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Diatone 2019 GT R249+ 115mm 2.5 inch brushless micro setup and review

6/12/2018

9 Comments

 
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Introduction
The Diatone 2019 GT R249+ is one of the newest series of micro quadctopers from Diatone that is built around the Mamba mini f4 stack.

The full range from smallest to largest includes:
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GT R239 (Plastic frame with 2" props and 1105 motors)
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GT R249 (carbon frame with 2" props and 1105 motors)
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GT R249+ (carbon frame with 2.5" props and 1105 motors)
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GT R349 (carbon frame with 3" props and 1408 motors)
As you can see there is a high degree of modularity - for all except the largest they share the same 1105 5500kV motors. All sizes feature a 3mm thich carbon baseplate except for the R239 which uses and injection moulded plastic chassis and prop-gaurds. All models share the same injection moulded lightweight canopy and mamba mini f4 stack.

I've chosen to review the R249+ since my experience with micro quadcopters has lead me to believe that this is the 'sweet' spot in terms of performance and staying small and discrete when flying.

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9 Comments

3 inch T-mount Propeller Comparison

24/9/2018

1 Comment

 
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T-mount propellers are those that are based on a 1.5mm diameter centre shaft secured by a 2mm screw either side. They have been the only mounting option for 2-2.5 inch props but are now becoming more popular for 3" due to the weight they save over a 5mm single shaft prop mount. There are only 4 different types of t-mount 3" prop currently available so I've compared them all plus the new HQ 2 blade which is due for imminent release plus a darkhorse prop in a smaller size to make up the numbers. Please note this is a subjective comparison based on my opinion but my help as a startpoint for your decision. This is based on real world feel, light time and bitter experience with motors I've burnt out.
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Emax Avan 3 inch tri-blade
This is the first modern design 3 inch prop designed for a t-mount which was released with the 3" Babyhawk R (reviewed here).
  • Weight and Response: 1.27g This is very light for  tri-blade and mass is concentrated near the hub meaning response is very good for a triblade of this pitch.
  • Pitch: Mid-range. This is well suited to 3s on an 1106 4500kV and will manage a 4s as well but is reasonably amp-hungry. Make sure your motors are not hot.
  • Balance: Very good, typical of modern tri-blade
  • Durability: Low-medium. Less material on the outer part of the blades means they bend/break easily, especially towards the edge of the blade
  • Other notes: warning: given the unique design of the blade near the hub, this is unlikely to fit any motor with a stator size larger than 11mm. Update: confirmed these fit successfully without modification on the RCX 1304. New RCX 1306 unconfirmed.
  • Recommendations: Excellent on 3s but be cautious on 4s considering this is limited to 13mm stator size
  • Available from: Banggood, Hobbycool

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Unique blade design close to hub means 11mm stator (maybe 12mm) is maximum
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HQ 3x3x3 v1s tri-blade
HQ props have the newest 3" t-mount prop design at present. This has been chosen as the stock propeller for the Full Speed Leader 3 (initial review here and flights here)
  • Weight and Response: 1.49g Traditional blade design meaning response is in-line with weight: slow (in this class)
  • Pitch: Agressive. On an 1106 4500kV motor with 3s this is amp hungry and with 4s it consistently burns out motors (as I found here with the Leader 3) Should suit the larger stators like the hypetrain brat 1407 well.
  • Balance: Excellent, typical of modern tri-blade
  • Durability: Medium-high. Ever since the launch of the original 5x4.3x3 v1s, HQ have really got their prop material sorted.
  • Other notes: I believe this agressive pitch is the reason behind the premature deaths of the original Leader 3 release. I'd recommend against using these on 4s for 1106 and below.
  • Available from: FullSpeedRC, Piroflip

