What does your Phantom Weigh?

Fdnyfish · Oct 24, 2013

I'm at 2lb 5oz (1040g) Just rebuilt it with new shell after a crash

Seems heavy when I have it in my hands.

Waiting for the wind to die down to try it.

T-Motors
GoPro Hero3 Black with Frame Mount
Flytrex Core
Garmin GTU-10
Shapeways GTU-10 Mount
Shapeways Large Battery Door
Original Phantom Battery
Futaba Receiver

rsfoto · Oct 24, 2013

1000gram with a 3S Lipo 2200mAh and a Tachyon XC helmet camera fixed with GoPro fittings.

fizzviic · Oct 24, 2013

The only time I have found when weight makes a difference is when your Phantom software begins to reduce the current to the motors and your bird starts to emulate a rock. :mrgreen:

martcerv · Oct 24, 2013

justsomeguy said:
Don't know and don't care as long as I can snag the shots that I need. Haven't been overloaded to the point of weight being a problem, yet.

Gram counting does seem to be a associated past time for many folks though.

If someone is comparing batteries or props with the aim of increasing flight times or performance then counting grams is kind of a key step. Knowing what your weight is and what effect it has and also how to deal with it is pretty important and many noobies have no idea how much extra weight effects their flights. They think adding 6 batteries will give them 6 times the flight times and then wonder why it doesn't or why it comes down like a flightless bird at the second battery warning level with 2 batteries 5 minute quicker then they expected.

If you have OSD then its not as critical to know the expected flight time but if flying basically to a timer then people need to realize how adding any extra weight will shorten their flights unless they dont really care if they make it back or not.

If you fly the same gear all the time with all the same batteries in pretty much the same way knowing the weight isnt too critical you just need to know how long you can fly. If you want to make changes to improve flight time then you need to understand what is the key limiting factor and that is weight. I still remember a guy that was going to add helium balloons to his phantom, not sure where he got to I but already made up the popcorn to watch his surely entertaining video. Cant imagine it helping more then causing it to crash but sure wanted to see the crash footage at least. :lol:

Gizmo3000 · Oct 24, 2013

fizzviic said:
The only time I have found when weight makes a difference is when your Phantom software begins to reduce the current to the motors and your bird starts to emulate a rock. :mrgreen:

LOL,. true true!

I'm currently flying a rather heavy Phantom, as I'm testing out a 290g 3-axis gimbal!,. my total weight with a stock battery and FPV is around 1270g.
flight times very drastically, between 4 and 5 minutes,. I basically have about 45 seconds once i get the red blinking lights before it "lands" itself - and with the added weight, it's more like a controlled plunge.

when I built my 450, I paid special attention to keeping it as light as possible.
every extra gram = 1 less second of flight.(or more)
so just a 30g add on will cut a half minute!

martcerv · Oct 24, 2013

If you know how much things weigh then it will give you an idea of what to expect if you add more weight and at what point your completely overdoing it. It takes about 2 seconds to put it on a set of digital scales so its not like it takes a huge effort. Nobody needs to know an exact weight unless they actually want to get a comparison of benefits of different parts or batteries and also to compare against other setups to see if there is something else worth trying that may work better.

This can show people if they are in the same ballpark or if something is going wrong, if someone says they get very short flight times then not much anyone can do to help. If they give more info like their weight and mods including flight time some people may be willing to help them out.

Sure some people aren't much into helping others but mostly come on forums to put others down and make themselves feel good inside by doing so :lol: In that case they may not care about anything unless what someone says leaves a slight opening for them to give some form of personal attack or put down.

PhantomFan · Oct 24, 2013

Fdnyfish: That is a sharp looking Phantom you've got there. Love the all-white color scheme with red trim and battery door! White motors, white prop nuts...very nice!!! How do you like the Shapeways battery door? Did you have any trouble with the hinge-pin?

PF

martcerv · Oct 24, 2013

Looked up projecting and internet troll and that describes JSG perfectly. Thanks so much for helping me understand your mental issues better :lol:

Sorry I shouldnt feed troll's tried dealing with it in PM but he cant be helped.

