Drone News

You just read the GEPRC Hummingbird review, here is another competitor from Diatone: https://www.banggood.com/Diatone-2018-GT-M2_506-Normal-X-Titanium-FPV-Racing-Drone-PNP-F4-8K-OSD-TBS-VTX-20A-ESC-Runcam-Cam-p-1294284.html Here also we have a F4 FC solution pushed up to 8Khz (with MPU68000), the same Runcam CCD microswift FPV camera butthe VTX is TBS protocol compatible (to change the VTX settings via OSD). The ESC are rated 20A and are 4S compatible ….. For motors 1106/6500KV but this coupled with 2.5″ props…. The performances should be incredible. The machine comes only in PNP version. Another detail… but a cap is directly installed on the XT30 lead connexion… Great to remove completly all motor’s noise from the FPV link. Specification: Brand name: Diatone Item name: 2018 GT-M2.506 Normal X Color: Titanium Fury F4 8K flight controller: MPU6000 Six-Axis; OSD; 16M Flash; 5V 2A BEC; Camera: Runcam micro swift VTX: TBS unify 5V Version ESC: F25 20A Current Sensor 3-4S Motor: Edge racing 1106 6500KV Propeller: 2.5 inch Please note: The PNP (Plug and Play) version comes without battery, charger, receiver or remote control. Package included: 1 x 2018 GT-M2.506 Normal X FPV Racing Drone View the full article

INTRODUCTION The GEPRC Hummingbird is a new 110mm FPV brushless racer based on the 1106 motors/2″ props combo. There are a lot of competitors in this catergory. Among them the Aurora RC mini. As most of recent models, a CCD camera is now directly integrated, here a runcam model. The 48CH VTX can delivers different outputs power: from 0mW (for pit stop stage) up to 200mW. The Humminbird is massively 3K carbon based. At each arm’s extremity, 1106/6000Kv motors are installed. For the ESC, a 4-in-1 12A BLheli_S/Dshot600 solution. The machine can be found in PNP or BNF version with a FrSky XM+ receiver. Let’s check if this bundle represents the state of the art for microbrushless FPV racers. BOX CONTENT + 1 x GEPRC Hummingbird + 2 x Battery straps + 2 x Antenna tubes + 12 x Spare props (6 CW, 6 CCW) + 12 x M2 hexscrews + 1 x XT30 plug + 2 x Allen keys + 1 x Double side tape band A spare XT30 connector is here…. Why this one is not prefered out of box instead of the JST connector ? Maybe to be sure to not attempt any 4S tries ?. The instruction manual is only available online (attached below)…. No printed version. OVERVIEW The general structure uses an H design. Here is the full caracteristics of the machine. The Flight controller is neo-classic F4 Omnibus With 12A only ESC…. unfortunatly this machine can’t be run in 4S setup….. It’s confirmed to be a 110mm machine and all thickness measures are confirmed. 3mm for the arms… They look super strong. -FRONT VIEW The battery is installed beneath as for most FPV microbrushless racers. Unfortunatly, only 2″ props can be installed. -SIDE VIEW The microUSB port of the F4 board is located on the left side without any specific board alignement. Betaflight 3.2.1 is pre-installed with some fine-tuning in term of PID, light controls and OSD. For the VTX module located on the top tower layer, three lights are here, each of them can be red,green,blue. As we will see below, the VTX’s tuning procedure is different but not so hard in practice. Good news, thanks to the two latteral screws, the runcam FPV camera can be oriented from 0 degrees up to +45 degrees. More in case of frontal shock, the two latteral carbon plates protect the lens from most type of accident. -REAR VIEW The rear side welcome by default the JST connector… strange choice for a 3S brushless racer…. probably limiting the unload capacity of the battery. The FrSky XM+ antennas can be installed vertically via the 3D printed tube support. More a vertical columns of programmable lights is here and pre-configured. By default, you have a vertical scanner effect. It shows also left and right turns. -UPPER VIEW The unique VTX button is easy to access and the corresponding three lights as well. -BOTTOM VIEW Here a 350mAH 3S LiPo model is installed. 4min can be obtained with such model… Main probably a bit more with a 450 mAh model. -WEIGHT A little bit less than 120g with a 350mAh. Expect around 125g with a 450-500mAh model. Motors and props Branded directly by GEPRC, we have 1106/6000Kv. They are know to draw a lot of current and you need definitively a super good battery to feed completly the system. Be aware, the spare M2 hexscrews are only for the props…. They are too long for the motors Associated with, 2 full bags with 8 2035 triblades props inside. They are known to offer jellofree FPV feedback…. but with 1106 motors, is the 2″ only prop choice only represents the best solution ? Camera and VTX modules The classic micro runcam CCD model with a large FOV. If it’s a 600TVL only, it’s probably one of the best camera in the market currently. No real direct contact with the lens The camera can be uptilted massively for agressive FPV flights. The VTX controls is a bit different than usual. The principle is pass sequencially from the Vfreq, then to the Vband and finally to the ouput power selection instead of parallel selection for other VTX. It means you enter first in Vfreq selection…. then only here, you can enter into Vband selection and one more time from here to the Power selection. Everything is explained in the following scheme. UNBOXING, ANALYSIS, CONFIGURATION AND DEMO FLIGHT The FrSky XM+ must be bound in D16 non-EU mode. The bind button is easy to access from the rear side….. but first bad news, no RSSI exported to the last AUX12 channels. Fortunatly, the XM+ receiver is plugged via a 3positions JST connector It’s possible to disconnect it, then remove wires from the JST connector and use some pincher probes to flash a RSSI friendly firmware via a Taranis radio under OpenTX. After the flashing procedure, of course you will have to add manually the RSSI on both the receiver and OSD panels. Another strange thing I observed. In the configuration panel the IRC Tramp protocol is selected for the UART3…. but in practice, via the OSD when you try to apply new VTX settings, nothing change…. In practice there is no physical connection on the VTX to support this option. Despite being a 3S only machine, the machine is powerfull… and punchout really not bad at all…… but …. but immediatly a major concern can be raised. As soon as you input more than 35% of throttle, some video horizontal bands noise is here ….. and it’s really annoying. Probably linked with an inefficient voltage regulation from the BEC part… Don’t forget the 1106 motors draws a lot. The battery I used was only rated 30C…. so probably with a XT30 model based with a discharge rate > 45C… this noise will be limited. The machine flies pretty well… largely strong enough for any type of acro figures style. The control and the FPV range are great. However I also reported some little oscillations when recovering from a massive altitulde lost… Some little PID finetuning is still required for this machine. With the 350mAh battery i had in average about 4min of flight time. At least no problem of micro failsafe cut as we can meet with the default receiver of the Aurora RC mini. CONCLUSIONS The GEPRC is first of all a super strong and durable machine thanks to its great 3K frame. The CCD camera offers great FPV performances but unfortunaly corrupted by the motor’s noise captured by the BEC. The machine is powerfull despite being a 3S machine. In another hand I regret the usage of a 12A ESC solution only…. not strong enough for 4S setup and the JST connector in the lead connexion. With the XT30 instead, a super strong battery (>=45C) and main probably a 220uF caps soldered the Hummingbird can be one of the best 110mm in the market… but out of the box is not and I prefer a little bit more the Aurora RC mini or the 2″ version of the Emax babyhawk. Dump_BF_3_2_1 GEPRC-Hummingbird-Manual-EN-V1 PROS + Super strong frame + 1106 motors + Powerfull + Good CCD Runcam camera + Programmable light + FrSky XM+ receiver + 3 sets of spare props CONS – Video noise in the FPV link due to motors – 2″ props only – Default PIDs not perfect – JST default plug – Not 4S compatible (12A ESC only) – FrSky XM+ receiver not flashed with the RSSI compatible firmware – No IRC tramp direct support This quadcopter have been courtesy provided by Banggood in order to make a fair and not biased review. I would like to thank them for this attitude. You can find it actually for 189USD at https://www.banggood.com/GEPRC-Hummingbird-110mm-FPV-Racing-Drone-Omnibus-F4-12A-BLHeli_S-5_8G-48CH-VTX-RunCam-Micro-Swift-p-1245041.html View the full article

At least for the first batches, the lizard 105S suffered from some (minors) problems. One of them was the Jello effect due to the free gap inside the metal camera housing. Now it’s fixed from the last batch. A new camera & DVR update is now also available improving the general brightness sensitivity relatively poor for the first machines. You can find here: L105S_CAMERA_V1.1 Just insert the .bin in the root folder of your microSD card. Don’t rename the file…. power the machine. The blue DVR light should be solid. When the light is off, the flashing is done. Disconnect the battery and extract the microSD card. Eventually delete the .bin file if still present. View the full article

