Phantom Quadcopter w/ GoPro mount

Jim Martin

Jim Martin

DVXuser Sponsor
Hey everyone,
We've been selling a bunch of these units...we blew through the 1st batch in 2 days and we just got another 50 in...here's a quick video we just did:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lL_-ZklPOc
and here's a link to our blog on the unit that features a bunch of videos on operating, flying, and maintaining the units....
http://blog.filmtools.com/2013/03/14/video-dji-phantom-quadcopter/

the units have GPS....so you can't loose it!...it's got a 300m range and they are really fun to fly. When I was little, I had a remote control Texaco tanker that I took down to Marina Del Rey...I launched it in the water, and boy did it do well, navigating the boat wakes, turning well and as it moved father away, my remote stopped working (out of range), and the ship just kept going...never to be seen again! I was pretty down for a while....but that won't happen with the Phantom!

Jim Martin
Filmtools.com
 
Jim Martin said:
the units have GPS....so you can't loose it!...
Click to expand...

Sorry but you can lose it rather easily, there have been a number of fly away reports, my Phantom was lost. I know how to fly a multicopter and am familiar with the Naza. Despite having a fully warmed IMU, full satellite lock the Phantom's compass sent it the wrong way (and I'd used the correct procedure to set it beforehand).

I'd recommend anyone wanting a practice copter gets the F450 instead as the normal combined GPS/Compass modules on top are model reliable than the split system in the Phantom.

DJI actually have been deleting fly away reports from their Facebook page since the 1st week of release. I had one of the 1st in the UK.
 
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...thats cuz you're closer to the North Pole!.....just kidding, but our tech department has been using them a lot for the last few weeks and have not had any of those problems...as long as you calibrate the unit and orient the GPS...sorry if you had the problems but maybe being one of the first it had some bugs that must have been solved by now...and nobody has returned any of the first batch I'll have the tech dept do some research on it.

Jim Martin
Filmtools.com
 
Did you guys stabilize any of the video in post or is it straight out of the goPro? Also, I'm concerned about the fly away reports. I'd like to use this from a boat. Likewise the GPS return home feature. I need to know that once it come back into range I can take over and land it at the boat and not where we started.
 
Jim Martin said:
nobody has returned any of the first batch
Click to expand...
That's the problem you can't return something that has flown away. DJI wouldn't have seen fit to delete bug reports unless it's customer service is poor, which it is.

I'd actually started a Phantom review on this very forum in the hope I could have been positive about it.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthrea...el-Quadcopter-UAV-made-with-the-GoPro-in-mind

Weeks after this DJI continued deleting posts and there were more examples turning up on YouTube.

The F450, F550, S800 DJI products using a combined GPS module on the top, work. Somewhere along the line splitting the module up I'm sure is the weak link in the Phantom design.
 
P13......being just a bit bitter on this. I think you've made your point .... and fellow DVXers will do their own assessments from the many examples you've now posted plus what ever else they can find on their own....that being said, we've not had 1 returned yet nor has anyone reported back to us on what you have experienced.

Jim Martin
Filmtools.com
 
I'm not at all bitter in fact my insurance paid out, for you to even suggest that is somewhat rude. I thought it was a great idea for a product, but it should be considered a toy, an expensive one at that.

There's a customer service issue for DJI, let's take for example a video firm such as Small HD, if you e-mail them, Tweet, sometimes even post here with a problem, they'll speak to you. DJI doesn't speak to customers with problems, if customer's contact them via social media they delete the contact.

I'd actually contacted DJI privately, simply offering video of the loss as the flight was being filmed and proved the satellite lock and IMU was warmed, they didn't even want to see it.

The only funny thing in the whole saga is there's a video with the CEO tapping a Phantom compass with a magnet to fix it, apparantely in the field we're expected to have a magnet, a laptop with USB and the Naza assistant software installed then to randomly mess with a magnet until the Phantom rights itself if the compass begins to play up. Much less hassle to invest in a proper multicopter.

Let's agree to disagree.

But I put any potential purchaser this challenge, test DJI, pretend to be a Phantom customer, post on their Facebook page and tell them your Phantom has flown off and not returned on failsafe and see if they contact you to help.
 
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