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Noted Jeff. I understand where you are coming from and agree that it can be very tempting to go BLOS to get that un-missable shot. I've been tempted too but have managed to resist the temptation so far.

But to set out in the first place with the intention to go BLOS I can't agree with. I've only ever flown up to 500m away on very few occasions (500m is max allowed in the U.K.) and for my eyes that was right at the edge of my VLOS for my TH and possibly pushing it a bit at that. It's not about whether my TH can go further, I know it can because my video and control signals at that distance was rock solid. It was just that I NEED to be able to see my aircraft. For me, not seeing my aircraft simply means that I'm not in effective control of it.

Agree, Flush!

Setting out to push the limits or exceed is not a recommendation for community survival.
 
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DCJ,

Just an experienced observation, but a box stock I-1 generates interference with the 900MHz telemetry stream broadcast from a Pixhawk telemetry radio. They can’t be operated in relatively close proximity to each other simultaneously.

I’m not a radio frequency expert but I can’t understand how either 2.4, 5.8, or WiFi can conflict with 900MHz, which for me raises questions about what frequencies are actually being used. This is why I mentioned 900MHz earlier.

As for power levels and signal strength, at least in this country the FCC mandates that consumer electronics are prohibited from causing interference. They can accept interference but not cause, and if they do cause the owner is responsible for mitigation. That requirement likely imposes limitations on power and strength.

That in turn leads me to questions about where people experience interference. It may well be that most have problems when operating in WiFi saturated locations like residential neighborhoods, city environments, and similar locations that might be considered high risk environments. Many “pilots” (we see such videos frequently) operate from the front or back yard of their homes located in tract house subdivisions, where virtually everyone has a home WiFi and microwave ovens. Many of those same people fail to consider the angular relationship necessary to maintain a clear signal path between the aircraft and controller as the aircraft moves further away, allowing silly things like block walls, trees, and houses to occlude the signal path.

DJI certainly provides better signal but I don’t have a clear understanding of why. Again using my personal experience I have yet to experience issues with Yuneec’s method at distances I can still see the aircraft, and the 920 allows for much better visuals at much longer distances than can be obtained with an H, or H Plus. I won’t bother to mention mini platforms like Mavic or Anafi as neither is plainly visible at distances a Typhoon H is, regardless of the lies told by some owners, but I don’t operate in WiFi environments as densely populated as seen in big cities.

For both the H and the 920, the one thing I know to cause video break up is the camera’s antenna location. Extracting the antenna from inside the H camera to leave it exposed increases video range. Replacing it with a longer one that would hang below the camera would be of even greater benefit. On the 920+, repositioning the camera antennas to a location where they would not be fouled by the gimbal frame would increase video range. This premise has been validated many times over in DIY rigs where location and orientation of video transmitter antennas is just as important, if not more so, than Vtx power output.

As for the attraction of going beyond visual range we but need to review the most common questions received from those looking to get involved in RC. They have been consistent for as far back as I can remember. How high, how far, how fast, and how much? Humans are as curious as cats.
 
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I have the external antenna mod on one of my H’s. I haven’t noticed much, if any, difference between the stock one and the modified one.
I also installed the external antenna mod and didn't really notice an improvement. Wasn't enough incentive to install on the recently acquired H520.
 
I have flown a few different models. Started with a cheap Syma X8 and worked up. But the Typhoon H is like nothing I have ever flown. I also have a second hand DJI P3 STD that my daughter flies. Best thing abut the DJI is that it is ready to fly in few minuets but it can take up to 15 to get the Typhoon in the air but other then that there is no comparison between the two.
 
DCJ,

Just an experienced observation, but a box stock I-1 generates interference with the 900MHz telemetry stream broadcast from a Pixhawk telemetry radio. They can’t be operated in relatively close proximity to each other simultaneously.

I’m not a radio frequency expert but I can’t understand how either 2.4, 5.8, or WiFi can conflict with 900MHz, which for me raises questions about what frequencies are actually being used. This is why I mentioned 900MHz earlier.

