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QUADIFYRC Quadcopter reviews

Eachine Lal5 5" 4K HD REview Part 1: Specs and BEtaflight RPM filter setup

24/10/2019

13 Comments

 
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PictureEachine Lal 5 FPV quad
Introduction and spec

The Eachine Lal5 is a new 5" freestyle quadcopter from Eachine. It's most notable features are the new Caddx Tarsier V2 camera system that offers a high quality analogue feed and up to 4k HD recording. Also worth pointing out is the impressively specced powertrain - high quality 2507 1850kV motors that look like they are made by the same OEM as flywoo. These are the biggest motors I've seen on a 5 inch quad before. Further details on specs:
  • 225mm true x frame with 5mm thick arms
  • 2507 1850kv motors (1750g max thrust)
  • F4 flight controller with bluetooth control, 6 UARTs, barometer, 5V and 10V BEC
  • 50A BLHeli_32 ESC 3-6s
  • Caddx Tarsier V2 cam with 4k HD recording and ND8 filter
  • Eachine TX805 25-800mw VTX
  • RHCP antenna
  • Dalprop T5046c v2 cyclone props

Update: See the unofficial part 2 of the review here with low cost and effective upgrades
Build quality and component choice discussion

Electronics: Looking more closely at the electronics build it seems to be fairly well thought out. The primary stack contains the 50A BLHeli_32 esc, f4 flight controller and the TX805 VTX (my favourite budget vtx as reviewed here). Looking a little closer at the flight controller it actually has a barometer (for accurate altitude readings and bluetooth for connection via speedybee app. It also has a 10v rail for super clean video much life the Airbot Omibus F4 V6 which I love. Behind this there is a separate 20mm stack that holds the 2 boards that run the Caddx Tarsier v2. Aluminium standoffs are 30mm high so definitely not a low rider but the advantage is plenty of room to fit the stack with good spacing. The ESC has a 35v 470microfarad capacitor that should help manage voltage spikes and keep video clean and up front is the dual lens tarsier camera unit. Included is their ND8 filter which is a nice touch. The TPU 3d printed camera mount does a good job of bringing the camera forward to minimise props in view but still protects that camera well. Print quality is the best I have ever seen. Antenna is well integrated with the TPU mount but I fear signal will be blocked by the battery when flying towards myself - something I must test for sure. There is no receiver included but there is a loom pre-wired to 5v, ground and sbus for a frsky receiver. All pictures below can be embiggened
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Main 30.5mm stack with ESC, F4 flight controller and TX805 VTX
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Rear 20mm stack with the Caddx Tarsier V2 boards
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Plenty of room in this stack with 30mm standoffs

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ZJWRC 115x 3 inch tootpick frame review

17/10/2019

2 Comments

 
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Ever since the HQ3x2 t-mount prop and the more powerful nameless RC 412T FC/ESC board was released I've wanted to build a 3 inch ultra-light 'toothpick' style quad. Since then Speed Racer released the 3" Twig and Kabab has released the TP3. International shipping on these can be a killer though so when there was a frame released on Banggood I opted to give it a try.
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The frame I'm reviewing today is the ZJWRC 115x which is available here from Banggood. I haven't heard of the brand before either! The kit I reveived included:
  • 3" wheelbase 3mm thick carbon fibre base plate
  • TPU canopy
  • 4 x m2x20mm steel scres with thread standoffs for mounting board and nuts for fixing canopy.
  • Carppy yellow battery strap
Let's take a closer look at the components:

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HappyModel Larva-X: Review, SETUP, PIDS

