DIVE fast - CRASH hard! Drone proximity in awesome mountains and horrible crash

I started to do more training flights with the Black Bullet (see the copter here) and had 2 sessions in the "Höllental" again - since it features the best accessibility of wonderful rocks and cliffs in good range.
On the 2nd day I found more tight lines down between cliffs that were still LOS. Unfortunately the 2nd flight on that day ended in an disaster. I guess that one motor or ESC burned to death up there - suddenly it fell out of the sky. I still have the Marco Polo beacon live up there so there's a chance to locate it - but I have to find a good climber to actually recover it from this remote location.
It's hard to find the reason for the crash - but overall I wasn't so satisfied with the T-Motors used here. Had to replace a few of them because magnets slipped, and also on my test field I had a burnt motor before (over save ground, no real damage back than).


You see different cams used here:
On the poor light shots (overcast, shadow) I used SJCam M10+ in 2k mode with stabilizer and also the Foxeer Legend in 1080p60.
On the 2nd day with good sunlight up there and shadow below I used only M10+ in 1080p60 mode + stabilizer.
See my M10+ review
Had to do a lot of color correction to make it look better (especially on the overcast day).

Thanks to BackyardAirways for spotting and supporting me up there!

Black Bullet FAST dives and proxy in the mountains (Höllental revisited)

This has been so much fun! I was tuning the Bullet for quite some time (since it was an prototype) to get it to dive for me. This particular location is perfect for this kind of diving. Now I'm really sorry that back in summer I didnt use the Gopro (and had no cheap 60fps cam).

I hope I can continue to DIVE soon enough - definitly the most fun!

(filmed with RuncamHD in the first part, and on the field also with Xiaomi Yi some shots)

Secret 2nd version of this video
(only works if you're outside Germany)


▼Music▼
Kids Cover Sober By Tool / O'Keefe Music Foundation

Black Bullet - fast DIVES with drone down the hills and trees

As promised in my review (https://youtu.be/jh4Q7wWlNg4) of this copter here's the first fast paced diving video. A friend did visit me in Summer and I needed to test this prototype. We had some really nice FPV sessions on my favourite places. If you know my video your should recognize these two spots (it's near "Ruine Klamm", Schottwien and 2nd part is at my standard hill the "Eichberg").
First part here was filmed with RuncamHD (30fps) and 2nd was with Gopro3+ in 60fps. Settings were suboptimal and I had some jello, but performance of the quad was brutal and the flight feeling there was really good.
On the first location we only could do one flight until the farmer asked us to leave ;-)

Black Bullet unboxing, build, Review and fast testflights Miniquad, Racecopter

This is my first really fast Quadcopter. The Trincopter was quite fast also, but this smaller one here has tilted motors - which makes all the difference! It's just so cool to feel this "urge to fly forward fast" from the quad! Nice option here to change a few screws and have the motorarms straight or angled (3 steps: 0°, 10° or 20°).
The build was fairly easy, you have a good ammount of space in the quad. Battery compartment is large enough to hold an 2250 4cell - maybe even larger. But the best performance is achievable with small and extreme Lipos (1300mah Gensace 75C).

see more details over there in my "Hangar"
►buy the quad here: Globe-Flight

Update 2015/11: Landingpads, Arkbird AAT and OSD, XUAVOne, Hover82

Landingpads
Zoom H1 Mic 1:08
Polaroid LED Light 3:06
Arkbird AAT 3:21
and OSD/RTH 7:00
X-UAV One Plane 8:00
Mini FPV Cam 12:22
DALRC Qosd! 12:48
FPVers Intro: Hover82 14:28

SnapperXS realworld testing the FOXEER Legend 1 (proximity Miniquad flights in autumn scenery)

Black Snapper XS Autumn Treesurfing in 60fps SJ5000+

Black Snapper XS Maiden, Buildpics, Tipps, Thoughts and some fine Autumn Treesurfing

Please check this article in my "Hangar" for more details on this new Quad

SJCam SJ5000+ vs Xiaomi Yi vs Gopro3+Black 60fps review

►important Tech Specs:
1080p60 Mode!
170° FOV
16MP stillimage resolution
Ambarella A7LS75 DSP
Panasonic MN34120PA 16 Megapixel 1/2.33″ CMOS Sensor
WiFi Connection for iOS / Android device
Support AV out while recording with specific USB-to-AV cable
Multiple photo shooting modes: Single shot, Snapper, Time-lapse
Support HDMI HD output function
DVR Car mode (dash cam)

►Recording time:
20min ~ 3,5GB clips 24MBit Datarate in 1080p60fps mode
~52min in 60fps mode (with no Wifi - LCD turned off most of the time)

►Firmware-Updates:
it's confusing that there seem to be many different versions of SJCam5000. The plus, the wifi...
Mine is SJCam 5000+ (with hardware version 3 and initial firmware 3.1)
you can find firmware for all versions here:
http://techtronic9000.blogspot.co.at/2015/05/sj-cam-firmware.html

How to upgrade:
Download the correct FW from above. My download had 3 Files in a 7zip archive.
I copied the file "SJCAM_FWUPDATE_V3.bin" from the subdir with chinese letters to the ROOT of an empty SD card
start cam with powercable attached
go into the menu and move "up" to get to the firmware version (mine was 3.1)
then hit the rec button there and it asks you to upgrade FW (but it does this there only if you have a SD card with firmware file inserted)
It takes only a few secs and then reboots - you can confirm in the menu that you have upgraded (3.2 in my case as of 22.Sept.2015).

