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HOBBYMATE ASTEROID 3 INCH QUADCOPTER: Review

9/5/2019

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The Hobbymate Asteroid is a new 3 inch quadcopter that is available in kit, BNF or PNF formats that is available with motors and electronics suitable for 4s or 6s (!) operation. Following on from the awesome Hobbymate Comet (built here and reviewed here) this is another premium set of components at a spectacular price. It is available exclusively from HobbyCool.com here:
​​
http://hobbycool.com/asteroid-3-mini-fpv-racing-drone-kit/

In part 1 of this blog here I looked at the build and betaflight setup process in full. In this part 2 I'm taking a closer look at the components and review in general.
On the bench
From a specs standpoint this is a pretty special kit but that only tells half the story. I'll walk through the components and talk about their strong and or weak points
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Hobbymate 1505 motors made by RCInpower. These are the stars for me. Like other modern RCInpower motors they are beautifully made: the single piece machined bell, the strong magnets with retention ring with an impossibly small air gap and the multistranded windings. Just as interesting is the size choice. 1505 is a wider stator but much shorter than usual. As a result it should have more turning force (torque) but potentially less top end and better efficiency as a result. Although it sounds like a large number the stator volume is not actually that big - see my comparison table below for some suprising comparisons.
1108
1306
1407
1408
1505
1506
1606
760
796
1077
1231
883
1060
1206
Comparison of common 3" motor stator volumes in cm^3
​Motors are available in 4300kV for 4s and 2700kV for 6s. Mine are 4300kV which I feel are a little high for 4s but more on that later.
iFlight SucceX F4. This is a pretty special unit from a specification standpoint, the most compact powerful flight stack to date:
  • 35A BLHeli_32 ESC
  • F4 flight control with 3 UARTS
  • 25/100/200mW VTX
Like most modern iflight products it is nicely made and presented.
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Hobbymate Asteroid 3 inch quadcopter: Build Tutorial and betaflight pids etc.

29/4/2019

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The Hobbymate Asteroid is a new 3 inch quadcopter that is available in kit, BNF or PNF formats that is available with motors and electronics suitable for 4s or 6s (!) operation. Following on from the awesome Hobbymate Comet (built here and reviewed here) this is another premium set of components at a spectacular price. It is available exclusively from HobbyCool.com here:

http://hobbycool.com/asteroid-3-mini-fpv-racing-drone-kit/
The purpose of this blog is to show how I have built in close detail and how I have set up betaflight software for optimal performance. Note you can spend an extra $30 to have this build with a FRSKY receiver but I always like to tinker and optimise my build which is why I have chosen this path. Update: review now completed here
I like to take my time on a build and ensure I have a clean well lit area. Makes things easier when I inevitably drop screws or small parts on the floor. My recommended list of budget tools is here.
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1. Overview of all the parts. Components are outstanding, I will cover this more in part 2 (the review)
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2. Closer look at the motors. These are more beautiful in real life with a 1 piece bell
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3. This Iflight stack is compact, well desined and capable of up to 6s!
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4. Lightweight Caddx EOS2 cam. This is the 4:3 version which gives a much better FOV than the 16:9 version as found on the trashcan

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HobbyMate Comet 5 inch Quad Review Part 1: Build walkthrough

29/9/2018

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I'll cover this quad over 3 blogs. This first part will cover the build walkthrough, the second the software (betaflight/blheli32) setup here and the last part the flight review. 
PictureThe $180 Hobbymate Comet kit is full of premium and dependable 6s components
The Hobbymate Comet Kit is a premium 5" quadcopter that is currently available as a kit for $180 but will soon be available as a bind and fly version. Update: it is now available as a pre-build pnp or bnf with xm+ or r-xsr receivers. In the days since the Holybro Kopis 1 was released there have been some excellent ready to fly models (along with some not-so-great models) available including the Emax Hawk 5 (review here) and the HGLRC Batman (build here) which have been standouts because they have been well balanced, well built and good value for money overall. Since this is a kit, this particular blog is to walk you through the build and then software setup including a betaflight 3.5.1 cli diff.

