Review or Mini-Review DJI Phantom Quadcopter – the first true mass-market Drone!

This thread will serve as a continuation and update of the Droneflyers blog article at:
https://www.droneflyers.com/2013/02/dji-phantom-quadcopter-the-first-true-mass-market-drone/
as well as a mini-review of the 2103 model Phantom(see below).

 

Warning to Phantom owners - do not get careless!
There are a number of reports like this on other forums:
"I flew my DJI Phantom over a river today and it sunk along with the GoPro Camera"
"I flew my DJI Phantom a long distance away over some buildings and it never returned to base - despite it's programming - I now have to see if I can get access to these building roofs to search for it".

I know the feeling of wanting to fly further and further....and more dangerously. It's like a drug.
But putting aside the danger to people and property, a $1,000+ plus investment is a LOT of lose just because you are careless or not experienced enough.

Be careful. Understand the technology and it's limits. Fly well within these limits and your skill level. Use the tool as it is designed to be used - within your sight in open areas. And, if you decide to venture over water (many do), at least take SOME precautions to be able to salvage it (a boat nearby, floats on the quadcopter, waterproof case on your GoPro, etc.)

 

I couldn't resist picking up a Phantom at the new prices - under $500.

There are certainly enough full reviews of the Phantom online - so instead of a full review, I will post my experiences as well as other pros and cons. Here is a more typical review:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1811071

Note - this is the "old" Phantom- that being a slightly updated (spin on propellers, etc.) version of the original release. For ease of description, we will call it a "2013" model.

The first thing I noticed about the DJI Phantom is how compact it seems to be. Please note the pictures below for how it compares in size to various other quads.
It's about the same size, shaft to shaft, as the WL Toys v262

 

Despite what some claim, the DJI Phantom is not a quadcopter for beginners - that is, I would not suggest it as a first quad for inexperienced pilots! Hobbyists should first have a basic education and a number of hours of "stick time" with more manually operated quadcopters.

The documentation (manuals, guides) which is available from DJI is disappointing. Considering that they have sold tens of millions of dollars worth of these, you'd think that they could hire an American who is familiar with basic (beginner) technical writing. Instead, the manual serves mostly to confuse rather than educate. When time allows I will try to write up some more decent beginners guides.

Attached is just one page from the "Quick Start" manual - keep in mind this is the simplified version! Luckily, DJI's North American office has produced a series of youtube videos which can help the newbie get flying!
http://www.dji.com/tutorial/phantom-tutorial/

 

Initial impressions and assembly

The DJI Phantom is packed very well and assembly is quite easy - basically consisting of screwing on the landing gear, installing the propellers and charging the included battery. You'll seen 4 AA batteries for the Transmitter.

Current DJI products are "windows only", meaning that upgrades and settings cannot be done on a Mac or IOS/Android computer or tablet. DJI has indicated they intend to support other operating systems in the future - however, this is still a major shortcoming of their current products. I do not own any Windows computers - but since the Phantom comes with basic setting built-in, I will hopefully not need to do any tweaks for the first couple of months.

Fit and finish is excellent and extra screws are provided - always a nice touch!

I purchased and installed the prop guards. Installing these requires removing two of the motor mounting screws and replacing them with longer screws that hold the guards. This requires a small hex key (allen wrench, which was NOT included. For the couple pennies in extra cost, DJI should have included this tool. Luckily, I found one that fit on my desk. It appears that M3 is the correct size for the hex heads used, which should take an M2 hex key.

The Phantom comes with a balancing battery charger - or, you can use one which you already may have.

 

The Phantom TX is somewhat similar to standard hobby R/C TXs, with some important differences. First, unlike most quadcopters, this TX should be turned on FIRST before turning on the quadcopter! Also, it should not be turned off until your quad has landed and the battery been disconnected. This is due to the "return to home" failsafe features, which may instruct the copter to fly after the TX is turned off! For those not familiar, the Phantom has a GPS feature which can be activated to Return to Home by various criteria. One of these is when it gets too far away from you - out of radio range. Another is when you turn off the TX. The quad will than think for itself and rise up in the air (to avoid trees and obstacles) and then fly back to where it first acquired a fix (found the GPS satellites).