9/9/2019

9 Comments

 
The Larva-X is a new lightweight micro FPV quadcopter made by Happymodel, a company who are very well known now to innovate new trends and hype in micro quadcopters. The Larva-x looks to be a more robust and refined evolution of the "toothpick" class of ultra light weight quads, this time with a more robust frame, better receiver options and a better FPV system, which addresses complaints on some of their earlier models.
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The Larva-X is available now from many retailers. Below is the link from Banggood who ship internationally from $0 and up. At time of writing (9 September 2019) they have their big anniversary sale on and have the Larva-X on Special for $83 using the code "BGANLX" and this link: Happymodel Larva X 100mm 2-3S 2.5 Inch FPV Racing Drone
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Specifcations
100mm carbon fibre frame - Although a spindly design, this is 3mm thick carbon. It feels rigid and very robust, a big improvement on previous frames which were light but prone to breaking.
Happymodel EX1103 7000KV Motor - An extra 1mm stator height gives 50% volume over the 1102 motors found on the sailfly-x. 7000kV is a good rating for 3s primarily or 2s for smaller areas.
Crazybee F4 Pro V3  Flight Controller - V3 of this flight controller no longer requires the additional capacitor as seen on the sailfly-x and eachine red devil
Onboard 10A 4in1 ESC - The extra current overhead (10a vs 6a) and voltage overhead (up to 4s) means that this should be MUCH more reliable on 3s... it is well away from current and voltage limits with 1103 7000kV motors
Multiple receiver options - Have options to choose onboard frsky/flysky/dsmx which have typically poor range but for the first time they are offering discrete receiver options including XM+, R-XSR and even TBS crossfire!
Happymodel Diamond VTX - Not only does this offer 25mw-200mW OSD selectable transmit power but it also includes an onboard DVR for static-free recording.
Runcam NANO2 FPV Camera - Hooray! A better camera. The rancam nano 2 is currentl recognised as the best price per performance nano size cam at present.

What is included in the kit (other than the quad as specced above)?

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SKYZONE SKY03O OLED FPV Goggle Review & Banggood 13th Anniversary Sale

5/9/2019

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The Skyzone SKY03O is a new premium FPV goggle with built in diversity from Skyzone, a revision of their 3rd generation of goggles. Perhaps their biggest point of difference is the large OLED screens which are being recognised as the best currently available. In this review I'll look at what's included, the specs, a brief setup and what they are actually like to use. Then I will finish with a summary and recommendations.

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Fatshark attitude v5 review: Fatshark + OLED + BUDGET = good combo

28/8/2019

6 Comments

 
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If you follow my facebook feeds you may have seen I've treated myself to some new goggles, namely the Fatshark Attitude V5 that I bought from Banggood on pre-order. These are part of the slew of new mid-range binocular goggles from several manufacturers as below:
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Aomway Commander V1s $240-$300
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Skyzone SKY02c $270-$300
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Eachine EV200D $250-$300
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The reason I chose to buy these was because:
  1. OLED screens!
  2. Removable module bay (supports Rapidfire, TBS Fusion, OWLRC, TrueDX etc)
  3. Reknowned Fatshark customer service
  4. Good antennas included
So, what's in the box?:
  • 1x Attitude V5 OLED Headset
  • 1x 5.8G diversity receiver with OLED display
  • 1x 5.8GHz IRC SpiroNET CP antenna
  • 1x 5.8GHz FS RHCP patch antenna
  • 1x 18650 Li-ion Battery Case
  • 1x Zipper case for carrying
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This is all included with the goggle set
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Bright OLED screen on the receiver
Lets look at the receiver first of all. It has true diversity, an OLED external display screen and basic menu interface. I'm glad that it's in the kit but it is kinda expected given the competition all include built-in diversity. That said, the Fatshark dominator HD3 core package contains no receiver and the attitude v4 does not have diversity. 

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Runcam 5 Review: My first proper FPV HD Cam

7/8/2019

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The Runcam 5 is the latest HD cam suitable for FPV quadcopters released by renowned FPV camera manufacturer Runcam. It is a cube form factor following on from the shape made popular by the now discontinued GoPro Session 4 and Session 5 cameras. It measures 38mm x 38mm x 36mm which is nearly identical to the Session meaning it fits easily in to the commonly available 'GoPro' mounts. My Runcam 5 was ordered from Banggood and can be found at the link here: RunCam 5 12MP 56g Smallest 4K Cam HD Recording. It retails for $99 and can be had on special for a little as $87 - see my coupons page for up to date discount codes. 
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RunCam 5 12MP 56g  4K Cam HD Recording 145 Degree NTSC/PAL 16:9/4:3 Switchable FPV Action Camera Bulit-in Battery for RC Racing Drone
History
Runcam have been making HD cams specifically for RC for sometime now. The runcam 1 and 2 are both in the matchstick-box style form factor and although well liked never really took off for FPV drones. The runcam 3 "took inspiration" from the GoPro session series which have become the most popular form factor for FPV drones given there small size, light weight and robustness. Because of the strict patents on the session cameras Runcam had to pull the runcam 3 from the market in North America and ultimately worldwide which was a shame - it was a good camera at a much more competitive price than the higher specced GoPro sessions. Runcam then went away and came back with the runcam 3s - same form factor but with larger dimensions which meant it wouldn't fit the raft of mounts that are out there in the wild for the session cameras. A lot of reviews also stated inferior lens performance to the deleted runcam 3 and so it was not successful to runcam.