The Hobbymate Comet from HobbyCool.com (or Amazon) is a kit the consists of higher quality parts than even the HGLRC Batman at only a fraction of the cost. Infact when bought on their own the parts come to $257 which is clearly much more than the $180 the kit costs (or even the $200 PNP kit). The Electronics are rated 6s from the factory (unlike the Hawk 5) and come with motors suited for either 4s/5s operation (2500kV) or 6s operation (1800kV). I'm especially excited that this include a genuine airbot ESC and flight controller. More details on the parts below:

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ESC is a genuine Airbot Typhoon V2 35a 4in1 BLHeli_32 3-6s capable and it is a BEAST. This is rebadged as a Holybro Tekko32 and is one of the very best ESCs currently available. It has FULL telemetry including current protection. Click here for more specs
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FC is a genuine Airbot Omnibus f4 v6. Don't be fooled by the cheap clones, this is the genuine item featuring 5 full UARTs, expandable gyro and super clean 5v and 8v BECs for an ultra-clean power signal. Click here for more specs
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These are the newest Hobbymate branded 2305 motors and are made by RCinpower. RCinpower aren't widely know outside of China but these motors are well made with 8mm bearings, tight airgaps and hollow Titanium shaft. I opted for 1800kV for 6s but 2500kV is also available. ​Click here for more specs
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This vtx is new to me but looks well featured and according to the manual is i-flight branded. Has tramp control, 0-600mW, mic and the skinny design makes it easy to wire up and maintain. ​Click here for more specs
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The Foxeer Arrow micro pro is my favourite CCD camera and a solid choice here. The micro eagle is the only camera I like more but this still gives a great image and helps manage cost. ​Click here for more specs
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The foxeer lollipop 2 is a new vtx antenna following their v1 which looks like it takes inspiration from the AXII externally. I've used these on other quads and signal quality is excellent. ​Click here for more specs
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Frame is well constructed with some practical design features but nothing that really stands out. Kind of a get the job done kindof a frame. Click here for more specs
Extra parts and recommended for the build
Firstly you will need extra parts for this build. I've used the following with links to Hobbycool as they tend to have the sharpest price:
  • Frsky XM+ receiver
  • m3 nylon nut assortment
  • m3 Nylon spacers
  • Heatshrink pack
  • cable ties

And tools/sundry items:
  • Soldering iron
  • Hex driver set
  • Loctite or similar threadlock
  • Wiring loom tape
  • Side cutters​
On with the build
Captioned images below should walk you through the build process and I've noted anything tricky as I've gone through. Click on images to zoom.
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1. This image shows how the arms sit on the bottom of the sandwich plates
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2. Here the bolts pass through the bottom sandwich plate, arm, tom sandwhich plate then captive bolt or standoff. Note location of counter-sunk vs. button screws
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3. Same as pervious image but from the top down with standoffs removed to make stack install easier. Note the captive bolts with burr side down and the long countersunk screws that the 30.5mm stack is mounted to.
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4. Good time to mount the motors using the screws included with the motors. Only 3 are required for each motor on this frame. Loctite is not a bad idea here.
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5. After several tries I settled on using 2 x 2mm high m3 nylon spacers to mount the ESC on. This keeps the ESC low to make more room in the stack
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6. ESC is mounted with battery pads towards the rear of the quad. This will allow for shortest wires and cleanest build. I use fabric tape to clean fix motor wires to arms
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7. Here is the FC alignment I opted for. ESC - FC cable is at the front as are the pads for cam and VTX which make most sense to me
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8. This is how I like to route the motor wires for tidyness. Note the battery lead on an angle so I can use a cable tie to tie off against the dedicate hole in the frame. Note also I used the included trimmed washers on top of the ESC to clear the fets and then the included nylon nut spacers to hold it down.
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9. FC back on with the XM+ receiver wired in. Wires kept short here as the receiver will stay sandiwched between the FC and VTX. The receiver has been heatskrinked to insulate electrically
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10. Similar to picture 9 but with the motor wires connected and ESC - FC harness tucked between ESC and FC.
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11. Here you can see the camera harness wire in. Note: I've used the 8v BEC on the FC because this has a clean signal that is used only for cam and vtx whereas the 5v also powers FC and receiver.
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12. Harness for the VTX is wired in here too. Note: The same wide 8v pad is used to power the vtx too. The wide ground pad is also shared between cam and vtx to eliminate ground loops. VTX Tramp control goes to the smart audio pad
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13. As per last picture but you can see I've attached the camera remote wire (white) to the cam contol pad on the FC. As yet I've not got this working so would recommend cutting the camera remote cable until I've confirmed working
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14. Side view of the stack. ESC at the bottom, FC in the middle and receiver currently on top
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15. With the wiring harness completed for cam and VTX these can now be installed. Receiver is sandwiched between FC and VTX. Camera now in place with plenty of room to adjust angle. Ignore the standoff on top of the stack :)
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16. Receiver wires are routed either side of the front standoffs and attached to heavier cable ties with heatshrink. This solution give enough range for racing and close freestyle and is super durable.
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17. With all the electronic work completed the top plate can be installed with the remaining 4 short button screws
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18. Final weight with HQ 5x4.8x3 is just under 300g - reasonably light for a 6s rig with 5mm arms.
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19. Next step is configuration of the flight controller in part 2 of this series.
So that is it for the physical build. Not a difficult build at all in the scheme of things - components fit easily with plent of room to work. Part 2 (software setup) is here and part 3 (flight review) here.
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FLyFOX 110 Micro from Hobbycool.com - Monster Power