As for power levels and signal strength, at least in this country the FCC mandates that consumer electronics are prohibited from causing interference. They can accept interference but not cause, and if they do cause the owner is responsible for mitigation. That requirement likely imposes limitations on power and strength.

That in turn leads me to questions about where people experience interference. It may well be that most have problems when operating in WiFi saturated locations like residential neighborhoods, city environments, and similar locations that might be considered high risk environments. Many “pilots” (we see such videos frequently) operate from the front or back yard of their homes located in tract house subdivisions, where virtually everyone has a home WiFi and microwave ovens. Many of those same people fail to consider the angular relationship necessary to maintain a clear signal path between the aircraft and controller as the aircraft moves further away, allowing silly things like block walls, trees, and houses to occlude the signal path.

DJI certainly provides better signal but I don’t have a clear understanding of why. Again using my personal experience I have yet to experience issues with Yuneec’s method at distances I can still see the aircraft, and the 920 allows for much better visuals at much longer distances than can be obtained with an H, or H Plus. I won’t bother to mention mini platforms like Mavic or Anafi as neither is plainly visible at distances a Typhoon H is, regardless of the lies told by some owners, but I don’t operate in WiFi environments as densely populated as seen in big cities.

For both the H and the 920, the one thing I know to cause video break up is the camera’s antenna location. Extracting the antenna from inside the H camera to leave it exposed increases video range. Replacing it with a longer one that would hang below the camera would be of even greater benefit. On the 920+, repositioning the camera antennas to a location where they would not be fouled by the gimbal frame would increase video range. This premise has been validated many times over in DIY rigs where location and orientation of video transmitter antennas is just as important, if not more so, than Vtx power output.

As for the attraction of going beyond visual range we but need to review the most common questions received from those looking to get involved in RC. They have been consistent for as far back as I can remember. How high, how far, how fast, and how much? Humans are as curious as cats.
That is interesting... sounds like someone may have obtained a Japan radio in USA... maybe an eBay purchase possibly. Is there still a FCC tag on back... or inside

Actually the Inspire 1 Lightbridge radios had 3 different spectrums. Depending on country, and the Japan I1 radio used the 922 - 927mhz spectrum. The USA & UK version used the 2.400-2.483 GHz for Transmission & Video and the 5.8 used for the link between master -slave radios, Not between Craft & Radio.

The 900 MHz provided the longest range & strength, may have been why Japan got the 900mhz... or they’re heavy in 2.4 spectrum with other operations.

** edited **. Curious, does that I1 RC work or bind with other I1’s ? That would suggest Freq is controlled by RC transmitter and receiver on platform contains multiple available frequencies... or both are limited and it’s a package set.
 
