Everyone could try balancing the props, the OEM props or any aftermarket still need balancing to reduce vibration that is where most of the issue is at. Buy a magnetic float balancing prop tool and do it. You will be amazed at the results
2 Likes
Steve, I love seeing these pics! Nice work!
Iām going to share some pics of a prototype I did here at the shop. Basic setup: v2450GPS electronics shoved into a Journey 2700 frame, 4-in-1 10A ESC with 1A 5v BEC (to power the flight board), a Hubsan 7.4v 610mAh battery, and a full set of v2900 PRO 1407 motors screwed to cut out boards that were glued into the motor pods. Threw on a set of KING KONG 6X4 props and it flies like a DREAM!!
Main thing I lost was the battery level readout, as itās feeding from the 5v ESC BEC. I get about 10mins of flight from the 610 mAh battery, though!
To clarify the 2 ESC types in the pic: I bought both to try, but went with the Blue one on the right, as the BEC was 1A where the Racestar was .5A. .5A would still be OK, but cutting it close on the power draw for the FC, Sonix and GPS, as it averages .4A total draw.
4 Likes
That looks awesome! Hyped about the 2019 āJourneyā model already!
Headline: In 2019, Sky Viper delivers the first brushless, GPS quadcopter for under $150. Destroys the competition.
Disclaimer: I only took 1 marketing class during my MBA. It shows.
@Dude and several others will be happy to see this.
1 Like
Just as a follow-up. I just got a notification that a bunch of parts are now available for the 2018 models on their site.
They have, basically, all of the internals available in stock right now! You can even buy a Journey FC, GPS module, and Video board.
http://replacementparts-skyrockettoys-com.3dcartstores.com/
For about $16 you can buy a Furyās FC and soldered-on motors and build your own OpticalFlow quad! 
Hey so question Iāve had every quad sky vipers made except for the Spiderman without the camera. Taken them all apart and find myself disappointed with the 2700 and the newer versions of the old. Iāve finally decided to attempt to update or modify my 2700 and it doesnāt appear that want us to the old ones the motors just snap in these new ones are sodered on smh anyway have you been able to modify yours and if so what all have your done Iām a newbie when it comes to modifying them so I have a lot of question however like you I have like 263.6hrs on the 2450gps unit and 156.8hrs on the 2700 so I can fly but if I take one more back to Target for motor just not firing theyāre going to stop carrying them lol 2 out if 6 times the motor is good think it is the board nothing is wrong with the new one but itās getting louder and I know whatās that means and skyviper needs to create a pro quad with better motors or improve the ones there using I burn them up quicker then a cigarette lmao. Neway, I want to know what motors/blades can I put on it and have you played with your settings any?
Using the LG G7ThinQ
As much as I would love to say that my project will be the blueprint for next year, sadly the buyers didnāt bite. 
When it comes to new projects, the buyers come to visit, we show them all that we are working on and if they like it, we proceed. This year, the meetings were basically āwe love what you got already, so do that againā. So it looks like next year will be another run of the current Journey setup, I think. (Not 100% sure, as thatās a whole different department, but if we were moving ahead with new models, weād already be running first-shots.)
Hi Daquon,
I hear your frustration and understand it. There are a myriad of factors for why things change between models. Last year there were several components that for one reason or another were climbing in price. Combine that with the buyers of the big retail chains saying ābring down the cost by a third, and weāll increase our ordersā. Thatās the tightrope we have to walk each year. So when we have to find a way to make something perform equal to or better than the previous year, but cut the costs by whatever amount, changes like the motor mounts, different processor, etc. happen.
Those mounts, even though per unit price is small, adds up fast. When you are looking at a million units, you need 4 million of those things, plus 4 million of the plug to go onto the motor leads. Again, wanting to keep our retail partners happy to hit the per-unit pricepoint means we have to lower the costs anyway we can. Thatās how you have a $150 v2450GPS one year and a $99 Journey (that functions identical to the previous year) the next.
Itās not always ideal, but thatās the business of it.
If I had my way, Iād be shoving an OF sensor on a 2-cell Jouney, along with a 5.8 analog output for true FPV.
