Planning first quadrocopter, help!

[FullmoonCat]

Hi guys!

I am currently planning and budgeting for my very first quadrocopter. Since this is my first foray into the field of radio controlled aircraft, I am setting my sights kind of low. I figure I can spend about $1000 USD initially, and for that money I would like a copter that can do FPV and record half-decent video (IE, not perfect but salvageable). My long-term goal is to use a quadrocopter (or hex, octo, etc) on movie productions holding some decent equipment, so this one will be my training wheels so to speak.

Here's what I am looking at as far as the copter itself: Gaui 500X

This seems like a pretty amazing deal, as it's $150-$200 less than that same package anywhere else I have found, and that would leave me about $570 for my transmitter/receiver, FPV broadcast gear, batteries, and camera mount. I already have a monitor I can use for FPV from my other video production gear.

I am a little stumped about the choices for the transmitter/receiver, as there are just a ton of options out there and I am a total noob. I had to look up what a 6 channel as opposed to an 8 channel transmitter was... and I think I understand. But I want a trustworthy brand, for a budget price. I am looking for just a 6 channel set-up for now, since I will not be using any electronic gimbals or anything too fancy for starters. Any suggestions?

I have another question which is of great concern to me, and I'd love you experienced pilots to weigh in. The Gaui documentation claims the copter will fly at a maximum of 2200 grams, and the 500X itself weighs 670g. I have added together the weight of all of the equipment I have priced and plan to use on this thing, and come to about 2000 g. So my question is, IN REALITY can this copter fly at that weight? I have seen some brands say never fly the machine at close to the max weight, but not Gaui. But then, a lot of people don't have much good to say about Gaui at all. So, would I be burning out my motors or otherwise damaging the copter to fly at that weight, or would it really fly at all? Any opinions or experience would be greatly appreciated.

Otherwise, I am open to other suggestions as well. Is this copter even worth buying? What would you put together on a $1000 budget if you had to start from scratch?

Thanks for any and all replies, I can't wait!

 

[FullmoonCat]

I should add, the reason I chose the 500X, aside from price, was that it appears to be a decent, upgradable system that could serve me as I get more experienced and can budget more money toward upgrades. For instance, I would eventually like to replace the Gaui gyro with a DJI Wookong WK-M and add an electronic gimbal. I was also swayed by some pretty decent videos on YouTube and Vimeo of video recorded from the stock Gaui 500X setup. Payload capacity is of primary concern, since I am using it for video production, so I can't really go smaller.

Oh and, the $1000 does not include the camera or monitor for the FPV, as I already own those.

 

[Droider]

Gaui is a really good to get started.. BUT I would not plan to try and expand it more that it is really designed for.. Use it as a practice MR and get good with it..

Get a good min 8 channel TX/RX.. I have a DX8 which I really like after its innitial problems and use it for my WKM mulits but it does not have enough channels for my MK systems. For them I use a Gra upner MX22 which has now been superseded with the MX20 which is also a very good radio.

Dave

 

[FullmoonCat]

Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad the Gaui is a good starter MR, I deliberated quite a bit. But I don't know enough to custom build anything (obviously), and most of the other options either seem poor quality or insanely expensive.

The DX8 looks really amazing, but wow... that practically eats up the remainder of my budget just by itself. Just out of curiosity, why 8 channel? It was my understanding that the copter needs five channels just to operate (throttle, up/down, forward/backward, bank, yaw), and the sixth channel is used to adjust the gyro. I'm clueless what I'd use the other two channels for if I don't have, for example, an electric camera gimble or other device. I am absolutely certain I am missing something, so please explain if you don't mind. I understand I'd need the extra channels if I added a gimbal with servos or something, but that isn't likely to be happening any time soon anyway.

Your help is definitely appreciated!

 

[mbsteed]

I second what Droider says - I started with Gaui 330X and ended up totally rebuilding it, would have been better off putting the money into quality components but as said, it probably is a good starter system. I found the Gaui electronics flaky - but can't speak to the 500X.

 

[FullmoonCat]

Thanks for the replies! After the holidays, I will see what sort of money I have left over to start buying my supplies. I found what appears to be a semi-reputable company that sells the Gaui 500x with transmitter/receiver tested and ready to fly for a decent price, so I will probably go that route seeing as I am very new to this. That way I can get practice flying in before I add anything else to the mix. No matter how many flight simulations I run, I'm sure I'll crash the copter a few times anyway.

Thanks to everyone in this forum! It's an invaluable resource, and you all seem like great people.

 

[Bowley]

Personally, right now, I would go for the DJI flame wheel (450) and a DJI Naza FC. I have a gaui 330xs I like it but for the same price I would rather have a flame wheel + Naza FC and also the Naza FC has Alt hold. It is not much more expensive than a Gaui GU 344 basic 3 gyro FC.
The turnigy (flysky,eurgle) 9 channel Tx is pretty good and costs peanuts (£80 inc 8 channel Rx). I have one of these and a hitec aurora, I actually prefer using the turnigy and also turnigy receivers are £10!!

