If you are not a member of the DJI Phantom 2 Vision-Plus Owners Page on Facebook it is worth joining. Great group of people sharing photos, videos, and helping each other out with tips. Here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ ... 421387¬if_t=like

Joined. Thanks for sharing!

Tony@CVP Posted at 2014-10-8 22:20
Joined. Thanks for sharing!

Its a great group Tony. An awful lot of interesting characters are members of it with opinions that are all over the radar at times. Keeps things interesting!

Here is another group I stumbled upon on Facebook where you can Buy, Sell, and Trade DJI related goodies. Here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/572280476136154/

Joseph, just spotted you on Facebook and saw you're from Hackensack. I was born in New Brunswick, just 50 miles down I95. Haha, small world!

Tony@CVP Posted at 2014-10-8 23:25
Joseph, just spotted you on Facebook and saw you're from Hackensack. I was born in New Brunswick, ju ...

WOW New Brunswick . . . brings back memories of my Rutgers days! Yikes that was over 25 years ago, man I am starting to feel old. lol It is a small world indeed. I moved to London back in 2010.

Thx for sharing! Greetings from Belgium/Europe

Filiep Posted at 2014-10-9 14:51
Thx for sharing! Greetings from Belgium/Europe

Your welcome! Good morning from London England.

Dear Joseph, DJI user friend from London I have just received my Phantom about 2 weeks ago. The weather in Belgium was not so brilliant and also lack of time meant that I could not go out flying yet but when I read all the negative comments and findings I almost feel sorry that I bought one Maybe I should return( within 30 days warranty) it to the store I can hardly believe that DJI would not take there responsibility because they can not survive worldwide if they do this?! It does not feel good when I read all this What do you think, any advice? Thanks my friend!

Filiep Posted at 2014-10-14 03:48
Dear Joseph, DJI user friend from London  I have just received my Phantom about 2 weeks ago. The w ...

Do not let everything you read put you off. Before I purchased my P2V+ I was concerned because all I was reading about was how much the camera and gimbal was awful. There seems to be issues with them however I have never had any. As far as the GPS issue is concerned it seems to be the same story. Some users praise the GPS system others are having issues. However prior to flying your P2V+ you may want to invest in an inexpensive quadcopter to practice on such as the Hubsan X4. Prior to flying your Phantom do your research. Watch as many videos as you can on Youtube and read the manual several times. Many of the early on crashes and flyaways are simply caused by lack of experience and silly mistakes. You have invested a significant amount of money. Take your time! If your GPS is not performing as it should contact your dealer and or DJI immediately! You should not have to modify a new unit or have to send it in to be serviced in my opinion. It should be replaced with a properly functioning unit.

Thanks  for your reply I have a WLtoys V222 to do some training, small but agile and quite quirky to control. It is not fun to have to read all those negative comments on the Phantom, on the other hand we only hear those who are not satisfied. You understand as I do that the device is too expensive to 'just play with" and to be anxious if you're flying. My wife secretly looking over my shoulder and just as I worried about my investment. She also wondered if is worth it! To bad you guys life so far away, I could use your knowledge and skills Have a nice day!

Filiep Posted at 2014-10-14 14:39
Thanks  for your reply  I have a WLtoys V222 to do some training, small but agile and quite quirky ...

Your welcome Feliep feel free to contact me at anytime. Below are a couple of videos for you and your wife to take a peek at to put your minds at ease. As far as training is concerned it is wonderful that you invested in a less expensive quad to practice with. After practicing with my Hubsan and finally flying my Phantom I actually giggled! The smaller ones are less stable and actually more difficult to fly. As much as I have been upset with the issues I have had with my Phantom's GPS overall it is a wonderful product. Things will only get better as they continue to grow as a company. I plan on being a loyal customer for many years to come. Enjoy the videos below talk to you soon . . .  

Flying my way at Peckham Rye Park, London England: http://vimeo.com/107043604 This video was meant to be shorter however I love the song in this video.

I made this video to cheer myself up when the weather is not suitable for flying: http://vimeo.com/105473080

A quick flight over Ruskin Park here in London England: http://vimeo.com/106117840

Here is a great way to get your wife involved when you go flying. I do this 95% of the time more than likely this is why I have had no problems with my camera or gimbal. Read the credits at the end, a special thank you to my wife. http://youtu.be/chil_QSohSk?list=UUw6tAWNGTLhN01jCDeYx0cw

Talk to you soon my friend have a great day!

