Factory Reconditioned Typhoon H Pro checkout?

[jandjfrench]

Hi,
I'm totally new to drones and have ordered a "reconditioned" Typhoon H Pro from Woot/Amazon. Their claim is that "It's as close to being new as you can get without technically being "new"".
I've watched quite a few YouTube videos and have a fairly good idea of what to expect from both the craft and the controller but a checklist similar to one for flying an airplane would be useful. Is anything like this available? Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thank you.
Jim F.

 

[Bullshark]

Hi,
I'm totally new to drones and have ordered a "reconditioned" Typhoon H Pro from Woot/Amazon. Their claim is that "It's as close to being new as you can get without technically being "new"".
I've watched quite a few YouTube videos and have a fairly good idea of what to expect from both the craft and the controller but a checklist similar to one for flying an airplane would be useful. Is anything like this available? Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thank you.
Jim F.

During the learning phase you should always remove the camera. The H can be repaired rather easily, but the camera cannot. It's the most expensive piece on the machine so remove it. And do your preflight.

Preflight Checks on the Typhoon H:

Props are locked
Battery is locked and flush with the H
Battery voltage on the display is 16.3 or higher
Sat count on the H is at least 15, on the ST-16, 7 or more
Switches in the correct position
Open Hardware Monitor and test the sticks
Stand 30' away from the aircraft
Take off full throttle to 15', then test sticks.
Land when the battery voltage reads 14.7

If this is your first flight remove the camera until you can fly it well.

 

[DoomMeister]

Here is the best manual you can find for it!

I’m waiting on FedEx to deliver mine today

 

[Pman]

Ooh ooh did you get it?

 

[thetrecker]

Ooh ooh did you get it?

to busy playing to answer

 

[TexasTwister]

Hello everyone... Just recently retired and needed a new hobby...after a couple of months of back and forth I also decided on the typhoon h pro with intel...oddly enough from the Woot website... hopefully for us all they aren't selling the same one over and over... ha ha.. excited about the whole thing and should arrive in just a few days... we should not have to do firmware updates or pair them as they were factory recon right?
will we get a sunshield and lanyard I wonder?... I even ordered a flight logbook thinking it could be useful for reference... I wrote down those pre-flight sugestions checklist... thanks... hope to read updates by many...

 

[DoomMeister]

Ooh ooh did you get it?

Got here about 4:30. Gingerly got it upstairs (near my weight limit post surgery). Checked parts for any obvious damage and all seems fine. Only problem so far is the ad and the packaging show the 3 antenna ST-16 and what is in the box is the 2 antenna version.

I’ll be contacting the seller tomorrow to see what is up. The Pro is supposed to have the 3 antenna version. May have to wait until Monday to actually get in touch with the place that shipped it out of Miami, Florida.

I did measure battery voltages and they are near the storage voltage of 3.8 V per cell. I’ll do more with it tomorrow. I’m excited, but can’t go out to fly it right now any way. Once I see what is up with the ST-16 I’ll power things up and do the GUI checks and such. Will be interesting if any telemetry is still stored.

I’ll report more tomorrow.

 

[h1pst3r88]

Congrats to the all the new owners who took advantage of the H Pro deal on Woot! The pre-flight checklist above is right on target -- highly suggested, especially the bring her in at 14.7v.

Dr. Drone on youtube also has a great first flight video that is worth watching. Definitely disconnect the camera, focus on flying, and be sure to do the calibrations (gimbal not necessary at first) and enjoy your first flights!!!!

Congrats and enjoy!

-Chris

 

[Pman]

Congrats to you DM! So honestly happy for you and disappointed at the same time. I have a hard time dealing with things like not getting what you expect. I would be doing everything I could to contact them about the controller if it was me. I'm a really nice generous person but when it comes to business a very hard edge. I've been dealing with too many issues lately from Amazon and ebay sellers;(
My "fleet" of drones is increasing alot between now and Christmas. Havent plucked down the $ for a serious gimbal one because I havent made up my mind and the weather stinks. Stuck messing around mostly indoors now so I decided to buy lots of little ones to practice with indoors to up my skills. Actually my sister has paid for most of them as Christmas presents and I'm only out around $250. So far I've received:
VTOL XK x520
Force1 f100 ghost (Bugs 3 clone but stationed in the US) with the 1080p camera
Visuo XS501S-H-W-G Battle Shark
(2) GW009C-1 mini drones