INTRODUCTION In the serie of Large FOV FPV goggles, after the semi failure of the Skyzone SKY03 and TopSky F7X, the long waited successor of the Commander V1 is here: AOMWAY COMMANDER V2. The new V2 edition got a 45degrees FOV !!! super immersive and uses classic 800×600 LCD screens far of HD performances of the two first competitors. More the DVR part is also updated for a more classic HMDVR architecture able to record NTSC/PAL sources into D1 720×576 format. As for the AC1, we still have a non removable builtin Diversity 5.8G RF module but now able to trigger up to 64CH divided into 8 different subbands. The AC2 is shipped with a RHCP cloverleaf antenna and a high gain patch plannar antenna. These AC2 are expensive and the price is close to the high-end fatshark models…. It’s a risk from Aomway… Let’s see if it can be a Fatshark killer… BOX CONTENT + 1 x AOMWAY COMMANDER V2 + 1 x 5.8G Cloverleaf RHCP antenna + 1 x 5.8G half-planner antenna + 1 x RCA to 3.5mm 4p jack cable + 1 x 2S-4S to DCin power cable + 1 x Spare facial mask + 5 x Aomway sticker + 1 x Screwdriver + 1 x Instruction manual (English/Chinese) + 1 x Transportation bag Like the AC1, the AC2 can be powered directly from a 2S up to 4S LiPo via their respective balancer JST plugs. Corresponding male JST connectors are given if you want to build your own DIY power cable. It’s a good point The main lead power lines are filtered with a 220uF caps. OVERVIEW The complete list of the features. We have 800X600 builtin LCD screen with LED backlight system. The main question is this 800×600 resolution enough to avoid pixelization effect on the screens ? In comparaison, the AC2 (right) is very similar to the AC1: same number of buttons, same location of them, same chassis in general. The main difference comes with the type of plastic used. Bye bye the deluxe soft mate model, now we have a more classic brillant material like the Sky02 V+. Versus my first V1 (first batch), now the V2 comes with a three points headstrap much more confortable where the LiPo can hold rear. Already pre-installed via a scratch system, a facial foam mask… confortable but not durable versus time. Two masks with different thickness are provided. The bottom side is also identical with a PS/2 connector for a headtracker connexion. Notice there is a pro version of the AC2 with pre-installed the headtracker module. The IPD sliders allow to reach up to 72mm versus 69mm for the first AC1 model. That’s a good news for large faces :). There is also a unique 3.5mm jack plug. By default, when the RF module is active, it’s an AVout. As soon as you turn off the RFmodule, this port becomes an AVin. Finally there is a microHDMI port to input any 720p/1080p sources. Notice, you will have first to select the HDMI (or HDMI3D) from the main menu THEN TURN OFF the RF module by very long pressing the central left joystick at center. You must hear two beeps (the first announce when you enter into the menu). -FRONT VIEW -SIDE VIEW Same DC port -REAR VIEW The basic foam mask. At least good news, when the Fan is turned on, the airflow is light and don’t dry eyes. The diopter section is upgraded for the V2… and is compatible with fatshark model. -UPPER VIEW Also the same buttons layout as for the AC1. From left to right we have a earphone plug in 3.5mm jack format, a microSD card slot accepting up to 32Gb card. I tested with basic miroSD cards… even not U10 and it works fine. Then the CH/Bands/Scan buttons. As soon as you short press on this button, it increases immediatly the channel value into the current selected Vband. IMHO it can be a problem… because the OSD Vfreq/Vband informations dissipear after 5s and as soon as you press this button, you may unselect the right Vfreq of your flying machine. I would adopt another strategy: i) of the Vfreq/Vband is not display, pressing this button first should first display the OSD info and ii) if the OSD informations are display increase the Vfreq number. Each time this button is shortly pressed, a small beep is emitted When you press this button more than 5s, you will be able to select the Vband. Now 8 subbands are available !!!! for a total of 64 channels. Each time you long press 5s, two beeps are emitted. Finally when you press and hold this button 10s, three beeps are emitted and the scanning procedure is lunch…. Just a basic “SearchA….” is displayed on top left…. nothing else… no progression versus channels… or even better no RSSI informations for each channel like the Skyzone procedure…. It’s minimalist. At least the all procedure is fast, about 8s… it’s quiet fast and the picked up signal is always the strongest. The “mode” joystick button got serveral functions as well. Up/down controls the brightness while left/right the contrast. Note that you can have independent settings of brightness/contrast for the RF or HDMI sources.. When you long press (4-5s) centrally the joystick, you enter into the main goggles menu. You can navigate with up/down directions and enter/exit into/from submenus with the right/left directions respectively. For the RF sources, by default you are in 4:3 aspect ratio mode but you can select a 16:9 stretching horizontally the central part cutting the top and bottom parts of the screen. Other options are available, especially for the headtracker. Notice there is two RF sensitivity mode, one so -called “FPV race” and the second “Long range”. The right “DVR” joysticks control the DVR recording and playback. By default the module is turned off… maybe a good idea if you are sure to never record and in order to save some batteries. So in practice, you will need to turn on first the module by long pressing centrally the joystick until you hear a beep. The “REC” message will be displayed on the top right section. To record, just press slowly… the “REC” will blink slowly every second. Repress one more time to stop recording. The REC msg will stay solid. When the DVR module is turned on first then if you long press centrally the DVR joystick…. you will hear two beeps and you will enter into the DVR/playback menu. This one is clearly based on the HMDVR architecture… we have exactly the same layout with with more restricted options. For example no possibility to select the file record format. We are stucked into D1 720×576 format. To playback recorded file, you have to press to the right the joystick when the “execute” suboption is selected. At least we can turn on the option to record automatically as soon as the RF module is on. The bay for the Headtracker module. -BOTTOM VIEW Same layout but now with IPD up to 72mm. In comparaison with the SKY03. Here the noze section is much more confortable/adapted for non-asiatic morphologies. No unconfortable feeling as for the SKY03 (none-fixed version) -WEIGHT About 30g added for the new V2. with a larger headstrap and an heavier patch plannar antenna, it’s not surprizing. ANTENNA A 8dBi half plannar antenna with a double layers system. BUILTIN DISPLAY As for the AC1, the AC2 welcomes a microHDMI port. First of all you need to select either HDMI-2D from the main menu. In general it can automatically display the HDMI but probably you will need also to turn off the RF module (very long press centrally on the left joystick until three beeps) A 720p source or a 2048×1152 source The rendition is pretty good…. Here is a 1080p example or 1080p Side By Side The 3D rendering is great !!! BUILTIN DVR UNBOXING, ANALYSIS AND TESTING A raw DVR recording for a basic NTSC CMOS AIO module CONCLUSIONS The Aomway Commander V2 goggles represents at least a serious competitor to the Fatshark HD3. The field of view is huge !!!, no specific blurring observed, relatively confortable whatever the type of face/noze you have. The builtin screens offers good results in term of brightness/contrast and color but not reach the top results of the SKY03 or Fatshark HDO. The RF sensitivity of the AC2 is also reported to be better than the AC1. More the builtin DVR module is one of the best actually. In fact, there is no real technical weak points for the AC2 except the introduction price… currently around 440USD …. so just 50USD less than the Fatshark HDO….. I am pretty sure the price of the AC2 will fall relatively shortly under the 400USD. If you own already a commander V1, is the upgrade a must to do… I will reply no if you are 100% satisfied with…. The 45 degrees FOV is a great feature for sure but probably no worthing 440 USD. If you never own a good FPV goggles, then the AC2 is possentially for you. PROS + 45 degrees FOV + No blur + Confortable facial mask + Larger IPD ajustement + Good Diversity sensitivity + Good builtin DVR + No DVR cropping for both PAL & NTSC sources + No frame lost/desynchronization with an external HD source + Good set of FPV antennas + 4:3/16:9 aspect ratio ajustement + Fast 64CH scan procedure (8s) + Fan not drying eyes + Diopter compatible CONS – Builtin screens not as precise as the Skyzone SKY03/FS HDO – Very Small amount of electronic background noise in RF mode – Color rendition a bit overwashed – No possibility to turn off the fan manually – No possibility to turn on permanently Vfreq OSD info – No RSSI feedback during Vfreq scan – Vfreq immediatly increased when Vfreq OSD info is off – Internal RF solution only – Expensive -(no powerswitch) These FPV goggles have been courtesy provided by AOMWAY in order to make a fair and not biased review. I would like to thank them for this attitude. You can find it actually for 440USD at https://www.banggood.com/AOMWAY-Commander-V2-FPV-Goggles-1080P-5_8G-64CH-Headset-HDin-AVin-Support-Head-Tracker-p-1281649.html View the full article

Well probably their first internal tests were not as good as the DJI Spark results and walkera just removed the walkera Peri from their website…. With the semi-fiasco of the Vitus…. (the final official android release is still not here 1 year later …). Wise decision from Walkera. View the full article

A new deluxe 215FPV machine is announced with the Red Hare 215: https://www.banggood.com/RED-HARE-215mm-RC-FPV-Racing-Drone-with-OMVT-F4-OSD-BLHeli_S-35A-4in1-ESC-5_8G-48CH-VTX-960H-CCD-CAM-p-1288116.html We have probably the best current elements present in this machine: super strong 3K arm with 5mm arm for example. A super powerfull FC F4 based with a buitin OSD and able to control as well the VTX. 35A ESC are BLheli_32 compatible so for faster processing (DSHOT 1200 compatible ?). They handle without problem 5S setup. Motors are 2306/2500Kv. Clearly this machine is dedicaced for the 5S configuration. A powerfull 3A 5V BEC largely enough to power everything you want with. The FPV camera is a CCD model with 960TVL. A minijoystick installed rear is available to ajust the internal camera settings. The general design is pretty cool with beautifull curly shapes. Without battery, the machine weights about 293g… so with a 500mAh 5S setup at least 100g more. The machine is proposed in PNP of in BNF with a FrSky D16 solution or a FlySky ADHDS-2A one. It should be a real real beast machine. Specification: Item Name: RED HARE Wheelbase: 215mm Size: 19.5 x 19.5 x 4.5cm (without paddle) 29.5 x 29.5 x 4.5cm (mounting blades) Weight: 293g (without battery) Frame material: carbon fiber+aluminum Arm thickness: 5mm Bottom plate thickness: 3mm Other plate thickness: 2mm Supply voltage: 2-5S Flight controller: OMVT F4, omnibus F4(built-in switchable VTX) ESC: ROPTER BLHELI_32 32-bit 35A 4in1 ESC Camera: 960H CCD camera Motor: DYS SHU 2306 2500KV Propeller: Gemfan 5152 3-blade propeller Receiver: wothout receiver, flysky AFHDS 2A, frsky XM+ (option) OMVT F4 flight controller: Processor: STM32F405RGT6 Sensor: MPU6000 OSD video overlay: AT7456E VTX: 5.8G 48CH 600MW(PIT, 25MW, 100MW, 200MW, 400MW, 600MW) Receiver interface: DSMX and IBUS, PPM, SBUS Built-in 5V 3A BEC ESC signal support Dshot, Oneshot, Multishot, PWM Board size: 36 x 36mm Mounting hole: 30.5 x 30.5mm Weight: 8.7g Package included: PNP version: 1x RED HARE frame kit 1x OMVT F4 flight controller 1x ROPTER BLHELI_32 32-bit 35A 4-in-1 ESC 1x 960H CCD camera 4x DYS SHU 2306 2500KV motor 2x Gemfan 5152 3-blade propellers CW 2x Gemfan 5152 3-blade propellers CCW 1x LED strip light 1x TBS VTX antenna (inner hole) 2x battery strap 1x battery 3M sticker 1x 8mm propeller wrench BNF version: 1x RED HARE frame kit 1x OMVT F4 flight controller 1x ROPTER BLHELI_32 32-bit 35A 4-in-1 ESC 1x flysky AFHDS 2A/ frsky XM+ receiver (option) 1x 960H CCD camera 4x DYS SHU 2306 2500KV motor 2x Gemfan 5152 3-blade propellers CW 2x Gemfan 5152 3-blade propellers CCW 1x LED strip light 1x TBS VTX antenna (inner hole) 2x battery strap 1x battery 3M sticker 1x 8mm propeller wrench View the full article

