I ordered a Smart Controller for my V1 when they were enthusiastically advertised. They had my money 3 months and never delivered. Since Autel has done this to us, have they considered selling just a V2 (aircraft only) and a Smart Controller? Right now it looks like I'd have to buy a complete drone with standard controller (which I don't want) and then spend the additional bux for Smart Controller. Has anyone approached Autel about this? I have an "insurance" program on my system. The darker side of me would encourage me just to crash it deliberately, get the replacement (which would probably be a V2?) then get a smart controller. But that's not my ethics. After much deliberation last year I jumped in to the drone world with this very capable EVO, and eight months later I've got an "old" discontinued product... not cool. I can't think of any other legitimate vendor who has left their customers hanging like this.
"Orphaned" V1 User Here...
- Thread starter RareAirDennis
- Start date
not going to happen; autel will not be selling v2 drone-alone sku + v2 sc bundle. because there are not enough people on the planet who want that or willing to buy it (due to the high price point). the other options you mentioned are much more palatable. ultimately you may want to reach out to autel, they're a small company and might be will to make you a deal.
if you crash your v1 drone, you get get another v1 drone as a replacement. don't believe the hype. the v1 drone is not discontinued or super rare or whatever it's being called. there are plenty. all that has happened is the chip being used to manufacturer a v1 drone is no longer available to autel to continue production. the short term implications are not that catastrophic.
you are not stranded, you just have to get creative; don't give up just yet. the sc is lovely but the evo2 w/standard remote is not so bad. I've seen several v1 smart controllers for sale (so keep watching) and something tells me the availability will increase over the winter as v1 sc age a bit and the resale price goes down. with the announcement of new sc-less autel drones (nano+lite), it is likely people will be moving on and selling their gently used equipment (if you're into that kind of thing). who knows, you might even have lucked out: an evo3 with v3 sc might be announced in 2022 and you could count yourself as "dodging a bullet called the v1 sc."
if you crash your v1 drone, you get get another v1 drone as a replacement. don't believe the hype. the v1 drone is not discontinued or super rare or whatever it's being called. there are plenty. all that has happened is the chip being used to manufacturer a v1 drone is no longer available to autel to continue production. the short term implications are not that catastrophic.
you are not stranded, you just have to get creative; don't give up just yet. the sc is lovely but the evo2 w/standard remote is not so bad. I've seen several v1 smart controllers for sale (so keep watching) and something tells me the availability will increase over the winter as v1 sc age a bit and the resale price goes down. with the announcement of new sc-less autel drones (nano+lite), it is likely people will be moving on and selling their gently used equipment (if you're into that kind of thing). who knows, you might even have lucked out: an evo3 with v3 sc might be announced in 2022 and you could count yourself as "dodging a bullet called the v1 sc."
