Quad Flying

[steveo9007]

So i am starting this thread so i am able to update as i go along, feel free to add to this thread as all info is greatly received plus it helps others.

So what have i got,

Well i am getting a Hubsan X4 H501S Pro, what does this mean.

Its the one with the advanced controller which i wanted, it has 1080P camera but not a gimbal mounted one, it can fly for 20 mins has RTH and a 5.8ghz FPV pad antenna.  Follow me, and a control range of about 300 - 500mtrs.  Its not very much upgradable but there is a number of things that can be done to this drone.

Some people don't like it and some do (you can't please everyone), but i wanted this drone as being a beginner i wanted something fairly easy to fly straight out of the box. ( I have to say i don't get it until Xmas, but it arrived the other day).

I have all ready purchased Li-Po Batteries (As i plan to double the Drone battery for extended flight time), I have purchased a iMAX B6 AC Li-Po Balance charger for the Li-Po Batteries, I have purchased a Li-PO battery for the Controller as i hate using AA batteries.

I am currently watching some propellers, Landing Gear and Protector rings for Drone, 30A Brushless Speed Controller ESC, and 2 x HRB 2200mAh 11.1v 3s 8C Li-Po batteries. all on popular auction site.

And that's it for now until Xmas time when i can have it and play with it for real, but for now its all about watching You Tube videos and research into various stuff and things.

Will post updates on here when i can do that.

[ched]

I am looking forward to your journey.
A few points, first off if you are adjusting things on a bench take the props off!!! If for some silly reason they spin on a bench they could do some serious damage.
Lipos need to be respected. Don't over discharge them as it will damage them, if they go 'puffy' they are being treated outside their usage and might not be safe to continue using!!!! Never leave lipos unattended while charging.

Read the instruction manual multiple times and follow all calibration/setup processes it tells you too.
Make sure it has a home gps lock before you take off Every time.

Don't fly near airports, near people or property. Take it easy as it's easy to get confused about orientation (which way the quad is facing) when it gets 50m or so away!!!

Have fun, relax, and let us know how you get on, vids are great  ::)

[steveo9007]

I am looking forward to your journey.
A few points, first off if you are adjusting things on a bench take the props off!!! If for some silly reason they spin on a bench they could do some serious damage.
Lipos need to be respected. Don't over discharge them as it will damage them, if they go 'puffy' they are being treated outside their usage and might not be safe to continue using!!!! Never leave lipos unattended while charging.

Read the instruction manual multiple times and follow all calibration/setup processes it tells you too.
Make sure it has a home gps lock before you take off Every time.

Don't fly near airports, near people or property. Take it easy as it's easy to get confused about orientation (which way the quad is facing) when it gets 50m or so away!!!

Have fun, relax, and let us know how you get on, vids are great  ::)

Some great advice there Chedds thanks m8 especially the safety stuff which is easily forgotten when in excite mode.  Seriously going to be itching to get it out of the box by xmas time 

Definitely will be respecting the Li-PO's, i see they do a special bag for carrying them, is it worth buying into that 

[steveo9007]

Just seen this on fleabay 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Extended-Landing-Gear-and-Camera-Holder-with-Gimbal-Kit-for-Hubsan-H501S-RC-Quad/183410168327?epid=8023296998&hash=item2ab4191207:g:-QkAAOSwtRBbinEE:rk:9:pf:0

[ched]

Just having a look at the Hubsan 501 and it appears to take a 2S 7.4v lipo not a 3S!!! So double check which lipo you need before ordering as too high a cell count will kill the quad!!!

The legs and gopro style mount seem a bit expensive. It's not as if its a moveable gimbal, it's just a way to mount a gopro type camera. I would wait and see what you think you need after flying it. Well I say I would wait, the excitement factor does make it very easy for 'impulse' purchases  ::)

[steveo9007]

yeah, i haven't got the bigger lipos yet, just ordered one for the controller to void using AA batteries, and that mounted go pro thing is what you say just for mounting, no movement what so ever and just only needed if you want a lower mounted camera me thinks.

Going to search the forum for Li-Po battery info see if there is a write up somewhere on them to understand them better..

