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Yuneec Q500 4K thoughts

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What I find is that millions of people will love a product and never say a word but if just one of those people have an issue, it's all over the forums. I've been flying my Q500 4K since last summer and never had an issue so I can't speak for Yuneec's customer service or the quad's crash resistance but I can say I'm more than pleased with what I bought.

Thoughts:
1) Unless you need to follow a speeding car you really don't need a fast drone. If you do decide to fly around fast as **** and change direction in the middle of the video, be sure to give each of your viewers a gun so they can make the pain stop one way or the other. The Beastie Boys said it best...Slow and low that is the tempo. (Google it)

2) Don't assume if you crash that there is something wrong with the quad. You may very well have something wrong with your transmitter. It's rare but possible. Don't forget your transmitter battery and the fact that the transmitter has a screen to power.

3) Take the small SD card that came with the Qaud and put it in your transmitter. Go buy a fast 64GB card for your quad, the faster the better. Look at the write speeds, not the read speeds.

4) Power - if you have a bad battery, things go wrong very quickly. I go through a lot of batteries on my little toy drones. What happens when the battery fails on my little quads? Lights flash and then power's gone. The batteries balloon when they go bad so if yours starts fitting tight watch out. If anyone reading this is not familiar with how to maintain their batteries it's time to hit Google. First thing you want to do is trash the battery charger that came with your quad and go buy a real charger. The guy at the hobby shop will explain. Pick up a couple of extra batteries while your there.

4) Still Photos - Set your camera to Pro mode. Select DNG for your stills and learn how to process RAW images. I use Photoshop but Lightroom works just as well. It's easy to go in and adjust everything. There are complete books on this subject so I won't even go there.

5) Buy a small toy quad and fly it around the house everyday. Chase the dogs and piss off the cat. Set up a course and try not to run into the light shade. You'll get good, fast.

6) Quads don't like water (and either do I). One time I was flying a Blade Quad for work, shooting stand up paddlers. I was flying along and all of a sudden the battery starts running out. The quad starts slowly heading for the water. I start yelling and the paddler rushes over and saves the quad with his paddle! When it was over I was shaking so badly I couldn't even talk! Now every time I fly over water I freak out.True story...

7) Go watch other's video footage. Notice how the super high altitude footage puts you to sleep? How about when someone goes up real high and starts spinning in place. How's that make you feel? You need motion in the ocean. Slow and low. Up or down...left or right....forward or backward...Like my old Navy chief used to say, "KISS" Keep It Simple Stupid. It's okay to shoot from up high, just don't make the whole video that way. Mix it up. Different heights, angles, etc...

8) Many toy companies have issues with quality control. When you think about it they are actually putting a lot of technology into a very cheap package. They are going to produce some lemons, there's no way of getting around that. How many lemons is the question. Most of us will get a perfect product, some won't. All it takes is one cold solder joint to ruin someone's day. Just one little plug wire is all it takes to bury your pride and joy.

9) I know many of you think $1300 is a lot of money for a quad but you have to put it into perspective. I spent more on just one lens my DSLR camera than I did on my Q500. When I bought my last Canon 5D MKIII I spent over $3K on just the body. That little CGO3 camera produces sharper video than my old Canon 5D. I actually sold all my canon gear and switched to Panasonic 4K mirrorless just so I can combine my drone footage with my ground footage. The CGO3 4K footage made the Canon footage look like crap! True story.

I'm sure some of you guys can help me out here. What did I forget?
 
You nailed it spot on.

The only problems I have had with my 500 4K has been due pilot error. The good news
None of the events were expensive.
 
What I find is that millions of people will love a product and never say a word but if just one of those people have an issue, it's all over the forums. I've been flying my Q500 4K since last summer and never had an issue so I can't speak for Yuneec's customer service or the quad's crash resistance but I can say I'm more than pleased with what I bought.

Thoughts:
1) Unless you need to follow a speeding car you really don't need a fast drone. If you do decide to fly around fast as **** and change direction in the middle of the video, be sure to give each of your viewers a gun so they can make the pain stop one way or the other. The Beastie Boys said it best...Slow and low that is the tempo. (Google it)

2) Don't assume if you crash that there is something wrong with the quad. You may very well have something wrong with your transmitter. It's rare but possible. Don't forget your transmitter battery and the fact that the transmitter has a screen to power.

3) Take the small SD card that came with the Qaud and put it in your transmitter. Go buy a fast 64GB card for your quad, the faster the better. Look at the write speeds, not the read speeds.