Another important, but sometimes confusing, point is the settings of the two switches on the top left and right of the TX . In it's stock (as shipped) mode, the left switch is inactive. This can be set to perform the IOC function (more on that later) by hooking the Phantom up to USB and a Windows computer.
The right switch is 3 position and is also initially confusing. The top position is GPS and the middle and bottom are both labelled the same - ATTI. In the stock mode, the bottom two ARE the same! However, one of them can be programmed for full manual control (sport mode, in my words) - again, through the USB interface.

So, as stock, the DJI Phantom has two modes - GPS and ATTI. The naming is a bit confusing because both of them are in touch with the satellites at all times and ready to RTH (return to home) on a lost signal or if you turn the TX off.
Both have self-leveling - what we call "6 Axis stability".
Both attempt to keep the quad at the same height above ground unless you command otherwise.
The difference is that the GPS mode attempts to fight drift in one direction or the other - drift caused by wind, momentum or imbalance of the props and craft.
So both of the modes are "smart" compared to standard hobbyist quadcopters...and are in keeping with the easy to fly and photography/video purpose of this quadcopter.
Note that the two modes, GPS and ATTI, can be switched while the Phantom is in flight.

So, why the two modes? DJI claims that good pilots in low wind conditions should be able to film better video using the ATTI mode since the copter is less likely to make numerous micro-corrections in it's motors and balance. This makes perfect sense.

 

The left upper switch on the TX does absolutely nothing in the stock (as sold and delivered mode), but can be set through the DJI Windows software to activate the "Intelligent Orientation Control" or IOC.

IOC offers three modes
OFF
CL (course lock)
HL (home lock)

Course lock is the most useful of these modes - again, only after you have decided to turn it on in the DJI Windows Assistant Software. What this does is change the way the Phantom reacts to your TX based on where you are and it is.

Example- you fly the quad too far away and cannot tell whether your stick movements are making it go even further or making it come back toward you. This is an everyday occurrence when flying quadcopters - losing orientation! Switch to Course lock and pull back on the right stick and the quad will head back toward you! Push it left and it will head left of where it is, etc......no matter which way the nose is/was facing at the time.

This can be a very useful mode for saving your craft when you cannot determine which way it is headed.

 

My first camera flight was just to test whether usable video could be taken - without excess jello or shake - as compared to the toy (v262) quads. I was pleased with the results with a simple setup and the Mobius Camera.

 

Here is a still pic of the Phantom with a new Sports Cam we are currently reviewing - the BlackVue SC 500. This is taken in Easthampton, MA, an old mill town in W. Mass.

 

I got VERY lucky on a flight with the DJI today! I was flying around a local field and didn't keep track of the time, so the machine was very far away (800 feet or so) and I figured it might be a good time to test the Return to Home...so I turned off the TX. Problem was, the battery was too low so the quad decided to stabilize and land right where it was - right in the middle of a dense pack of trees! But I'm not going to tell you any more about how lucky I was - you have to watch. I am at the complete other end of the long field - you may be able to see the dot that is me before the quad starts landing!

 

One of the complaints about the Phantoms is that the software currently works only with Windows. This is a major shortcoming, especially since so many videographers and photographers work with macs.

The Phantom will usually work fine without any modification of the controller, so many people almost never require hooking it up. Still, for upgrading and optional settings, this is something I'd want.

Macs can run windows, but who wants to spend $150-$200 on a copy of windows and/or virtualization software? Here's what I did...and it worked.

1. Downloaded the free VirtualBox program - this is maintained by Oracle and free for download.
2. Got an old copy (valid) of Windows XP from a friend.....

After a bit of a learning curve, I got it all to work and upgraded my DJI controller firmware. For some hints at using Virtualbox for this job, see this thread over at DJI Pilots:
http://www.djiguys.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=761

 

Note: as of May, 2014, the DJI Software Assistant is now available for Mac!