Sunday 25 September 2016

GizmoVine MJX 6-AXIS GYRO Quadcopter X401H - A Professional, Sturdy Drone with Altitude Hold and FPV




Unboxing

This package arrived very quickly and was in excellent condition, when i opened it up i was greeted with a very stylish looking quadcopter.   To the right of the copter is the transmitter this isn’t secured and a quick tug will dislodge it from its housing. The Quadcopter has 4 ties holding it down these can be removed from the underneath of the packaging, even with the ties removed the copter will require a slight tug to be set free.   
There are 4 accessory bags, 3 accessible from the top of the packaging, 1 which is accessed via the underneath, these contain:-

  1. USB charger
  2. spare rotor blades
  3. screwdriver
  4. landing skids
  5. screws
  6. transmitter analogue controller sticks   

I was quite surprised to find the battery is built into the quadcopter so there are a 3 cables pertruding out of the bottom of the quad, 1 is used for charging the battery and the other 2 connect together to make a positive connection to the battery to enable to quadcopter to power up.
As this quadcopter is FPV ready (using your phone as a display) there is no SD card slot as your phone's memory will be used.  
The standard time to charge this quad is 40 minutes using the USB cable provided, flight time is rated at 8 minutes.

Flight



After plugging the battery in, turning the transmitter on and using my phone as a recording device for the FPV the flight can start.  The take off is very smooth and as the copter has built in altitude hold it quickly gets to its altitude and stays there making it a great time to plan its course.   One point I notice soon after take off is the motors are very quiet, probably the quietest I have experienced in a quad.
The copters movements are very controlled and there isn’t much slipping or sliding while turning corners or following a mid air racing track.   The further i fly this away from me i notice exactly how bright the LEDs are making it so easy to see at distance.  The copter managed to fly the full length of a football pitch and i had enough control using the transmitter to bring it back to me.

Quadcopter Features

Altitude hold
FPV (via smartphone app)
Headless Mode
One Key Return
3D Flip and tricks
High and Low Speed changer
The ability to use FPV 3D Glasses (sold separatley)

With all the good points there are bound to be some bad too, the worst part of this copter is the battery only gives you 8 minutes of flight time and for such a fun copter isn’t enough, i would like to see it maybe come with another battery that could be replaced as the flight video took me 2 days to film as i had to come home to charge the battery again.  That being said i would still recommend this copter for anyone as its easy to fly for beginners but also offers some advanced features for the more intermediate/advanced flyers

Overall 8.5/10

Buy from Amazon

GizmoVine MJX 6-axis GYRO Quadcopter X401H

Photos







Wednesday 14 September 2016

JD-509 FPV the Quadcopter with altitude hold, FPV and stability control




Unboxing

Once the quadcopter is removed from its brown cardboard transportation case, the first thing you will notice is how well packaged the copter is.   The transmitter and copter stare at you and with a gentle tug the quadcopter is released same for the transmitter.   The quadcopter requires a bit of assembly before you can begin flying it, the following items require attention:-

As there is quadcopter is FPV enabled then you ill need to attach the screen to the top of the transmitter
Then for the quadcopter, you will need to attach the landing skids, propellers and camera mounting

Inside the accessory bag is a USB cable, a battery, a screwdriver and some screws, i found there are a few left after installing the camera and skids.   To power the transmitter you will need 4 x ‘AA” batteries, the charger doesn’t have the ability to charge batteries.

Flight



After the assembly the next part is to take it for a flight, insert the battery in the back compartment and plug it into the 2 pin connector then click the compartment shut.   There is a small ‘on' switch under the quadcopter, move this to the correct position then turn on the transmitter and push the ‘on’ button, the rotors will now start to power up.   To start the flight i prefer to push the copter to a medium altitude then start the video.  As this quadcopter has altitude hold it makes flying easy, balanced, and manoeuvrable, even landing is easy as a decent is controlled.  Overall this quadcopter is excellent for beginners as its easy to control but does have a few fiddly features.

Overall 8.5/10 

Links to buy

Amazon

GoolRC JXD 509G Drone with Live Video Camera HD 2MP RC Quadcopter Remote with Screen

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Tuesday 13 September 2016

JJRC H5P




Unboxing

A lot like the JJRC H26D this quadcopter is no different when it comes to the professional packaging and layout.  Inside the box is a small partially assembled quad with its accessory bag, transmitter, landing skids and propellers.  Once the propellers and the landing skirts are attached your almost ready for the pre-flight checks.   Next look under the top flap and you will find the battery, this will need charging for 45 minutes, once the charging has completed you will need to attach the battery pin connector.

The transmitter is of standard design, 2 analogue sticks and 4 trim buttons that slide left to right, a video and photo button on the shoulders.  At the bottom of the controller is a standard LCD screen that gives information relating to the battery, photo or video mode, and how much pressure is being put on the analogue sticks

Flight



The quadcopter is a great flyer that is very light and very stable it is also great at stunts, although i would remember to keep the copter at a high enough height that ensures when stunts are performed it won’t drop too much and hit the floor.  This quad can even be flow at dusk as its LEDs are very bright and can be seen easily, it glides through the air and i would recommend to a beginner.  The build quality is very high as we have seen before with JJRC copters, on a downside the propellers are quite flimsy and the battery charge doesn’t last that long my experience was 6minutes which is a little under the standard 7 minutes we can expect with other copters of this size.

