So where to start?

Racing Quads, Self-builds & FPV
1

Hi All,

I’ve just joined your forum, it looks like a really nice community.

I’m hoping you can help.

I have a DJI Mini 2, which has been a good intro to drones and I’m getting some good footage, but I’ve been drawn to FPV as it looks so much fun! although I do appreciate it’s not easy and will take some commitment to learning how to fly properly.

At first, I liked the idea of the GEPRC TinyGo 4k as you effectively get eveything you need out of the box. Quad, Goggles and Controller. For a noob, this is attractive as it should all just work together, however I think that going down this route could cause problems if I want to swap things out at a later date and upgrade individual items. I’m also not sure how well this quad handles the great outdoors.

My problem is confidence as I’ve not educated myself properly yet, but from what I can see the way forward is to:

  1. Buy Goggles and Controller
  2. Practice on simulator
  3. Buy Quad

I’ll probably go digital and from the limited research that I’ve done, was thinking that I’d end up with something like the GEPRC Smart 35 HD.

I’d appreciate your input in terms of the above strategy and if it sounds good, what goggles and controller should I start with, what simulator is the best option to try and when the time comes, which quad would be a good option?

I don’t want anything too expensive or cheap, hardware that should get me in and be usuable until I can upgrade.

I do appreciate that I will need to educate myself in terms of how to build a quad, to understand the components and their relationship with each other and hopefully one day, build a kick ass drone of my own.

But one step at a time.

I’m sorry if this is covered already elsewhere in the forum, if you could point me in the right direction, it would be appreciated.

Many thanks

Chris

2

Welcome to the forum Chris.
Yes, there are quite a few build and advice threads. Have a look through the "Racing Quads, self builds section.
There are also 1 or 2 people here starting out too.
Unfortunately, its going to be expensive. Especially the digital route (Dji or Shark Byte - there are threads on these also).
You can get some nice goggles and controller quite cheap, but the nice ones are more expensive.

If you are dead set on going straight to digital, you’ll have to decide which one - dji or shark byte.

Dji is the leader at the moment with a superior image quality and range
Shark byte is an up and coming system.

DJi will cost £700 - 800+
Shark byte will cost £500+ depending on what goggles you get (shark byte is modular)

3

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Yes it does sound expensive. Maybe I need to start with analog first and progress to digital, which I guess is what a lot do.

I’ll check out the threads that you’ve suggested and take it from there.

Thanks again for your help.

Chris

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I did this and wished I hadn’t. As I ended up spending way more money than I probably should of done lol its a big outlay but if you can afford the digital route it’s definitely the way the hobby is moving. But on the other side of the coin because of this the analogue kit is becoming way cheaper. Its certainly a tough decision to make that’s for sure.

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Great points. If I’m not spending out on everything at once, it will make the digital option more palatable. Leave the quad until I’ve cracked the sim.

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6

Definitely the best way forward :ok_hand:t2: several good sims to choose from as well. Some free ones too. :+1:t2:

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Where abouts are you based Chris? There may be someone near you so you can see different types of kit

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That would be great, I’m in Liverpool.

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Hoping someone round you will chime in.
Here is a good site for beginners to advanced…

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10

That’s brilliant, thank you

11

I’ve had a read of the site, really helpful, a great resource.

Looks like DJI v2 and Radiomaster TX16S controller. £711.

You can get the full DJI bundle for £999 currently, it’s a shame it doesn’t have a sub 250g FPV quad. I wouldn’t be surprised if they introduce this at some point, they’ve managed to make some decent sub 250g drones, so it’s only a matter of time.

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12

A quick up date, I’ve not posted for a while.

I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole. Spent a lot of money and bought the dji goggles and babyhawk HD. Only flown it twice, but really happy with it, flies really well. Have to say worth the money spent. Already had the TX16s but added crossfire.

I’m a beginner, but encouraged with progress and tried a few tricks. Have to say learning the basics in velocidrone really helped.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CWjCzsBDUaM/?utm_medium=copy_link

Recorded through the goggles.

I’ve mounted the caddx peanut tonight, so looking forward to seeing how that performs next time out and what difference it makes to how the babyhawk handles. It’s only 27g so wouldn’t expect a big difference although as it’s added to one end, it will affect the balance somewhat.

image
image3024×4032 4.13 MB

I’m already dreaming of the Nazgul Evoque, but one step at a time.

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It’s good to see you went this route rather than the DJI FPV Drone route. I’m not knocking the DJI drone, I’m expecting one myself in the next couple of weeks, I just don’t believe it’s a good drone to cut your FPV teeth with. The little quad you’ve pictured will have far superior flight performance to the FPV Drone, and the Peanut Camera will produce better footage.

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14

It is a good training quad. I’ve really enjoyed flying it so far.

I’ll be interested to see how you get on with the DJI drone.

15

I have a few quads/Drones ranging in size from little 1 inch pocket rockets to large medium lift hexacopters, and each one serves a purpose irrespective of flying skill.

I enjoy the little beasts for flying in and out of the house, in many ways they require more skill than the 5inchplus creations.

As for the DJI FPV Drone? If I’d have bought it at its original price, by my own standards I would have needed my bumps felt. But if it remains at its current price for the next few weeks I can apply some staff discount and get it at a price I think is more befitting. Plus I can join @DeanoG60 as a DJI FPV user and slag off these Shark byte upstarts :smirk:

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Wooooo I won’t be on my own anymore! :rofl:

Just to clarify though I don’t own the DJI FPV Drone I fly the air unit/vista :+1:t2:

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I have the tinyhawk 2, which is a lot of fun.

Just ordered the tinyhawk 2 freestyle for my partners son, And so we’ll be Emaxed out.

I really like their products out of the box. They’ve just upped their game with the tinyhawk 3 RTF package.

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Bag of shit :laughing:

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I could quite easily agree with either one.

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Screenshot_20211124-195228_Samsung Internet
Screenshot_20211124-195228_Samsung Internet1080×2199 145 KB

Hahahaha who flagged @MartG1960 s comment? :rofl:

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