Request for "Newbie" section on this forum......

[ChrisViperM]

Lately there is a lot of threads coming up starting like: Hey I am Jack from Nowhere, I am new to this whole UAV thing and want to start a business....what would you suggest to buy......?

I think it would be great if Bart would implement a NEWBIE sektion (written in bold letters). It would be rude to leave these guys all by their own and not answer their questions, but on the other hand it is pretty tiresome to answer the same questions (or give the same bginner advice) over and over again.
Once they find out that a lot of their questions is already answerd (and bundeld in one section), it would help them a lot....Bart wrote up a great beginner sticky, but it looks like nobody bothers to read....or just dosn't find it.


Chris

 

[BorisS]

+1

I have a additional suggestion to that. There a lot of help seeking that, that start the thread with the info, My copter just flipped, what should I do. Maybe it would be a good idea to set standard or a reader if your seeking help, " please state FC, frame ESCs etc. And add pic of your setup and best have a video of your maiden attempt etc.

Boris

 

[Aviator]

Makes sense and would tidy the forum up alot... Apart from those Iphone adverts maybe there should be a section for spammers also
Actually it`s quite worrying the amount of people with zero experience throwing big money at UAV`s wanting to start a business, of course if thats what they want to do fine but so many are not doing it properly and getting qualified so many are going out there unregistered and crashing.
Which helps none of us guys that have plenty of experience with this stuff, essentially it can be a deadly weapon in the wrong hands..

 

[ChrisViperM]

+1

I have a additional suggestion to that. There a lot of help seeking that, that start the thread with the info, My copter just flipped, what should I do. Maybe it would be a good idea to set standard or a reader if your seeking help, " please state FC, frame ESCs etc. And add pic of your setup and best have a video of your maiden attempt etc.

Boris

+++1


I guess Bart is still in bed, and it might take some time to get a response from him. Would als be a good idea to collect the "newbie threads" from the last couple of weeks and shift them to the new section (if a new section will be implemented)...don't know how much work is involved from the Admin side....but most of the questions of newbies were answerd in the last couple of weeks on a pretty high level and in a very friendly manner....I love this forum for a lot of reasons, but one of them is that you hardly find a post like "hey idiot, use the serch function before asking questions..." like in so many other forums. Would be cool if it stays like that AND people get help AND get a realistic picture of what is involved in this "hobby" AND don't loose too much money AND become aware of the responsibility involved.


Chris

 

[gadgetkeith]

another option would be to move the SEARCH tab up to the top next to the home and active threads tabs

and rename it as FORUM SEARCH

as it seems that alot of people just dont seem to see it

would hopfuly get more use then

apart from the newbs and dont forget we were all there at one point i have read loads of posts saying i cant find that thread on whatever and we tend to post links back to earlier threads etc

just needs the SEARCH tab better placed i think

keith

 

[BorisS]

Yeah there is something strange about the search altogether. The simple term GH3 won't give me any results and i experience that often when i search for a common term.

Could it be that the search option only bits with word above three characters ? We have a lot of three character terms in the scene. CS8 XMR DJI WKM etc etc

Boris

 

[gadgetkeith]

hi Borris

have you tried putting any of them into the urban dictionary

had some funny results on a couple of them

give it a go and see what you get

keith

 

[ChrisViperM]

Is Bart out of bed already ....?????


Chris

 

[Roger Ramjet]

I am glad you address the question ChristViperM. It is true that there seems to be more and more question that looks like: HI! I saw a multicopter once and I am hooked, I want to start a company of aerial video and I have looked throught some models and I like these two the most,,,,, What do you suggest? Honestly, that SCARES me.

I do not want to offend anyone since amongt this great forums' purposes are to provide knowledge, help and understanding around the world so to speak but some guys are getting into something they admit having no knowledge at all. This hobby isn't about collecting stamps! (Sorry stamps collectors...) Precisely controlling a 6+ lbs potential missile with 4, 6 and even 8 blades spinning at 6000 RPM in the vicinity of a crowd could become rapidly catastrophic! I often hear ''I do not fly over people''... listen, if something goes wrong (interference, broken prop, malfunction or loss of control) you very rarely crash below your current position! This thing can end up anywhere in a hurry! You won't even have time to yell!