[ched]

For info have a search for Josh Bardwell, AndyRC, CurryK, Painless360 on youtube. They all do good reviews and Josh is quite techy and has lots of techy info on all quad stuff especially lipos.

[trebor]

Definitely will be respecting the Li-PO's, i see they do a special bag for carrying them, is it worth buying into that 
[/quote]

Watch out for some of those cheap Lipo bags, if you get hold of one when the Sun's out you can see all the micro fibres floating off them. You breath those in they won't come out, like asbestos for sure. I bought one from HK and it went in the bin, get an ammo box 👍

[steveo9007]

Ok just an update so far,

So i have received a Transmitter Li-Po battery so i no longer need to use AA batteries and i have also received the ImaxB6 balanced charger, i also received from the seller a complete empty body for a 501S because they were unable to send my colour i wanted 

oh and the H501S has arrived but not allowed to have it until Xmas  but the excitement is building.  Still researching a lot of stuff though and watching a lot of u tube vids 

[steveo9007]

Well today i was so excited as it was the first day that i was able to unbox my Drone that i had for Xmas.. ::) ::) ::)

I got the Hubsan H501S-S, thought i was getting the S version but on inspection and looking at different parts of the Drone it was an S-S  . So battery for drone was on charge, and Li-Po battery for controller on charge, SD card formatted. Went off to work and came back and set off to the local footy field with the misses.

Set everything up, conditions were perfect 2mph wind, 10 degrees and sunny no clouds. Gyro sensor checked ok, Compass cal 1 and 2 checked ok. Waited for sats to come in and got 11 on each device.

And wow amazing first flight, got 18 mins and the controller didn't even beep for low battery, took some videos but have a problem with one of them as i was messing around at low level out of GPS mode and it crashed into the field in front of me and has somehow damaged the recording, second video worked out ok and is a 3min in length but am really impressed with the quality, well for me anyway.

Overall im a happy person and well chuffed that i got this one, still going to be building my own though but for now will be mainly playing with this one for a while..

Whats the best way to upload videos to this forum guys ???

[ched]

Sounds like you are having fun 
Best way for video is Youtube and then post links.

As for damaged recording it could be that the connections were jarred or battery disconnected before recording stopped.

[steveo9007]

Sounds like you are having fun 
Best way for video is Youtube and then post links.

As for damaged recording it could be that the connections were jarred or battery disconnected before recording stopped.

thanks Ched will use Youtube, i managed to recover the video some 13 mins nearly of it, was weird when it crashed as it wasn't a big crash, just landed on soft grass but took out the drone and power was lost, i used an online video repair tool, took about 4hrs to recover but it completed.

[ched]

Is there any way in the settings to have shorter clips. Sometimes you can set a recording length to say 3min. So every 3min it stops and starts a new recording. That way you only lose 3mins at worst.
Well done for recovering it. A brief power loss can corrupt a recording by effectively not closing the file.

[steveo9007]

Not checked in the settings yet but it was my fault it crashed cos I took GPS mode off for a bit to see the difference in flying. Ha ha

[ched]

Not sure of flying modes but 'manual' might be what is called Rate or Acro. If it is then that is very very difficult to fly.

[steveo9007]

Not sure of flying modes but 'manual' might be what is called Rate or Acro. If it is then that is very very difficult to fly.

for the hubsan drone when GPS is off, they call it altitude mode, it was a lot faster though and harder to control so won't be doing that in a hurry next time..lol

Finally uploaded a video to youtube of one of my first flights..Sorry about the jerkiness still getting used to it..lol

https://youtu.be/_sMO1bW7HEs

[Andy7]

Looks like you're gonna be hooked! Seems like you're approaching this all very sensibly, though I'd say that was an ambitious height to fly to on a first flight  ::)
The wind can VERY quickly pick up at even quite low altitude and end up taking your quad off on a little adventure. Also you have some good fields just next to your house, so wise to grab your wellies and fly from there if you can. You're at a real risk of dropping this through the roof of your neighbours greenhouse - and they won't thank you for that I'm sure.

