ATOYX AT 146 – Good choice as first drone
The ATOYX AT 146 is an affordable drone with camera and is perfect as a first drone for beginners. Equipped with a 720p camera, you record HD videos and view them simultaneously on your smartphone, which can be attached to the included remote control.
What the ATOYX AT 146 can do
Unlike more expensive drones with cameras, the ATOYX AT 146 does not have GPS for positioning, but it can still be easily controlled even by absolute beginners. The inexpensive mini-drone is suitable for children from 14 years and anyone who wants to gain their first experience with drones.
Design and technical data
With its 164 x 164 x 39 mm, the compact ATOYX AT 146 is barely larger than a standard smartphone and is convenient to transport thanks to foldable booms. The drone with camera is available in a choice of metallic blue, red, black or white, while the arms and rotors are always in matte black. For sufficient visibility in the sky, the ATOYX AT 146 has four small red and green LEDs.
Under the hood of the ATOYX AT 146, a 450 mAh battery with 7.4 V provides flight times between 5 and 7 minutes – which is not a lot, but quite common for drones in this price range. Charging the battery takes about 60 minutes.
With its weight of 254 grams, the small quadcopter is anything but a lightweight, considering its small dimensions. However, this is also an advantage if you should ever fly the copter in light winds, because the ATOYX AT 146’s own weight prevents excessive drifting. Please always remember when buying a drone that all multicopters with a take-off weight of at least 250 grams or with a camera may require the registration of the drone (depending on your yountry).
The small drone can be controlled within a radius of about 55 to 87 yards (50 to 80 meters), the 2.4 GHz signal of the remote control does not reach further. The ATOYX AT 146 usually survives minor collisions unscathed thanks to its robust plastic housing and propeller protection. A 6-axis gyro inside the drone ensures sufficient flight stability.
Before the start
Before you take off with the ATOYX AT 146, you must first fully charge the battery and then connect (bind) the remote control and drone. To do this, first switch on the remote control and then the drone – a procedure that takes place in this order for almost all drones. Now connect your smartphone to the drone via the Wi-Fi specified in the user manual and you’re ready to go.
Launching and landing is child’s play at the touch of a button on the controller. Once in the air, there are three different speed modes to choose from, depending on how confident you already feel in handling the drone.
Flight modes and features
In addition to automatic take-off and landing, the ATOYX AT 146 has several other features. For example, at the push of a button, it performs small tricks on its own, such as 360° 3D flips and rolls.
Especially practical for beginners is the so-called Headless mode. In this mode, you don’t have to worry about whether the front or rear of the drone is pointing straight at you when you want to execute a control command to the left or right. The ATOYX AT 146 will always move in the direction you moved the control stick – so rethinking, depending on the orientation of the drone in the sky, is not necessary in this mode and makes it very useful especially for the very first flight attempts.
In the so-called Gravity Sensor Mode (gyro mode), you control the ATOYX AT 146 exclusively with your smartphone. Depending on the direction in which you tilt your smartphone, the drone changes its direction. A very interesting mode, in our opinion.
The camera of the ATOYX AT 146
The ATOYX AT 146 has a 720p camera with FPV live image transmission. This means that you can view the live image of the camera already during the flight on the display of your smartphone and thus always see exactly what they film.
The small camera delivers quite good images and videos for this price range and is therefore ideally suited for gaining initial experience in creating your own drone footage.
Remote control and app
The ergonomic remote control of the ATOYX AT 146 is clearly designed and reminds of a classic game controller in terms of haptics. For operation, 2 AAA batteries are still needed, which are not included.
The smartphone app for the ATOYX AT 146 is available for Android and iOS and is easy to install. Neither registration nor an account is required to operate the app.
Scope of delivery
- 1 x foldable drone
- 1 x remote control (2 AAA batteries not included)
- 1 x 7.4V, 450mAh rechargeable battery
- 1 x smartphone holder
- 4 x USB charging cable
- 4 x propeller protection frames
- 1 x spare rotors
- 1 x screwdriver
- 1 x user manual
Conclusion
The ATOYX AT 146 is an excellent camera drone at a reasonable price and is, in our opinion, ideally suited as a first drone to start with this hobby.
Thanks to the robust plastic housing and propeller guards, the ATOYX AT 146 can easily withstand minor collisions and does not immediately break.
The simple controls, whether with the controller or just the smartphone, are beginner-friendly and the small HD camera delivers acceptable results. All in all, you can’t go far wrong with the ATOYX AT 146 and can therefore buy it with confidence!