Nov 6, 2021
This is the second part of BetaFPVs ELRS lineup. As mentioned in my previous post, BetaFPV released two additional AIO flight controllers with ELRS receivers on board. Those boards are obviously a great fit for the BetaFPV ELRS Lite Radio. But can be used with any 2.4GHz ELRS transmitter.
The two flight controllers have a very similar feature set, but slightly different implementation and form factor. I will first look at the differences and why you might chose one over the other and then look into similarities of those flight controllers.
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Oct 26, 2021
The Darwin 69 - also called “Baby Ape” - is DarwinFPV’s next super cheap release - as the name suggests, it only costs $69. That is very little money for a basically complete 3” micro quadcopter. But at this price point, is it even worth getting it? Usually such super low price quads only have one up-side: the price.
I have had a couple of DarwinFPV products and I generally am really surprised at what they can put together for such a low price. When buying at this price point, one thing has to be clear: You will not get the newest, brand named components. DarwinFPV probably buys older parts in bulk and then throws something together that will match a certain price point.
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Oct 12, 2021
It was only a matter of time until the first ELRS only radio hit the market - and actually it came as I was expecting it: BetaFPV adapted their Lite Radio 2 - to be more precise - the Lite Radio 2 SE for ELRS.
This radio looks and feels exactly like the BetaFPV Lite Radio 2 which I have reviewed before. The main difference from the Lite Radio 2 to the SE (second edition) is the integrated battery: it comes with a 1000mAh 1S battery which can be charged via USB C. Further, the wiring has been updated and the connections to the gimbals look much more rigid.
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Aug 22, 2021
When I first saw the Baby Nazgul, I knew I had to try it. I am a big fan of the iFlight Alpha A65 and I have heard people raving so much about the 5” Nazgul, that the Baby Nazgul just has to be awesome - right,… right?
Let’s first address the elephant in the room - quite literally: This micro copter weighs in at 29.1g with CRSF receiver, if you add a 300mAh GNB battery the weight adds up to 37g. Without the CRSF receiver it weighs in at 26.9g - still 3.1g more than its whoop counter-part the iFlight Alpha A65 which weighs in at 23.8g without a battery.
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Aug 16, 2021
Happymodel was the first manufacturer to seize the opportunity for a quick buck and produce ELRS hardware. ELRS is an open source control link and I am pretty sure you have heard about it by now. I am a big fan of ELRS - been watching them basically since the beginning.
I am super stoked seeing more and more manufacturers implementing this Open Source hardware and I am confident that sooner or later it will replace FrSky D8 compatible SPI receivers on AIO boards.
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Aug 12, 2021
In this article I would like to feature a project that I have recently learned about - the YOLO flight controller. Actually it is not a single flight controller, rather a family of designs that share the same base. The aim is to provide something for everyone: from 1S to 6S!
Finding this now, after writing my article about my “perfect” flight controller is a big coincidence, really fits perfectly and makes me totally pumped about this flight-controller.
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Aug 8, 2021
After Happymodel, BetaFPV is the second company jumping on the hype train and releasing ELRS hardware. I am pretty stoked seeing more companies releasing hardware based on an open source project, so I am excited to showcase some of the new hardware.
I am a huge fan of ELRS - an open source control link for radio controlled models. I have followed the project since pretty early on and even built a DIY transmitter module and receivers. I never had it in production use since it was simply to cumbersome for me to DIY the receivers and I was hoping that some day, some manufacturer will pick this system up commercially - which is happening now.
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Jul 24, 2021
In this post I will try to explain why I personally no longer recommend buying FrSky products. This can also be seen as an open letter to FrSky - although I highly doubt that they will be interested. Some of my issues I tried to discuss directly with them, but they did not really seem to care too much about any of my input.
I have been thinking about writing this article for some time - and even let it sit for a couple of months - but neither my views nor the situation at hand did change, so I decided to finally publish it and if it is just for the sake of linking people here when they ask why I no longer recommend FrSky products.
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Jul 14, 2021
It took me some time to join the HD FPV community. I have been following the progress since the first DJI HD system has been released in late 2019. At this point I was interested in the tech, but generally the product was not for me: the air-unit was simply too big for my micro needs.
Then the Caddx Vista came around. I was hesitant - will Caddx be the only company licensed by DJI? Will they have better QC in place than with their regular products? What is Fatshark going to do - is their HD system going to be better?
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Jun 29, 2021
The Eachine US65 Pro has some sentimental value for me, since the first article I wrote on this blog over three years ago was about the Eachine US65. A lot has happened since then and I was super excited when Banggood offered to send me one for review - unfortunately at this point I am already a bit late to the party since this copter has been released in late 2020. If it is still a good choice in 2021 you will find out here.
The Eachine US65, is a 65mm, 2S whoop set - it comes with the copter, batteries, charger, props and a nice carrying case.
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