Falcon 130

By Whiffles on Jan 18, 2017

35 27 7

This is the latest incarnation of my GEP130X. I wasn't very impressed with the quality of the previous micro cam, so I swapped to the Falcon to fit the HS1177 camera. I replaced the motors with Tornado's and wanted to try this tiny dipole VTX. I used 30mm standoffs, but needed to use nylon nuts to give me just enough clearance to fit the camera in there.

AUW: 230g
Without battery: 145g

Photos

Part List

Frame	Falcon 130 (13 builds) Fpvheadquarters.com	$29.99
Flight Controller	Airbot Omnibus F3 Flight Controller with OSD (59 builds) Multirotormania.com	$35.00
ESCs	Racerstar RS20Ax4 20A 4 in 1 Blheli_S Opto ESC 2-4S Support Dshot150 Dshot300 for RC FPV Racing Drone (67 builds) Banggood.com	$27.56
Motors	4 x BrotherHobby Tornado T1 1407 3600KV Racing Edition Motor (329 builds) Droneeclipse.com	$63.96
Propellers	RotorX Polycarbonate RX3040T Tri/3-Blade Props (2xCW 2xCCW) (8 builds) Rc-drones.com	$3.99
FPV Camera	Banggood (130 builds) Banggood.com	$15.45
FPV Transmitter	Eachine VTX03 Super Mini 5.8G 72CH 0/25mW/50mw/200mW Switchable FPV Transmitter (417 builds) Banggood.com	$12.22
Batteries	Tattu 850mAh 11.1V 75C 3S1P Lipo Battery Pack with XT30 plug Flyrcnow.com	$14.29
Misc Parts	12V Step-Down Voltage Regulator Pololu D24V5F12 (3 builds) Multirotormania.com	$5.00
Misc Parts	2.1mm Lens For Pyro-Drone/HS1177 Cams IR Sensitive (2 builds) Pirofliprc.com	$4.99
Misc Parts	10 PCS M3*30 Colorful M3 Aluminum Column Spacer for RC Racer Drone Multirotor Silver Black Red Orang (3 builds) Banggood.com	$3.49

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Discussion

Whiffles Feb 22, 2017

This little guy has been a lot of fun lately! It's taken some hard hits with marginal damage. I ordered a Mobius Mini, so I hope to squeeze it on top. With adequate protection that should put me just over 260g AUW with an HS1177 and HD!

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Whiffles Feb 22, 2017

Thank you! It's a ton of fun. I've even taken it out a couple times this week rather than my 5" quad. I checked your part list and left a couple suggestions in the comments.

snootux Feb 23, 2017

Thanks for answer, are you not afraid of shorts with the esc solder joints facing the carbon fiber?

Whiffles Feb 23, 2017

They don't come in contact with the frame, so it's not a problem.

PepeLePew Jan 26, 2017

That's a dandy little setup you go there. How does the VTX do on 200mw and how far can you go? I'm looking at various options
for outdoors. Recently DYS released a 25/200 VTX however their QC guy must have been sleeping...the 200 side hits 800 once powered up.
I'm hoping they fix this since the VTX is the perfect size for almost any race build.

Whiffles Jan 26, 2017

It's not without some interference at points, but the same could be said about most antennas. For the price and size it's really a great option. Since it uses a U.fl connector it can be adapted to use any SMA antenna with a 2" adapter.

CesiumSalami Jan 24, 2017

Hot damn! That's a nice looking build!
I'm looking to build something with nearly identical hardware! ... different frame and maybe a runcam swift or eagle ... but pretty much everything else.

Although, I've been a little dissuaded by those claiming that I'll get < 3 min flight times. I know the brother tornados are crazy powerful, but if you can keep yourself from ripping, they also seem reasonably efficient even compared to 1306 4000kv motors.

I was really hoping that I could putter around for 5 minutes for one flight - but then be able to go nuts for 3 minutes ...

What kind of flight times are you getting?

Whiffles Jan 26, 2017

I haven't had enough time to play around with these motors, but I think 4-5 mins of slow flight might be doable.

daveofdefeat Jan 19, 2017

I just bought that same 4in1 ESC from banggood to upgrade my 3" build. Did you enable DShot on it?

Whiffles Jan 19, 2017

I'm actually running a slightly different ESC. It's the LB Pro 4-in-1 from MRM, but they no longer keep it in stock. I picked this because it's the closest alternative. I do have the Racerstar 30A ESCs on my 5" build and they run DShot.

Whiffles Jan 19, 2017

I just took it out for a test flight and it flew just fine. I'll need to run a few packs through it to see how well this VTX performs, but the signal looks great on the bench.