INTRODUCTION The Happymodel Snapper6 is probably a new giant in the 65mm FPV brushless machine area. As you already know first attempts with super compact brushless motors (0603/0703 categories) didn’t really outperform brushed equivalent. More a lot of vibrations were here with the brushless solution. With the Snapper6, we have some 1.7g 0603 motors but spinning @19000Kv !!! With such speed, each motors are able to carry at least 2-3 extra grams individually versus 15000/16000Kv former models. Two types of receiver are proposed and directly integrated on the main flight controller board: i) a FrSky (D8 & D16) and ii) FlySky AFHDS-2A. Finally the Snapper6 is proposed in two bundles version: i) a basic with one unique battery and ii) the standard with a parallel charger and three batteries. I will review here the standard FrSky variant. BOX CONTENT + 1 x Happymodel Snapper6 + 3 x 250mAh 1S LiHV with JST pH2.0 + 1 x USB parallel charger + 4 x Spare props (2 CW, 2 CCW) + 1 x Screwdriver + 1 x Wrench prop remover + 2 x Spare rubber bands + 1 x Instruction manual (English) WIth the standard version, a parallel charger is provided. Two switches are here one to select between the LiPo/LiHV modes and the second to select between 0.2A or 0.5A charge. The charger accept DC input from 7V up to 25V. In the field, you can use a 3S-4S battery with a XT30 connector. OVERVIEW The Snapper6 integrates the new Crazybee F3 board with a buitin FrSky (or FlySky receiver). Important, this one is not connected via SBUS/UART connexion but directly via SPI !!! It means faster responses. More… it’s possible to select either the FrSKy D8 mode or the FrSky_X D16 via betaflight… Impressive. The main board welcomes also a 5A BLheli_S/Dshot 600 ESC solution. The machine is super compact … 65mm. It’s impressive to integrate everything in a such compact place. The lower frame structure carbon based offers 1mm of thickness. Enough or not enough. For me it’s ok because first of all the machine is super light and secondly the carbon is reinforced by the aluminium prop guards. attached with. In comparaison with the HBRC HB68. The Snapper6 looks even more compact…. and with the Boldclash B06 It’s super tiny ideal for indoors training. -FRONT VIEW The top canopy structure is installed onto two nylon standoff and locked with two nylon bolds. The free room between is enough to insert a fine tip for tje bonding procedure or the AIO Vband,Vfreq selection. -SIDE VIEW The top structure allows to fine-tune the camera lens orientation. It’s great to switch between indoors/outdoors applications. The maximum angle is about 30-35 degrees. Small originality, we have some aliminium prop guard instead of classic plastic. It’s less flexible, bendable but more solid too… Probably, the prop guard will be bent in case of crash on very hard surfaces but the good news it should be super easy to fix the shape. -UPPER VIEW -BOTTOM VIEW Each motor are connected via microJST connectors. The microUSB port is also located there… so not ideal to reset the level in betaflight and also to press and hold easily the micro switch bind button if you want to power the system with a USB port. The battery is attached via a simple rubber band…. the presence of two small nylon screws don’t allow a perfect aligned installation. -WEIGHT 30.3g AUW !!!! impressive…. Motors and props One of the novelty… the introduction of the fastest 0603 motors spinning @19000Kv… so about 10-12.5% faster than the former generation. 31mm triblades props…. A good tradeoff between efficiency and flight duration. LiHV Three 250mAh LiHV model announced to be 30C for the discharge rate. They ends with a JST pH 2.0 connector. A standard for this size of machine. Camera module A 700TVL NTSC CMOS camera coupled with a 48CH/25mW VTX. The field of view is about 120 degrees . Via the larger rear hole in the canopy structure it’s possible to press the unique button thanks a thin screwdriver tip. Here is a raw video sample The light sensitivity is pretty good… above the average. That’s a good surprize. UNBOXING, ANALYSIS, BINDING, CONFIGURATION AND DEMO FLIGHT The machine comes with Betaflight 3.3.0 so a super recent version. This choice is motivated in order to control the builtin receiver with direct SPI connexion. Thanks to this new way, it’s possible the switch the receiver either in FrSky D8 mode or in D16. Just great. Whatever the version the RSSI is exported to the OSD and even sent via telemetry for the radio. In general the machine is well configured out of the box. So it’s ready to bind… One difficulty is to press and keep it pressed the bind button located front right. It’s not easy even with a thin tip of a screwdriver. A lot of informations are available on the OSD… First the RSSI…. and more we have also current readings working fine. It’s great for a 65mm machine. The machine take off from 45% of throttle input …. and punch out are not bad at all for a 1S micro system!!!!! clearly far superior to any other 30g machines, especially to any brushed Tinywhoop machines. it means it’s acro compatible. No problem to recover from flips & rolls. The machine is stable and not drifting in angle or horizon modes involving the 6-axis stabilization. The machine can turn fast without typical micro rear altitude losts. More the machine is silent. The list of good news is not over. The AIO module works pretty well and handle light transitions above the average. Due to how is attached the top structure, maybe some little vibrations can be noticed on the the FPV feedback. In windfree conditions, this machine is super precize and fun… incredible for a 30g machine. With the 250mAh LiHV battery, flight durations are about 2min40 up to 3min. CONCLUSIONS To make short, it’s the best 65mm FPV machine actually. The list of the main qualities is long: acro compatible, stable, F3 w/OSD, builtin SPI FrSky receiver, silent, good FPV & control range. It’s well configured out of the box and durable thanks to it’s carbon-aluminium structure. I give to this machine a SeByDocKy’s award. PROS + 30.3g AUW !!! + 0603/19000Kv motors strong enough for acro + F3 w/OSD + Well tuned out of the box + No drift in angle mode + FrSky SPI receiver w/ RSSI for OSD & Telemetry + Good AIO module + Uptiltable camera + ~2min45-3min of flight time + Good LiHV battery + Silent CONS – Micro bind button hard to be pressed – Aluminimum prop guard can be bent after a crash dump_BF_3_3_0 This quadcopter have been courtesy provided by Banggood in order to make a fair and not biased review. I would like to thank them for this attitude. You can find it actually for 97USD at https://www.banggood.com/Happymodel-Snapper6-65mm-Micro-1S-Brushless-FPV-Racing-RC-Drone-w-F3-OSD-BLHeli_S-5A-ESC-BNF-p-1283482.html View the full article

Xiami will introduces a new quadcopter…. not an advanced video plateform as we could expect, but more a super compact brushed 720p WiFi machine: https://www.banggood.com/Xiaomi-MiTu-WiFi-FPV-With-720P-HD-Camera-Multi-Machine-Infrared-Battle-Mini-RC-Drone-Quadcopter-BNF-p-1286780.html It’s compact, a little bit less than 100mm. The video signal is broadcasted in 720p format via WiFi. In term of stabilization… only done by a simple altimeter. No extra VPU. 10mins of flight time are promised. Finally as extra feature, the possibility to produce a IR battle with different MiTu. If no EIS is here, I didn’t see any real interest for this machine versus all other 720p WiFi toyquadcopters. Description: Brand: Xiaomi Item Name: MiTu RC Quadcopter Battery: 920mAh Flying Time: About 10mins Charging Time: About 60mins Camera: HD 720P Image Resolution: 1600 * 1200 Video Resolution: 1280 * 720 Quadcopter Size: 91 X 91 X 38mm Quadcopter Weight: 88g Controller: APP FPV Signal: WIFI APP System : IOS & Android Features: – 720P HD Camera Built in 720P camera are tuned amazingly to capture pictures and videos from the sky. – Precision Hover The new indoor altitude hold feature enables the drone to fly steadily and smoothly in the indoor environment – 360 Degree Air Tumbling You can get 360-degrees Flip, continuous roll for perfect action and wonderful performance. – Multi-machine Infrared Battle The MITU RC Drone has multi-machine infrared battle fuction, enjoy yourself with your friend. – Headless Mode With Headless Mode,no need to adjust the position of aircraft before flying . Package Included: 1 x MITU RC Quadcopter 1 x Battery 1 x USB Charger 6 x Propeller 4 x Protective Cover 1 x Manual View the full article

Sometimes you need to reset your priorities in life…. and mine are now more focused on to help my father to win its HUGE battle against C….R. I will update less often drone-maniac.com from now but don’t worry some tests will come pretty soon….. Cheers your relatives as much as you can… View the full article