►official support here:
http://www.sjcamsupport.com/sj5000/
http://www.sjcam.com/content/16-how-to-upgrade-the-sjcam-sj5000-action-camera-firmware

►Competition (1080p60fps cams):
The Foxeer Legend 1 looks interesting, also features the Ambarella A7LS processor but differs on the chip - with using a sony one. So here it's Sony Exmor Chip vs Panasonic - and I couldnt find details on which should be better...
Sample flight: https://youtu.be/LkkK6qs9gWk

The Xiaomi Yi isn't only hard to pronounce but also hard to focus ;-)
I might try the mod to get it sharper - then it could be a good and cheap alternative.

The Gopro (3+ or even 4) are still top notch - but their price range is terribly high. Maybe the Gopro Session could also be interesting for Miniquads - but it's also expensive.

►other reviews of this cam:
TECHMOAN Test: http://www.techmoan.com/blog/2015/2/7/the-big-sj5000-action-camera-review.html

Easy Antenna tracker - review and fieldtesting (ImmersionRC ezAntennatracker V2)

Immersion sent me their ezAntennatracker V2 some time ago. First I was sceptic if I want to use it, since tracker setup sounded way to complicated for me when I saw it in use by other FPVers.
But since they have "ez" (for easy) in many of their products I thought I'll give it a try.
I opted to use only the PAN-Servo - TILT is only needed if you fly really high or if you have a very directional antenna. I use the 13dbi Spironet with 35° horiz and vertical beamwidth - so I dont need to TILT with the tracker.
This makes the mechanics way easier - just a big "plate" directly on the huge sailwinch servo where I placed the antenna.
To get this on my tripod I just taped all together (doublesided tape) - the ezTracker with DiversityRX and servo.
Of course the diversity here is overkill - if using a tracker you shouldnt need a diversityRX.

Summary:
If you have a copter or plane with ezOSD onboard - this tracker is really nice and easy to use. It gives you 360° of really good video signal quality!
The fact that you have to have telemetry however is a showstopper for me on many FPV vehicles (I have many quads and planes and only few of them have telemetry).

For me: I packed the diversity and the tracker on one groundstation and I can switch between: tracker operation - or just diversity.
Recently I made this quite modular with some gopro mounts (i can plug in antenna and monitor additionally if I want to).

In a next video I will try to compare the use of a tracker to my normal use of diversity RX with different antennas - most noteably the new Pepperbox high gain, high beamwidth antenna!


►Info
Tracker: http://www.immersionrc.com/fpv-products/ezantennatracker-v2/
Pan-Servo: HS-785 HB Sailwinch Servo
Antenna: Spironet Patch 13dbi
you also need some SMA Antenna Extension cables!

►Startup (5mins!):
- set home (FPV vehicle with enough SAT acquired and with ezOSD telemetry running! standing next to the groundstation
- BEARING Calibration:
I found this to be the easiest way. You just move the copter away in one direction (20 or 30ft) and make sure the antenna is pointing in the right direction - if not - adjust.

►Requirements to get this tracker running:
Quite simple - you just need their ezOSD (or maybe some other compatible telemetry downlink?). the OSD sends GPS position and other telemetry info encoded in the audiochannel of your normal FPV downlink (one audio channel).

Exploring the huge Ruins of Haludovo Hotel in Croatia with my Xugong

We walked thru a nice park in Malinska on our vacation in croatia. We found a few strange looking, very desolate buildinges (apartments).
Since we're both curious about "Lost Places" or "Urban Exploration" we explored the region more and soon found a bigger complex. We had no idea what we found there and my first thoughts were something like a shopping mall (because the entrance or lobby there was huge). Then again it looked like a strange 70ties nightclub - and this is what was the closest guess as I found out later ;-)
It's the Haludovo Palace***** - one of the biggest and most decadent hotels in this region built in the 70ties from Penthouse boss Bob Guccione. Read more details if you're interested in this article below or view it on google earth.

Next day (when we knew a bit more about the hotel and it's history) we had better weather and I took my xugong copter for a flight and we also took more pics. It was a cool time travel to find some old fotos of this hotel and compare it against the devastated ruins there. It's a shame how fast vandalism and childish destruction can change such an interesting place (this is the reason most "Lost Places" are kept as a secret in the Urbex scene).
The basement with it's huge kitchen (more looking like a slaughterhouse) was really scary!

Good article: "INSIDE THE ABANDONED PALACE OF PENTHOUSE MAGAZINE IN CROATIA" http://goo.gl/6Gua89
GPS coords: https://goo.gl/XzRC0V
very interesting: 3 360° panoramas to "visit" the place (like Google Streetview): https://goo.gl/fP6Ysk

How to start FPV - what to get

Since I get asked a lot how to enter the FPV hobby I compiled this list of things to start at. Not the best components - but something you can use for a long time with good value/price rating. Most of the things I use myself (excep the 250 copter here).

FPV entry is really easy today - so many RTF systems, plug & fly versions... You got to consider some things and most of us have to watch their budget as well „smile“-Emoticon

For small budgets - Miniquads from the 250 class are good to start at.

Recently there are so many 250 quads, some high class, expensive ones and also some affordable and promising sets like this here (didnt try this yet!):

AGM Hobby Nighthawk 250 (almost anything you need to fly is contained in this package)

Batteries:

1500mah 3cell with high C-rating!

I would use the hobbyking EU warehouse (or whatever is next to you) to have shorter delivery times and less customs problems.

These here are good bot out of stock tm: Turnigy Nanotech 1500mah 3cell

these would also work: ZIPPY Compact 1500mAh 3S 35C

you need at least 4 pieces (you only get 5 mins flighttime on each). Also get one more for goggles / receiver.