4) Power - if you have a bad battery, things go wrong very quickly. I go through a lot of batteries on my little toy drones. What happens when the battery fails on my little quads? Lights flash and then power's gone. The batteries balloon when they go bad so if yours starts fitting tight watch out. If anyone reading this is not familiar with how to maintain their batteries it's time to hit Google. First thing you want to do is trash the battery charger that came with your quad and go buy a real charger. The guy at the hobby shop will explain. Pick up a couple of extra batteries while your there.

4) Still Photos - Set your camera to Pro mode. Select DNG for your stills and learn how to process RAW images. I use Photoshop but Lightroom works just as well. It's easy to go in and adjust everything. There are complete books on this subject so I won't even go there.

5) Buy a small toy quad and fly it around the house everyday. Chase the dogs and piss off the cat. Set up a course and try not to run into the light shade. You'll get good, fast.

6) Quads don't like water (and either do I). One time I was flying a Blade Quad for work, shooting stand up paddlers. I was flying along and all of a sudden the battery starts running out. The quad starts slowly heading for the water. I start yelling and the paddler rushes over and saves the quad with his paddle! When it was over I was shaking so badly I couldn't even talk! Now every time I fly over water I freak out.True story...

7) Go watch other's video footage. Notice how the super high altitude footage puts you to sleep? How about when someone goes up real high and starts spinning in place. How's that make you feel? You need motion in the ocean. Slow and low. Up or down...left or right....forward or backward...Like my old Navy chief used to say, "KISS" Keep It Simple Stupid. It's okay to shoot from up high, just don't make the whole video that way. Mix it up. Different heights, angles, etc...

8) Many toy companies have issues with quality control. When you think about it they are actually putting a lot of technology into a very cheap package. They are going to produce some lemons, there's no way of getting around that. How many lemons is the question. Most of us will get a perfect product, some won't. All it takes is one cold solder joint to ruin someone's day. Just one little plug wire is all it takes to bury your pride and joy.

9) I know many of you think $1300 is a lot of money for a quad but you have to put it into perspective. I spent more on just one lens my DSLR camera than I did on my Q500. When I bought my last Canon 5D MKIII I spent over $3K on just the body. That little CGO3 camera produces sharper video than my old Canon 5D. I actually sold all my canon gear and switched to Panasonic 4K mirrorless just so I can combine my drone footage with my ground footage. The CGO3 4K footage made the Canon footage look like crap! True story.

I'm sure some of you guys can help me out here. What did I forget?


great post! are there any aftermarket batteries for the Q500 4K that you recommend?...or is the yuneec stock battery considered top quality and best value? you say their battery charger is worth replacing, so didn't know if you feel the same about the batteries.
 
great post! are there any aftermarket batteries for the Q500 4K that you recommend?...or is the yuneec stock battery considered top quality and best value? you say their battery charger is worth replacing, so didn't know if you feel the same about the batteries.
There are 3 or 4 different aftermarket batteries that appear from testing to be as good as, or better than the Yuneec labeled.
 

Carolinadronz.com

great review! this confirms that i have never gotten more than about 15 minutes from my yuneec batteries (i get the warning at 13 minutes). so much for the "25 minutes" that yuneec advertises. THANKS!
 
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I'm the same, about 15 minutes per battery, but that is also filming the whole time, and constantly flying around about as aggressive as the girl can be. Plus I live in Denver, so there is no air up here, and the cold does not help either.

I'm also only on my 5th flight cycle on the batteries, and it's been mentioned that the discharge rate gets better once you get over 10 cycles.
 
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I'm sure some of you guys can help me out here. What did I forget?
I also have had my Q500 4k for about 6 months and haven't had a single ploblem! Except for the finicky steady grip. Some have said that their props were horribly unbalanced. I just received my balancing shaft in the mail and my props (all 8 of them) were perfectly balanced! I was kinda disappointed because I really wanted a reason to tinker with it but there's nothing to fix!
 
I enjoyed the Q500 4K for the 6 weeks that I had it, did a pretty good job of filming and I liked the way it flew, and really enjoyed using the ST10+ once you got used to how slow it was to react and that the video would drop out every now and again.

On the downside (besides the at times dodgy video link), the camera setup suffered regularly from shaking and discolouration which didn't get picked up by the interface. Also my Q500 4K did a random flyaway and was never recovered, and Yuneec were very arrogant when I asked if I could just buy the bird without all the controller & gear etc.. I would of had to of purchased a completely new kit, so instead I bought a DJI Phantom 3 Pro for $500 less than a new Q500 kit. Also sold off the ST10+ controller, case, batteries and whatever was left for $500 (AUD that is) to minimise the replacement.

Another thing I really liked about the Q500 4K is how quiet it is compared to the P3, which sounds like a friggin lawnmower flying in the sky. The P3's camera is vastly superior though and the lightning bridge connection system is amazing, and hopefully Yuneec develop something similar and more reliable than the current downlink to the ST10+.