Still, good start, keep it up and keep the videos coming. It's always nice to see how people grow and improve with their flying.

[steveo9007]

Thanks Andy, yeah there is plenty of open space around me, and I'm trying to be careful  , whilst skimming around the edges of fields..lol. I fly out from my house now straight into the fields so am practising my flying around there, don't think i will be going much higher than 100m as i really don't see much more of an advantage unless im around major hills  , but am having a blast at the moment in taking the drone out and having as much practise as possible. Getting to grips with the controls is key and knowing how the drone fly's and being able to react to situations if they arise..but all good so far.

[steveo9007]

Second video done, much more smoother flight this time and even done some video editing with the iMovie app on my MacBook. Stayed away from houses this time and kept to the field..

https://youtu.be/9cqaV5fydAk

[steveo9007]

Managed to get out today and get some practising in, this time took a spot near to coast line where i live.

Place is called Bedruthan Steps and is quite a popular spot with walkers but not today. Wind was a cool 9mph so a bit of buffeting now and again but manageable. Im playing about with editing so apologies if the music is to not everyones taste. But enjoying this new hobby so much..Enjoy people.

https://youtu.be/JvbMKTZQk_U

[ched]

You are brave flying so close to the water 
Considering it hasn't got a camera on a gimbal and a 9mph wind they are some great shots there. Can't comment on sound as tv is on a others are watching that so I didn't have sound on.

[Bad Raven]

Not wishing to be a killjoy, but need to inform.

Bedruthan Steps is National Trust, and you look to have flown well inside its boundaries. I appreciate it was quiet with an obvious lack of public, but that does alter that the National Trust has a complete ban on all powered flight. Their Wardens, apart from public, have brought in Police, etc and I'd guess you don't want to go there!

Given the undue attention drone flying is getting currently, you may find more than just a fellow modeller/flier commenting, and things like seizure etc and having your house turned over are more than possible.

We do not want to get any more focus on us than now.  Be careful out there!   

[hoverfly]

As above , after the Gatwick fiasco all anti drone people ,organizations will be looking for more reasons to increase legislation.
I have been flying gliders at the Whit Horse hill on and off for years and the N/T people are quite happy and have commented in a positive way .when I flew my Mavic there a ranger came over and told me to land immediately, she was quite interested in watching the screen as it did a return to home on auto.  Discussing the rule she said there was no logic in the decision  but she had to implement it.  When I pointed out a mouldie glider getting out of control  and having no motor to help recovery would do more damage she agreed there was no logic in the decision and it was probably a knee jerk 
reaction to the D/Mail type reporting.
The N/T  recently has had internal rumblings over some of their projects over stepping their role, ie being a trust and not owners of the land they are  stewards of.

[steveo9007]

Yep get what your saying guys, just for clarification it wasn’t on Nationals trust land. I put Bedruthan Steps because it’s the closest location to where I was and it was actually in the far distance where that location is. I only used it as a reference in case people wanted to know the location instead of saying a piece of the coastline.

I’m a responsible drone flyer and wouldn’t want to infringe on any misuse to any particular organisation.

[steveo9007]

New day, new video...Enjoy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghm0PqI_p4I&t=65s

[hoverfly]

Very nice, I put the goggles on for that one.   As mentioned in previous post be aware of wind strength, its always stronger as you gain height, direction can be different as well. 

[Andy7]

Nice spot. That rock is just GAGGING to be dived!!!! 

[steveo9007]

yeah was a cracking spot, i bottled going through the open window but could have been done with a bit more spacial awareness, perhaps next time..

[steveo9007]

Very nice, I put the goggles on for that one.   As mentioned in previous post be aware of wind strength, its always stronger as you gain height, direction can be different as well.

i not got the experience of goggles, do they give you a better feel for where the quad is going and more of a better view 

[hoverfly]

I use the goggles to view other people's vids on the forum  to get a more immersive view and for F.P.V. on planks and gliders. For photography I use an Ipad with the Mavic and Air.
Most people fly smaller racing quads with them as flying them line of sight is difficult  keeping orientation and avoiding obstacles.