Parrot AR.Drone 2.0

LadyX · Jul 4, 2013

Anyone here own the AR.Drone 2.0? I've been watching YouTube videos of people flying the thing and the 720p videos they take with it and it seems fun. I was surprised when I read that duration of flight time is only 15 minutes?! Some claim that they were only able to use it for 10 mins before having to recharge it. I'd like to hear from users here who have it. Is it worth the purchase?

Nightarchaon · Jul 4, 2013

I am looking at one of these later this year (got to spend my bonus on something after all)

Been looking about and the modding that can be done is quite extreme, with a bit of extra cost you can increase the battery life to a good 30-45 minutes, and the range can be extended a lot by replacing the wi-fi connection with a traditional model aircraft remote, but that kind of defeats the purpose of the ar drone anyway.

Definitely looks more fun than a remote control car

LadyX · Jul 4, 2013

Nightarchaon said:
I am looking at one of these later this year (got to spend my bonus on something after all)

Been looking about and the modding that can be done is quite extreme, with a bit of extra cost you can increase the battery life to a good 30-45 minutes, and the range can be extended a lot by replacing the wi-fi connection with a traditional model aircraft remote, but that kind of defeats the purpose of the ar drone anyway.

Definitely looks more fun than a remote control car

I'm a bit confused, what do you mean by 'replacing the wi-fi connection'? Does it need to be connected to wi-fi for it to fly or something? Also, could you please tell me what I'd need in order to increase the battery life? And do you know if it's true what some say, that battery lasts only 10-15 mins (with no modification).

Nightarchaon · Jul 4, 2013

LadyX said:
I'm a bit confused, what do you mean by 'replacing the wi-fi connection'? Does it need to be connected to wi-fi for it to fly or something? Also, could you please tell me what I'd need in order to increase the battery life? And do you know if it's true what some say, that battery lasts only 10-15 mins (with no modification).

The battery with them is 10-15mins on a single charge (4 electric motors +2 cameras + a wifi connection do eat battery life)

You can buy larger capacity batteries from third parties. try looking at this site http://drone-mods.com/

As for the wifi, AR drone uses standard wifi to connect to your iPhone, so your limited to a bubble around you as big as the wifi signal will allow.

Golfer00ksu · Jul 4, 2013

LadyX said:
I'm a bit confused, what do you mean by 'replacing the wi-fi connection'? Does it need to be connected to wi-fi for it to fly or something? Also, could you please tell me what I'd need in order to increase the battery life? And do you know if it's true what some say, that battery lasts only 10-15 mins (with no modification).

The AR Drone 2.0 creates its own wifi network. No wi-fi connection is needed, you can fly this anywhere.

I own this product and have a mixed review of it.

Out of the box the battery life is consistent with the 12 min. flying time. Parrot just announced a new battery for the 2.0 that will now last 50% longer (up to 18 min.) available in August. Hopefully, this will replace the old battery and come packaged with new drones.

My battery lasted exactly one year before it would no longer hold a charge for more than 2-3 min. I contacted Parrot about a replacement and was informed the warranty is 6 months on the battery and Product Support directed me to their website to purchase another battery for $39.99. Needless to say, be ready to purchase additional batteries and a spare is a must.

On the positive side, the drone is very easy to fly and works as described with absolute control. The free application for iOS has a lot of great features and Parrot has done an excellent job improving the app over the last year.

I would recommend waiting until the power version becomes available in the US.

http://blog.parrot.com/2013/06/28/ar-drone-2-0-power-edition-where-to-buy/

LadyX · Jul 4, 2013

Nightarchaon said:
The battery with them is 10-15mins on a single charge (4 electric motors +2 cameras + a wifi connection do eat battery life)

You can buy larger capacity batteries from third parties. try looking at this site http://drone-mods.com/

As for the wifi, AR drone uses standard wifi to connect to your iPhone, so your limited to a bubble around you as big as the wifi signal will allow.

