Onboard memory use plus a few other questions...

Pman · Sep 30, 2018

Hi everyone from upstate NY. My first post so I'll add extra info.
I purchased 2 breeze from 2 different Walmarts a couple of weeks ago and I'm getting to know the units. Bought one after buying a few $20 drones that are the same size as it to have some fun and learn to fly on the cheap after reading a ton about what a huge bargain it is at $150. Bought from Walmart as their version comes with the controller as Amazon was selling them for $180 with 2 batteries and 1 with a battery and controller is a better deal. For the same price you can get another battery to go with it.
Anyways, after buying the first one I searched the other Walmarts and found another store that had one and bought it plus I now have 6 batteries total (oem) plus one off brand and extras such as props and guards.
I noticed that Amazon no longer has them for sale and Walmarts around me are not getting more in stock although at the moment you can still purchase it from them online for a 2 day ship to store.
I believe Yuneec is selling the rest of old inventory and that's it. I noticed that both units have a date that make them about a year old too so looks to me like a buy while you still can. Doughting Yuneec is making them anymore.
I have a supposedly fully working breeze coming by the end of next week with nothing with it that I paid $60. I believe it was a display unit so fingers crossed.

Question is how do you see how much memory you have used so far? I could have sworn I originally saw it somewhere. I know how to reset it and the warning about only using the breeze app to do it as i read a LOT trying to familiarize myself with everything about the unit and controller. I've got the controllers labeled for what the functions do with yellow label maker tape as well as FAA numbers on everything.
If you touch the Y button a second time will it cancel return to home?
Grass was just mowed earlier in the day and when I landed with a return to home it was off a couple feet and was surprised to see the very bottom of the landing feet got grass stained in just a few seconds. Best cleaner to use on its white plastic? 90% isopropyl worked just OK and even though I know nail polish remover would work great its NOT usually a good idea on plastic as many plastics will melt.
This brings me to another question about plastic repair as I had an incident with one of the $20 drones.They dont have any altitude hold or any kind of flight stabilization so they are good to learn on but also easier to crash. I had removed the orop guards and landing pieces on one to fly with less weight and managed to crack around one of the motor areas. The plastic is really thin and what ended up working after trying a couple different glues was heating up a small flathead and carefully melting the plastic to itself plus adding a bit more from a separate piece of plastic melting it over the crack. Seems like there has to be a better way. I tried a plastic model builder glue that melts the plastics enough to bind them but that didnt work. I didnt try something like clear packing tape which might have worked. It is repaired and is holding up just fine for flights but was wondering what others do.
Sorry for so many questions but they seemed rather simple and it's my first post

Thanks, Pete

DoomMeister · Sep 30, 2018

Welcome to YuneecPilots Pete!

Your remaining internal memory will appear in the upper right area of the display while you are in a Task (Flight) mode.

Yes, a second press of the Y button will cancel a RTH and place the Breeze in a hover. To land at the present position hold Start for 3 seconds and release.

I find Dawn dish soap to be a good cleaner for normal dirt and stains, and isopropyl alcohol to remove oils.

Gluing of plastics can be tricky as we have so many different types. Model cement is for polystyrene plastic which is quite stiff and brittle. The melting method you used is probably the best if you can find the right temperature to get a controlled melt.

Pman · Sep 30, 2018

Thanks so much for answering. Seriously. I must have watched at least 30 videos on the breeze on tube so far everything from issues to reviews. All manuals including firmware instructions and other important information printed in duplicate.
Yeah, I was really hoping to find a glue that was both flexible and strong for that super thin cheap plastic that you find on $20 drones as take care of things I own regardless of price.
I bought one cheap one from Countrymax because it was bigger than the micro ones you find and work better with some wind and easier to see outside. Just happened that they (I bought a couple more since they could take hits) are the same size as the breeze when they both have the prop protectors and again when they are off.
I had my sister look in her Walmart (hours away from me) and she was able to get the last one they had. She can fly it or give it away as a nice Christmas gift or sure. Why not, I'll take another one lol.
I have 5 Walmarts within 1/2 hour of me and when I first looked for one they all said online that they had minimum left which is Walmart code for 0-1. You have to go to the stores and ask them to look for them as none were on display including my sisters store. They need to look in all their locked cages/displays carefully as the box is small and white and blends in with all the other stuff. I haven't seen any store that actually stock the battery.

When I took it up to max geofence height I did get the video to cut in and out a bit but never lost controller functions. I'm curious to see if recalibrating to north like you describe will make it even more accurate as the first return to home was off about 4 feet and landed in the grass instead of the marked cardboard it took off from. Will say that I let it take off from the grass the second time and although i didnt mark the spot it seemed to be right on.
I dont let the battery go below 20% and noticed that after I landed and downloaded the video wirelessly that when I went back the battery capacity had come back up to somewhere around 60% which seemed a bit odd.
I've seen this before on some power tool batteries also that after cooling down you get a bunch of capacity back. I didnt actually take it up again so cant attest to how much power I still had.
Do you know if anyone has opened up a battery case and attempted to change it out for increased capacity? They dont appear to be "smart" like some other drones have so I'm curious if they are strictly batteries with a charging/safety circuit or theres something special about them. From what I've seen all aftermarket ones with more capacity are fakes and last as long or less.
Can you change the camera settings for video such as going to 4k or 720p while you are in the air with the controller? I cant seem to figure out how.

Pete

DoomMeister · Sep 30, 2018

The rebound you see on the batteries is an unloaded level. If you takeoff with it you will see the level drop very rapidly.

Do a little more research in the forum on battery capacities. Several have tried the GiFi 1700mAh batteries and get very minimal if any more airtime with them. You’ll find several threads explaining terms related to LiPo’s and how larger capacities in the same physical size package relates to a battery that cannot sustain the same current draw as one with a lower capacity. Hence the “fake” capacity you refer to in your post.

You can change between video and stills during flight, but to change the quality is not recommended because you you have to exit the Task mode you are flying in. The risk of losing connection/control increases while going to the camera settings menu and is only feasible if you are using GPS assistance.