This is a PNP build so all I had to install is the Crossfire RX and DJI air unit, but I wanted to share the props guard modifications I did. I am not a big fan of the original prop guards because it is too brittle. I do not think I will take a moderate crash very well because of the hard plastic it is made out of. I happen to have a broken Beta95X frame and it fits perfectly on the beetle frame.

It is important to me to have props guards because I plan to fly it indoors and around my kids. Even since I switch to DJI’s Digital FPV system I sold all my analog quads and the includes the tiny whoops. So, the TransTEC Beetle and Beta95x is the next closest thing to tiny whoops that I can find at this current time.

To get the Beta95X prop guards to fit, it is very simple. Take a pair of flush cutters and cut around the guards until all 4 are separated. It almost seems like it was designed for this frame because on the end of the carbon fiber arm there is a little tip that sticks out and the plastic guards happen to have a notch right where that tip is. Other than cutting around the guard, there are no other modification that needs to be done. Make sure you use the correct length screw because you do not want it too long or it will hit the motor windings. For each motor I used two M2x7mm screw for the outer mounting holes and M2x6mm for the inner. Or you can use M2x6MM screws for all 4 holes just to be safe. One last thing, do not for get to use some Loctite!

It is kind a difficult to compare the Beta95X to the TransTEC Beetle because I have a different purpose for both. The biggest difference is the DJI air unit verse the Caddx Vista. The Beta95X is my TinyWhoop replacement, so I kept the weight as low as possible by use the Caddx Vista which has lower-resolution video (720p). Whereas the Beetle has a built in DVR that records at 1080p 60FPS and no prop in view no matter what angle you set your camera. The Beta95x on the other hand, you will need to increase the camera angle by a lot if you want to get rid of the prop guard in the cameras view. The increased camera angle may make it difficult to fly indoors. Or, I just need to do some PID tuning for the Beta95X.

The Beta95X weighs in at 98g and the Beetle is 161g, so that is a huge difference in weight. I need to do more testing, but it seems like the heavier quad is a lot easier to control when going for cinematic shots. Whereas the lighter Beta95X is better at squeezing through gaps, plus it also has a smaller footprint than the beetle too.

Since the Beetle is a heavy quad, I went with my favorite HQ 2.5x2.5x3 props because it has a lot more thrust than the Gemfan 2540 that is came with.

Here a test flight with a Tattu 650mah 4s lipo.

UPDATE - Aug 22 2020 - Bidirectional DSHOT JESC (v2.3) - Disable LED to get it to work!!!!

This is my second time trying to setup Bidirectional DSHOT with the Beetle because I was not able to figure it out the first time around. After doing some searching on the internet, I found a posting on RCG that someone had the same issue with the Beetle. Long story short, the LED has conflicting resources with the bidirectional dshot and all I need to do is disable the LED and everything worked. How did I know it was not working? After setting everything up correctly, I would go to the motors tab in betaflight and get 100% error (Yes, the battery was plugged in).

I think I need to do some tuning on it because it is not flying as smooth as the iFlight DC2. My current betaflight setting are included in the image gallery below.