TEST: Emax BabyHawk-R 2″ Edition

[Drone News]

INTRODUCTION

Emax recently has upgraded a lot of their Micro FPV racers and among the last we have now a super compact machine, i.e. the BabyHawk-R. Two models are proposed: one in 110mm format, the second in 130mm. For both, the electronic remains the same: a F3 Omnibus based FC with a builtin OSD, 12A 4-in-1 BLheli_S/Dshot 600 ESC 4S compatible, strong 1106/6000KV motors. For the FPV part, we have a 40CH module able to output either 25mW or 200mW. The associated camera is a 650TVL CCD model from Foxeer. The Babyhawk is also proposed in PNP or BNF configuration with either a FrSky D8 receiver or a FlySky AFHDS-2A one. Let’s discover this new FPV racer.

BOX CONTENT

+ 1 x Emax BabyHawk-R
+ 4 x Spare props (2 CW, 2 CCW)
+ 1 x JST canector
+ 1 x Camera’s OSD control board
+ 1 x Bag of screws (M2 format mainly)
+ 2 x Instruction manual (English)

OVERVIEW

The 2″ machine is super compact and lightweight. In comparaison of the Eachine Lizard 105S and the Aurora RC mini, we have something more similar to the 105S.

What on the main difference is about the motors/props choice. Stronger motors but shorter props for the Emax in opposition with the Lizard 105S.

110mm format

with strong 3mm carbon arms

-FRONT VIEW

The general look is pretty cool thanks to this rounded top plastic canopy structure. This is the unique plastic element in this machine. Everything else is either carbon or metal ones. Both the 2.4G & the 5.8G antennas are linear ones and installed vertically more in the rear section.

The machine accepts up to 4S LiPo but batteries plays also the role of landing skid…. Be aware in case of massive downward crashed.

-SIDE VIEW

The left side shows the main microUSB port connexion. Be aware, you will have to use a thin microUSB plug to able to connect the machine into Betaflight. More a 220uF condensateur is here to filter out any interferences from motors dirting the FPV signal… but in another hand, this cap can blocke partially the microUSB port access. You will need to bend gently the cap. Maybe a better location of the cap would have been a better choice.

Each 3mm carbon arms are themselves jailed between two 1.5mm carbon plates. The battery strap is pre-installed… leaving a small gap between the ESC board and the nearby carbon plate.

On the front left side, you can find a compact 1.25mmm 2p microJST connector to plug the OSD’s control panel of the Foxeer arrow CCD camera. Notice you can set the the tilt orientation with these two front M2 hexscrews. The main problem they are also used to lock the top canopy plastic stucture.

The right side shows almost hidden the small button associated with the VTX. Not so obvious to access….

-REAR VIEW

The 2.4G unique antenna associated with the FrSky D8 receiver is installed vertically via this small hole in rear section of the top canopy. No real risk to cut the antenna with props’s rotation.

-UPPER VIEW

Thanks to the transparent top canopy structure, we can read very well the content of the LCD Display. Notice also out of the box, the FrSky receiver is installed centrally and it’s not possible to reach the bind button either by the small top canopy hole or latteraly. I had to shift it to the left to access directly the bind button.

Another minor detail for the LCD display. If the current Vband and #channel number are correctly displayed cyclaly every second, I regret that the current Vpower (l for 25mW or h for 100mW) is not also displayed. This setting is only displayed, when you enter into the VTX’s menu.

-BOTTOM VIEW

A small rubber anti-slicing pad is pre-installed. Just peel off the small plastic to use it.

The battery strap is thin…. and versus time don’t inspire any confident on its own durability. Handle it gently each time you fasten the battery.

The battery strap is based on two parts glued togather…. It will break relatively fast.

-WEIGHT

Close to 150g with a 4S 550mAh LiPo battery…

Motors and props

Here are installed some strong 1106 brushless motors. They are referenced @6000Kv for being 4S compatible.