Lipo-Charger  (if you can, go for a dual charger since you will have to charge a lot and you shouldnt leave tham charging unattented)

Cam to record (in HD, not neccessary for flight but cool to have something to share):

RuncamHD  (also get one or two 16GB SD Cards)

Cam for downlink:

Runcam Sky 650TVL

Video Transmitter (25mw legal)

(25mw are legal and good for 200-300m)

Video receiverImmersionRC Uno5800

or a good alternative would be a dual / diversity receiver with better signal: ImmersionRC Duo5800

and the cheaper route (didnt test this myself)  Diversity FR632

Video-Antennas:

ImmersionRC Spironet 

(if you bought the diversity RX above - also get one directional antenna ImmersionRC Spiro Patch )

Goggles:

This could be the most expensive part here (if you go for the Sony Cinemizers or the Dominator HD for example - 500-700€)

But you can get away cheap and with a great image if you get the styrofoam box type goggles like the:

Quanum V2 and batterycable for it (make sure to get a 3cell battery for goggles and RX also!)

Radio - control link:

FrSky Taranis - a good remote which is very affordable!

Receivers are good range and cheap here (around 30€). Standard receiver for me is the X8r (with telemetry and around 1-2km range). If you really wanna go far, check the LR receivers.

One of these X8rs is in the Set above or the longrange L9R

Hope I didnt forget something really important here - please comment if so. Also comment your suggestions if you have something WAY better for a newbie to be included in this list. But it's not the "top notch" list, it's aimed for entry into the hobby.

I think this topic is hot, and if I get a lot of response I might try to cover this in a video also.

greetings and happy FPVing,

RCSchim

Hilfe für FPV Einsteiger - Links und Tips

Da ich immer wieder gefragt werde, wie man am einfachsten ins FPV Hobby einsteigen kann, hab ich hier die Beantwortung einer solchen Mail gleich mal für Euch zusammengefasst:

FPV Einstieg ist heute sehr einfach. Es gibt schon sehr viele fertige Systeme.
Grundsätzlich muss man sich halt ein paar Sachen überlegen und wahrscheinlich wird man auch ein wenig auf's Geld schaun müssen „smile“-Emoticon
Für kleine Budgets und wenn man etwas basteln mag, sind die MiniQuads ein guter Einstieg.

Nehmt einen der zahlreichen Minis in der "250"er Klasse. Gibts mittlerweile schon so günstig.
Grad neulich untergekommen: AGM Hobby Nighthawk (hier ist mal fast alles dabei um fliegen zu können)

Akkus:
1500mah 3S mit viel "C" (also viel Strom auf einmal liefern können)
Hier würd ich beim Hobbyking IM EU WAREHOUSE (sonst dauerts länger) kaufen
die hier sind gut, aber leider grade aus: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp…
die wären sicher auch nicht schlecht: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp…
man braucht mindestens 4 Stück davon (ein Flug ca. 5min)
einen Akku würd ich gleich auch noch für Brille und Empänger einplanen

Ladegerät: http://www.hobbyking.com/…/__68798__Turnigy_Neutron_80W_DC_…
(natürlich wäre ein Doppellader toll, da man immer einige Akkus laden muss)
Cam zum Aufnehmen (muss am Anfang nicht unbedingt sein, macht aber natürlich schon Sinn!):
http://www.runcam.com/index.html RuncamHD
Cam zum Fliegen: http://shop.runcam.com/runcam-sky/

Video Transmitter (25mw legal): ImmersionRC_5_8GHz_25mW…
(25mw sind gut für 200-300m)
Video Empfänger: ImmersionRC Uno5800
alternativ einen Doppelempfänger (mehr Sicherheit beim Empfang): ImmersionRC Duo5800
oder ein günstigerer Diversity-Empfänger:  Diversity FR632 5.8

Video-Antennen:
ImmersionRC_5_8GHz_Spironet
beim Doppelempfänger würd ich noch eine Patchantenne dazu nehmen: ImmersionRC Spiro Patch

Videobrille:
das ist unter Umständen der teuerste Punkt, aber man kann heute auch mit den "Kastenbrillen" DIY Brillen oder "Facebox" wie ich sage, gut und günstig davon kommen: Quanum V2
Akkukabel

STEUERUNG:
Taranis - eine gute Fernbedienung ist wichtig - die Taranis kostet 200€ - das is für die Funktionen nicht viel, die Empfänger sind günstig und gut von der Reichweite her. Es gibt neben dem Standard X8R (ca. 1-2km) auch einen Longrange Empfänger der min. die Doppelte Reichweite hat!
FrSky Taranis 
Empfänger: einer ist im Set oben dabei, alternativ gibts diese hier:
X8r (mein Std. Empfänger) oder den Longrange L9R
Falls ich hier was vergessen hab, bitte um Kommentar - dann wird die Liste erweitert. Falls ihr wo einen DEUTLICH besseren Vorschlag habt, nur her damit. Allerdings soll sich das an Anfänger, Einsteiger richten - die sich nicht gleich das Allerbeste, Allerteuerste leisten können.
lg, RCSchim

Flying low and fast over a "Rapsfeld"

This was some weeks ago (actually before I changed my KK2 board to Naze32 - KK2 had it's good flights also „wink“-Emoticon
I drove up there with my eScooter and had some really great and fast lowpasses there. There is this old Farmhouse with the funny Tower on it - what an attraction for a mini - will I make it through this very narrow gap? Check it out!

Many TRIPs with a great little Miniquad

Last year I did the review on this nice little frame from Eyefly.info (germany shop). I did some further tuning (PIDs) and got this little Mini to fly really good. One last point until it felt "locked in" was to change from the High Res Sony cam to a cheaper one! The Sony has some noticeable latency! The cheap one doesnt!