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Thank you Dougcjohn as I couldnt agree more and to others who just piped in.
I am one of the nicest people you will ever meet and have helped many others here with breeze issues including sending one of my spare parts to someone overseas for free (although he wouldnt let me do it and paid the shipping fee to my paypal). I've freely offered my services in repairing the breeze not just by messaging but sending it to me at no charge other than shipping. I've got hundreds of internal pics of it showing what's what. Theres pics somewhere on the forum showing my ridiculous fleet of 12 breezes 9 of which I bought as parts drones for as little as $16 on Ebay as I was having fun doing it. The price for parts drones has gone way up since then and I've done so many that I lost interest. Its finally getting decent enough out in upstate NY to actually fly so theres that.
Anyways, this is what the impression I've gotten from the video reviews I've seen:
I think that the newest phantom versions camera is slightly better than the H plus.
I really cant stand the way the phantom design looks.
I dont think the Mavic 2 pro hasselblad lives up to the name and the zoom is a much better deal.
I love the look of the H and appearance wise It looks more serious than any of the others. I do think they could dress it up a bit though as it's pretty bland. Some nice bright color banding on the arms maybe although this could easily be personalized by the user. I just think the pro should stand out a bit more.
The H plus is really nice but $400 more than a phantom is a lot to ask although I believe the plus comes with 2 batteries which should be the standard for any drone in this price range.
I'm not trying to be a "fanboy" of any particular brand but I will say that fair or not I've got a dislike for how DJI controls a product that you fully paid for. It just feels like big government to me.
What really surprises me is that DJI hasnt built in a geofence to prevent you from going WAY past a reasonable LOS. I fully expect them to do this at any moment and you wont be able to fly without updating your firmware to this restriction.
Back to the H I think it it's way it is more advanced than the phantom in its abilities for filming and you probably need to be a bit more advanced as a pilot to shoot and fly at the same time because of the 360 camera. I personally like the idea of being able to control more aspects and the geek in me Luke's to see all those switches and buttons on the st16.
I think yuneec needs to find a way to not have the drone take so long to stop. Find it odd that a 6 prop wont stop as quickly as a 4. Seems like you better be on your toes more if you are flying near objects compared to a phantom. The long drift feels a bit disconcerting when others stop quicker.
I had an issue once with a breeze with the new software that allows it to fly at about 22mph (twice its factory limit). I was testing it out in my backyard with the most restrictive geofence both distance and height to see if there was any issue and managed to drift past the geofence. It was close to my house by a few feet and wouldnt let me fly back the way I wanted and bumped into the house. There was 0 damage but it was unexpected.
I'm getting more used to flying at speeds up to 45mph with a drone irh no helps and faster than that with my xk x520 VTOL. I am not the greatest pilot yet but I'm trying to get out and fly everyday it's nice. Actually took a quick flight this morning at church before many people arrived as rain was coming this afternoon.
It's my understanding that DJI is no longer going to build a drone using the phantom platform and I dont want to buy one now anyways if it's being phased out. I swear I read here someone saying the H plus is already being replaced even though it's only been about a year? Can someone weigh in on that?
As far as parrot goes it appears that if you but one you are kind of on your own as far as customer service so even if it's a decent product it might not be the greatest choice. Could be wrong but that's what the information I've seen so far is telling me.
A few of the other players with decent drones I'm apprehensive about because I'm afraid they might be here today gone tomorrow. I just dont know.

I feel like I'm caught up in this big dilemma. Maybe I'm just overthinking it all. The biggest issue is that I can easily get caught up in a hobby like this and next thing you know I've spent 10G on 5 different drones with a ton of accessories.
I refuse to go that route this time so I'm only allowing myself to spend any personal $ that I've saved up that doesnt involve my savings or checking account. For me this really means it probably comes down to buying one nice one with the accessories I want and that's it for a long time. I could sell some things but I really dont enjoy that process.
I think I've watched way too many videos and seen way too many reports of things going wrong and I'm a bit paranoid that that $ is going to end up looking like a heap of drone parts from some mysterious flyaway or drop out of the sky. I'm looking at this from the viewpoint that I will have spent all my $ and wont be able to replace it for a long time.
I'm not stupid and do believe that MOST issues come from operator error and people dont want to admit it. Things do happen though as these are flying computers running off batteries. I wonder what the actual real world number is where the manufacturer was at fault? I'm sure we will never know as I cant believe a company would release those numbers.
Theres no pretense or agenda with what I post. It's just me typing out what my head and heart are saying.
 
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That is interesting... sounds like someone may have obtained a Japan radio in USA... maybe an eBay purchase possibly. Is there still a FCC tag on back... or inside

For clarity, both the Pixhawk FC's and telemetry radios are U.S. and European in origin, all the way down to component level, not Japan or China. None of the stuff is COTS as the acronym is most commonly used, and has achieved government system security acceptance.

Don't know where the I1 originated but it's first and only owner obtained it here. I didn't have an inclination to, or spend any time, experimenting with a bunch of different things, just observed what happened when they were being used at the same time. Bad enough the Pix unit was kept on the ground when the DJI was aloft.

As for FCC tags, I don't put a lot of faith in them. Seems just about anyone can print one up.
 
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For clarity, both the Pixhawk FC's and telemetry radios are U.S. and European in origin, all the way down to component level, not Japan or China. None of the stuff is COTS as the acronym is most commonly used, and has achieved government system security acceptance.

