The best "toy grade" ready-to-fly quadcopter systems right now

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bobkrech said:
The FAA just did that 2 days ago.
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According to their own web page, the final rulings are still out for public comment until 15 Apr. (60 days from 15 Feb)
 
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FY326 Q7 (Extremely) Windy Day

[video=youtube;14biTGyv1no]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14biTGyv1no[/video]

BTW, he has found that some other mid-sized toy grade quads have also experienced range reduction when an 808 is mounted.
 
It just arrived today. Took 2 weeks. Not bad. Now I need a translator. Some Chinese person has pretty bad engrish. I ordered the FY326 and the charging instructions are somewhat incomprehensible. It reads like I'm supposed to see an LED light up while charging, but there ain't no durn LED. Bad word usage is a big issue. Can anybody shed some light on this?
 
[video=youtube;crJz2nqpWbY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crJz2nqpWbY[/video]

Found this youtube video and from what I gather there is no onboard charging socket. I think you take the battery out and recharge it. Mine should be here any day so let us know what you find out and how you like it.
 
bill2654 said:
Found this youtube video and from what I gather there is no onboard charging socket. I think you take the battery out and recharge it. Mine should be here any day so let us know what you find out and how you like it.
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I got the charging thing understood now. The LED is in the USB plug and lights up when the battery is charged. Secondly and really important, read the text in the grayed out ares very well. The throttle has to be in the down position before you turn on the remote...&&^%, anyway, I got it off the floor, but not without some maneuvering difficulties. Everything is backwards, except the throttle. Up is up, down is down. That back and forth thing gonna need a little getting used to. Forward is back, back is forward, likewise to the left and right. There's a bunch more buttons I haven't even read about. I just wanted to get a feel for it. It's my first. I highly recommend learning outside though. You gotta learn to fly this thing before you bring it into the house. You can wreck the hell out of it.
 
Gary Byrum said:
It just arrived today. Took 2 weeks. Not bad. Now I need a translator. Some Chinese person has pretty bad engrish. I ordered the FY326 and the charging instructions are somewhat incomprehensible. It reads like I'm supposed to see an LED light up while charging, but there ain't no durn LED. Bad word usage is a big issue. Can anybody shed some light on this?
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Most Chinese instructions are garbage because they apparently use auto-translation, possibly Google's, which makes a real mess when trying to go from Chinese to English. Just search for reviews on YouTube. Quadcopter 101 usually goes over the controls well as does Flyin' Ryan RC for anything he reviews.
 
Gary Byrum said:
The throttle has to be in the down position before you turn on the remote...&&^%
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That's a good safety feature you see on all of them. You need to raise the throttle to 100% then lower it back to 0% to bind the quad to the TX before flying.

I highly recommend learning outside though. You gotta learn to fly this thing before you bring it into the house. You can wreck the hell out of it.
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Absolutely. That's a beginner-suitable quad but it's not primarily intended for indoor learning. That's for one of the nano-quads like the HJ 993 I linked to in my first post.
 
Gary Byrum said:
The throttle has to be in the down position before you turn on the remote...&&^%, anyway, I got it off the floor, but not without some maneuvering difficulties. Everything is backwards, except the throttle. Up is up, down is down. That back and forth thing gonna need a little getting used to. Forward is back, back is forward, likewise to the left and right. There's a bunch more buttons I haven't even read about.
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Great site by Quadcopter 101 with lots of training videos:

Quadcopter Flight School

https://quadcopter101.blogspot.com/2013/10/chapter-1-introduction-to-quadcopters.html
 
Winston, thank you for your support. Although there is one slight issue with taking the craft outside to fly it. Best if you are in a really big open field. My back yard is sorta big enough for testing and learning in, but there's this breeze factor weighing in. I didn't mean for it to accelerate as high as it did, and it caught a bit of a draft. I fought trying to turn it around and come back towards me, but that rocket eating tree mistook my quad-copter for a Big Bertha. My neighbor and I spent an hour trying to lasso that branch with a nylon cord and wrench. She's wedged pretty good. The branch is about 45* angle from the tree trunk, and it's positioned right smack at the bottom of the branch.. The rest of the week is all about rain, so I have little hope for any positive recovery.
 
