Monthly Archives: May 2016
Walkera Rodeo 150 Review
Introducing Walkera Rodeo 150, a unique and slick looking 15 cm size quadcopter, with a mix of racing drone aerobatic features from the F3 flight controller, and the classic Devo 7 radio transmitter programmability. The quadcopter was designed to weigh less than 0.55 pounds for hobbyist who rather not register with the FAA in the USA. It is not a full fletch racer but a speedy mini quadcopter with brushless motors, a category of mini quadcopters gaining popularity recently.
First Impression, we love the Rodeo 150 design and the color scheme, a mini-me of the Walkera F210. Kudos to the Walkera drafting engineers. You can use an external receiver, which means you can use any programmable radio transmitter you may already have, making this a popular BNF quadcopter. The material used is light-weight Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), a common thermoplastic polymer (also used by Lego). It is impact resistance, but not strong enough to take a direct impact against a tree or slamming onto concrete.
Target Users
Keen Beginners, Park Flyers, Ready To Fly, Off the shelves, Collectors, Budget USD$229 MAP (May 2016)
FQ777-126c Spider Drone Hexacopter
Made by FQ777 (yes, that is the brand name), model Spider 126c is quite a unique radio control hexacopter. Made to be portable, it is stored in a self-contained case / radio transmitter along with all the accessories in a compartment. A nice showpiece if you are a collector and this hexcopter flies amazingly.
First impression, we like the radio transmitter travel case, it keeps the copter away from dust, stores a set of spare propellers, dual chargers and propeller guards. At first glance you will also noticed there are too many buttons, the most buttons we have ever seen on a radio, unlabeled.
Target Users
Beginners, Park Flyers, Ready To Fly, Off the shelves, Collectors, Budget under USD $37 (2016)
DeviationTX Walkera Devo Transmitter Hacking
One of the best kept secret of a Walkera transmitter is the ability to support multiple protocols using deviationtx firmware. So if you are flying a selection of models, such as e-Flite Carbon-Z, Walkera F210, Blade QX, Yuneec Typhoon, Parkzone Micro Warplane, Spektrum DSM2 plane, JJRC Tarantula x6 or Hubsan X4; you can turn your affordable Devo transmitter into a power house that supports multiple protocols, all you need is the provided Walkera USB transmitter cable.
Specification:
The Deviation hacking project supports multiple protocols without any modifications to the transmitter:
● Devo 6/7e/8/10/12/F12e WK2401/WK2601/WK2801
● DSM2/DSMX JR, Spektrum, Turnigy
● Nine Eagles J6 Pro (with telemetry module)
FreeX MCFX-01 Drone
FreeX MCFX ! It seems like the FreeX is being revived, now the 4.0 edition, in a nut shell reading the specs, what caught my eyes are:
- Lost signal: Automatic return or hover at last known position
- Reduces speed as it approaches launch point during return home, when near 80m
- Stock Range: 1 km
- Onetouch4 configuration tool software
- Channels: 7
- 6 Axis Gyro
- FREE quality 2-axis gimbal with pitch control
- Estimated price: $200!
History
FreeX is not new in the market, the SkyView has been in the market since 2014, marketed and backed by several prominent labels such as OFM, Xaircraft, manufactured by Skyartec ; along the way, Firmware V4 was released. I am not sure what else is different, but read on for everyone’s updates in the coming weeks.
Volantex Ranger 757-4 Review
TODAY I took a look at the Volantax Ranger 757-4 that we purchased online for just over a $100. The 757-4 is a scale down version of the popular 2m Ranger Ex 757-3 FPV Drone plane. It is resized to 1.4m 1380mm, just small enough to fit into a standard size car trunk/boot without taking it apart.
One of the more interesting feature of the plane is that it is designed for GoPro or FPV cameras.. it comes tail heavy, so you can install multiple fpv cameras and large batteries. A weight is even included in the event you are not ready to fly with a camera. We had to fly it with a 3S 5000 mAh LiPo battery without a GoPro weight on the front, to get the correct center of gravity (CG). It is quick, easy to assemble, no glue is required.
Is This Antenna LHCP or RHCP Circular polarization?
The most common question asked when you are serious about flying FPV, “Is This Antenna LHCP or RHCP Circular Polarized?” There are a few ways folks do to tell if a circular polarization antenna is Left Hand Circular Polarization (LHCP) or Right Hand Circular Polarization (RHCP), and a simple way is to just see which direction it points to, by following the copper wire from the bottom –> up.
Why is it important to know? The rule of thumb is to use the same matching direction of antenna for transmitting and receiving. If you don’t match the antennae, the range will be reduced up to 75% than a matched antennae. If one is right hand and the other is left hand, there is a 30 dB drop in gain right away (that’s about 1/1000 of the signal getting through)…
Eachine LCD5802D FPV Monitor DVR
When you are out flying, recording your flights is a way to recover an aircraft, in an event of an engine failure. The Eachine LCD5802D 5802 is the next generation of budget first person view (FPV) monitors that gets better each time, putting it’s competitors (Lumenier, Skyzone) in a tough spot. It is light and easy to carry. I am really excited about this monitor, as it has every function we need to monitor our flights at dronemission.com. The Eachine 5802D LCD monitor comes with diversity antennas, DVR and 40 channels auto search, all three functions I would look for on a new FPV monitor.
First impression, every FPV pilot needs a DVR, with a DVR function, you can record your flight footage along with your On Screen Display information. This will allow you to playback, analyze your flight footage or to recover a lost model. The Eachine LCD5802D comes built-in dual receiver for best reception, allows you to place two types of antenna to provide the clearest picture in a variety of flying conditions. With dual buffered Audio Video (AV) outputs, you can connect a pair of google directly or an external monitor. It is capable of receiving 5 Bands and a total 40 Channels to cover all the transmitter known today and to stay compatible with new or old video transmitters. You can easily switch between channels with a one key signal search and the auto scan is fast!.
First Drone Formula Race Walkera F210
The Orlando FPV RotoRacers, a MulitGP league located in Florida, along with Leo from DroneMission.com hosted the world’s first Formula Race F210, where pilots flew the same model, the Walkera F210, on a “spec” formula race. This placed the pilots to their test of skill with the same radio transmitter, same racing drone. The winner kept what he or she flew for that race! Rules and format were defined by the club at MultiGP.com. A fun day filled with fellowship opened to the public. May the best pilot wins!
Pilots competed in qualifying rounds in the morning and the top 3 pilots competed for the Walkera F210…