Don't know where the I1 originated but it's first and only owner obtained it here. I didn't have an inclination to, or spend any time, experimenting with a bunch of different things, just observed what happened when they were being used at the same time. Bad enough the Pix unit was kept on the ground when the DJI was aloft.

As for FCC tags, I don't put a lot of faith in them. Seems just about anyone can print one up.
Just indicating an I1 can have a 900mhz radio if it's a Japan model.

Wasn't indicating PIX was off... but was indicating the I1 could be transmitting 900mhz for a possible solution to your observation.
 
Has anyone tried the 4hawks raptor to enhance their signal quality? It seems to be reasonably priced. A couple people mentioned they tried the external antenna mount on their H and they didnt really notice a difference in signal quality. It appears they make them for all the better/popular drones.
 
Has anyone tried the 4hawks raptor to enhance their signal quality? It seems to be reasonably priced. A couple people mentioned they tried the external antenna mount on their H and they didnt really notice a difference in signal quality. It appears they make them for all the better/popular drones.

Welcome to the forum. There are ample discussions, report, and video on the subject. I for one use 4Hawks on the daily.
 
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I can vouch for @Pman as far as remaining legal in his flying. He is shopping for a 4K camera platform and likes the Yuneec hexes, but sees a lot of posts here and on other forums about laggy video feed. Of course there are a lot of the same on YouTube.

From his posts you can see he is comparing good and bad of several different platforms and is voicing a lot of the same concerns as many of us about Yuneec upping their game in product quality, customer support, and more cutting edge technology.

What could be constructive here is real feedback from those that fly different brands and models citing good and bad points of each. I think that is what @Tom Chastain started this thread for, until it got side tracked by a “7 mile flight” using a Typhoon H.
Thanks DoomMeister, but I think it's to late now, it's off and running. LOL
 
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Well I hate to say this but I bought a DJI drone to go along with my Typhoon H. Just couldn't justify the cost of the Typhoon H plus. Anybody else have one of each?
Got a Typhoon H, Q500 and DJI Mavic Pro. Can't knock the Mavic pro as a drone, rock solid and as stable as something that is very stable. Don't have to worry about DJI updates because I never updated it! It still has the same firmware it came with when I bought it 2017. Works for me....
 
Thank you Dougcjohn as I couldnt agree more and to others who just piped in.
I am one of the nicest people you will ever meet and have helped many others here with breeze issues including sending one of my spare parts to someone overseas for free (although he wouldnt let me do it and paid the shipping fee to my paypal). I've freely offered my services in repairing the breeze not just by messaging but sending it to me at no charge other than shipping. I've got hundreds of internal pics of it showing what's what. Theres pics somewhere on the forum showing my ridiculous fleet of 12 breezes 9 of which I bought as parts drones for as little as $16 on Ebay as I was having fun doing it. The price for parts drones has gone way up since then and I've done so many that I lost interest. Its finally getting decent enough out in upstate NY to actually fly so theres that.
Anyways, this is what the impression I've gotten from the video reviews I've seen:
I think that the newest phantom versions camera is slightly better than the H plus.
I really cant stand the way the phantom design looks.
I dont think the Mavic 2 pro hasselblad lives up to the name and the zoom is a much better deal.
I love the look of the H and appearance wise It looks more serious than any of the others. I do think they could dress it up a bit though as it's pretty bland. Some nice bright color banding on the arms maybe although this could easily be personalized by the user. I just think the pro should stand out a bit more.
The H plus is really nice but $400 more than a phantom is a lot to ask although I believe the plus comes with 2 batteries which should be the standard for any drone in this price range.
I'm not trying to be a "fanboy" of any particular brand but I will say that fair or not I've got a dislike for how DJI controls a product that you fully paid for. It just feels like big government to me.
What really surprises me is that DJI hasnt built in a geofence to prevent you from going WAY past a reasonable LOS. I fully expect them to do this at any moment and you wont be able to fly without updating your firmware to this restriction.
Back to the H I think it it's way it is more advanced than the phantom in its abilities for filming and you probably need to be a bit more advanced as a pilot to shoot and fly at the same time because of the 360 camera. I personally like the idea of being able to control more aspects and the geek in me Luke's to see all those switches and buttons on the st16.
I think yuneec needs to find a way to not have the drone take so long to stop. Find it odd that a 6 prop wont stop as quickly as a 4. Seems like you better be on your toes more if you are flying near objects compared to a phantom. The long drift feels a bit disconcerting when others stop quicker.
I had an issue once with a breeze with the new software that allows it to fly at about 22mph (twice its factory limit). I was testing it out in my backyard with the most restrictive geofence both distance and height to see if there was any issue and managed to drift past the geofence. It was close to my house by a few feet and wouldnt let me fly back the way I wanted and bumped into the house. There was 0 damage but it was unexpected.
I'm getting more used to flying at speeds up to 45mph with a drone irh no helps and faster than that with my xk x520 VTOL. I am not the greatest pilot yet but I'm trying to get out and fly everyday it's nice. Actually took a quick flight this morning at church before many people arrived as rain was coming this afternoon.
It's my understanding that DJI is no longer going to build a drone using the phantom platform and I dont want to buy one now anyways if it's being phased out. I swear I read here someone saying the H plus is already being replaced even though it's only been about a year? Can someone weigh in on that?
As far as parrot goes it appears that if you but one you are kind of on your own as far as customer service so even if it's a decent product it might not be the greatest choice. Could be wrong but that's what the information I've seen so far is telling me.
A few of the other players with decent drones I'm apprehensive about because I'm afraid they might be here today gone tomorrow. I just dont know.

