calling it a day with DJI

[apollo64]

Since its to windy to fly, decided to do some routine maintenance on the P3s gimbal cal, imu cal, and guess what i find.....a second crack on same motor arm, after i found first one i super glued the crack, backed of the motor bollts a tiny bit and reduced air braking to 70% and to be honest i have hardly flown it since, the Quad has sat in its foam case in a temperature stable environment............so i now have a £450 drone that was in mint condition that might just about be worth £200 at a push.......all due to a well known design fault.
Sorry but my time with this brand is over, i am in the market for a new camera drone, so its now going to be a yuneec Typhoon 500 4k or a Xiaomi mi 4k....not the P3SE that i had been wanting

 

[With The Birds]

Lower shells aren’t expensive and anyone can replace one with basic hand tools and a little patience. The shells are known for cracking, I have had it on two seperate P3”s (one on upper and lower shells). The motor bosses seem to be poorly designed and polystyrene is known for being cheap and easy to easy to work with- not for strength and durability.

 

[macoman]

Nothing wrong with buying another brand... I have a standard without issues and 40 flights... However I am looking to buy a Typhoon 500 4K... I saw it in eBay refurbished for $399 American dollars... Not bad! The price is very tempting.

 

[apollo64]

Nothing wrong with buying another brand... I have a standard without issues and 40 flights... However I am looking to buy a Typhoon 500 4K... I saw it in eBay refurbished for $399 American dollars... Not bad! The price is very tempting.

The typhoon 500 4k is tempting

 

[apollo64]

Lower shells aren’t expensive and anyone can replace one with basic hand tools and a little patience. The shells are known for cracking, I have had it on two seperate P3”s (one on upper and lower shells). The motor bosses seem to be poorly designed and polystyrene is known for being cheap and easy to easy to work with- not for strength and durability.

Yes they are sensibly priced, but its by no means a ten minute job (not that you implied that).....i do really think what with this problem and all the firmware/app problems it really is time to step away and look to another brand

 

[BigAl07]

It sucks to have problems but if you think the others don't have the same problems you're just kidding yourself.

The market is saturated with DJI products so of course this is where you'll see the most problems. I've got Blade/Yuneec aircraft and have had the same problems but WORSE. One one quad I've had to replace the GPS puck 3 different times. No crashes it just goes out. Thank goodness it's only $25 and takes about 45min to replace.

You'll miss the distance and versatility of the DJI right off the bat. Many of us have multiple brands of UAS but the majority of those who jump ship end up coming back before too long.

You might want to look at the Mavic. It seems to be well built and I haven't seen any "stress cracks" threads to date (although I've not read every thread).

 

[apollo64]

It sucks to have problems but if you think the others don't have the same problems you're just kidding yourself.

The market is saturated with DJI products so of course this is where you'll see the most problems. I've got Blade/Yuneec aircraft and have had the same problems but WORSE. One one quad I've had to replace the GPS puck 3 different times. No crashes it just goes out. Thank goodness it's only $25 and takes about 45min to replace.

You'll miss the distance and versatility of the DJI right off the bat. Many of us have multiple brands of UAS but the majority of those who jump ship end up coming back before too long.

You might want to look at the Mavic. It seems to be well built and I haven't seen any "stress cracks" threads to date (although I've not read every thread).

Your correct in a lot of ways, but this crack issue really sucks, if i had crashed it or badly mistreated it it would be just my own silly fault, but i have really looked after it, and this is such a common problem, DJI should have put matters right a long time ago.
Regards the Mavic, this drone is just not for me, loads of my friends have them and i just dont get excited with it, never have done

 

[BigAl07]

Your correct in a lot of ways, but this crack issue really sucks, if i had crashed it or badly mistreated it it would be just my own silly fault, but i have really looked after it, and this is such a common problem, DJI should have put matters right a long time ago.
Regards the Mavic, this drone is just not for me, loads of my friends have them and i just dont get excited with it, never have done

I understand. My P3P developed cracks and no crashes not even hard landings (we hand catch 99.9%).

The Mavic isn't for everyone but we liked it enough to retire our fleet of P3 (still fly them for instruction and demo work) and move our business to the Inspire and Mavic platforms completely.

 

[apollo64]

Im just wondering if it would be worth taking top shell of, removing motors and pouring decent epoxy resin into the space UNDER the motors, not the dollar store epoxy but a good quality brand, this stuff self levels and sets like steel?