Gary Byrum said:
Winston, thank you for your support. Although there is one slight issue with taking the craft outside to fly it. Best if you are in a really big open field. My back yard is sorta big enough for testing and learning in, but there's this breeze factor weighing in. I didn't mean for it to accelerate as high as it did, and it caught a bit of a draft. I fought trying to turn it around and come back towards me, but that rocket eating tree mistook my quad-copter for a Big Bertha. My neighbor and I spent an hour trying to lasso that branch with a nylon cord and wrench. She's wedged pretty good. The branch is about 45* angle from the tree trunk, and it's positioned right smack at the bottom of the branch.. The rest of the week is all about rain, so I have little hope for any positive recovery.
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Yeah, quads are NOT easy to learn to fly, at least I didn't find them to be. Much harder than RC planes in my experience.

It's the quad's orientation vs its reaction to control inputs that's the trick to learn. Best to do the Quadcopter 101's training sequence. Learn to hover well and accurately via initial TX trim and your gentle control inputs (which includes getting those precise throttle inputs to maintain a given altitude), then do things related to yaw (rotation around the quad's central axis) and pitch (tilt of the quad which produces horizontal travel). A gentle hand on the throttle is important since many of these quads can climb very rapidly.
 
Gary Byrum said:
Picture tomorrow weather permitting. We got rain for days. I'm willing to pay some young chap 10 bucks to climb the tree to get it out.
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IF you do recover it, it appears from my search on the topic that even US-sourced quads (specifically the Hobbico OMINUS FPV) say the following:

https://manuals.hobbico.com/did/dide02-manual.pdf

"Land your model immediately when the LEDs flash to indicate that the battery power is low. Recharge the battery before attempting another flight. A dangerous situation can occur when attempting to recharge an over-discharged battery!"

If a $200 quad like that doesn't automatically protect the lipo battery from over-discharge, your $26 quad almost certainly won't either. Stuck in a tree, you can't disconnect the battery so it will very likely over-discharge. I've got a question in on a quad forum about suitable replacement batteries and whether or not this over-discharge is likely, but assume that it is. In all of my extensive readings on quads, I've never come across a mention of this topic.
 
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Quadcopter 101's response to my question about treed quads and toy grade quad battery protection - "Many if not most of these quadcopters shut down when the voltage drops below a certain level. So yes, there is a good possibility that the battery is still good."

If you bought the FY326 Q7 as I think you did, your quad is a Syma X5C clone. HOWEVER, that does NOT mean that it's circuitry is an exact clone of that in the X5C with the same battery over-discharge protection circuitry (if any).

This guy says his treed for five days Syma X5C battery was fine:

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=31269041&postcount=4977

"I had my X5C in a tree for about 5 days until it finally blew down. On another occasion, the X5C was in a cow pasture for 6 or 7 days until a farmer called me. On both occasions, the X5C and the battery were fine."

However, a later post from another guy in the very same X5C forum:

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=31241889&postcount=4909

"My quad was up in a tree for one night. I was able to charge the battery and fly again but the battery swelled up oversized. I would not play games with a item that can easily start a fire"

It could have been that the battery was just ready to do that as they sometimes do (NEVER leave a charging lipo battery unattended) or was damaged by freezing. OR it could be Chinese "quality control" in the quad's electronics. One guy couldn't figure out why one motor on his quad didn't work until he took it apart and found that one of four vital components clustered together in the same area on the RX/controller PC board was very obviously missing! From the look of the undisturbed solder on the pads intended for the missing item, it had never been there!

If you have the FY326 Q7, here's an inexpensive replacement battery for it based upon my look at specs and photos on-line. It makes sense that an X5C battery should be what your X5C clone would be able to use. Always be sure to check that the positive and negative leads on any replacement battery not specifically called out for your quad are oriented on the connector in the same way as the stock pack.

Syma X5C 3.7V 600mAh 25C Lipo Battery

https://www.banggood.com/Upgraded-Syma-X5C-X5-37V-600mAh-25C-Lipo-Battery-p-926400.html
 
Not a bad price on a shipped battery, but I was wondering if Batteries Plus might carry them? They do have a lot of these kinds of batteries.
 
