1/4/15 update: In the end I have decided to send it back. I talked with the seller (Red Rock) and they gave me simpleton advice (make sure battery is fully charged and don't fly in the wind), but they said I could return if desired. I still give it 4 stars for when it works, and with free Amazon Prime shipping and return I will gladly try another.
Update Day 3: still have disconnect problems. Either resynching 5-8 times fixes it or power cycle 2-3 times does, but very annoying.
Update Day 2: finally got my second flight. At first there was still an immediate disconnect between copter and remote at about 1-3 feet off ground and it just came crashing down. Then magically it started to work again, so it seems it is unlikely it is a battery problem. Back up to 4 stars.
Update: Day 1.5. After seemingly fully charging for a second ride (red light off, over 2 hours), the copter would not lift more than a foot or so off the ground before shutting down (flashy lights). Resync and try again = same results. So I am lowering to 2 star until I figure that out. Lots of reviewers have great success, so still buy it. I can't tell if my battery is bad or if the copter is bad. Have to wait 5 weeks for a spare battery, so will need to go to hobby store ;-(
Day 1 and I can give it 5 stars for fun. The Chenglish instructions were a riot, so I will add some fun quotes below. The only negative so far is the "High Def" camera is barely a "Low Def" camera - think the first camera phone ever made, so set your expectations low on that. This was to be a practice drone for me, so I don't care and I feel like it is a very good practice copter. Its "diameter" is about 15 inches, which seems like a good starter size.
Pros: Good training model for decent price. Blade guards. Spare blades. Good starter size. (update) USB charger seems to have a red light that turns off when fully charged.
Cons: Below avg Camera, slow battery charging. Supply your own AA batteries (4) for the remote.
Hints:
Battery takes a long time to charge, so get extras (but they can take 4-6 since they seem to ship from China!). Get the 500 mAh (which is an exact match). Reviews say the 600mAh lasts a minute longer but has a difficult time fitting in the copter as it is fatter. Instructions say not to charge when battery is warm/hot, which it is after use.
To remove battery, push carefully on the bottom front of the camera until the battery cover releases, then open on its hinge. Be gentle.
Training wheels: I tied a string to it and then to the handle of my tool box, that way I could practice inside and not smash into the ceiling or drift into something breakable. I highly recommend this inside or out for your first couple of sessions. (One reviewer complained that the copter took off first time and was lost forever).
Use a label maker or sharpie to get your phone number on the copter, that way if it does fly away, someone might call you.
Starting: turn on remote first, then copter (LEDS quickly flash). On remote, move left lever to max then down to min. This will sync the devices (LEDs solid) and you can move left lever towards middle to slowly get lift.
It is important to do the "trim alignment" as a first step so it can hover in place. Hovering in place makes it much easier to practice the other controls.
Camera SD card: push in and it will pop out. Not trusting China for anything, I did a virus scan, didn't find anything except some old Sony e-mails ;-).
Camera Resolution: 1 pic is about 250K (so not high res). An 11 second video was 20M and quality looks pretty good.
The hardest part of learning: trying to control direction when the front is facing sideways or backwards. Even when the color coded LEDs let you know front from back, it is hard to translate that to the control stick. One reviewer advised painting the bottom front red so it would be easier to see the front when it is farther away on a bright day. Or use red electrical tape.
I lost an LED cover on the first flight, since it is in my big TV room I will find it, but seems like they will be easy to use outdoors.
It comes with 4 spare blades, wish it came with a spare battery. The charger is USB-based so can plug into your computer. But it is slow. There are chargers out there that can charge multiple batteries at once.
Fun Instructions:
"This product is not a toy but a precisive equipment that integrating mechanics and electronics with expertise of aerodynamics and high-frequency transmitting"
"Keep it far away from the moisten environment"
"Use this product correctly and avoid operating by your own" Translation: (no idea)
"Keep it far way from the high-speed rotating part and heat source"
*I received this on 12/28/14 and it says X5C on the instruction manual - "Implement Standard GB/T26701-2011" Don't know if that is the new X5C-1 people are looking for.
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U61S Mini Drone with Camera
Cheerwing USA
It took over 45 days for this quadcopter to show up but I knew that going in so it isn't a complaint, just a reminder that if you're in a hurry you might want to look around.I chose this quadcopter because of the high ratings, not just on Amazon but from RC sites and magazines. And they were all right - it's hard to find this level of functionality at this price point. An article that really caught my attention (sorry, I can't find it) said that if you're interested in quads you should start with an inexpensive palm-size chopper and see if you want to continue flying after a week or two. If so, the author suggested moving up to this quad because you can take it outside and it's pretty easy to fly. He also highly suggested this model over the model that doesn't have a camera because...well, it's just cool to look at the pictures and video. Then, assuming you still have the bug and the money, he suggested you move up to the significantly more expensive quads.I bought this for my 13 year old grandson who spent much more than the mandatory two weeks playing with a palm-size quad. After it finally showed up he unboxed it and assembled it (you really only have to attach the prop guards). We then waited for what seemed forever for the battery to charge and took it outside.The reviews were right. It went right up and he mastered the basic navigation in no time. It did have some drift when he wanted it to hover but he didn't take the time to fine tune it - he just wanted to fly it. And fly it he did! Well, until it lost its connection with the controller and flew away. Talk about a sickening feeling - you're standing there watching your brand spanking new quadcopter that you waited 45 days for and it's flying off into the sunset and no amount of cursing can bring it back. But, we got lucky. It landed in a tree one street over. The tree provided a relatively soft landing and we were able to retrieve it with no problem. My grandson's theory is that the battery was getting low and that's why it lost the connection. Makes sense. Another problem was that one of the plastic covers over the LEDs on the bottom popped off at some point and we couldn't find it. Since they sell replacements on their website I'm assuming this is a problem. Since there isn't a reason to ever remove them, my grandson secured the remaining three with clear tape.We didn't shoot any video but he took a number of pictures. I've added one to this review so you can see the resolution.A note on the manual - a lot of it is written in that odd Chinese/English that makes you decipher what the heck they mean and the rest is written in perfectly clear English. There are a number of pictures to guide you and, since this is a very popular quadcopter, you'll find numerous videos and blogs with helpful information.SymaToyStore does offer replacement parts for this chopper. I ordered the lampshades to replace the one that fell off, a spare battery and a set of main blades because I know it's only a matter of time.
Images in this review
