I bought my Autel Evo (1) in February last year from an Australian dealer. It has been a great drone and apart from one incident around Christmas 2019—possibly caused by pilot error—it had performed flawlessly. Autel US authorised warranty repairs at their New Zealand workshop. It flew like new after repair. Full marks to Autel for that. Then, a couple of months ago, I had two instances of erratic flight, probably due to bad batteries. I won’t go into details here, other than to say that despite a “Battery is damaged” warning on the controller on each occasion, it managed to make it home and land safely. Again, full marks (Incidentally, several other Evo 1 owners have reported “Battery Damage” warnings after a recent software or firmware upgrade, so I wonder is there’s a wider problem?).
Since then I have been trying to source replacement Evo 1 batteries in Australia. No dealer has any, nor has any dealer been able to get them in, apparently because of Australian restrictions on transport of LiPo batteries. Autel US has not been able to come up with a solution, either. So, I am left with a drone with one battery and no immediate possibility of replacements.
(Sure, I could get them from a US dealer but the cost when shipping is added, is high—$125 Australian each plus around around $150 Australian freight for a pair. And, of course there is the current uncertainty about shipments from overseas...).
I had intended to place an order for an Evo 2 Pro in the next month or so, but my experience with Evo 1 batteries and the revealed cost of Evo 2 batteries—around $219 each in the US (A$318)—makes me hesitant.
So I have been looking at alternatives. As much as I admire DJI’s products, I’m still concerned about geofencing and NFZs (I have an Australian Licence and don’t need a foreign company to tell me when and where I can fly). But you can buy DJI batteries at just about any hobby department, and there are plenty of repairers to turn to in the event of problems.
Let’s face it—a drone that you can fly, even with additional hassle, is better than one that sits on the desk like a paperweight!
The Mavic 2 Pro would seem a logical choice, but it’s been out a while now and maybe a Mavic 3 Pro isn’t too far away. So I’m wondering whether a cheaper drone that can carry a GoPro might not be a good interim solution?
Or there’s the Swellpro Spry+, a lesser drone in many respects, but it can fly in rain or snow and actually land and take off in fresh or salt water. Could be a good interim choice in a coastal area such as this and it would serve as backup for rainy days. And, incidentally, it is bright orange.
Since then I have been trying to source replacement Evo 1 batteries in Australia. No dealer has any, nor has any dealer been able to get them in, apparently because of Australian restrictions on transport of LiPo batteries. Autel US has not been able to come up with a solution, either. So, I am left with a drone with one battery and no immediate possibility of replacements.
(Sure, I could get them from a US dealer but the cost when shipping is added, is high—$125 Australian each plus around around $150 Australian freight for a pair. And, of course there is the current uncertainty about shipments from overseas...).
I had intended to place an order for an Evo 2 Pro in the next month or so, but my experience with Evo 1 batteries and the revealed cost of Evo 2 batteries—around $219 each in the US (A$318)—makes me hesitant.
So I have been looking at alternatives. As much as I admire DJI’s products, I’m still concerned about geofencing and NFZs (I have an Australian Licence and don’t need a foreign company to tell me when and where I can fly). But you can buy DJI batteries at just about any hobby department, and there are plenty of repairers to turn to in the event of problems.
Let’s face it—a drone that you can fly, even with additional hassle, is better than one that sits on the desk like a paperweight!
The Mavic 2 Pro would seem a logical choice, but it’s been out a while now and maybe a Mavic 3 Pro isn’t too far away. So I’m wondering whether a cheaper drone that can carry a GoPro might not be a good interim solution?
Or there’s the Swellpro Spry+, a lesser drone in many respects, but it can fly in rain or snow and actually land and take off in fresh or salt water. Could be a good interim choice in a coastal area such as this and it would serve as backup for rainy days. And, incidentally, it is bright orange.
