BetaFPV LiteRadio 4 Review

BetaFPV has released the next iteration of their game-pad styled radio - the LiteRadio 4. It is the successor to the LiteRadio 3 and comes in at a price point of $44.99 - making it once again one of the cheapest integrated ExpressLRS radios on the market. But is it worth the price tag? Let’s have a look.

The LiteRadio 4 was sent to me by BetaFPV as part of the Aquila20 HD kit, but I was so excited about the radio that I thought I’d write a separate article for it.

If you know me, you know I am a sucker for the gamepad-shaped radios. I started out with a Turnigy Evolution, then used a FrSky X-Lite until my “break up” with FrSky. I then used a BetaFPV Lite Radio, and later moved on to a Jumper T-Lite. The Jumper T-Lite I even bought two times because my first one stopped working reliably and the screen started to cut out at times.

The LiteRadio 4 is a 10-channel, joypad-style ELRS radio, purpose-built for controlling quadcopters.

LiteRadio 4 vs LiteRadio 4 SE

BetaFPV sells the radio in two flavors: the regular LiteRadio 4 and the LiteRadio 4 SE. The only difference between the two is that the SE no longer has the trim buttons - everything else (gimbals, switches, battery, RF, port layout, weight) is identical.

The SE is the version that ships with BetaFPV’s bundles (like the Aquila20 HD kit), while the regular LiteRadio 4 is what you get when buying the radio stand-alone.

This review is based on the LiteRadio 4 SE.

Specifications

No longer do you need to decide whether to go ELRS or FrSky - ELRS has established itself as the de facto standard in the hobby, which is great.

You can, however, decide if you want to go with Mode 2 or Mode 1. I have tested the Mode 2 version, but apart from just the position of the throttle stick there is absolutely no difference.

The LiteRadio 4 comes with a built-in 1S 2000mAh LiPo battery. This is enough for runtimes of up to 8 hours on 25mW or 4 hours on 100mW. It is charged up in roughly 40 minutes if your USB-C charger can supply at least 15W.

The gimbals are potentiometer gimbals. Hall gimbals are only available in the limited Twilight Edition - which curiously costs exactly the same, so I would highly recommend you just buy that version while you can - there is literally no other difference. BetaFPV has also confirmed that the Hall effect gimbals will not be sold separately, so if you want them you have to get the Twilight Edition.

I personally have the potentiometer version and the gimbals are smooth. I am not a gimbal snob, though, so your mileage may vary.

When it comes to buttons, there are two easily accessible 2-position switches and two 3-position switches. Below them, you’ll find momentary push buttons.

I like that those are switches with positions and not buttons that latch in two positions - which makes it very clear which position the switch is in.

The radio weighs in at around 220g. There is a loop for a neck strap, but unless you really like having the radio hanging around your neck, there is no need weight-wise for using it. The radio really feels nice in hand.

The shell is grippy enough that it will not slip out of your hands but does not use that grippy plastic that turns sticky and yucky at some point.

Joystick

When plugged into the PC via USB-C without powering on the radio, it will be recognized as a game controller and you can use it for flying in the simulator. You can also connect via Bluetooth, but I have personally not tried that. Bluetooth is one of those technologies that I prefer not to touch if I don’t have to.

The USB-C port is used for data and charging.

No Display

This is going to be a hot-take: I don’t miss the display.

Like its predecessors, the LiteRadio 4 does not have a display like you would find on most other radios. For me personally, this is a good thing. I basically never set anything up on the radio for which I would need a display (especially since I can’t use an external module on this one anyway) - all my models use the exact same channel layout, so for me a display is just one more thing that can break.

If you are someone who flies different models with different channel maps or maybe you want to use the radio with different models, this one might not be for you.

Configuration

Configuration is done through the BETAFPV Configurator v2.0.0 - which is now available for macOS, Linux and Windows.

This is already a big step up from the previous versions: on the LiteRadio 2 SE and LiteRadio 3 the configurator was Windows-only, and even acting as a joystick under Linux was a mess for me. So getting native macOS and Linux support is very welcome.

The whole setup here is a bit clunky:

Make sure your radio is plugged in, but not powered on
In the configurator you need to click the yellow button to switch into controller mode - before you do that, you will not see the port show up in the dropdown
Click “Connect RC” and you should be greeted with the radio setup

You can now see all the relevant ELRS settings on the right side - you can adjust them to your liking.

On the bottom you could re-map channels if you wanted to - personally I always set that up the same way and adjust it in Betaflight.

Watch out for Xbox mode. If you happen to be holding both sticks toward the inner-lower corner (left stick down-right, right stick down-left) while plugging in the USB cable, the radio will silently boot into Xbox controller mode instead of regular joystick mode. In Xbox mode the radio enumerates as a Microsoft Xbox 360 pad.

You can verify with lsusb on Linux: joystick mode shows up as BETAFPV Joystick, Xbox mode as Microsoft Corp. Xbox360 Controller.

Updating ELRS version

The bigger open question is ExpressLRS updates. This was my main complaint about the LiteRadio 3 - ELRS was effectively locked to whatever version BetaFPV shipped through their configurator, and updates lagged the upstream project by months.