In this vid you see once again the nice spot on the "Eichberg" from the last video, a new place in the woods next to fields (this is were I crashed because latency killed me); I could go there with my Electric Scooter - so nice if you have so little and compact FPV equipment!
I crashed also on that playground (regular viewers will recognize this as well - I mean the playgrounds not the crash :-)
And last segment I had some fun flying at our local flightfield and chase some Motobikes and let my buddies there see through my monitor to enjoy FPV.
In the end you see some training flights at home with latency free cam - such a difference!
(...and did you see the "Cow-Surprise"?)

The copter: Eyefly TRIP


Info on the cams:
Recording on the new RuncamHD - quite happy with the increased quality, light handling could be better - but that's the same with all of those cams...

FPV cams
Runcam Sky2 (with Sony EffioV chip and WDR processing and latency) http://shop.runcam.com/runcam-sky2/
Great picture quality and in theory 800tvl. BUT: it has some latency that make you feel like you're drunk if flying proximity with a small quad. It's ok to fly planes and smooth copters with it - but I couldnt fly through obstacles with it.

I changed to the normal Runcam PZ0420H (30$) and it's great. Almost NO latency and it feels much easier to fly through small gaps and obstacles with it. So it's not always your copter if you cant fly well with it - latency free cams are important also!
http://shop.runcam.com/runcam-pz0420h/

Miniquad with Naze32 - Over and under Trees, special Landing

After the YAW crashes and all the great tips I got from you I had to test and fly a lot to get confidence back. After mounting the naze32 properly (instead of doubleside tape) and after removing the side covering (like Aeroguard) the Issue dissapeared. Oh yes, I also taped the Baro but I think it isnt used...

!!!Thanks again for your help!!!

Since this day was windy but the place was so great to fly at, I got comfortable flying there I did some tricks. Over and under the trees is so bird-like - great relaxing sport!
And at the end you get a special landing ;-)
Give me hints if you've seen others doing compareable "landings".

Inspired (Awesome 4k footage from DJI Inspire1 in Austrian Mountains)

Since I had this copter for only limited time (lent by DJI) I wanted to fly at as many great locations as I could. Happy to see that not even medium to high winds could prevent this fine machine from producing really smooth 4k video.

No "new" places I flew here - but they all did shine in a new perspective when filmed through DJI's great 4k cam.

I was really impressed that even in full speed shots you can not see bad vibrations (some really minor jello maybe if flying sideways and the cam can sway on the rubbers).
On the first shot you see nice wind effects on tall grass. It was really windy that day!

The awesome mountainrange from the end is called "Veitsch" and it's in Styria, near Mürzsteg.
Also view my quite popular video there:


And those two in the "Höllental" between those massive rock walls:

Aerial GP in Spitzerberg

Great event yesterday - check out all the FPV Stars I met there!

FPV flights with Inspire1 and Girl with Phantom2 (parts in 4K - impressive Quality!!!)

...watch it in 4k if you can - Inspire1 footage is in native 4k - the rest is scaled up, sorry for voiceover mic but this was still filmed in my "german phase" and I dont want another german video with so many dislikes ;-)

These were my first and second flights with the Inspire1. First one just LOS and some speed flying around for the cam and to see how it behaves (it was a bit gusty this day).
2nd Flight already FPV (with DominaotrHD) and spontaneous my Girl joiend me with the Phantom2 (she never flew it before but instantly liked it).

►Findings so far:
Flighttimes are around 13mins with the 4500mah batteries (std).

Flight speed of up to 80km/s is great. And you get smooth video footage even at high speeds or high winds!

Flight charakteristics are very nice. Stable, smooth and reliable. Not too loud considering it's size and weight (Ghost+ is way more noisy!). Winds dont matter. Until now medium to high winds meant no good video footage. Now it's impressive how steady your flight is while the trees bend under you!. Best thing to do with this copter: fly straight as long as you can to capture a very stable cam flight. Looks very cinematic!

Video transmission is not always "fluid" but you get used to the light stutters and other than that it's really perfect clear.
The range is not always as good as I expected (maybe because other wifis interfered?). But sometimes more than 1km is no problem at all. The other time 200-300 I got short video outs.

After a few flights my Dominator HD stopped working on HDMI - still not sure why. Got the same problem like on the Skycontroller from the Bebop - where you see an image shortly and than HDMI signal breaks down. I think it's a fault of my DomHD...

Now I fly using a 7" Black Pearl with sunshade (not the best immersion but better than only the App on the phone). If you want to fly with tablet (watch the size! only ipad Air2 or similar sized Android) - get a sunshade for it!!!

Phone app (Samsung Galaxy S4 with Android 5.01)
Maybe it's a good idea to kill all the apps and clean your RAM before flying - one time I got bad performance of the app and many dropouts - but after the flight I saw that many apps were running...

Remote's batterylife is good - but you should keep an eye on it. Maybe one should charge it every 6-8 flights.

DJI Inspire1 indepth Review (App, Firmware, Frequ., Flightlog, german voice / english SUBTITLES!)