INTRODUCTION The Fullspeed Beebee-66 lite is a super compact 66mm brushless FPV flyer. Coupled with 0703 motors, the main electronic is based on the TeenyFish F3 Omnibus board. Now it includes an OSD chip directly programmable via Betaflight. The main board also integrates 5A BLheli_S/Dshot600 ESC for 1S applications only. For the FPV part, a basic 600TVL NTSC camera 40CH/25mW VTX AIO module installed on a 3D printed camera support. The machine can be found in PNP format or in BNF with the three classic choices of receiver (FrSky D8, Flysky AFHDS-2A, Spektrum DSM2). As for all ultra compact microFPV racer, we will see of the weight will be light enough to be compatible with 0703/15000Kv performances. I will review the PNP version. I decided to install the uFrSky D8 receiver: https://www.banggood.com/OpenSky-8CH-SUBS-Super-Micro-Compatible-Receiver-for-Frsky-X9D-Plus-p-1165368.html a super light FrSky D8 receiver under 1g and able to offer RSSI for both OSD & telemetry. BOX CONTENT + 1 x Fullspeed Beebee-66 Lite + 1 x 260mAh LiHV battery with microJST pH 2.0 + 4 x 40mm props (2 CW, 2 CCW) + 1 x LiHV charger + 1 x 90 degrees microUSB extender + 2 x Rubber band The bundle is reduced to the strict minimum. No spare props or battery and even no instruction manual. OVERVIEW The design is basic “X” 66mm machine with the lower frame 3K carbon based with 1mm of tickness. Maybe it’s not strong enough but if you fly it over soft/ground surfaces, no real risk to break the frame. -FRONT VIEW No propguard for the Beebee-66… so props need to be particulary robust. The AIO module is not protected as well… The main protection is basically the super lightweight of the combo. -SIDE VIEW The camera module is uptilted with an angle about 20-25degrees. No possibility to tune it. The microUSB port is located on the front right side. You will need absoluptly the microUSB 90 degrees extender to plug you own cable, especially with props pre-installed. For the PNP version, you will need also to remove the four super tiny nylon bold… it’s a long and precise process. -REAR VIEW No specific light. The main cable ends with JST pH 2.0. Maybe the wires are too short or the battery too long but you will first to push forward the battery for the connexion then re-install it centrally. -UPPER VIEW -BOTTOM VIEW Two latteral carbon notches are here to install one of the two offered rubban band. You will need to double loop the band around these notches. -WEIGHT 31.4g !!! with the uFrSky receiver….. Not bat at all. Motors and props Fullspeed branded, we have 0703 motors announced to spin @15000Kv. We can expect even more performances with a 20000Kv version. Maybe in the F4 edition. 1mm shaft section. The racerstar 40mm props are directly compatible with these 0703 motors. The triblade 40mm props are solid. LiHV 2018 is the LiHV transition from LiPo. Here we have a 260mAh model with a discharge rate of 30C. I hope it will be strong enough to handle the voltage drop under load. It’s the same battery as for the HBRC HB68. Camera module A basic AIO module, 600TVL CMOS NTSC only camera. You can select up to 40CH divided into 5 different subbands. Disassembling Before to install the SBUS receiver, first I tinned a bit the three pads. I cutted also partially the 2.4G antenna and trimmed to 32mm. You will need first to remove the four nylon bolds Then the four nylon standoff to retrieve completly the FC+AIO module. The RX connexion pads are on the bottom side Solder the receiver on the GND,+5V and RCin pads according to Here is the result UNBOXING, ANALYSIS, CONFIGURATION AND DEMO FLIGHT The machine comes with a recent Betaflight V3.2.3. Any serial receiver must use the UART3… so don’t forget to turn on the corresponding serial in the port panel. Be aware, the board got a specific alignements. You must apply a +180 degrees on the roll axis and a -45degrees on the yaw axis. Luckely all these settings are done out of the box. For the uFrSky receiver, you need also to turn off the sbus inversion in the CLI by the command: set sbus_inversion=off then save . The OSD informations are well configured by default but can be a little bit optimized in the layout and informations displayed. More particulary, with the uFrSky receiver you can add the RSSI. Don’t forget in the receiver panel to turn on the RSSI on the AUX5. You can take of from a 55% of thottle inputs….. not impressive but from 55% up to 100% you have enough powerlift to climb fast and perform basic acro flips and rolls figures. Good news for 6-axis stabilized mode, no real drift observed…. so a good news for beginners. The machine can be fast and bank well without the “rear-right fall” symptoma…In windfree conditions, I am impressed by the stability of this 31.4g machine. Well everything is not perfect. First the AIO camera offers poor light sensitivity and strange color adaptation. For example the sun looks like a black hole…. sign of a bad light sensitivity. sometime the colors rendition are completly wrong…. Don’t worry, it’s still flyable like this… but it’s far to be the best AIO module. The second and more major negative point is the poor flight time despite the LiHv battery…. only about 2min-2min15s of flght time….. it’s so little. I think the machine can accept a 300-330mah battery. Maybe the duration can be extended up to 3min with. Both the FPV range and control range are good…. I really like the performance of this 0.7g receiver very solid connexion despite 3-4 wall crossed and cherry on the cake the RSSI is even exported by telemetry. With a little voltage divisor, you can even retrieve the Vbat if connected to the D pads. It’s also strongly advise to increase the volume of the ESC and reduce the delay to 1mm. With this trick you can hear the machine within a radius of 5-7m… It’s already no so bad. CONCLUSIONS Pretty fun little machine without any major drawback. It’s strong enough for basic acro flight style… it’s stable, fast and the uFrSky receiver represents the perfect compagnon for it. Can be used both indoors and outdoors but for indoors, you will need to stock even more urgently some spare 40mm props. The main negative point is the poor flight duration, just a bit more than 2min. PROS + 31.4g AUW + F3 /w OSD + Stable + Powerfull enough for basic acro figures + No Jello + Almost no drift at all for 6-axis stabilized modes + LiHv battery w/ the uFrSky receiver + Good range of the uFrSky receiver + RSSI for both OSD & telemetry + Vbat telemetry possible CONS – 2min15s of flying duration – Poor light sensitivity of the AIO camera – No spare props – No instruction manual dump_BF_3_2_3 This quadcopter have been courtesy provided by Banggood in order to make a fair and not biased review. I would like to thank them for this attitude. You can find it actually for 110USD at https://www.banggood.com/Full-Speed-Beebee-66-LITE-RC-Drone-FPV-Racer-ARF-Omnibus-F3-OSD-5_8G-40CH-4-In-1-6A-Blheli_S-ESC-1S-p-1239529.html View the full article

The Zerotech Dobby was the first selfiedrone introduced in the market and already offering a 1080p EIS lightweight solution. The main drawback of the Dobby is probably its poor flight time. Here is the successor of the Dobby: https://www.banggood.com/Zerotech-Hesper-WiFi-FPV-4K-Camera-One-Axis-Gimble-With-EIS-Mode-Foldable-RC-Drone-Quadcopter-RTF-p-1283962.html The Hesper is now a 340g machine advertized to fly about 18min. It’s a foldable machine as the dobby. Here we still have 1080p@30 fps video recording with EIS but a 1-axis gimbal is also introduced to tilt the camera. The video transmission is done on both the 2.4Ghz & the 5.8Ghz. I really hope there won’t have problems with europeans 5.8G channels. The FPV live flux is in 1080p format with a nominal latency of 220ms. The Hesper also added a VPU to improve altitude hold stabilization. As advanced flight modes we have the classic orbit mode, target tracking. No specific selfie flight modes announced but it can be added by a software update. The Hesper can be controlled directly with a smartphone up to 120m of controle range or 800m with the specific radio command. With the radiocommand, the machine is sold slightly less expensive than a DJI Spark… but I am not sure that the EIS will be as good as the 2-axis gimbal+EIS offerered by the Spark. IMHO the Hesper must improve all software features to become a real DJI Spark competitor. Derscription: Brand Name: Zerotech Item Name: Hesper Weight(including Battery and Propeller): 340g Max Descent Speed: 3m/s Max Horizontal Speed: 6m/s Flight Height: 800m/120m Max Flight Time: 18min Operating Temperature: 0 – 40°C Positioning Mode: GPS/GLOMASS Max Roating Angular Velocity: 180°/s Hover Accuracy(Safty Fly Mode): +/-0.1m Wheelbase: 244mm Propeller Type: 145x75x49mm Propeller Type: 5.5 inch Dimension: 1406 Live View Live View Working Frequency: 2.4GHz & 5.8GHz Max Live View Quality: 1080P Latency(ms): 220ms Transmitter Distance: 800m(RC)/120m(APP) APP IOS iOS 9.0 and later versions Android Android 4.3 and later versions Gimbal Operating Range: -90-15° Accurancy: +/- 0.02 Degree Imput Voltage: 7.4v Operating Temperature: 0-40°C Intelligent Battery Capacity: 1950 mAh Cjarge Power: ≤35W Voltage: 8.7V Battery Type: Li-po Adaptor Imput Voltage: AC 100-240V Output Voltage/Current: DC 12V/2.5A Charger Imput Voltage: DC 12V/2.5A Output Voltage/Current: 8.7V Charge Current Range: ≤4.1A Camera Resolution: 13.0MP Lens: SONY IMX 214 Shutter Speed: Auto Max Image Size: 4208 x 3120 Still Photography Modes: Auto Video Recording Modes: 1080P(30FPS) Supported File Formats: JPEG, DNG, MP4/MOV (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264) Internal Strorage: EMMC 16GB Operating Temperature: 0-40°C Features: FlightGo The app is specifically developed for Hesper and is really simple to use. It can be used as a remote controller for flight control and photo & video shooting. Mechanical Gimbal One-axis mechanical gimbal can support wider angel shooting when flying. Can operate the angle of camera by remote controller or APP.. Visual Positioning Hesper uses the optic flow and ultrasonic positioning system to support flight. When there is no GPS signal or weak GPS signal. Please install propeller protector when indoor flying. High Definition Photo & Video Shooting Hesper is equipped with a professional high definition camera- SONY IMX 214,13MP, that supports 4208×3120 photo shooting and 1920×1080 video shooting. EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization) After EIS, your 4K video footage becomes 1080p high definition videos and image vibration when Hesper flying can be removed under EIS. Target Tracking By image recognition technology, Hesper can follow and record video on the moving target you’ve chosen. Orbit Automatically fly and record video around a certain point with a certain radius and at a certain altitude. Intelligent Operation When outdoor flying, FlightGo support multiple One-key Operations by just one tap on the screen. Such as One-key Take off, One-key Landing, One-key Return. One-Key Sharing Directly share your photos & Videos with your friends on SNS. Package Included: 1 x Zerotech Hesper RC Drone(With Gimble Camera) 1 x Battery 1 x Charger 8 x Propeller 1 x Manual View the full article