Filiep,

I consider the negative posts to be warnings.  Things are more likely to go wrong when people test the limits and do foolish things.  One issue I feel is important, even for beginners, is to get set up in the NAZA-M advanced features right away.   The fail safe, home lock and course lock features make flying the Phantom easier and safer.  

Phantom Knowledge offers an inexpensive video-based-systematic training program that walks members through beginning to intermediate steps.  The program provides step-by-step instructions for setting up fail safe, home lock and course lock.  It clearly explains what they do and how they work.  The program includes training for photography, videography and flying safe.   You can learn more about the program by going to:   www.PhantomKnowledge.com  

I've done it! Put all fear aside and go flying the Phantom! Calibration done, flat surface, open field, green lights blinking fast so GPS ok...  Take off! What a device! Easier to fly than my much smaller WVtoys V222. Flying not too high (only 10m), not too far (only 30m) to the left, to the right, up & down, 360 turning ... and landed softly without any problems! GPS lost 1-2 satellites when filming do. Great fun to fly and I will be doing some practice

Thanks PhantomKnowledg for your reply also!

Filiep Posted at 2014-10-15 00:32
I've done it! Put all fear aside and go flying the Phantom! Calibration done, flat surface, open fie ...

CONGRATULATIONS FILIEP!! Well done, I am proud of you!! The Phantom 2 Vision Plus certainly is an amazing aircraft. I have to agree with PhantomKnowledge's advice. NAZA mode gives you greater piece of mind in enabling the advanced controls. For instance there is one particular setting know as HOME Lock. Just imagine this . . . your flying several hundred meters away from where you took off and get disoriented. All you have to do is put your Phantom into HOME Lock and pull back on your right joystick. Regardless of which way your Phantom is pointing it will fly back towards your Home Point. Additionally in NAZA mode you can initiate FAILSAFE without turning your RC transmitter off and you can cancel it and regain control if you desire. There are additional bells and whistles which are also amazing. Here is a pretty good video that explains the features: http://youtu.be/Prs7txS_NDA When you decide to switch to NAZA mode STAY AWAY FROM MANUAL MODE for now! Do your research, it is for advanced pilots.

As far as you dropping satellites is concerned DJI at last has formally aknowledged there is an issue in certain Phantom 2 Vision + models. Prior to going out flying do yourself a favour and track the satellites that are in your area. Here are two websites that you can use to track satellites on: http://satpredictor.navcomtech.com and http://www.spectraprecision.com/ ... 876.kjsp?RH=PRUFWMP In addition I track satellites at my actual flying site using an app on my mobile phone. I have an Android mobile and use an app called GPS Status & Toolbox. I went out earlier this evening and tracked 10 -11 satellites in the area. I captured 10 during my first flight on the ground and in the air. Sure enough during my second flight I had 10 on the ground then 11 in the air which I maintained until I landed. A lot of people new to flying the Phantom complain they can't capture sufficient satellites. At times they simply may not be in the area. Af far as losing a few satellites please be aware that if you take off with just 6 and lose 1 or more satellites your Phantom will go into ATTI mode and you will lose GPS hold. ATTI mode is not something to be afraid of however in not having GPS assistance your Phantom will drift in the wind. Keep an eye on your GPS if the problem persists please contact your dealer and or DJI. I decided to modify my GPS unit which ultimately gave me amazing performance. You do not want to put your warranty at risk by doing modifications yourself if it can be avoided. I only decided to do the modifications I did because I have over 15 years experience building and flying RC aircraft. Initially I was upset with the problem I had with my GPS. DJI makes amazing products, I am certainly going to remain a loyal customer. They just have a few bugs to work out here and there. Once again Congrats on a job well done your wife must be thrilled!

........there are still good and amazing people in this world ....... thx from the bottom of my heart! Hope we keep in touch!

Filiep Posted at 2014-10-15 01:42
........there are still good and amazing people in this world .......  thx from the bott ...

Your very welcome!! Filiep if you are on Facebook send me a friend request I will gladly except it. I am so happy to hear all went well. Best of luck on your next and all future flights. Something tells me if you purchased one battery when you decided to buy your Phantom you will be buying at least one more! I have four.