The Runcam 4 was released in the same form factor as the 1 and 2 mainly but predominantly for airsoft guns and was not widely promoted for FPV due to the smaller lens angle. Runcam have done their homework with the Runcam 5 and although it is essentially the same dimensions as the GoPro session series, they have not run foul of the patented design aspects of the session that they ran into trouble with on the Runcam 3.

Why the big spiel? The Runcam 5 can be used in the now ubiquitous session mounts and has a video quality comparable to the earlier session cameras but at a much more palatable price. Besides the GoPro sessions have been retired and the struggling GoPro does not look interested in resurrecting this form factor - the Runcam 5 looks like the most robust and particularly beginner friendly HD cam to have at this point in time.
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Runcam (1) HD
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Runcam 2
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Runcam 3 - pulled from market
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Runcam 3s
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Runcam 4

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Eachine RedDevil Review

29/7/2019

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The Eachine Red Devil is available exclusively from Banggood
Introduction
​The Eachine Red Devil is a 120mm "toothpick"class quad: an ultralight micro that is capable of swinging 65mm bi-blade propellers. This quad is very similar to the Happymodel Sailfly-X (which I reviewed here) but with a bump in specifications, particularly around the FPV camera and VTX. You can actually think of this as an updated Sailfly-x much like the Eachine trashcan (reviewed here) is actually an upgraded Mobula7 (reviewed here). Is it better than the sailfly-x though? Mostly less but it does feel like it needs a little extra to take advantage of this. Read on to find more.
What's in the pack?
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Like the Eachine Trashcan (and unlike the Sailfly-x) the Red Devil ships with a nice protective zipper case that you can store the quad, some simple spares and batteries in. It also ships with a simple but useful selection of spares as listed below:
The quad itself
  • 3 full sets of propellers (12 props) (spares here)
  • 3S 11.4v 300mah 30C/60C battery (spares here)
  • Propeller disassemble tool
  • Screwdriver
  • Eachine Handbag
A closer look at the specs:
  • Crazybee F4 v2.1 board - The quad is build around this very familiar all in one board. It has a F411 processor that is capable of 8k/8k Gyro/PID loop with all dynamic filters and features. It also includes a 4 x 5A esc that is capable of 2-3s including a very useful current sensor. Lastly it has a built in recevier (Flysky, FRsky or DSM) which makes it compact and light.
  • EX1102 8700kV motors - Nice light motors with 2 bearings, identical to the Sailfly-x's motors but supposedly a slightly higher kv.
  • Caddx EOS2 FPV cam - A polarising camera this one... I've had good and bad experiences with this cam. Superior to an AIO cam at day but surprisingly doesn't handle the low light as well
  • 25-200mW vtx - This is a welcome addition that means I can run more that the 25mW I'm limited to on AIO cams like those on the sailfly x. 
  • 2s 300mah 30/60c battery - Nice lightweight battery that suits the Red devil well. Same as the one included with the Sailfly-X
A closer look at the quad itself
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Same light but flimsy canopy as the Trashcan
There are a few surprising element to this quad that you wouldn't pick up on from specs alone. Firstly you'd expect that with heavier cam and vtx the quad would weight more than the Sailfly but surprisingly it doesn't - this is because the canopy is much lighter than the hefty 3d printed unit on the sailfly meaning that it comes in at a very familiar dry weight of 38g. This does come at a cost though as noted later in the flight review (jello).

