Introduction
Shantou Dowellin Toys Factory (DWI Hobby trademark) is a well-known company for the production of p radio controlled toys, dating back to 2004. For fourteen years, Dowellin have earned a good reputation, both in the domestic and foreign markets, today their products are exported to more than 50 countries around the world.
The Dwi Dowellin D7 is an increasingly popular compact quadcopter designed primarily for the young consumer category. With a similar design and appearance to the premium selfie drone Hover Passport, the model quickly gained attention. We also did not pass by and decided in practice to make sure of its practicality and quality of performance.
Features
- High-performance materials
- Foldable design
- Full frame propeller guard
- 6-axis gyroscope
- 2MP / 0.3MP camera (720p / 480p)
- FPV (Wi-Fi)
- Altitude hold (barometer)
- Auto Takeoff / Landing
- Draw Curve
- Voice Control
- FPV Headset Mode
- Headless Mode
- RTH function
- 360 ° flips
- Max. FPV removal distance 20 meters
- Max. flight time 6 min
- LED backlight
Options
480P and 720P, which in general determines the quality of the drone's onboard camera.
720P Kit:
- Dwi Dowellin D7 Quadcopter
- 3.7V 380mAh LiPo Battery (with Molex 2.0mm 2P connector)
- USB cable for battery charging
- Control equipment (powered by 3 × AAA, not included)
- 2 × spare rotor (CW / CCW)
- Screwdriver
- Lock-type carabiner (for easy case transportation)
- User manual (English / Chinese)
- Illustration for Wi-Fi connection (English / Chinese)
- Transport case
Appearance
Specification
Motors
The Dwi Dowellin D7 quadcopter is equipped with collector-type motors, laid horizontally in the drone's beams, the torque in this arrangement is transmitted through the gearbox. The developer does not specify information about the performance of the motors. In practice, the potential of the motors is quite enough, the quad easily performs 360 ° flips and demonstrates stable behavior in flight, which will be more appreciated by beginners.
Quadric activity can be adjusted in three modes: 30% / 60% / 100% (left end button on control equipment)
Safety
Full frame protection of the rotors, allows not only to extend their life, but practically to naught, reduces any possibility of injury during the operation of the quadrocopter.
Anti-jamming
If something prevents the D7 motors from rotating, the anti-seizing will operate and the motors will be stopped at the same time.
Camera
As mentioned above, depending on the configuration, Dowellin D7 can be equipped with: 2MP / 0.3MP camera with variable angle tilt. The top 2MP camera in practice has proven itself exclusively from the best side; in the niche of budget UAVs, the quality of shooting can be noted as one of the best.
There is no built-in memory card slot on the D7, all footage is saved in the smartphone's memory.
FPV
First-person flight on the Dowellin D7 is implemented classically for the budget drone segment by means of a built-in Wi-Fi video transmitter operating at a frequency 2.4GHz. The very fact of the coincidence of the frequency range immediately predetermined the quality of the FPV flight, so we initially did not expect good results from this option.
In practice, the first-person flight of the Dwi Dowellin D7 is much better than that of the same Eachine E58, nothing interferes with the view, the delay is noticeably less, it is more comfortable to fly... The stated FPV distance (20 meters) in the specification has generally been confirmed in practice.
Battery
Dwi Dowellin D7 is powered by 1-cell (1S 3.7V) lithium - 380mAh polymer battery (Molex 2.0mm 2P connector). The practical flight time on the first charge cycles was on average 5 minutes (in FPV mode) and 6 minutes (without a camera), which generally corresponds to the declared time in the specification. Over time, the potential of the battery will gradually decrease.
Undoubtedly, it would be best to take care of additional batteries when buying, but we hasten to warn you right away that it is recommended to pause after each flight so that the commutator motors can cool down. This approach will significantly extend the working life of the collector motors.
A low battery will be indicated by a flashing LED backlight of the quadcopter (2 × red LEDs and 2 × blue ones).
Charging
The battery is charged using the supplied USB cable. The fact that the battery is charged will be indicated by the red LED built into the USB plug. According to the specification, the charging time is 1h 32min. In practice, this time averaged 1 hour 10 minutes.
