DROCON Bugs 3 Drone €24 + shipping - €33.42 incl delivery

alanhiggyno1

ED E wrote: »

I dont really trust that charger, find a friend with a real charger and test the pack.

So I tried to start it again but no joy. Battery fully charged. First I hold red button in and turn on controller to sync, then turn on drone and everything syncs properly and then I calabrate it but still won't start.

ED E

You are using the unlock for flight after calibration right?

alanhiggyno1

ED E wrote: »

You are using the unlock for flight after calibration right?

I find the instructions bit annoying. I followed everything. What u mean unlock

alanhiggyno1

alanhiggyno1 wrote: »

I find the instructions bit annoying. I followed everything. What u mean unlock

Maybe can u give me step by step instructions on how to start/unlock it as YouTube not very helpful either. Thanks

Alkers

ED E wrote: »

You are using the unlock for flight after calibration right?

Agreed, the red button should be used to unlock the drone for flying once it's calibrated etc.

Iirc one press and the drone should spin up, long press again and it will turn off.

Tigermorrissey

Try standing over 12 feet when away you press red button to unlock and make sure left lever is down , wouldn't start up for me first time when I was quite close to it , don't know if its set to do that or just coincidental, worth a try ...

Alkers

Tigermorrissey wrote: »

Try standing over 12 feet when away you press red button to unlock and make sure left lever is down , wouldn't start up for me first time when I was quite close to it , don't know if its set to do that or just coincidental, worth a try ...

Quite easy to have a small bit of throttle applied without noticing

corsav6

Took mine up for a proper fly today. First thing I noticed was 2 unbalanced props so hover was very unsteady. Changed them and recalibrated and back up with smooth hover.
Tested for a few mins in low mode and thought it was fast, certainly compared to my hubsan. Switched to high rate and the thing really moved.
The bright LED on the front is brilliant for direction and visible at a distance. Bottom LEDs not much use unless it's close range, but may be better at night.
So first impressions are good. Flight time around 17 mins without prop guards or landing gear, 70% high rate. Tested to about 200m without loss of signal. Signal loss results in motor cut out so it'll drop out of the sky, no flying distance over water. For the price it's an absolute steal and I'm only sorry I didn't buy a few of them.
Next step is to find a good fpv cam so any recommendations welcome.

Pique

corsav6 wrote:

Took mine up for a proper fly today. Tested to about 200m without loss of signal. Signal loss results in motor cut out so it'll drop out of the sky,

Christ. Thanks for the heads up. My other drone can go at least a km apparently and I've gone well over 500m with it and it's no prob. Knowing this will certainly make me cautious about this one.

corsav6

Pique wrote: »

Christ. Thanks for the heads up. My other drone can go at least a km apparently and I've gone well over 500m with it and it's no prob. Knowing this will certainly make me cautious about this one.

Controller will alert when signal becomes weak so you should get plenty of warning.
I've sent my parrot Bebop 1.2km before but the battery died 500m from home, it landed safely in a neighbours field and gps coordinates brought me straight to it.
Something the bugs won't do so watch it carefully if it drops from the sky.

Suckit

I haven't read this thread linked yet, but there seem to be a lot of mods for this drone. Starting midway through the thread there is a post with mods (there may be better suggestions earlier and later in the thread) recommended around a year and a half ago, including GPS antenna. There are also mods for range extension, altitude hold, path follow/intelligent flight mode etc.
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2776206-MJX-RC-Bugs-3/page5
Loads on youtube.

ChewyLouie

Have taken this on several flights now. First time drone user, definitely jumping in at the deep end with this one.

Got some great photos so far with a GoPro Hero 5 cable tied onto half the mount. Set on 5sec timelapse, just fly into position and hold for a few secs. Need to crop the legs out of edges of the shots.

Very difficult to tell what direction it's leaning when at the end of the range. I've had one very heavy crash into rocks trying to get it back from over the sea with both range and battery warnings and eventually found it fully intact with a few scuffs. Few other hard landings but it's holding up well.

Easiest way I've found to control is keep the bright front light pointed towards you, so you always know what way it's facing. Keep direction tweaked when it drifts with the wind and use right toggle to steer (all directions are the reversed as the drone is facing you but you get used to it!).

Suckit

The CT9000 camera (I think somebody mentioned it earlier in thread) is on sale on amazon for £35.99/€42 delivered.
4K wifi
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07Y1LNBX8/
https://uk.camelcamelcamel.com/Crosstour-Upgraded-Waterproof-Underwater-Camcorder/product/B07Y1LNBX8

captain_boycott

got this camera, perfect fit for the bugs camera mount.

APEMAN Action Camera 4K 20MP WiFi... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07TB7WQ73?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

jeffrey

Anybody interested in selling me one of these, I bought one & thought I had mastered the controls but unfortunately I had not, Took it for a flight only for it to dissappear into scrubland with a lot of trees,Anybody know how far this thing will fly before it drops. I have spent hours searching but to no avail not even certain where it went as I lost sight of it behind tall trees. They are no longer on sale onthe site I purchased from.

Suckit

I thought they drop as soon as they lose signal. I've not yet had a chance to take mine out.

https://coldstreams.com/?p=14144

I am pretty sure I read somewhere that they drop out of the sky as soon as they lose signal.

corsav6

Suckit wrote: »

I thought they drop as soon as they lose signal. I've not yet had a chance to take mine out.

https://coldstreams.com/?p=14144

I am pretty sure I read somewhere that they drop out of the sky as soon as they lose signal.