While I am dirty currently for Yuneec and their, I loved the look of the Q500 4K and really enjoyed flying it but I also couldn't trust getting another one at full price. I'll certainly purchase a Yuneec again as I do think they will develop quickly, and I actually plan to get a H920 or later this year.
 
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I've recently ordered a Q500 4K and am anxious to see how I do with it. After starting small, building a tricopter from scratch and eventually purchasing a Phantom 2 with which I've had good fun, I hopefully am not guilty of jumping in over my head with too much too soon. Everything I've heard and read about seems to indicate that the Typhoon is a solid machine. The one bugaboo that I only recently discovered (after my purchase of course) is the cracking motor mount issue. I understand that many of the Phantoms have developed a similar problem. I would be very interested in hearing more about this problem and how Yuneec is planning on addressing it. Anyone?
 

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cracking motor mount issue.
I've been checking out every forum and Yuneec website for several months and have never heard of anyone having a problem with motor mounts. You have my attention though and now that it's raining here, I'm taking my Q apart to check my mounts. I needed a reason to tinker with it, that's what I do!
 
I've recently ordered a Q500 4K and am anxious to see how I do with it. After starting small, building a tricopter from scratch and eventually purchasing a Phantom 2 with which I've had good fun, I hopefully am not guilty of jumping in over my head with too much too soon. Everything I've heard and read about seems to indicate that the Typhoon is a solid machine. The one bugaboo that I only recently discovered (after my purchase of course) is the cracking motor mount issue. I understand that many of the Phantoms have developed a similar problem. I would be very interested in hearing more about this problem and how Yuneec is planning on addressing it. Anyone?

Mine has it too @seesfarther . This is brand new replacement Tyhpoon G too :(File_001.jpeg File_000.jpeg
 
At least one guy on one of the forums has fabricated metal reinforcement discs that install under the motor.

Apparently it has been occurring in Typhoons that haven't crashed or in at least one case, even been flown one time. I can not imagine that simply replacing the frame/body with one of the same will remedy the issue if it is a basic design flaw. FWIW this is not an issue isolated to Yuneec. DJI is experiencing a similar problem with the Phantom.

Photo tutorial how to check for cracks in the plastic around the motors

What you find when not looking

DJI Forum|Shell cracks-please vote!
 
cracking motor mount issue.
******! I just got done pulling all 4 speed controls off and all 4 motor mounts have 2 or 3 cracked rings just like in the picture. I don't see any hairline cracks in the mounting plates themselves, just the raised rings that hold the rubber bushings. Pieces of the rings have fallen off!
 
Hello all -
I don't even have mine yet so can't speak from direct experience. That said, this problem has me concerned enough to contact Yuneec directly. I would hope that by now some fix is in the works(?)
In any case, I have taken the liberty of contacting Yuneec US customer support with my concerns. Here is my email to them. Will attempt to keep other Yuneec pilots abreast of any developments.

Hello -

I recently ordered a Typhoon 4K but have not received it yet. Meanwhile, I have been researching all I can on the internet on proper use of same.

On more than one user website I have come across an issue of cracks appearing on the motor mounts on a number of the Typhoon models. Some people have claimed that their craft have cracks and haven't even been flown yet.

Since I haven't even received mine, I can't comment from direct experience but this matter has me disturbed. Is Yuneec aware of this problem and are steps being taken to correct it? I can only assume that since this is showing up on quite a few models that there is a potential design and/or material flaw involved. For this reason, I would be reluctant to simply exchange the frame/body as a "fix" if it only delays the same thing from happening.

If you would, please advise? I will wait to open the box in which mine arrives until further notice. Meanwhile, I am actively investigating this as much as possible on more than one discussion board and will keep other participants advised.

Thanks very much!
 
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Here is another problem I have come across in my research... I am not trying to bash Yuneec or their products. I am simply trying to familiarize myself with the Typhoon by doing my homework. This stuff is out there and in my opinion worth investigating. This one is in regards to the motor shaft spinning in the outer motor can when attempts are made to remove a prop. I have not contacted yuneec about this issue but it might bear watching(?)
 
Here is another problem I have come across in my research... I am not trying to bash Yuneec or their products. I am simply trying to familiarize myself with the Typhoon by doing my homework. This stuff is out there and in my opinion worth investigating. This one is in regards to the motor shaft spinning in the outer motor can when attempts are made to remove a prop. I have not contacted yuneec about this issue but it might bear watching(?)
On three forums, other than that video, that is the first I have read or heard about that issue. I'd call that operator error (over tightening the props) or freak chance.
 
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