Warning: Annoying questions...

Joined
Mar 12, 2014
Messages
119
Reaction score
0
Location
SC, USA
I'm sorry. I know what its like when the same questions pop up and you just want to yell "search noob." But, I want up-to-date info and to just get everything answered at once.

Model: phantom 1.1.1

1. As of today, what is the battery that makes the 1.1.1 fly the longest that fits in the stock space without mods? Link or very good description please. Someone told me Mad Cat or Mad Dog or something but hell I don't know!

2. What's the lightest and best gimbal for the money? The goal here is steady videos AND long flight time on one battery. Under $190 is best.

3. Easy weight reduction: Is there lighter landing gear that stock on the 1.1.1? What about a carbon fiber shell? Does that even exist? I'm open to ideas here.

I'm thinking if I upgrade to vision props and a better battery, I'll negate the added weight of the gimbal so my flight time will be near stock? Am I off my rocker here?
I really appreciate the help here. Thanks
 
1. There are a number of batteries either 2700 or 2800mAH that fit. I went with the Lectron Pro 2700: ordered via Amazon Prime. I'm happy with that. Just be aware that all of the 2700/2800 options are slightly bigger than the stock battery... but they still fit. You might have to go in "cables first" though but once you get used to it, it's fine.

2. I got the Arris CM2000 and I'm happy with that. It comes in at about your $190 mark. There are other options now though and some for just over $100 that look really nice. Too complex to answer on that because most of us are only going to have one gimbal and either we're happy or not... but we've likely not worked with anything but what we have. So search gimbal here and read the latest.

3. I wouldn't worry about landing gear for weight: they don't weigh much. Suggestion number one is if you are using the training wheels (prop protectors), take them off when you're comfortable flying. They are 78 grams and taking those off gives you over a minute longer flying time. General rule of thumb is 1 second extra flying time per gram of weight reduction. The vision props are good and give you quite a boost in flying time but be aware that they make the Phantom noticeably less stable in flight.

Mike
 
mikeydaddio said:
1. There are a number of batteries either 2700 or 2800mAH that fit. I went with the Lectron Pro 2700: ordered via Amazon Prime. I'm happy with that. Just be aware that all of the 2700/2800 options are slightly bigger than the stock battery... but they still fit. You might have to go in "cables first" though but once you get used to it, it's fine.

2. I got the Arris CM2000 and I'm happy with that. It comes in at about your $190 mark. There are other options now though and some for just over $100 that look really nice. Too complex to answer on that because most of us are only going to have one gimbal and either we're happy or not... but we've likely not worked with anything but what we have. So search gimbal here and read the latest.

3. I wouldn't worry about landing gear for weight: they don't weigh much. Suggestion number one is if you are using the training wheels (prop protectors), take them off when you're comfortable flying. They are 78 grams and taking those off gives you over a minute longer flying time. General rule of thumb is 1 second extra flying time per gram of weight reduction. The vision props are good and give you quite a boost in flying time but be aware that they make the Phantom noticeably less stable in flight.

Mike

Mike: Thanks for the valuable info! I am not running the prop protectors. I'm slightly concerned about the stability of the vision props now. Hopefully its not too bad. I will check out the Arris CM2000 you mentioned.
 
HoverMan said:
I'm sorry. I know what its like when the same questions pop up and you just want to yell "search noob." But, I want up-to-date info and to just get everything answered at once.

Model: phantom 1.1.1

1. As of today, what is the battery that makes the 1.1.1 fly the longest that fits in the stock space without mods? Link or very good description please. Someone told me Mad Cat or Mad Dog or something but hell I don't know!

2. What's the lightest and best gimbal for the money? The goal here is steady videos AND long flight time on one battery. Under $190 is best.

3. Easy weight reduction: Is there lighter landing gear that stock on the 1.1.1? What about a carbon fiber shell? Does that even exist? I'm open to ideas here.

I'm thinking if I upgrade to vision props and a better battery, I'll negate the added weight of the gimbal so my flight time will be near stock? Am I off my rocker here?
I really appreciate the help here. Thanks

1. A 190-200g 2700mah battery (like 2dogrc.com's Maddog 2700) is THE best bang for the buck flight time boost without modifying the shell. Add a pair of 9443 Phantom 2 props and you're talking about up to 30-40% improvement over stock.

2. If you're really looking to maximize flight time with a gimbal, I'd consider looking at a Mobius camera gimbal. Most of us fly GoPros because they're the industry standard and have more/better modes/resolutions, but they're not the absolute lightest option out there. Whatever gimbal/camera combo you get, aim for the lightest you can find. A Gopro gimbal around 140g (Zenmuse weight) or lower is doing really good. But these lighter gimbals all cost more than $190.