25/2/2018

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The Flyfox 110mm is a BNF Micro 2 inch quadcopter for newcomers HobbyCool.com. I was most interested in this micro quadcopter because so far as I can see, the BNF model here is completely exclusive to HobbyCool.
​
Specifications
The frame is based on a 3mm bottom plate with 1.5mm sideplates attached by tabs and 3d printed standoff - very similar to the Leader 120 but with a different look and more importantly, a factory micro CCD camera. The frame with hardware on its own weighs 15g and is available here for less than $10. Speaking of the camera, it looks to be nicely protected by the frame without impacting the view however only a limited amount of camera angle is available as can be seen in the image below:

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As you may be able to see the connector plug hits the flight stack with any more than about 25° angle. There is the option of moving the camera forward in the anterior holes but this would mean less camera protection.
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78.8g ready to fly with xmplus receiver and battery strap but not battery.

Electronics are fairly typical - F4 flight control and 20A DSHOT600 ESC. 2 nice suprises I was not expecting here though - tramp control of VTX (my first in a micro) and a baromoter in the flight controler (my first altogether!). ESC uses a JST connect which should be ok although I would have preferred a XT30. Voltage drop may or may not be an issue but in practicality in all except my lightest brushless quads (less than half this weight), it is a much more robust and convinient connector.
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Click for thrust data from manufacturer
The biggest talking point of this 2 inch micro though is the 1106 7800kv AOKFLY motors - the biggest and highest KV I have ever experienced in a micro, especially one than can only swing 2 inch props. For those of you unaware, the larger AOKFLY motors for 5 inch quads like these RV2306 are well regarded as very good performers at a budget price. The closest motor to this spec I've come across to this is the EMax 1106 7500kV and these have a tendency to get hot on anything over 2s so for now, will limit to 2s batteries.
​This quad is PNP so does not ship with a receiver so I used my favourite XMPlus for FRSKY. It does however ship with a nice 550mah 2s GNB battery which unfortunately for me is still with Hobbycool since getting batteries to where I live (NZ) is getting harder and harder. Lastly a buzzer and 2 x programmable LEDS are connected and mounted and 16 x Kingkong 2035 4 bladed props with screws are included.

All solder joints that I could see looked to be good, wires were well trimmed, routed and secured and the build quality looked good.

All up weight including props, battery strap but no battery is 78g which is heavy but it's worth noting that this is in a power class of it's own with these monstrous motors.