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THE SWEET-SPOT Value 5" FREESTYLE PART 2: Full Review

9/7/2019

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Recently I've built a 5" Freestyle quadcopter based on the best value components - not the cheapest but the best price/performance ratio (i.e. bang for buck). The components I've chosen plus comparison to alternatives can be found in the component selection article here. As it stands the build cost of this one is around $150-$170 depending on which specials you can take advantage of. I see the RC Addict (His YT channel here) has done a similar thing for a race build and he refers to it as the "The cheapest quad worth building"

This quad has since been built, setup, flown, adjusted and then flown a lot more. I'm now in a position to pass judgement over all of the components and will then cover as the quad in total. For each I'll look at the positives and negatives and then go into a little more discussion with my recommendations
Emax Eco series motor 2306 1700/2400kv (I used 1700kV)
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The Emax Eco 2306 is only $10-12 each in 1700kv or 2400kv
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Here are the 1700kv variants on my 6s build
Positives
  • Iconic Emax brand  - quality
  • ​Motors are very light (30g incl. wire)
  • Motors use 9mm bearings
  • Very smooth power delivery
  • Very efficient
​Negatives
  • Don't have the peak power of more heavier, more expensive motors
Discussion and recommendation
At the time these Emax Eco were chosen as they were the standout budget motor. They have been available for $10-$12 and based on how they perform represent outstanding value - the top equal standout recommendation for this parts list. Emax had the original breakthrouhg brushless motor in the quad scene - the RS2205s which changed the industry. While others have caught up since they still make well-researched high quality motors. The Eco series draws off the learnings from the LS and RS2 series - they remain VERY light but have increased the bearing size from 8mm to 9mm to improve durability significantly. Retained from the RS2 and LS series however are the thin magnets. Although these mean the motor doesn't make the same peak thrust as heavier motors with larger magnets, it does gain in improvements through being lighter, more efficient and smoother at throttle transition. This makes it a great match to freestyle where these positive attributes tend to be preferred over peak thrust @ 100% throttle. In use these are very nice motors to fly. They are quiet, smooth and cause less battery sag and longer flight time than more expensive motors I use such as the brother hobby returner R6 2306.

Interesting that based on the success of the Emax Eco, iflight and brotherhobby have followed suit. 3bhobby also have the training motor although this may have just been out when the emax eco was launched.
DIATONE MAMBA F405 MK2 Betaflight Flight Controller/40A 3-6S Brushless ESC

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IFLight Turbobee 120rs review

4/7/2019

5 Comments

 
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The Turbobee 120RS is an ultra-lightweight micro quadcopted that loosely fits into the new 'toothpick' class. It is available in 2 variants below (2-3s and 4s), each offered with multiple receiver options (frsky, flysky, dsmx, futaba ad even TBS crossfire:
  • 2-3S iFlight TurboBee 120RS SucceX Micro 
  • 4s iFlight TurboBee 120RS Suc ceX Micro ​
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My review is based on the 2-3s version with 1103 10,000kV motors as above
Introduction
iFlight is a brand that is rapidly growing and is going some impressive things in the FPV space - everything from micro quads to the Giant X-Class rigs. They have always been middle range for value but now they are bringing polish to their products. Here I've reviewed the Turbobee 120RS 2-3s micro. It does fall into the toothpick class and yes, although it comes with Gemfan 2540 props it does fit the 65mm bi-blades.

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Fullspeed Toothpick Pro Review

1/7/2019

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This review is for the Fullspeed Toothpick Pro, the more robust 4s-capable micro quadcopter made by Full Speed RC. It is available from the following retailers that will ship internationally with options for FRSKY, Flysky, Spectrum and now TBS Crossfire as well:
  • Fullspeed Toothpick Pro direct from FullspeedRC.com Update 4 July: Use code FSD12 to get 12% off everything on the FullspeedRC.com site - brings the price to $111. 
  • Fullspeed Toothpick Pro from Banggood.com Update 3 July: Use code BGToothpick to get 12% off here - brings the price to $111. Code can only be used 20 times (5 already gone)

If you are looking for the the standard 2-3s Fullspeed toothpick, the full review of that can be found here and is available below:
  • Fullspeed Toothpick direct from FullspeedRC.com
  • Fullspeed Toothpick from Banggood.com
Fullspeed RC were the first to market with a bind and fly quad inspired by Bob Roogi's "toothpick"design - an ultralightweight quad based on small motors and 65mm props suitable for park flying. This was a very good park flyer - quiet and well built with good performance on 2s or 3s. It does have a full micro camera and VTX meaning it has a very nice FPV feed but is slightly on the heavy side. This model has obvioulsly been successful for them so they have quickly followed up with the Fullspeed Toothpick PRO. Specs compared with the standard toothpick below which I will discuss further:

