Control seems possible with several options - mostly an HDMI to AV converter. Didn't see any auto ranging for the zoom - so it would be fixed field for the flight.

Other options?
 
Right now I'm looking at the Sony NEX5 and RX100, and the Lumix GM1, for use on my current 550. The NEX7 is nice but I don't see a compelling enough reason for the price difference. I think the RX100 has remote settings control capability, not sure about the GM1. Using any of those is going to be a huge step up in features and quality from the gopro, and nearly as good as you can go without a full-size DSLR body.

Samsung also just announced a new competitor in the space that's supposed to compete with the options I'm considering, and at a very nice price ($450-$550 range). Don't know if it's truly in the same class, but the weight and price are very attractive: http://petapixel.com/2014/03/19/samsung ... ore-131728
 
OI Photography said:
Samsung also just announced a new competitor in the space that's supposed to compete with the options I'm considering, and at a very nice price ($450-$550 range). Don't know if it's truly in the same class, but the weight and price are very attractive: http://petapixel.com/2014/03/19/samsung ... ore-131728

Didn't see a way to get the video off the camera on the adverts that I saw. Is there a way that you know about? Wouldn't be useful if I couldn't pipe the AV into a transmitter.
 
ladykate said:
OI Photography said:
Samsung also just announced a new competitor in the space that's supposed to compete with the options I'm considering, and at a very nice price ($450-$550 range). Don't know if it's truly in the same class, but the weight and price are very attractive: http://petapixel.com/2014/03/19/samsung ... ore-131728

Didn't see a way to get the video off the camera on the adverts that I saw. Is there a way that you know about? Wouldn't be useful if I couldn't pipe the AV into a transmitter.

Good point, and I honestly don't know, haven't gotten that deep into evaluating it yet...just seemed to be worth a look from the initial press on it.
 
All parts are in except one. Am going with a Ragecams 5.4 mm initially.

There sure are a lot of parts sitting on my workbench.
 
Sure doesn't look recognizable. The only thing that looks familiar is the radio and those (big - 15") props.
 

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OI Photography said:
A2...nice! I'm curious to hear your impressions of that once you get that far along.

Yes. Once you swallow the cost of the A2, then you go with a 14sg so you can use all the channels. It's sort of like drinking from a spittoon. Once you start, you can't stop.

Gotta put the basic frame together first. The instructions are what you would expect. Lots of vowels and consonants left off.

I figure a mere month or so. I can't work on it more than a couple of days and then I'm off on trips for a while. Definitely got something to do when I get back.
 
ladykate said:
It's sort of like drinking from a spittoon. Once you start, you can't stop.

One day I'll use that saying in a conversation. But I'd hope someone would be there to video the reactions
 
Took me six hours to put the basic frame together. Could probably do it in an hour if I were to do it again. I guess that isn't unusual...
 

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Following your 810 build with interest. I'm just slowly getting my P2 up and going with FPV. I'm curious about your thought process about choosing the 810.

I see you built up a 550. If you knew then what you know now, would you do a 550 again or go directly from the P2 to the 810 you're building?

What is your expectation for flight times? From what I've seen so far, once you go to bigger machines flight times start dropping dramatically. I was on the Helipal site and they were claiming the 810 they used for their video got around 15 min. I'm seeing people say getting 5 or 6 min on a 550 is average. One of the things I like about the P2 is 20 min per battery. Dropping to half that or less would seem to limit the ability to do useful FPV photography.

I know most of us appear to rationalize our hobby using the CAIV process (Cost As an Independent Variable), but I see the 810 as a significant step up from the 550 (round numbers, $400 for airframe, $700-$1000 for motors, $1300 A2 etc). What do you think the 810 gives you that is so much better than a 550 class?
 
jondrew said:
Following your 810 build with interest. I'm just slowly getting my P2 up and going with FPV. I'm curious about your thought process about choosing the 810.

I see you built up a 550. If you knew then what you know now, would you do a 550 again or go directly from the P2 to the 810 you're building?