I feel like I'm caught up in this big dilemma. Maybe I'm just overthinking it all. The biggest issue is that I can easily get caught up in a hobby like this and next thing you know I've spent 10G on 5 different drones with a ton of accessories.
I refuse to go that route this time so I'm only allowing myself to spend any personal $ that I've saved up that doesnt involve my savings or checking account. For me this really means it probably comes down to buying one nice one with the accessories I want and that's it for a long time. I could sell some things but I really dont enjoy that process.
I think I've watched way too many videos and seen way too many reports of things going wrong and I'm a bit paranoid that that $ is going to end up looking like a heap of drone parts from some mysterious flyaway or drop out of the sky. I'm looking at this from the viewpoint that I will have spent all my $ and wont be able to replace it for a long time.
I'm not stupid and do believe that MOST issues come from operator error and people dont want to admit it. Things do happen though as these are flying computers running off batteries. I wonder what the actual real world number is where the manufacturer was at fault? I'm sure we will never know as I cant believe a company would release those numbers.
Theres no pretense or agenda with what I post. It's just me typing out what my head and heart are saying.
A nice (albeit a bit long) post that I read in it's entirety. I now see where you are coming from. Can I just mention that you need to see some Youtube reviews with some skepticism. Some reviewers have an agenda that translates in to a bias either against or for various drones/drone manufacturers. It has been well documented that at least some (probably many) reviewers are essentially DJI fanboys...it certainly was the case in the past (for the record I own a DJI product as well as my TH. Both are good in their own ways and I fly both regularly but I admit that my TH is my go-to aircraft for commercial work).

When the TH was first launched DJI embarked upon a discrediting campaign against Yuneec. There were numerous people trawling through forums and YouTube reviews of the TH writing bad things about the TH in those video comments. It was a smear campaign, and many prospective customers for the TH were put off by those comments. To be fair, some comments were fair (alot of 'fairs' there ?) ...there is no such thing as a perfect drone, but many comments were obviously posted by people who had little knowledge of the TH or even drone flying generally. To a lesser extent this sort of thing still goes on today. Indeed we, on this forum, still get Yuneec bashers cropping up from time to time.

Just don't take everything you see as gospel. My TH isn't perfect, but neither is my Phantom. I'll be out tomorrow flying my Phantom and I expect that I'll have some good fun, but (weather permitting) I'l be flying my TH on Wednesday...I expect I'll have some good fun with that too.
 