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Gemfan 3035 triblade
This is quite an old prop and can be hard to find but is still suprisingly relevant.
  • Weight and Response: 1.42g This is a midweight prop and response is medium for a tri-blade
  • Pitch: Light. A light pitch means this is a good option for higher kv motors on 3s or 4s on 11mm sized stators. Probably a little light for motors with larger stator sizes.
  • Balance: Good,typical of a tri-blade.
  • Durability: Medium - probably slightly better than the avan.
  • Other notes: This is a good match for 11mm sized stators and some have found that running this prop on the Leader 3 can prevent motor failure on 4s without an appreciable loss in speed compared to the HQ 3x3x3 - probably because it can get this prop to peak speed unlike the HQ. Probably a bit light for larger motors. Can be hard to get hold off but Banggood and HobbyCool seem to have stock for international delivery.
  • Available from: Banggood, Gearbest,Hobbycool

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Gemfan 3025 bi-blade
This is the original 3" t-mount prop and so can be found for sale in weird and wonderful places
  • Weight and Response: 0.97g This is an extremely lightweight prop and reponse is very high as a result.
  • Pitch: Very light. A very light pitch means this is a good option for higher kv motors on 3s or 4s on 11mm sized stators. Probably wasted on anything larger than an 1106 unless you are looking for endurance.
  • Balance: Mediocre. Not intrinsically bad but being a bi-blade means it is prone to become unblanced quicky when damaged
  • Durability: Very poor. Short of landing on a pillow these are easily damaged
  • Other notes: This is a good match for 11mm sized stators that can be guaranteed not to stress your motors. I've even run these on 1103 motors on very lightweight builds. This is a really good match with 4s 1106 like on the leader 3 or babyhawk r but have poor grip when the weight is higher. Best prop available if you are superlight or want super-endurance.
  • Available from: Banggood, Gearbest,Hobbycool

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HQ 3x3x2 v1s bi-blade
Just released at the time of writing: as per the 3x3x3 above but bi-blade rather than triblade. Disclaimer: I have not tested yet and below information based on assumptions from comparing bi-blades and tri-blades in general. Will update once mine arrive and I've tested.
  • Weight and Response: 1.1g (est.) Bi-blade means this is a light prop and should be very responsive
  • Pitch: Agressive. Shoud be less amp hungry than the tri-blade version but would still recommend excercising caution using 4s on an 11mm stator size.
  • Balance: Good however being a bi-blade it is more prone to getting out of balance.
  • Durability: Medium-high: same as the tri-blade
  • Other notes: Although this still has an aggressive pitch, 1 less blade should mean this is less of an amp-hog for a given thrust i.e. it should be efficient at the cost of grip. Consider this for a lighter build or for extended endurance but expect to use more throttle to hold a line on cornering.
  • Available from: RaceDayQuads

Dark horse to consider...
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Gemfan 2540 flash triblade
Yes this is a 2.5" prop but objectively it is so good it is worth considering downsizing. You can find an earlier review I did on these here and a review on the Skystars Bolt X120 which uses these on 4s here
  • Weight and Response: 1.0g This is a very lightweight prop and response is very good - especially if it is on a motor designed for a 3" prop
  • Pitch: Agressive but since the blade length is smaller it won't stress your 11mm stator size motor. Pointless on any motor bigger than that (except perhaps the 1404/1304)
  • Balance: Excellent
  • Durability: Excellent. This is the toughest of the lot
  • Other notes: The standout prop in the 2.5" class punches above it's weight in 3" quads. It's durable and won't stress your motors (even on 4s) but it naturally delivers less maximum thrust and efficient due to it's size. I wish they'd make this same prop extended to 3"....
  • Available from: Banggood, Gearbest,Hobbycool, Piroflip

Others:
Please note the King Kong 2840 propeller was not included here because I found the Gemfan 2540 superior in every way. Also I have not include the Rotor X 3044 because it is difficult to source where I am based. The feedback that I have had is that it is more aggressive in pitch than any of the above props and probably only suitable for for stator sizes 13xx and up.​
1 Comment

