About to pull the trigger on a Quad...

[EmTwo]

...and was hoping for a sanity check to make sure that what I "THINK" I know matches reality.

So...I've settled on a Phantom 2 package with the Zenmuse already installed (B&H)

I'll also be picking up a GoPro Hero 3+ Black at the time of purchase.

Eventually, I'll be adding FPV, OSD, and an upgraded Radio.

As to the FPV, I like the immersion aspect of Goggles, so plan on a set of Fat Sharks...Dominator?, along with a 5G8 V3 transmitter.

I've more reading to do on an upgraded Radio...what say the board on their favorite? Futaba T8J or the more expensive 8FG?

Is the iOSD Mini sufficient for my needs? Really only looking for altitude and heading, and Battery Voltage; anything beyond that is gravy...

My only concern is battery life...I understand that a Phantom 2 Battery can take up to 90 minutes to recharge, and at $150.00 a pop, having enough spares to be able to continuously fly could get expensive. How many batteries is enough? 1 and 2 spares, 3 spares?

Look forward to your thoughts...and thanks in advance for educating this noob....

v/r

Michael

 

[havasuphoto]

Have you used the Fat Shark FPV goggles before? I've not used them, so can't comment.
as for the iOSD mini, it's a good investment, IMHO. I have a Phantom 1 with the Zenmouse Gimbal, 600mw FPV transmitter, 7" FPV receiver monitor, mounted to a Futaba T8J remote(with the TX installed in the Phantom).
I also have the GP 3 Black. The difference in weight between the 3 and 3+ is less than 2 grams!!

As for the Phantom 2.....It can't really carry anymore weight than the Phantom 1-it's still rated at 1200 grams at take-off. My Phantom 1, as setup above, with 1 battery weights 1270 grams.
So, I believe that the Phantom 2, with it's much heavier battery, will be a tad bit over weight.

That being said-it's "updated" from the 1, has bigger props(which really don't provide much more lift), and comes with the Gimbal.

My batteries are $12 each. Factory batteries are $23. My 1 will fly for 5:20 before I get the 1st level low voltage warning. So, I imagine I would get slightly less than double that, with the Ph2, and it's bigger battery.

I've heard the PH2 batteries charge in about an hour. The problem is-as you pointed out-they're proprietary, so they're expensive.
I have 10 batteries....so roughly 1 hour of flight time. The cost of those batteries was roughly the same as 1 PH2 battery.

IMHO, I'd wait a bit......I'd like to see a Phantom 3, that can carry more weight-has a 3-axis Gimbal, and the big battery. OR, I'd get the Phantom 1.1.1, gimbal, the Futaba T8J, FPV, iOSD, and a bunch of batteries, and have a blast

I use my FPV monitor and the information on the iOSD a lot. It's very helpful...and, you can tilt the camera and have a look around.....very cool. OH, don't forget to add the Cloverleaf(Circular Polarizing)Antenna for your FPV set-up...doubles your distance.

 

[Ravecreative]

FYI, just weighed my phantom 2 with ZENMUSE, GOPRO 3+ BLACK HERO, MINI IOSD AND AVL58, it weighs 1255g all up

hope this helps

 

[havasuphoto]

FYI, just weighed my phantom 2 with ZENMUSE, GOPRO 3+ BLACK HERO, MINI IOSD AND AVL58, it weighs 1255g all up

hope this helps

I just tried to find the weight of the Phantom 1-and couldn't. Mine is 1270 because I have the PMU. If you have version 1.1.1, you don't need that.
I found the weight of the Phantom 2 listed w/battery at 1000 grams.
And, I found the Specs on the max take off weight of the Phantom 1, at <1000 grams.
I would expect the PH2 to be heavier........

How much flight time do you get with your PH2?

 

[EmTwo]

Have you used the Fat Shark FPV goggles before? I've not used them, so can't comment.
as for the iOSD mini, it's a good investment, IMHO. I have a Phantom 1 with the Zenmouse Gimbal, 600mw FPV transmitter, 7" FPV receiver monitor, mounted to a Futaba T8J remote(with the TX installed in the Phantom).
I also have the GP 3 Black. The difference in weight between the 3 and 3+ is less than 2 grams!!

As for the Phantom 2.....It can't really carry anymore weight than the Phantom 1-it's still rated at 1200 grams at take-off. My Phantom 1, as setup above, with 1 battery weights 1270 grams.
So, I believe that the Phantom 2, with it's much heavier battery, will be a tad bit over weight.

That being said-it's "updated" from the 1, has bigger props(which really don't provide much more lift), and comes with the Gimbal.

My batteries are $12 each. Factory batteries are $23. My 1 will fly for 5:20 before I get the 1st level low voltage warning. So, I imagine I would get slightly less than double that, with the Ph2, and it's bigger battery.