A direct competitor of the HBRC HB65, here is the Happymodel Snapper6, a 65mm micro 1S FPV Tinywhoop machine: https://www.banggood.com/Happymodel-Snapper6-65mm-Micro-1S-Brushless-FPV-Racing-RC-Drone-w-F3-OSD-BLHeli_S-5A-ESC-BNF-p-1283482.html The Snapper6 is based on 0603/19000KV motors while the HB65 is on 16000Kv only… so performances should be improved. The electronic is classic, i.e. a F3 FC with a Betaflight OSD chip, 4-in-1 5A BLheli_S/Dshot600 builtin ESC. Two choices of receiver are proposed:i) a FrSky D8/D16 switchable model with RSSI for the OSD and ii) a FlySky AFHDS-2A compatible. Another advantage for the Snapper6, the camera can be uptilted (a bit). For the FPV part, it’s based on a super light 3g NTSC module with a 700TVL CMOS sensor coupled with a 25mW 48CH VTX. Two bundles are proposed: a basic one and a standard with 3x260mAh LiHV battery (JST pH 2.0 connector). The Snapper6 integrates also some programmable light. According to the FPV photo, all the OSD informations and generally all betaflight settings have been optimized… The machine without battery is annonced about 23g. So should turn around 30g AUW. This machine exists also in 75mm format with 0703 motors. Features: Betaflight support, multi flight mode: ACRO/AIR/ANGLE. Powerful brushless motor and smooth ESC. CNC aluminum alloy propeller guard. Betaflight OSD support, easy to get RSSI, voltage and other info from your goggles. Adjust the settings and the PID of the flight controller via OSD. Frsky version support both EU LBT and NON-EU Frsky transmitter. Flysky version support both AFHDS and AFHDS-2A Protocol Flysky transmitter. Full telemetry function ready. Head lights ready. Camera angle adjustable. Real Bind and Fly version. Package included: Basic version 1 x Snapper 6 frame 1 x Crazybee F3 FC (Frsky and Flysky option) 4 x SE0603 KV19000 Motor 1 x 31mm 3-blades propeller set (4cw+4ccw) 1 x AIO camera & VTX 1 x 3.8V 250mah 30C/60C battery 1 x USB Lipo/LIHV charger 1 x Propeller disassemble tool 1 x Screwdriver Standard version 1 x Snapper 6 frame 1 x Crazybee F3 FC (Frsky and Flysky option) 4 x SE0603 KV19000 Motor 1 x 31mm 3-blades propeller set (4cw+4ccw) 1 x AIO camera & VTX 3 x 3.8V 250mah 30C/60C battery 1 x 1S06 6 way Lipo/LIHV charger 1 x Propeller disassemble tool 1 x Screwdriver View the full article

INTRODUCTION The AuroraRC A100 is a new 1S brushless FPV machine based on 0705/15000Kv. It’s a direct competitor of the SPCMaker 95EP. They share most of technical caracteristics: same type of F3 Omnibus FC with a builtin BetaflightOSD, 5A 4-in-1 ESC builtin board BLheli_S/Dshot600 ready, a 600TVL 1/4″ CMOS camera sensor w/ a 48CH 25mW 5.8G VTX. The carbon structure also is very similar with a 1.25mm main load plate. The 0703/0705 are knows to introduce a lot of vibrations into the structure and 6-axis stabilized flight modes with such motors present in a couple of second massive drift effect due to the high level of noise for acceloremoters. We will see if the AuroraRC got the same syndrome. Let’s discover this bundle. BOX CONTENT + 1 x AuroraRC A100 + 1 x 600mAh 1S/25C LiPo with microLOSI/MCPX connector + 6 x Rubber bands + 1 x 3M rubber grip band + 4 x Spare props (2 CW, 2 CCW) + 1 x Instruction manual (English) Dislike the SPCMaker product, here we have four “ladybird” 55mm spare props. OVERVIEW Very similar also in term of structure, is A100 is just slightly more longer. Both got the fixed AIO module installed with around 25 degrees approximatively. 55mm ladybird props should be more efficient for the A100 versus the 95EP variant. with the same 1.25mm main plate thicness. It will be ok to absorb crash on soft surfaces… No miracle on hard concrete at full speed. -FRONT VIEW The top stucture is little bit more lighter and generally with some little optimization, the A100 is slightly more lighter. The 5.8G linear antenna is pre-bent and no real risk to break it. -SIDE VIEW The microUSB port can be found on the left side. A minor detail for mine, the USB connector was partially broken… I need to press on it to have a full connexion. There is also a lound buzzer…. The FrSky D8 receiver is installed rear. The bind button is easy to access. Unfortunatly as for the 95EP model, no sign of RSSI as well as for the OSD or for the telemetry. -REAR VIEW No rear lights… every gram matters -UPPER VIEW -BOTTOM VIEW -WEIGHT Without battery, the machine is close to be 2g lighter than the SPCMaker and almost the same weight with a 600mAh LiPo vs a 500mAh for the 95EP Motors Exactly the same blue 0705/15000Kv motors. They are 1S compatible only …. and the main problems with such motors is the vibrations due to bad bearings/bushings making accelerometers crazy. Same 1mm shaft section so compatible with most brushed props model. Here the efficient 55mm “Ladybird” model has been choosen. They offer more thrust than the SPCMaker model. LiPo A 600mAh LiPo announced to be 25C… As for the 95EP, 0705 motors requires a lot… and battery need to be super strong to have early buzzing. Camera module A basic NTSC only AIO module, 600TVL 1/4″ sensor. 48CH associated with the 25mW VTX. Two raws of light can be clearly see as well as the main control button. Short press on it, then you will cycle between the eight Vfreq inside the current selected Vband. For the Vband selection, it’s a bit different than usual. You need to long press 3s. Then the blue light will flash. Short press to cycle between the desired Vband… then long press again 3s to validate the selection. UNBOXING, ANALYSIS, BINDING AND DEMO FLIGHT The machine comes with Betaflight 3.2.0 where mostly the receiver settings was done. PIDS are the default ones and the OSD display all possible information available… so clearly need to be optimized. At least the port configuration setup was correctly done dislike for the 95EP. When you arm the machine, with these 0705 motors, the machine is very noisy…..You start to hover from 50%.. Seems to be a bit more powerthan the SPCMaker model …..Good news no slow rates bug as reported out of the box for the 95EP. Anyway, like the SPCmaker, just after a couple of seconds, the machine to drift massively. For my machine more in the front left direction. The vibrating noise introduced make the accelero completly crazy. This machine can be flew only in acro mode… so if you are a beginner who want to fly this machine first in LOS conditions, forget this idea with the AuroraRC A100. Whatever the presence of a more “professional” 1S LiPo, after 30s, the machine starts to display “low battery”…. 25C is not enought and voltage drop > 1V under load can be observed so… clearly you are fast under the threshold 3.3V betaflight value. Well puchouts for a 1S are good, better than any brushed models even with dark edition motors. It’s so ok to flight acro, to flip and rolls and why not powerloop with a minimum altitude. The AIO module performances are relatively poor in term of light sensitivity (probably a 1Lux model) and range (<100m). It's flyable don't worry but far from best CMOS I was able to fly with. In acro the machie is fast, bank well..... some little bounce back can be observed and some little PID optimization need to be done probably by increasing P values. As expected flight durations are short about 3min-3min30s..... CONCLUSIONS Due to presence of a lot of vibrations, this machine can be flew only in acro mode so clearly not recommended for beginners. The A100 is light, relatively powerfull and for a 50g machine is acro compatible. Thanks to the presence of a buzzer this machine is fun for outdoors applications. For indoors, you will probably kill fast the frame on hard surfaces. Between the SPCMaker and this model, I prefer this one… Less work out of the box and you have some spare props. PROS + F3 Omnibus w/OSD + 0705/15000Kv + Powerfull enought for acro flight + Buzzer + Cheaper than the SPCMaker 95EP CONS – Huge drits w/ 6-axis stabilized flight modes – Important battery voltage drop under load ÿ Noisy – No RSSI w/FrSKy D8 RX – Poor light sensitivity of the AIO module This quadcopter have been courtesy provided by Banggood in order to make a fair and not biased review. I would like to thank them for this attitude. You can find it actually for 97.4 USD at https://www.banggood.com/AuroraRC-A100-1S-Micro-Brushless-FPV-Racing-Drone-w-F3-OSD-BLHeli_S-5A-48CH-25mw-VTX-600TVL-PNP-BNF-p-1225243.html View the full article

After the semi-fiasco of both the Topsky F7X and the Skyzone SKY03 (there is/will a recall program for the SKY03), Aomway will lunch soon their Commander V2: https://www.banggood.com/AOMWAY-Commander-V2-FPV-Goggles-1080P-5_8G-64CH-Headset-HDin-AVin-Support-Head-Tracker-p-1281649.html They will have a lot of pressure over their shoulders. As for the two first models, the V2 will offer a much more wider FOV!! 45 degrees… Impressive but what about the clarity/blureness, geometric deformations ? That’s an open question. The IPD ajustement is now up to 72mm so a good news for large faces. The general chassis look like the V1 model so another good news for the noze section (dislike the SKY03). For the builtin screen, no 720p but 800×600 model… we will see of the pixellization effect will be important. Now the HDMIin can accept directly 1080p sources. The DVR part is classic and record in D1 NTSC or D1 PAL according to the RF source. An external Head Tracker module can be installed into the dedicaced module. For the RF module, it’s a builtin… no possibility to install a new one but this can collect up to 64 channels divided into 8 subbands. 3D side by side is also supported. I hope to grab one either via BG or AOMWAY directly…. Of course… Wait & See. SPECIFICATION Optical: FOV: 45° Lens: Glass optics (binocular) Display: 800×600(SVGA)LCD display, LED backlight 3D function: Side/Side 3D (include AV 3D and HD 3D mode) Interpupillary Distance (IPD): 59~72mm (Adjustable) Audio Output: Stereo Operation: Brightness / contrast / channel selection / display mode /DVR recording / head tracker switch/ mini fan switch Video Format: NTSC / PAL auto switch HD Input: Support 720p and 1080p DVR Recording: Only for RF and AV in mode TF card support to max 32GB Video compression format: MJPG 30fps Recording resolution: D1 NTSC 720*480/ PAL 720*576 Head Tracker slot: Available ( head tracker to purchase separately) Auto Scan: One key start auto search within all the channels at high speed Power Supply: DC 7-18V (2S-4S) OSD display voltage status (low voltage alarm) Interface: DC in: standard 5.5*2.1 (inner plus outer minus type) AV in: 3.5mm four-pole AV jack port Audio: 3.5mm three-pole earphone jack port Head tracker: PS2 data port TF card slot for recording Operating Environment: 0 – 55°C Weight: 198g Package Size:230*165*77mm View the full article

