Well...lost the Jackelope quad I built :( , so needed another 1s-2s drone for my lineup. Wanted another 3d print and this frame caught my eye since allowed for 3inch props and didnt need a canopy for the camera. I wanted an all in one FC, and I found this one from Happy Model - the X12 AIO which had the 400 mw VTX and 12A ESCs built in. Only needed to wire up the Crossfire receiver, FPV cam, and add plugs for the motors and I would be good to go right? LOL...that was the easy part, compared with discovering how easily this FC overheats because of the built in VTX. If you use the FC be sure to take off quick if the drone is armed (enables full power to the VTX) and put NOTHING on top of it so the wind will keep it cool. Once the FC gets over 162C, it shuts down... :p Ended up having to mount the Crossfire receiver underneath, but after all was said and done this little guy is a blast! Zero Jello with the analog feed on this build so was delighted with that on a 3d printed frame (did 100% infill to make it strong). Only other tricky parts of this build were mounting the FC inverted (changing motor order) and mounting the DarwinFPV motors since the screws that came with it were to short. I had to counter sink the holes (you'll see in the build pics.) My only other gripe with this FC is if you want GPS, you will have to shutoff the SmartAudio, which you need since there are no buttons to switch the VTX settings. If you make this, its a fun and cool looking little drone. :)
Here is some maiden FPV footage (part of the 1S and 2S Lipo flights), and I kept the VTX at 100mw till I know it can handle the higher temps with increased power. Definately would like to test on lithium ion battery next to see how long it can stay in the air:
AirbladeUAV has done it again and this time they've brought long range to the 5" class! Based on the popular Transformer Mini, the new Transformer 5" Ultralight adopts a lot of the same design philosophies with larger props and more payload capacity. It can fly upwards of 20 minutes on a 4 cell Li-Ion battery pack and in ideal conditions it's got a range of over 4 to 5 miles. In this guide I'll walk..
Read moreWith the release of the DJI FPV Drone cinematic FPV has become a lot more accessible, but you certainly don't want to crash a $750 drone! The QAV-CINE Freybott is a compact, lightweight cinematic FPV drone that can take a hit and keep going. It's a lot safer to fly indoors and around people. With a naked GoPro or the SMO 4k you can capture some great stabilized footage. In this guide I'll show you..
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