FLEX RC Komori 3 inch lightweight build

5/1/2018

2 Comments

 
Ever since I saw the first image of the first FlexRC Ascent I've been impressed. It is a simple micro quad frame that accepts 2" propellers, is super lightweight and has a cage that is designed around a micro CCD camera (runcam micro, foxeer micro, caddx micro, furibee micro etc.) This was one of the first frames designed around these superior cameras and in my opinion still one of the best.
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Flex RC Ascent 2" frame is under 10g
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The flexRC Komori 3" weighs just 14.5g
Dmitry from FlexRC has since expanded on this winning formula and this has given birth to the 2.5" Ascent, 3" ascent desinged around the runcam split and most recently the Komori 3". The Komori is essentially based on the original 2" with a baseplate embiggened to take 3 inch props and extra torsion supports between front and rear arms to allow for minimal flex whilst stick with thin (but lightweight) baseplate. All up weight of the frame is 15g with included hardware. Shape is a squashed x - front and rear motors are closer together than left/right motors. *Theoretically* this should mean more stability but slower movement on roll and faster but less stable in pitch.

After spending a lot of time with the Leader 120, I was looking forward to a frame that better fits the micro CCD camera and can take a genuine 3" prop rather than 2.8".

Build
For build components I essentially transferred my gear across from the Furibee X140 (review here) where I felt the heavy frame (although durable) was letting the performance down. 
After initial flights I decided the 1306 weren't suitable - performance was dull on 3s albeit and improvement on the Furibee X140 owing to roughly 30g less weight in the frame. This is when I switched motors to the HGLRC Flame 1105 6000kV (reviewed here).
The build on this was really simple - FC/ESC/VTX were all bolted on to the baseplate as were the motors. I just love the way the side plates clip on with no fuss and still had plenty of room for the 3-layered stacks. Once in place itwas easy to add the 2 nylon standoff supplied which can be used place cable ties on as additional support for receiver and VTX antennas.

Components used:
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Flex RC Komori 3" frame
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HGLRC FLame 1105 6000kV motors
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Furibee Micro CCD camera
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Gemfan 3025 propellers
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Furibee X140 flytower (VTX, FC, ESCs and 1306 motors)
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Turnigy Nanotech 3s 450mah 65C battery
 @s Betaflight setup
Since this is a custom setup I won't go into betaflight setting but to summarise I went with
  • Reverse prop direction (clean lens)
  • Dynamic filters on, notch filters off, PT1 quad type
  • Stock pids betaflight 3.2.2

Flight
I went into more detail on the performance of the motors here but overall 3s paired with these motors and overal setup was excellent. My Leader 120 on 3s was always very quick but was a tad unstable and highly strung. The Komori I felt fixed this feeling of instability - flight was a lot more predictable with linnear power and no twitching. What this translated to in reality was more enjoyable less stressful flight with no loss in top speed compared to the leader. 2s on this quad is ok - not as fast as the leader on 2s but I think some more agressive props like the Gemfan 3035 triblades would be better, This is primarily a 3s quad - I have no interest in 4s.
Durability
I've not yet put a lof of packs through but have already had a reasonable sideways landing on to rough chip tarseal. From this the carbon fibre that extends beyond the motors for production has had a slight delamination but nothing that affext performance. There is however a lot of material that extends beyond the motor meaning I could file back to removethe delaminated portion. It also means the motor was well protected in the crash - not a scratch on it.

Conclusion
It's no secret that I am a fan of light builds - going lighter means better agility and longer battery life as well as better resistance to crash due to less mass. The FlexRC Komori frame fits my desire for a 3 inch frame perfectly - super light with frame designed natively around a micro CCD camera. The komori does sacrifice a bit of durability for it's light weight but given I fly over grass mostly I'm happy to compromise a bit of durability for weight. Since the frame is light this then allowed me to choose lighter duty motors and batteries - which makes the entire build light. As well as the benefits above, lighter motors and batteries tend to be cheaper too.

Flight characteristics were excellent andI felt the combination of 3s 450mah - 1105 6000kV - Gemfan 3025 offered a well balanced combination of power, agility, stability and efficieny (i.e. longer flight times. I think my favourite Leader 120 has finally been bettered.
2 Comments

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