First of all let me say that this thing is one of the most interesting things I have ever owned. Talk about addicting!!!
Before the first week of June this year, the only thing I knew about a hobby Drone is that they looked pretty cool, and I wouldn't mind having one to mess around with. My rig (XSP with latest FW) was given to me as a surprise B-Day present by my family, without any research by me on the different makes and models. I love my Autel Drone, but am finding bits of information that are making me think my family should have alerted me before making this type of purchase? After a few months exposure to it, and a little reading, my concerns are adding up.
I would rather worry about parts getting lost in shipment than my entire investment. Why in the world would Autel not make parts available so folks that are out of the warranty period can get up and going faster? Or people that are confident in what they are doing simply do their own repairs, even if it does void the warranty? I don't like that I can't get OEM parts, except for what are called "accessories". Is this common across different Drone makers, to have no parts availability for customers that want to learn the guts of their equipment and not be dependent on others to keep them in the air?
Is it common across makes and models, to have such a variance as far as advertised range and real world results? From what I have been able to dig up, folks are getting ranges (out of the box) that vary from next to nothing to beyond the advertised distance. If I get .5 mile without inturruption of any sort, video or communication, I'm lucky! Personally, I think the average customer for Autel is going to be a first time pilot. Therefore, a person that most likely lives in a subdivision with network clutter etc., and is no way going to smell the advertised two miles without extenders, Faraday paper, or whatever one comes up with to squeeze a few more feet out of their bird. A half mile is something I would expect from Play-school, not something that cost as much as this did.
As I said I'm new to this and have no idea what a reasonable expectation is as far as Drone's performance, out of the box?
