Got new P2V+/v3 today

Joined
Sep 21, 2014
Messages
207
Reaction score
172
Age
74
Location
Socorro, NM
Been lurking here since September and have gleamed some wonderful information before getting a P2V+. (All the crash posts kinda scared me for awhile). Ordered the new version Nov. 1 from DroneCamps, arrived today as promised and well packaged. I actually read the manual, quick start quide, everything. Using my wife's old Ipod Touch 4 for the FPV. Following the instructions, everything came up and calibrated as stated. Then, decided it was time for its virgin flight. BTW, I live quite rural in the New Mexico desert, so plenty of open space with virtually no neighbors, and certainly NO water! I'm right at 5,000 ft. ASL.

Here's a few comments about the new version, though I can't compare it with the original P2Vs.

Documentation seems to be the original P2V+ manuals, etc. except a new one entitled "Phantom Remote Control Upgrade Notice" about the camera dial, rechargeable batteries, 4 LED battery level, new throttle lock, and trainer port.

First flight was pretty conservative: took it up, flew the recommended "boxes" for general feel of the controls. I can see I need some practice for a better "circle" and "figure 8" thing! :-( The new camera knob works well moving the lens and is positioned nicely on the remote to manipulate without removing your left hand from the stick. Video very stable during flight, though with a little lag on the FPV. Though a very simplistic flight, I was surprised at how smooth it flew and responded well to my very rank amateurish commands. Finally took it out several hundred yards and turned the remote power off. The RTH worked well, landing about 6 feet north of the takeoff spot, and just gracefully landed with no bounce. GPS varied between 10-11 satellites over the 15 minute or so flight, which included 3 manual landings, then back up (is that considered "touch and go?")

With the first flight out of my system, it's read the user manuals and watch the online tutorials again, and probably another time or two before I take to the skies again or get any more adventurous or creative.

The main purpose of the P2V+ is to document with aerial photography (video and stills) of the many nearby unexcavated pueblos from the 1200-1600s, and to supplement mapping El Camino Real Trail, which I have been asked to do (and obtained permission) from the National Park Service and BLM. Much of the old Spanish trail is still visible, but is also disappearing fast lately, and thus the program to document it while we still can. There are several 100+ room pueblos just across the Rio Grande from me that have never been photographed aerially for accurate room counts. You can see them on GoogleEarth, but only the basic outlines. The archaeologists I work with are excited to see P2V+ aerial images for the first time to make accurate measurements, room counts, and location of the kivas.

Thanks to many of you for the excellent information on the P2V to allow me to make a good decision and hopefully ensure I always bring it home - and never have to make a post with the words "crash" or "lost" in it.

Paul
Socorro, NM
 
Good luck and much success with your trail and pueblo documentation endeavors. Keep us posted of your progress with an occasional still or video.
 
NM_Quad said:
Video very stable during flight, though with a little lag on the FPV.

Try experimenting with preview video quality settings. Lower setting, less lag.

NM_Quad said:
The main purpose of the P2V+ is to document with aerial photography (video and stills) of the many nearby unexcavated pueblos from the 1200-1600s, and to supplement mapping El Camino Real Trail, which I have been asked to do (and obtained permission) from the National Park Service and BLM.

You might find this interesting: http://pix4d.com
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R8WhMPl-54[/youtube]

With recent availability of the SDK many interesting apps for Phantom will start popping out!
 
Thanks to all for your comments. I do hope to bump into a couple of you ... on the ground, that is! :)

I now have several flights under my belt and getting quite comfortable with maneuvering the P2V+. Practiced on some curvy ditch roads and abandoned houses along the Rio Grande today and began concentrating on the videography aspects. No CNN awards for my video skills so far, but you learn from your mistakes. First is moving the platform or camera WAY too fast. Found it hard to make smooth turns and transitions, mostly because the response is so sensitive. Will lower the gains and try that out tomorrow. The new camera tilt knob is also quite sensitive ... almost binary from straight ahead to straight down. Will figure out what channel that is and see if I can reduce the gain on that also.

Forecast is for very high winds this weekend, so may be grounded for a couple of days. That will give me time to start fooling around with some video editing.

I will definitely post the first video or two when I finally decide it's time to fly one of the local pueblos. There's one less than a 15 minute drive from the house.

And lastly, many of you may also have experienced this. I ran video on a couple of flights from take off to landing. I landed at around 30% battery, display said 8 minutes left, as it seemed like only a 5-6 minute flight. I was really disappointed at the limited flight time due to the short battery life. But, when I played back the video, it turned out to be a 19 minute flight.

As they say, time flies when you're having fun!!!

BTW, seem to be consistently running 10-11 satellites. Don't know if due to my wide-open spaces, or improved GPS and shielding. Didn't notice any change when turning the video on or off.

Paul
Socorro, New Mexico
 
NM_Quad: have a look at this website to find out how many GPS satellites are available to you at any given time to compare with what your Phantom system says it sees:
http://satpredictor.navcomtech.com/
The wide open spaces are certainly mo' bettah for seeing lots of satellites.
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,354
Members
104,934
Latest member
jody.paugh@fullerandsons.