Additionally, the necessity of liability insurance and the reglementation of every Country must be respected. Most and foremost, you have to have flown the product, know the machine and the multiple variables that could ruin your day in a hurry before attempting to propose a commercial undertaking. And it is still always risky... One thing for sure is that A LOT OF EYES are looking at recreational and commercial multirotor users and It would only take 1 bad accident to possibly change public opinion and make the hobby too restrictive to practice... I will unfortunately happen one day, but the later the better.

Looking and buying Wayne Gretsky's hockey stick doesn't make me a professional hockey player!

I am all for helping beginners are as I consider I will always have something to learn myself, but let's not try to build a nuclear device on the first Physics' class, shall we?

 

[HPL]

First let me say that I am one of the newest of new folks here. I think that my main issue is WHO DO I TRUST? Most of the people with whom I have had actual conversations are directly involved with the retail part of this business (would like to sell me something). They have seemed very helpful, but at the same time, they all have direct financial incentives involved. Sooo... since you can't go to "Consumer Reports", how do you know who makes the good motors, how do you judge the quality of a propeller, how do you determine what brand flight controller is best or even if it's gong to be the NAZA or the WooKong? If the salesman says "Sure this setup will lift two Kilos and fly for 30 minutes with zero vibration and I know it because my two year old daughter flew one exactly like it yesterday" I'm probably not going to take THAT for gospel, but what about the guy who is saying 300 or 400 grams over won't really be a problem, or for that matter the guy who says "an ounce over will lead to disaster"? I am a good two or three hours (at least) from the nearest good hobby shop (Texas is big and mostly empty) so opportunities to actually go see this stuff in action are very limited. I certainly realize that these devices have a great potential to cause injury and am not planning to be photographing sporting events, concerts, or crowds of folks. Actually looking more at farm and ranch and nature work. I did find Roger Ramjet's comments a bit interesting. If he is mostly worried about someone losing control due to some kind of mechanical or telemetry failure, how is having 1000 flight hours going to save the day. Copter goes rogue on you and I think that luck, prayer, and insurance are going to more important than experience (but perhaps I'm mistaken here).

I think that a Newbie section is great as long as the truly knowledgeable folks visit often and are helpful. I have participated on some blogs totally unrelated to this subject, but where folks have photographic questions, and as I have been a working photographer for over 30years, I have found that I can sometimes be of assistance. Yes, I end up answering the same basic questions multiple times. Never do I respond, "Man! I just answered that last month!! Don't you know how to use search function?!" One way I have addressed repetitive questions is I have simply created a file that addresses some of the more common issues and I just cut and past that info into my response. Sometimes that takes care of it, sometimes that leads to more specific questions (which I think is good, shows that the person is thinking and getting serious). sometimes gives me a chance to flesh out some things myself and even has lead me to look up answers for things I wasn't certain of. Newbies can sometimes ask questions that lead to new insight. (no guaranteeing that I ever will here though). Thanks in advance for any assistance I get on this interesting and potentially ruinous journey.

HPL

 

[ChrisViperM]

First of all a very warm welcome to you....


Thank you for taking the time and write down your opinion about this.....but you nailed it with "WHO DO I TRUST"

Most of the time I have seen it happening like this: Some guy sees some great Aerial videos on youtube, run to the next shop or ask that question in a forum like here: I want to make Aerial videos too, what do I have to buy ??? ....need an answer right now 'cause the hobby shop closes in 1/2 hour.

This happens at least 3 times a week on this forum. The problem is not to give the same answer over and over again - there is no straight answers to this - but people need to be made aware that you just can't run to the hobby- or online shop and just buy whatever they suggest WITHOUT knowing what exactly what you want.

But how to find out what you want.....???? That's where a newbie section comes in handy, where all the guys with no experience in this field find information realated to starting with Multis in a more concentrated form. If you as a "new" guy triy to find all postst on this forum related to beginners problems, you will run in circles. Firstly you wouldn't know exactly

what to look for, and secondly the Search on this forum sucks big time (....sorry Bart).