No, I don't think that's true. I've seen a lot of videos of people flying them outside of wi-fi range. Thank you for the link.

smithrh · Jul 4, 2013

LadyX said:
No, I don't think that's true. I've seen a lot of videos of people flying them outside of wi-fi range. Thank you for the link.

Many times, highly directional antennas are used on the ground side to support this.

LadyX · Jul 5, 2013

Golfer00ksu said:
I would recommend waiting until the power version becomes available in the US.

I had no idea there's a new one coming out. Do you have any idea on the exact date? It just says coming in July. Plus, why is the Power Edition available for a limited period only?

The Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 Power Edition will be available from Selfridges, Amazon and other select retailers for £319.99 from July.

FRANCE Coming in June
Fnac, Boulanger

GERMANY Coming in June
Saturn, Mediamarkt

UK Coming in June
Selfridges, Harrods, Harvey Norman, Amazon

SPAIN Coming in June
Mediamarkt, Fnac, Ktuin, Juguetronica, Amazon, Redcoon

ITALY Coming in June
Mondadori, Comet

BELGIUM Coming in June
Mediamarkt

NETHERLANDS Coming in June
Mediamarkt

DENMARK Coming in July
El Gigantem

SWEDEN Coming in July
El Gigantem

RUSSIA Coming in July
Re store

steve knight · Jul 5, 2013

Your complaining about 12 minutes? my rc helis 5 minutes is good. I have debated on buying one but I think the novelty will wear off fast. if there are things you want to video in the air then it is ok. but if you want to really fly it it is too limited. You can't get wild with it. no flips or rolls or speed runs.

ideal.dreams · Jul 5, 2013

I saw one on display at a Brookstone. They're incredible and I was going to buy one until I saw the price tag. When I get $300 I don't know what to do with, this thing is at the top of my list. It does seem a bit pricy for such a short fly time, but hey, lightweight batteries = less charging capacity.

steve knight · Jul 5, 2013

They used to be incredible but that's changed fast. there are a ton of quadcoptors out there now. If you want to do video and be cost effective this guy works with the iphone or a more standard radio for 20.00 more.
http://www.helidirect.com/walkera-qr-w100s-fpv-hd-camera-quadcopter-p-31006.hdx
if you want something good then this has just come out but much better way I would go if you want to use a lot of camera work
http://www.gizmag.com/dji-phantom-quadcopter/25672/
But if you want to fly around with speed and flips and rolls and banked turns then none of these are good and it costs much less.

LadyX · Jul 6, 2013

steve knight said:
You can't get wild with it. no flips or rolls or speed runs.

It does a forward/backward flip and a barrel roll. I've seen YouTube videos of it doing so.

steve knight said:
They used to be incredible but that's changed fast.

But you don't own one, you can't say that.

steve knight said:
there are a ton of quadcoptors out there now. If you want to do video and be cost effective this guy works with the iphone or a more standard radio for 20.00 more.
http://www.helidirect.com/walkera-qr-w100s-fpv-hd-camera-quadcopter-p-31006.hdx

This one looks cheap.

steve knight · Jul 6, 2013

The one I posted is cheap but in the rc world that does not mean much. quads have dropped in price dramatically and have gotten super small. here is a little guy just came out cost 80.00 and will fly faster farther and actually do acrobatics (the drone does it with a push of a button no skill involved)
quads have advanced so much in the last year or so and the prices have dropped so much that the drone is way outdated but for light video work. the range is short the controls are limited parts are way over priced and using a ipad or iphone in bright light is going to suck. the price of their normal replacement battery is 60.00 where I can get the same size battery as their extended version one of the best brands for 16.00 So if you want to take vids and something that takes little skill to fly it is ok. but if you want something with much more range and that can fly faster and crazier then it is not. here is a little guy that cost 80.00 that is incredible on what it can do and the quality and batteries that cost about 4.00 each.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDef61o6VZU
here is a vid of the one I showed you
quads are advancing so fast it's amazing. they have gotten to palm size from a year ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzjit8DUJdc
ok here is some battery info. the lipo batteries are tricky. 1 you can't leave them charging unattended. they can catch fire and that's not a good thing.
They can't be stored fully charged it will kill them pretty fast. maybe a week or so is ok but after that it gets dicy. they need to be around 11.5 v to be stored. here is what one of my batteries looks like after flight.