I do look at the videos and reviews skeptically and look into the reviewers other reviews to see if theres some kind of pattern (see how I said review multiple times lol). I'm pretty cynical and it's a big part of why i havent made up my mind. Theres just too much conflicting information out there.
Yes i tend to write long posts. I'm not only trying to make myself clear I have time to do so as I'll try to explain briefly.
Retired from USN as a nuclear reactor operator in 1996 (served 10 years 86-96 and was deployed a few days after the invasion of Kuwait and back again about 1 month after it ended). Medically retired mostly do to kidney issues from a rare condition where I am in constant pain that is exactly like kidney stones.
The Navy/VA paid for me to go back to college and although I could have chosen to study anything that was in demand I was honestly exhausted from never ending teaching and studies from the field I was in. I always wanted to work with my hands and had a "knack" for it so chose commercial/industrial refrigeration. After graduation I worked in that field from 98-2014 when I just had injured myself too much and my kidney issue was getting bad enough that I had been on fentanyl patches round the clock to function.
I've been on SSDI since 2014 so I have time on my hands. Got into lasers either in 2011 or 12 and learned how to build portable ones in power ranges from a mW to over 7W in lots of different wavelengths and became the top repped member of laserpointerforums before I started getting bored as there just wasn't many different new wavelengths or power increases anymore to hold my interest unless you had lots of $ to burn. The forum also took a bad turn where suddenly the rep system wasnt about actual good reputation for your work and helping others. Suddenly it was a free for all with people repping others for no reason or finding a way to cheat and rep yourself so I took a big step back and barely visited.
Because an interesting hobby helps keep my mind of pain I one day saw a cheapo $20 drone that was about the same size as a breeze and I just had to know if it would hold my interest. Had so much fun with it that I ended up buying the other 3 that were on sale and they all still fly.
That was all well and good but what really opened my eyes was after researching what was out there finding a breeze with controller at Walmart for $150. Flying that thing was a game changer and the reason why I desire a more professional type unit and joined the forum.
So that's how I got to the point I'm at now saving up and trying to make the best informed decision I can. I get some $ from the VA and Navy every month as well as my SSDI but it's 2.5-3 times less than I was making while working.
My wife is a school bus driver and makes less than I do but has her own health issues and needs her summers off. As a school bus driver you really only work something like 7.5 months total too.
We dont owe anything to anyone meaning home and cars are paid off and we dont carry over credit card balances. Credit cards are usef for making $. About a third of the $ that I've saved up toward the drone is from Amazon Visa as it's the best card I know of for "free" $ if you are an Amazon prime member. Dont know any other card that gives you 5% back and you can get it right to your bank account so you are not stuck using it at amazon.
The point is in order to keep living at the same standard and put a decent amount in savings every month I cant be using any of the $ coming in for hobbies. If I was still working I'm sure I would own many different $1000+ drones but it's not an option now.
It all adds up to trying to make the best informed decision I can:)
IF I had to make a decision this moment it would be an H pro because I love the look and sophistication and controller and I would have enough $ to buy the accessories I want for it. As mentioned I almost bought an H pro last week used just under a year old with all original equipment, never crashed looking new out of the box with 4 batteries.
 
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Is your wife supportive to purchase a professional drone?
Is this going to affect you financially, in other words, is this money you can lose in case you crash?
As you know you'll have to make some investments in apps for post production. or get the freebies, (ehhhh).
I guess your computer can handle 4k video?
 
