I have a Dx9 and several Helis. I'm really just wanting a quad to fly around my property (2o acres) with FPV. I'm fully capable of building one, however, by the time I get all the electronics for FPV, is the DJI Mavic the best deal? I'm worried of losing it and there goes $1000 vs builing a quad myself. Any links or suggestions on quad kits and FPV equipment for a reasonable priced quad. Also, I already have a 1.3 video transmitter and receiver, just need a camera, video monitor or goggles.


Thank you very much,

Brendon

Hobby king has or had red P&f kingkong 300mm hex's on sale for under a hundred dollars the vtx is 5.8ghz though

One of the advantages of building a "home brew" over a RTF such as the Mavic or any other is the ability to customize it any way you wish. Also, when a RTF is damaged the parts have to come from the manufacturer and can at times be rather pricey compared to off-the-shelf components for a home-brew.

Originally Posted by brendon33

I have a Dx9 and several Helis. I'm really just wanting a quad to fly around my property (2o acres) with FPV. I'm fully capable of building one, however, by the time I get all the electronics for FPV, is the DJI Mavic the best deal? I'm worried of losing it and there goes $1000 vs builing a quad myself. Any links or suggestions on quad kits and FPV equipment for a reasonable priced quad. Also, I already have a 1.3 video transmitter and receiver, just need a camera, video monitor or goggles.


Thank you very much,

Brendon

There are many DJI craft more suited for what you want to do than a Mavic which has a whole different market. In fact for what you describe a P3P sounds Ideal if your in the RTF market. Depending on your property you have a pretty good chance of finding such due to the Real time flight path line on the overhead satellite view on your map system. I had 200+ acres and flew two years with mine and never once encountered any issue with it. YMMV. I would use Litchi App. and set a waypoint grid over my property and have it fly my fence lines and crops daily looking for any issues. As well as neighboring farms and property. For me a very solid performer for many tasks up an beyond just going out to fly and have a look around and catch some sights and nature.

Granted none of your equipment will transfer per say, but then again you need nothing other than your smart phone or tablet to fly it out of the box. They are available for $550, well under half cost when they debuted. Grab a couple of spare batteries and you should be good to go for many years. Parts are available all over, not just factory direct as was mentioned. I have had spares for mine and have yet to use any of it. It is a rock solid aircraft for it's day and still out performs some of the latest offerings from others on almost all fronts. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9SIAAWD4R03988

Best of luck on what you chose and your endeavors.

Thank you for the response! The P3P looks like a great deal and more then enough for what I need. I really enjoy building helicopters, but for under $600 there is no way I could build one myself for less than $600.

Also.. I absolutely agree with building one myself as I prefer my own batteries, flight controllers, etc. However, I'm having trouble finding kits with the video transmission, cameras, etc for a decent price.

Originally Posted by brendon33

Also.. I absolutely agree with building one myself as I prefer my own batteries, flight controllers, etc. However, I'm having trouble finding kits with the video transmission, cameras, etc for a decent price.

I just did a month of research wanting to get into these after a few years away from RC. I used to fly planes but the acerage I live on and surrounding no man's land I play in is better suited to VTOL now.

I looked into dji first but they don't look user friendly or cheap to repair, or worse need to be sent away to repair.

I used to use Hobbyking (back when it was hobby city) and was rarely disappointed as long as I read the reviews. They had a few house brand frame an power combos but they were all out if stock. Couldn't put together a 450mm plus package with common spares for under 500-600 dollars either.

I gave away all my stuff when I quit so I had to replace my radios (hitch laser 4, lol) and ground support equipment so I went with 3 identical cheap 300mm P&Fs (half price, overstock?) to learn on over the next few months before I upgrade aircraft.

Is 500-600 USD about right to build a decent mid sized reciever ready multirotor and batteries? My first order is still processing and I'm already looking forward to upgrading.

If you want decent video/camera capabilities, OSD, and long range, and goggles or monitor view- I'm thinking the quad and everything else will be far over $500. I'm thinking around $800-1000. The phantom 3 is looking like a better deal every day as I don't think anything else comes close.

Originally Posted by brendon33

If you want decent video/camera capabilities, OSD, and long range, and goggles or monitor view- I'm thinking the quad and everything else will be far over $500. I'm thinking around $800-1000. The phantom 3 is looking like a better deal every day as I don't think anything else comes close.

The Phantom does not come with a monitor or goggles, so you need to add those costs to make a comparison. Also the batteries are very expensive compared to generic lipos you can use with a home built model.

Originally Posted by brendon33

If you want decent video/camera capabilities, OSD, and long range, and goggles or monitor view- I'm thinking the quad and everything else will be far over $500. I'm thinking around $800-1000. The phantom 3 is looking like a better deal every day as I don't think anything else comes close.

