Neo available German Store

[Fingolf]

Now online

[mc20piece]

And Mikadousa. Just preordered 3!!!

[Bigpops]

Indeed.

The first things I notice are:

The standard version (no built in Rx) is amazingly 10 euros cheaper than the current mini Vbar.
The standard version (no Rx) with extra sensor is Silverline money.

I'm pretty happy with that. I'm sure to get one, though which version it will be I don't know as I may or may not go Vbar control next year.

EDIT:

Just seen that the price for the Pro with rescue firmware is $120! I almost fell off my chair.

That's expensive.

Now I'm almost glad of their much maligned pricing model, as I won't have to pay it because I don't want it.

[acidla]

Nice!

[Retired2011]

I'm getting Pro+Rescue on at least one to start with...I have to see how it all works.

I think it's still very competitively priced at $400!

[Vinger]

Originally Posted by Retired2011

I'm getting Pro+Rescue on at least one to start with...I have to see how it all works.

I think it's still very competitively priced at $400!

Spirit gives you all that at $220!

[mahbouni]

I ordered a Neo Express with VLink from Mikado Germany. Monday is a holiday so if they ship it today I should have it Tuesday.

[Steve_JR]

Originally Posted by Vinger

Spirit gives you all that at $220!

But at $400 it has rx built in. $220 spirit needs at least ~$40 rx

So $260ish vs $400 plus you can put it in a plane if u want.

[mahbouni]

Originally Posted by Steve_JR

But at $400 it has rx built in. $220 spirit needs at least ~$40 rx

So $260ish vs $400 plus you can put it in a plane if u want.

And probably quads soon.

[Matwes]

Originally Posted by mahbouni

And probably quads soon.

Multicopter firmware is confirmed, it will be called VCopter. Will be released soon.

[mahbouni]

Originally Posted by Matwes

Multicopter firmware is confirmed, it will be called VCopter. Will be released soon.

Awesome! I knew they were experimenting with it but I didn't know it was close to being released. I'm wondering if VCopter will include Vbar or will they separate the firmware like VPlane.

[Matwes]

It'll be a separate firmware.

What I've heard from a 100% reliable source is that they are in the final stages of testing.

If it's going to be as good as VPlane is, it's gonna be a killer. VPlane absolutely rocks in my warbird.

[rumo]

Originally Posted by Vinger

Spirit gives you all that at $220!

I disagree. If I want to compare the prices of both, then I have to add the costs of a receiver and the difference in price from a Kontronik ESC to my YGE to the price of the Spirit.

I don't need a rescue function, so the Neo takes the first place when it comes to price. If I'm including the price for the Neo rescue, then it's a head to head.

Taking the 1st class customer service from Mikado into account then it's very, very difficult for every competitor to beat the Neo. OK, I live in Germany, but the responsiveness of Mikado is amazing. As an example: Replacing a sensor of a Silverline, which maybe was defect, took three working days! For me that is worth a little extra money, because I'm sure I got problems solved very fast and therefore can use what I have paid for and not wasting valuable time waiting for.

[Vinger]

Originally Posted by rumo

I disagree. If I want to compare the prices of both, then I have to add the costs of a receiver and the difference in price from a Kontronik ESC to my YGE to the price of the Spirit.

I don't need a rescue function, so the Neo takes the first place when it comes to price. If I'm including the price for the Neo rescue, then it's a head to head.

Taking the 1st class customer service from Mikado into account then it's very, very difficult for every competitor to beat the Neo. OK, I live in Germany, but the responsiveness of Mikado is amazing. As an example: Replacing a sensor of a Silverline, which maybe was defect, took three working days! For me that is worth a little extra money, because I'm sure I got problems solved very fast and therefore can use what I have paid for and not wasting valuable time waiting for.

Neo plus Vlink plus rescue plus VControl is in total over $1000. As I do not use VControl, there is only a JRXbus receiver and Spirit for my setup, so it is $280 to get rescue, vibration analysis, free updates and a great flying FBL unit.

We need to be realistic, it seems as if all the additional stuff, like VPlane, VCopter etc is only available if you use VControl, so that needs to be factored into the cost to enable all those. I fly planks and do not really need VPlane, so I am sticking to my JR DMSS sytem as I have made a large investment into receivers and telemetry sensors.

Been a diehard VBar user, but it just seems as if Mikado wants us to use their radio to unlock the full potential of the Neo.

[waxman]

But if you fly planes and don't have vcontroller, then why would you want to put a neo in the plank? Wouldn't you just use a receiver?

[hemp]

Originally Posted by Vinger

it just seems as if Mikado wants us to use their radio to unlock the full potential of the Neo.

No offense intended, but that isn't exactly a carefully guarded secret. Mikado knows that you will get the best possible experience out of their FBL system by using the VControl. Why would they not leverage that to the fullest extent possible to offer as much unmatched value as possible?

At the same time, you have lost nothing with NEO if you don't use VControl from what your old VBars are capable of and you can add Rescue. Explain again how they are mistreating their non-VControl customers?

A VBar NEO (no Vlink) with Pro is $260.
A VBar Silverline with Pro is $320.
Heck even a Mini with Pro is $240, which is an inferior hardware platform compared with NEO.

Add Rescue+Pro (99 Euro) to NEO and it's $330.88 -- check out the price of that Silverline again and come back after it registers... I'll wait ...

There are many cheaper FBL units out there, some of which have a rescue - it's a flooded market right now and will probably get more flooded before it pulls back. If you want to fly something else, that's great. But ticking off a list of feature checkboxes is not the same as feature parity; I suspect you know that. People who want the pleasure of flying VBar and also want Rescue will pay it.

Final point -- if rescue is the silver bullet that so many believe it is, then surely it would pay for itself very quickly. Save one set of 700 blades and you're already ahead (I'm paying $135 per pair ... talk about gouging.)

[waxman]

Save one good crash on a 700 and you would likely have paid for the v controll, neo and the pro/rescue package. Even my 450's cost between $150 to $300 per crash these days, so saving a couple of crashes a year the system would soon pay for itself.

I actually think mikado should put a counter on the rescue feature so people can look back over the life of the model and see how many times it has saved them.

[Vinger]

Hemp, I'm just being realistic, not just ticking boxes, the Spirit performs really well and it's quality has surprised me. A VBar Neo is definately on my shopping list, my point is just that Mikado has unrealistic hidden costs that is hard to comprehend in the current market. Even the Demon has been unrealistically priced if one wants to have rescue.

Fortunately I only have to replace four VBars and am currently testing a Spirit and if it fits my requirements for speed flying then that will be the way forward. The Vbars have served me well and am in no hurry to get rid of them, but trying other solutions is part of the fun of this hobby.

BTW the AC3X V3 is another option and has great reviews amongst the speed flying fratenity, with onboard logging but no rescue, so I am going to try that as well. Might be an expensive exercise, but at least we have choices out there.

[hemp]

Should be noted that neither Spirit nor AC-3X V3 have an internal governor. For some that doesn't matter, but if we're going to compare prices we should at least consider the boxes that aren't checked.

[Vinger]

Originally Posted by hemp

Should be noted that neither Spirit nor AC-3X V3 have an internal governor. For some that doesn't matter, but if we're going to compare prices we should at least consider the boxes that aren't checked.

Have posted that earlier, but I am sold on ESC governors, and for speed a governor is not needed. Kosmik governor works well in all my helis, so for me not a requirement at all.

My only need is XBus, rescue, easy setup and for the unit to fly stable in FFF. Currently the VBar ticks all those except rescue....