Which RC Drone Do I Buy?

Which RC Drone Do I Buy?

Had you considered buying a drone about two years ago, most people would have labelled you as crazy. But nowadays, over the past year at least, that's what the buzz is all about. They have been gaining in popularity and more and more commercial applications have developed for them. The two main competitors are Parrot who have now released the 2.0 version of their AR Drone for amateurs, and DJI Phantom which priced at over $1,000 is for the more serious players in the drone arena.

The AR Drone is priced at about $300 and up depending on whether you opt to go for any extra features such as GPS based auto-pilot, an extra battery or extra memory in the form of a USB plug-in stick. This makes it more affordable and it would not surprise me if it becomes one of the top Christmas gifts this year!

So which drone should I buy?
Say you're a beginner; you watched a few drone videos and are all excited about being able to fly it around your city and take pictures from perspectives and angles you could not access before.

HD Video
One of the most important features nowadays is the ability to film high definition video; if you wish to display your drone video art to friends, then this is essential. The good news is that HD video cameras have become cheaper and cheaper nowadays and both the Parrot AR Drone and the DJI Phantom have them.

GPS Navigation
As previously mentioned GPS is optional for the AR Drone and can be had by buying a 'flight recorder' for about $140 off Amazon. However, the DJI Phantom comes with GPS capability and a 'return home' feature built in.

Remote Control Capability
Apart from the price difference between these two drones, the way they are controlled is the next largest difference. Parrot, with help from French researchers have created quite an intuitive app for iOS and Android, called Parrot Freeflight. The AR Parrot 2.0 drone basically acts as a WiFi hotspot which connects to your smartphone or tablet and this allows it to stream HD video directly to your device.
You can also control the drone by tilting your phone forward, backwards, left or right, just as you would in a racing or flying game on the iPhone. The Freeflight app also allows you to directly share the videos to Facebook, YouTube or Vimeo directly from within the app.

Other differences between the two drones comprise of the flying range; 25 minutes on a battery charge for the Parrot and up to 40 minutes for the DJI Phantom. The DJI Phantom is also slightly heavier and some reports say that it provides better stability in windy conditions, but both drones are reasonably stable for that. Replacement parts are easily available to buy from Amazon for both models.

The Drones Den community website provides a wealth of information for anyone looking for drones for sale or for any accessories and replacement parts. The useful blogging articles also provide tutorials, guides and keep you up to date with the latest news about drones.

Author: Tim Howard at DronesDen.com

Safety Drone and Regulation

Safety Drone and Regulation

Safety Drone

Drones are unmanned remotely controlled flying vehicles that also can be used for specific work in addition to just being able to fly around. Whether larger or mini drones, a few criteria below will help you know what is best for you.

• Ease of Use (How easy is it to fly?)
• Size (The best drone overall isn't the best mini drone, and the best mini drone isn't the best micro drone - these things can get real small)
• Battery Life
• Safety (Some drones have soft external parts to prevent, say, a cracked TV screen)
• Camera (Some drones come with cameras, and cameras can be attached to most of the ones that don't)
• Value for money (We expect performance to increase along with price)
• Features ( this may the least important criteria - because one would prefer a really solid mini drone with lesser features to one that can't fly well but has a lot of extra functionality)
• Other differences between drones comprise of the flying range; 25 minutes on a battery charge for the Parrot and up to 40 minutes for the DJI Phantom. The DJI Phantom is also slightly heavier and some reports say that it provides better stability in windy conditions, but both drones are reasonably stable for that. Replacement parts are easily available to buy from Amazon for both models.

Drones have been gaining in popularity and more and more commercial applications have developed for them. The two main competitors are Parrot who has now released the 2.0 version of their AR Drone for amateurs, and DJI Phantom which releases PRO drone versions.

Are you intrigued about being able to fly it around your city and take pictures from perspectives and angles you could not access before?

1. The good news is that HD video cameras have become cheaper and cheaper nowadays and both the Parrot AR Drone and the DJI Phantom have them.
   The updated versions come with GPS capability and a 'return home' feature built in.
   They can be your Wi-Fi hotspot which connects to your Smartphone or tablet and this allowing it to stream HD video directly to your device.
2. You can also control the drone by tilting your phone forward, backwards, left or right, just as you would in a flying game. The basic technology in a drone consist of some kind of power plant, some propulsion mechanism, some kind of steering mechanism, some kind of sensors to recognize place and path and a sender-receiver unit to transmit and receive signals for steering and recording.
3. Drones are found in all shapes you can find in greater airplanes, and also in all kind of exotic shapes, like oblong airships, disks, triangles, donuts, stars or can resemble big insects or birds.

Drone Regulations

Since most uses of drones are held secret or simply not announced publicly, it is difficult to give a full account of the extent of their use and who are using them, but a fairly clear picture emerges based on official sources, journalistic and scientific articles, commercials from drone producers, and stories of people coming in touch with drones in use.

Given that bigger drones are comparable to other air vehicles, they are obliged to keep lanterns and other means to warn against the possibility for collision, but since government instances operating drones typically want to keep the flight secret, such lanterns will possibly be lit only when other traffic is in the neighbourhood, or when the operators want visual contact.

Source: Ton Visser at http://hollandDrones.com