to start...i am not mad or arguing or threatening or any mean, bad thoughts, just a reality check for all of us.

Why is there not more "bad" reviews, i have watched SSSOOO many reviews that are GREAT, and it seems that when we get FREE parts from a marker or hobby shop, no mater what, we always play off the down side of the parts.. Most of the "bad" of parts, seem like it was so easy to fix before distribution..

EXAMPLE: FCs that have pin outs that are not right, dont work, or in opposite spots and need map changing. 
FCs that fry using the exact or under amps to run cams and things off regulators on the FCs said to run exact things...DUH??

For the beginner quadist', pin out relocation would be a complete nightmare just figuring out the problem in the first place..
Frying fcs..paying for outputs that cant be used and taking up 4-7mm of space putting regulators on the bottoms of FCs..
and theres alot like this going on..

most can be found on the web. With 2-5 days of leaning 1000 other things in the process, Ull find ur initial problem...lol...

like i said, im aint mad, but it would help the supply of crappy parts that i buy and dont use..but when something is not right,  a flaw in a product,  this flaw should be fixed before distribution. 
Not the consumers fault the part cost XXX amount to develop and didnt work rite, so now the company needs XXX to make changes....."lets sell this OK working part but have another part on the way to make up for this one???? 

 just say it..dont buy this part because "BLA BLA BLA" ITs OK...lol

I KNOW ILL BE SHOT AND PUT IN THE GRAVE FOR THIS ONE..OR BE BANDED FROM THE SITE FOR LIFE..i feel a "warning" at the least...lol

I don't see why you should be shot for stating facts.

I might shoot you for your grammar and spelling, but to a degree, that's more my problem than yours!

There are quite a few people out there who get free stuff from the usual Chinese vendors to review and they tend to push these reviews out as quickly as possible. Some of them don't have the basic technical knowledge that's needed to accurately and objectively review a complex electronic device. Many who post about new products on forums do so just to make more money from their affiliate marketing schemes.

The thing is, it's actually up to you as the person viewing or reading a review to judge if the opinion of the person making it carries any weight. If the reviewer has no history and no qualifications, then you have to look back on their previous reviews and get a feel for how good, honest and reliable they are.

It's the same as judging any information presented to you. If you believe stuff without any good reason to back it up, then the only place to lay the blame is squarely at your own feet.

(16-Apr-2017, 07:03 PM)unseen Wrote: I don't see why you should be shot for stating facts.

I might shoot you for your grammar and spelling, but to a degree, that's more my problem than yours!

There are quite a few people out there who get free stuff from the usual Chinese vendors to review and they tend to push these reviews out as quickly as possible. Some of them don't have the basic technical knowledge that's needed to accurately and objectively review a complex electronic device. Many who post about new products on forums do so just to make more money from their affiliate marketing schemes.

The thing is, it's actually up to you as the person viewing or reading a review to judge if the opinion of the person making it carries any weight. If the reviewer has no history and no qualifications, then you have to look back on their previous reviews and get a feel for how good, honest and reliable they are.

It's the same as judging any information presented to you. If you believe stuff without any good reason to back it up, then the only place to lay the blame is squarely at your own feet.

aaahhhhh...spelling..but but,, theres no red spell check marks,,except apostrophes.. putting all my adhd thoughts to make sense is a tough one.

but yeah...i agree..common sense about it will help, but my other observation is that companies do put out things that are not up to par, and you are right, its all about $$$..and that is fine...i would not work if i was not making top $$$ for what have I learned for 25 yrs. but i also do not leave things i touch not worth EVERY dollar i charged too...
i guess this kind of stuff has been going on for years especially with TECH. toys (phones, tablets, etc) because of the cost to develop and marketing, then the competitor already has the next best thing that very month..

i wish we could delete the you tube vids that are trash...and we all vote ONE person as being the "DELETER" of bad fpv/quad hobby reviews...LMFAO...it will free up SSSOOO much web space and wasted time spend sifting through the endless "un-boxing" videos AND, "look at the first flight" videos that do nothing for the parts at all..this is why noobs are so over whelmed by all this stuff..
but hey....if making it "easier" to get into the hobby does not make more profit in the end???