Arriving today:
Air Hogs starship enterprise

On the way:
Air Hogs starship enterprise
(2) Air Hogs millenium Falcons
Bugs 3 without camera but with the camera bracket
Bugs 3 mini with camera and fpv monitor
Bugs 3 mini without camera and fpv
(6) as in 2 of each Propel star wars collectors editions x-wing, speeder and Ti fighters
(2) helifar f36 mini
Helifar h803 mini
Tello with a big accessory bundle

Lots of extra stuff like batteries and props

I think it all means the potential for lots of problems lol. The more stuff you have the more problems you have. Gives me something to do though and I like to delve deep into how things work. Repairing and improving are gun to me.

I've seen a lot of great deals on the H and been tempted to pull the trigger more times than I would like to admit. I cant believe how low the prices have gotten.
I'm bothered somewhat by the way dji does some things according to what I've read or watched. I've put the mavic air on a short list with the H although what I would actually want is the pro 2 with hasselblad but the price is out of my range of personal $. A package deal with DJI care would be around $2400 or so (OUCH)!
Is it true that dji makes you firmware update or you cant fly?
Is it true they collect an awful lot of your personal information?
Is it true that theres a long process you have to go through before flying everytime before it let's you take off?

My understanding is that Yuneec doesnt make you jump through all those hoops and you can get in the air quickly. When I think of DJI I think of apple products which I'm personally not a fan of (dont take offense please). I know ios works well but I'm a tinkerer and dont like being locked into what THEY think is best for me.

What's the difference between those 2 H pro controllers in real life? Wondering if everyone else who got that woot deal got the same controller you did. Personally I wouldnt tolerate the deception. Guessing it costs a lot more for the better one. Real hope it works out for you. I dont know anything about woot.

I know this post is long. Couldnt sleep anymore so I've got lots of time on my hands before church that I need to spend not making noise. Really nice to see so many of us are older retired members here
Do you have a link to the original ad DM? Would like to investigate it

 

[DoomMeister]

Going to McDonald’s with the wife then pickup groceries at Walmart pickup. Will get back with you soon Pete.

 

[jandjfrench]

My H isn't due until the 6th. I especially appreciate Bullshark's advice about removing the camera. The recommended checks sound perfect and are exactly what I was hoping to here. I wasn't sure about removing the camera and checked some videos before replying here and it appears to be very simple.
Wen I saw Doom's reply regarding the controller antennas I tried to find out more about them and came across part 1 of a video comparing them but haven't found part 2 which should discuss the difference in performance I'm still looking but did come across a pre-takeoff hint that sounded helpful; all controller switches up except the upper left which should be in the middle (Angle mode). For some reason or other I find this comforting.
I'm still looking for info regarding the antennas. I came across a rather lengthy video about adding a second antenna but didn't watch it all. Prior to retirement I was a technician with the FAA and am aware that two antennas are not always better than one. Depending on the controller orientation, all else being equal, the signal will be less in certain directions. Still checking.
Jim F.

 

[DoomMeister]

My H isn't due until the 6th. I especially appreciate Bullshark's advice about removing the camera. The recommended checks sound perfect and are exactly what I was hoping to here. I wasn't sure about removing the camera and checked some videos before replying here and it appears to be very simple.
Wen I saw Doom's reply regarding the controller antennas I tried to find out more about them and came across part 1 of a video comparing them but haven't found part 2 which should discuss the difference in performance I'm still looking but did come across a pre-takeoff hint that sounded helpful; all controller switches up except the upper left which should be in the middle (Angle mode). For some reason or other I find this comforting.
I'm still looking for info regarding the antennas. I came across a rather lengthy video about adding a second antenna but didn't watch it all. Prior to retirement I was a technician with the FAA and am aware that two antennas are not always better than one. Depending on the controller orientation, all else being equal, the signal will be less in certain directions. Still checking.
Jim F.

From reliable sources the two have the same effective range. They both have 3 antennas, but the one is mounted internally.

Checked with another member that got the same package and his had the 3 external antennas, but the original ST-16 had been replaced on the refurb documentation.

I called Woot support and was offered three different options for resolution and I took the $90 refund option.