By the way, since you asked about mods, Iād buy a FURY, wick the solder off of the OF sensor module and solder that onto the appropriate place on the Journey board. The FW will have to be compiled specifically for an OF/GPS combination (as it isnāt setup for that currently), but the OF code is in the base, at least. We designed the flight board of the Journey to allow for the OF sensor thatās on the SCOUT and FURY, initially. Sadly, the buyers didnāt see a value in it, since GPS was already there to ākeep the drone in placeā.
3 Likes
Iām not sure I like these ābuyersā they clearly donāt look around online to see what people are begging for!
How can I get in on being a ābuyerā ? 
With the change between the 2017 2450 gps model to the 2018 2700 Journey model having a camera being able to point straight down (I want to get into aerial mapping) along with the ability to program flight paths and modify the device with custom code are two big reasons why I am looking into getting a Journey as my first drone to test out this holiday season.
For the 2019 Journey from what video/photos Iāve seen I would suggest something to stabilize the camera a little more to reduce the jello effect, or even the ability to change out the camera/mount easily to allow users to add in their own solutions. Since it is a āPro Video Droneā I think that would be a reasonable minor improvement if nothing else changes.
Unless thereās a āhackeyā solution to that already for the 2018 model 
Why would sky viper have mission planner on the app if you canāt use it ?Q2 if I download a off brand app can I still use Sky Viper app will the bird still fly ? Can anyone help me figure out how to get mission planner or waypoints working that seems like a very useful feature ? Hummmmm
Mr G
Per Mattās post above, the app is supposed to allow waypoint navigation for the new Journey, but it had an issue. Not sure if it has been resolved yet.
1 Like
Hey man thanks for the comeback it seems like when you press the waypoint button it wouldnāt turn green and stay green when you let it go itās not recording your way points or something hey man Iām not complaining the new technology ArduPilot instaled in bird is awesome and how accurate it flies amazing for the price thank you guys youāre doing a good job . Iām using a iPhone 6s I am able to adjust the distance and height canāt wait for an upgrade to fix the way points if you can get that going I am thinking if this drone can do that as accurately as it does if you have somethingš½
You can use mission planner on windows or Qground Control or tower or solex on android. Search here for hints on getting waypoints working with these programs. For example, you may need to set the mavlink version to 1.
Indeed. This has always been possible and how I have been configuring missions, and other configuration options, since the 2450GPS unit came out.
@ Matt_M, completely understand the companyās situation. Thanks for the great pics on the prototype. You have given us a wonderful, hackable system play with.
1 Like
@Matt_M, is this model currently available in Australia?
If not yet, when will it be?
PS: I wonder where @tridge has got his supply 
I picked up a Journey on Monday at Walmart and Iāve been having a good time with it.
Only had one problem so far that wasnāt weather or skill related where the drone was set to land and was about 4-5 meters off the ground and then it just shut the motors off and dropped straight down.
Since my interest is to do GPS waypoint flights with photos Iāve slowly been dipping my feet into what I can do and Iām pleasantly surprised at QGroundControl just working out of the box. When I was adjusting the settings to make sure the autonomous flights would work properly I noticed that I didnāt have an Update Firmware notification on the SV2.0 app, and that the default settings for the Journey has the distance-fencing disabled by default (I was going to disable/modify it anyway).
I did try the Survey feature from QGroundControl but it errored out during upload. (looks like itās just QCG/drone being quirky and another mission with just waypoints had the same issue until I restarted my phone//unplugged the drone for a period) Iāll have to try Mission Planner sometime but if there are other limits of QGC Iād like to find out.
Edit: Tried to do a longer flight and it seems thereās still a fence enabled as it RTLād after losing connection with the controller, but itās not in the same settings to adjust for the 2450 it seems?
AuRite! Nice work! Didnt want to mod any more OEM frames soā¦
ā¦I bought a ZMR250XL frame and have been shopping for a superlight motor setup, likely 2204-10 w/same 5.5"x5" props, 10-12a goal @1700kv. Power breakout from 2s-3s pdb. Might be giving an eagle some chicken brains tho. The SV VTX will no longer do, as Iāve been playing with another inexpensive, brushless brand whose pic is camera sharp and lag near 200 ms. FPV ready w/wifi!! Iām not sure if it would be kosher to mention another name hereā¦
Soo, I am looking for the method of shortcutting the SV vtx/ant. Itās like Iāve bought a PixHawk micro f/c with some extra bitsā¦
ā¦that Iāll be flying with an Underground FPV radio. Oh noā¦