S900 Owner's Thread and Mini Build Log

[soler]

The best FC for controlling yaw in a GPS piro was a F450 with Naza V2 on v1.8 of the firmware. It would spin forever on a dime. The later versions have lost that precision but have added many more features that make that loss not as significant. It does not bother me as I can compensate for a slow yaw. I did try some fast yaws and it held fine.

Ed, I disagree with you on this with my s800 and no stick movement in GPS mode it had Zero yaw until i added input. The compass in the A2 is there to detect yaw and compensate accordingly, I know that they will wander a little but there should still be no yaw.

 

[Mikeq]

The S1000 is definitely more sedate than the S900. The advantage of the S1000 over the S900 is greater safety if one motor goes out with an octo vs a hex. You will have greater lifting capacity with the S1000. One of the limitations of the size of the S900 is the height of the landing gear. I am going to suggest to DJI that they have an option for taller landing gear. Right now when the BMPCC goes through its calibration, it hits the corners of the camera/gimbal on the ground. I don't have the option of taking off from grass right now. I think that is one of the reasons that the 5D is not a supported gimbal. One is the weight but the other factor is the height of the gimbal itself. Also with the S900 you are gong to be limited to a 15-16,000mAh lipo. The 20,000's are just too big. One of the other testers is using 2x8000 which is the same battery combination that he uses on his S1000. If I had to choose one over the other right now, I would lean toward the S900. Less pucker factor, good flying times with less expensive lipos, smaller form factor for both storage and transport. That said, I do like my S1000. The BMPCC is the camera that I am planning stick with for a while so the S1000 is over kill.

Does the 'less pucker factor' come from the lower cost or more maneuverability?

 

[fdproductions]

hex vs octo

 

[fdproductions]

Tahoe,

I put 1200 kv motors on my F330 with an A2 flight controller, the thing screams and shoots up at easily 64 mph vertical climb in manual mode, we have to fly together, the F330 is hands down my favorite multirotor ever. Nothing tougher, nothing more efficient, except for phantom maybe but 330 looks more pro to me

I won't be exploring those limits until the new wears off in the next few weeks. Plus I have Phantoms and a 4S F330 for more aggressive flying.

 

[tikigod19]

so i was doing some sums on trying to keep this with the gh4 below the magic 7kg UK figure as I thought it was impossible, but what have I missed?

690 (gh4 + lens + batt + card)
1260 (gh4 z15)
3300 (s900 - If this is accurate)
1115 (6S LiPo Battery 8300 mAh 35C) 1524 (6S LiPo Battery 10400 mAh 35C)
118 (WKM)
18 (immersionRC VTX)
56 (iosd mkii)
11 (R7008SB)




6568 grams with 8300mah 6977g with 10400mah


Just the weight of cabling to add on? Anyone know roughly how much this would weigh?

 

[Tahoe Ed]

Mine is at 7.45kg with a 10000 lipo. I think that the BMPCC is lighter than the GH4/GH3. I am using the Lightbridge which is heavier than the Rx/vTx combo and I have a FPV cam mounted with a 3Sx1000 lipo to power it.

 

[tikigod19]

any idea on the weight of your lightbridge, fpv cam and 3s lipo tahoe ed? I think that might be the difference, especially that 3S.

 

[Tahoe Ed]

Busy right now. I will weigh shortly.

 

[econfly]

Good question. I'm trying to decide between and S900 and S1000 right now. What kind of flight times are you getting with the S1000 and BMPCC? I will probably stick with the BMPCC but may get a GH4 and gimbal too. Is it easy to swap gimbals on these or would that be unrealistic?

I get 13-15 minutes flight time, depending on how I fly and wind. That is with 2x8000 mAh batteries (Nano-Techs). I land at 21.5v-21.6v and they recover to about 22.5v after landing. That takes about 7200-7500 out of them.

I know from a review I did of the 4114 motor and 1552 props that the S900 will have slightly better flight times than the S1000 (all else equal) for any payload the S900 is rated to carry (I estimate about 10% better flight times -- on paper anyway), but the motors will be running at higher RPM on the S900 so you will have more heat and higher current per motor. The Zenmuse BMPCC is a relatively light gimbal/camera setup, so the S900 might be the better call, at least with respect to flight times. For a heavier setup that is on the upper end of the S900 rating, my preference would be to go with the S1000 and giving up a little flight time (again, equal batteries and payload) to get a cooler running system.

