Drone suggestions

**porkop** · 01-09-21, 05:29 PM

Hi, Ive become interested in drones.

Bought my grandson (and me

) a Kings Cyclone drone for his birthday. He's only 5 so didn't want to spend a fortune. His parents can later!!

Anyway, it has peaked an interest in me now.

I am looking for drone suggestions, around the $400 to $600 mark, GPS locked, return to home, stabilized, onboard streaming camera, durable, spares available aplenty, etc etc.

Any suggestions? reputable suppliers in Vic Metro.

Thanks

**freakee1** · 01-09-21, 07:21 PM

what you want to do is watch facebook market - most enthusiasts upgrade DJI products and sell off the old one (or get them and get bored) - the Mavic pro is an awesome drone, it's not the latest - but wow.........

**Mainsail** · 01-09-21, 09:11 PM

I'd say Mavic Mini, possibly the newer SE.

I've had mine for a while but still nervous about using it out losing it. I shouldn't though as it tracks quite well.

It's weight class <250g may keep you out of future restrictions.

The main limiting factor, due in part to it's weight is it's not likely to be great in any sort of wind.

Be careful about going for lesser brands. I also got a Xiaomi 4k Mi Drone. It's nice, but now has no support, spares or batteries available.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

**RedXT** · 02-09-21, 08:41 AM

I have had the DJI Mavic Pro for about 2 years and its been great.There are some really good Video tutorials online for beginners to experts as there is for all DJI products

My grandson now 6 has no problem flying it under supervision

The DJI Mavic has whats called "Tripod Mode" ( i think mini also has this) which slows the drone movement to about 25% of normal speed and limits it to 30mtrs, great for learning.

Most DJI drones are available with pro packs or something which include extra batteries etc, would recommend 4 batteries if you're budget will allow and a good carry case.

I believe the DJI Mini is just as good but is a little harder to fly in stronger winds due to its size

cheers thomo

**porkop** · 07-09-21, 11:43 AM

Keep an eye out for my Kings drone. Last seen flying North east, backwards in the wind!!!!!!!!! gone like that. bugga.

Lucky it didnt cost that much.

**Johnno** · 07-09-21, 02:16 PM

A missing Drone ??.. Some glitches in the return process ?? or maybe a suicide model ?

Put an add on social media :

Missing Drone
Very Unfriendly
Last seen flying North east
Response to heat signatures
Prone to violent outbursts
Hates Children

LOL

**wotnot** · 07-09-21, 02:38 PM

**porkop** · 07-09-21, 05:58 PM

Originally Posted by wotnot

Actual video of me today!!

**porkop** · 07-09-21, 05:59 PM

Originally Posted by Johnno

A Some glitches in the return process ??

Nah was just a cheapy model. no special features. didnt hit the stop button quick enough. Probably over the pacific by now

**porkop** · 11-09-21, 04:12 PM

Bought a Mavic Mini 2.

Love it!!

Great video.

Easy to use

**RedXT** · 12-09-21, 09:19 AM

Yep they really fly themselves.

But this might be handy

**Bigfella237** · 12-09-21, 10:28 AM

Do DJI really force you to create an account with them before you can use their products?

And if so, why? I don't want anything online or "in the cloud" (no pun intended).

Surely you can download app and firmware updates etc. without needing to log in somewhere?

**RedXT** · 12-09-21, 10:44 AM

Originally Posted by Bigfella237

Do DJI really force you to create an account with them before you can use their products?

And if so, why? I don't want anything online or "in the cloud" (no pun intended).

Surely you can download app and firmware updates etc. without needing to log in somewhere?

Its 2 years since I brought my drone but I think out of the box it was restricted to 30meters flying range until I registered it. This is something to do with CASA and registers the drone serial number with you're details.

I have a Mavic Pro but I think some smaller drones don't need to be registered

**porkop** · 14-09-21, 09:16 PM

Originally Posted by Bigfella237

Do DJI really force you to create an account with them before you can use their products?

Who knows, who cares. I needed to register to activate my 2 year care plan, so I did it.

**Bigfella237** · 15-09-21, 11:03 AM

It's just a personal preference, I strongly dislike and try to avoid anything that "phones home" to it's manufacturer over the internet.

Wandering OT for a second, a prime example is a WD "My Cloud" NAS that I bought years ago, it's on my LAN but I can't access the files on it unless it's connected to the internet and logged into an account, and I know they're monitoring it's contents because they send me emails saying "Your My Cloud Home is filling up"!

Since then I vowed to never again get sucked into anything that 'requires' an internet connection to work. Give me the option by all means, but don't force me to create an account to use a product I just paid a large sum of money for.

**Xplorer** · 15-09-21, 09:12 PM

Originally Posted by Bigfella237

It's just a personal preference, I strongly dislike and try to avoid anything that "phones home" to it's manufacturer over the internet.

Wandering OT for a second, a prime example is a WD "My Cloud" NAS that I bought years ago, it's on my LAN but I can't access the files on it unless it's connected to the internet and logged into an account, and I know they're monitoring it's contents because they send me emails saying "Your My Cloud Home is filling up"!

Since then I vowed to never again get sucked into anything that 'requires' an internet connection to work. Give me the option by all means, but don't force me to create an account to use a product I just paid a large sum of money for.

Couldn't you have formatted the NAS HDD, created whatever RAID you wanted, then perform backups manually.
That way you don't get sucked in to the so-called cloud, online data storage and telemetry calling back, as you will never need it connected to the internet.

Some people like to have all the bells and whistling Apps that do come with some NAS Operating Systems.

**bob_m_54** · 16-09-21, 11:55 AM

Originally Posted by Bigfella237

It's just a personal preference, I strongly dislike and try to avoid anything that "phones home" to it's manufacturer over the internet.

Wandering OT for a second, a prime example is a WD "My Cloud" NAS that I bought years ago, it's on my LAN but I can't access the files on it unless it's connected to the internet and logged into an account, and I know they're monitoring it's contents because they send me emails saying "Your My Cloud Home is filling up"!

Since then I vowed to never again get sucked into anything that 'requires' an internet connection to work. Give me the option by all means, but don't force me to create an account to use a product I just paid a large sum of money for.

Sorry, but I beg to differ... I also have a WD Mycloud, and you don't need to be connected to the internet to access files on it, nor be logged into a cloud account. They get you to set it up that way initially, but you don't have to use the cloud at all (I never have). You have to log into the NAS, of course, like any other NAS, to access shares (not public shares though). You can even connect it direct to your PC/laptop and not even be on the LAN, if you want to prove that point. The mycloud is even smart enough to workout that you have two devices connected together, so you don't even need to use a crossover cable.

And @Xplorer, no you can't format the HDD and just use it like a NAS. It won't work unless the HDD is partitioned with exactly the right partitions (6 of them) apart from the main storage partition, which you can shrink.. And the right OS and firmware.

Ask me how I know? I spent about a week trying to replace a HDD on mine, because the original has about 100 odd bad sectors. Still a work in progress, but it isn't straight forward. If the new HDD isn't exactly the same as the original, for 6 of the partitions, it won't work.

Edit: but I do agree, they aren't a good choice for a NAS