Back on topic my setup weighs between 1150g

1300g for dual cam 3d setup.

Added mini OSD which was another 40g on top and depending on battery used and filters this can change 20-50g but thats not a very significant effect. Difference between 1150g and 1300g is nearly 2 minutes in flight time depending on how hard I fly.

miskatonic · Oct 25, 2013

PhantomFan said:
Fdnyfish: That is a sharp looking Phantom you've got there. Love the all-white color scheme with red trim and battery door! White motors, white prop nuts...very nice!!! How do you like the Shapeways battery door? Did you have any trouble with the hinge-pin?

PF

I actually have battery door that lets you plug in two batteries and the GTU-10 mount and they are awesome! I had zero issues with my hinge pin. The hinge is 1.5mm so just apply a 1.5mm hex wrench to the pin and it will pop out.

martcerv · Oct 25, 2013

justsomeguy said:
Ok, I get it. You're REALLY sensitive about gram counting and your toy. Conversely, there are plenty of normal folks out there that just chuckle at that kind of goofiness.

Its obvious you have not read the thread title as if you don't care about how much your phantom weighs why are you even posting in this thread much like 99% of your posts, that are purely of no purpose other then being a basic low level garden variety internet troll.

I will give you a basic tip read the thread title then ask yourself if you have anything of any value to anybody to add to the topic. If yes hit reply if not and you just want to throw in some negative personal attacks then your basically a troll and so best to go away until you have something of value to contribute. Its not that hard just common decency and you sir are given the head troll award on this forum so congrats on your valuable achievement everyone must be so proud.

thetac · Oct 25, 2013

I've looked at your posts sir...you do nothing but try and put people down and make jokes...for what reason? Who knows? Does it make you feel like you have the upper hand? Seriously, I believe these forums are for helping others and providing factual information. If you don't have something helpful or encouraging to say i would venture that most of us would be very happy not hearing it "mate"!

PhantomFan · Oct 25, 2013

@ martcerv: That is a sweet looking bad-*** machine! I love the RED velcro safety strap. Great idea to have it red.

My battery door popped when I was just doing some gentle slalom's around the yard on a practically new machine, so it wasn't like it had been subjected to prior wear and tear or abuse. Pisses me off that there isn't a more secure latch, especially when you consider the safety aspects of the consequences. ~4 additional mm of depth/clearance provided by DJI in the battery bay would probably solve the problem. Leaving it to the end-user to devise a fix, or forcing owners to buy an aftermarket product to address the issue...not a high-class decision on DJI's part, IMHO.

PF

martcerv · Oct 25, 2013

PhantomFan said:
@ martcerv: That is a sweet looking bad-*** machine! I love the RED velcro safety strap. Great idea to have it red.

My battery door popped when I was just doing some gentle slalom's around the yard on a practically new machine, so it wasn't like it had been subjected to prior wear and tear or abuse. Pisses me off that there isn't a more secure latch, especially when you consider the safety aspects of the consequences. ~4 additional mm of depth/clearance provided by DJI in the battery bay would probably solve the problem. Leaving it to the end-user to devise a fix, or forcing owners to buy an aftermarket product to address the issue...not a high-class decision on DJI's part, IMHO.

PF

Thanks there was a thread about the battery door latch here only a few days ago, mine never popped open before but I felt its quite a vulnerable part and door opening in flight could cause a nasty crash if the battery falls out. I do like to fly hard and fast or quite far so I put this on just to make sure it cant pop open. Your lucky your battery didnt come out completely but a little strap will help and I do this with all my externally mounted gear too just to make sure nothing falls off in flight.

Fdnyfish · Oct 25, 2013

PhantomFan said:
Fdnyfish: That is a sharp looking Phantom you've got there. Love the all-white color scheme with red trim and battery door! White motors, white prop nuts...very nice!!! How do you like the Shapeways battery door? Did you have any trouble with the hinge-pin?

PF

The pin was easy to get out, the door gives much needed room for the cables.

I got the Large door not the Extra Large door