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Aomway Commander V1s: review and comparison to the v1

19/6/2019

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The Aomway Commander V1s is a new binocular FPV goggle released by Aomway, a follow up to the very successful V1. Below I look at how these two compare and what the new V1s is like in it's own right.
Introduction
As much as we spend time looking at our quadcopter builds, it's the goggles that link us visually to a quadcopter (or anything FPV for that matter) and so are commonly the spot where we spend the most. Aomway released the Commander V1 in 2017 and they have been my firm favourite since then and I wrote about my experience in my review.

Many similar looking binocular goggles have been released since then in a similar price bracket but there have been more misses than hits with goggles like the topsky being firmly in the 'miss' column. Even Aomway itself released a version 2 that had a larger field of view and better antennas but unfortunately had poor lenses and a high price tag meaning it never reached the same level of success as the V1. In fact it is no longer available for sale...

In this time the Commander V1 has steadily gone about its business and racked up sales and has many happy customers and so Aomway have updated the V1 to the V1s rather than basing development off the V2
What has changed compared to the V1?
Very little has changed! The Aomway Commander V1s is a very minor upgrade to the V1 and for the purposes of comparison here are the difference of the between the 2 as quoted in an email from Sean @ Aomway:
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Same accessories (battery cable from the V1 is present but not in shot
Not mentioned here is also the fact that the number of channels that can be received has been expanded from 48 to 64, This is not a whole lot of use because the extra 24 channels are largely illegal to transmit on in most countries. There is talk that the received may have also been "improved" but this is not the case. There were also rumours that DVR has been improved to 60fps (which would have been an awesome feature) but this is also not the case. Speaking of case, the case is larger than the V1 - now you can fit the goggles, battery and antennas rather than just the goggle unit themselves
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New case has room to fit goggles and accessories
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Old case barely has enough room to fit the goggles and certainly no more
Quite simply if you are looking to upgrade your Aomway Commander V1 to these, don't. These new 'features' are so minor as to say there is no difference at all.

If however you are looking at upgrading from something else or purchasing these as your first pair then read on - even with no real upgrades they are a compelling buy, especially if you can get on discount.
Review of the Aomway Commander V1s
Since they are so similar to the V1 I'll base my review on these since I have been using them several times a week for nearly 2 years and I feel I am in an extremely strong position to be able to talk all the benefits and challenges.

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HappyModel Sailfly-x review; best value quad I've reviewed in 2019 so far

31/5/2019

2 Comments

 
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The Happymodel Sailfly-X is available with free shipping internationally for around $88
Introduction
​I'm a scientist by training so not usually one to use hyperbole (especially where it feels click-baity in titles) but I really do mean it here: This is the best value quad I've reviewed so far this year. It is not the best long range, it is not the best free-style and it is not the best racer. But for those occasions where you are looking to fly in a small to medium park, empty office or commercial area out from your back yard which is 90% of my fling, this is the ideal tool for the job.
The HappyModel Sailfly-x is a "toothpick class" ultralight micro quadcopter. It has an all up weight of 38g without battery and can take 1s, 2s or 3s batteries. It is available with onboard FRSKY, FlySky or DSM reveivers or without a receiver where you can add crossfire or anything else. It is a fairly complete kit (see below) and is available for just $88 at full retail. Availability seems to be somewhat limited to Banggood at time of writing but my guess is that many retailers will pick this one up.

