Is the Typhoon H480 a good Christmas present?

[glider]

I say it is the best value in its price range and class considering it is a hexa.

However, according to the linked guide below based on new models and accessories for 2017, the DJI MP and P4 are the top two, with the Yuneec H520 being #3 in the $500-2000 range. The H520 has no camera, so shouldn't be in that group plus it is a professional unit, and when fully equipped completely outclasses the MP and P4. My question is why isn't the H480 in the list and what is so new and earth shattering about the MP and P4 that makes them "new"?? I've owned both, and liked the portability of the MP, but when I go out to do heavy duty video such as large areas where a camera on a tripod is best and/or it is windy, the H480 blows the DJI's out. I'm a tech guy, like bells and whistles and all, but honestly, the MP/P4 have become cumbersome, and they don't like Androids (DJI may have fixed that). I like the flight time and cameras, but because of other issues don't care to have another one, but may be forced into it some day who knows.

Anyone been to the DJI forums lately? There are multiple software issues being reported and users are complaining about various problems. IMO DJI has relegated their products to bloatware and PITA registration and all that (GEO anyone?).

2017 Drone Holiday Gift Guide: Shop Top Drones and Drone Accessories

The H480 is not even mentioned. Quite shocking actually. I'm doubting anything much different will be available this Spring but I'm likely buying another one, maybe even for Christmas. Does it need refinement and improvement? Yes, but it's still a great product.

 

[PatR]

Having a Chroma, a pair of H-480's, and a 920+ I feel that Yuneec has been making some pretty good products. At the lower end of the price scale they require little understanding of how they work but as the level of sophistication increases so does the need for a requisite amount of user experience. If Yuneec had done anything wrong previously it would be in marketing all their systems to all people, regardless of their experience levels. The majority of the customer complaints I've read, going back to when Horizon released the Blade Chroma 4k, have stemmed from conditions caused directly by user error. That situation continues to this day as Yuneec does not provide a system designed around a "monkey" mentality outside of the Breeze and earlier Q series systems. Unfortunately they don't make that clear in their advertising so many without a clue buy an H thinking they can learn to fly with one and proceed to wack their systems with improperly applied firmware updates, incomplete compass calibrations, and flying the H like it was a race vehicle instead of a camera rig.. At least with the 520 they made it pretty clear it wasn't intended for beginners. The issue with the 520 is they priced it up there with higher level rigs the 520 has trouble matching in camera quality and user features, and priced their security camera conversions out of the ball park.

DJI bought Hassleblad, providing an avenue going forward for significant improvements in multirotor camera and lens designs. A new Hassleblad based camera has already been released and will benefit the Inspire and M series immensely with cinema quality video. Outside of the number of units sold this is the only area where DJI truly leads in the market. Having the ability to create a flight plan with 100 or more waypoints, establish a different altitude at each waypoint, initiate a camera action, have a plethora of flight modes, provide full access to the system OS, are not germane to DJI as they were done and made available long before DJI did them. In truth, if others had not come up with SDK Apps it's highly probable DJI owners would still be extremely limited in system and camera control. The Mavic camera is not all that great but the P4's is. The Inspire is a really nice machine but the cameras are, like the 520, priced far higher than their worth. I won't mention all the data collection and flight restriction stuff in their systems other than say they have caused a lot of people to avoid buying them and/or stop using them. On a personal level, I believe DJI elected to provide user access to their code in order to allow them to make operational changes that governments will object to, and use government ire to pass legislation that would provide DJI reason to incorporate new software that would force other makers to license for their systems.

Lacking any release of corporate information from Yuneec I'm like you in not expecting anything new from Yuneec that does not directly support the 520. History has a tendency to repeat itself and Yuneec's clearly depicts abandonment of previous products shortly after the release of a new product. I noticed the inventory of Typhoon H and H pro at Horizon is now in "back order" status yesterday, which leads me to think they know something we don't. The Typhoon H is still an excellent system though and even without system improvements and accessory upgrades is a good buy. As the price falls, which it is doing, it's an even better buy. Once you know how to use one they are a feature rich system that generates very good video for those with a modicum of post processing skills.

 

[Ty Pilot]

I noticed today that at B&H, the listing for H Pro with Realsense is gone, so I agree Pat. I don't believe Yuneec has any plans to upgrade our cameras or offer better ones for the H and thats unfortunate because I thing all of the features of the H make it the best deal in its class by far. The standard version is now 699.00 - thats just a heck of a deal.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

The H480 isn't a current model showing on the US Yunnec web site. They probably listed the current models as the real purpose of the info is to sell drones.

 

[rdonson]

I had ordered the TH480 package with case and wizard from B&H and they said it would be delivered Wednesday. Unfortunately today they emailed me and said that due to a “system error” the item was no longer available and I had the choice of waiting for it to became available or cancel the order.

