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Bought used Inspire 1, what to look for first?

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Jan 26, 2021
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Greetings,

Recently I bought from ebay an Inspire1 used ofcourse. What are most important things to check, so in case any issues would like to detect them in first day, not after 1 month from buying it. I could benefit from eBay sellers protection and get my money back if there are something broken inside I1.

Are there some device hw tests on the DJI apps or anything simillar, any advice is welcomed.

Best,
CS
 
Greetings,

Recently I bought from ebay an Inspire1 used ofcourse. What are most important things to check, so in case any issues would like to detect them in first day, not after 1 month from buying it. I could benefit from eBay sellers protection and get my money back if there are something broken inside I1.

Are there some device hw tests on the DJI apps or anything simillar, any advice is welcomed.

Best,
CS
Good luck on buying a 7 year old quad on eBay, I have 2, 1 I bought in person (works awesome and came with 3 batteries) paid $900. Bought 1 on eBay for $450 and should have known better, I have spent about $700 fixing it and it still has issues.
Hopefully yours is awesome, I would just see how many charges are on the batteries, under 75 is ok, do a system check on everything and first flight I would only fly a few feet off the ground for a while. CHeck to see if it goes in and out of travel mode with no issues, make sure gimbal will lock for FPV view for first flight.
One more thing, if battles do not fully charge, do not try them, if they will only charge to 85% or so and stop they really will only fly for a minute and fail in mid air.
Can I ask what you paid?
A lot of guys on here will bash the Inspire1 but thats like a guy with a 2020 Vette telling a guy with a 2018 Vetter that his car isn’t any good because it’s not the latest model.
I love my Inspire. I have every DJI product along with many others.
 
I agree with everything JStand has said... I just bought 2 Inspire 1 setups in the past month and a half, and have been through the ringer on one of them myself.

I would say make sure you check geometry of the legs, they should have a outward pitch of 4.5 degrees at the motors (conversely a -4.5" pitch in at the "feet"), that is "spec" per DJI. (one of mine was perfect, the problem child had the legs almost straight vertical). If it still has stickers on all the adjustment screws you are probably good.

Be sure to check the tightness of ALL the screws you can get to. On both of mine I noticed a number needing to be turned slightly to be tight, especially the 8 screws on the outside of the leg "tee-sections". On the problem child one of the legs actually rattled a bit until I tightened them down.
 
Good luck on buying a 7 year old quad on eBay, I have 2, 1 I bought in person (works awesome and came with 3 batteries) paid $900. Bought 1 on eBay for $450 and should have known better, I have spent about $700 fixing it and it still has issues.
Hopefully yours is awesome, I would just see how many charges are on the batteries, under 75 is ok, do a system check on everything and first flight I would only fly a few feet off the ground for a while. CHeck to see if it goes in and out of travel mode with no issues, make sure gimbal will lock for FPV view for first flight.
One more thing, if battles do not fully charge, do not try them, if they will only charge to 85% or so and stop they really will only fly for a minute and fail in mid air.
Can I ask what you paid?
A lot of guys on here will bash the Inspire1 but thats like a guy with a 2020 Vette telling a guy with a 2018 Vetter that his car isn’t any good because it’s not the latest model.
I love my Inspire. I have every DJI product along with many others.
Hi, thanks for the deep insight, paid for it with shipping 610 eur. And has this configuration:


DJI Inspire 1 with original housing, 2 transmitters, 4 batteries

I offer my DJI Inspire 1 with four batteries.
The drone is in very good condition,
has of course never crashed and comes with a lot of accessories.

I also have an original quad charger and ND filter
 
Hi, thanks for the deep insight, paid for it with shipping 610 eur. And has this configuration:


DJI Inspire 1 with original housing, 2 transmitters, 4 batteries

I offer my DJI Inspire 1 with four batteries.
The drone is in very good condition,
has of course never crashed and comes with a lot of accessories.

I also have an original quad charger and ND filter
Sounds like you got a great deal. I own a roofing company and really use my DJI Zoom for Inspections (or the Autel Evo when I’m Geofenced (dont’ tell or I lose my 107, lol) . I would never pull out the Inspire for an inspection because it’s such and intimidating beast. But, wow, it’s fun!
I did get my first Video Production Job. A golf course with 36 holes but I have to wait it greens up in spring, looking forward to using both controls with the Inspire then!
 