I just tried several ways to put together a complete 450mm+ with long range and it was well over $1000 if I were to get everything at once, why I got my ground stuff and some complete "trainer drones". Then in a few months I can build a bigger drone that can grow in capabilities after I've made all my noob mistakes on cheapies.

Originally Posted by syotr

The Phantom does not come with a monitor or goggles, so you need to add those costs to make a comparison. Also the batteries are very expensive compared to generic lipos you can use with a home built model.

I could have walked into Bestbuy on last Thursday and bought a Phantom 3pro or a refubished p4 but this and the fact they prefer iPads (yuck), have to be sent away for repair, and that the manufacturer can even restrict where you fly, no thanks.

Since you're already flying helicopters, you should be able to fly manual without a problem. You don't need a GPS.

If you build a racer, you'll be flying like this

Bilibid - It's Raining! (2 min 36 sec)

This build, which includes the frame, electronics, and fpv gear (including micro OSD) cost about $200. Of course, that doesn't include the radio controller and your ground station, but if you lose it, it's $800 less than your alternative If you don't mind this one, i can give you the parts list. I was considering building a second one as a backup, so i recently did a parts list and it really is around $200.

Put on a gopro and you get this

Sagada Town Rice Terraces Full (4 min 19 sec)

However, for 20 acres, you may be better off building an FPV plane.

Yes, I would love to see the build or parts category for a $200 build. I can't agree more with losing a drone and only being out $200 vs much more with a phantom.

Here's the list. As i've said, it's a racer, so it's only 210mm, but I found it easier to prep and more practical to fly than my 450 quads. Again tho, consider an FPV plane if you're planning to cover 20 acres.


*Multirotor*
Frame
210mm racer

Motor
Racerstar 2300kv

ESC
Racerstar 30a bl_heli

Props
10 pairs 5x4 tri-blades

Motor Cover (Not required but helps a lot in keeping gravel out of the motors)

Receiver
FrSky D4R-II

FlightController
Sorry, i already had a spare NAZE32 so i can't list it here. Just add another $30 for the F3/F4/something.






*FPV Gear*
Camera
1000TVL CCD

This one is surprising. It's a CMOS (Despite the name *IT* *IS* *NOT* *CCD*!!!), which would normally suck because of their tendency to turn black. But this one's backwards. If you have a dark ground and a bright sky, it prioritizes the ground, the sky turns completely white, but atleast you can see the ground. This completely messes up the picture quality but it's fine since you really need to see where you're going, if i wanted to get a good video, i carry an action camera.

vTX
Eachine ET200R 200mw

It outputs 5v so it can power the 5v camera. Which kinda became redudant since the x210 frame comes with a 5v/12v PDB and i ended up powering my OSD and Camera through that instead. And apparently, the 5v on this and the 5v on the PDB do not like each other. You either power both OSD and Camera with the PDB or both with the vTX, i wonder if this is the ground loop thing.

OSD
Micro Minim OSD
You may need to get a USB serial dongle to update its firmware.

(Note: It's in PHP)
Frame: 1366.26
Motor: 1366.26
ESC: 2328.05
Props: 347.26
FC: 1500
Receiver: 1337.40
Camera:606.94
vTX:505.70
OSD:321.44
Total:9679.31php = 193.877usd (according to google)

That price doesn't include the things you need to actually build it tho (soldering iron, solder, silicon wires, etc.) You can see how it's put together if you skip to 2:10

Making a low pass filter to connect the FrSky RSSI to Naze32 (3 min 44 sec)

If you think you can solder all those wires, you're okay. Silicon wires would really help here, wires have to be cut to exact length to fit in this cramped space and you really can't have the insulation shrink when you're soldering.



Or you can get this kit, it has most of the parts listed above, i can't vouch for the flight controller tho, i've never used an F3 before.
x210 kit with F3

EDIT: Add this too. I actually ordered these from hobbyking, but Banggood apparently carries them too.
Aomway 5.8ghz RP-SMA Antennas

Thank you Haije!

Its difficult to build something with a Phantom 3 Pros capabilities
- long range video and control
- simple tablet enabled interface
I built DJI 450s with Naza Lite when it came out. Stuck a 600 mw vid tx and it was great for its time. Better than the wifi Phantoms.
Then built a TBS Disco with APM 2.6.
Wanted something long range and simple design.
Can't beat a Phantom 3 pro with LB 2.
No esoteric charger. Simple interface. No PID tuning. No messing with code or hardware i.e. building 5 volt regulators. Figuring a way to install a lightweight gimbal. The list and hours are long.
Out of the Box a Phantom 3 Pro does that with no fuss. Add a Google Nexus 7 2013 I found off Craigslist for 100 and I'm content. Went half mile with no loss of signal - not one bar.