Longer post for this but to answer your last point: ... I do not have a practical use for any of my airframes that could justify the expense. This is a hobby so I'm just having fun. Within that context, I justify the 810 because I'm really interested in seeing how the larger airframes work I wanted to build one myself (a lot), it has a reasonable flight time, the expense is there but it isn't outrageous (maybe twice what a P2 fully decked out from Aerial Media would be), and I like the idea of a heavier airframe to fight the wind a bit more. In all honesty - I started out looking at a 450 or other smaller machine that I could build and say 'I did that'. But when I looked into the expense and the resultant platform, I realized that it wouldn't cost much more to go big and I would not be duplicating something I already had.

Should I know what I know now, edit- I now have a lot more confidence in my ability to build one. The 550 was a big learning step for me. However, I think I might do the same thing. I'm not disappointed with the 550 at all and it showed me more of what I wanted and how to get there. It is a blank slate in many ways and it won't be on the shelf - I expect to use it even after the 810 gets finished. It is not much more expensive than a stock 450 and it carries more - though it has a shorter flight time.

What is your expectation for flight times? From what I've seen so far, once you go to bigger machines flight times start dropping dramatically. I was on the Helipal site and they were claiming the 810 they used for their video got around 15 min. I'm seeing people say getting 5 or 6 min on a 550 is average. One of the things I like about the P2 is 20 min per battery. Dropping to half that or less would seem to limit the ability to do useful FPV photography.

Expected flight times will be 15 minutes with my particular setup. That is about what a decked out P2 gets (see all the FPV threads)... and it is what my P2 gets.

My 550 gets 9 minutes doing FPV but I usually land it around 7 or 8. That is actually quite sufficient for most projects. If you are just cruising around looking for targets of opportunity, then the Phantom is great (and I still have and use mine).
I know most of us appear to rationalize our hobby using the CAIV process (Cost As an Independent Variable), but I see the 810 as a significant step up from the 550 (round numbers, $400 for airframe, $700-$1000 for motors, $1300 A2 etc). What do you think the 810 gives you that is so much better than a 550 class?

The 550 can be purchased rtf with gimbal, fpv, Devo 7 tx and rx and a battery for about $1700 delivered to your door. That is actually cheaper than many P2 RTF kits. However, I changed the Devo out, added more batteries, and added/subtracted many bits and pieces like landing gear, lights, etc). I probably have $2600 or so in it not counting the GoPro ($3000 with the GoPro).

The 810 can be purchased artf without gimbal or tx/rx or fpv for $2200 or so (delivered) - that is with motors, ESC, wiring, landing gear and A2... and almost zero instructions (YouTube is my friend). You need higher end batteries - which probably drives a better charging setup. Add in $750 (500 for two 6s 10 amp batteries and a $200 charger). Add in a radio (I bought a Futaba 14sg just for this) - $600 delivered. Add in a gimbal - I got an h3-2d for it - will use a Ragecams GoPro black - kinda my only compromise but after looking into it all, I figured a non-fish eye in HD was what I would use the most and it would also give me good flying times because it is so light. Add $1000 for the camera and $350 or so for the gimbal. Add in $200 for FPV (will use my current ground monitor). Add in an iPad if you want to use the GS ability (won't add it in since I could do that with the other machines so it is a wash). Total will probably be just a bit more than 5K. However, it will have more 'stuff' and more capability than the others.

So... 3K vs 5K but, at least $1K of that is for stuff I didn't absolutely need - and it could be argued that I could have done it for about the same cost. Take off the extra transmitter, use a NAZA v2, use a stock GoPro and it would be almost the same buy-in as the 550 rtf.
 
Sometimes there just isn't any logic, I do things just for fun as I'm sure a lot of you also do. This is a very interesting thread and it's got me thinking but I'm really enjoying my F550. My flight times on my F550 is at 11:30 minutes but I bring I back down at about 9 minutes.....just to be safe.
 

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