TEST: EACHINE QX90C PRO

[Drone News]

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

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