I've heard the PH2 batteries charge in about an hour. The problem is-as you pointed out-they're proprietary, so they're expensive.
I have 10 batteries....so roughly 1 hour of flight time. The cost of those batteries was roughly the same as 1 PH2 battery.

IMHO, I'd wait a bit......I'd like to see a Phantom 3, that can carry more weight-has a 3-axis Gimbal, and the big battery. OR, I'd get the Phantom 1.1.1, gimbal, the Futaba T8J, FPV, iOSD, and a bunch of batteries, and have a blast

I use my FPV monitor and the information on the iOSD a lot. It's very helpful...and, you can tilt the camera and have a look around.....very cool. OH, don't forget to add the Cloverleaf(Circular Polarizing)Antenna for your FPV set-up...doubles your distance.

Thanks for the reply...

Don't think I can wait...I was all ready to get a 1.1.1. when the Phantom 2 Vision came out. I knew I didn't want a Vision, but hoped they'd release the 2 without the camera...and they did. Now, I'm done waiting.

I'm planning on using the Phantom as a learning platform, and hope to move up to a bigger unit in the future...maybe the Phantom 3?

v/r

Michael

 

[EmTwo]

FYI, just weighed my phantom 2 with ZENMUSE, GOPRO 3+ BLACK HERO, MINI IOSD AND AVL58, it weighs 1255g all up

hope this helps

The AVL58 wouldn't be required if I went with Fat Shark Goggles and their Transmitter, correct?

v/r

Michael

 

[Ksc]

get the phantom 2 with the zenmuse. get the hero 3 black and enjoy it. don't worry so much about the FPV stuff now. wait until you are ready for it. improvements are made often and something today might be improved on by the time you are ready to fly. I personally like the new stock tx but futaba makes a nice one. The T8J doesn't have FAAST so it won't be a direct easy connection. You have to spend more for the plug and play ones. I'd get the P2/Zenmuse and Hero3 package and fly it. When you are ready to upgrade, come back and lets figure it out. You may find that you want something bigger than the phantom or perhaps it wasn't as great as you thought. Save your money for now and get the basic package. Learn to fly it. Love it. Then when you are ready, upgrade it or move to the next level.

 

[havasuphoto]

get the phantom 2 with the zenmuse. get the hero 3 black and enjoy it. don't worry so much about the FPV stuff now. wait until you are ready for it. improvements are made often and something today might be improved on by the time you are ready to fly. I personally like the new stock tx but futaba makes a nice one. The T8J doesn't have FAAST so it won't be a direct easy connection. You have to spend more for the plug and play ones. I'd get the P2/Zenmuse and Hero3 package and fly it. When you are ready to upgrade, come back and lets figure it out. You may find that you want something bigger than the phantom or perhaps it wasn't as great as you thought. Save your money for now and get the basic package. Learn to fly it. Love it. Then when you are ready, upgrade it or move to the next level.

I think you're wrong on that....the T8J does have FAAST....I have one and it works great. But, I'm using the Futaba dual antenna transmitter too.

 

[EmTwo]

get the phantom 2 with the zenmuse. get the hero 3 black and enjoy it. don't worry so much about the FPV stuff now. wait until you are ready for it. improvements are made often and something today might be improved on by the time you are ready to fly. I personally like the new stock tx but futaba makes a nice one. The T8J doesn't have FAAST so it won't be a direct easy connection. You have to spend more for the plug and play ones. I'd get the P2/Zenmuse and Hero3 package and fly it. When you are ready to upgrade, come back and lets figure it out. You may find that you want something bigger than the phantom or perhaps it wasn't as great as you thought. Save your money for now and get the basic package. Learn to fly it. Love it. Then when you are ready, upgrade it or move to the next level.

Thanks KSC...heading over compare prices now....

v/r

Michael

 

[havasuphoto]

get the phantom 2 with the zenmuse. get the hero 3 black and enjoy it. don't worry so much about the FPV stuff now. wait until you are ready for it. improvements are made often and something today might be improved on by the time you are ready to fly. I personally like the new stock tx but futaba makes a nice one. The T8J doesn't have FAAST so it won't be a direct easy connection. You have to spend more for the plug and play ones. I'd get the P2/Zenmuse and Hero3 package and fly it. When you are ready to upgrade, come back and lets figure it out. You may find that you want something bigger than the phantom or perhaps it wasn't as great as you thought. Save your money for now and get the basic package. Learn to fly it. Love it. Then when you are ready, upgrade it or move to the next level.

Thanks KSC...heading over compare prices now....

v/r

Michael

$869.00 everywhere.......Go Pro 3 Black edition out of stock, everywhere(bought mine for $235 on black Thursday).
If you find the PH2 cheaper...lemme know

 

[LeoS]

I think you're wrong on that....the T8J does have FAAST....I have one and it works great. But, I'm using the Futaba dual antenna transmitter too.

