This new quadcopter comes under different product names: JJRC H8C, JJRC F183 or DFD F183. All of them offer the same flight characteristics and features. They also have the same design, and I think the spare parts are interchangeable between these models.
The JJRC H8C has an onboard 2Mp HD camera that allows the pilot to capture aerial videos with a resolution of 1280 x 720 and 30 frames per second. Unfortunately, the quadcopter doesn’t have first-person view mode, but I plan to add such a feature to my H8C.
Compared with its competitor which uses only a 3.7V battery, the JJRC H8C has a 7.4V battery. More power means higher speed, longer flight time, extended flight range, and better wind resistance.
It is a ready-to-fly quadcopter, the package of the H8C contains everything you need to fly with it. You also got four spare propellers in case of too many crash landings.
Until I tested this JJRC H8C quadcopter, I thought that no model could dethrone the popular X5C from Syma, but after my first outdoor flight, I knew that we had a new winner.
As I mentioned, I plan to improve the JJRC H8C with some hacks. Firstly I want to add some real ball bearings to reduce the noise and the frictions. Also, I want to tray to add some cheap FPV solutions to the quad.
Another option that I want to try is to add an external Wi-Fi antenna to the H8C ‘s remote controller which hopefully will increase the flight range.
If you have any advice or suggestions on how the JJRC H8C quadcopter can be improved, just leave me a comment or email me.
JJRC H8C quadcopter features and specs
- Onboard 720p HD Camera with 1280×720 pixels;
- The flight speed can be set between 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%;
- 6 Axis gyroscope;
- Very stable with good wind resistance;
- It is suitable for both indoor and outdoor flight;
- LED light for night flights;
- Flight functions: up/down, left/right, sideward fight, forward/backward, turn left/right and 360-degree flips;
- Remote control distance: approximately 80 meters;
- Flight time: up to 8 minutes;
- Battery charger time: very long, up to 90 minutes. I recommend to buy it together with the H8C at least one spare battery;
- Battery: 2 cell 7.4V 500mAh Li-Po;
- Available colors: black and white;
- Size: 33 x 33 x 11.5 cm;
JJRC H8C quadcopter package includes:
- The quadcopter it self;
- 2.4Ghz transmitter with LCD display;
- Powerful 7.4V 500mAh Li-Po battery;
- One set of spare propellers;
- Prop guards, very useful for indoor flight and beginner pilots;
- 2Gb micro SD memory card for aerial videos and still images;
- USB micro SD card reader;
- Li-Po battery charger;
- Screwdriver;
- JJRC H8C user manual;
For some reason I cannot get the H8C’s camera to record or even take pictures, it worked when I first got it. I put two new SD cards in there and still nothing.Have any clue what’s going on? Also is there any sort of upgrade I can get to make it easier to record??
To balance the props on a camera quadcopter is a must!
In the beginning, I only balanced the propeller blades, then I learned to balance the hub.
By balancing the blades, you do away with the bulk of the vibrations, however, by balancing the hub, you end up with even smoother flight and steadier video.
Noise is also greatly reduced when the propellers are balanced…
The JJRC H8C is a nice quadcopter.
How to calibrate the JJRC H8C and what is the use of this procedure.
Also I am not able to make it hover precisely even after lot of trimming.
Somebody please help me.
I have been looking for a diagram of a JJRC H8C receiver panel. I had to change the panel and I did take photo’s of it but somehow I saved them somewhere and can’t find them. Yes I know, that was stupid. I am going blind looking for a photo or diagram so that I can get this quad flying. I love to fly it. I have cancer but seem to be slowly beating it. Working on the quads, I have 7 of them, has given me something to do that keeps my mind off of the other problem. It really has been a life saver for me. SO, Since I am new to all of this, I need all of the help I can get. Usually I can figure it out but wiring a control board is no place to guess. Now, if you could point me in the right direction, I would GREATLY appreciate it: more than you can know. Another reason I like this hobby is you get to meet some really nice people and you learn something new every day. I really enjoy learning how to do the modifications and you guys do a great job explaining why and how to do them. The antenna mod was very helpful in getting the height I needed to do some very neat photos. I live on a farm and have 42 acres on the Neuse River so the river provides an endless number of possibilities. I am rambling. Sorry about that. Well, I am sure you will be glad to know that is it. I sure hope you can help me. Thanks in advance.
