Which flight controller for S900 - A2 or Wookong?

[TellyFlyer]

Hi there,

I'm taking the next step from my Phantom 2 and I'm looking at the new S900. I work in TV and I'm looking to build a rock solid camera platform to mount a Panasonic GH4.

The company I'm looking to buy the S900 from are adamant that the Wookong is the way to go, stating that it's tried and tested. Although I respect their opinions, I'd be very interested to throw it out to a wider audience. Personally, being a bit of a techno snob, the A2 seems like the way to go as it is head and shoulders above it's elder stablemate when you compare the stats.

Both seem to have had there fair share of catastrophic failures.

Thanks for taking the time to look at this and any constructive advice would be heartily appreciated.

 

[Benjamin Kenobi]

Wookong. The A2 is not any more stable (how could it be?).

What stats are you looking at? Do you mean the stated specs on the DJI website?

Both have had catastrophic failures, the Wookong last year, the A2 right now. So which one would you buy right now?

Welcome to the forum! :nevreness:

 

[TellyFlyer]

Thanks so much, I was looking at the stats on the DJI website where the A2 has 'ultra' this and 'enhanced' that... but at the end of the day I want to bring the machine back home intact, and if the Wookong is the way to go then so be it.

 

[Ronan]

Thanks so much, I was looking at the stats on the DJI website where the A2 has 'ultra' this and 'enhanced' that... but at the end of the day I want to bring the machine back home intact, and if the Wookong is the way to go then so be it.

+1 i'm in the same dilema with a S900, A2 or Wookong!

People seem to lean toward wookong since it's been around a bit more and seems to be more stable.

 

[JimM]

For commercial work, definitely WKM. Google CAA and A2 safety concerns.
there may a restriction if concerns are proven.

Thee are other options too.
superX claims to RTH without GPS,
Gemini has dual FC and GPS for redundancy, although I don't believe either are proven FC's in the volumes that wkm are used.

 

[Ronan]

For commercial work, definitely WKM. Google CAA and A2 safety concerns.
there may a restriction if concerns are proven.

Thee are other options too.
superX claims to RTH without GPS,
Gemini has dual FC and GPS for redundancy, although I don't believe either are proven FC's in the volumes that wkm are used.

Yes deff for commercial work, which is why the WKM seem's to pop up due to a better track history (which is very important for my insurance since i have liability insurance + frame insurance).

 

[Acill]

One more for the WKM. Mine is rock solid on my F550. It is way more than the 550 needed but I plan to get the S900 here soon as well and was thinking ahead at the time I built mine.

 

[y@nn]

HI everybody
Im asking myself the same question...but I made also some research online, I only find some news of problems last year dec 2013 till april 2014....since then, and firmware should be 2.3, no problems anymore??? or nobody is buying the a2 anymore???
Its a little bit anoying, to think of buying the last hexacopter (s900) on the market, with an old flight controller...also DJI sell the s900+a2+iosd as a setup all together...how is it possible to get so much problems???? I really cant believe it...anyway I will get my s900 in a short time, with the a2 aie aie aie...time will tell

 

[Acill]

Not much the WKM cant do compaired to the A2. The A2 saves some space if you fly Futaba with the integrated receiver I guess, but the last update to the WKM has added free support of 50 waypoints in the ground station software and some more things. I absolutely love mine.

 

[Droider]

WKM. I don't know what problems arose last year with it but I am not aware of any other than the GPS Module that was replaced/upgraded bu DJI. Pitty they don't do the same with the A2. Has anyone noticed the lack of 'A2M - The Precision Flight Controller For Professionsls' Ads The S900 even has a promo advocating the WKM as the perfect FC for the Innovative design!

Go figure… the A2 is a unpredictable time bomb that should be avoided at all cost for anyone wanting to fly comically/safely. Hopefully investigations by 'The Experts' will limit or better still ban its use in the UK for commercial applications. That then my send the message to DJI that their A2M stands for exactly what the acronym means! Go figure. When it was explained to me I almost puked and laughed at the same time.!

For those wanting to be DJI's crash test dummies 'BUY AN A2' It precision is unexplainibly ground breaking.

D

 

[y@nn]

I understand all the polemic about the a2..but what I can read is all "old" stuff at least 3-4 Months...last firmware problem etc...its also annoying that nobody post the problem with complete set-up design and firmware #...that would eliminate a lot of polemic I think...anyway, having a insurance covering any damage hopefully will help, and so we can move forward...will post my experience asap

 

[DucktileMedia]

Go figure… the A2 is a unpredictable time bomb that should be avoided at all cost for anyone wanting to fly comically/safely.

Ha! what a perfect spelling error. Anyone wanting to fly "comically" should fly the A2.

I'd slap a KK2 in that thing and fly it as close to a body of water as possible.

