Question for the drone gurus

[MattFX4]

Hi guys, quick question. I am interested in buying a DJI drone, but would like to know if I can use my on transmitter, or do I have to use the one supplied? I have a Futaba 2.4 GHz 6 channel transmitter and receiver that I use in RC planes, and just curious if it would work. I am thinking that it wont because of the video to phone functionality.

 

[shane hric]

No I don't believe it will work, at least not easily if at all possible. The transmitter which comes with the DJI 3 Professional is matted to the drone itself and the transmitter must be directly plugged into your cellphone or tablet to view the camera system. Plus there are several buttons such as "Home", Record, and features for the camera system on the transmitter.

 

[MattFX4]

exactly what I thought. Thanks for confirming.

 

[robert843]

Ok I have not done this so please do not take my word for it do some more research or hopefully someone else will chime in but I'm pretty sure it will not work on the units that use lightbridge so the Phantom 3 advanced and pro are out but it may work on the phantom 3 standard and I'm pretty sure it is compatible on the phantom 2's but you should be pretty happy with the one that comes with the DJI Phantom 3's. This info is something I saw in one of the DJI forums but I would have to go back and look to verify. I only have a phantom 3 standard and even with the weakest remote of the the 3 line I can fly it further then I really need to which is well out of range of me physically being able to see the unit.

 

[robert843]

Here is a video from my 3 standard. At no point do I even come close to stretching its limits in this video. Furtherest I have had it out so far is 300ft height at 3000 ft out and I still had full control but I couldn't see the unit and had to rely on the camera and gps mapping functions to get it back to me.

 

[MattFX4]

Oh wow ok cool

 

[Ronnie]

The responses above are correct. That is, if you go with the 2nd generation phantom you can pair an after market remote more easily to it. The p3 advance and pro use a proprietary video downlink system that is integrated into the remote which makes using an aftermarket remote more difficult.

In the long run I think you will be better off with the stock /dedicated remote. It's already configured and you can customize it with the dji software app. Plus the phantom will come with a remote so why not use it.

Note their is a big difference in prices of the a p2 and p3 remotes, should you lose or break the one that comes with (about $400 more for the p3 advance and pro remote). Light bridge is expensive but the range is over a mile in hd with little latency as I recall.

 

[Big Shasta]

I just bough this bad boy from a member here....Love it. The control you have over everything on the phone screen is awesome. You'll want to have that ability.

It has upgraded antennas which are supposed to extend the range out to something stupid like "miles" (seen on the left remote). Haven't gotten that brave yet.

 

[MattFX4]

Nice. I'm pretty knowledgable about RC planes and cars, but no experience with drones. I heard dji was releasing a new one today. Going to look for a deal on a phantom 3.

 

[MattFX4]

Is it worth the extra $ for the phantom 3 advanced? I'm trying to decide between the standard and advanced. At first this will be just a toy to play around with. I may get more serious about it once I get in to it.

 

[Ronnie]

It depends on how far you intend to fly from the remote. The advance with light bridge has a much better range and the camera is 2.7k both of which are better than the p3 standard, I'm pretty sure. If you intend to stay close and retune your video resolution before posting it to the cloud the extra functionality and cost may not be for you. One other thing, connecting to the p3 video link is much easier and reliable than the p2 or p3 standard wifi which is wireless through a booster mounted to the outside of the remote and which sometimes takes a few tries to recognize the smart phone or tablet intended to be used with it.

If you have experience with rc helicopters I'd bet you'll find flying a quadcopter much easier, they hover hands free out of the box. Getting used to controlling the camera and camera friendly flying is another matter, as is learning how to edit videos.

 

[Ronnie]

Here is a link to what I believe is the best video I have taken / produced so far with my p3 advance. Just wanted to reshare it again, not trying to high jack the thread.

 

[MattFX4]

That's pretty cool! You not nervous flying over water? Also, what is the yellow object popping in to the video on the left?

 

[Ronnie]

Thanks. Actually I'm worried all of the time I'm over water but have accepted the fact that if I want the footage I have to fly over water to get it. I've already lost one phantom 2 over water, that's why I have a phantom 3 now. The yellow/ orange thing is part of a pool noodle I out on the skid. It won't keep the electronic out of the water just keeps the heli afloat so I have something to recover / rebuild in the event of a "water landing".

 

[MattFX4]

Have you heard of yuneec? The ad popped up on my Facebook feed earlier since I have been researching drones.

http://www.yuneec.com/node/1013