and i can see where the confusion of this hobby would sell more...I mean. look at me..2 years later and i finally realized what you just said.(jk, i knew)...be careful where the info comes from..i almost like building more then flying, so i am always looking for the "newest" stuff..not for actual any performance/racing test or events...just because i can and I am a self proclaimed artist of building..lol....but thats were i started to realize a lot of similar stuff and 2+2 always equals 4, and that is how this thread got started..

its gonna be a record short thread..problem solved..,..WAIT...there was no problem..i just wanted to ruffle feathers...lol...hahaha..

bluefalconproject seems neutral in his reviews, seems very knowledgeable and NEVER says this is the BEST out there, get it now...
who, if any, do you trust? other then oscar ling, of course.
probably should have been the thread post.."what reviewer do you listen too?"

Yes I agree totally, there are so many "reviewers" nowadays in RC especially mini quad community, which in fact they are just promoters who receives free parts.
There are only a handful of people I trust online, such as Bruce, Ryan or Joshua.

(16-Apr-2017, 11:40 PM)Oscar Wrote: Yes I agree totally, there are so many "reviewers" nowadays in RC especially mini quad community, which in fact they are just promoters who receives free parts.
There are only a handful of people I trust online, such as Bruce, Ryan or Joshua.

aaahhh...bardwell....i like him too...i always learn something.lol.....seems your a bit knowledgeable yourself..

i live in a SMALL town, and i was the FIRST fpver around.. that was not so long ago...BUT..everyone i meet now-a-days is so WEB smart about it all...i just keep my mouth shut  ...and thats NOT like ME....haha. i just listen cause i learn things from them too....

AND then we fly...LMFAO...

i give it up to the peeps who keep it real..I know its hard work to sift through FCs pin out traces and checking quality of battery after battery claiming more and more with the same mah... etc etc... but its with your hard work we all get to have PARK DAYS and not have problems at first plug in....I thank you.

Seems you're still here after reply from Oscar so lucky you on that one

As for biased reviews, usually I use the Tripple-D method... (as in Diner's Drive ins and Dives)... Guy Fieri seems to think that just about every dish that comes out of a tiny or run down establishment is "the bomb dot com" or "ridiculous"... If you've ever tracked down Tripple-D places you know darn good and well that several of those places are unspectacular at best, and down right bad at worse. However sometimes he actually likes something, usually when he stops with his stupid catch Phrases and takes an extra couple of bites you know that something might actually be tasty. So when I look for a Tripple-D place I usually go to the ones that he's had a different reaction to.

The same goes for biased reviewers. Take for example UAV Futures who reivews tons of ARF quads. I was able to pick out what looks like a decent choice by comparing how he reviews all the other quads. Usually he's like "this is really good, I like how they did this and this but I changed that and modified it and now I really like it and here is grumpy Trevor" right? Then there was the one where he said, "watch me fly this thing, it's fast!" you could tell he was actually impressed. I don't think Trevor even got to touch it lol.

Of course, if people were just brutally honest we probably wouldn't have to do the extra work to decode any of that garbage.

I feel the pain. I think in one of my posts around here I was lamenting the fact that most reviews overlook the hours and hours of tweaking to make some cheap piece of mish-mash parts work like a not even 4 times the price (in the particular example it was 2-axis Gimbals). Not everyone has the time or the tooling to do that level of tweaking.

I'm finding it again and again as I watch stuff and realise only half the truth is being shown. That and the "just have this assortment of fasteners/parts and so on laying around" issue of peoples builds. Seriously - it takes tens of builds and hundreds of dollars to amass some of the "laying around" parts these people talk about!



I actually find Quadcopter101 not bad for the RTF stuff because he just shows it how it is, and there's very little tricky editing just a guy who is obviously having fun giving all these things a go.

Heya man,
totally feel ya on this one!! (..take a look at my micro-quad-posts, if you want.. )

I am soooo bad at being patient, but very stubborn, and realised that there's no way to make it into this budding field (..I mean, come on - youtube-"fpv-stars" have a couple of thousand views..) without venturing onto thin ice by yourself. If you don't enjoy investigating & making up the specific logic that works for you (...and probably just you..), I'd suggest looking into the hobby in a couple of years, when everything will be commercialized and it will be very hard to see behind the corporate curtain. There'll be lots of happy sheep, by then ;-)
However, I sort of enjoy being a constructor in some developmental country,
even if it means that I have to watch most of my buildings spontaneously turning themselves into rubble ..
But I honestly can't tell f*** from s*** for now, so let's wait until I know what FC I like to use (..and which actually works reliably) and motors and lipos and, and, aaanndd..
I'll be posting my dismay along the way, with an ironic view on my suffering
Keep it up, you're an endangered species! (..I mean, actually being able to self-reflect and stuff..)