►Videoindex / Highlights:
10:27 - Transportmode - Startmode
14:00 - App genau angesehen
21:08 - Cam Steuerung mit Finger auf Touchscreen
23:50 - Flugverbotszonen
26:34 - HDMI Kabel für Dominator HD
27:18 - HDMI OSD Anzeige auf Monitor
28:07 - Latenzmessungen
29:07 - Fazit
31:34 - Firmware Update
34:48 - Naza Danze (Kompass kalibrieren)
36:13 - Frequenz Analyse (2,4 und 5,8GHz)
40:05 - Flightlog - Excel - Nerd Heaven

►Flugzeiten: im Durchschnitt 13min bei 3500mah Verbrauch beim 4500mah 6S Akku
Flighttime around 13min avg with 3500mah usage out of the 4500mah 6S battery

►Max Speed 80km/h

►Weight/Gewicht mit Akku (4500ma): 2936gr

►Preis: 3200€ mit einer Fernbedienung
(z.B. bei Globeflight.de)
Pricetag 3200€ with single remote

►Reichweite? / Range?
Bodentest noch ausständig
1-2km geht sicher, Videolink sehr stabil
In der App per Slider zwischen guter Videoqualität und niedriger Reichweite (10mbit und 700m) und geringer Quali aber hohe Reichweite (4MBit und 3km) wählbar

1-2km no problem - some users get really far (like 6km) which is dangerouse with limited battery time! You can adjust the image quality (vide bitrate) and get better range - app tells 3km Range with lowest quality (which is still really good compared to all other video transmission I've seen so far!

►Zeitverzögerung beim Video:
Echtzeit - App-Bildschirm: 250ms
Echtzeit - HDMI Bild nur 80ms? (zumindest ist HDMI und App ca. 170ms auseinander)
(hier aber leider nicht besonders genaue Stoppuhr und Messung)
Jedenfalls im normalen Betrieb nicht störend, beim fliegen nahe an Objekten evtl. etwas ungewohnt - Vorsicht!

Lag: looks like Lightbridge to HDMI is quite fast (only 80ms? not really sure about my measurements) add some 170ms more if you use the app (measured the Android app on GalaxyS3)

►Camera
Resolution 12.0MP
FOV (Field of View) 94°
CMOS Sony EXMOR 1/2.3”
Lens f/2.8 (20mm equivalent)
Burst shooting (BURST: 3/5/7 frames,AEB: 3 or 5 bracketed frames at 0.7EV Bias)
Time lapse
HD Video Recording Modes
UHD (4K):4096x2160p24/25,3840x2160p24/25/30
FHD:1920x1080p24/25/30/48/50/60
HD: 1280x720p24/25/30/48/50/60
Max Bitrate of Video Storage 60Mbps

►Transportkoffer aus Kunststoff, 556 × 490 × 240 mm

►Dominator HD HDMI Kabel
und dieser Adapter
Oder ihr findet ein Kabel:
MINI Hdmi auf Micro HDMI (ich fand keines)

►Flightlog
auf Android: "SmartPhone"\Phone\DJI\dji.pilot\FlightRecord
auf iOS: über iTunes auf die DJI Pilot App und hier die Dateien runterladen
die Files dann hier hochladen: http://thecutter.net/djiconverter
dann erhält man lesbare Files wie im Video (ganz am Ende) beschrieben!

You get a really impressive ammount of in flight data in the flightlog. Get it from android from \phone\DJI\DJI Pilot\FlightRecord
or from iOS using iTunes and seach for data on this app.
Convert it using the link above and you get a KML file for google earth with the track and CSV files (for excel) with many parameters.

Jet Crash, Lipo Barbecue and Mini Racing

Had some great fun with my miniquad yesterday on the field. And there was some action (another crash, some burning lipo, rescue flight, a few stunts,...).
Please be careful when you handle your lipos. You see in this example how much energy they have and how explosive/flameable they are! Always be safe while charging those lipos also!!!!

MiniQuad exploring abandoned Soccerfield "Lindenstadion" in Eisenstadt

Once again I had my mini with me on a small trip to the nice city in Burgenland called "Eisenstadt" (Iron-City). They have a nice Esterhazy Castle and very beautiful park behind it - open to the public. While walking through this park I looked for a nice spot to fly - and finally we came to that ugly brickwall. I was curious what's behind and found a soccerfield there (didn't recognize it as such in the first place).
It had been abandoned after the soccer club went bancrupt a few years ago. See a few pics from older times at the end of the video...

The flying there was really exciting! Naturally the stairway with a passage under it was like a magnet - and I was not sure how the video and control link will hold up. See if it worked or if I had to do the walk of shame ;-)

Airdrift and Action on the flightfield: Angry Cyclist, Crash of Phantom F4, burning Lipo, Albatross

This is quite a mix here! First few mins from the "Airdrift" weekend at a large RC shop in styria (http://Der-Schweighofer.at). I could take a closer look at the DJI Inspire1 and the Phantom3 there, saw RC Car jumping action and an extraordinary 3d Heli performance (unreal!).
2nd and 3rd part are on our local flightfield. Flying there with my MiniQuad and later th Xugong2. Many electric Jets (some of them land, others don't ;-)
A "search and rescure" flight with my Xugong to the smoking Lipo of the Phantom F4 Jet and an angry bicycler that wouldn't like my drone at first, then I showed him FPV and he was amazed!

Xugong2 Flights from Winter to Spring - say NO to Snow!

Excuse the GoT fun here ;-) but I'm really happy that we can leave the washed out colors from winter flightsessions behind us. It's great to see the landscape getting really green again.
To show the transition from Winter to Spring I have the 15 Flights with my Xugong2pro here in the right order from late february till now.
Also I did NO COLORGRADING here (not increase of satuartion to make it look better). But I did, to be honest, use the Sony Stabilizer on many scenes so they look way better (without micro movements). Also had some Jello flights (which you cant get rid of with software stabilizer!) at the beginning but now the copter is all on stock settings again and that was the best tuning ;-)
Find all about the Xugong2 here

To make it easier for you guys to see the specs of my copters used I pimped my Hangar Blog and made a picture thumbnail index-post rather than the textbased index that most peopple missed.