Since most of the people here on this forum have a full-time job and are not the whole day on the forum, it can take some time to get an answer, but I can guarantee you that there will always people here to get the new guys onto their feet.


Chris

 

[Steve Townsend]

I think most Newbies genuinely don't want to ask the most simple questions, especially on a forum where most of the traffic is extremely 'high end', or certainly seems that way when one is at the bottom of the learning curve. So a newbie section would certainly get my vote. Whether it would get the attention of those "Who You Can Trust" remains to be seen. But a Search that works would be even more helpful and I am sure would reduce some of the repetitive stuff which is asked so often. I am always impressed how the same questions are answered with with kind help and assistance, this is a good place to be. Keep up the good work, Steve.

 

[HPL]

I think most Newbies genuinely don't want to ask the most simple questions, especially on a forum where most of the traffic is extremely 'high end', or certainly seems that way when one is at the bottom of the learning curve. So a newbie section would certainly get my vote. Whether it would get the attention of those "Who You Can Trust" remains to be seen. But a Search that works would be even more helpful and I am sure would reduce some of the repetitive stuff which is asked so often. I am always impressed how the same questions are answered with with kind help and assistance, this is a good place to be. Keep up the good work, Steve.

OK Steve,
I'm not so insecure in my own abilities (or lack there of) to ask the simple questions. Problem is, I'm not sure what those questions should be. Perhaps you could suggest five basic questions we should be asking to get started.

Here are my personal initial concerns with a bit of background:
I am a wildlife biologist by education and a photographer by vocation. I do a significant amount of nature photography (website HughLieck.photoshelter.com) and see some potential for using multirotors to get a different perspective in many scenarios in nature photography. Getting some height could give one a new approach to landscapes in the flat country in which I live. My photographic experience leads me to believe that I will need to be able to lift the Sony NEX-7 with the 24mm 1.8 Carl Zeiss lens. That package weighs right at 573g including the battery. Would like to be able to keep it in the air safely for at least 8 minutes. I need to be able to see through the actual camera lens in order to be able to compose my photographs. I will need a good hover hold and of course, since this is still photography, I will need to be able to dampen vibration as much as possible in order to limit motion blur (large prints are the likely end product).
I think that I have a pretty good ability to describe what my platform needs to be able to do, along with what my skill set needs to be. I would appreciate any constructive information the experienced "pilots" can offer.
A recap:
Gross camera weight 573g
Desired flight time 8 mins+
Steady hover lock
minimal vibration
FPV through the actual camera
Stabilized Gimbal with pitch (tilt) and roll
Oh, one last piece of info, would probably need to be able to operate in 10-15 mph wind at least some of the time.
I haven't mentioned budget, but lets just say that I'm not rolling in it and would like to come in under $3000.00 including the TX. The TX is another set of questions as I am not sure how many channels I will eventually need. May someday want to have a camera gimbal that includes pan too.

How's that for a start? What other questions should I be asking?


THanks again
HPL

 

[Bartman]

Hi guys,

I'm finally catching up to everything that's been going on at the site. Yes, the search sucks. I don't know why, maybe the web developer knows an answer or two about it. Frankly, I never thought to ask him because I figured it's just an inherent weakness with vbulletin forums. I'll ask him and see what he says.

What if I made the new member intro are into a Newbie Questions and Introductions area?

Bart

 

[HPL]

Hi guys,

I'm finally catching up to everything that's been going on at the site. Yes, the search sucks. I don't know why, maybe the web developer knows an answer or two about it. Frankly, I never thought to ask him because I figured it's just an inherent weakness with vbulletin forums. I'll ask him and see what he says.

What if I made the new member intro are into a Newbie Questions and Introductions area?