Hi I just got my jjrc H8c a few weeks ago and now I have lost my remote control for it, what can I do now? Can I use any other controllers? Maybe can I use a PlayStation controller or xbox controller? If so, how? Or can I get another another controller and replace it or something ? Please help. Thanks.
Please friends I would like to replace the brush motors for ball bearing motors, you would know which engine to be purchased to replace the original factory?
and where can I can buy from: ebay site or dhgate ???
Unfortunately you can’t replace the motors with something better ones.
You can only replace the shaft bush with real ball bearings.
Missed the thing that you can add ball bearing motors to the H8C. This way will be more silent and even faster drone.
I was really enjoying it but after a few crashes inside the house. The quadcopter is not going up anymore only strait to one side in horizontal direction. I don’t know if there is a way to recalibrate it? Or how to find the part which caused this problem?
I bought two quad-copters (black and white) for me and my friend, plus 2 Lipo 7.3v 2s 1200mah batteries with JST plug.
This upgrade give us 20 min within strong wind flight; I used Velcro to attach the battery to the quad, and plug the JST plug -to original plug red-red/black-black. The camera can be attached also to the battery using Velcro as well, just pull the extra cable on the camera to plug it, to easy.
Overall this drone is good quality, lots of fun…
Cheers from NSW, Australia
Hey, I just got my JJRV H8V and loved it! But i am having some trouble with the camera.. I can’t get a record!
I press the buttom and the little camera is shown on display, as if it was recording, but when I try to watch the videos on my computer, the videos appear with “0kB”.. like there is nothing recorded!
Am I doing something wrong? Have anyone there already had this problem?
thanks
Make a try with another microSD card.
Well i tried, and didn’t work anyway :( but thank you!
Make sure you stop the video before you unbind or turn off the Quad. The video will be corrupt otherwise.
I love my H8C is a good flyer, but after weeks of usage I got one dead Li-Po battery and one dead motor.
Now waiting for H8C spare parts…..
I have done as subjested the bearings, balance props, ..
I put the tiniest drop od glue to the out side of the bearings so the shaft rotated through the bearings because the fit of the bearings was loose in the shell. And to fix the looseness of the prop screws I put a small piece of cane in the centre of the shaft so the small screw had something to grip onto ..and I got the white quod and I painted the back of mine black so I can tell front from back is bright sunny flying..
The aeril un grade made a magic improvement to control and distance flying..
Hi guys I just got my JJRC H8C…. Now I know how to calibrate it… But I wanna know why do we need to calibrate it… And how do I increase the flying time with Camera propeller guards etc etc… Like is there another battery I can use… This right now runs on the stock battery which is 7.4v 500mah… So do I just get a 650 or 700mah if available..?
Thanks guys, it is the flight control board, it must have gotten damaged on that last crash. I know I didn’t cross any wires, I took a pic of the insides and drew a diagram before I ever heated up my soldering iron. I have to wait again for parts. Anyone have any good ideas on where I can get another one? In the meantime, my h9d is only a couple days away. Ready to have some fun!
again, thanks for the feedback
I have the JJRC H8C QUAD, had to replace the motor and wait for a month for that. When I got the motor, I put it in like one of the videos shows. when I plug the battery up the motor goes non-stop without the power switch being on. I can’t sync it or calibrate it . what do I do??
you have a short-circuit somewhere! you should to check the circuit board again, hopefully you have not fried up your H8C receiver board.
Seems like you’ve crossed the contacts of the motor. Compare the wire colours to the other three motors.
Let me try to be more clear about the questions I have: When I press the power button on the controller, it blinks red. But I cannot tell what that means. And there is a small switch on the bottom of the quadcopter: is it for the camera only or for the quadcopter and camera both to get power? What is you want to fly the quadcopter bit not have the camera running…? How do you do that? Can you understand why I would not be able to figure these questions out? Directions written in normal English would solve the problems, but the manufacturer didn’t even get an English speaker to proofread and correct the poorly written instruction sheet.