Overall 9/10

Links to buy

Amazon

JJRC H5P Quadcopter 4 CH 6 Axis Gyro 2.4GHz RC Drone with 2.0MP HD Camera Headless Mode/CF Mode One Key to Return 3D Eversion LED Light - Black

Monday 12 September 2016

JJRC H26D with motorized gimble and 2.0 Megapixel Camera Quadcopter





Unboxing

This box is huge! there is slight damage to the outer box but upon closer inspection (after removing the box) the quadcopter is unscathed from his journey. The quadcopter sits on a plastic holder which grips the large body of the copter very tightly, on top of that is a smaller plastic holder this one is giving support to the 4 propellers, all packaging is very well presented and well protected.
In order to fly this monster some assembly is required first:-

The propellors need to be connected to the quadcopters arms by the gear linkages.
Get the gear linkages and push them through the small hole in the arm.
Attach the propellers
Attach the propellers
Attach the camera
Attach the stand

Underneath that is a medium sized bag with 4 extra propellers, a screwdriver, a bag of screws for the propellers, a bag of screws for the camera, an SD card, a very large battery and a USB charging cable.
Overall a professional looking and very well packaged quadcopter.    

Flight



The battery for this monster quad takes 1 hour to charge from USB but you do get a slightly longer flight time of 9 minutes instead of the 7. This copter is very hard to fly and as such i dont recommend it for a beginner, it takes a lot of concentration to keep the quadcopter in the air.  As it flies about i feel it would benefit from having slightly better motors as it moves well but feels under a lot of stress.
The camera and motorised moveable gimbal is an excellent idea and one that works very well on this quad, with its 2.0 Megapixel camera the videos and photos are very clear it doesn’t suffer from jello either.   When i tested the transmitter range i was fortunate to get the quad up to 150meter but it is rated to go 300Meters, as i cannot test that all i can say is at 150meters it still responded very well to the controls.
When the battery finally gave out the quad came back to earth with a thud and one of the stands snapped, so care will be needed and also a stopwatch.

Overall 9.0/10

Links to buy:-

Gearbest

http://www.gearbest.com/rc-quadcopters/pp_264081.html?vip=191570

Amazon

JJRC H26D 3MP Wide Angle HD 4CH 2.4G 6-Axis Gyro Headless Mode One Key Return RC Quadcopter Drone White

Sunday 11 September 2016

Syma X5SC-1




Unboxing

After removing the brown delivery packaging what lies inside is an expensive looking matt black cardboard box.  Inside that is a very glossy orange Syma Quadcopter and standard black transmitter sat inside its polysterene bed.  Underneath that is a small bag with 4 extra propellers, a screwdriver and a USB charging cable.
Overall a professional looking and very well packaged quadcopter.       

Flight



In order to fly the copter you will need to charge the quadcopters battery using the USB cable provided for 1 hour and fit the transmitter with 4 x ‘AA’ batteries.  Once all the pre-flight checks have been completed you will be ready for take-off, the copter is quite light and handles well, as long as there is no wind or breeze.  If there is, the quadcopter will sway slightly and a bit of trim will need to be used to ensure you dont loose control.   
Attached to the bottom of the copter is a 2.0 Megapixel camera which is capable of taking video and photos, the camera is held on by a small clip which can be pushed and the camera released.  Once recorded the video is shockingly  steady and without jelly.
Overall i am very impressed with this copter from its packaging and delivery all the way through to the flight.       

Photos





Saturday 10 September 2016

Review of Syma X5C-1




Unboxing

Syma are known for good quality quadcopters and the packaging is exactly the same.  The £40 quadcopter comes with packaging that would reflect a more expensive device. Inside the box, the polystyrene moulding is rigid and holds the copter well, the transmitter is lying to the right and the accessories which includes spare propellers and a USB charger is stuck underneath.      

Flight



In order to fly the copter you will need to charge the quadcopters battery using the USB cable provided for 1 hour and fit the transmitter with 4 x ‘AA’ batteries.  Once all the pre-flight checks have been completed you will be ready for take-off, the copter is very light and handles extremely well so much so it doesn’t seem to be affected by wind.  Landing the copter is tricky at first as the motors cut out before the analogue stick is in a neutral position, but a beginner should get used to it quickly.  From the 1 hour charge you will get 8 minutes of flight time, spare batteries can be ordered and I would recommend you having them as this copter is serious fun.

Overall 8.5/10

Review of Cheerson CX-10



Unboxing

When you hear people talking about nano quadcopters then you may be thinking of this one.  It has been around for a very long time, it is flown indoors and out, by children and adults alike.  The Cheerson CX-10 is very cheap quadcopter coming in between £8 - £12 that provides hours of fun.  Its packaging is easy to open with one small sticky tab to open.  On the inside the box consists of one moulded plastic insert in which sits the quadcopter, the transmitter is underneath the copter and the accessory bag consisting of 1 x USB cable (for charging) and 4 replacement propellers.  

Flight



In order to fly the quadcopter you will need to first charge it which will take between 30-45 minutes using the provided USB cable, the transmitter doesn’t allow charging so standard ‘AAA’ batteries are needed.   The quadcopter binds to the transmitter in seconds and on first try.  In flight, the copter responds well albeit it is very difficult to see when flying so dont go too far.  The transmitter range is between 30-50 feet (at best) it responds very quickly with every push of the controller analogue sticks.  The battery lasts for a modest 7 minutes before the quadcopter falls graciously to the ground.  

Overall 6/10