And I am afraid to say: This unfortunately still seems to be the case.

To update the firmware, do the following:

Make sure the throttle stick is in its lowest position, then power on the radio - the status LED will come up solid blue on its own. The setup button is not needed for this; pressing setup-while-powering-on is only there for the case where the throttle wasn’t down (which puts the radio in a red “throttle position warning” state). In the blue state the firmware-flasher serial port shows up in the configurator’s dropdown.
Click “Connect” to open the serial port to the radio.
On the bottom right, click “Load Firmware (Local)” and select the .bin file you downloaded.
Click “Flash Firmware” and wait for the progress bar to finish.

After flashing the main firmware, you need to re-calibrate the sticks. The calibration values are wiped by the flash, and out of the box the sticks will read as off-center / clipped. This is done entirely on the radio itself - no PC or configurator needed:

Power the radio on normally (throttle down, blue LED).

Long-press the SETUP button on the bottom of the radio - the status LED will flash red three times with a “beep beep beep”. You are now in stage 1 (center calibration).

Leave all sticks at their neutral / center position and short-press SETUP - the LED flashes red three times again. Centers are recorded; you are now in stage 2 (boundary calibration).

Gently push each stick to all four corners in turn - full up, full down, full left, full right - for both sticks.

Short-press SETUP one more time - the LED flashes red three times and the buzzer plays a short-long beep. Calibration is saved.

The steps above are for the main radio firmware only. The DFU/serial path with the “Bootloader_F.bin” Ymodem protocol used by the configurator only talks to the radio’s main MCU - not to the internal ELRS module.

You will need to download the firmware from BetaFPV directly. Be aware that there are two firmware files:

Firmware for the radio itself - flashed via the DFU procedure above.
ELRS Firmware - flashed via a different mechanism (see below).

Unfortunately, the firmware does not tell you which exact version of ELRS it is - it just shows “ELRS3”.

Updating the ELRS module

The ELRS module is flashed entirely through the standard ExpressLRS WiFi WebUI - the configurator is not involved at all. To get the radio into WiFi update mode:

Hold the BIND button on the bottom of the radio, then power on - the status LED will come on solid purple (Bluetooth mode).
Short-press the BIND button once - the LED will switch to solid green (Wi-Fi mode). The ELRS module starts broadcasting a WiFi access point. Give it a few seconds.
On your computer or phone, connect to the WiFi network ExpressLRS TX. The password is expresslrs.
Open http://10.0.0.1/ in a browser - this is the standard ExpressLRS WebUI.
Drag the TX_LR4_Series_ELRS3_*.bin file into the upload field, click Update, and wait for the success popup.

The main firmware version can then be seen when you connect to the radio via the configurator, so you know the flash worked. The same is unfortunately not true for the ELRS version. Anyway, the major versions should all be compatible with each other, so as long as you have some 3.x version on both the radio and the receiver, you should be fine.

Conclusion

With a price of $44.99, this radio is super budget-friendly, especially when you are just coming into the hobby and want a controller that you can also use for the simulator: low monetary barrier, you can practice, see if you like the form factor and move from there.

I really like how it feels in hand, the accessibility of the buttons and that you can just chuck it into your backpack without worrying that switches are going to break off or you are going to ruin your radio - especially with the nice gimbal protector that is included.

Cons

I wish the radio had an 18650 Li-Ion battery instead of the LiPo pack. This would allow you to easily extend your session time and to replace your battery once the LiPo dies. LiPos don’t like being stored charged and you don’t really have an easy way to discharge the radio in a controlled manner.

The configurator is alright. I wish they had just used EdgeTX as their firmware so we could use the great tools that are available for that, but I understand that this might be an issue, especially on a radio without a screen. In any case, BetaFPV could move on to a web-based configurator and spare us the download of additional software.

ELRS support

The biggest downside (and main reason why it’s hard for me to recommend this radio) - AGAIN - is that you are lagging behind with ELRS versions. You don’t really know which exact version is installed on the radio, this is the biggest downside in my opinion.

So there is no official ELRS support and you are running BetaFPV’s fork. For firmware like ELRS that progresses so fast, this is really a deal breaker for me.

I hope BetaFPV will be on top of that and release new versions when ELRS progresses, but I am afraid they will always be behind. And PLEASE BetaFPV - talk to the ELRS devs, it would be so great if your radio would be officially supported - less to maintain for you and a product that can easily be recommended.

To be clear: I really like this radio, I like the features, I like the price-point, I like how it feels, but the issue with ELRS is kind of a deal breaker. If you got this radio as part of the kit - alright, nothing to really complain about, but would I recommend you go and buy this one as your first? Unless your money is super tight, probably not.

Chris is a Vienna based software developer. In his spare time he enjoys reviewing tech gear, ripping quads of all sizes and making stuff.

Learn more about Chris, the gear he uses and follow him on social media:

Also check out

Lite Radio 3

Lite Radio 2 SE

Lite Radio 2

Jumper T-Lite

Say No To FrSky