DH – I forgot to mention that, with my unit, the switch on the bottom of the copter turns on both the copter and the camera. If you want to fly without the camera running, I would just unplug and dismount it. Good Luck!
I got mine and literally cannot understand the manual. The charging of the LiPO battery is intuitive and the installation of 4 ‘AA’ batteries in the transmitter is simple. But when I power up the transmitter, an indicator light blinks red. And I cannot make any sense of the manual instructions. They are so poorly written in broken English, that I cannot tell what to do. I graduated from college and had several older RC airplanes and never any problem understanding what to do to run the electronics. I’m surprised a manual in English would not have been proofread by a skilled English speaker who knew the procedure for checkout and poer up and flying the drone. How could the maker have omitted the very thing a new user needs most (clarity in instructions to make the drone usable quickly) ?
Can anyone point me to a document or article or video that shows what to do to check out the transmitter and quadcopter to make sure all electronics parts are working?
To power up: when controller is off push left stick forward all the way, push controller power button and then pull the stick all the way down. That syncs the remote to the H8C.
To do tricks: (while flying) hit the 3D mode button (right trigger) the controller will continuously beep until a command from the right stick is executed. ie left, right, up, down.
The rest is pretty much explained in the book semi clearly. These are the only 2 things I had figured out on my own.
DH – I agree, the manual is terrible! I’ve even wondered if it was the correct one for my JJRC H8C! Manual says up ‘Ascend/Descend’ is left lever but on my unit it seems to be the right lever. At least that’s the lever that increases power and makes the copter go up/down. I haven’t yet figured out how to make it go right/left (as the manual calls it ‘Side Fly’!) The copter also loses sync with controller and just drops from the sky far too often, even as close as 5 meters. And what is ‘Rudder Volume’? Anyone out there that give me some clues? Help!!
Luis, no hay manual en castellano. Hay un montón de videos con vuelos, reviews, …. pero todo en inglés, chino…
Lo tengo desde hace 3 semanas. Aún no pude salir a probarlo a la calle. Solo en casa y con el poco espacio en habitación te puedo decir que es imposible controlarlo. Ni elevarlo verticalmente, se va hacia los lados.
De videos de gente (en inglés) hay una teoría para equilibrarlo, una vez hecho, sigue igual.
A base de paciencia, no he logrado tenerlo en el aire más de 2 segundos, como se va para los lados …. castañazo.
Por eso no lo piloto mucho, no lo vaya a estropear antes de salir a la calle para saber si ahí si es posible controlarlo y cogerle el truiquillo al mando.
Desde luego la gente, en los videos lo manejan casi que perfecto, incluso en sitios pequeños. No se si es mi nula pericia o está defectuoso. Aunque para elevarlo verticicalmente y girarlo 360 grados no hace falta ser piloto profesional, pero ….
Buena suerte con su H8C
Cordial saludo
Acabo de recibir JJRC H8C, quien me puede ayudar con el manual en Español.
No tengo experirncia en este campo.
Some improvements that I also consider to do to my JJRC H8C quads:
– Range hack: adding external Wi-Fi antenna or solder a longer wire to the transmitter board
– replacing the bush rings with some MR74 radial bearings (4 x 7 x 2 Millimeters)
For longer motor life, use the first Li-PO only with 25%-50% of speed.
Hey WonderQuad,
I’m inquiring if you ever got to do the WiFi antenna upgrade to the JJRC H8C quadcopter. Hope you were successful because I am looking to do the same and would appreciate any procedures or techniques you’d be willing to pass on.
Also, can the stock camera accept larger file sized microSD cards as mine has become corrupt and unformatable, or do I have to stick to the same 2gb size micro SD?
Thanks,
Edd Maison
Hi EDD,
I Just made a test with an 8GB Kingmax HC calss8 microSD memory card. Both, pictures and videos were saved correctly on the memory card. So, you can use without any issue larger sized micro SD card with your H8C quad.
Still working on the H8C range hack….
WonderQuad
Cool design!
The white edition of the JJRC H8C looks like the Cheerson CX-20 quad :) just a bit smaller
I just received my JJRC H8C, it was well packaged.
After my first fly, I can say it is an awesome product! Super easy to control and it has very strong wind resistance.
For it’s price you can’t get better quadcopter!