Hey Joseph, it is interesting that you have 15 years into this technology.  I am a videographer.  It never ceases to amaze me how important experience is at knowing the nuances of technical details.  I appreciate your helpful comments as well.  

I have a question for you.  Is there a viable option to take a vision +, replace the gimbal with the H3-3D gimbal with a GoPro and mix it with a FPV option?  And if there is no FPV for this option, could one safely fly it without FPV; just rely on line of sight?

PhantomKnowledg Posted at 2014-10-15 08:10
Hey Joseph, it is interesting that you have 15 years into this technology.  I am a videographer.  It ...

Can you replace the the stock camera and gimbal on a P2V+ with a H3-3D gimbal with a GoPro and mix it with an FPV option? YES at last you can using the stock DJI Vision app which in my opinion is brilliant! Here is a video showing how it works, note this video is prior to the product being released: http://youtu.be/1y_aB4gylS8 I have been sharing this information for the last month and a half with the DJI Phantom 2 Vision-Plus Owners Group on Facebook from time to time. I for one plan on investing in the rig to fly a GoPro as well. Keep in mind you will be able to also use other camera and gimbal configurations. At this point and time the setup is available for preorder from a company called Dronexpert. Here is the link regarding preordering there setup: http://dronexpert.nl/product/pre ... i-phantom-2-vision/

In answer to flying line of sight that is how I prefer to fly I am an old school RC pilot. Of course in flying a quadcopter I use FPV to frame up photographs and in filming video for accuracy in regards to framing and tracking. When I got started flying RC aircraft many years ago I was into airplanes. I started out with a trainer and progressed my skills to flying quarter scale aircraft. Back in the day I only flew line of sight. When I fly my phantom it is more about the photography and videography for me. I always fly with a spotter who keeps an eye on my telemetry, pedestrians that may wander into the area, as well as potential low flying aircraft. As far as hobbyists are concerned I feel it should be a prerequisite that everyone engaging in the hobby in the USA should join the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics / http://www.modelaircraft.org ). I was a member of the AMA when I lived in the states. Now that I live in the UK I am a member of the BMFA (British Model Flying Association / https://www.bmfa.org/Default.aspx ). Both groups as part of there memberships include insurance and common sense guidlines. Now if someone is looking to fly commercially that involves completely different regulations including certification and insurance. Keeping in mind regulations vary from country to country.

Yes, I had seen notices about the quick release.  It looks very promising.  I look forward to seeing the reviews once it is out.

Other than insurance how has the AMA and BMFA helped you?  

PhantomKnowledg Posted at 2014-10-16 01:55
Yes, I had seen notices about the quick release.  It looks very promising.  I look forward to seeing ...

I have been holding off into buying into Dronexpert's option until reviews by end users become available. Time will tell if I buy into it. As far as the AMA and BMFA are concerned when operating an RC aircraft in general and having  insurance in the event of a mishap is reason enough for me to become a member. Back in the USA I flew RC aircraft (quarter scale airplanes) that could easily kill someone based on size, speed and weight if a malfunction occurred due to no fault of my own. Keep in mind I flew as a member of a club that carried secondary insurance that adhered to the AMA's guidelines at a designated flying site. In moving to the UK years ago I decided to find a similar organisation to the AMA that offered insurance in the event of a mishap in operating RC aircraft following there guidelines. I certainly would not want to be liable for property damage or injuries caused by the malfunctions that can potentially occur in operating an RC aircraft. As far as helping me beyond that point peace of mind to a certain degree is good enough for me in having insurance when operating my RC aircraft at a hobbyist level. What concerns me is the amount of newbies out there that have no regard to public safety, how high they fly, flying over residential areas, or distance they strive to achieve with little to no experience. Sadly in my opinion it is only amount of time before strict regulations are put in place limiting where and how RC aircraft can be flown by the FAA in the States and the CAA here in the UK. When I lived in the United States to be a member of the flying club that as time went on I became a flight instructor having proof of AMA insurance was mandatory in being considered for membership. Other than having insurance that fortunately I have never had to use they have not helped me. I wouldn't expect any other sort of help. On a positive note when it comes to the operation of RC aircraft for recreational use adhering to there guidelines I sure am glad there is an affiliation on my part. For anyone reading this joining the AMA or BMFA does not give you permission to do what you want where you want. Do your research and fly safe using common sense and certainly not beyond your level of experience.

Check out my initial post . . . I have added another great group to join!