JJRC H36: info, tips and instruction error clarifications

[zoomie]

It's come to my attention that quite a few people, perhaps even a majority may be buying DJI Mavic Pros as their first drones w/o ever having flown a quadcopter. Not my recommendation, but each to his own. For anyone who wants to get a starter quadcopter, my recommendation is the JJRC H36 indoor flier.

$18 shipped with 2 batteries. Did I get your attention yet?

Get it from Aliexpress, but it'll take a few weeks to get to you. Available for $15 too, but that package won't have the extra batteries.

WHAT IS THIS EXACTLY AND WHY AM I RECOMMENDING IT?
It's an indoor flier. Quadcopter about 5" or so in diameter. It claims a return to home function which doesn't work for me the handful of times I've tried it. It's got headless mode. Keyword is indoors. I've tried it outdoors but even a small gust of wind will take it out of your control. Fly it outdoors if you wish but it's designed for indoors. Battery life is a timed 6-7 minutes. It's got two speed modes. It'll stay in the air a shorter time on the higher speed setting. Yes, it does flips.

1. It's got built in propeller guards, so smash it into the ceiling, crash it to the floor, bounce it off walls and keep flying. No need to replace propellers or even worry that your friend will break it. Don't step on it of course, but it's pretty durable.
2. It's $15-18, enough said. So cheap, you won't be buying parts and try to solder them on. Just get a brand new one.
3. Small enough to carry in your glove compartment, backpack with other stuff or wherever you want. I popped into my luggage on a recent trip and flew it a few times in our hotel room. If they say the best camera is the one you have with you, the best drone my be the one you have in your pocket, literally.
4. When people want to play with your Mavic, it's okay to say no and just hand them this baby quadcopter. They'll appreciate your hobby once they figure out how hard it is to fly. Not that hard, but it'll take some practice if you've never hovered manually before.

THE MISTAKES IN THE INSTRUCTIONS:
It's not the poor English translations that make the instructions hard to read. It's the fact that they're straight up wrong, at least in the version I got. I'm sure there are a bunch of knockoffs and the JJRC H36 itself is a knockoff. So knockoffs of knockoffs, you're going to get a variety of stuff but in this case, they at least work.

• I really don't think the return to home function works, so stop trying to get it to work. But definitely do let me know if you successfully enable this feature.
• To pair the little guy, Left stick up, then down and hold it down for a fraction of a second.
• Calibrate: Left stick down, right stick down and towards the left at about 4 or 5 o'clock ish. Do this every time and particularly after a crash. This will prevent you from having to trim anything.
• If you calibrated, you really don't have to trim, but if you must, it's the top and right side trim buttons. The left side rocker buttons look like trim buttons but they're not. The one that points to the right turns on "headless mode". The one that points to the left is supposedly the RTH function that I can never get to work.
• The top left trigger button sets the speed mode. You'll hear two beeps for the fast mode and a single beep for the slow mode. Yes, there's a very noticeable difference.
• The top right trigger button is the fun one. This sets you up for flips. It basically lets the quad know that the next button you push is the direction you want the flip to go. So use the top right trigger button, then point the right stick in the direction you want the flip. Forward for forward, back for back....you get the idea.
• Batteries charge by USB. There's no flashing light to show it's charging like the instructions say. There won't even be a light at all. But when it's done charging, you'll see a solid red light. This stuff is from China, so unplug it.

Have fun and if you take it outside, seriously careful you don't lose it b/c the wind will take it if there is any. As for the moderators who think this is not really good material for the Mavicpilots forum, I urge you to leave it or at the very least relocate this thread instead of deleting it. I'm really hoping if if people pick up this quad and fly it, they'll save their Mavic from crashing into pieces or at least feel more comfortable flying it.

Hope this helps.

Before I go, there's going to be questions about cases. Look at your favorite website that starts with an A (Amazon or Aliexpress) and search for GoPro case. Pick the small one. The price is $3.75-5.00 or so. When you get it in the mail, take out the foam insert. The shell fits both the quad and the remote perfectly (as perfect as it gets like it was designed for this, crazy) with additional space in the mesh pocket on the underside of the lid for extra batteries, your charger, extra propellers that it comes with and even a USB adapter (not included).