INTRODUCTION The SPCMaker 95EP is a super compact 1S brushless machine equiped of 0705 brushless motors and promised to weight under 50g AUW. For the electronic, classic ingredient, a F3 omnibus with a builtin OSD chip, a 4-in-1 4A BLHeli_S/Dshot600 ESC. For the FPV solution, a classic 600TVL 1/4″ CMOS camera coupled to a 25mW/48CH VTX. The 95EP is proposed in PNP or in BNF with three choices of microreceiver: i)FrSky D8, ii) FlySky AFHDS-2A and iii) Spektrum DSM2/X. Let’s have a look to this new bundle, a direct competitor of the AuroraRC A100. BOX CONTENT All the bundle comes into a compact deluxe box. Inside just few elements + 1 x SPCMaker 95EP + 2 x 500mAh/30C LiPo with JST PH 2.0mm + 2 x Rubber bands + 4 x Zip ties Incredible only four props are provided. Zero spare provided…. it’s a real shame, after the first important crash, your machine will be grounded. Even more, no instruction manual… OVERVIEW The machine in a first glance looks super light and has an H structure. It’s confirmed to be a 95mm machine. The main lower structure is only 1.25mm thick… even if carbon based… not sure it will be very durable in case of crash on very hard surfaces. On more soft surfaces, it will be ok. -FRONT VIEW The AIO module is fixed with a nominal angle about 25 degrees.. and the lens can be damaged by a direct frontal crash. The two linear antenneas are installed on top, no big risk to damage them. -SIDE VIEW The IMU sensor is softmounted and linked to the main FC via the white ribbon cable. The right side welcomes the microUSB port. No problem to connect the machine to Betaflight while the props are installed. A buzzer is installed in the rear section, loud enough to find the machine within a radius of 10m -REAR VIEW No rear lights can be found…. Notice the main lead power cable ends with a JST PH 2.0 connector. -BOTTOM VIEW Via the large Rubbon band, the battery is well installed on the bottom surface -WEIGHT Just a little bit under 49g AUW…. impressive for a brushless machine. Motors and props The 0705/15000Kv motors … so in theory more powerfull than the 0703. Unfortunatly they are not 2S compatible… in any case with only 4A, the ESC board also is not 2S compatible. 1mm shaft section The 0703 and 0705 are know to offer a lot of vibrations… due to bad quality bushings/bearings. No information about the system installed. Only four 55mm props are given …. no spare.. For a machine without propguard… it’s not good from SPCMaker. The classic “ladybird” can be used as replacement. LiPo A basic 500mAh LiPo announced to be 30C…. No LiHv model. With the PH 2.0, I am afraid to observe some massive voltage drop. Camera module A classic basic AIO module is installed. As said previously, no possibility to tune the lens orientation fixed to about 25 degrees. It’s a very simple 1/4″ sensor 600TVL. You can change the TV mode between NTSC (default) and PAL by long pressing the front button. The VTX is a 25mW with 48CH 5.8G model. Short press the rear button to cycle between the eight Vfreq inside the current Vband. Long press on it to cycle between the six supported Vband. Two rows of lights are present to indicate the current Vfreq,Vband combinaison… Unfortunatly these lights are almost inviible without removing the top carbon plate. UNBOXING, ANALYSIS, BINDING, CONFIGURATION, FIXING AND DEMO FLIGHT The machine comes with Betaflight 3.1.7, a quiet old version from now. And first BAD surprize, the default opened serial port is the UART1 while should be the UART3 to run properly the FrSky D8 receiver. It’s really surprizing to see that. Some other parameters seems to be a bit optimized for example the OSD informations displayed is tuned, but not fantastically IMHO. The flight mode selection is also strange in the sens that the same 3-way switch is used to arm and to select two flight modes…. First take off with the machine and another bad results…. the machine moves super slow !!!!! whatever you apply 1000deg/s, 1200 deg/s for the pitch & roll axis… More, after a couple of seconds the machine drift a lot especially backward and on the right !!!!! In order to minimize a bit these artefact, it’s advanced to keep the machine in 2Khz/2Khz configuration instead of 8Khz/2Khz. The solution to fix that was for me to install a more recent Betaflight OS, i.e. for me the v3.3.1. So as you can see, out of the box, the 95EP requires a lot of work before just to be able to take off. Whatever the dynamic filtering option etc…. the machine continues to drift in stabilized modes…. No miracle with these motors…. vibrated too machine despite the IMU softmounting attempt. You need to apply a minimum of 40-45% to take off…. to make short, it’s not a monster of power we could expect from 0705 motors…. it’s comparable or just slightly better than the brushed QX90C pro for example. I think part of these poor results comes from the JST PH 2.0 connexion. The machine is also noisy …. bearing systems are far to be efficient. The camera performances is also not great… the light sensifivity is not good enough and it can be dark into your favorit FPV mask/goggles. As mentioned earlier, this machine can be flew only in acro….. Puchouts are good but not impressive. It’s possible to flip & roll without problem with at least. Another negative point is about the battery…. Immediatly after take off, the battery alarm is raised….. due to a massive voltage drop about 1V after just a couple of seconds. When the machine is in the air, in acro, the machine’s behaviour is correct. Flight duration are about 3-4min…. Another drawback, the FrSky receiver don’t send any RSSI either to the OSD or the radio via telemetry. CONCLUSIONS Out of the box this machine is relatively badly configured and it’s not possible to fly it after a couple of second. If the price is attractive, the general lack of a working configuration is a super negative point of this machine. The performances are correct without being insane. As you already understood, I am not impressed by this machine …. I am not that SPCMaker are on the right track currently. PROS + F3 w/OSD + Acro compatible + 48.7g AUW CONS – SBUS receiver not correctly configured out of the box – No spare props – Super slow rates with the original Betaflight 3.1.7 – Important drift after a couple of seconds with 6-axis stabilized flight modes – Noisy – FrSky receiver w/o RSSI – Poor battery performances – Poor light sensitivity of the camera This quadcopter have been courtesy provided by Banggood in order to make a fair and not biased review. I would like to thank them for this attitude. You can find it actually for 110USD at https://www.banggood.com/SPC-Maker-95EP-95mm-RC-FPV-Racing-Drone-BNF-With-Omnibus-F3-4in1-BLheli_S-4A-25mW-48CH-600TVL-p-1277109.html View the full article

Turning the House Racer into a Zippy Mouse Racer Words and Stuff by: Mini Guinea FPV is quickly becoming the most popular facet of drone flight and many a new pilot owe their flying skills to the RISE House Racer. I have had a few of them personally and they really can’t be beat for … The post How To: Turn you House Racer into a Mouse Racer – Flipping the Motors on Your RISE Vusion House Racer appeared first on CompetitionX. View the full article

A new racer from RealAcc in 215mm PNP format with the Real 5 model: https://www.banggood.com/Realacc-Real5-215MM-FPV-Racing-Drone-PNP-Omnibus-F4-30A-Blheli_S-ESC-25200600mW-VTX-800TVL-Camera-p-1279364.html Massively carbon based with 4mm arms, the Real 5 integrates a F4 w/OSD board, a 800TVL CCD camera, strong 30A ESC BLheli_S/Dshot 600 but limited to 4S setup. For the 5.8G VTX part, it’s based on a 48CH module with switchable output power: 25mW, 200mW and 600mW. No information if it’s support IRC Tramp protocol to control all VTX settings via the OSD. The circularized antenna is connected via a coaxial cable ending with a uFL connector. In case of crash on the antenna section, due to the location of the SMA connector in the rear section, it should resist well. The main central tower is tall enough for a future micro split mini combo… No really bad design failures can be guessed from this Real 5 machine. A lot of spare are provided in the bundle. Of course, wait & see…. Specification: Brand name: Realacc Item name: Real5 215MM FPV Racing Drone Motor: 2206 2600KV Frame Kit: Wheelbase: 215mm Arm plate: 4mm Other board: 2mm Omnibus F4 Flight Controller: STM32F405 LC filter: YES Replaceable Sensor: MPU-6000 with SPI Data Bus or Next-Generation Sensor ICM-20608G Support D-Shot ESC Lipo 2-4S input, Built-in 1.5A BEC DFU button Black box, maximum 16M data record SBUS / PPM / Spektrum satellite Support WS2812 light bar Buzzer port PCB 36 * 36mm Mounting hole 30.5 * 30.5 Support RaceFlight BetaFlight ESC: 4 in 1 integrated ESC Current: 30A * 4 Maximum current: 35A * 4 up to 6S Working voltage: 2-4S Lipo Size: 36 * 36mm Mounting hole: 30.5 * 30.5mm Firmware: BLHeli_S Support: Support Dshot150 / 300/600, Oneshot125 / 42, Multishot, PWM Main IC: EMF8BB21F16G SILABS, 8bit C8051, run 50MHz VTX: Transmit power 3 block switch: 25mW / 200mW / 600mW Channel: 48CH Video format: NTSC / PAL; Power consumption: 7V ~ 24V, + 12V / 260mA @ 600mW; Small size: 36mm × 36mm × 5mm Light weight: ≤ 6g (without antenna); Connection is more stable: mmcx turn sam connector Camera: 800TVL CCD 2.8mm lens Size: 25mm * 25mm, Weight: 9.5g Full format video format: NTSC / PAL; (default PAL) Working voltage: DC5-12V Operating current: 70mA (low power consumption) Package Included: 1 X 215mm Frame Kit 1 x Omnibus F4 flight controller 1 x 4 in 1 30A ESC 4 x 2206 2600KV motor 1 x 25mW / 200mW / 600mW VTX 1 X 800TVL Camera View the full article

For those who are interested, here is a very detailed video from XingXing FPV showing the ISP flashing procedure for the F7X V2 in order to update the builtin MCU fimrware Seems not very hard to do…. and it’s a good idea to keep installed the connector for a more easy upadate. The last V2.3 add the 16:9/4:3 aspect ratio selection. A new firmware V2.4 is also annonced soon. It uses a MSDebug tool: https://www.banggood.com/Eachine-Upgrade-Tool-Spare-Part-For-EV100-FPV-Goggles-p-1255405.html View the full article