I do look at the videos and reviews skeptically and dont look into the reviewers other reviews to see if theres some kind of pattern (see how I said review multiple times lol). I'm pretty cynical and it's a big part of why i havent made up my mind. Theres just too much conflicting information out there.
Yes i tend to write long posts. I'm not only trying to make myself clear I have time to do so as I'll try to explain briefly.
Retired from USN as a nuclear reactor operator in 1996 (served 10 years 86-96 and was deployed a few days after the invasion of Kuwait and back again about 1 month after it ended). Medically retired mostly do to kidney issues from a rare condition where I am in constant pain that is exactly like kidney stones.
The Navy/VA paid for me to go back to college and although I could have chosen to study anything that was in demand I was honestly exhausted from never ending teaching and studies from the field I was in. I always wanted to work with my hands and had a "knack" for it so chose commercial/industrial refrigeration. After graduation I worked in that field from 98-2014 when I just had injured myself too much and my kidney issue was getting bad enough that I had been on fentanyl patches round the clock to function.
I've been on SSDI since 2014 so I have time on my hands. Got into lasers either in 2011 or 12 and learned how to build portable ones in power ranges from a mW to over 7W in lots of different wavelengths and became the top repped member of laserpointerforums before I started getting bored as there just wasn't many different new wavelengths or power increases anymore to hold my interest unless you had lots of $ to burn. The forum also took a bad turn where suddenly the rep system wasnt about actual good reputation for your work and helping others. Suddenly it was a free for all with people repping others for no reason or finding a way to cheat and rep yourself so I took a big step back and barely visited.
Because an interesting hobby helps keep my mind of pain I one day saw a cheapo $20 drone that was about the same size as a breeze and I just had to know if it would hold my interest. Had so much fun with it that I ended up buying the other 3 that were on sale and they all still fly.
That was all well and good but what really opened my eyes was after researching what was out there finding a breeze with controller at Walmart for $150. Flying that thing was a game changer and the reason why I desire a more professional type unit and joined the forum.
So that's how I got to the point I'm at now saving up and trying to make the best informed decision I can. I get some $ from the VA and Navy every month as well as my SSDI but it's 2.5-3 times less than I was making while working.
My wife is a school bus driver and makes less than I do but has her own health issues and needs her summers off. As a school bus driver you really only work something like 7.5 months total too.
We dont owe anything to anyone meaning home and cars are paid off and we dont carry over credit card balances. Credit cards are usef for making $. About a third of the $ that I've saved up toward the drone is from Amazon Visa as it's the best card I know of for "free" $ if you are an Amazon prime member. Dont know any other card that gives you 5% back and you can get it right to your bank account so you are not stuck using it at amazon.
The point is in order to keep living at the same standard and put a decent amount in savings every month I cant be using any of the $ coming in for hobbies. If I was still working I'm sure I would own many different $1000+ drones but it's not an option now.
It all adds up to trying to make the best informed decision I can:)
IF I had to make a decision this moment it would be an H pro because I love the look and sophistication and controller and I would have enough $ to buy the accessories I want for it. As mentioned I almost bought an H pro last week used just under a year old with all original equipment, never crashed looking new out of the box with 4 batteries.
As @AH-1G alluded to above, Pman, Don't buy a drone if you can't afford to crash it.

By the way, sorry to hear about you and your wife's health issues. I'm no spring chicken myself. Starting to feel my age. My wife died in 2013 and it's the drone thing that keeps me going.
 