I purposely did not include a link on where to buy the little JJRC H36. It doesn't really matter where you get it and I really have no affiliation with the company. Some will be okay with just one battery even though I recommend getting 2 more for just $3 extra. Just really like the product for the purpose I use it for. So much in fact that I had purchased two at once knowing I'd give one to someone. Biggest question was who would get it. Needless to say, we're both happy. Do yourself a favor, get one and if you don't like it or think it's stupid, give it away and be hero. Your friend's kid or whoever will love it if you don't.

 

[pbzpln]

Thanks! Calibrate works great, much easier & faster than trimming.

When the light start flashing again while flying, is that indicating low battery?

Charger light was confusing at first, and the connections could easily be broken, don't jam them together thinking its not working like I almost did. The light is on as soon as it has a power source. Then, as zoomie said, it goes out when plugged into the battery and charging. Then comes on when fully charged. Must have been opposite day when they designed it.

"RTH" / "A key to return" - Based on reading how it works on another cheap drone, I got it to kinda work, but just to reverse course from flying a straight path right after binding. After changing course, it becomes a "fly in a random direction" button, I guess you could use it to practice recovering from the drone doing an unexpected manuever.

Sometimes when I'm lazy and don't feel like maintaining altitude, I just run it along the hardwood floor with a little throttle. Works well to chase the cat that way.
She shouldn't complain, at least it doesn't shoot at her like my Mambo. Somehow, I think she just doesn't appreciate my new hobby quite as much as I do.

BTW pretty sure its the same drone as the Eachine E010. New version is out that's supposed to be more powerful, E012. E012HC version adds altitude hold and a camera, haven't seen any reviews yet on it but banggood had it for $23 bucks

 

[zoomie]

Wow, you got that fast. You must've Amazon Primed it. Okay, time to answer some questions!

1. Yes, when the light starts to flash that is when you want to take the bird down to charge the batteries. If it flashes for only a moment and you hear a beep, you may have pressed the top left trigger button by mistake. That toggles the two speed modes.
2. Yeah, the way the charger works is kinda funky. I thought mine was broken at first, reached out to the seller who was nice but knew absolutely nothing. It was only when I left it plugged in for 20-30 min that I learned that the light goes solid when full charged. Unplug it quickly. You don't want to overcharge Lipo's. I have a bunch from another RC and they ballooned up. If that happens, put it in a jar of salt water for about 10 days or so and it'll discharge. Youtube it. It's weird.
3. Random direction button! Haha, I like that!
4. Yes, the Echine is the original one. The JJRC H36 is the knockoff. It's pricier so I didn't recommend it. It's slightly more responsive, motors spin faster, lighter by a few grams, but flight time is not noticeably different. Saw a bunch of Youtube videos on tests and such.

Oh and one fun thing you can do. Just toss the quad into the air even upside down if you dare while getting ready to use the throttle on the left stick. It'll recover to it's position and continue flying. Pretty neat to fly from the air as opposed to your hand or the floor. Give it a try. But only do that after calibrating. You shouldn't have to touch the trim buttons much if at all once calibrated.

 

[pbzpln]

Ah, didn't know it was a knockoff. I think my flight time is less than yours, but haven't timed it yet. And not that fast, already had bought one after checking reviews, to give to people to try instead of my other birds. My Mambo would actually be easiest, but its much more fragile. GF flies that some. Mavic will only leave my hands when my personal power button gets pushed then pushed and held...

 

[erkme73]

Does it hover and maintain altitude well? The last cheap one I bought had some kind of sensor (barometer?) that had it rock solid on height. Rather than having to constantly adjust throttle input, you could concentrate on yaw and pitch.

 

[zoomie]

Haha, no way. No GPS. No sensors. It's $18, remember? The whole reason for me recommending this is so that you do have to learn to hover, maintain consistent altitude while using yaw all at the same time. If you can bank a turn. You're good to go.

Ah, didn't know it was a knockoff. I think my flight time is less than yours, but haven't timed it yet. And not that fast, already had bought one after checking reviews, to give to people to try instead of my other birds. My Mambo would actually be easiest, but its much more fragile. GF flies that some. Mavic will only leave my hands when my personal power button gets pushed then pushed and held...

Well, yes and no. JJRC is well known and they've been around awhile. It's kinda like Razor and the hoverboard vs Inventist and their original version (as the inventor). Licensed or whatever and both legit companies, but all still questionable.

 

[charliesRig]

UDI U818A 2.4GHz 4 CH 6 Axis Gyro RC Quadcopter ... was my choice
before mavic
more of a park flyer I have two
Decent camera for a cheep bird takes a Micro SD card and has a sports mode