Whats your setup?

[WanderLust68]

I'm looking to take my first steps into the RC world with a DJI F550 w/NAZA with the intention of doing some nice AP work with it. Can anyone make a recommendation on the best transmitters/receivers to use, which battery gives the best flight time? As for an AP setup, I had initially thought about going with a GoPro, but when comparing against videos from some digital cams, it made me rethink which route to go. Ultimately, I thought about FPV capability, but that would be way down the road.

Any suggestions or insights would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Tomstoy2]

Welcome. You're going to love this hobby.

First off, I would look at getting some better props, right out the gate, myself. Something like APC's or Graupners, the stock props have a bad rep.

Go ahead and fly the 550 is stock configuration until you become comfortable with it. Don't be loading it up with gimbal and landing gear just yet.
Once you are comfortable with flying it, then think about the gimbal and landing gear. Something like this is what I would consider;

http://www.aeroxcraft.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=5

They got a pretty good landing gear set up for the f550 so don't overlook that.

I wouldn't consider going to a high dollar gimbal until I was totally confident in flying and trusting my acft. The good ones are very expensive.

Camera choice is all up to you. It really is something you only want to buy once, so choose carefully.

Also, for batterys, 4s 30-35c rating is a good choice.

 

[WanderLust68]

Thank you so much for your feedback.

how does the mAh rating on the Lipos factor in? I see from a list of 4S 30c's they range from 2200mAh to 5000mAh?

as for the props, I've seen a number of threads talking about replacing the stock props with Graupner 10x5's, so they were on my short list once I got some flight time in.

for the receiver, any brand or type I should be on the lookout for?

 

[aWanderer]

mAh rating, the higher the rating, the more flight time but also the more weight. Tomstoy2 summed it up very well there.

 

[WanderLust68]

excellent....thanks!

looking at Futaba receivers, what is the ideal number of channels to do AP and is there a preferred model from Futaba or other manufacturer?

 

[Tomstoy2]

I run the Futaba 6208sb with s-bus, a total of 14 channels. WKM only supports 7 though, but that leaves me with 7 to control led's and such.
s-bus is the way to go, by the way. Simple and easy. Wrapping your head around the Futaba manual though,,,,