After the excellent Eachine QX65, here is the new revision of their previous Eachine E010S now announced in Pro version: https://www.banggood.com/Eachine-E010S-PRO-65mm-5_8G-40CH-800TVL-Camera-F3-Built-in-OSD-High-Hold-Mode-RC-Drone-Quadcopter-p-1278092.html The machine is still in 65mm format with boosted 0615 coreless motors. Now a “Lemon” F3 board including a Betaflight OSD is integraded. A top canopy structure also. A 240Mah LiPo comes with and about 3.5min of flight time is promised. Well…. to be honest, I think the QX65 is better for many reasons: 26g vs 29.5g, 260mAh LiHV vs 240mAh LiPo, the possibility to tune the uptilt camera angle…. Only the AIO FPV camera seems better than the QX65 with a 1/3″ sensor 800TVL camera. Description: Brand: Eachine Item NO: E010S PRO Take off weight 29.5g Battery Power: 3.7V 45C 240mAh Flight Time: 3.5 mins Wheelbase: 65mm Frame: ABS high-quality 615 Coreless Motor: Long diameter (without motor axis):15mm Wide diameter: 6mm Weight: 4.8 g Speed: 59000 rpm ± 12% F3 Brush Flight Controller: – Lemon F3 Flight Control is an open source flight control support the current international mainstream Baseflight platform – Built-in DC-DC boost circuit, support 1S (4.2v) input, on-board 5V and 3.3V voltage output interface, external image transmission, 5V 1A current output, to ensure stability of the flight control and external equipment – Drive motor frequency: 2K (this frequency can be set by the user, the maximum frequency can be set to 32K) – Original BF OSD chip, real-time display flight control information; on-board barometer chip, support for air pressure setting; with gyroscope support manual mode, auto-stabilization mode, semi-auto-stabilization mode – Firmware upgrades and configuration parameters via Micro-USB, Baseflight-Configuration Features: 1, STM32F303CCT6 master 2. MPU6050 sensor (IIC mode) 3, Betaflight OSD 4, BMP280 barometer Camera: Sensor: 1/3 “CMOS Clarity:M7 800TVL camera View Angle:150° FOV horizontal view angle 170° DFOV opposite view angle Signal system: NTSC/PAL (one-button switch) Power consumption:380mA@3.7V Operating voltage:3.6-5.5V Lens mirror diameter:2.1mm IR coated FOV150(Level) Output impedance: 75 Ohm Operating signal intensity: 23~24dBm Output power:25mW Wireless channel:40CH Current:100mA Sound carrier:6.5MHz OSD:Support Weight:3.8g Size:26x20x18mm (without antenna) Features: 1. Without assembly and commissioning 2. Open – source flight control can be adjusted according to the player ‘s personal preferences self – stability, semi – self – stability, Manually,High hold mode,OSD information display, convenient for different levels of players 3. According to the race standard RaceBand VTX CAM 40 channel transmitter,Cmos 1/3 800Tvl high-definition camera,NTSC / PAL system can be a key switch Package included: 1 x Frame kit (without shock absorber rings) 4 x 615 59000 rpm ± 12% Coreless Motor 8 x Blades(2 Sets ) 1 x F3_EVO_Brush Flight Controller 1 x 800Tvl 40cH 25mW Camera 1 x 3.7V 45C 240mAh battery 1 x USB Charger 1 x Manual 1 x Blade removal tool View the full article

Was just released few hours ago in the main facebook Xiaomi Mi group, but it seems there will be a small brushed quadcopter from Xiaomi and main probably a selfie drone. Here are some leaked picts: Seems associated with the camera there is an IR sensor maybe for a basic obstacle avoidance. A VPU seems also here for altitude hold assistance…. Main probably a GPS system installed on top as well. Actually no official specifications have been release….. Wait & See… View the full article

INTRODUCTION The Eachine QX90C was a very popular brushed FPV machine last year mainly due to its super lightweight ratio thanks to a full plastic frame. Eachine just introduced the new revision of this popular model with the Eachine QX90C Pro. If most part of the frame remains the same, most ingredients have been improved/modified. First of all, for the structure we have a top plastic canopy when the AIO module is protected and installed with the possibility to tune the uptilt angle of the camera. The main electronic board is a 3-in-1 with the MCU F3 based but now added with a Betaflight OSD chip some strong MOSFET (10A rated) and a builtin 2.4G receiver. Three choices of receiver are proposed: 1) a FrSky D8, 2) a FlySky AFHDS-2A and 3) a Spektrum DSM2/X. For the FPV part, a basic classic 600TVL CMOS 1/4″ camera + 48CH/25mW 5.8G VTX AIO combo. Notice also, there are three different bundles proposed: One basic with one unique LiPo, a standard with three LiPo, a set of spare props and a “Fly More” with 5 LiPos, 5 set of props and a parallel charger. Let’s discover the Standard bundle. BOX CONTENT + 1 x Eachine QX90C + 3 x 600mAh 1S LiPo with microLOSI connector + 1 x USB charging cable + 4 x Spare props (2 CW, 2 CCW) + 1 x Carbon prop remover + 1 x Screwdriver + 1 x Instruction manual (English) OVERVIEW Here is the full list of the caracteristics. Probably the more interesting is the AIOF3 board, the 3-in-1 main boad with the F3 w/OSD, strong Mostfet and the builtin receiver The machine keeps the same 90mm dimension as for the former edition -FRONT VIEW The QX90C Pro enjoys now a new top canopy structure protecting the AIO FPV modyle. Only the 5.8G Linear antenna emerges from this structure. You can also see that the camera central housing can be oriented from 0 degrees up to +15 degrees. -SIDE VIEW The top structure is only clipsed via two small plastic pads…. How durable they will be versus multuple crash ? Well … after a couple of accidents, much better than I was expected but don’t expect miracle on very hard surfaces such concrete. Latteraly two small screws can be found to tune the lens orientation. By default the angle is fixed with the maximum uptilt angle, about +15 degres. -REAR VIEW The microUSB port is installed in the rear section. Be aware, you will need a microUSB cable with a thin hub connector section. If not, you will need to release first the top canopy structure for a more easy access. -UPPER VIEW Only one unique button is available for the AIO module to set the Vfreq, Vband couple. The setting is classic, i.e. short press to cycle between the 8 Vfreq inside the Vband and long press more than 3s to cycle among the 6 Vband. Notice it’s hard to read the rows of lights without removing the top structure. These lights are associated respectively with the Vfreq (red) and and Vband (blue). For a precise tuning, you will need unclip the top structure for a more easy reading. IRC Tramp proticol is not supported by this AIO module so no selection via the OSD. -BOTTOM VIEW The main board is simply taped on the plastic structure… it will be a kind of poor’s softmounting. At least for the FrSky variant, the 2.4G antenna is installed on the front right. In order to maximize the control range, it’s advised to installed it vertically down. The battery fits perfectly the plastic tray… no risk of mid-flight ejection. A close up on the arm section, especially on the extremity. Here the ending shows a hole before the pod section…. It sounds super fragile…. Be sure, this is the weakest element of the structure. Definitively this machine need to be flew over soft ground surfaces. -WEIGHT Almost 51g AUW …. a pretty good weight/power ratio for a 1S setup. Motors One of the main novelty… the introduction of boosted Dark edition 8.5mmx20mm coreless motors. They associated with 55mm “ladybird” props, known to be one of the best prop available for 8520 motors. Definitively the motor pod and arms sections look potentially fragile. LiPo It’s the same model of 600mAh LiPo that came with most last Eachine brushed QX models. It’s a good model… but now we could expect more a LiHV variant to boost even performances and flight duration. Camera-FPV module It’s a basic 600TVL CMOS sensor with a basic light sensitivity. No technical information given about it, but I estimate it about 1 Lux… It’s not the best I had… Showdowed areas can be a bit problematic to handle As said previously, it’s better to release the top structure to set more easily your VBand, Vfreq selection. Disassembling A buzzer is here and ready to be used on the AUX4 by default. On mine, I don’t know if it’s linked a poor soldering job, sometimes the buzze is loud sometimes not … UNBOXING, ANALYSIS, CONFIGURATION AND DEMO FLIGHT The AIOF3 comes with Betaflight V3.2.1 pre-installed…. It’s not the ultimate one, but one of the most recent branch. Good news, everything is well tuned out of the box: from the receiver section (SBUS), the flight mode and even the OSD layout. The FrSky receiver must be bound in D8 mode … and two good news: not only the RSSI is exported for the OSD via the AUX5 but… the RSSI & the Vbat are also sent by telemetry. Ideal to program a voice alert command on your favorite radio. The machine emits a small high treeble sound associated with a high PWM value. In general, the highest is this value, stronger will be motor but louder and hotter will be too. Now the moment of truth: Are these dark edition motors powerfull enough? The answer is …. YES !!!! it’s powerfull… enough powerfull to be acro compatible to perform flips, rolls even powerloop. Is-it comparable to some brusless performances ? to some 0703 yes … but not to the 0705. In the FPV feedback, out of the box, I noticed some microvibrations. Most of them come from the little free gap inside the camera housing. A small trick is to insert a piece of foam beneath like In more open-space area…. the machine is super fast for a 1S setup !!!! and good news, both the control range and FPV are really good… No problem to reach 150m… and probably 200m… not bad at all. The flight time are in average about 4min30-5min…. defintively another positive argument in favor of the QX90C Pro As expected… after multiple crash, the arm section highlighted above shown some problem. You can see the white band associated with the stress of hard impacts…. but no break … so it’s more durable than expected… Anyway, I also broke many props and they tends to pop off easily at least out of the box. You need to push them deepe on the shaft bar or even better secure them with a drop of glue. Anyway, it’s strongly advised for this machine to stock at least a spare frame and two spare motors (one CW and one CCW)… and of course a lot of spare props. CONCLUSIONS Currently it’s the best compact brushed microFPV machine… a strong electronic, OSD, buzzer, RSSI, good FPV and control range and good flight time…. really it’s a super fun machine out of the box… In the other hands, this machine will eat props often, and motors/frame time to time…. A recommanded machine. PROS + Powerfull 1S brushed machine + Dark edition 8520 motors + Acro compatible + F3 w/OSD + Well configured out of the box + Buzzer + Uptitable camera + Good FPV and control range + 4min30 of flight time + RSSI in both OSD & Telemetry for the FrSky receiver CONS – Plastic frame less durable than carbon – Eat often prop – Prop inclusion in the FPV video – No LiHV battery Dump_BF_QX90C_Pro This quadcopter have been courtesy provided by Banggood in order to make a fair and not biased review. I would like to thank them for this attitude. You can find it actually for 69USD at https://www.banggood.com/Eachine-QX90C-Pro-with-F3-Betaflight-OSD-Buzzer-Telemetry-Micro-FPV-Racing-Drone-Quadcopter-BNF-p-1267721.html View the full article

