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Tello Iron Man better in Low Light than normal Tello

My good ones actually look like your "bad" one. Did you mix up the images?
What I also see on your pictures as difference is the little "hole" in the leftmost cooling fin on the lower image that seem to not exist on the other one.
Might that be a more clear difference?
 
nope. double checked.
But I agree I can only see the difference if I look at one after the other. The little hole could also be a difference.
Hard to tell, I only have one good Tello left and I am waiting for delivery of my Iron Mans...
 
Hello Tello friends,

we are on the right track, Sherlock Holmes would be proud of us. Please take part in the further investigation.
What a wonderful forum, thank you.

once again
This message only occurs with the bad Tellos (Screenshot):

orange on Ryze Tello app
other Tello FPV

With best regards from DE

schlechte_Meldung.png
Meldung in TelloFPV.jpg
 

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Oh this will also happen with 'good' ones but only in conditions with much less light
 
Hi there

Volate!lo you're right, I've just checked it again, the message from the good Tellos looks like this, it's almost dark, mine still flies well, see scrennshots:

camera
my new old good Tello from 2018/12 0TQDFCxxx, the camera has a lowered opening, like with Vola! etlo good.

my old good Tello from 2018/12 0TQDFCxxx, the camera has a smooth opening, like with Vola! etlo bad.

Ryze APP.PNG

TelloFPV Meldung Dunkelheit2.PNG
 
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Just received a brand new, sealed Iron Man:
0TQDG4, produced 04/2019

It flies like a champ even in a large closet with almost no light! VPS message appears only if its pitch dark.
So that one supports the serial number theory!


But: It does _not_ have the chamfer around the VPS camera. It does have the little hole on the left cooling fin. The camera chamfer / pinhole idea of post #39-40 is not correct.
 
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Hi Volate!lo,

Congratulations, please enter another 2 or 3 characters from Iron Man 0TQDG4XXX, in this area the change from good to bad lies.
Did you buy the Iron Man new in stores?

My Tello also has the small hole in the radiator.
 
The "brand new" one is 0TQDG49IPB

I purchased it from some guy who won it in a local lottery, mainly because he had a photo of the S/N in his ad so I could be sure it wasn't too new.

If someone from germany wants to try a brand new unit: This dealer has 1 unit left @ 100 Euro:
 
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Interesting discussion.

My Tello fleet:

Regular Tellos:
0tqdf4bbxxxxxx 2018/4
0tqdf39bxxxxxx 2018/3
0tqdg58exxxxxx 2019/5 -- might be a "bad" one

Edu Tellos:
0tqdfatexxxxxx 2018/10
0tqdg32exxxxxx 2019/3

I say might be bad because the camera lens boundary is flat like the bad ones as shown in the earlier photos.

I need to fly them separately and verify the flight behavior. I just realized the serial number is on a sticker inside the battery cavity. I got the list above from the boxes.
 
Interesting discussion.

My Tello fleet:

Regular Tellos:
0tqdf4bbxxxxxx 2018/4
0tqdf39bxxxxxx 2018/3
0tqdg58exxxxxx 2019/5 -- might be a "bad" one

Edu Tellos:
0tqdfatexxxxxx 2018/10
0tqdg32exxxxxx 2019/3

I say might be bad because the camera lens boundary is flat like the bad ones as shown in the earlier photos.

I need to fly them separately and verify the flight behavior. I just realized the serial number is on a sticker inside the battery cavity. I got the list above from the boxes.
Just try them in normal artificial light conditions indoors.
The camera lens boundary is maybe no valid indicator (I have good ones with and without the chamfer)
 
Just try them in normal artificial light conditions indoors.
The camera lens boundary is maybe no valid indicator (I have good ones with and without the chamfer)
Yes, I will have to check flight in the standard artificial light that I use to test indoors. I am an educator and working indoors reliably is a necessity. I trust the serial number association more than the lens boundary.
 
@jjs357, thanks.

We look forward to your investigation.
The lens cover is not a distinguishing criterion, the good ones sometimes have this and sometimes that.

With best regards from DE
 
Second Iron man edition arrived. Second hand but looks unused.

Again: flies great, no low light problems.

0TQDG3 / March 2019 / with chamfer
 
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Hm, don’t know if the serial number code is correctly understood here. Just bought a Tello end of Decrmber 2020. Serial number does not match the pattern: 0TQZH7LEU04278.
Looks like it is a bad one, and I realized drifting off pretty quick, but don‘t know if manufacturing time was related to ZH7.
 

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Why not? 0TQZH7 means manufactured July 2020. You can check with the sticker on the box

I suppose it will drift in normal / low artificial light
 
Why not? 0TQZH7 means manufactured July 2020. You can check with the sticker on the box

I suppose it will drift in normal / low artificial light
Goung from DG for 2019 to ZH for 2020 does not look like a continuous counting.

but yes, you are right, its drifting off indoors, but not always as much as on the next flight.

edit: you are right, on the box it is written 2020/7...
 
...H7... is the manufacturing date, see a couple of posts before

the first few digits are something else, maybe an engineering revision, facory site or something. So far all 0TQZ have been reported to show this problem.
 
hello, very interesting the thread I went through it in full. I'm looking to buy a tello, but maybe I'll buy a used one? or can be a tello edu that looks better?
thank you
 
Hi there tellonewbee,

I have not yet read a report about a bad Tello EDU, but the tested EDU all had an earlier serial number, like the good normal Tello.
So there is no guarantee of a good new Tello EDU with a new or current serial number.
I had ordered a new Tello EDU, it disappeared from the post office, now I have finally received the money back, but I am not ordering a new one.
Recommendation, buy an old Tello that is still in good condition, inquire about the serial number beforehand. Do not buy old ones with badly scratched propellers, badly scratched or bent propeller guards, or scratched housings.
When purchasing a new EDU, please let us know how it flies and what its serial number is.

Good luck
 
Buying used is a gamble. I have had luck but I also read about people with bad luck.


If you can visit electronic shops right now you can see the serial number on a sticker on the box. See above posts how to identify the month and year and good / bad ranges.

It's not exactly clear when the brand new Iron Man I purchased was originally purchased because it was a lottery win. But guessing from the stickers it must be a fairly recent one. It had some insurance advertising sticker that was only recently introduced on the normal Tello box.

My guess is they built them in batches, and all "new" iron man you can still buy are actually old stock from 2019.
Nothing wrong with this, the 2019 battery has survived the shelf time quite well (gives 12min flight time without prop guards).

If you can make use of the special EDU features (swarm and mission pads) then buy an EDU, otherwise I'd shop around for a sealed iron man edition as it's a bit cheaper.
 

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