Control
The Dwi Dowellin D7 provides three control options:
Control Equipment - activate the drone by holding the button ( on top of the quadric
Smartphone (via the "HTS-UFO" IOS / Android application) - activate the drone by holding the button ( on top of the quadric“HTS-DD17C0”"Set"gear icon"720P Interface Preview"
Control equipment smartphone (IOS / Android) - activate the drone by holding the button ( on top of the quadric“HTS-DD17C0”"Set"gear icon"720P Interface Preview"
Voice control - the quadcopter can be controlled by voice, albeit not in such a wide range as using a smartphone or control equipment. The Dowellin D7 performs the commands in English: Take off / Land / Forward / Backward / Turn left / Turn right. Voice control is active when the drone is paired with a smartphone (no control equipment). To do this, connect the quadcopter to your smartphone, go to the main control menu using the “HTS-UFO” application, tap on the “Off” icon, then on the icon in the form of a vertical reversing arrow (in the center of the upper part of the display). In the center of the screen, between the digital sticks, find the microphone icon. Every time you want to give one of the above commands, touch this icon and say a word in English, after the quad will obediently execute it. It's worth noting that the option works surprisingly well!
The Dowellin D7 quadrocopter is equipped with compact control equipment operating at a frequency of 2.4 GHz. The ergonomic arrangement of the auxiliary buttons allows you to quickly adapt to their purpose and in the future does not require visual control over what and where you press at the time of piloting. The foldable smartphone holder is an integral part of the equipment, which in fact adds to the compactness (max. Smartphone width 7.5cm). Power is supplied from three AAA batteries (purchased separately). Provides a removal distance of no more than 30 meters, which has been confirmed in practice.
Assignment of buttons
You can view the assignment of icons of the application "HTS-UFO" here
Recommendations
- If necessary, to completely stop the motors and turn off the quadric, simply fold it into the transport state.
- If the aircraft is launched outdoors, it is recommended to do so in clear and calm weather. The small mass and low potential of the collector motors lead, as a rule, to an uncontrolled flight of the UAV in the direction of the wind.
- To extend the battery life, the manufacturer recommends charging the battery 30 minutes after the end of the flight. This is due to the fact that the battery gets very hot during flight, and charging to "hot" has a detrimental effect on the overall condition of the lithium-polymer battery.
- At the time of storage, it is recommended to disconnect the aircraft battery and remove power from the control equipment.
- Practice has shown that one supplied battery is not enough for a full-fledged learning process. Therefore, it will not be superfluous to buy 2-3 additional batteries.
- Remember to take short pauses between flights so that the brushed motors have time to cool down. This approach will significantly extend their working life!
- For accurate gyro operation, it is recommended to calibrate it after even a minor crash. To do this, immediately after the accident, return the drone to the pre-flight horizontal position, then press and hold the emergency shutdown button on the control equipment (or tap the corresponding icon in the HTS-UFO application).
- Since the function "Flight along a drawn curve" is implemented in this quadric at the simplest level, we recommend that you make the first flight on the street, in a place free from people and obstacles. And also start your first acquaintance with this function with short curves. The function becomes active only when the quadric is paired with a smartphone. When it is activated, the right digital stick will be excluded, instead, a field will be released for drawing all kinds of curves with your finger.
Price
The quadcopter is sold through all well-known Internet trading platforms. Dwi Dowellin D7 with a top-end 2MP camera will cost the consumer $ 40.
Conclusion
Pluses
- Quality
- Design
- Portability
- Controllability
- Security
- 2MP camera (tilt angle)
- FPV
- Voice control
- Price
Cons
- One battery included (we recommend buying several batteries at once, but do not forget to pause between flights so that the motors have time to cool down)
- There is no built-in port for a memory card
Compact, safe and well-executed product. Dwi Dowellin D7 incorporates all the necessary qualities that a young beginner's drone should have. It worked out all the declared functions without any complaints, and was pleasantly surprised by the acceptable quality of flight in FPV mode via Wi-Fi. We note the exponential handling, the quality of the 2MP camera and the included transport case
Video
Test flight and quality of the Dwi Dowellin D7 camera.
Photos
Test photo from Dwi Dowellin D7 quadrocopter.