Next up you will see a review again: The ImmersionRC EzAntennaTracker v2.

LowCut High Speed (Miniquad on WinXP Hills, Bonus Dives at mountains)

Had a nice trip today and we stopped at this great WinXP style hills that were very inviting to my miniquad (which is always in my trunk of course!).
2nd part of the video you see the nice Mountains in the back a bit closer and some dive training there (unfortunately with some jello).
Hope you like this style - was a blast to fly there!

DRQ250 MiniQuad http://goo.gl/6v0O4L
Radio: Taranis on 2.4 with X8R RX
Video: ImmersionRC 5.8, CWL Antennas SPW to Goggles int.RX

MiniQuad racing through woods, chasing and crashing

I show you some nice new places to fly in this video! First the "Wolves Canyon" in my hometown. Used to be a quarry but was filled up with the earth from the huge construction (railway tunnel).
Now they did some gardening and in a few years it will be a nice green hill again.
The sand grader structure was nice gate to fly through.
Nearby is a nice wood forrestal road up with not so dense woods - I wanted too much there - a leave covered my sight ;-)
On the old spot (Eichberg) I again flew thru the pavillion (regular viewers should recognise this). This time a bit faster than normally. Also crashed there in the woods (you cant prevent that) ;-)

And some really nice shots from a meeting with Hover82 and "MoreThanRC" at the "Schneeberg" which is a majestic view in the background. See their flights with wings up to the peak (1,2km height!) here:

Hover82: https://www.youtube.com/user/hover82
Zeph2 Downhill: https://youtu.be/iucTBahGEw4

MoreThanRC: https://www.youtube.com/user/MoreThanRC
Wipeout @ Mountain: https://youtu.be/CJ8nHgNXuJg
2xWipeout chasing: https://youtu.be/5BAxxJlp5CI

The music track in this vid is a great cover version (considering the age of these girls!) and lets me use a good tune without getting it banned ;-) Let me know if you don't like this kind of soundtrack - it helped me a lot to cut the video in the right speed and mood...


related Playlists:
►my TOP Videos: http://goo.gl/MHfr1D
►MiniQuad http://goo.gl/YGR2F3
►Multicopter DIVES http://goo.gl/FfXPHa
►Teamflying, FPV Meetings http://goo.gl/DnhGN4
►Product Reviews: http://goo.gl/mZkwHr

►my EQUIPMENT: http://goo.gl/QNzck
MiniQuad infos:
http://rcschimhangar.blogspot.co.at/2014/04/drq250-minid-racing-quad.html

►FACEBOOK: http://goo.gl/O3e7l
►BLOG: http://RCSCHIM.blogspot.com

▼Music▼
Kevin McLeod - Movement Proposition (Intro)
Enter Sandman - Metallica - performed here from "The Warning"
https://www.youtube.com/user/luisvillarr

RCSchim haunted by a Ghost! (GPS Follow me), Crash and weak landing gear

Quad: Thunder Tiger Ghost+ with Morpheus 3 axis gimbal
(for detailed description look below and also the other videos linked down below).

In this 3rd part you see a demo of the "follow me" mode. First I was sceptic but on this open hill it was really nice to see this tech stuff work so well. Smartphone sends GPS coords over wifi to Hero Flightcontroll in the Ghost copter. The FC compares it's own GPS coords and navigates to the smartphones position. Works well.
Before the follow me test I just flew some LOS tests up there with way too low gains - ended in a crash. Stick with recommended gains!

with / without Gimbal
Roll: 55 / 45
Nick: 55 / 45
Sway: 95 / 80

In the next video (maybe the last of the review series) I show you the FPV capabilities and more stabilized onboard footage.
Maybe I can get a 100% working battery also and do some real endurance tests to see the true flighttimes. I estimate 15mins with gimbal.

Specs:
Size: 450mm (motor2motor)
Weight: 2.25kg
Motors: 28x14mm 450kv
ESC: 30A - 6S
Props: 11x5
(FULL SPECS in first videos description! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Az4sszqzvc0)

PART 1: unboxing and review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Az4sszqzvc0

PART 2: build video and indepth review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q2WQWW2eFo

PART 3 (this one here) Follow me mode tests

PART 4: FPV Tests and gimbal performance (tbd)

related Playlists:
►my TOP Videos: http://goo.gl/MHfr1D
►Product Reviews: http://goo.gl/mZkwHr

►my EQUIPMENT: http://goo.gl/QNzck
►FACEBOOK: http://goo.gl/O3e7l
►BLOG: http://RCSCHIM.blogspot.com

▼Music▼
Kevin McLeod - Movement Proposition (Intro)
Benny Hill

Bebop or MiniQuad - how to start the FPV hobby? Flights, RCSchim News Update

I get asked very often "what's the easiest way to get into this hobby? and how much is it?".

Recently I reviewed and tested the Bebop drone which is really the easiest way. I try to show you the difference between such a RTF kit and getting a MiniQuad with "normal" FPV equipment.

You see that the Bebop is really easy to fly (my girlfriend flew it like a pro on the first try) but if you want to go advanced (like me trying to fly through an obstacle filled garage) it's not so easy anymore.
So this might be a dead-end for you. If you want a "real" FPV miniquad later - you'd have to buy everything again...