For this review I'll break down what is included, the specs, document differences from the stock betaflight and then cover off in the actual review performance on 2s, 3s, FPV performance and close with a summary and my recommendations. I'll also list spares and upgrade parts as the become available.
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Pretty good list of parts for $88
What is included?
  • 1x Sailfly-X FPV Racing Drone (see specs below)
  • 1x 3D Printed 30 Degree Angle Canopy ( Red) (BG listing is wrong - red is 40°)
  • 1x 3D Printed 40 Degree Angle Canopy ( Purple) (BG listing is wrong - purple is 30°)
  • 1x 3S 11.4v 300mah 30C/60C battery (nice to have this included on such a low cost model)
  • 8 x propellers (this is missing from BG listing)
  • 1x Propeller disassemble tool (meh)
  • 1x Screwdriver (useful but if you are like me you probably have a dozen of these by now!)
Specs and what this means
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Crazybee F4 V2.1 2-3s Mainboard: This is the single-board brains behind this quad and features an f4 flight controller, BLHeli_S DSHOT600 capable 4 x 5a ESC and onboard reciever (flysky, frsky, dsm). It has 2 full UARTs: one for smart audio VTX control and 1 spare you can use for an external reveiver. V2.1 offer the minor improvements over V2.0: plug for AIO camera attachment, stronger solder pads and better through-holes.
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EX1102 8500KV Motor: These are super-light motors at 2.7g each and nicely built. Best news is that compared to the prototypes and those found on the Mobula7HD they have 1.5mm shafts (instead of 1.0mm) and a much more suitable kV of 8500. I'm impressed by these little motors

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The sweet-spot 5" Freestyle Part 1: Component Choice

22/5/2019

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I have decided to piece together a bang for your buck freestyle build to coincide with the summer in the Northern Hemisphere. My objective for this build was not to build the cheapest quad but the best value. This means parts will be from recognised brands with a good track record of performance and reliability with a good degree of future proofing. To be clear, this is not a $99 build, it is more like $150-$170 but will be more reliable AND outperform any pre-built quad and will easily hold it's own against something double or triple the price - I like to think of it as the Sweet Spot.

This Sweet Spot Quad will be split into 3 parts:
  1. Component Choice (this article) 
  2. The Build
  3. The Review and Recommendations. Update: now completed
I've chosen to build this as a 6s but going 4s is simply a case of choosing the higher kV motor variant and retaining the overhead if you decide to upgrade to 6s in future.
For each key component I'll show you what I chose, a cheaper option and a more premium option with price indication and justification. Let's get straight into it!!
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All the things!
 Motors
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This was the first and easiest part I chose - the new Emax ECO 2207/2306 at $10-12 each. These are simply outstanding value for money. They have the legendary Emax heritage, 9mm bearings (a big upgrade over the more expensive RSII and LS series) are relatively lightweight and are available in 1700 and 2400kV variants, suitable for 6s or 4s respectively. Magnets are not as strong as some motors but this is ideal for freestyle where smoothness and efficiency improves greatly at only a small cost to brute force. I've chosen 2306 because I think these are better suited to freestyle (2207 for racing)
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Budget option: No change, would stick with the Emax Eco
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Premium option: Brother Hobby Returner R6 2306 at $20-$25. Only a minor step up in power but double the price.
Flight Controller/ESC

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HOBBYMATE ASTEROID 3 INCH QUADCOPTER: Review

9/5/2019

2 Comments

 
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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:
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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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FullSpeed Toothpick Review: The perfect Park flyer

2/5/2019

8 Comments

 
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This is a review for the Fullspeed Toothpick, an ultralight fully featured micro quadcopter that is 2s and 3s capable. It is available from the following retailers:
  • FullSpeed direct
  • Banggood​
Introduction
The toothpick is the latest release from Fullspeed, the company that bought you the Leader 120, the Leader 2.5 and 3.0 as well as the Tiny Leader. In a departure from the naming system their newest micro qudcopter is called the FullSpeed toothpick as a nod to the motor/prop combination that has been extensively test by Bob @ kababfpv.com (with his blessing). The outcome of using this mix of components is meant to be efficiency, control, surprisingly good power and safety. More on this in the review that follows.
Adressing the TinyLeader ESC issues
To immediately address the elephant in the room Fullspeed have moved on from the issues they faced with the tinyleader  ESC which had a relatively high failure rate. The toothpick here uses the same 16/20mm stack but with v2.1 of the ESC which as you can see in this video appears to be much more robust.
Component overview
I'll give my quick thoughts on the components below and will point something unique out with this build compared to others in the class - it has indivual components rather that a range of all in one gear we've become so familiar with on the Mobula7, Tinyhawk, Trashcan and even the new Sailfly-X. This means you can replace or upgrade component by component as required.
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The FullSpeed F412 fight controller is a discrete 16mm unit that attaches to the ESC by a conventional cable. It uses a 411 chip so is well supported and can run 8k/8k. Target in betaflight 4.0 (release) onwards is Matek F411 and if you upgrade you will need to allow for board rotation of 270degrees. This is the same unit found in the Tinyleader

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Hobbymate Asteroid 3 inch quadcopter: Build Tutorial and betaflight pids etc.