 

[SleepyC]

Man this thing looks good. I have a Gh3 Zen strapped to a Uber quad on an A2 that ROCKS, but it's non foldable.. I'm thinking I may need to do an S900.
ARRGGHH.

How to get to One Million dollars in your bank account flying AV?
.
.
.
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Start with 5 million!

 

[Tahoe Ed]

any idea on the weight of your lightbridge, fpv cam and 3s lipo tahoe ed? I think that might be the difference, especially that 3S.

The lightbridge is 77g. The FPV camera is about 12g and the lipo is 98g.

 

[Tahoe Ed]

Does the 'less pucker factor' come from the lower cost or more maneuverability?

Lower cost. The S1000 with a 5D is about $14k in the air. Not a lot for the pro guys that fly Reds but plenty enough for me. That and I know that eventually I will crash. I have had several pilot errors in the past and I am sure I will have them in the future.

 

[Tahoe Ed]

I have to redo my flight video so I thought that I would post one from Blade Strike that is testing the S900 as well. He had a camera operator.

 

[econfly]

Nice test flight. Seemed to handle the apparent wind decently.

I was looking at prices today. An S1000, A2 and BMPCC Zen bundle costs $6,350. An S900, A2 and BMPCC Zen costs $3,800. That is an amazing price difference ($2,550!).

I really like my S1000/BMPCC Zen, but I think it's my last camera-specific rig. My build in process is a custom job to carry the MōVI M5. But if I were in the market for something to carry a BMPPC or G4 the S900 completely dominates the S1000 on cost. I can't see any reason to pay the $2,550 premium for an S1000 unless someone is just dying to fly the Canon 5D on a Zenmuse. But a camera that size is a great reason to buy an M5 and be done with the camera-specific Zens.

The bottom line is I bet the S1000 is off the market sooner rather than later, the price drops, and/or DJI will offer up a bigger rig to replace it. The incremental lift it offers over the S900 is too little to justify the cost, and it really only has a very narrow application right now given the work the S900 can do for way less cost.

 

[tikigod19]

It certainly seems like a great deal. To me it's all about weight and I'm a little bit stuck as can't be 100% sure the weight is going to be what I need.. I need to find out if the 3.3kg on the dji site is exactly 3300g and if it includes motors props cabling etc (so everything except lipo z15 cam and flight controller/rx/iosd.. Bit scared to buy one and find out for myself! If anyone is building and can weigh the s900 before flight controller and hardware accessories are added and give an exact measurement I'd be eternally grateful!

 

[Tahoe Ed]

There has been a discussion among the testers who have both the S1000 and the S900 about which is more desirable, not necessarily better but more useful under most circumstances. While the jury is still out we are tending toward the S900 for most applications. One of the considerations is the availability of lipos and their cost. The S900 can use 15-16000 lipos and get very good flight times. The S1000 needs 20-22000 lipos and still does not eke out similar flight times. Time will tell as users vote with their wallets.

 

[Dave_EP]

Ed, thanks very much for your posts on this. I'm at the point of trying to decide not only the S900 vs S1000 but also A2 vs WKM. I read a lot on this and other boards about A2 problems. Do you have any doubts in your mind about flying with the A2 vs WKM at this time?

 

[Tahoe Ed]

Ed, thanks very much for your posts on this. I'm at the point of trying to decide not only the S900 vs S1000 but also A2 vs WKM. I read a lot on this and other boards about A2 problems. Do you have any doubts in your mind about flying with the A2 vs WKM at this time?

I gave my WKM to a friend of mine that was getting away from MK controllers. I have been flying the A2 since the middle of last year. I fly it on my S1000 and my S900. I like the integration between the A2/Lightbridge/HD Gimbals. It works for me. Some are having issues. From what I have seen it is the integration of the A2 and various DIY components. Some work well some do not. I am not saying that is all the problems but many. If I notice loss of satellites I don't fly until I figure out what is going on. Is it a connection issue, solar interference, or something else.

 

[Dave_EP]

If I notice loss of satellites I don't fly until I figure out what is going on. Is it a connection issue, solar interference, or something else.

Is this something that's happening on the ground or while you are airborne as well?

 

[baja-king]

Ed, thanks very much for your posts on this. I'm at the point of trying to decide not only the S900 vs S1000 but also A2 vs WKM. I read a lot on this and other boards about A2 problems. Do you have any doubts in your mind about flying with the A2 vs WKM at this time?

Go for the WKM over the A2, apart from DJI support not many others had had success with the A2...