Flying with MiniQuad through the same course was easy (evenn if this was my first flight with the Mini after 2 month). Only mishap: crashed after landing (note 2 self: disarm on KK2 is different than Naza ;-)

Later you see some nice flight scenes on a Hill in great sunlight (spring is coming!) and many updates and news on future projects and reviews:
- ezAntenna Tracker V2
- Aaronia Spektran HF 6065 great Spectrometer!
- WiDV (2.4ghz FULLHD video transmission - Alternative to lightbridge!)
- ImmersionRC Vortex (RTF Quad!)
- Ghost repaired - waiting for testflight to conclude

Shoppinglist: (as of 13.3.2015):
Bebop: 500€
Bebop with Skycontroller 900€

-

MiniQuad: Droneframes DRQ250
from http://droneframes.com (choose US or EU)
looks like the also have an ARTF kit now: http://goo.gl/KHQpnL

Taranis RADIO (get it here: http://goo.gl/gezLJj)
Info: http://www.frsky-rc.com/product/pro.php?pro_id=113

Mobius CAM: http://goo.gl/l3tOBT

FPV gear:
with this search: http://goo.gl/0R6Q2z you see different IRC accessories you will need:
Video Transmitter 5.8
Video Receiver (if you don't have one in your goggles)
Antennas (get SPW Spironet for better results than normal antennas)

GOGGLES:
Fatshark Dominator V2: http://goo.gl/BGLJEE
or Dominator HD http://goo.gl/yz4qtB

Batteries (Nanotech 1500 3cell): http://goo.gl/4QSFyh

Hobbyking:
No, I'm not hobbyking sponsored - these are just examples. But their shop works good and you find a lot of things there.
Make sure your items are on stock - maybe in a warehouse near you - or else you pay customs and wait longer.

Links:
http://www.wirelessdv.com

http://immersionrc.com (for infos on the Vortex, ezAntennatracker)
or this video: https://youtu.be/5bX4aOfs1co

Aaronia Spektran:
http://www.aaronia.de/produkte/spectrum-analyzer/Tragbarer-Spektrumanalysator-HF-6060-V4/

Thunder Tiger Ghost+: http://goo.gl/gj74jD

Bebop: http://rcschimhangar.blogspot.co.at/2015/02/parrot-bebop.html

Thunder Tiger Ghost+ easy build and indepth Review Part 2

This is the 2nd part of my build and review. Initially I wanted to only do a short unboxing on one evening but than, by playing around with this system I had so much fun that I completly assembled it, did a quick setup and found it so easy.
Even the video downlink, gimbal and retracts worked on the first attempt.

As noted in the video: I'm still waiting to get the copter back from repairs and see if I like the flight characteristics. Maybe it just needs some getting used to.
Also wanna see how much more efficient the good props are compared to the standard ones. If the Aeronaut Camcarbon make a difference I will show it.

Is something to detailed and boring here? Or should I go into more detail in some regions - please tell me and the next review will be better!

Thunder Tiger Ghost+ RCSchim Unboxing and Review

Drones are very popular - so also the bigger players in RC try to get a piece of the cake ;-)
Align cought my attention last year (with their ML480) - and shortly after them Thunder Tiger also showed a new product - the Ghost+

Thunder Tiger Europe was kind enough to send me a sample for this review. It's a full RTF system and I also got the "FPV Set".
!At this point I can not give you my recommendation to buy this system - because mine was faulty and I had to send it back. As soon as I get a replaced unit I'll see how this one differes from a smaller and lighter Phantom2!

Here are the specs:
Size: 450mm (motor2motor)
Weight: 2.25kg
Motors: 28x14mm 450kv
ESC: 30A - 6S
Props: 11x5

Flighttime (in hover with gimbal and cam):
~15mins (used 1462mah for 4:39 flight and calculated the estimate flighttime for save 80% battery usage)

Pricetag:
1100€ (RTF with Copter+Charger+Gimbal+Radio+Battery)
+ 250€ for FPV Set (TFT+RX and TX)

Battery-Bay (Plastic housing):
3,5cm height
8,4cm width
housing is around 16cm deep (but you need to get cables in there...)
orig. battery without housing:
13,5cm x 7,2cm x 3,2cm 6S 6000mah 8c dicharge (48amps) 1c charge

Morpheus Gimbal: for GP3 and GP3+ (not GP4?)
Weight: 280g, 2s-4s voltage
Tilt: 90° Roll: 45° Pan: 360°

Flight controller Gains:
without gimbal: (set per default)
Roll: 55
Pitch: 55
Sway: 95 (Yaw)

WITH gimbal (a bit heavier)
Roll: 45
Pitch: 45
Sway : 80 (Yaw)

FPV Set:
7" TFT monitor with sunshade and good brightness!
Internal battery, chargeable via USB plug.
8ch: 5733 5752 5771 5790 5809 5828 5847 5866

Official Infos
German instructions and tons of infos
German FPV SET description

Bebop commented FPV flights from my Car and Demo Reel

For my review (last video) I did some "Field testing" while sitting in the car (cold and breezy weather). Of course this reduces the max range you get but it keeps you warm ;-)
So the first 10mins here are live commented FPV flights from inside the car featuring Lamas (or Alpakas?).
Later you see some sunny footage - where the onboard cam really shows some good results (not so good in bad light conditions)...


My flighttimes now settled to 7-10mins with the original batteries (1200mah 3cell).
Max flown distance with skycontroller so far 350m (but I didn't wanna risk too much here).
Most sunny footage was recorded with firmware 1.98.8 installed (the first shots are with 1.33).

Bebop infos in my Hangar

Droneblog.com posted an interview with RCSchim. Check out their interesting blog. Lots of nice stories there!
How to Travel with Your Drone to Maldives – with Mario aka RCSchim:

Bebop with Skycontroller Review

I was patiently waiting for this little tech stuffed drone to come out. I bought the AR.Drone 1 back than and loved the new concept. Skipped AR Drone 2 because I didn't see much difference (and had enough other quads) but this one was on my wishlist!