Interesting opinion. I am someone who has just started writing reviews as well as being a complete noob, I thought I could provide an interesting perspective on stuff that a lot of you experienced guys are so familiar with...

I am quite happy with the reviews of the items that I bought myself, which are written as comparison's between 2 products. I have other stuff I am waiting to review but that was relying on some complimentary items which I was to review also.

Frustratingly all 3-4 of the complimentary items that I have recieved are not working properly in one way or another.

I wanted to compare 2 micro brushed FC's and review a TX & RX combo from a noobs point of view...
1 of the FC's they sent is frsky integrated RX, my TX is flsky protocol! The other FC was not reading stick inputs in betaflight, despite trying what felt like EVERYTHING! After resoldering the RX just to be on the 'safe' side, one of the transistors burned when I tried to connect to betaflight!

I am now faced with the problem that as these are my 1st complimentary items to review, and I don't want to be refused further reviews, so feel I can't just say something like -
"It's sh!t, anyone who buys this is obviously a frikken moron!"
Also because I'm a noob I don't have the confidence or experience to be 100% certain that I haven't done something wrong!

Just my 2 cents from the other side.

(18-Apr-2017, 08:02 AM)Tom BD Bad Wrote: Interesting opinion. I am someone who has just started writing reviews as well as being a complete noob, I thought I could provide an interesting perspective on stuff that a lot of you experienced guys are so familiar with...

I am quite happy with the reviews of the items that I bought myself, which are written as comparison's between 2 products. I have other stuff I am waiting to review but that was relying on some complimentary items which I was to review also.

Frustratingly all 3-4 of the complimentary items that  I have recieved are not working properly in one way or another.

I wanted to compare 2 micro brushed FC's and review a TX & RX combo from a noobs point of view...
1 of the FC's they sent is frsky integrated RX, my TX is flsky protocol! The other FC was not reading stick inputs in betaflight, despite trying what felt like EVERYTHING! After resoldering the RX just to be on the 'safe' side, one of the transistors burned when I tried to connect to betaflight!

I am now faced with the problem that as these are my 1st complimentary items to review, and I don't want to be refused further reviews, so feel I can't just say something like -
"It's sh!t, anyone who buys this is obviously a frikken moron!"
Also because I'm a noob I don't have the confidence or experience to be 100% certain that I haven't done something wrong!

Just my 2 cents from the other side.

Tough choices to make for sure. If it was me, I'd probably get in touch with whomever sent me the comp items and let them know the issue and tell them it's an opportunity for them to showcase their great customer service. Letting them know that you're likely going to need to share the problems you have, but it's an opportunity for them as the retailer to be the star of the review. By fixing the problem it could be a big win. 

Of course if neither happens then you're really screwed because you have to dog the product and the vendor, not review at all, or sacrifice your integrity. 

Good luck, I know that I'd be more drawn to a reviewer known for coming out blazing with gutsy but respectful criticisms. (I am not sure that anyone who buys something being a moron would quite get me though :p )

(18-Apr-2017, 10:43 AM)Carl.Vegas Wrote: Tough choices to make for sure. If it was me, I'd probably get in touch with whomever sent me the comp items and let them know the issue and tell them it's an opportunity for them to showcase their great customer service. Letting them know that you're likely going to need to share the problems you have, but it's an opportunity for them as the retailer to be the star of the review. By fixing the problem it could be a big win. 

Thanks, I did let them know about the FC having the wrong RX but I hadn't thought of taking that tack, I will contact them now...

(18-Apr-2017, 10:43 AM)Carl.Vegas Wrote: (I am not sure that anyone who buys something being a moron would quite get me though :p )

LOL, honestly, this is not the way I feel about any of the products, and not something I'd ever actually say in a review. Just exaggerating the stages of my frustration, failing to get it working!