A new ultralight 1S FPV racer is announced by SPCmaker: https://www.banggood.com/SPC-Maker-95EP-95mm-RC-FPV-Racing-Drone-BNF-With-Omnibus-F3-4in1-BLheli_S-4A-25mW-48CH-600TVL-p-1277109.html a direct competitor of the Eachine Aurora A100. We have a machine 0705 based for a total weigt of 50g AUW. The other elements are classic, i.e a F3 Omnibus FC w/ OSD, 4A BLheli_S/Dshot600 ESC. All the structure is 3K carbon based with the main structure 1.5mm tick. The FPV camera is not a CCD model but a more classic CMOS model. Specification: Brand name: SPC Maker Item name: SPC 95EP Wheelbase: 95mm Material: 3k full carbon fiber Bottom plate thickness: 1.5mm Top plate thickness: 1mm Product size: 89x76x18mm Weight: 34g (without battery) Take off weight: 49g (with battery) Motor: 0705 15000KV brushless motor Flight controller: omnibus F3 Firmware of FC: betaflight_3.1.7 ESC: 4in1 BLheli_S 4A ESC (3.7V) Propeller: 55mm Camera: 5.8G 25mW 48CH 600TVL 5362-5945MHZ Flight time: about 4mins Battery: 3.7V 500mAh 30C Receiver: FrSky/ Flysky/ DSMX (option) Package included: 1x SPC maker 95EP frame kit 1x Omnibus F3 flight controller 1x 4in1 BLheli_S 4A ESC 1x FrSky/ Flysky/ DSMX receiver(option) 4x 0705 15000KV brushless motor 2x 55mm propeller CW 2x 55mm propeller CCW 1x 5.8G 25mW 48CH 600TVL 5362-5945MHZ camera 2x 3.7V 500mAh 30C lipo battery 1x buzzer 4x black tie down strap 2x rubber band View the full article

Just after the last motor announcement, seems racerstar will also update its 0603 lineup with their BR0603B: https://www.banggood.com/Racerstar-Racing-Edition-0603-BR0603B-16000KV-14000KV-1-2S-Brushless-Motor-For-RC-Drone-Frame-Kit-p-1277111.html This motor is proposed actually in 12000/14000/16000 and soon in a 22000Kv version. All of them are 1-2S compatible and weights only 1.58g !!!!. Probably the futur 22000Kv will be the best choice with 26g of pull !!! That’s great really, almost the same performance of a 0703 motors but 23% lighter. We can dream of super lightweight brushless FPV racer pretty soon. Description: Brand: Racerstar Item name: BR0603B brushless motor Height: 9.0mm Output shaft: φ1.0mm KV (rpm/V): optional 16000KV, 14000KV Weight: about 1.58g Voltage: 3.7-7.4V Battery: 1-2S lipo battery Recommend ESC: 6A Features: Long life Japanese NMB ball bearings. Efficient Japanese Kawasaki stator steel. Rare earth magnets stable up to 180°. Oxyacid free copper winding up to 180°. CNC machined aluminum case. Silicone wire leads. Patented balance techniques. Unique wiring method. Package included: 1 x Racerstar BR0603B brushless motor View the full article

INTRODUCTION The ARRIS X90 is a cheap 90mm brushless TinyWhoop inspired. With 90mm dimensions, 1104/7800 Kv motors, don’t expect this machine be an indoors flyer. It’s clearly more an outdoors brushless FPV trainer machine. The X90 integrates an old F3 board with a builtin OSD but not a BetaflightOSD model. Here it’s the old-style MW-OSD. The 4-in-1 12A ESC are BLheli_S/Dshot 600 compatible. For FPV rig, a basic 520TVL NTSC CMOS camera coupled with a 48CH 25mW VTX. Four choices of receiver are proposed for the BNF edition: 1) radiolink based, 2) FrSky D16, 3) FlySky AFHDS-2A and 4) Spektrum DSM2. The ARRIS is proposed to be associated with a cheap 3″ FPV mask. Let’s discover all elements. BOX CONTENT + 1 x ARRIS X90 + 1 x 700mAh 2S LiPo 30C with JST connector + 2 x Rubber bands For the quadcopter, we can notice the absence of spare props. The 3″ FPV mask…. a direct clone of the Eachine VR006 + 1 x 3″ FPV mask + 1 x 5.8G linear + 1 x USB to microUSB cable + 1 x Headstrap + 1 x Noze foam element + 2 x Swipe tissues + 1 x Instruction manual (English) ARRIS X90 The machine is largely tinywhoop inspired, a 90mm machine. All individual prop guard are fully plastic plastic… more or less ok to absorbe moderate crash. 2035 transparent props, some Genfan model. It’s really surprizing but they are not secure by hexscrews. The main lower frame is fully 3K carbon based with 2mm of thickness. -FRONT VIEW -SIDE VIEW The microUSB port is available on the left side …. but you need a cable with a very thin connector hub for the connexion. -REAR VIEW The battery connexion is done with a basic JST connector. It’s OK for a 2S setup… but at least wire’s gauge is large the bottleneck will be very limited. -UPPER VIEW A unique button can be pressed thank to a thin screwdriver tip. The Vfreq, Vband selection is classic. Short press to cycle within the 8 Vfreq associated with the current selected Vband and long press more than 3s to cycle within the 6 supported Vbands. Notice, the lights associated with the Vfreq, Vband can’t be really guess through the canopy. The best option is to remove first the canopy to select your favorite freq. Unfortunatly, the tramp proticol is obviously not supported. -BOTTOM VIEW The battery tray jails perfectly the 2S LiPo. In order to save 4-5g, you can remove it and attache the battery via the two rubber bands given. -WEIGHT 120g in total with the battery…. it’s a bit heavy…. for a 2S setup. Motors 1104/7800 Kv motors Good news, they are not too fast and they support 3S battery. LiPo The X90 is shipped with a basic 700mAh 2S LiPo …. Announced to be 30C. In practice, you can expect 4min30 of flight time with. Camera module The AIO module is installed with a small positive angle around 10 degrees maximum. No possibility to tune this default angle. The system is locked in NTSC format. It’s a basic 1/4″ model with an average light sensitivity. The FOV is about 120 degrees so perfect for outdoors applications. The VBand, Vfreq selection is indicated by two dot lights installed respectively on two rows of lights. Disassembling To open the machine you have to remove three M2 hexscrews. Two latteral ones and one located rear. Good news, there is a buzzer installed…. but at least for the FrSky receiver, the bind button is completly hidden…. by the underneath carbon plate. You must first remove this carbon plate (four nylon bold to remove) then you can guess finally the bind button … Weird… I strongly advice to rotate 180 degrees the receiver. At least only the top canopy need to be removed with this solution. FPV MASK The FPV mask is a direct clone of the Eachine VR006. There is a compact 3″ builtin screen able to display in 500X300 resolution… Whatever a PAL or a NTSC source, the quality will be then degraded. One unique antenna but the builtin 48CH receiver offers a good RF sensitivity of -95dBm. The microUSB port is here to recharge the builtin 1S LiPo. Expect 1h to recharge it. A facial sponge confortable is here and good news the noze section compatible with occidental standard. Unfortunatly, the opening dimensions are too narrow to weah this mask with correction glasses … More, the distance between the screen and the eyes is super short. You need a super view to focus correctly…. More I will add, by wearing such glasses, you can deteriorate your view. On top, there is a small 3.5mm jack connector…. but it’s an AVin …. In the menu, no possibility to switch it into an AVout… in order to connect directly a small DVR. UNBOXING, ANALYSIS, CONFIGURATION AND DEMO FLIGHT The machine comes with an old betaflight version, i.e. the v 3.1.5… but well configured out of the box. For the MW-OSD, you must be sure that the MSP is turned on for the UART2… Unfortunatly, no possibility to tune directly from Betaflight the OSD system. You need to use a FTDI serial converter to change settings. At least, it’s also possible to access to most part of the parameters through the radiocommand. It’s advised to upgrade to a more recent Betaflight version. More from BF 3.2.X, the RSSI will appears on AUX12. Use the radio sticks commands to turn on the RSSI display. Turn on also RSSI via FC. If you want to minimize rear-right fall after a fast U-turn, it’s also advise to inverse sens of rotation of props. With the default 2S configuration… and with the little optimization mentioned above, I am positively surprize how smooth this machine is. More no problem to perform acro style figures…. Of course it’s not a monster of power but it’s largely strong enough for powerloops for example. The machine can handle well a moderate wind. The fligh time is about 4min30 in average. The FPV link is also not bad at all… expect a good 150m in open space conditions. With 3S batteries, of course this machine is much more powerfull and good news… no need to retune PIDs. No bounce-back noticed. it’s super smooth…. Really despite the old FC, basic electronics… the machine flies pretty well. CONCLUSIONS The ARRIS X90 is a simple relatively cheap machine based on old but durable and mainly tested electronics. With some little optimizations, a betaflight update, the X90 is far to be ridiculous. It’s not an indoors machine, neither a super fast ultra powerfull machine …. but fast and strong enough to have plenty of fun in acro with. For the FPV mask, I am more sceptical except if you have a perfect view…. This mask lacks of any focal ajustement… for more older eyes. PROS + Nice flyer + Acro compatible + Mw-OSD + FrSky XM with good range + RSSI available for the OSD after Betaflight update + 3S compatible + Cheap + Basic 3″ FPV mask + Good RF sensitivity CONS – Old electronic equipement – No M2 hexscrews securing props – No spare props – No Betaflight OSD – FrSky’s binding button hard to access out of the box – USB port requires a thin microUSB cable – Google mask opening too narrow for correction glasses – Google mask requires a perfect view – No Avout to plug a DVR dump_BF_3_1_5_Arris_X90 This quadcopter have been courtesy provided by Hobby-Wing in order to make a fair and not biased review. I would like to thank them for this attitude. You can find it actually for 115USD at https://www.hobby-wing.com/arris-x90-90mm-micro-brushless-fpv-racing-quadcopter.html View the full article

Maybe a solution for futur powerfull microFPV brushless racers. Eaglepower will introduce some 0802 motors under 2g: https://www.banggood.com/Eaglepower-SA0802-1-2S-10000120001400015000KV-Brushless-Motor-for-RC-Drone-FPV-Racing-p-1274947.html Four models are proposed: 10000Kv/12000Kv/14000Kv/15000Kv…. The two first models are 1-2S compatible and the two last only 1S. This type of model can be installed on a 60mm frame in 2S setup. With a bit of luck, everything can be under 50g even 45g AUW… For 1S setup, around 30g AUW. I am sure we will see soon some machines based on these new motors. Specification: Brand name: Eaglepower Model:SA0802 KV: 10000/12000/14000/15000KV Motor Dimensions (Dia.x L): ¢11*9.5mm Weight:1.95g Shaft ¢:1.0mm No.of Cells (Lipo):1-2S (14000/15000KV support 1s) Propeller:35MM*4 Blade Applicable models : 60-80 class mini mutirotor Package Included: 1 x SA0802 motor View the full article