Best budget quad copters?

Simon Morgan

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Nov 4, 2015, 4:17:05 AM11/4/15

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Hi all,

You may remember me... I came to the hackspace a few times (3, I think) in the run up to last Christmas, mostly messing about with OpenSCAD and 3D snowmen. I always intended to come again, but life has been hectic. I can't believe it's almost a year!

Anyway... Having been a long-time forum lurker, I know you've a collective interest in quad copters. I'm thinking of getting my son (10) something for Christmas and wondered what the best option would be. I don't want to spend a vast amount, but neither do I want cheap tat that will break on first use.

Any input much appreciated!

Cheers,
Simon.

Damian Axford

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Nov 4, 2015, 5:41:24 AM11/4/15

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Hi Simon

Good to hear from you :) A lot of us have Hubsan X4s - they're a great, low cost quad option and stand up to a lot of abuse! Plus, they're easy/cheap to repair if anything breaks or burns out (e.g. motors).

Going beyond an RTF gets rapidly more involved, with a LOT of options.... probably worth popping down one even to discuss/debate, but it really comes down to three things:

how much you want to spend
what you want todo with it (and upgradability)
how much you want to build/tinker, vs just fly

thanks

D

Robert Longbottom

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Nov 4, 2015, 6:41:30 AM11/4/15

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I'll second the opinion that the Hubsan X4 is a good little beginner machine. Its small and light enough that you can crash it without breaking it or whatever you crash into (within reason). Can be flow indoors or outdoors. And is quite cheap.

If you're looking for something more serious then the options are indeed many.

If you want to see some I could bring some along to Hackspace one evening (if you want to let us know when you'd be coming). I have a Hubsan I could easily bring down, and a diy 3d printed 250 size Hovership I could bring in. (I also have a much larger diy y6, but thats not really a beginner machine and doesn't easily fit in a bag :-). )

Cheers,
Rob.

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Simon Morgan

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Dec 8, 2015, 1:40:18 PM12/8/15

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Thanks for your replies, Damian and Rob.

I can't believe it's over a month since I posted the question. It's scary how the time flies!

The ante has been upped slightly, in that I want to go for something with some kind of camera built in - preferably HD. I don't want to get too carried away budget-wise, so I'm dismissing FPV as an option. I've discretely tested the water with my son, and I'm pretty sure he'd been very pleased with something capable of recording video to a memory card for later playback. Definitely RTF and with a pack of spares in preparation for the inevitable mishaps.

I could probably make it down to the hack... sorry - makerspace tomorrow night (~7.30) if you were able to bring anything along to look at. I don't want to distract you from progressing your projects though.

Cheers,
Simon.

Robert Longbottom

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Dec 9, 2015, 10:39:46 AM12/9/15

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Hi Simon,

If you're looking for something RTF, I'm not sure what to suggest because all of my other copters are DIY jobs except the Hubsan. There is a Hubsan with a camera that records to an SD card, the H107C (I think). I know Jamie has one of these, but I think he removed the camera module. I don't think the video quality is that great, but then again you can't expect much from such a small device.

If you're looking for something bigger then the DJI Phantoms are pretty popular and can be very easy to fly, but you're looking at spending quite a lot of money. Another option would be something like the 3DR Iris, but thats similar money to a Phantom and probably more of a diy-er focussed machine I would say. I don't have any direct experience with their of these machines.

It still really depends very much on budget and where you want to be able to fly it.

I'm probably not going to make it to the hackspace tonight, otherwise I'd bring what I have.

Cheers,

Rob.

Simon Morgan

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Dec 9, 2015, 2:01:18 PM12/9/15

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Thanks for the reply, Rob.

The Hubsan H107C appears to be available with two different cameras. There's a 0.3MP and 2MP version. Looking on YouTube, the footage from the 2MP version looks acceptable for the price (£80 from Maplin, but more like £50 from Amazon Marketplace sellers - assuming they're not fakes and/or mislabelled non-HD versions).

I'll investigate further, but that looks like a suitable option.

Cheers,
Simon.

Robert Longbottom

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Dec 9, 2015, 5:46:21 PM12/9/15

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No worries, maybe see you at the hackspace sometime soon, or at another flying session in the new year once the weather is a bit more amenable :-)

Rob.

Simon Morgan

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Jan 5, 2016, 5:18:33 AM1/5/16

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Hi,

Well, I went for the Hubsan but am having to return it. All four of the mountings into which the motors are fitted have cracks. It looks like a manufacturing defect, as the packaging was perfect. After a bit of Googling, I found this, which is showing the same problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF-fCxubRto

Anyway, it turned out to be good news, as I bought the Syma X5SC instead which is awesome. I paid £50 locally, as I was in a hurry, but you can save a few quid online.

As it has been quite windy, my son practised indoors and got competent at taking off, hovering and landing. The air was still enough to try some outdoor flying last night, so he had a go in the back garden. He went out again this morning, with increased confidence, and got it level with the roof of the house, so we got some decent footage of the neighbours' gardens :) It's a 1280x720 camera and surprisingly good for the money. When we have time and suitable weather conditions, we'll take it to a wide open space and he can be more daring with it (it has an automated 360 degree flip function, but we haven't risked that yet).

The battery gives 8-10 minutes of flight, so I've ordered this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/381344677865?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

So far, no accidents, but it's completely rebuildable from spares if necessary: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/All-spare-parts-for-SYMA-X5S-X5SC-quadcopter-blade-motor-gear-battery-charger-/252054582465?var=&hash=item3aaf9fb4c1:m:mnWMRSEdS7VE3eAvvU9emuA

I'll upload some sample footage soon and hopefully he can bring it down to a future flying meet.

Cheers,
Simon.

Peter Collins

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Jan 5, 2016, 6:21:43 AM1/5/16

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On 5 January 2016 at 10:18, Simon Morgan <simon.a...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi,

Well, I went for the Hubsan but am having to return it. All four of the mountings into which the motors are fitted have cracks. It looks like a manufacturing defect, as the packaging was perfect. After a bit of Googling, I found this, which is showing the same problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF-fCxubRto

FYI - Those "cracks" are part of the design and are meant to be there, they act like shock absorbers for hard landings!

Rgds

Robert Longbottom

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Jan 5, 2016, 7:06:16 AM1/5/16

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Shame about the Hubsan, they are nice little indoor fliers.

That Syma looks pretty decent for the price though, a bit bigger than the Hubsan(?) so probably a bit better outdoors.

I have a new plane, so we'll have to do some more hackspace flying once it's a bit warmer outside.

Rob.

jme...@me.com

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Jan 9, 2016, 2:58:14 PM1/9/16

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Wow, I'm just catching up on the group but I'm kinda incredulous that someone with a crate of husbans would see this "crack" on each and every leg of every unit (of many) and assume it's a defect!!

I assume he never flied any as any rough crash instantly makes you a fan of the hubsan design and appreciate this feature! (Which I'm disappointed to see going away on future models.)

Better to pop the plastic back together than have a broken frame!! In fact, I measure the extent of my crashes based on how many legs need popping back into place...

Anyway, the Syma sounds great and probably better video by the sound of it - I guess it's unfortunate that the legs were not fully located and the manual didn't make this more clear.

Jamie Osborne

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From: Peter Collins <triple...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 5, 2016 11:21 a.m.
Subject: Re: [snhack] Re: Best budget quad copters?
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