Hey guys Im about to make a trade for whats supposed to be a Phantom 3 Pro. Im not really new to quad copters, however Ive never had a REAL nice one. I want to know what I should look for to make sure im not being taken advantage of. The stripes on this one are different also... but I think they were modified... is there anything in the picture that would lead you to believe this is not a Phantom 3 Pro?

Not enough views on the pictures to tell.   Where is the controller?

Tough to tell.

Bring it out of the case, and display it properly. Thanks.


RedHotPoker

LOOK FOR THE FRONT PLATE,  SHOULD READ "PHANTOM 3 PRO" AND BE GOLD IN COLOR.   

I dont have it yet, thats what they had as the picture. Im going to probably get it tomorrow. I will inspect it before buying. I just always worry, something else that I fear is someone swapping the internals with Phantom 2 electronics lol... just a phantom 3 body... is that even possible?

Look for stress cracks under each motor mount

Check the firmware version in the text file on the external microSD card.  You should be able to deduce what version it is from the version number as the Pro/Adv/Std firmwares are all different.

Also be careful, some people like calling the "Phantom 4K" the "Phantom Pro".  They are very different.  The first is basically a standard with a 4K camera, whereas the Pro is a far better machine with better range and different control systems.  The type of controller will probably be the biggest clue in all of this.

That sure looks like a Standard to me. Make sure the present owner flies it for you.  See it in the air!   Looks for stress cracks around motors.  Check the controller, does it have two antennas or only one.  Look at the camera.  Does the SD card plug into the camera, or on the side of the housing?  Check all batteries in the drone. Make sure none are defective.  The App will most likely tell you the battery condition.   If it's a Pro, there should also be a pod under and behind the camera with sensors in it.  They would be facing down.  Above all, see the thing up in the air going though it paces.  Send it out a good distance and active RTH.  If it RTH normally, that will tell you that the electronics are probably working normally (Key word 'Probably").  If he still has the box it came in, make sure the serial number on the drone matches the serial number on the box.    Ask where he got it and how long he has owned it.  How much is he asking for the whole setup?  Try to determine that he knows a little something about flying a drone.  It could be stolen, in which case this guy won't even know how to start the engines.

I know that's a lot to ask, but you have to be sure when buying something that is used and you have no idea what the history is.  It looks like someone has put a range extender mod on the antenna.  Normally that is not necessary with a Pro.  The Standard, on the other hand, is always being modified because of limited range.  Even if it is actually a Standard, if it passes all of the above, it still might be a good deal.  The Standard is a great beginner machine.  I have a Pro and a Standard.  I still fly both.

I am with djordan2 on this, looks like a standard with one of the 2 stripes missing, also I don't like what looks like a flat panel antenna kit, that makes me think that its not using Lightbridge that the pro / adv models do.
I would contact the seller and ask for more photos, the bottom of the phantom should have a sticker with the model number and a close look at the camera and controller will confirm what model it is.
There is a huge difference in range and  price between the Pro / Adv using Lightbridge and the standard / 4k using only WiFi.  

Ok guys, thanks for all the good information. It is a phantom 3 pro as far as I can tell. I didn't return to the forum today, before making the trade today.... I am now curious why the antenna modification was done. It flies great. I updated the firmware using the newest firmware from the site for the Phantom 3 Professional, which was a success. There are no stress cracks.... the thing was looking a little rough when I got it. He had stripe kits, and had put the red stripes on it, and only one per side, I even had the left over red stripes still on the wax paper. I returned it to gold, and did away with the crap on the top lol. I took a fine grit scotch brite pad I used to use when I was in the paint and body business and a alcohol based cleaner and cleaned the scuff off of it where the propeller had hit and a few other spots... and gave everything a general cleaning. The camera works fine... the gimbal is functioning correctly. Everything is as it should be as far as I can tell. I couldn't be happier, especially considering I have maybe a few hundred dollars worth the trade in this thing. It was a custom PC I had built a while back and never used that I traded for it. Any how Im going to post a picture of it as it is now after I cleaned it up a bit!

Looks like a P3P now!   :-)

pasaytenpete Posted at 2017-5-29 20:11
Looks like a P3P now!   :-)

thats exactly what I was going for lol!