3. There aren't any carbon fiber shells that I'm aware of, the plastic Phantom shell is already extremely light. Replacing the landing gear is actually one of the easiest and best ways to drop weight from the Phantom, and if you have a gimbal and need a few extra cm to support the extra height, it's a no-brainer. The stock landing gear is ~47g. If you look around, you can find sturdy tripod-style legs using 3d-printed parts and carbon fiber tubing that weigh nearly half of that.

You won't quite make up the time loss of a gimbal + gopro, but you'll come really close. >10min is definitely possible.

I agree about flying without the prop guards if you can. They do their job, but the weight cost is high. Make sure if you remove them you don't put the same screws back into the motors.
 
Thanks El Guano!

Hey, why does the Phantom 2 fly 25min and the Phantom 1 10min? Hard to tell from the pics, but it the battery compartment just huge or what?
 
HoverMan said:
Thanks El Guano!

Hey, why does the Phantom 2 fly 25min and the Phantom 1 10min? Hard to tell from the pics, but it the battery compartment just huge or what?

1. 9443 props give about 20% flight time boost

2. 5200mah battery provides most of it. that's over twice the battery of a p1 in a very light package. The physical space of the battery bay isn't too much bigger in a p2 (I fit a larger and fatter battery in my p1 and can get 30 minutes flight) but it is definitely designed to house a much larger battery.

3. E300 ESCs and motors are a tiny bit more efficient.

4. A lot of features save weight by being built into the board. No more separate components needed for canbus. No gcu module for gimbal. No separate USB cable. It's a well optimized design.

Overall the p2 is a finely tuned machine for long flight times, and the low-C high capacity low-weight battery is a game changer in this category.
 
ElGuano said:
HoverMan said:
Thanks El Guano!

Hey, why does the Phantom 2 fly 25min and the Phantom 1 10min? Hard to tell from the pics, but it the battery compartment just huge or what?

1. 9443 props give about 20% flight time boost

2. 5200mah battery provides most of it. that's over twice the battery of a p1 in a very light package. The physical space of the battery bay isn't too much bigger in a p2 (I fit a larger and fatter battery in my p1 and can get 30 minutes flight) but it is definitely designed to house a much larger battery.

3. E300 ESCs and motors are a tiny bit more efficient.

4. A lot of features save weight by being built into the board. No more separate components needed for canbus. No gcu module for gimbal. No separate USB cable. It's a well optimized design.

Overall the p2 is a finely tuned machine for long flight times, and the low-C high capacity low-weight battery is a game changer in this category.

I *almost* wish I had gotten the p2. Oh well.

I already ordered the 9443 props. Should be here Wednesday. I've been checking out the Lectron and Mad Dog batteries and I'll get one or the other. Now I understand why that guys thread about swapping to a p2 shell is so popular! Thanks again for the info!
 
I stopped upgrading my Phantom once I installed an Arris gimbal, and FatShark FPV system, it works fine the way it is, for longer flight times I just decided to build a bigger platform...
 
I've read that I have to adjust all kinds of stuff (besides gain) when I put the 9443 props on. Is this true? What has to be done? Also how do I balance them if the tip is closed off (self tightening)??
 
HoverMan said:
I've read that I have to adjust all kinds of stuff (besides gain) when I put the 9443 props on. Is this true? What has to be done? Also how do I balance them if the tip is closed off (self tightening)??

You can adjust gains if your Phantom wobbles, shakes or oscillates with new props. I ran 9443s with stock gains for a long time, and it was fine.

You shouldn't need to balance DJI 9443s, they're balanced quite well from the factory. But if you need to balance self-tightening props, you just need a Dubro balancer and one of these: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthre ... st27784477
 
ElGuano said:
HoverMan said:
I've read that I have to adjust all kinds of stuff (besides gain) when I put the 9443 props on. Is this true? What has to be done? Also how do I balance them if the tip is closed off (self tightening)??

You can adjust gains if your Phantom wobbles, shakes or oscillates with new props. I ran 9443s with stock gains for a long time, and it was fine.

You shouldn't need to balance DJI 9443s, they're balanced quite well from the factory. But if you need to balance self-tightening props, you just need a Dubro balancer and one of these: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthre ... st27784477

You are my mentor, Guano! :lol:

I was cleaning the p1 today and noticed some wires in the base of the landing gear. What are they?
photo_zps8bc933e6.jpg
 
OI Photography said:
That's the aux power lead...you can pull it out and use it to supply 11.1v to accessories like a gimbal, vtx, etc.

Awesome. Thanks!
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,358
Members
104,935
Latest member
Pauos31