 

[MombasaFlash]

Well I have had a WKM go inexplicably haywire and then just as magically return to normality. Of course I had to change various components before it was reliable in the first place. I have also experienced a duff A2 Main Controller right out of the box. After replacing the MC it performed without issue and still does so.

Of course that doesn't mean it will continue that way but I thought I would just throw that in to confuse you. :highly_amused:

On the other hand, after an initial QC problem, I have never had a Mikrokopter FC go funky.

There is more in the World than DJI. As an reminder that DJI is generally a poor choice in all things - with the arguable exception of their camera mounts - their 'last' (I'm sure you mean 'latest') airframe, the S900, has been released in their customary blaze of shiny marketing glory with legs that are too short for their own camera mounts. Sort of raises the question that if they cannot cut a piece of tube to the right length, how can they be expected to produce complicated electronics?

How blinkered everybody is that they cannot see past DJI products.

 

[Jumpy07]

WKM. I don't know what problems arose last year with it but I am not aware of any other than the GPS Module that was replaced/upgraded bu DJI. Pitty they don't do the same with the A2. Has anyone noticed the lack of 'A2M - The Precision Flight Controller For Professionsls' Ads The S900 even has a promo advocating the WKM as the perfect FC for the Innovative design!

Go figure… the A2 is a unpredictable time bomb that should be avoided at all cost for anyone wanting to fly comically/safely. Hopefully investigations by 'The Experts' will limit or better still ban its use in the UK for commercial applications. That then my send the message to DJI that their A2M stands for exactly what the acronym means! Go figure. When it was explained to me I almost puked and laughed at the same time.!

For those wanting to be DJI's crash test dummies 'BUY AN A2' It precision is unexplainibly ground breaking.

D

Dave did you get the GPS puk replaced on your A2 yet ?

 

[jdennings]

Is there a general consensus on which fw version is the most reliable for WKM?
I've run mine mostly as a backup and have used it on an ancient 5.20 rev. (never any issues, knock on wood), seemed at the time there were some releases that felt poorly tested ... maybe 5.20 was one of them but I never went further. I recently downloaded the latest assistant that won't let me do anything unless I upgrade to latest 5.26 ... 5.26 good?

 

[Droider]

Dave did you get the GPS puk replaced on your A2 yet ?

I have documented my year long experiences widely on this site. I originally bought 3 A2 two for my new machines and one for QQP. BYOD refused point blank t replace the GPS Puck on one machine that would not upgrade.I went via the CC company and got a full refund. The second one is sat on the rack waiting for 2.4 as it has thrown wobblers as documented on here by myself and others. The machine that has NO puck because buildyourowndrones for some bazaar reason would not replace the faulty one has had the A2 ripped off and a WKM installed in its place. It flies great on 5.20 which is what I use on all my machines.

I did have one forum member on here lend me a GPS puck and the unit flew OK for the afternoon it was installed. So I thought it was the GPS. A few days later the craft the loaned GPS puck was fitted to ditched and was totally destroyed.

Ha! what a perfect spelling error. Anyone wanting to fly "comically" should fly the A2.

I'd slap a KK2 in that thing and fly it as close to a body of water as possible.

Bloody mac predictive text and a late night with A2 Steam coming out of my ears! ;-)

 

[Jumpy07]

Cheers Dave.. didn't realise you had crashed the one with the loaned GPS puk.. was trying to understand if those with GPS issues had resolved the problem with a replacement puk..

As indicated previously I have had no issues with my A2, and now with over 80 flights.. would be good to get to the bottom of the problems some people having..

About to push the button on an S900, although I have no basis not to trust the A2, (my APMs are another story), risk of being grounded by CAA is making errr towards WKM.. if A2 is grounded there will be a lot of AP companies with no ability to fly in UK.

 

[Benjamin Kenobi]

Is there a general consensus on which fw version is the most reliable for WKM?
I've run mine mostly as a backup and have used it on an ancient 5.20 rev. (never any issues, knock on wood), seemed at the time there were some releases that felt poorly tested ... maybe 5.20 was one of them but I never went further. I recently downloaded the latest assistant that won't let me do anything unless I upgrade to latest 5.26 ... 5.26 good?

I've been using 5.26 since January and all good! :nevreness:

 

[ZAxis]

Our new S900 will have a Wookong. Our S1000 has had an A2 for the last 6 months and done us well. Bad vibes about other's A2s and threat of a UK CAA dislike of them forced us to take the lower risk route.
Our old Droidworx Y6 has had a Wookong for the last 18 months and been good to us.

andy

 

[Jumpy07]

Bad vibes about other's A2s and threat of a UK CAA dislike of them forced us to take the lower risk route.

andy

Yeah that's whats worrying me.. even though never had an issue with A2.... so looks like WKM on new S900..