Gary Byrum said:
Not a bad price on a shipped battery, but I was wondering if Batteries Plus might carry them? They do have a lot of these kinds of batteries.
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Probably not or, if they did, they'd be expensive. I've used Batteries Plus to tab-weld together battery pack innards from NiCd and NiMH cells I brought in (@ 50 cents per tab), but I've never bought any batteries from them.

More X5C packs on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=x5c+battery
 
Thanks for the tips Winston. My FY326 showed up today, took almost 3 weeks. I've never flown something like this before, and I have to say it was deceptively easy - and quite a bit of fun! I haven't tried any tricks yet, just trying to master getting it to go where I want. Just got back inside after using up my second charge on the battery - for a little night flying. Very cool, love the lights!

Have you used a faster charger than the one that comes with it? Seems to take a looooong time to charge with the included USB dongle. Should be OK charging at 1C with a regular LIPO charger? Gonna have to get extra batteries....
 
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I've got four cheerson CX-10s (the first one) they are a lot of fun. The cat loves them
I also have two WL toys v262's. I would highly recommend them in the 60 dollar range. Just remove the foam cover and they are fast and can carry quite a bit.
 
2 weeks from the day I ordered it, my replacement arrived. Yeah, the 1st one is still in the tree but we have made a little progress bumping it around a bit and got it a couple feet lower than it was. Still working strategies on that.

I decided to work it in the house again, and I was a bit more successful than before. Still crashed it into a few things, but at least I got a nice hover and yaw. The controller is super sensitive which is my nemesis right now, but like anything else, practice, practice, practice!

I was wondering, I suppose it's OK to recharge this battery if it's still juiced? I didn't run it until the lights flickered telling that the battery was low. OK to recharge at any time?
 
I should be receiving a FY326 Q7 for my son as a b-day gift any day. Though I hope the delivery gets delayed closer to his b-day to remove the temptation of opening it myself to "test" it. :wink:
 
ArizonaSportsman said:
I should be receiving a FY326 Q7 for my son as a b-day gift any day. Though I hope the delivery gets delayed closer to his b-day to remove the temptation of opening it myself to "test" it. :wink:
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If you're a beginner like me, don't assume, "you got this" I thought it would be easy peasy, but I was mistaken. This model requires some time involved just to learn the dynamics and get a grip on that controller. It's easy to slam dunk it. I've knocked the blade guards off a dozen times in just a short period.
 
Gary Byrum said:
2 weeks from the day I ordered it, my replacement arrived. Yeah, the 1st one is still in the tree but we have made a little progress bumping it around a bit and got it a couple feet lower than it was. Still working strategies on that.

I decided to work it in the house again, and I was a bit more successful than before. Still crashed it into a few things, but at least I got a nice hover and yaw. The controller is super sensitive which is my nemesis right now, but like anything else, practice, practice, practice!

I was wondering, I suppose it's OK to recharge this battery if it's still juiced? I didn't run it until the lights flickered telling that the battery was low. OK to recharge at any time?
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I hung mine in a tree on the silly blade guards. Got it down with a 12' chunk of lumber. When it hit the ground, one of the ends snapped clean off (last 1.5" off one spoke, including the motor....). Urg. Be careful how you get it down. CA seems to have fixed it up - flew again tonight.

This is seriously fun. Starting to think about building my own, something bigger and more durable that can loft a camera/gimbal. Looking right now to find a solution that is powerful enough to still be fun to fly, but won't break the bank. HobbyKing has a couple of kits that look pretty nice for someone just getting into the hobby.
 
Gary Byrum said:
If you're a beginner like me, don't assume, "you got this" I thought it would be easy peasy, but I was mistaken. This model requires some time involved just to learn the dynamics and get a grip on that controller. It's easy to slam dunk it. I've knocked the blade guards off a dozen times in just a short period.
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Hmmmm. I think this means you just gave me permission to buy a couple of these so that when I inevitably destroy one or two as I learn....I still have one to give to my son.

Seriously though - thanks for the tip. We'll practice in a "safe zone" - as best we can.
 
AndyC said:
I hung mine in a tree on the silly blade guards. Got it down with a 12' chunk of lumber. When it hit the ground, one of the ends snapped clean off (last 1.5" off one spoke, including the motor....). Urg. Be careful how you get it down. CA seems to have fixed it up - flew again tonight.