29/4/2019

0 Comments

 
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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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Hawkeye Firefly Micro Cam 2 Review: Budget HD Footage for your Quadcopter

23/4/2019

5 Comments

 
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Introduction
This is a review for the Hawkeye Firefly 2 Micro Action Cam specifically used for recording HD footage on FPV quadcopters

The ability to capture high definition footage for your own use or sharing with others is a key part of the FPV hobby. GoPro have had this market stitched up but are expensive especially now that the session series have been discontinued. The Runcam split, Caddx Turtle and now Foxeer Mix series have been great especially for smaller light quads but your HD recording is then fixed to a specific quad. Last year the Hawkeye Firely Micro Cam was released and had it's niche as a lightweight self-powered transfereable action came but it was forgettable with poor bitrate on 1080p footage which typically looked worse than 720p.

Well the makers from this camera have made real improvements for version 2 which offers the specs below, key of which for me is 1080p @ 60fps (spoiler: it's pretty good) and 2.5k @ 30fps all with its own battery that will power all 31g of it for about 60 minutes.
  • Resolutions: 2.5K 30FPS/1080P 60/30FPS/720P 60FPS
  • AV: PAL/NTSC
  • Micro SD card: Class 10
  • SD card supported: 8-64G
  • Weight: 31 gram
  • Battery: 600mAH
  • Working time: About 60 minutes
  • Charging time: About 2-3 Hours
  • File format: MOV
  • Lens: F/2.8, 6 glasses
  • Angle: Diagonal 160 degrees
  • Voltage: 5V
  • Current: 400mA
This is the new Hawkeye Firefly 2 Micro action cam that was released April 2019
Getting started
The camera itself is small and feels solid but is definitetly not water resistant in it's own right. Water resistance is achieved using the included silicon 'condom' which securely fit on the camera covering potential ingress points: button holes, LED hold, SD card. Only the sealed lens and sealed rear of the camera are exposed. Buttons are easily accesible with recessed button markings in the silicon skin that align perfectly with the actual buttons on the camera. Another thing, with the silicon skin on it actually weights 43g. Regardless I'll only be flying with this on, it offers good physical and protection and some basic water resistance.
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Imprints for buttons that align with those on the camera
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Silicon skin adds 12g of weight but importantly brings water resistance and shock protection

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HappyModel Sailfly-x: Component Review and Discussion

16/4/2019

8 Comments

 
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The Sailfly-X is a new quadcopter made by Happymodel that is due for imminent release. The objective of this preview is to run through the specifications published and comment on their suitability for this build and expected performance. A review will follow as soon as the first round of reviewer samples are available.
Full, comprehensive review of the HappyModel Sailfly-X has been completed here: https://www.quadifyrc.com/reviews/happymodel-sailfly-x-review-best-value-quad-ive-reviewed-in-2019-so-far
I can't start this component overview without noting that this specific combination of parts (the Toothpick) was heavily researched by Bob Roogi at kababfpv.com
As you probably know, Happymodel's most successful launches have been based around the all in one crazybee board: the snapper7 (reviewed here), mobula7 (reviewed here), eachine trashcan (reviewed here) and the mobula7HD. The Sailfly-X is a departure from the ducted design in response to the massive performance gains shown by Kabab as above. Lets have a look at the specs below and I'll give you my thoughts and a conclusion based on the entire package.
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Crazybee F4 Pro V2.1 Flight controller/ESC. This is the same unit used in the Mobula 7HD and key feature is it supports up to 3s. In addition it also has a more powerful 5V 1A BEC circuit, much better solder pads and has support for frsky, flysky, DSM or no receiver. This is the best integrated flight controller ESC currently available and is a great choice here.