The T8J only has FHSS, T8FG has FASST.

http://www.futaba-rc.com/systems/air.html

 

[Ksc]

get the phantom 2 with the zenmuse. get the hero 3 black and enjoy it. don't worry so much about the FPV stuff now. wait until you are ready for it. improvements are made often and something today might be improved on by the time you are ready to fly. I personally like the new stock tx but futaba makes a nice one. The T8J doesn't have FAAST so it won't be a direct easy connection. You have to spend more for the plug and play ones. I'd get the P2/Zenmuse and Hero3 package and fly it. When you are ready to upgrade, come back and lets figure it out. You may find that you want something bigger than the phantom or perhaps it wasn't as great as you thought. Save your money for now and get the basic package. Learn to fly it. Love it. Then when you are ready, upgrade it or move to the next level.

I think you're wrong on that....the T8J does have FAAST....I have one and it works great. But, I'm using the Futaba dual antenna transmitter too.

You might want to double check. I have the T8J as well. It's FHSS. Not FAAST.

http://www.futaba-rc.com/receivers/fhss ... ompat.html

 

[havasuphoto]

get the phantom 2 with the zenmuse. get the hero 3 black and enjoy it. don't worry so much about the FPV stuff now. wait until you are ready for it. improvements are made often and something today might be improved on by the time you are ready to fly. I personally like the new stock tx but futaba makes a nice one. The T8J doesn't have FAAST so it won't be a direct easy connection. You have to spend more for the plug and play ones. I'd get the P2/Zenmuse and Hero3 package and fly it. When you are ready to upgrade, come back and lets figure it out. You may find that you want something bigger than the phantom or perhaps it wasn't as great as you thought. Save your money for now and get the basic package. Learn to fly it. Love it. Then when you are ready, upgrade it or move to the next level.

I think you're wrong on that....the T8J does have FAAST....I have one and it works great. But, I'm using the Futaba dual antenna transmitter too.

You might want to double check. I have the T8J as well. It's FHSS. Not FAAST.

http://www.futaba-rc.com/receivers/fhss ... ompat.html

Sorry, you're right....I knew it had "Frequency Hopping"...FHSS, not FAAST....I went and looked at the remote and the box.
Not sure what the difference is-but I wasn't going to pay another $100+ for it.
All these Acronyms get a bit confusing. Why would FAAST be better than FHSS??

 

[Ksc]

I did the same thing as you. I bought the T8J because it got my 450 off the ground and I didn't see how spending a few hundred more was worth it. The only thing I know that really matters as far as the Phantom is that the FAAST system means you can use the phantom RX and not have to install the big *** futaba RX. Its as easy as linking your phone to your cars bluetooth. I personally like the phantom TX so its not a big deal to me.

 

[havasuphoto]

I did the same thing as you. I bought the T8J because it got my 450 off the ground and I didn't see how spending a few hundred more was worth it. The only thing I know that really matters as far as the Phantom is that the FAAST system means you can use the phantom RX and not have to install the big *** futaba RX. Its as easy as linking your phone to your cars bluetooth. I personally like the phantom TX so its not a big deal to me.

True. That's a few extra grams I didn't need. But-I bought the non 1.1.1(Phantom 1 only-no remote), so the Futaba TX gave me the dual antenna's. Of course, I also had to add a PMU(for iOSD, Gimbal and Video TX). With version 1.1.1, you don't need all that(PMU, Futaba TX).

I do like how configurable the Futaba remotes are. I have 1 switch that cuts the response of the 3-axis of control by 50%, and the maximum rate to only 90%. I use this for "film mode", when I want to fly in Atti mode, and me smooth.
I also have the VR knob set to tilt the camera. That used to work very smoothly-but, since Firmware 1.60, it's too fast and jerky, and no adjustment can be made to smooth that out...I've tried in the Naza-M, and have "manual" set to 5(from the default of 100), and it still tilts too fast.

 

[longhornfan]

if your budget allows get fpv... i have had my p2 w/gimbal setup for 2 weeks now (first quad also) and regret not having fpv. during my filming of my new years firework show i missed a ton of good footage because i had to guess if my camera was pointed correctly and also the angle of the gimbal..
I also have 3 batteries total and so far this has been plenty of flight time to capture what i have wanted to..
i get the 30% battery warning around 21 minutes of flight time which

I ordered my attitude v2 goggle system already and can't wait to get it in..
hope some of this info helps you in your purchase, you will really enjoy the P2 w/zenmuse!!

 

[EmTwo]

Thanks all for the excellent advice; after a lot of research, and reading dozens of threads here on the forums, I went ahead with step 1, and ordered the Phantom 2 with the Zenmuse, and a GoPro 3+ Black.

Next stop is OSD and FPV....still undecided on Goggles or a Screen, but have a couple of weeks to decide.

Finally, an upgraded Radio; settled on the Futaba 8FG, as anything beyond that would be overkill for my use.

Again, thanks to all...what an amazing resource these boards are....

v/r

Michael