LadyX · Jul 7, 2013

steve knight said:
here is a little guy that cost 80.00 that is incredible on what it can do and the quality and batteries that cost about 4.00 each.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDef61o6VZU
here is a vid of the one I showed you
quads are advancing so fast it's amazing. they have gotten to palm size from a year ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzjit8DUJdc
ok here is some battery info. the lipo batteries are tricky. 1 you can't leave them charging unattended. they can catch fire and that's not a good thing.
They can't be stored fully charged it will kill them pretty fast. maybe a week or so is ok but after that it gets dicy. they need to be around 11.5 v to be stored. here is what one of my batteries looks like after flight.
[url=http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s266/knighttoolworks/posting/null_zps92b793bf.jpg]Image[/URL]

Wow, these are fast. How do you control them? With an iDevice?

steve knight · Jul 7, 2013

its pretty crazy for sure. My eyes are not good enough for the small guys anymore. They use a regular rc radio the iphone is just too limited in movement. you cant spin and move in another direction for example.
Plus the lack of range too. here is a video showing how agile and how much you can do inside. plus parts are cheap and you can get them at most any hobby store.
with quads you either have them setup for pics or video or for fun. some will do both though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awxzHrwL5fw
http://www.horizonhobby.com/products/nano-qx-rtf-with-safe-technology-BLH7600

Xenn0X · Aug 10, 2013

i have one with a custom build remote, flew 1.3KM+ few times.

Modded a nexus 7 tablet with a 12BDi wifi panel and fly with the ps3 controller using sixaxis controller and AR Drone flight pro.

Kissaragi · Aug 10, 2013

Xenn0X said:
i have one with a custom build remote, flew 1.3KM+ few times.

Image
Image

Modded a nexus 7 tablet with a 12BDi wifi panel and fly with the ps3 controller using sixaxis controller and AR Drone flight pro.

Thats some set up!

Xenn0X · Aug 10, 2013

yeah quite fun, still have wifi strengt enough, wifi panel is certified for 2KM range but think need to mod the drone with external antenna

Now i have 100% signal at -52 db strenght, could be stretched to -65.
But at that distance the drone is only usable with tablet screen, naked eye it's a dot in the sky haha.

b06tmm · Aug 11, 2013

steve knight said:
They used to be incredible but that's changed fast. there are a ton of quadcoptors out there now. If you want to do video and be cost effective this guy works with the iphone or a more standard radio for 20.00 more.
http://www.helidirect.com/walkera-qr-w100s-fpv-hd-camera-quadcopter-p-31006.hdx
if you want something good then this has just come out but much better way I would go if you want to use a lot of camera work
http://www.gizmag.com/dji-phantom-quadcopter/25672/
But if you want to fly around with speed and flips and rolls and banked turns then none of these are good and it costs much less.

The DJI Phantom can do flips and rolls, just not out of the box. You need to download the NAZA software to enable manual flight mode. I have one.

steve knight · Aug 11, 2013

blade came out with a new quad tha'ts a decent price. that will do stunts or take up a gopro
http://www.bladehelis.com/350QX/

The best part is you can buy it locally and get parts.

Parrot AR.Drone 2.0

macrumors 68020

macrumors 65816

macrumors 68020

macrumors 65816

macrumors regular

macrumors 68020

macrumors 68030

macrumors 68020

macrumors 68030

macrumors 68020

macrumors 68030

macrumors 68020

macrumors 68030

macrumors 68020

macrumors 68030

macrumors regular

macrumors 68020

macrumors regular

macrumors regular

macrumors 68030

Our Staff