This is seriously fun. Starting to think about building my own, something bigger and more durable that can loft a camera/gimbal. Looking right now to find a solution that is powerful enough to still be fun to fly, but won't break the bank. HobbyKing has a couple of kits that look pretty nice for someone just getting into the hobby.
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Actually, if you don't already own a 2.4GHz TX (aka, "controller") there are cheaper-than-build-it-yourself routes. I'm going by your servo controlled gimballed camera requirement which, unless it's a gimballed Mobius, requires something sized like this extremely popular GPS quad, an open-source firmware, much less expensive DJI Phantom clone:

https://www.banggood.com/Cheerson-C...n-AutoPathfinder-Quadcopter-RTF-p-932145.html

CX20jln08.jpg


[video=vimeo;96928699]https://vimeo.com/96928699[/video]

It's been around for over a year and has a huge following. A new version, the CX-22, is rumored to be out soon which might mean a clearance sale of CX-20s. The LCD RX unit, camera, and gimbal shown will be optional accessories:

cx22.jpg


EDIT: A much lower cost alternative with heavy lift capability but without the servo gimbal or GPS is the extremely popular Tarantula X6:

https://www.gearbest.com/rc-quadcopters/pp_139651.html

Size of the X6 compared to a Syma X5C (and your clone of it):

CC3wDzQXIAAZveD.jpg


[video=youtube;v0tcB1qXtsI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0tcB1qXtsI[/video]

With a great, new GoPro camera clone that's much cheaper than a GoPro:

[video=youtube;1nvV00owNss]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nvV00owNss[/video]

EDIT: Had to add this because the photo is so good and shows the Xiaomi Action Camera mounted and a clever landing leg extension mod using the plastic portion of wall anchors that are even color matched:

a7827961-68-IMG_2226.JPG
 
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I definitely plan to eventually buy the Tarantula X6 I mentioned above, but I already have the only other YiZhan quad right now, the X4, and I'm really loving it. It's super stable and easy to fly, plus it has the great advantage of being a mid-size mini-quad; it's not as tiny as the CX-10, but not as large as the Syma X5C clones, so it's great for indoors and outdoors even on windy days due to its higher mass/cross-sectional area. It's of very solid construction, uses a swappable battery of the very common Hubsan X4 type, has prop guards that are very effective (many aren't on other models), a double-battery USB charger, and it is very cool looking.

Spend the extra dollar to get the one with the backlit LCD on the transmitter which feels great to me even in my big hands. I opened it up and they use a sleeved coax dipole antenna unlike the simple, much cheaper 31mm wire antenna in the TX of every Syma X5C clone TX I've taken apart and the PC board is quality stuff with good soldering. The backlight on the LCD even goes out to conserve batteries when it detects you haven't been using the sticks for a while. It took three weeks to get it from Banggood which is typical for free shipping from China:

https://www.banggood.com/Yi-Zhan-X4...tter-RTF-p-927450.html?p=Z431161082112012126P

[video=youtube;OS8PnxvL1-o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS8PnxvL1-o[/video]

[video=youtube;RPQBjDOJEkU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPQBjDOJEkU[/video]

Someone has even hacked together an FPV version of it using a 1 gram(!) 700TVL (TV lines) camera and a 10 mW 5.8 GHz VTX (video transmitter)!

[video=vimeo;118338060]https://vimeo.com/118338060[/video]
 
Looks like some interesting options! Will take some thinking. Thanks for the ideas!
 
My neighbor came over and was playing with mine having better knowledge about em than I do, and explained that, the push buttons on the controller were for calibration purposes. Somehow, I seemed to not see that mentioned in the instructions. Anyway, he was able to trim it out and get it to do what I was trying to do. Hover, and barely or not moving, and making it yaw and perform like I thought it should. Sure would have been nice if those Chinee' pepulz had mentioned that in their badly written "Engrish" instructions.
 
Winston. Musta had a blonde moment when I couldn't find the trim instructions. Now that I have it tweaked a bit, it's getting easier to handle. I also did a little research. Batteries Plus doesn't carry them, but I found some on Amazon in a 4 pack that fit the X5C, which is supposed to be a match for the copter I have, and the price is pretty good. Of course your opinion is valued here. I wouldn't mind having 4 extra batteries for back-up.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VPSPBFU/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
 
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