Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 Wi-Fi Quadricopter

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2

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Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 Wi-Fi Quadricopter
Price: $169.99
Shipping Options: $5 Standard
Shipping Estimates: Ships in 3-5 business days (Wednesday, Mar 19 to Monday, Mar 24) + transit
Condition: Factory Reconditioned

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Previous Similar Sales (May not be exact model)
12/14/2013 - $169.99 - 45 comment(s)

3

Can it carry my Gopro? Duh, I should have read the specs. Sorry.

4

Product page

Overview
[youtube=HoqFfkjhhHc] [/youtube]

5

Check out these great tips from @joshobra

@rogetray points us to apps!

Here is the link to the app described in today’s offer:
Freeflight 2.4.12

per the site:
Compatibility: Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

Those of you who are Androidians can also check out: http://ardrone2.parrot.com/apps/

[MOD EDIT: :wink:]

6

Nice videos - wish I could afford this right now

7

Dear Woot,
I hate you. If I had ESP and knew that you would have offered the Parrot 2.0 for only $20 more than you offered the 1.0 on the last wootoff, I would have waited.

8

Can anybody speak to functional range and/or heat resistance?

I kinda want to use one for aerial recon at structure fires and hazmat scenes (yes I’m a firefighter), but don’t want something that’s gunna fail when it’s hovering. 100 or 200 feet away from a fire.

9

I was interested until the newegg video mentioned about 90 minutes charge time for a 12 minute flight time.

In the words of a popular meme, ain’t nobody got time fo’ dat!

10

Ok, I want to buy it but I have one question. Can I set this so it will follow me? Say while fly fishing or snowboarding?

11

I paid 299 for mine when it came out way over priced but this price isn’t bad at all
I use my ipad or iPhone or iPod to control. It’s hard to learn at first but you get better But for 125 get a real helicopter with REAL knob controller

12

I can’t speak to heat resistance, although I’m guessing it isn’t all that high (plastic parts and such). I’d guess it won’t tolerate much more than a person would, but it might be fine at higher temps for brief periods… although I can’t see it exceeding upper 100s for long at all.

Range is dependent upon conditions and other signals in the area. I’d not assume more than 100’, and likely a lot less. I’m not saying it won’t reach more… just that it isn’t a safe bet under the conditions you’d be using it.

Battery life is also a factor - you get well under 10 minutes on the stock battery in this model (I got the exact same model a few months ago from here). It is enough for fun, not enough for extended recon. There are batteries that are fairly cheap which will extend the usable time up to 15+ minutes. There are also kits that will extend the usable range extensively.

However, for this model as-is, I’d say your best bet is to try it as a way to go up high-ish (sub-100’) and look down using the live view. I’d not expect good results flying it in to the affected area. It might work, but you’d be more likely to lose your drone. Still, for the price, it is probably worth looking into. You can also put a small flash drive into it and record video, meaning you could concentrate on flying it, then look at the footage after.

You’d be happier with the results of using a higher-end drone, but this would make for a cheap proof of concept. Just beware of relatively short range, low battery life, and the fact it can be hijacked relatively easily.

13

[QUOTE=conanthelibrarian, post:5, topic:413367]

Those of you who are Androidians can also check out:

[MOD EDIT: :wink:]
[/quote]

Androids,…Androidians,…whats next Androidianavites? Personally, I like Androidianaviteiscans.

14

[QUOTE=buildintechie, post:8, topic:413367]
Can anybody speak to functional range and/or heat resistance?

I kinda want to use one for aerial recon at structure fires and hazmat scenes (yes I’m a firefighter), but don’t want something that’s gunna fail when it’s hovering. 100 or 200 feet away from a fire.
[/quote]

I think the high radiant heat from the fire - especially with a line of sight to the flame would wreak havoc on the plastic structure. Also remember you will get convection from the fire due to the temperature differential (chimney effect) that would challenge controlling this device.

15

So, I’m a family guy with a medianish income and this would be a substantial investment for me. I’m sorely tempted because about a year ago I got one of those infrared trail cameras hunters use and it turns out to be the best thing we ever bought – we’re totally wrapped up in the lives of our backyard red and grey foxes and their mates. It’s tempting to try to use this thing to watch them a bit further and maybe to buzz our bird feeder too for nice photos. I have five questions, bearing my proposed application in mind:

(1) Stable enough to fly through a forest, assuming I try real hard to stay away from trees?

(2) I don’t have an iPhone or Android tablet. We do have a Windows 8 PC (from woot!) and I see there’s an app. Anyone used it?

(3) Does this terrify animals (like foxes)? Or are they kind of, eh?

(4) I am a Ph.D. biophysicist who’s build cyclotrons and other advanced optical and electronic equipment so let’s assume I can do anything simple. Can I access/pull the IR filter for nighttime photography?

(5) Will a red-tail (or, worse, some kind of accipeter like a Cooper’s) kill this thing? Has that been an issue?

Thanks!

16

Yeah seems a little skewed there. Im also not seeing if this model comes home when the battery runs low or if it goes out of range. If not, most of us would probably lose it sooner than later.

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[QUOTE=sjkrishna, post:15, topic:413367]

(1) Stable enough to fly through a forest, assuming I try real hard to stay away from trees?

(2) I don’t have an iPhone or Android tablet. We do have a Windows 8 PC (from woot!) and I see there’s an app. Anyone used it?

(3) Does this terrify animals (like foxes)? Or are they kind of, eh?

(4) I am a Ph.D. biophysicist who’s build cyclotrons and other advanced optical and electronic equipment so let’s assume I can do anything simple. Can I access/pull the IR filter for nighttime photography?

(5) Will a red-tail (or, worse, some kind of accipeter like a Cooper’s) kill this thing? Has that been an issue?

Thanks!
[/quote]

I can’t speak to the stability, but I think it’s a pretty safe bet you’ll be terrorizing any wildlife in the vicinity. Did you watch the video above ? Skip to the 10:00 mark to where she finally gets around to flying it. This thing (and all the drones really) is pretty loud. And between that & it’s size, I doubt a hawk would try to take it on.

18

I have been flying Quads of all sizes for a while now. This product is not more that a high end toy. Fire recon would be a no go. You cannot sneak up on animals. My cats could tell you a thing or two… And yes raptors do regularly visit my larger quads and bees attack my smaller (palm size) quad with a vengeance. But I started in the hobby with a toy copter and it has blossomed into a very enjoyable yet more expensive way to enjoy the outside.

19

To clarify, I am not asking if the drone can sneak up on a fox – it could be two orders of magnitude quieter, and the answer will be no; they are awfully circumspect animals. I’m asking if wild animals see it as threatening, or don’t care much and/or get used to it – like it’s a loud bat or something. If you’ve ever harassed your cats with 'em, their reaction may not be a useful data point.

20

Those of you who are hoping to get a little more out of your drone should check out nodecopter.

And to add to the forest flying conversation, keep in mind this uses wifi for the radio, so you’re limited to maybe 150-200 foot reliable distances.