Nice new Phantom 2+ V3 as a xmas gift saw me take the quad out for its maiden flight. It flew perfectly from the word go but on landing tipped over and left me with 10 mins flight time and a stuttering motor.
Given the fact that I was far away from any spares shop, I managed to get a friend to purchase a spare motor and other friends who were coming my way on holiday to bring them to the Eastern Cape with them.
Unfortunately I was supplied the incorrect motor and my flying time was zero for the rest of the holiday.
On return to civilisation, it transpired that V3 motors were not available anywhere. On visiting the DJI dealer, he was quick to diagonse the problem on the ESC and not the Motor. Unfortunately I had butchered the wires of the (fictional) motor and could not recover the motor. Good lesson learnt.
However: I did purchase 4 of the V2 motors (940 rpm?) and replaced the ailing ESC as well as swapping out all the motors.
Given that I have the fine motor skills of a black bear, soldering was a challenge and I really do not think I will get a passing grade for neatness. However, once all the work was done - more than 3 hours for me to get it done - the 4 motors spun up (without the props) and reacted well to the controls.
Proof of the pudding was the first flight and it went without a hitch. Controls were dead steady and it hovered and reacted well to input. The one thing it does feel is that it comes down slower than originally.
Took the quad up to 100 meters and flew around 120 meters from me. No issues.
Avoiding landing tip overs - I adopted the catch method of landing and that is simple and will avoid what originally caused my issue.
Lessons learnt:
- I can solder, even if it does not look as neat as the original
- Store all the screws in a container. I lost a few and was forced to go and buy replacements.
- The tiny screws at the end of each boom are a pain in the butt and strip easily
- Black Motors need to be opposite each other. Simple bugger up which cost me time while I removed an already soldered motor.
- The ESC works on both the OLD and New motors. No need to change the ESC when you change the motor (From the new one to the old ones)
- When you take off, give it gas to get up quickly. A slow take off will more often than not lead to a tip over.
- Do not switch off the quad without waiting for the Memory Card to complete deletion. A brain fart lead me to to do that, and now I cannot access my card. Will need to see what I can do there.
I must admit I was nervous when flying today. It is a lot of cash in the air that would not look good plummeting to earth due to a bad repair. But all went well and I have some great footage of the Johannesburg skyline on a clear summers day marking my second flight.
I am happy
Given the fact that I was far away from any spares shop, I managed to get a friend to purchase a spare motor and other friends who were coming my way on holiday to bring them to the Eastern Cape with them.
Unfortunately I was supplied the incorrect motor and my flying time was zero for the rest of the holiday.
On return to civilisation, it transpired that V3 motors were not available anywhere. On visiting the DJI dealer, he was quick to diagonse the problem on the ESC and not the Motor. Unfortunately I had butchered the wires of the (fictional) motor and could not recover the motor. Good lesson learnt.
However: I did purchase 4 of the V2 motors (940 rpm?) and replaced the ailing ESC as well as swapping out all the motors.
Given that I have the fine motor skills of a black bear, soldering was a challenge and I really do not think I will get a passing grade for neatness. However, once all the work was done - more than 3 hours for me to get it done - the 4 motors spun up (without the props) and reacted well to the controls.
Proof of the pudding was the first flight and it went without a hitch. Controls were dead steady and it hovered and reacted well to input. The one thing it does feel is that it comes down slower than originally.
Took the quad up to 100 meters and flew around 120 meters from me. No issues.
Avoiding landing tip overs - I adopted the catch method of landing and that is simple and will avoid what originally caused my issue.
Lessons learnt:
- I can solder, even if it does not look as neat as the original
- Store all the screws in a container. I lost a few and was forced to go and buy replacements.
- The tiny screws at the end of each boom are a pain in the butt and strip easily
- Black Motors need to be opposite each other. Simple bugger up which cost me time while I removed an already soldered motor.
- The ESC works on both the OLD and New motors. No need to change the ESC when you change the motor (From the new one to the old ones)
- When you take off, give it gas to get up quickly. A slow take off will more often than not lead to a tip over.
- Do not switch off the quad without waiting for the Memory Card to complete deletion. A brain fart lead me to to do that, and now I cannot access my card. Will need to see what I can do there.
I must admit I was nervous when flying today. It is a lot of cash in the air that would not look good plummeting to earth due to a bad repair. But all went well and I have some great footage of the Johannesburg skyline on a clear summers day marking my second flight.
I am happy