Sounds like the fire sale is over.

 

[PatR]

Sounds more like the H-480 is over...

 

[Victory Pete]

What exactly is the H480? How is it different than the one I just bought? I had asked Horizon about the Typhoon H that was backordered and a few days later got a call saying that they would be available in a couple weeks. I was wondering if they were pulling the plug on the H before I bought mine, I am glad I got such a good deal, but I hate when I buy something and then it is discontinued. I guess time will tell.

 

[Victory Pete]

I saw a note on the H package I bought that had Wizard and Back pack from B&H. It said the sale would end at midnight one day last week. I thought, could this be the end? Next day it was listed for regular price, then Sunday morning it was $300 off, now it is gone.

 

[rdonson]

The B&H website now says "This item is discontinued"

I've never worked in retail so I don't really know what this means. Is the TH480 discontinued or just this SKU (package of goodies)?

 

[PatR]

The H-480 is the Typhoon H. Since Yuneec elected to make the 520 some may find size distinction to address the right product necessary.

 

[Victory Pete]

The H-480 is the Typhoon H. Since Yuneec elected to make the 520 some may find size distinction to address the right product necessary.

That is funny, I have never seen it listed anywhere as the H 480.

 

[Ty Pilot]

If you type "H 480" into this sites' search you will get eleven pages of hits. Many were from when it was common to use the value to distinguish from the Typhoon 4K. More recently it is being used as Pat said; to differentiate between the 520 and the 480. It is the distance between opposing motors in millimeters. Having said that, mine is a little more like - 485.

 

[PatR]

Lots of hits using Google as well. In the beginning those in the UK commonly called the H the “480”.

 

[rdonson]

After I got my TH-480 early in 2017 I bought the hard case back pack and Typhoon H480 was a large label on it

 

[PatR]

Back to the thread title question. I think it's a great Christmas present for those that have some knowledge and ability. For those that don't I think the giver is on the hook for a little educating before the newbie handles the controls.

When neither the giver nor the recipient have any history with this stuff, all bets are off

 

[glider]

What exactly is the H480? How is it different than the one I just bought? I had asked Horizon about the Typhoon H that was backordered and a few days later got a call saying that they would be available in a couple weeks. I was wondering if they were pulling the plug on the H before I bought mine, I am glad I got such a good deal, but I hate when I buy something and then it is discontinued. I guess time will tell.

We've always referred to the Typhoon H 480 as simply the "H" or "TH". When there was talk of a new model coming out, Yuneec kept pretty tight lipped about it. When discussing the H now, I distinguish between them by saying 480 or 520.

There are more differences than similarities between the 480 and 520. Nobody that I know has inside information from Yuneec on what their plans are concerning the 480, but these special sales are for only a few reasons.

1) sales are stagnant, mgmt stimulates sales by lowering prices, nothing too unusual about that- Yuneec has done it before. They all do it.
2) there is a new or improved model coming, so time to make room for it, great deals offered. Out with the old, in with the new.
3) the H is being discontinued so Yuneec is trying to move them out without losing money (or their shirts like 3DR did). This would be the nightmare scenario.
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Anyone that's owned DJI products knows how they play the game. DJI simply makes "improvements" (actually fixes), assigns them a new name (P2 Super Duper IV or something) instead of fixing the original design and the masses line up to buy them despite getting screwed. The cracking arms are still there. The flyaways still happen. CS still sucked. But wow did DJI know how to market a toy drone. There are websites and facebook pages dedicated to the ubiquitous "Phantom" flyaways. The standard response from DJI lubbers was "operator error". Perhaps the best example was the $$$ Inspire 1 crashing into the guys garage. Right away he was called every name in the book, but it turned out to be a software error finally admitted by DJI. Well, this isn't a DJI bashing thread, but I thought I'd add a few cents.

I certainly hope Yuneec is not abandoning any of their products, except those they formally announced like the H920. Now there's a nice setup. Wish I had the spare cash place to hide it from the wife. It's nearly impossible to find a rain resistant frame for DYI.

One thing that hurts the H480 is that they don't monitor individual battery cells. If you look down inside the battery bay there are provisions for pins so Yuneec did think about it. What makes me suspicious is Yuneec has basically stopped all advertising for the 480 and there are no new press releases promoting it that I've seen. There are improvements they could incorporate, but sadly it's as if they are satisfied allowing it to die on the vine. DJI is constantly advertising new features and such, even if it's "lipstick on a pig", they keep customers interest up.

