Saturday 25 February 2017

Spego Nano Quadcopter Drone FQ777

Unboxing



A small cardboard box covers the package inside.  Underneath a small amount of plastic wrap is a transmitter with the quadcopter nestled inside. 
To release the quadcopter a gentle pull on the plastic lid will suffice, on the underside of the transmitter is another small hatch that holds a small accessory bag and propeller guards.  The accessory bag contains the following:-

  • 6 x spare propellers
  • 1 x  material lopp band
  • 1 x manual
  • 1 x USB charging cable

Attached to the bottom of the transmitter is a small cable, be careful here as this allows the transmitter to charge the quadcopter off the 2 x ‘AA’ batteries inside the black casing.   I used the USB cable to charge the copter this took approx 50 mins to 1 hour to complete, this time may alter if you use the internal charging cable.

Flight



Normally flying nano quadcopters is quite difficult as they are pretty quick and difficult to see.  Although this one didn’t differ in the speed department it but did from the control department, I almost didn’t notice how difficult it was to see.
We had a total of 6 minutes of flight and even after trying to charge the drone for 15 minutes there wasn’t enough battery to continue flying.  

Overall 6/10 

Positive - Charges off transmitter, very portable as copter fits inside transmitter, nice feeling transmitter, standard battery life, well built copter.  -  


Negative - No LED when copter is charging from transmitter. 

Saturday 18 February 2017

Eachine E010 Nano Quadcopter Flight Test Review.

Unboxing



The quadcopter comes in a small package, a nice, colourful box that inside houses a small plastic bed in which the quadcopter and transmitter lay.   Inside the box is a small accessory pack that includes the following:-

  • 1 x Set of 4 x propellers 
  • 1 x USB battery charger
  • 1 x manual

The quadcopter sits inside its plastic housing quite snuggly, you can pull it straight out as there are no ties holding it down.  Underneath the drone is the transmitter this is a standard nano transmitter that requires 2 x ‘AA’ batteries.  The buttons on the transmitter are very tight and of good construction.  The battery is already attached on the underside of the quad, there is a small cable that pops out, this is used for charging.

The battery requires 50 minutes to 1 hour to charge for a 10 minute flight.

Flight



The quadcopter doesn’t have a power button so as soon as you plug the battery cable into the quad it turns on.  To bind the quadcopter to the transmitter a simple upward and downward push on the left analogue stick allows this to happen.  Then the drone is good for flying, a halfway motion makes the quad airborne but into a hover, increasing the throttle increases the altitude of the drone, the first thing to notice is the quad is so quiet the motors and propellers almost generate no noise.   
The flight was very positive, fun and the battery lasted a good 8 minutes as there was a bit of side wind that would cause the battery to drain a bit quicker than normal.

Verdict 8/10  

Positives - A very good nano, fun and light, motors are very quiet, handles well, Great design and build quality.   


Negatives - Battery life could be longer, LEDs aren’t bright enough, 

Saturday 11 February 2017

Eachine E50 Folding Selfie Quadcopter Drone

Unboxing



This box is small and packaging is minimal which is a refreshing change, once the box is opened the drone is waiting for you inside its snug plastic bag wrap.   Under the quad is a small accessory pack which contains:-

4 x spare propellers
4 x spare propeller motor cogs
1 x manual
1 x USB charging plug

Along side all those goodies is a small velvet quadcopter carry bag, this is great for taking your drone out with you and keeping it tidy, clean and in one piece.

Charging will take approx 50 mins to 1 hour, flight time is between 6 to 10 minutes.

Flight




On a snowy morning we start off and found our take off point, did our pre flight checks, bound the copter to our smart device, and opened the UFO WiFi app, now with the touch of the ‘up' arrow we were airborne.   A lot of trim was needed to stabilise this quad as even with us setting up the gyros we were pulling to the right, badly.   Now we were set up and all good to go i could see what this quad was made of.  The speed as standard was set to 30% (Novice) so i increased this to 60% then 100% i was shocked to see that even at 100% there wasn’t a massive difference in speed.   Video was recording all this time, i started with the lens pointing straight forward then changed to a downward perspective, one thing that really stood out then flying was the noise from the motors, so loud doesn’t really cut it, this thing screams! 

Total flight time was approx 8 minutes on one charge.

Overview

Verdict 5/10  

Positives - Drone folds away, very small, very light, flies well once trim is used to balance, altitude hold works very well, LEDs are bright.  


Negatives - Camera is acceptable, very loud motors, 

Saturday 4 February 2017

DJI Phantom 3 Quadcopter Drone with 2.7k Camera and motorised gimbal

Unboxing



A very stylish and very large box is what houses this quadcopter, 2 flaps on the front pull down for you to open the box where a bunch of manuals sit.  Underneath the manuals and stickers  is the quadcopter and accessories, the box contains the following:-

  1. DJI Phantom 3 Drone
  2. battery
  3. 8 x propellers
  4. 1 x charger w/ plug
  5. 1 x USB cable
  6. 1 x Transmitter
  7. 1 x manual box with stickers
  8. 1 x Accessory box w/ 4 x extra plastic screws, 1 x Propeller tightening clamp.

Assembly  

There aren’t a lot of assembly steps required here, what is required (in no particular order):-

  1. Attach propellers - silver dot on propeller to silver motor arm on quad and black dot on propeller to black dot motor arm.  Once placed onto of the motor arms, twist until they lock into position, use the propeller clamp to ensure they are secure.
  2. Attach battery
  3. Unlock gimbal and camera from its housing. 

Flight




These drones are automatically linked to their transmitter, all that needed to be done is to attach phone to the holder, open the DJI GO app on our smart device and touch the take off button.  
Since this was the first time i had taken the copter out i had to calibrate the compass, this was a nightmare and took a fair while.  What didn’t help was the DJI GO app wasn’t responding correctly and i had to uninstall, clear cache and install again for it to pick up my drone.  Once this was all done (approx 45 mins) the drone flew right away and no other configuration was necessary or needed.
The camera records at a maximum resolution of 2.7k it can be turned down to 1080p if required.
The battery is another incredible feature, its high capacity means you get 25 minutes of flight time and with the very bright LEDs on the battery meter you can see from quite a long way away, of course you can see how much flight time you have left from the DJI GO app.
Landing the drone is so easy also, the decent is very controlled and within a few seconds the copter is safely on the ground, to switch off the motors pull the left analogue stick all the way down until you hear a click.

An excellent quadcopter for Beginners, Intermediates or Advanced fliers, also can be used in the professional sector for film making.

Overall 9.5/10  

Positive - Great design, light, well balanced when battery is added, flight is incredibly smooth, motors are incredibly powerful, 2.7k camera is very sharp.  

Negative - Transmitter is huge, FPV clamp is too flimsy and badly placed, no USB port for smart device charger.