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Skystars G730l Review: Long Range 7" Starter Kit

12/3/2019

3 Comments

 
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The Skystars G730L
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Shown with the Taranis X-Lite controller and Aomway commander FPV goggles
Now that the weather is starting to warm up and the days are getting longer in the Northern Hemisphere, my guess is the hype around brushless whoops like the Mobula7, Tinyhawk, TinyLeader and Trashcan will die back and out attention will return to larger quads. Typically these are 5" quads that suit racing and freestyle but also the larger quads like 6 and 7" that are better suited to long range. It's not the newest kid on the block but the Skystars G730L 7" quadcopter was released a few months back and I've had a chance to review over the length of the NZ summer. It was the first mainstream 7" quadcopter that was available at a reasonable price. Up until then all 7" builds were custom made like the Diatone GT-M7 I built in the long range section.

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Eachine Tyro79: Build tips, Setup and Review

1/3/2019

18 Comments

 
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The Eachine Tyro79 is the second in Eachine's Tyro series, the first being the budget Tyro99 5 inch quadcopter kit. The most astonishing thing about this quadcopter kit is it's price - it is only $79 for a 3" kit. Clearly there have been areas where Eachine have cut costs but they've made a suprisingly good quad given those compromises.

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Review: Simple solution for using A crossfire module in your Taranis X-Lite

23/1/2019

1 Comment

 
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This little $8 adapter allow you to use crossfire or any other JR module on your x-lite
Recently I've dipped my toe into long range flight with a new 7" build as documented here. As part of this build I've chosen to use the crossfire micro transmitter which is generally regarded as the most reliable and lowest maintenance long range control ling for quadcopters and other aricraft. Since I use a taranis x-lite (reviewed here) the JR-port sized crossfire module does not fit natively which was a conscious decision from the FRSKY partially for size but probably more because they now directly compete with crossfire using their R9m slim module (which fits natively). The good news is that since the X-lite uses the open TX operating system it supports it crossfire electronically.

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Emax TinyHawk - Setup and Review

10/1/2019

10 Comments

 
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Introduction
The Emax Tinyhawk is the latest in the line of ready to fly quadcopters from Emax USA which started with the BabyHawk R and the Hawk 5 both of which have been reviewed here at QuadifyRC. Both had good gear on board but were excellent when considered as a package because unlike any other model available these have been full set up and tuned. The new Emax Tinyhawk follows in the same vein albeit in a much smaller 1s brushless whoop form factor. This review will cover the setup out of the box as well as flight and video performance.


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EACHINE VR D3 SETUP and Review- STARTER FPV GOGGLES

8/1/2019

10 Comments

 
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After quite a bit of teasing on their site, Banggood have released the Eachine VRD3 goggles for sale. These are a well-specced low cost 5.8GHz Goggle with DVR aimed at beginners or as a backup pair. On to discussion of the specifications below and what it included

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Eachine Trashcan: Setup and Full Review

2/1/2019

20 Comments

 
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Introduction
In the world of brushless ducted quadcopters (whoops) I have been lucky enough to review most of the big hype products - Happymodel Snapper7 and upgrades, Happymodel Mobula 7, Full Speed TinyLeader and now the Eachine Trashcan. Clearly it is a silly but memorable name and it will surely be easy to search for online. 
What is included?
For a budget micro quadcopter it comes with a remarkably well thought out and generous set of parts including
  • The quad itself (duh)
  • 4 x 300mah HV 1 cell batteries (that are used 2 at a time)
  • A PH2.0 bridge to allow 1 cell battery operation
  • XT30 connector if you wish to convert to true 2s packs
  • Basic USB charger 
  • A spare set of props
  • A nice carry case (The Emax Tinyhawk is the only micro to offer this till now)
  • spare screws and screw driver
  • A decent, well written colour manual in English
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It is great to see a case included here and like the mobula7, enough battery power to get flying in earnest. The included XT30 is a small gesture but a nice touch nonetheless.

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Full Speed TinyLeader Bench Review and Initial Flights

18/12/2018

2 Comments

 
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Introduction
The Fullspeed Tiny Leader is a new sub-micro class quadcopter from FullSpeedRC.com  that is ducted and competes in the now popular and increasingly competitive brushless whoop market. Full Speed is a now well known and respected producer of micro brushless quadcopters including the original Leader 120 (review here) and more recent Leader 2.5 (review here) and Leader 3 (review here). Below I will outline the published specs and what sets this apart from other brushless whoops - good, bad or indifferent. To clarify there are 2 current Full Speed Tiny Leader models: The TinyLeader Regular and TinyLeader HD with onboard HD recording. This review is for the TinyLeader regular


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