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I do look at the videos and reviews skeptically and dont look into the reviewers other reviews to see if theres some kind of pattern (see how I said review multiple times lol). I'm pretty cynical and it's a big part of why i havent made up my mind. Theres just too much conflicting information out there.
Yes i tend to write long posts. I'm not only trying to make myself clear I have time to do so as I'll try to explain briefly.
Retired from USN as a nuclear reactor operator in 1996 (served 10 years 86-96 and was deployed a few days after the invasion of Kuwait and back again about 1 month after it ended). Medically retired mostly do to kidney issues from a rare condition where I am in constant pain that is exactly like kidney stones.
The Navy/VA paid for me to go back to college and although I could have chosen to study anything that was in demand I was honestly exhausted from never ending teaching and studies from the field I was in. I always wanted to work with my hands and had a "knack" for it so chose commercial/industrial refrigeration. After graduation I worked in that field from 98-2014 when I just had injured myself too much and my kidney issue was getting bad enough that I had been on fentanyl patches round the clock to function.
I've been on SSDI since 2014 so I have time on my hands. Got into lasers either in 2011 or 12 and learned how to build portable ones in power ranges from a mW to over 7W in lots of different wavelengths and became the top repped member of laserpointerforums before I started getting bored as there just wasn't many different new wavelengths or power increases anymore to hold my interest unless you had lots of $ to burn. The forum also took a bad turn where suddenly the rep system wasnt about actual good reputation for your work and helping others. Suddenly it was a free for all with people repping others for no reason or finding a way to cheat and rep yourself so I took a big step back and barely visited.
Because an interesting hobby helps keep my mind of pain I one day saw a cheapo $20 drone that was about the same size as a breeze and I just had to know if it would hold my interest. Had so much fun with it that I ended up buying the other 3 that were on sale and they all still fly.
That was all well and good but what really opened my eyes was after researching what was out there finding a breeze with controller at Walmart for $150. Flying that thing was a game changer and the reason why I desire a more professional type unit and joined the forum.
So that's how I got to the point I'm at now saving up and trying to make the best informed decision I can. I get some $ from the VA and Navy every month as well as my SSDI but it's 2.5-3 times less than I was making while working.
My wife is a school bus driver and makes less than I do but has her own health issues and needs her summers off. As a school bus driver you really only work something like 7.5 months total too.
We dont owe anything to anyone meaning home and cars are paid off and we dont carry over credit card balances. Credit cards are usef for making $. About a third of the $ that I've saved up toward the drone is from Amazon Visa as it's the best card I know of for "free" $ if you are an Amazon prime member. Dont know any other card that gives you 5% back and you can get it right to your bank account so you are not stuck using it at amazon.
The point is in order to keep living at the same standard and put a decent amount in savings every month I cant be using any of the $ coming in for hobbies. If I was still working I'm sure I would own many different $1000+ drones but it's not an option now.
It all adds up to trying to make the best informed decision I can:)
IF I had to make a decision this moment it would be an H pro because I love the look and sophistication and controller and I would have enough $ to buy the accessories I want for it. As mentioned I almost bought an H pro last week used just under a year old with all original equipment, never crashed looking new out of the box with 4 batteries.

Say no more, bro.... We will be here starting from your first hover, until you are up in the air.
 
Thanks guys. Really.
It's no problem with my wife as it's my personal $ from everything from birthdays to Christmas or any of that sort of thing and I can use the $ I make off of the Amazon card. I also have $150 allotted a month for entertainment and she isnt actually into anything but I usually buy blurays with most of it. I really like movies and although we have both Amazon prime and 4k Netflix usually like to watch the extras on the disc that they dont show. Dont go to the theater very often as my equipment is far better. In fact I cant remember the last time I went where there wasnt an issue with either the picture or sound. When I saw endgame the whole left side surround wasnt working. Meant to say something after but I was with my son and forgot as we were leaving.
I havent had a powerful computer in a long time and definately dont like the sound of paying big bucks for editing software. Figured I could play it back through my phone or tablets on my TVs or screen. Am I wrong about that? There must be a free program that can at least stitch together the 5 minute segments on android? Will the st16 hdmi output playback 4k?
I'm not deliberately being ignorant about it, it hadn't even crossed my mind. UGH....
Funny thing is I own the yuneec goggles as I found someone on Ebay in the US selling them brand new for $40 plus 3 shipping. They were brand new and work. Hooked them up to a bluray player directly.
Actually kind of weird as its sold as DJI spark fpv goggles but they are actually yuneec skyview. The guy is still selling them for $48.95 with free shipping. Mine came in a few days.

I fixed post 76 as I meant to say I DO look into the reviewers other reviews.

I'm being totally up front with all of this and nothing I have said was ever meant to stir up trouble. I'm NOT trying to hurt anyones feelings commenting on some of the things that trouble me about ANY product. I'm not sure how to say that any stronger. PLEASE dont take offense.

On the laserpointerforums that I rarely go to now I am Pman and my avatar is a turtle swimming through the ocean. Theres a thread there about showing your laser collection if you want to verify I'm not kidding about owning a lot of lasers. You can look up all the threads I started and posts. I havent built a laser in a long time but I still own an awful lot of them I keep in cases.
Remember when it seemed like everyday the news was either showing a laser or drone problem? Man those were bad times.
 
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