1.5mm shaft section

Some 2″ quadriblades…. where for example the 105S uses more some 2.5″ model (but with 1104 motors) and the Aurora RC mini directly some 3″ (with the same 1106 motor type)…. Clearly, we can announce that Babyhawk will be a little bit less powerfull vs the Aurora RC mini.

Camera and 5.8G VTX modules

One really positive element of this new BabyHawk-R is the presence of a CCD camera, more precisely a Foxer Arrow Camera. It’s a 650TVL model with a FOV equivalent to 120 degrees. Thanks to the leftward connector, you can plug the control’s board to enter into camera advanced settings. For example here, you can turn the camera into NTSC or PAL configuration.

The camera orientation tilt angle can be ajusted via the two latteral M2 hexscrews. The nominal angle is +20 degrees and for advanced pilots you can increase the angle up to +50 degrees.

A minor negative point: if you want to remove the top canopy element, you will also release the camera… and it’s a bit tricky to reinstall everything.

The VTX Vband/Vfreq selection, not only is a bit hard due to the location of the unique button…. but the general flowchart is completly different than standard VTX behaviour. First of all, you must hold the button to enter into or to exit from the meny at anytime. Then by short pressing, you can select one of the three main sections: Band(R), Freq(C), Power(P). To enter into one of them, long press 2s… then short-press to change the Vband, the Vfreq or the Vpower. It takes a couple of minutes to be accustomed with but in practice this system is easy. I simply regret that the output power is only displayed during the setting selection.

Disassembling

Out of the box, the bind button of the FrSky receiver is not directly reachable. Good news for the FrSky receiver, the RSSI is exported for the OSD on the AUX5.

UNBOXING, ANALYSIS, CONFIGURATION AND DEMO FLIGHT

The machine comes with Betaflight 3.2.2 pre-installed… and good news and it’s rare when it can be mentioned, everything is well configured out of the box: receiver, PIDs, rates, OSD and flight modes. Even filter settings have been optimized and by default dynamic filtering, air mode and antigravity are permanently turned on. Maybe for the last two options, it’s not a perfect choice if you plan to fly this machine in angle mode (for landing operation for example).

The machine starts to hover from 35-40% in 4S so clearly a bit more than with the Lizard 105S for example. Anyway, this machine is super powerfull…. Punchouts remain impressive…. What the more remarkable with is how this machine flies….. ultra stable…. even in angle mode… Impressive. Even with the presence of wind, it’s a pure happyness to fly with….. Acro style flights are really fun with and air-suspension feeling looks like hours with :). With a 550mAh 4S LiPo, you can expect 3min30-4min of flight duration for acro sessions. Anyway, I am sure it’s liked with the machine or my radio but I had maybe twice time some micro F/S beyond 70-80m of distance. You can see in the videos that the RSSI went at minimum at 25%…. Clearly the builtin receiver is far to have the best performances and a FrSky XM+ would have been a much better choice.

CONCLUSIONS

Emax with the Babyhawk-R has a pretty good machine, one of the best in the market …. It’s powerfull, 4S ready, very well tuned, durable and solid. There are some little details to optimize but no real negative rebuking points can be noticed. If you are interested with this machine, 4S 600 LiHV and a FrSky XM+ should be the perfect companions for this babyhawk.

PROS

+ 4S machine
+ F3 w/OSD
+ Durable carbon structure
+ Very well tuned out of the box
+ Good CCD camera
+ Powerfull
+ Buzzer
+ FrSky D8 receiver with RSSI on the last channel

CONS

– Condensator fragile and badly located
– FrSky bind button not easy to access
– FrSky receiver with not impressive control range
– Fragile battery strap
– Missing output VTX’s power display
– No lights

Dump_BH_R_2P

This quadcopter have been courtesy provided by Gearbest 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 150USD at https://www.gearbest.com/brushless-fpv-racer/pp_1478640.html

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