It's a wifi controlled flying cam rather than a drone.
It looks like a camcorder with arms and props ;-)

Video quality:
At the time of this filming I didn't have a day with good sunlight (were the cam performs best) - so you see rather poor performance but a decent stabilisation (it was cold and gusty this day, didn't wanna leave my car). This session was fun - maybe I'll post the whole video from my first flights.
As soon as we have some nice weather I will show you that the cam here can work really nice.

___________________________________
minor Problems I found:
Apps: make sure you always use the most current (my iPad app was 1 week old and had an issue with GPS status which I didn't have on my android).

Map-Mode:
You should be able to see your drone on a google maps style view but you have to preload this data. Because if I'm connected to drone I have no internet (even if I turn mobile data on my android stays just wifi and has no internet).

HDMI / Video:
I wanted to try my Fatshark Dominator HD, got a HDMI to MICRO HDMI cable and connected it to the skycontroller. Only got a few seconds of image on the goggles - flicker than black.
If I connect HDMI monitor to the skycontroller it works - so it must be on Fatshark side - or it's an incompatibility...
Hope I find I way for this.
But anyhow - the iPad view works really well. It's sharp image - but with some lag and occasionally stuttering video (control data is prioritized over video).
___________________________________

Tech spces:
- weight: 393gr (without bumpers)
- flying time (11mins?  I estimate 8-10mins with std. 1200mah 3cell battery)
- fully stabilized 1080pcam (records fisheye 14mp and computes software stabilized video)
- tilt-able video (with two fingers on phone for example)
- video and control over 2.4 or 5ghz wifi
- can be controlled with only phone or dedicated skycontroller
- range varies (with wifi noise, used controller, channel,...) from only 100m to 2km (with skycontroller) under optimal conditions
- ios and android app (with lots of cool features)
___________________________________
2 different sets:
Bebop alone (500€)
Drone
2 batteries
wall plug charger
4 spare props + propmount tool
bumpers (for indoor)

Bebop + Skycontroller (900€)
all of above +
1 more battery (used for skycontroller)
skycontroller ("real joysticks", strong wifi repeater, directional antenna, Smartphone/Tablet mounting)
sunshade (2 Parts)
7" Tablet adapter
___________________________________

Tropic Paradise Maldives (FPV flights with XuGong 2pro)

After some last minute building and testing I could take the XuGong 2pro with me on our vacation on the maldivian island Madhiriguraidhoo - to the "Palm Beach Resort". It's 7300km away from Austria so it was certain that I would need to dance the "naza dance" :-)
The foldable Copter did fit nicely into one trolley (hand luggage). Also the batteries (in lipo protective bags), lipo loader, Taranis and Fatshark. Of course on a trip I just use the internal RX of the goggles (to get better range I use the flat patch).
I asked for flight permission before wo got there - no problem. Also the lipo in a airliner was no issue at security check in.

The scenery there was awesome, but we had constant 20-40km/h winds all the time. You see this in some external shots. The gimbal worked well - but I had to help myself in "post production" with Sony Vegas software stabilizer on some shots (especially the sped up ones).

Because many asked: Travelling with a Quadcopter
Left below you see the Trolley. I wrapped the Xugong and Taranis for protection. Also had Fatshark, spareparts and batteries in Lipo safe bag. Security checks did not even ask for batteries. But it sure helps to have them properly stored. There's also a flight regulation that you can refer to:
"APPROVED FOR CARRY-ON LUGGAGE
COMPLIES WITH SECTION 2.3.5.9 IATA DANGEROUS GOODS REGULATION
ALL BATTERIES LESS THAN 100WH CARRY NO QUANTITY RESTRICTION"

The other pics: assembled and checked after arriving and using the brilliant ezUHF feature to use it as a spectrum analyzer and check the island for other radio sources (which was not on my band thankfully!).

ImmersionRCs XuGong v2 pro - Unboxing, Build, Review and Testflights

This is the newest folding Quadcopter from ImmersionRC. It compares to the TBS Discovery pro whilst being smaller and lighter. You can fold the arms to get a really small packingsitze - it fit's perfect in a backpack or trolley.

8:28 Build pics and vid
10:33 ezUHF RSSI / PPM Setup hint
14:30 Maidenflight in just outside my hangar
18:04 Some FPV footage (incl camswitch and live view) on the field

►Main features:
Brushless gimbal (2 axis) (tiltable in relative or proportional mode - not like Zenmuse where it's absolute position)
Gopro liveout  AND FPV cam - switchable
integr. ezOSD in Multicopter special edition which gets GPS from Naza
very light so 20mins flighttime with 5200mah 4cell (Multistar @ HK)

►Infos on this Quad:
Propulsion Set from DJI called E300
ESCs: DJI 15amp
Motors: DJI 920kv (Phantom2 style)
Props: std. "Phantom2 Props"

Weight: 1085gr
(all except flightbattery which was 343gr)
so roughly 1,4kg min flightweight with small battery

Radio: Taranis, ezUHF JR Module
Video: ImmersionRC 5.8, CWL Antennas SPW to Goggles int.RX

►Pricetag (as of 5.1.15):
200€ for Frame (incl. ezOSD)  
200€ for Brushless gimbal (with controller)
109€ DJI e300 pack
129€ DJI Naza Lite (or better)
~70€ VideoTX
  70€ ezUHF 4ch lite RX
+ Gopro, Fatshark, Antennas...

►more infos here in my Hangar