I've switched the controller off while the drone was hovering close to me and about 3 seconds later it dropped, repeated and same results.

jeffrey

Thanks for that information. I wonder if the trees would cause it to loose signal & that it possibly dropped closer to me than I had originally estimated, still difficult terrain to search especially when I do not know the exact area it came down in. I might try another search tomorrow, anyone know how long the lights would remain before battery would run down as they would be a help in locating it if stuck in a tree or hedge. It had flown 3 to 4 minutes on fully charged battery.

corsav6

jeffrey wrote: »

Thanks for that information. I wonder if the trees would cause it to loose signal & that it possibly dropped closer to me than I had originally estimated, still difficult terrain to search especially when I do not know the exact area it came down in. I might try another search tomorrow, anyone know how long the lights would remain before battery would run down as they would be a help in locating it if stuck in a tree or hedge. It had flown 3 to 4 minutes on fully charged battery.

Not sure how bad the terrain is but if you don't know the exact location then I'd imagine it'll be very difficult to find.
I've dropped a drone in an open field before and it took over 3 hours to find as even a small amount of grass will cover it.
Front bottom LEDs will blink until the battery dies, this could be hours or days. I'd be heading out when it's dark as the lights would help locate it far easier.

Happy_Harry

Finally used the drone a few times in the nice calm weather - unfortunately it didn't withstand some harder landings in the grass and one of the legs broke. They are no longer for sale on amazon
If anyone has one gathering dust at this stage or has electronic issues and wants to get rid of it- please PM me. I really liked it..
Thanks

Basq

Happy_Harry wrote: »

Finally used the drone a few times in the nice calm weather - unfortunately it didn't withstand some harder landings in the grass and one of the legs broke. They are no longer for sale on amazon
If anyone has one gathering dust at this stage or has electronic issues and wants to get rid of it- please PM me. I really liked it..
Thanks

Might be a bit of a wait, but..

Happy_Harry

Thanks , but it is actually the leg/wing that is part of the blue body that broke

corsav6

Happy_Harry wrote: »

Thanks , but it is actually the leg/wing that is part of the blue body that broke

Your looking for a Bugs 3 lower cover. Used to be plenty online for less than €10 but harder to find now. I'll have a look later as I might still have a good site for spares bookmarked.

Happy_Harry

corsav6 wrote: »

Your looking for a Bugs 3 lower cover. Used to be plenty online for less than €10 but harder to find now. I'll have a look later as I might still have a good site for spares bookmarked.

I was looking for those as well, just found a youtube video of a guy with exactt same issue.. comment section suggested quite a few of these have the same weak spots .. now found a small tear in one of the other legs as well.. But if i can find a spare body , I will definitely give it a go. Thanks

corsav6

Happy_Harry wrote: »

I was looking for those as well, just found a youtube video of a guy with exactt same issue.. comment section suggested quite a few of these have the same weak spots .. now found a small tear in one of the other legs as well.. But if i can find a spare body , I will definitely give it a go. Thanks

Seems to be hard to get alright. I'd email Drocon and explain the situation, say it's only ever landed on grass and obviously a weak design.
I had a Drocon flyaway before, lost connection to controller and kept last input, which was full throttle heading away from me. It kept going out of sight and never recovered. I emailed Drocon and they just asked for my Amazon proof of purchase and they sent me a new drone.

Suckit

Here is a link to a spare parts store, I haven't yet checked it - just the link before I bring the dog for a walk
https://www.ebay.com/str/mjxrctoysstore

Suckit

milky88 wrote: »

(sorry not a bargain alert)

I'm doing research looking for a gps drone with good camera range and battery. The market is saturated but would like someone's own experience of what they bought ðŸ™

There's a new(ish) drone forum over here - https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1858
You may get better/quicker answers.

Happy_Harry

corsav6 wrote: »

Seems to be hard to get alright. I'd email Drocon and explain the situation, say it's only ever landed on grass and obviously a weak design.
I had a Drocon flyaway before, lost connection to controller and kept last input, which was full throttle heading away from me. It kept going out of sight and never recovered. I emailed Drocon and they just asked for my Amazon proof of purchase and they sent me a new drone.

Thanks, email sent..

Well aware this is no longer a bargain alert and don't want to derail, so this will be my last message on this. Thanks to all for support

SDKev

I bought this drone at Christmas, it never worked from day 1 and it was just gathering dust. I was onto amazon support today about a separate order and asked them about returning it as it never worked. The guy said they'd had loads of complaints, it was discontinued and he gave me a refund without having to return it.

jamesd

Had you to be signed into amazon France to return it? At the time I signed into amazon France to order it, I signed in again today and I see its passed its return window.
It only flew once for me, up and a bag down, crack 2 legs but I glued them and that was the only damage but I cannot seem to make it fly so I suspect there is an issue with it.

ED E

jamesd wrote: »

Had you to be signed into amazon France to return it? At the time I signed into amazon France to order it, I signed in again today and I see its passed its return window.
It only flew once for me, up and a bag down, crack 2 legs but I glued them and that was the only damage but I cannot seem to make it fly so I suspect there is an issue with it.

Ive walloped mine off the ground several times, no damage. Surprised you managed to do that.

SDKev

jamesd wrote: »

Had you to be signed into amazon France to return it? At the time I signed into amazon France to order it, I signed in again today and I see its passed its return window.
It only flew once for me, up and a bag down, crack 2 legs but I glued them and that was the only damage but I cannot seem to make it fly so I suspect there is an issue with it.

I just contacted their support via live-chat and they refunded it, I didn’t have to return it as he said they’d had loads of complaints about them

ED E

I've started a thread in the drones forum for anyone who purchased and is using it.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=113433651