Hey guys, started this thread as I didn't want to step on the "learn me up on" thread.

In a nutshell, I think it would be cool to have something like this..  I had almost made up my mind on the DJI Avata, until I read up on the other thread...  Then it hit me..  I don't know shit about any of this!  I thought it was basically plug and play, buy this, slap some goggles on, and go fly..  That thought didn't age well.  Lol..

Anyways, after reading through and trying to understand/grasp some of the terminology those guys were discussing, what are the advantages of piecing together a FPV drone?  Seems like the pieced out cost is similar to the Avata package?  Honestly, the DJI controller kinda looked idiot proof to me, hence why I thought I would go that route.

Really don't have anything in mind, other than playing around..  Not looking to get into making youtube videos, etc, but would be cool to get some arial shots, birds eye view, etc.

This will be nothing more than a cool toy/gadget, and not used for racing, advanced photography, etc.  I've tried to look through some various drone forums, but find I have no idea what they are talking about most of the time.  Is there a website "drones for dummies" that can start leading me down the path of knowledge?

Thx!

It can be as plug and play and idiot proof, or as from scratch as you want.

The Avata and the larger "FPV" (that's the name) are plug and play. You can be flying in the time it takes to charge. The DJI drones have all the DJI stability you would likely appreciate at the expense of downright speed and agility. The DJI offerings aren't winning any races.

The video quality of the DJI units are second to none. You're not getting Full HD digital transmission without DJI giving it to you. They do sell units that fit on any other FPV drone basically but again you're no longer in the PnP realm.

Decide what you want and go from there. If 15 minute, stabilized, HD flight is what you want, get the DJI (either one). If you want fast, agile, lightweight, and likely worse video quality and a bit of a learning curve, go with something else. There are a million options. Some people even build their own frames.

It's a pretty open ended hobby.

Much as Josh Bardwell annoys me, he knows a ton about multirotors and https://www.fpvknowitall.com is a great site to find info on a bunch of recommended parts.

Oscar Liang is probably my favorite and is also super knowledgeable.

This is what you're asking for: https://oscarliang.com/fpv-drone-guide/

Honestly, building your own or at least buying a prebuilt legit quad will give you a better experience, and you'll gain skills that are useful elsewhere.

A simulator is also extremely helpful.

Awesome!  Thank you...  I'm not against a non-DJI product, it's just that I don't know what I don't know..  This'll be a great starting point.  Appreciate the responses guys

I started the other thread but, I'll share what little research I've come up with since getting into it.

The DJI Avata would be fine for someone just wanting to cruise around with FPV while having the leveling stability of the DJI platform. Nothing wrong with it and it will work for most anyone.

The problem comes in with crashing which, based on my first 5 hours of SIM flight is grossly UNDERREPORTED. You will crash....A LOT. The consensus from my reading is that the pre-built drones or build your own drones are easily repairable in the field if you have the parts. You can be back up and flying in a short time. From what I've learned so far, the Avata isn't built that way.

For my own venture into this hobby I've set a minimum 100 SIM hours before purchasing a drone. I have a TBS Tango 2 Pro radio thanks to the recommendation by @Keith1980 and have just been learning the basics in the SIM. I'm planning to get my googles very soon because I want to fly the SIM with the goggles on. I want to get used to the goggle style flying instead of looking at a computer screen. From my research, everyone says it's different in the goggles.

Hope that helps a little.

For somebody with no experience it boils down to this.


DJI "FPV" equals a kid with training wheels learning to ride a bicycle.  It wont let you get too stupid, you can quickly figure out how to fly within it's performance window.

Actual FPV is essentially a dude with no experience riding anything going out and hopping on a liter bike and Yeeting himself into a bridge abutment.


What they call FPV is loosely correct, you get to see what the drone sees thanks to goggles.


Actual FPV drones that are PNP still require some knowledge to get up and running and almost all of them are low latency highly responsive drvices that react instantly to twitch movements.

Fortunately FPV drones are highly survivable.

And if you start out on a sim you can save yourself a LOT of crashes with true FPV as you train up.


As for actual FPV drones be it a racer or a freestyle build, just becaise you buy a drone does not likely mean it will be your only one.

If you have even a remotely addictive personality the desire to know more or tweek them will have you trying other options.

Things like starting with a base line 5 or 6 inch drone is typical.   But then there are the little 2-3 inch micros.  It is fair to say you will wind up with a half dozen or more if you get hooked.

