Banggood to Bang-don't

[Arkansas Drone Pilot]

I decided to buy a drone from Banggood in China and found that when it showed up, it was missing the receiver in the drone and failed to provide any information on how to get a receiver for the Wizard 220. Failed to provide any data on software or firmware or where to download any of the firmware. The worse part was that when I complained on their website I was automatically banned from posting any kind of rebuttal and when even atter contacting their customer service, which is next to impossible, still got no help. Blow this company off if you can. They have good deals but can rip you off and will rip you off if given the chance, THUMBS DOWN TO THE BANGGOOD.COM STORE AND WEBSITE for being customer UN-friendly.

 

[Bob Mutch]

Was the model listed as a "BNF" or "RTF"?

 

[Arkansas Drone Pilot]

Was the model listed as a "BNF" or "RTF"?

This is the ad that Banggood ran and is running for this model: Eachine Wizard X220 FPV Racing Drone Blheli_S F3 6DOF 2205 2300KV Motors 5.8G 48CH 200MW VTX ARF

 

[Bob Mutch]

They must have added this note later;
Note:
This version comes without battery, charger, receiver or remote control.
Different from the RTF version, the ARF comes with F3 6DOF flight controller and 2205 2300KV brushless motors.

 

[Bob Mutch]

I have made numerous purchases from Banggood in the past. Hopefully I'll never have to use their customer service.

 

[theGreenOrange]

This is the ad that Banggood ran and is running for this model: Eachine Wizard X220 FPV Racing Drone Blheli_S F3 6DOF 2205 2300KV Motors 5.8G 48CH 200MW VTX ARF

Hi,

Not to give you a hard time, but that package doesn't include a receiver. The software is all hosted on the betaflight and cleanflight websites, you just google it and download whichever you choose (choose betaflight!), along with the flight controller driver. Flash the SP Racing Acro firmware from the drop-down list to the flight controller. However, they should have explained this to you in a kind manner when you contacted them and there is no excuse for being rude about it.

The note Bob mentioned has been on the site the whole time, I remember reading it when we were discussing the package.

Anyways, my point is not to call you out, it is to make you feel better about your purcase. You have some really good gear there. It sounds like a simple misunderstanding, with some poor support. If you have any trouble getting it going, let us know on here and we will point you in the right direction. Good luck!

 

[Arkansas Drone Pilot]

They must have added this note later;
Note:
This version comes without battery, charger, receiver or remote control.
Different from the RTF version, the ARF comes with F3 6DOF flight controller and 2205 2300KV brushless motors.

I can promise you Gentlemen that I carefully read everything on which I am going to buy to be sure on what I should get. Yes, your spot on with the NOTE coming out after I began raising hell with them. The note has been added after the fact, that I can promise you. If I had read that it came with no Receiver, at least they could have suggested a receiver and a controller to use with the Wizard instead of leaving me hanging on a rope over a deep cravass. thanks guys

 

[Arkansas Drone Pilot]

Hi,

Not to give you a hard time, but that package doesn't include a receiver. The software is all hosted on the betaflight and cleanflight websites, you just google it and download whichever you choose (choose betaflight!), along with the flight controller driver. Flash the SP Racing Acro firmware from the drop-down list to the flight controller. However, they should have explained this to you in a kind manner when you contacted them and there is no excuse for being rude about it.

The note Bob mentioned has been on the site the whole time, I remember reading it when we were discussing the package.

Anyways, my point is not to call you out, it is to make you feel better about your purcase. You have some really good gear there. It sounds like a simple misunderstanding, with some poor support. If you have any trouble getting it going, let us know on here and we will point you in the right direction. Good luck!

Right now the drone is on my workbench with the top off. I am not really sure on how to install a receiver based upon what I am looking at. Believe me, I can solder with the best of them and did so in my 250 Strider Racer I built last year from scratch, I made some improvements to the racer with ESC's and Motors available at the time. Had to use Open Pilot which was the predominate if only program available at the time. It flies, maybe not as good or as steady as it should but it does fly. Give me a set of directions and I am off to the races big time. This was the problem with the Wizard I bought, it had nothing to support the purchase. Don't get me wrong, I am not asking for anything FREE, if I have to pay for the Receiver, then give me a price for it and a matching controller. No problem when it comes to money, this is about HONOR and doing the right thing.

 

[theGreenOrange]

Right now the drone is on my workbench with the top off. I am not really sure on how to install a receiver based upon what I am looking at. Believe me, I can solder with the best of them and did so in my 250 Strider Racer I built last year from scratch, I made some improvements to the racer with ESC's and Motors available at the time. Had to use Open Pilot which was the predominate if only program available at the time. It flies, maybe not as good or as steady as it should but it does fly. Give me a set of directions and I am off to the races big time. This was the problem with the Wizard I bought, it had nothing to support the purchase. Don't get me wrong, I am not asking for anything FREE, if I have to pay for the Receiver, then give me a price for it and a matching controller. No problem when it comes to money, this is about HONOR and doing the right thing.

I would get a receiver that uses s.bus, (or PPM) so you only have to connect 3 pins to the flight controller. Can you post a picture of the flight controller? That may help us find a manual for it. It is probably a clone of the SP Racing Acro. You might download that manual for that and see if it is the same as yours.

Most radios are available in a version which includes the receiver. I would check out the Radiolink AT9 for $100 or AT9S for $140 on Amazon.

Not to bust your balls, but I must disagree on the note being added later. I remember reading it when we were discussing the package. But, everyone makes mistakes including me. You might check the "wayback" internet archive (i think that is what it is called) which logs all changes to websites and I believe keeps a cached copy of previous versions if you feel they did something wrong and want some evidence to show them.