When I first plugged in betaflight configurator in I was expecting to see a dead stock list of settings but was pleased to find some customisation - see below for a list of stock settings which included a number of modes set, craft name, DSHOT600 etc but unfortunately no custom PIDs (or rates). ​Prior to the initial flight the only changes I made to setting were for my receiver with RSSI set to channel 16 and my stock modes - arm-disarm; angle-horizon-air; beeper off-beeper on.
Getting ready for FPV Maiden
Even before I started FPV I could tell from the hover test that the PIDs were too aggressive by the excessive fluttering I could hear. This is to be expected because the comparitively large motors have absolute control of the motors and so the feedback loop is exaggurated. I knocked P, I and D down for all three axes to get it in the air without risk of damage but it could certainly do with some more tuning to crispen up the controls. Since it was Betaflight 3.2.0 that was installed, PIDs were easily changed via OSD.
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If you are getting a lot of fluttering try these PIDs to start. They take away much of the oscillation and motors remain cool but are overly conservative
Since I did not have the stock 550mah 2S GNB battery (which is highly regarded) I used my turnigy bolt HV 2s 500mah 65c batteries charged to regular voltage with stock jst discharge connectors. For what it is worth, radio was FRSKY QX7s and goggles were the AOMWAY commander V1s. Takeoff weight was 104g
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Ready to maiden. Here I used the Gemfan 2035 props instead of the stock Kingkong 2035. Not sure what my shadow pinkie finger is doing here. Drinking a cup of tea?
Maiden Flight
The quad powered on without issue and I was off flying immediately. I started with the stock propellers but switched the the Gemfan 2035 4-blades after finding that they had a bit more top end through a wider blade at the tip. Power was predictably high for a 2 inch but regardless of the large motors lacked a bit compared to a quad swinging a 2.5 inch prop (e.g. leader 120, HGLRC Hornet, Mini Fight). Update: After more time with the Gemfan 2040 Hulkie 3 bladed props I found I was able to get better performance again out of these 3 bladed props over either set of 4 blades. As I suspected when I first reviewed the hulkies, their stiffness and less blades are better suited to a high power setup.
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Wobbly Gemfan 2040 'Hulkie' props in action!
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Due to the large motor size response was excellent but given I tend to have a preference for light weight over power I found that hard flying took quite a toll on the batteries. For moderate to heavy flying I found I got about 2 minutes of flight on the 500mah batteries, which recovered to about 3.73 v per cell on resting. During flight though I did get a lot of warning of battery low and land now but in reality just need to change the battery voltage hysterisis setting to be a little more tolerant - article on how to do that here. Update: 15 packs later I consistently get 2 minutes on these batteries. 

It is fair to say that between the large stator height of 6mm and very high kV of 7800, this motor is designed for 2s and no more - even trying 3s did not cross my mind... not only because of the likelihood of the motor cooking itself but because you simply cannot take advantage of it with the 2 inch props - it will just make more noise and heat.

Batteries and motors aside, the quad feels like any other high powered 2 inch - powerful but certainly not floaty where you need more throttle to make it change direction. Camera performance was on par with other CCD micro cameras including the Runcam swift micro, Foxeer arrow micro, HGLRC Elf, Furibee MS 1672. Video signal was good - typical for a dipole but like that it had the option of switching by 25mW-100mW-200mW via tramp protocol in the ESC. To be consistent with other reviews I stuck with 25mW. It's worth mentioning that when the vtx dipole is laying flat against the quads as in my pictures the reception is poor. Even when I temporarily bent it up performance improved a lot, but will cover this more in my list of recommendations.
Conclusions
The Flyfox 110mm BNF from Hobbycool is a high powered 2 inch drone that is well built and fairly priced at $129 the time of writing. It's key feature is the massively powerful 1106 AOKFLY motors that are fast but make the quad heavy and limits battery choice to 2s, even though the electronics can take up to 4s. These features make for a fast quad in a straight line that needs extra throttle in corners to help keep a line. The downside is that battery life is shortish - 2 minutes flat out on a 500mah battery. The kit is well provisioned with 16 propellers in total and a very nice 2s 550mah GNB battery.

Recommendations
  • Ease off on the PIDs as posted above. Motors are too powerful for this prop size on default 3.2.0 pids even with dynamic filtering.
  • First off the Gemfan Hulkie 2040 props seem to offer slightly better efficiency and top end compared to either the stock kingkong 2035x4 or gemfan 2035x4 propellers, probably because of the motor power. 
  • Change the battery strap for a better one!!
  • The camera can be moved forward with holes available to allow more than about 25° camera angle.
  • I'd probably change the battery connector to an xt30 just to ensure it is not a contributor to voltage sag
  • vtx aerial should be poked up out of the frame with support from zip tie and heat shrink for best video transmission
  • I can't help but think a larger frame that would allow 2.5 inch props would take better advantage of these motors the Froggie 135 from RCX comes to mind. In saying that I think this may actually be my favourite micro frame in looks, practicality, durability - just for my preferences I prefer the way a 2.5 inch flies in anything over about 40g.

The FlyFox 110mm BNF Micro brushless quadcopter is available exclusively at HobbyCool.com I'd like the thank Kevin for the sample he provided for me to review.
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