Hello all,
I'm really excited. My DJI Phantom 3 Standard came via FedEx today. In fact I got it 6 days sooner that exoected!
Anyway as you read it is a refurb as you read in the title but it came with the DJI 1 year warranty so I was happy about that. I got it from Drone Nerds on ebay for $349 now they are showing $379 http://www.ebay.com/itm/26269400 ... =STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Anyway I am excited to get going with it. It is my first camera drone and I am looking to use it personally and maybe professionally.
I am going to register it next week and look to take my FAA part 107 UAS license. I am a pilot and love avaition. I have had my PPL for 6 years now and before that flew RC quite a bit so I am excited to kind of get back into that and see what this craze is all about.
So with that long winded intro out of the way. I would like to say I have been watching a lot of videos about updates and upgrades to the standard and looks like a lot of people like the ARGtek antenna upgrade and skipping the standard DJI app and going with the Litchi app instead.

What else should I be looking into? Prop guards? Different props?, Will non DJI batteries work or not based on current firmware?


Cheers,
Chris

lake

Congrats on your purchase. I've been flying my P3S for about a year now and love it. The stock antenna gets me out as far as I want to go. Not looking for a long distance flight but I do fly an average of 1400 feet away from home which is good enough for me. As for the DJI GO app...I still use it but use Litchi more. Just like it better. I have some VR goggles and have used them a couple times with Litchi but it takes some getting use to. I always have my wife keeping an eye on the drone while flying with goggles just to make sure it's going where I think it's going..lol I did have the prop guards on for the first month but took them off because they really don't add much protection unless you smack into a tree or wall and even then..probably won't help much. The biggest thing I had to get use to was like you, I flew RC airplanes for 10 years. The rule was, always keep your plane close. Flying the P3S 1000 or more feet away from you contradicts what you learned flying RC....Have fun

Forget about ARGtek and differentv apps, just get going with the aircraft as it is supplied. One of the biggest mistakes people make is to immediately update the formware, add all sorts of after-market bits and then find it does not work properly. The best way to get started is to read the latest version of the manual thoroughly and then work through charging everything, registering the aircraft and becoming familiar with it.

Prop guards are no use unless you fly indoors, different props do little and non-DJI batteries will not work in the aircraft. Also, Litchi is good but learn on the DJI Go App first.

The most important accessory you can buy is spare batteries.

Hi and welcome. I have not had one very long, and I am liking mine. I'm still a noob by many standards, and I am OK with that. You as well as I will het comfortable in our own time, I am in no rush, LOL!

Prop guards are good for tip overs also, not mention so far. This can happen more often when new to landing your drone, it saved mine from any damage those first few weeks. So I do disagree with the above posts a bit in that they do service a purpose for a newbie. On the apps, learn on the Go app first. But definitely try out Litchi, it's a nice app, I use both. On the battery, only use genuine DJI.

The prop guards I have are great, pop on pop off, no screws no fittings and if you have 2 red and 2 white it helps you see what way the bird is facing, especially if you ever lose video signal.

I am also an advocate of prop guards where necessary. I have the clip on/off ones so there is no faffing about required when flying. I bought my P3 as a video/camera platform rather than just a 'flying machine' so I do fly close to trees and other obstacles to get that just right clip or photo, prop guards are a must as you will be concentrating on the video playback on your tablet rather than what is 3" from the left prop or whatever. Spare batteries are a must, you do not get the best out of your quad with just one battery. I am contemplating the ARGtek upgrade but still am not sure if, a. I need to carry it out and b. If I want to be able to fly so far from LOS that I don't have the same confidence that I have being able to always see where my quad is. The P3S is a great aircraft, enjoy it before you splash out on 'stuff' you may never need or use.

do not! get an argtec they suck halfed my range and bulky. i got the dbs mod ind it doubled my range.

i recommend the prop guards that are removable with the lil plate mounts, why because they help reinforce the motor mount ant help ptevent stress cracking the some get.takes stress off the arm.   

also a camera  gaurd it helps if you from banging the camera on uneven Terrain also it helps strengthen the legs.

Also depending on how or when you do video a filter kit for the lens they also help protect it

Also look into joining the AMA it's $75 a year you get to use and do sponsored things plus two and a half million for insurance

Thanks for all the tips I really appreciate it. As soon as I get a flight in and video I'll post it :-)

Cheers,
Chris

Playing around with my new DJI Phantom 3 at work getting use to the controls and phone app. I think my gimbal is slightly off and angles to the left. :-(

You can calibrate and manually adjust  your gimbal from within Go app.

MerlinL14 Posted at 2017-1-25 10:26
You can calibrate and manually adjust  your gimbal from within Go app.

Excellent! I will have to go look for that adjustment. Would you agree it's leaning left?

-Chris

It looks right low, left high to me.