 

[Arkansas Drone Pilot]

Hey GreenOrange,
I will not dispute your recollections on what was written on the original sales ad. Just cut me some slack as at 63 years old, my short term memory is not the best in the world and I fully admit it.
I may be biting off more than I can chew when it comes to Racing Drones but Nothing Ventured--Nothing Gained as they say. Maybe they will come up with a Seniors Level Racing League for the Drone Racing Leagues so common today. I would even be willing to entertain supporting a young racer who is needing help in getting it together. Pretty simple support, parts and such to race with and in exchange a per cent of the winnings if any.

Will see if I can get some photo's, close ups of the board and inside of the Wizard so that we are all on the same page. Thanks again for your help.

 

[theGreenOrange]

Hey GreenOrange,
I will not dispute your recollections on what was written on the original sales ad. Just cut me some slack as at 63 years old, my short term memory is not the best in the world and I fully admit it.
I may be biting off more than I can chew when it comes to Racing Drones but Nothing Ventured--Nothing Gained as they say. Maybe they will come up with a Seniors Level Racing League for the Drone Racing Leagues so common today. I would even be willing to entertain supporting a young racer who is needing help in getting it together. Pretty simple support, parts and such to race with and in exchange a per cent of the winnings if any.

Will see if I can get some photo's, close ups of the board and inside of the Wizard so that we are all on the same page. Thanks again for your help.

Don't get discouraged, we will get it flying. And I am not trying to fault you in any way, just giving my honest recollection (which may not be 100% accurate!) I probably can't compete with the reflexes of a teenager either since I am 40. Jerry on here is in his 60s and having lots of fun. It won't be too bad getting it going, especially since you already solder well.

 

[theGreenOrange]

Try this for direct correspondence if you want. If not, no problem.

Got it, you can delete address from the post if you want

 

[Arkansas Drone Pilot]

Now to see if I can upload a picture of the Flight Controller for some opinions by everyone.

 

[theGreenOrange]

Now to see if I can upload a picture of the Flight Controller for some opinions by everyone.

You can find the manual here:

http://seriouslypro.com/files/SPRacingF3-Manual-latest.pdf

Depending on what protocol the receiver uses, you will find where to wire it up. S.Bus uses UART3 on one of the big connectors if I remember right.

Edit: If you do use an S.Bus receiver and the connector they chopped off contains UART3, you can just use the UART3 pin headers (+, -, rx)

 

[Arkansas Drone Pilot]

Can you give me a source for the straight and 90 degree pins, and compatible Wire, differing colors, etc..
Right now I am still waiting on the Eachine 180 Racer that has the tilting rotor bars. I was thinking that I could try to match up a Receiver that would be compatible with the 180 Racer, but until the racer shows up and I actually have my hands on it, I would just be guessing on a Receiver to buy, unless someone knows which Receiver Eachine uses in their drones? The 180 Racer will be coming with it's own Controller, did not want to make the same mistake twice.

I have looked and looked for a great working Soldering Iron, as most know, it is really easy to burn the tip and you have to sharpen the tip if your soldering small wire into the small holes on the flight control boards. Any soldering tips when it comes to equipment and brand of solder would be appreciated by yours truly. thanks

 

[theGreenOrange]

Can you give me a source for the straight and 90 degree pins, and compatible Wire, differing colors, etc..
Right now I am still waiting on the Eachine 180 Racer that has the tilting rotor bars. I was thinking that I could try to match up a Receiver that would be compatible with the 180 Racer, but until the racer shows up and I actually have my hands on it, I would just be guessing on a Receiver to buy, unless someone knows which Receiver Eachine uses in their drones? The 180 Racer will be coming with it's own Controller, did not want to make the same mistake twice.

I have looked and looked for a great working Soldering Iron, as most know, it is really easy to burn the tip and you have to sharpen the tip if your soldering small wire into the small holes on the flight control boards. Any soldering tips when it comes to equipment and brand of solder would be appreciated by yours truly. thanks

Is the 180 RTF, BNF, or ARF? Ready to fly includes radio and receiver, Bind n fly includes receiver, almost ready to fly has neither. Please provide a link so I can see what parts it has.

For soldering, I guess a quality iron would be nice but I am just using one I bought 20 years ago for like $12. Works fine, only thing is the grounds on the PDB can take a little while to heat up. For solder, get rosin core about .032" in size (very thin). Be sure to get some desoldering wick as well. Also a "helping hands" adjustable wire holder is often very useful.

I will try to find a source for pins and stuff, I know amazon has some stuff but I did see a site with lots of goodies (can't remember).

 

[theGreenOrange]

If you do want a nice soldering iron, this would be my pick: ://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000AS28UC

 

[PhoenixFord]

For soldering, I guess a quality iron would be nice but I am just using one I bought 20 years ago for like $12.

I just recently picked up one of these. \/ \/ \/. I haven't used it yet. But watched one in use on a "Build Vid". Feels comfortable enough.

Weller Wps18mp High-Performance Soldering Iron - Walmart.com

 

[theGreenOrange]

Not bad, I just picked up one of these

www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00NHEEAH0

Hopefully I won't need to use it on my drone though, it is intended more for my old Plymouth xD

 

[Arkansas Drone Pilot]

Not bad, I just picked up one of these

www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00NHEEAH0

Hopefully I won't need to use it on my drone though, it is intended more for my old Plymouth xD

I have a Mig Welder and Plasma Cutter and used to own a Arc Welder. If you can find a way to use the Mig without burning up the Quad Electronics, let me know. Ha Ha. My welding experience began back in the mid 1970's when I was in College at Stockbridge School of Agriculture which is the forerunner of the University Of Massachusetts. Believe me, being in College in the Mid 70's, was a blast, had more encounters with women than I can remember. Yep, talking a lot of gratuitous Sex.