Jan 26, 2019
A lot of flight controllers that come with integrated receivers have them connected via SPI to the processor. If you have an AIO flight controller where the receiver is connected via SPI you do not need to push the physical bind button on the flight controller anymore - you can simply bind from the Betaflight CLI.
This is especially handy when the bind button is hard to reach. In the future bind buttons might be omitted on the boards at all - mechanical parts are expensive, so the manufacturers can save a couple of cents.
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Jan 19, 2019
After the great success of the he Mobula7 and the current craze about Cinewhoops like the Tinyleader or Beta85x it was just a question of time for an HD version of the Mobula7 to be released.
According to a conversation with Jason from happy model, the release of the HD version of the Mobula7 is planned for the 18th of February, 4 days earlier and it would be a great Valentines days gift for us Whoop pilots.
Unfortunately there are no pictures yet, but I got quite some informations about its technical specifications and price.
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Jan 15, 2019
Just a couple of days after the first samples have hit the test users BetaFPV is taking pre-orders for the Beta85x. According to their website shipping will start on the 25th of January.
The Beta85x comes in two different version regarding the camera. One with a Caddx EOS2 for $159.99 and the second one, the HD version - or Cinewhoop as they call it - with the Caddx Turtle V2 for $199.99.
A 4S, 450mAh battery is recommended but neither is one included nor can one be ordered from BetaFPV as of now. I guess a lot of early adopters will go with two 2S batteries they have from their Beta75x. But I am sure it will not take long until there will be different battery options for this form factor.
Regarding receiver there are a lot of different options available, including the TBS Crossfire.
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Jan 8, 2019
BetaFPV seems to be working on a new whoop. A whoop capable of carrying a HD cam, similar to the tinyleader.
First images have surfaced on facebook. The new Model, the Beta85x will be available in a non HD and in an HD version. The non HD version seems to be equipped with an EOS2 4:3 camera.
The HD version will come with a Caddx Turtle V2 (Hopefully shipped with the joystick needed to make the settings).
The camera tilt will be adjustable in both versions.
Unfortunately no release date is known yet, but I would suspect it will be releases in a few weeks from now. As usual I will keep you posted and update the list on the homepage accordingly.
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Jan 4, 2019
The people from Banggood were kind enough to provide me with some coupon codes valids through 2019.
The coupon codes are valid in different categories and you can save up to 15% with the following codes. You just need to fill them into the Coupon field on the checkout page.
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Jan 2, 2019
The Emax tinyhawk RTF starter kit is now up for sale on banggood.
This package seems to be a perfect entry point for new pilots, it contains everything you need to start the hobby: Goggle, remote, carrying case, batteries, charger, accessories, and of course the tinyhawk itself.
And with a price point of just $165, there is really nothing to complain about. In fact the entry into the hobby has never been easier and cheaper.
Goggles and transmitter are both powered by a 18650 battery and can be charged via included USB cable. All the parts fit into a nice carrying case. You even get a screw driver for maintenance.
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Dec 27, 2018
After my last articles on parallel charging and serial charging I would like to explain how to serial charge 2S batteries.
As mentioned in my serial charging article, there is no dedicated hardware (at least that I am aware of) to serial charge your 2S batteries, but the technique is the same as with 1S batteries - instead of building a 6S battery from six, single 1S batteries we are building a 6S battery from three 2S batteries.
Building this kind of adapter can be accomplished with a hand full of passive components and some minimal soldering skills. A 3D printer capable of printing TPU for the enclosure comes in handy, but you can also use liquid tape to secure the contacts on the bottom of the adapter.
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Dec 18, 2018
BetaFpv just release two new models: the Beta65 Pro 2 and the Beta75 Pro 2.
They are somewhere between their respective Pro and X versions. The main difference to the X version is, that the ESC are slightly less powerful and that flightcontroller and ESC are all on one board.
Another change is that you can fly this models with 1S - this is great news for everyone flying in small indoor spaces where the X version simply has too much power. Both models actually come with two HV 1S batteries.
Both models are cheaper and lighter than their X version counterpart and BetaFPV claims that the washout problems from the X series are completely solved.
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Dec 17, 2018
After my last article on parallel charging someone on facebook mentioned that they prefer serial charging.
Serial charging? Never heard of that.
Turns out this method is mainly used for 1S batteries, you basically build a 6S battery from six single 1S batteries and charge this constellation like you would charge a normal 6S battery. This is all done via a simple harness to which you plug in your 1S batteries in series.
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Dec 16, 2018
When it comes to parallel charging there are a couple of ways that you can interpret it:
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You have multiple chargers and thus can charge multiple batteries at one time. This is the most obvious version, but comes with the big draw back that you need multiples of everything, multiple power supplies and multiple chargers.
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Multi channel chargers: Those are chargers that have multiple dedicated charging circuits, so you can charge two ore more batteries at once. The great thing with those is, that you can charge different batteries (different cell count and different capacity) at once. The bad thing is, the more channels they have, the more expensive the tend to get.
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Parallel charging boards: A special board that allows you to attach multiple batteries, usually six, to the same charger. There are some things you need to consider when going this route, but I will explain all of them in detail, since this is the method we are going to look at in detail.
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