Tarot T960 WKM ARTF Combo

xstatic · May 12, 2014

Does anyone have experience with this. I am thinking of getting this at foxtech for professional video. Any suggestions on this unit or are there other units with more features for the 2,000$ price tag. I want to take professional video with 10 to 15 minutes with a gopro on a gimble, heavy duty battery, osd, fpv

You get the T 960 hexacopter, T960 retractable landing gear, 6 foxtec w5008 kv330 v2 motors, 6 DYS 40A ESC's,3 CF 1755MKll props,
Dji wkm flight controller, plugs, cables etc

Anyone using this rig?

ladykate · May 12, 2014

I fly the Tarot 810. It will safely get 15 minutes using the setup you described. My endurance run after building it showed it would go to 19 minutes plus but for safety sake, I bring it down at 15. It doesn't gracefully settle down when it runs out of juice.

I think the 960 would be overkill for what you want to do. While a bigger airframe will be steadier in the sky - it isn't that much steadier and you now have the batteries to fret about. I'm running a 6s 10000 mah battery on mine ($250 a pop delivered). You would have to run a similar battery on yours and because it is a bigger airframe, bigger motors, more weight, your flight times will likely be less by several minutes.

If you plan on going upscale in the future then the bigger airframe might be a choice but your specs and budget imply you are aiming at a 'super GoPro' platform. I would go with a tricked out 550, 650 or 800 class (800 class would be overkill, too, but not as much ;-}) - but logic doesn't always play. I didn't need the 810 but I got it. The bigger airframes are a hoot.

Remember that the bigger they are the harder they are to transport. The 960 is almost a foot wider than an 810 when you count the propellers. Folding it still leaves you with a long and somewhat fragile piece of equipment to pack. Even now, I revert back to the Phantom when I'm going out to an event - just to have enough space left in my truck to carry all the other crap I have to carry.

xstatic · May 12, 2014

Can the Tarot 810 hold a larger load like a "Red" camera. Even if it brings the flight to 5 or 6 minutes it might be something to consider.
What is the larges camera you put on yours? Any dslr's. What were the flight times?

ladykate · May 12, 2014

xstatic said:
Can the Tarot 810 hold a larger load like a "Red" camera. Even if it brings the flight to 5 or 6 minutes it might be something to consider.
What is the larges camera you put on yours? Any dslr's. What were the flight times?

Hmmm... going from a GoPro to a Red is a big step!

Technically, it could fly one but it would be at the limits. The load rating is about 2.5 kg. I have a very light load on mine and I get a solid 15 minutes (with a standard battery configuration) and could do more but, as I said, I like a good safety margin since it doesn't fail gracefully when it runs out of power. I suspect you could get 5-7 minutes if you went very conservative with your load on the Red. However, if I was going to fly a Red (on purpose), I would go big. No sense putting up a $30,000 camera on a $2,000 design. I would look at Kraken or bigger and A2 flight system. I would also consider having it professionally built and insured. Think $10K - $15K to start. The investment is so much that if I was doing it professionally, I would consider leasing or renting a system unless I had a steady use for it.

xstatic · May 13, 2014

I guess flying at the limts is sort of ridiculous with such an expensive camera. I guess get the smaller jobs and work my way up. Did yours come pre assebmled or did you have to put it together?

ladykate · May 13, 2014

xstatic said:
I guess flying at the limts is sort of ridiculous with such an expensive camera. I guess get the smaller jobs and work my way up. Did yours come pre assebmled or did you have to put it together?

There is a thread about it here: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=10744 On the second or third page of that build are the parts all laid out on a table... most of the parts anyway.

Boozshey also had a thread about his experience with the 600 class: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=12319

It came as a big bunch of parts and I added another bunch and then put it all together. It is not a big deal but you do have to have basic soldering skills and a little patience. Took me about four weeks but I had breaks in-between and if I had to build another, I could do it in one long day (but that is always the case - first time goes very slowly). I ordered a few extra pieces while building so that also delayed things. There is a build video series on YouTube. Look up Foxtechfpv and tarot 810. That build is mostly right. It doesn't show calibrating the ESCs and the power distribution system is different on the kit. I also used my own wiring for some things and added breakout boxes for power. I went with everything DJI and didn't have to use BECs. It is all 6s. I wired in some lights and, to keep from adding another power block for lower voltage, I just wired them in series.

Pre-assembled versions are somewhat pricy - probably because you do have to spend some time at it and time is money to the professional builder.

If you decide to get one and build it then open a thread up here and work through it. It helped to come on here and ***** about things that weren't going quite right. See the linked thread to see what I mean. Experienced builders and enthusiastic responders kinda keep your head level and eliminate frustration. Also, Foxtechfpv answers emails fairly reliably and they helped me through a couple of puzzles by sending me extra pictures of how they did it.

xstatic · May 15, 2014

Thanks lady for that reply i appreciate the in depth response and thought you put in. It is a great help. It is just so hard to believe that a company that sells these techkie products don' t give an in depth manual or post their own videos on youtube. It is keeping us shy people away from buying them. I know there is lots of help available on the net but it does take time to research and firgure out the whole thing. Lots of patience as you mentioned which I do have, and I am ok with a soldering gun (i keep burning the kitchen table cloth though) But...I like to know what I am invovled with first which would be nice with a neatmanual from the Chinese companies. Well good luck with that I tell myself...I do repeat other things to myself, but I can't repeat them here...lol.

So I guess I just have to watch the videos, read the blogs, and ask questions before I choose my device of torture. (they are never easy) Atleast I have your encouragement that people will help out, which they alwasy do. I just wish these things were already assembled. I guess that is why I started with the dji phantom.

Thanks again for your help. I will do some more searching about and try to figure what to buy. I think your setup will be good for a gopro or slr. Stay around. I may have more questions.

Perplexed, confused, but excited about the future prospects.

xstatic · Jun 17, 2014

Was thinking of this. Not too expensive.
Foxtech Kraken130 plus Octocopter ARF Combo

Just trying to find videos taken by that, most videos are from the ground looking at it flying. Sort of defeats the purpose.

Anyone with experience with the Kraken