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Greetings,

Recently I bought from ebay an Inspire1 used ofcourse. What are most important things to check, so in case any issues would like to detect them in first day, not after 1 month from buying it. I could benefit from eBay sellers protection and get my money back if there are something broken inside I1.

Are there some device hw tests on the DJI apps or anything simillar, any advice is welcomed.

Best,
CS
Ground tests:
* Make sure the props mount solidly
* Make sure the motors spin freely
* Make sure the gimbal works (hand-held test - power up the bird - orient the bird in many directions, making sure the camera stays level)
* Make sure the camera records in all modes both video and stills

Flight tests / battery tests sans camera:
* Go to a park or any large GRASSY area and hover the bird for at least 2 minutes (note: I1's drift about 6 feet, so this is normal behavior). Keep an eye on battery data in Go App.
* Do low-level, slow-speed flight tests. I like to do figure 8's about 10 feet off the ground. Keep an eye on battery data in Go App.
* Do full acceleration ascent test. Keep an eye on battery data in Go App.
* Test automated functions like RTH.
* Make sure all telemetry functions are working properly.

It's not abnormal for batteries to dip into the yellow zone during full throttle. Once you stop ascending, batteries should return to green. Quick dips into the red zone raise a flag of caution. If all 6 cells stay in the red zone during max ascent, I would consider marking the battery as compromised or retire it.

Rx/Tx tests with camera:
* Attach the camera (extra payload) and re-conduct all the "sans camera" tests.
* In a controlled environment (wide open area), fly up to 400'. Keep an eye on radio reception in Go App. Pay attention to video feed.
* In a controlled environment (wide open area), fly out 2000' (You should be able to maintain LOS at that distance on a clear day). Keep an eye on radio reception in Go App. Pay attention to video feed.

If she passes all those tests, you have a good bird.

Note: Don't let anybody discourage you regarding the bird's age. Mine went into service July of 2016 and I still make a living using my Inspire 1 conducting several flights per month.

BIG FAT NOTE: FILM your initial test flights. Film the bird. Film the controller. Record the iPad (iPad has built-in screen record - make sure mic is on). Talk the whole time so there is no question regarding the validity/sync of the videos. If the bird DOES go south, you'll want video evidence of it.


D
 
I bought 2 on line and a refurbished inspire from DJI repair. I'm the chief drone pilot for my fire department and was hoping for reliability since I fly with a 2000 dollar Flir camera on the nose. Both my eBay units became unreliable, lost satellites, ran away several times while at fire scenes. I bought other people's problems. Sent one out for repair, they told me it was cheaper to buy a refurbished unit instead, plus it had a year warranty. I fly with more confidence now. I learned that it is best to take off and hover for 30 seconds and watch the actions of your drone. I use Litchi app. Since it talks to me constantly and tells me the altitude, satellites, battery level, altitude, distance etc. every 15 seconds so I can concentrate on my flying when at a fire scene. If for any reason the drone readouts are wrong at hover, I ground the drone. Example, drone goes to hover at takeoff, should be 3 feet, voice says 3 ft, but bird is at 4 ft. No good. Land immediately, recalibrate everything, try again, if the same, land it immediately for it will fly away on you, and fast. Happened to me at fire scene, took off like a bat. Try to remain calm,ha, place controller to manual and bring it back, land it, shut it down and send it in for evaluation. That's how I bought my refurbished inspire. At 7 lbs, this drone can cause some damage or injury. Since I am in the public eye at all times I must have confidence in my units. Good luck with your purchase, test fly your drone close by often and watch for behavior in hover, satellite collection, battery drainage, etc. My first purchase flew great for awhile before it displayed problems. Always expect the unexpected, always expect signal loss, satellite loss, independence, and know what to do when it happens. All drones are unpredictable, I lost signal with my department drone while just hovering above a situation. I'm looking straight at it at 130ft. Unit says signal loss, DJI, and bird returns back to me. So, you see, practice, practice, practice, learn manual flying, learn to react to emergency situations before they happen, then land relax, change your clothes, calm your heart rate down, then get back in the air. Guess I can speak from experience. Safe flying..
 

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