Bart

Howdy Bart!
Hope your jaunt was pleasant! Looking forward to talking with you this week. As one of those newbies, I have a number of questions and am pretty sure that I don't know enough to be confident that I am even asking the correct questions. Might be nice to have a glossary esp of the acronyms. Would like to see somewhere to get info like what do all the battery designations mean (2S, 3S, 4S, etc or is it S2, S3, etc.?) It would be nice if folks replying to newbies didn't use "short hand" but actually explained what things do assuming that the questioner has NO knowledge. I know that all this takes time, but I'm not going to be insulted if someone answers a question I ask with more info than I was looking for as long as they explain what they are talking about.

THanks

 

[Bartman]

not home quite yet....talk to you soon though.

 

[Jimbodiddly]

I think a 'Newbie section woukd be great, but should include a few a stickies about general quad flying stuff for a beginner. Kinda like a idiots guide


jim


Sent by my fingers

 

[ChrisViperM]

Hi guys,


What if I made the new member intro are into a Newbie Questions and Introductions area?

Bart

I would say it is just important that somebody new to this forum (and to Multirotors) can see at the first look : Ok, here is the "Beginners Zone" and that they start their journey from here. By reading all the posts in a "Beginner Zone" (I hate the word "newbie") they can get already an idea about what the whole thing is about, get some basic information and help them to find out WHAT they have to ask, apart from the request for a "best-of" shopping list. You wrote up these two gerat stickies:

http://www.multirotorforums.com/showthread.php?1617-Before-you-buy-please-read-this
http://www.multirotorforums.com/sho...-getting-started-with-multi-rotor-helicopters

...but I guess it's hardly read by new people because it is hidden very well....

A "Beginners Zone"could also be a place where the "older wolfes" can write up some general tutorials about Lipos, Flight Controls, Battery Connectors, Charging LiPo's, Tools required, Frame configurations.....whatever.....also legal issues.

New shops are opening by the dozend every week, Multirotors getting more and more attention on the News, on every corner you can find that "Ready-To-Fly-No-Knowledge-Requiered" packages and YouTube and Vimeo are packed with great videos, giving the impression that all you need is one of these RTF parcels and you are ready to roll up the entire movie industrie (with a little bit of estate business for some pocket money on the side...). There is a huge wave rolling in the next few years and more and more RC-virgins want to jump onto the waggon (which is their right) and my impression is that it can't hurt if this great forum is prepeared for that. The chances that some terrible accident happens is getting bigger every day, so are the chances for highly restrictive regulations.

....Dumb & Dumber comes to my mind.......


Chris

 

[HPL]

Actually, I did read both of those threads and they were both good cautionaries but neither really tells the newcomer how to find good information. That's where a good newcomer site (better than "newbie") could be really helpful.

Here are some things I'd like to see:
1. a short article on vocabulary,
2. some links to RELIABLE reviews of the various components one needs,
3. some build tutorials,
4. an article on how to determine what type of TX one needs (how many channels, advantages of different bands, etc.),
5. a good "pre-flight" checklist that should be done every time before getting airborne (check props, check telemetry, etc, but in an ordered sort of way so that we can all be as safe as possible).

I am sure that those of you who have experience have issues that you think all coming to this arena should be aware of. Add those to my short list and we have a better starting point. Also, please be aware that many will be like me, in areas where there is little or no "local" guy, and if they live in the western US or places like Australia, it can be a half a day's drive or more to the nearest good hobby shop so we may have to depend on our own experiences and what help you can provide to become safe, proficient, responsible members of this growing community.

Thanks,
HPL

 

[ChrisViperM]

Actually, I did read both of those threads and they were both good cautionaries but neither really tells the newcomer how to find good information. That's where a good newcomer site (better than "newbie") could be really helpful.

Here are some things I'd like to see:
1. a short article on vocabulary,
2. some links to RELIABLE reviews of the various components one needs,
3. some build tutorials,
4. an article on how to determine what type of TX one needs (how many channels, advantages of different bands, etc.),
5. a good "pre-flight" checklist that should be done every time before getting airborne (check props, check telemetry, etc, but in an ordered sort of way so that we can all be as safe as possible).


Thanks,
HPL

+1 ...but we should not start it in this thread....let's see what Bart comes up with.


Chris