NEVERMIND: Found this thread thru google. Found the subforum.

I'm looking to build simply because of DJI's geofencing.  

I know it will be a pain in the ass with a legit learning curve, in many areas, but I should know how to fix and maintain it once I'm done.

If you have a decent computer, I (and majority of others in the hobby) definitely recommend purchasing a simulator to practice like Velocidrone.

I have not flown a DJI FPV - but I have flown DJI camera drones.

Camera drones are what I consider "drones"  They fly in a gps controlled angle mode (with or without various levels of obstacle avoidance) and generally have one of several methods of maintaining altitude.  What that means is that the drone mirrors the angle of the right stick.  Stick centered, drone is flat and level, plus the GPS will get it to hover with minimal drift.  Left stick controls altitude and spin.  It is kind of like a flying robot, and you tell it where to go.  DJI's modes are mostly different stick sensitivity and different obstacle avoidance.

Quads tend to not have gps lock, obstacle avoidance, or altitude control.  And while they generally still have an angle mode, they also have an acro mode that the right stick controls the rate of change of the angle of the drone (as opposed to the absolute angle of the drone).  Instead of altitude control, you have throttle control (which you have to fairly constantly adjust, as any right stick control will change the vector of your fans, which will in turn change your amount of lift.  In the end, you fly them rather than tell them where to go.  The angles you can put the drone into are not limited in acro mode (you can do acrobatics).

I think the simulator is a great idea for me to practice. Is there a few suggestions for controllers? I am sometimes over analyzing and just need to keep it simple, make a purchase and practice.
Thanks
PCmangler

Controller for sims?

I keep one of these in my living room specifically for simulator practice.

https://www.getfpv.com/radios/radio-controllers/radiomaster-t8-lite-v2-multi-protocol-d8-2-4ghz-rc-transmitter.html

I wouldn't really go cheaper.

Thank you for your reply and that price is great!

find someone local to help you out. would make things much easier having someone to BS about it local that can show you what you want or let you know whats out there.

I need some aerial pictures so I broke down and ordered the DJI Mini 2 SE with the fly more kit. Amazon delivered it after dark yesterday, today it's rained all morning and foggy all afternoon. This is Bullshit!

I charged the batteries, watched a few videos, I guess we'll try to get it into the air tomorrow.

Anything else I need to do?

@joemama
Did you ever fly your FJI?  I ended up practicing on real flight simulator a few hours and bought a toy drone off Amazon.  It is much better than I thought and I fly it everyday indoors or if its calm outdoors.  I appreciate the feedback I got and was wonder how you were doing.  I have a birthday coming up May get a DJI.  I am amazed how the simulator helped.

In short, yes. I was a little more concerned about the "permissions" and what not between DJI and B4UFLY. All of the areas where I wanted to fly are completely unrestricted to 400ft, so a lot of that didn't make sense. I finally downloaded AirHub Portal, got registered, and filed a flight plan for one of my properties that didn't have restrictions, just to see what happened, and of course, it cleared me, no permission needed, so just one issue down. I'm not going to bother with it to fly my own property below 400ft.

I had gotten my son a $30 Holy Stone mini drone for Christmas, whoop style and I had flown it inside my warehouse maybe 10 minutes a few weeks ago, so I wasn't completely clueless.

So I watched a few videos and I mean if you played Pac Man as a kid on Atari, you can do the basic flying to get up and get some pictures without much trouble if you go slow. I'm definitely not completely comfortable with it yet, but I took it up to 200ft, shot some pics. I shot some video a few days after that, I haven't downloaded it to look at it yet, been working too many 12 hours days. Here are some of the pics that downloaded to my phone.

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Of course this is stuff around me. (not my junk) The only issue I have right now are these massive power lines. I haven't flown close to them, but you can tell, at 200ft, they are below me, but not by much. So I need to set my return to home to 60 meters. I tried messing with this last weekend, it would only let me set it to 30 meters. I need to play with it some more, I don't know if I missed something or what, but I'm in unrestricted space, clear to 400ft (120 meters). I don't know why it would hold me to a 30 meter return to home setting.

Sounds like your having fun.  Thanks for the reply and pictures.   I'm going to do more hours on the simulator and may get a ready to fly kit FPV in a few weeks. I hope you get some time off for more air time.