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I have two 3DR Solo's. Originally I bought them when they first came out and returned both because 1) no gimbal the first time 2) GPS and camera jello the second time. There may have been other reasons, don't recall. Regardless I wasn't spending $$$ for problems that shouldn't be there. 3DR released it too early and bragged it up beyond what it was capable due to glitches and such. They should have done what 3DR has always done......massive beta testing before releasing, but they didn't and suffered the consequences. Some also remember the coordinated efforts by certain paid individuals at RCG that completely destroyed the Solo by a thousand cuts. So after all that when 3DR threw in the towel the prices collapsed and I bought two. A number of the same individuals attempted the same thing with the H but a few of us found a way to stop the bleeding.

Last month B&H sold complete Solo kits including the backpack for $159 and the basic Solo for $129. They are all discontinued now. I ordered two then cancelled at the last minute. Why? Didn't want to have parts vehicles sitting around- eventually there will be nothing left to buy. The gimbal originally sold for $399. After the fire sale, they went for $40!!!. Now they are $250-300 if you can find one.

What's ironic about all this is the 3DR Solo is still the best video platform out there as far as smart shots and stuff. It still has the best software available that actually works, and the mods you can do are simply amazing. The FC is still more advanced than just about anything, and impossible to purchase for the same cost. However, in time they will fade away as parts dry up. Sad. I still have a blast flying mine for now.

My appeal to Yuneec is you've got a great product with the TH 480. Please don't abandon it. Fix the minor issues and offer better cameras for those that want them. If you are going to abandon it, at least open up the FC fw for developers to improve it if you're not going to. It flies fine the way it is, but there are certain irritating things that really should be fixed. If you're not going to do it, let us.

And that's my last rant for 2017. Merry Christmas and yes, the TH 480 is a great Christmas present, but prospective recipients should learn to fly first.

 

[Victory Pete]

Interesting information. I have until the end of January to return the Typhoon H to B&H. I am going to give this a lot of thought. Should I use this one or wait for a new one to come out?

 

[Dr Delta]

No need in returning a newly aquired H. The H is an extraordinairy thingie for the bucks spent. Bought mine februari, made very many flights, no issue whatever.

Never mind what they say about the camera not being the best there is, it still is quite good if you know how to handle a camera.




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[glider]

Interesting information. I have until the end of January to return the Typhoon H to B&H. I am going to give this a lot of thought. Should I use this one or wait for a new one to come out?

I wouldn't return it. No matter what happens there will be parts for a long time.

You have a great flyer. Keep it.

I have multiple drones and have had the H since June 2016. My concern is what is Yuneec's long term plans (1 year and out), not intending to discourage people from purchasing it. Once you get in a high wind situation or a motor fails, you'll be glad you have the Typhoon H. I guess the hope is Yuneec still monitors these forums and takes to heart our concerns.

 

[PatR]

In the $700.00 to $1,500.00 price range there is nothing that can handle the amount of wind the 480 can. Nothing comes close until exceeding the $3,000.00 level and it’s another Yuneec product that holds that position. The 520 steps that level up even more but for a lot more money. None of the Inspires can deal with wind as well as Yuneec systems. In truth, Yuneec drones; 480, 520, 920, will all fly in higher wind conditions and maintain position and control better in wind than anything in their respective classes, and above.

The range of a stock 480 is more than good enough for LOS operations. With antennas properly positioned it will remain fully controllable further than you can see it. Mine regularly get flown out to 1200’ or so. If you are one that disregards the law, more range can be obtained with after market antennas.

The only true problem with the 480 is some receive weak GPS and compass modules when they are assembled. This is the fault of the component manufacturer but I would think there’s a way to test them before installing them. Yuneec replaces them as customers encounter them. FYI, DJI has similar GPS/compass issues from time to time but they are a lot more difficult with responding to repairs.

The flight qualities of the 480 are still excellent despite being “de-sensitized” over several firmware releases to make those less capable be able to fly them. The lost motor redundancy feature works, and those that have experienced a broken prop or had a motor fail in flight still have a functioning aircraft, something they would not have had they been flying a quad. If you’re a commercial operator that function provides a level of risk mitigation far above what can be had with a quad.

The absolute best flying machine I have is a 3 year old 3DR X8 running Pixhawk. The only complaint I have with it is the difficulty adapting gimbals and lack of live feed to the transmitter. The 480 flies almost as good as the X8. The flight controller is 100% open for user alterations. Yuneec has adopted the PX4 with the 520 and overcome the live feed complaint, but at almost 3 times the cost, and changing to non OEM gimbals or cameras is out of the question. However, it’s pretty hard to beat the stability found in H class gimbals. Unless the wind is so bad the aircraft is no longer controllable and causes the aircraft to almost roll over you won’t see any shake in the video.

Where the 480 is concerned, where flight operations are concerned the most consistent complaint breaks down to people not understanding how to fly or make use of the different settings and control features. It’s not a “push button” system, you have to be actively involved and learn how to use a camera to obtain the best video and images. “Auto” never provides the best quality with any camera.

If you have a new 480, fly it and enjoy. It’s still a lot of aircraft and works very well.