 

[Kilby]

Personally, right now, I would go for the DJI flame wheel (450) and a DJI Naza FC. I have a gaui 330xs I like it but for the same price I would rather have a flame wheel + Naza FC and also the Naza FC has Alt hold. It is not much more expensive than a Gaui GU 344 basic 3 gyro FC.
The turnigy (flysky,eurgle) 9 channel Tx is pretty good and costs peanuts (£80 inc 8 channel Rx). I have one of these and a hitec aurora, I actually prefer using the turnigy and also turnigy receivers are £10!!

I would agree. The Naza JUST became available this week and that frame is pretty bullet proof. Awesome for someone that is just starting out and may be a little vertically challenged for a bit.

 

[FullmoonCat]

Thanks for the suggestion! I guess I am a bit intimidated by the prospect of assembling a machine from scratch like that, though. Unless I am mistaken, going that route would require me to buy the frame, FC, ESCs and motors, rotors, etc. all separately and solder it all together myself. While the idea of customization appeals to me eventually, it all seems slightly overwhelming right now as opposed to buying a ready-to-fly system and getting familiar with the way it all works that way. But hey, maybe you are right and I should just learn it from the ground up immediately.

It's definitely something to consider (although I can't find a single site that sells the DJI Naza right now).

My main concern with my starting build is going to be weight capacity, and of course price. With the Gaui x500, Gaui reports a max flight weight of 2200 grams. With the DJI frame and FC, I assume the max weight would be entirely dependent upon what motors and rotors I attach, right? That adds a whole new level of research that I haven't done yet, since I have just been planning to buy an integrated system. Just looking around a bit, it would appear that purchasing each part separately is probably going to end up costing a lot more than buying any of the kits I have looked at (though I'd probably also get a batter system that way). But I really can't exceed the budget I have set for this, of $1000 USD total for all items.

I'm more-or-less just talking my way around it all right now. These are really great suggestions!

 

[FullmoonCat]

Okay so, after doing a bit more research, the FlameWheel/Naza kit isn't going to work for me at all. Max weight is 1200 grams, leaving me far short of the lift capacity I need. Looks like it'd be great for FPV, but I am doing aerial video and need to hold a bit more weight than that.

However, I believe the Naza could plug right into the Gaui 500X (just like the WooKong does), so what I may do is order a 500X kit without the GU-344 and then the DJI Naza FC separately. That would put me at about $550 before Tx/Rx, FPV transmitter/receiver, and batteries/charger. That sounds pretty decent to me, but then I've never seen a quadrocopter in real life. LOL! Opinions are greatly appreciated.

 

[Bowley]

Sorry to complicate things but I have heard that the Gaui 500 is not much of a lifter. It says all up wt of 2.2kg but with what flight times?? I guess it all depends what ESC's and Motors and Prop size your going to use whatever the airframe. I must admit it is a nice looking frame I like the little peep hole in the cowling for a FPV cam and it folds nicely. I would only expect to realistically carry a small point and shoot with it though.

 

[FullmoonCat]

Yeah, to be perfectly honest, I found the max weight to be a little unrealistic after reading around a bit. But since I am so inexperienced, my understanding is pretty limited. I know the heavier the weight, the smaller the flight time, and I can live with that as long as I can get 5 minutes or so at that weight. I just don't want to burn out the motors or simply not get off the ground. I wouldn't be operating at that weight all the time, but it would be often for my video projects.

Here's another quad I am looking into: http://www.hoverthings.com/ready-to-fly/vc450-quadrino-black-adv.html

I wrote to those guys, and they claim they have not actually tested full weight capacity, but they fly theirs with 700 grams payload and know it can handle a lot more. The system, incorporating what they call a Quadrino Multiwii flight controller, has altitude and heading hold, autoleveling, and inputs for gimbal stabilization. For $450, that's a pretty amazing package! It even comes with a battery and receiver. From what I understand, it's open-source flight control software, which is interesting and makes me slightly nervous, but their customer support seems top-notch and the videos they post look great.

So right now, I am leaning toward the "Whitespy" from Hoverthings.com. It looks pretty great, in my opinion, and leaves me more money left-over for the radio and fpv gear. Anyone heard of these guys?

 

[mbsteed]

I use the Hoverthings X8 frame - very sturdy and well made (the only problem is I have found it difficult to take apart when I need to repair a component - the screws strip easily).

 

[lperagallo]

As a DJI dealer I am biased, but I think the Naza complete kit deal is about the best out there right now. The frame is bullet proof, easy to build and the controller is amazing, especially if you are just starting out. I fly indoors now because the weather is a bit cold and I have let people who have never flown take my Wookong controlled Quad out for a spin. While the Wookong has a GPS is doesn't work indoors so it just acts as a stabilizer. I don't know of anyone in the US with the Naza kits yet, but they are supposed to be shipped to the US on Monday so we can ship to our customers by Christmas. I certainly hope that is true as I have customers that have pre ordered units and I want to serve them well. If the Naza can't lift what you want, then the 550 won't either. I missed what camera you plan to use, but I currently use a GoPro and and a Contour GPS without a problem on my Vector 550 frame. I am using better motors and ESCs then teh Guai provides and get around 8 minutes of flying on a 3s 3300MAH Lipo. Five minute flight time isn't very much and doesn't give you much time to do much so I'd worry a bit unless you aren't shooting very long. I will be going to 5000MAH batteries and based on my calculations should get close to 12 minute flight times. Feel free to PM me if you wish to discuss this more.

Lou