A total beginner seeks guidance

[L Lieberman]

Hello all,

So in this time of "social distancing" I have been looking at the statement..."I have always wanted to..." and was reminded that I have had an interest in getting into drone flying but have never had the time. I'm looking for a little guidance and I apologize if these have been asked and answered a 1000 (or more times).

I'm on a starter budget ($300-$500 ish) and am trying to get into a few things.

1) Primarily camera (not a racer at this point but who knows).
2) RTF at this point. Figure I need to learn to fly before I learn to build
3) I would like to have a decent camera with gimbal(s) (2K at least, prefer 4K)
4) The toughest one as I have not been able to find a straight answer on this...I would like to have some type of FPV experience (probably via headset as opposed to goggles). Is there a list anywhere out there of drones that might fit the above parameters and which type of FPV might be compatible? Also, if the FPV is through my cell phone, how does one use it in the headset and use the controls?

I am likely so new that I have other questions that I don't even know to ask so any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Larry

 

[X5uw_newb]

Hey Larry, I am new to this as well bc of the quarantine and from what I have seen you may want to start with something a little more basic if you havent even flown. Getting into an expensive drone the first time out usually leads to some trial and error and sometimes crashes. I started with more of a toy and even though it was advertised as FPV it really wasnt very good. you may have to invest in some goggles in addition to a mini or micro drone with good FPV.

 

[Neil Mayes]

I too am a newbie to Drones. I don't have a smart phone and would be using the drone in a cell free area of AZ (in the boonies). Therefore:

1) Can I buy and use a smart phone that is not connected to a network (phone or internet) for FPV?

2 When an ad says "GPS" do they mean orbital satellite GPS or phone tower GPS or do you have to query the MFR for an answer?

3) I want to have a "follow me" and "obstacle avoidance" from inside a hard top Jeep Wrangler. Can that be done or do i have to mount the controller to the outside of the vehicle?

4) Can I declare the Jeep as "home" and use this "new home" as the place to "return to home" function to bring the drone back to the Jeep?

Neil

 

[X5uw_newb]

I’m definitely a newb but I’ll try to answer based in the research I’ve done. Others feel free to correct where I am wrong.

For streaming video the drones create their own WiFi so you don’t need to be on a network for that. You’ll communicate with the drone using its own WiFi.

I think it’s satellite Gps as I remember hearing in some reviews.

Im not familiar with obstacle avoidance but the follow me that I’ve seen demonstrated used an image picked up by the camera and the coordinates of the transmitter and then tried to track movement. I’m not sure how it’s all used and tied together but I’m sure it depends on the manufacture.

The home position is the gps coordinates where the drone was launched from. It could be the hood of your car but it can’t be a moving target. In addition the home position isn’t the exact same dot on the earth as it launched from. Some drones vary in distance from the target.

Hope that helps and that others chime in.

I too am a newbie to Drones. I don't have a smart phone and would be using the drone in a cell free area of AZ (in the boonies). Therefore:

1) Can I buy and use a smart phone that is not connected to a network (phone or internet) for FPV?

2 When an ad says "GPS" do they mean orbital satellite GPS or phone tower GPS or do you have to query the MFR for an answer?

3) I want to have a "follow me" and "obstacle avoidance" from inside a hard top Jeep Wrangler. Can that be done or do i have to mount the controller to the outside of the vehicle?

4) Can I declare the Jeep as "home" and use this "new home" as the place to "return to home" function to bring the drone back to the Jeep?

Neil