 

[AH-1G]

I only have 2 antennas, one is the long vertical and the other I can use is the flat or mushroom. Personally I like the mushroom, using it as far as 1700 feet with out any signal loss of ST16 or pixilation with video.
I've had this now for 20 months, It has worked like a charm for me, never any issues when/while flying.

 

[johnjackietidmarsh]

Sorry folks to put a damper on things but I to have had great success and many successful flights with no unexpected faults, until my H suddenly for no reason fell from 500ft onto a beach no warning at all, sudden loss of all power on retrieval the battery was correctly latched and after re starting the drone 15.6v on st16 . On this forum the consensus seams to be that batteries can overheat causing solder to melt and reconnect later , with several hundred pounds of damage and no guarantee it will not happen again I am reluctant to fly again. This fault is not unique to Yuneec H other leading brands suffer too, comments and suggestions welcome please.

 

[NDJollyMon]

Going to McDonald’s with the wife then pickup groceries at Walmart pickup. Will get back with you soon Pete.

I too, did the Typhoon H Pro deal on Woot last week.
My ST-16 came in the 3 antenna arrangement. There were no tags anywhere stating it was a refurb unit. (which is odd, because I buy a lot of refurbished items and they always indicate it somewhere for warranty or non-warranty purposes.

Took it up yesterday on its maiden flight and all worked well. I did try to take off from my deck, which was a mistake...as it tipped off the deck slightly and one motor/prop was grinding the edge of the deck. Pushing that kill button and waiting for it to cut off seemed to take forever! No damage at all though. I was trying to lift off and hover but did so gently because of electric lines above me.

I also bought a UAV SIM dongle and practiced before flying the drone itself. There will be some growing pains, as I'm used to flying the DJI Spark. (which flies perfectly and simple) Let me say, this thing is really cool to fly, but much harder than my Spark. Too bad its so cold out right now, hindering my practice! (currently 19F)

 

[Pman]

Congrats and yeah I know.... the weather thing is killing me in upstate NY!

 

[DoomMeister]

Too bad its so cold out right now, hindering my practice! (currently 19F)

An old Air Force saying goes as follows:

Why not Minot? Freezin’ the reason!

 

[TexasTwister]

Say ND jolly... did you have to do any firmware update? I am waiting for mine from woot...sometime within 2 days... where is the best place to put your faa reg # on the Hex? Did it come with lanyard and sunshade? It's cold and really windy here in El Paso Tx... haved signed up with the local drone meetup.com club... for us rookie pilots these guys are so helpful.. first flight will be with the group at Red Dunes.... like White Sands Natl Mnt but only red smooth sand dunes...atv's riding out there... a couple of deserted bldg's...square miles of open dune desert terrain... nothing electrical to interfere.... going out on this sat morn if weather permits... a great place to fly for droners... I can't wait for this Romulan bird of Prey to arrive...Sorry John about your bird dropping outta the sky...... Duane

 

[Guardian44]

I was just going to ask the same thing about the FAA #. I'm another that got this package from Woot. I've had mine a few days, but haven't been flying with it yet. Winter weather in New Hampshire has been less than ideal.

Mine did come with the sunshade, but no lanyard.

Looks like we've formed our own little "Typhoon H from Woot" support group here!

 

[NDJollyMon]

Say ND jolly... did you have to do any firmware update? I am waiting for mine from woot...sometime within 2 days... where is the best place to put your faa reg # on the Hex? Did it come with lanyard and sunshade? It's cold and really windy here in El Paso Tx... haved signed up with the local drone meetup.com club... for us rookie pilots these guys are so helpful.. first flight will be with the group at Red Dunes.... like White Sands Natl Mnt but only red smooth sand dunes...atv's riding out there... a couple of deserted bldg's...square miles of open dune desert terrain... nothing electrical to interfere.... going out on this sat morn if weather permits... a great place to fly for droners... I can't wait for this Romulan bird of Prey to arrive...Sorry John about your bird dropping outta the sky...... Duane

No firmware updates to do.
I have temporarily put the FAA reg number inside the battery compartment. I will put it on the outside when I get a decent label.
It did come with the lanyard and sunshade. Also backpack and everything else you need.
I have since bought a double smart charger and camera filters.
This thing is awesome, no worries!