 

[solentlife]

One of the problems with Epoxy ... is it doesn't adhere 100% to most plastics. Note when using a plastic stick to mix it - later you can bend and crack the epoxy of it.

I use MEK or PLASTIWELD .... its a fluid that plastic modellers use to join parts near invisibly. You apply sparingly by thin paint brush. It acts like capillary into the joint, actually dissolving the surface and welding the two as it evaporates.
Its not a cure ... it just joins the cracks. I then add Polyurethane glue into the crack line .... smoothing it as it expands. (Gorilla Glue is a trade name). I finish of with the metal plates designed to help reduce cracking.

Some people use a Plastic compound designed for aquariums / pools etc.

Nigel

 

[BigAl07]

I would use the "Reinforced" epoxy. It's in the same 2-tube syringe but it's black/grey and have an added component. We use it for some unconventional uses and it sets up HARD.

Also for the cracks we used the LED Bonding Glue you see in the As Seen On TV ads. Worked SPLENDIDLY. It's called 5 second fix. LOVE IT!

 

[wa5tef]

As far as DJI and their opinion of their customer base, they could care less! If you have ever dealt with their “Customer Service” bunch you understand. They lie when the truth might solve the problem. They are apparently trained to try to discourage complaints and reject warranty claims in hope that you will give up and go away! If an American company treated customers like that they’d be out of business fast! Good luck to those of you who eventually have to deal with them.
Jim
WA5TEF

 

[Mattron]

 

[Mattron]

Used a lil bit of super glue, let dry & these for a little while with the cracks in top & bottom shell. But eventually replaced top & bottom, then reinstalled the supports. I didn’t see if anyone suggested these already ? Sorry if redundant.

 

[apollo64]

As far as DJI and their opinion of their customer base, they could care less! If you have ever dealt with their “Customer Service” bunch you understand. They lie when the truth might solve the problem. They are apparently trained to try to discourage complaints and reject warranty claims in hope that you will give up and go away! If an American company treated customers like that they’d be out of business fast! Good luck to those of you who eventually have to deal with them.
Jim
WA5TEF

I have not contacted them, but have heard (or read) a few tales of people that have,
I am now strongly looking at the Xiaomi Mi 4k, i spent half the day trying to get the app (like DJ`s go app) but even though i have a brand new 4g phone with android 7 it would not load, then as last resort i dug out the old phone and its all installed and set up, this is good as i dont have to use my main phone as the fpv/command point. Also i am hearing xiaomi are 100% behind the product, if an owner has a problem they deal with it, so have to say i ave one in my cart and just about on the point of pulling the trigger

 

[solentlife]

Well I have to say that I was totally unimpressed by DJI techs who could not give same answers to questions - the reply depended on who was replying ! In fact when I found out the real answer - none of the tech's answers right !
When my P3P bricked - it was a long road but eventually I had excellent service from them.

Yes the apps and FW leave many asking why ! But overall ? There is not much to compete with the Phantom. I see the Quanum Nova is on special deal at moment ...

Nigel

 

[apollo64]

Well I have to say that I was totally unimpressed by DJI techs who could not give same answers to questions - the reply depended on who was replying ! In fact when I found out the real answer - none of the tech's answers right !
When my P3P bricked - it was a long road but eventually I had excellent service from them.

Yes the apps and FW leave many asking why ! But overall ? There is not much to compete with the Phantom. I see the Quanum Nova is on special deal at moment ...

Nigel

The Xiaomi mi 4k more than competes, it is a more capable drone than a 3s or 3se with a range of close to 4km and 26 mins flight time, my finger is poised to buy

 

[solentlife]

I looked at the MI 4K .... but once I added up all the gear and how it controls etc. - I put the idea aside.

I will look at it again - just to refresh my memory...

As I say - the DJI clone Nova is at very attractive price at moment ... once kitted out can be a lot less money than a P3. It's open source based as well.

Nigel

 

[ImACarbonCopy]

One thing could help with cracks is to balance the props.
The props are generally not balanced as they should be.
much less vibs with balanced props.less vibs should help with cracks.

 

[solentlife]

Regarding the MI 4K ... here seems to be a fair review ...

TEST: Xiaomi Mi 4K drone - Drone-Maniac !!!!!!!

Nigel

 

[apollo64]

Regarding the MI 4K ... here seems to be a fair review ...

TEST: Xiaomi Mi 4K drone - Drone-Maniac !!!!!!!

Nigel

I have done the deal, ordered the Mi 4k £298 from gearbest, i plan on ordering the alloy motor plates for the P3 and then i will more than likely sell the P3