Iris+; to buy or not to buy?

Had previously drone on APM 2.5, performance terrible. Wouldn't hover, very squirrelly in GPS, yaw all over the place and (apparently commonplace) blowing of components on the board. Since bought fc40 and it's what I want in terms of reliability and performance, but poor fpv, no gimbal, no autonomy.

All I want is a stable, controllable platform for my gopro; the things I film don't move so no high performance required. I want to fly the thing, not spend hours at a workbench.

Would you recommend the iris+ and Tarot 2,  yes or no?

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    • My bad.  I should have been more diplomatic.  That was a "terrible view" of the arms and the props.

      But wait.  We are talking about the gigaom video right?  Thats what this string of replies falls under... Did you shoot that?  Now I'm confused.  

      None-the-less its not cool of me to say something was terrible.

    • Erik...don't feel bad...I think "terrible" for the gigaom vid is an understatement...

    • Still feel bad, but I re-read the thread.


      Here is your video:

       http://youtu.be/z2TZQRb1tLo


      This is the one with the "terrible prop view":
      GigaOm blog post:  Blog Post
      Direct link to gigaom video:  http://youtu.be/0ih4Z-E6kd8


      Its the gigaom video I was referring to.  See 1:30 in you can kind of tell the camera is tilted up - which is why its so  terrible , uh... why props are so visible.

    • No. mine was this one of the pool. You didn't offend any of us. Have a great Sunday afternoon. It's pouring down rain all day here (north of Houston) and I don't have anything else to do:) but hang out with you guys.

      mp

  • More Q's...

    The thing that attracted me to my first qu4d was that due to the setup you'd never get props in shot even with a GoPro in wide mode. I've seen a couple of vids (Grandpa Jake) with no props in shot...but just seen a promo one that does.

    https://gigaom.com/2014/12/25/iris-review-a-feature-rich-drone-that...

    I HATE props in shot...so, as a rule, are they or aren't they?

    Iris+ review: A feature-rich drone that’s still simple to fly
    I’m an anxious drone flyer. Even in San Francisco’s biggest fields, there are always other people and buildings that make me constantly evaluate…
  • OK..and how good is the radio and receiver? I ask because I have a Taranis and X8R - how much of a job would it be to swap over (and would it be worth it?)...

    ...I don't mind SOME tinkering...!

    • Seeing how you want to fly and not tinker I'd say
      start with the stock tx. Especially since now they're modded
      to read out vital telemtry data.

      Later on as you progress and get to know your new
      bird you can bind the Taranis with the stock rx.

      I've got mine set up with Taranis and it wasn't too difficult to
      configure thanks to Scott Page's 5 video Taranis series.
      I watched video #2 multiple times to understand the logic
      and set up for Taranis.




      - YouTube
    • The receiver is an FrSky D4R-II 2.4 GHZ 4 channel receiver w/telemetry. Since it's configured as PPM to the Pixhawk you get all 8 channels over 3 wires using the PPM protocol.

      The transmitter is a cheap FrSky FS-TH9X with a FrSky DJT ACCST telemetry module plugged in. 3DR flashes it with ER9X open source firmware and configures it so that you have telemetry with stuff like batt volts, HDOP, etc. displaying directly on the transmitter screen. Awesome setup for a $95 transmitter.

      IMHO its a fist class setup for an RTF copter. If you want to use your Taranis you can just plug the DJT module into it but I don't know what kind of configuration you would have to do to get all of the telemetry working. I have never had any issues with the transmitter or receiver. They have both been flawless with excellent range. 

      ON the PixhawK, 3DR uses telemetry port 1 for the 3DR telemetry transceivers talking to Mission Planner or Droidplanner and they use telemetry port 2 for the FrSky telemetry to the transmitter. Again, awesome RTF setup that required a lot of planning and design on 3DR's part. It's tricky stuff for most people to setup on their own.

      You could start flying immediately with the TH9X and then figure out later how to migrate over to your Taranis. 

      As I write this I realize what a deal the Iris+ is at $750. It would take months to figure out all of this configuration from scratch. It's a nice package.

      You should buy a few extra batteries from 3DR cuz their 5100 mah 8C battery will give you 20 minutes with no payload and 14 to 15 minutes with go pro and gimbal. I have tried at least 10 other batteries and nothing comes close to the 3DR battery. They are an absolute bargain at $40. Their secret was to drop down to 8C which would give you give 40.8 amps continous draw which you would never need. The lower the C rating the lighter the battery is. The 3DR battery just rocks.

  • So...four simple questions...

    Manual flying (atti mode) - is it slow and graceful or fast and twitchy?
    Hovering - will it hold a given height without constant throttle adjustment?
    GPS mode - does it stay in one place and make gradual corrections or is it visibly "hunting" for position all the time?
    Reliability - the APM 2.5 blew a diode/resistor (no one can reliably tell me which) on the power rail and I found many people had the same problem. Has anyone heard reports of similar failures on the IRIS?

    Thanks!

    • only speaking for myself

      Manual flying (atti mode) - is it slow and graceful or fast and twitchy?

      I find it great. It took some tuning but overall I'm pleased with it. I posted a video earlier in this thread.


      Hovering - will it hold a given height without constant throttle adjustment?

      In alt hold or loiter I see may 8 to 12 inch altitude changes but they are very slow. The barometric pressure sensors aren't perfect but they aren't perfect on full scale airplanes either


      GPS mode - does it stay in one place and make gradual corrections or is it visibly "hunting" for position all the time?

      With an HDOP of less than 2 and a constant hover in loiter mode the corrections are very gradual ,no twitches. It can slowly hunt about 1 to 2 meters at worst. There is a slight twitch when repositioning the copter in loiter mode as it switches back to loiter when you let go of the sticks. That can be tuned out I just haven't needed to.


      Reliability - the APM 2.5 blew a diode/resistor (no one can reliably tell me which) on the power rail and I found many people had the same problem. Has anyone heard reports of similar failures on the IRIS?

      My Pixhawk in Iris/Iris+ has over 300 flights on it using 3S and none of the electronics has never faltered in any way. Everything is powered off the flight battery through the 3DR power module that is built into the 4 in 1 ESC board. 

      No regrets here.

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