(18-Apr-2017, 11:46 AM)Tom BD Bad Wrote: LOL, honestly, this is not the way I feel about any of the products, and not something I'd ever actually say in a review. Just exaggerating the stages of my frustration, failing to get it working!  

lol...  I think those kinds of things too and knew what you meant I just figured it's be worth poking fun at it a little

(18-Apr-2017, 08:02 AM)Tom BD Bad Wrote: Interesting opinion. I am someone who has just started writing reviews as well as being a complete noob, I thought I could provide an interesting perspective on stuff that a lot of you experienced guys are so familiar with...

I am quite happy with the reviews of the items that I bought myself, which are written as comparison's between 2 products. I have other stuff I am waiting to review but that was relying on some complimentary items which I was to review also.

Frustratingly all 3-4 of the complimentary items that  I have recieved are not working properly in one way or another.

I wanted to compare 2 micro brushed FC's and review a TX & RX combo from a noobs point of view...
1 of the FC's they sent is frsky integrated RX, my TX is flsky protocol! The other FC was not reading stick inputs in betaflight, despite trying what felt like EVERYTHING! After resoldering the RX just to be on the 'safe' side, one of the transistors burned when I tried to connect to betaflight!

I am now faced with the problem that as these are my 1st complimentary items to review, and I don't want to be refused further reviews, so feel I can't just say something like -
"It's sh!t, anyone who buys this is obviously a frikken moron!"
Also because I'm a noob I don't have the confidence or experience to be 100% certain that I haven't done something wrong!

Just my 2 cents from the other side.

It's very brave of you to want to take on reviewing stuff when you still view yourself as a 'noob'.

The problems you've had show very clearly how some of these flight controllers are anything but 'noob friendly'! I'll bet they didn't exactly come with any clear instructions either?

If your review talks about the problems you had and the lack of clear information that is needed for someone who is inexperienced to use the items in question, that sounds like a fair and honest review from 'the noob's perspective' to me. If the company who supplied the items to you doesn't like the fact that you couldn't get the product working and doesn't want to send you stuff in the future because you gave them a bad review, then are they a company that people would want to deal with?

(18-Apr-2017, 04:31 PM)unseen Wrote: If the company who supplied the items to you doesn't like the fact that you couldn't get the product working and doesn't want to send you stuff in the future because you gave them a bad review, then are they a company that people would want to deal with?

Very true... as a source of information your credibility is just as important as theirs. High integrity=high credibility=trust from your audience.

(18-Apr-2017, 04:31 PM)unseen Wrote: It's very brave of you to want to take on reviewing stuff when you still view yourself as a 'noob'.

Or maybe foolish!?
My main issue was getting the TX to communicate with the FC, and as I have no other FC, TX or RX, I am unable to confirm which was the cause of my problem's! Add to the equation all the other options in the TX menu, and I haven't even mentioned betaflight yet..!

(18-Apr-2017, 04:31 PM)unseen Wrote: The problems you've had show very clearly how some of these flight controllers are anything but 'noob friendly'! I'll bet they didn't exactly come with any clear instructions either?

Your right about that, but realistically there is a map, of which pads are for what, which should be enough, even for a noob! It was more that there was very little info on the TX & RX, between pimousse's A8S review and your help unseen, confirmed that I had bound the TX and RX and (pretty sure I had) set them up correctly.

(18-Apr-2017, 04:31 PM)unseen Wrote: If your review talks about the problems you had and the lack of clear information that is needed for someone who is inexperienced to use the items in question, that sounds like a fair and honest review from 'the noob's perspective' to me. If the company who supplied the items to you doesn't like the fact that you couldn't get the product working and doesn't want to send you stuff in the future because you gave them a bad review, then are they a company that people would want to deal with?

These are exactly the experiences that I want to document, but trying to make the supplier see it this way... I am looking at the bigger picture of 'A Noobs Guide' how to become a multi rotor pilot. A year ago, my 5 year goal was to (at least have the experience to) obtain my RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System) license here in South Africa. 1 year on and I am still learning how to use yaw authority in acro mode, on an H8 mini with a stupid tiny toy TX!

I've got a dog called Reviews, when he eats my paperwork I say "Bad Reviews!!"