IRC Tramp Nano Review
• Chris
The Tramp Nano is ImmersionRC’s attempt at a nano sized video transmitter - but this one is different in a couple of ways. First, and most importantly, this video transmitter is capable of an output power of up to 500mW (25, 200, 350, 500mW).
But that is not all that makes it different - it comes with a small PCB antenna implementing IRC’s “TNR” (Touch ‘n Race) technology, so you can easily check output power and channel without powering the quadcopter on using IRC’s magic wand. This might be especially important for racers, since some races even require you to use a TNR compatible video transmitter.
The antenna for TNR is soldered with two wires to the main board. Included is a small foam pad, allowing you to stick the antenna onto a convenient place. If you are not planning on using TNR, you can also just de-solder this antenna and use it as a “normal” nano sized VTX.
You can also use the button on the transmitter itself to cycle through channels and power modes or simply use the IRC Tramp protocol to make those adjustments via your flight-controllers OSD. The button will not have any effect though, when the transmitter has been put into “Race Mode” with the magic wand.
The transmitter weighs in at just 1.01g without antennas, making it one of the lightest nano sized transmitters out there. You have to power it from a 5V regulated power supply, so you cannot directly power it from you battery.
Carrier PCB
Other than that, the Tramp Nano comes with a PCB carrier board, that allows the video transmitter to be easily mounted in a 20mm stack - and to be honest, I think that is its intended purpose, less so to be used on micro quads. The package also contains rubber grommets for mounting the VTX into your stack and protecting it from shock of collisions. The transmitter is soldered to the carrier board in three places.
Antenna
Instead of a linear antenna - as you might be used to from other nano sized video transmitters - the Tramp nano comes with a U.FL to SMA adapter pigtail. Obviously you can use any other antenna with U.FL connector, but the package just comes with the adapter and does not include an antenna at all.
The signal is very clean, it does not bleed over to other channels, not even when the transmitter gets hot. This is a feature that IRC pride themselves with.
One very nice feature is the locking U.FL connector that will prevent the pigtail to pop off from the U.FL connector - this is a feature that I would really like to see on other nano transmitters, or rather their antennas.
LED
The LED on this transmitter is pretty important in my opinion, since at a race you can quickly see in which mode you are:
| LED | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Green | All is good, normal operation |
| Green blinking | Pit mode |
| Blue blinking | Race locked, transmission not active |
| Red blinking | Race locked, transmitting - until next power cycle |
Thermal protection
Thermal protection is especially useful when it comes to races. Often the quads sit around at the start line before you can actually take off. To protect the electronics from overheating and burning out. The Nano is monitoring its temperature and reducing output power when it gets too hot.
As soon as adequate cooling is available again, the output power is cranked up to the chosen maximum setting.
Pinout
The pinout is very hard to see on the transmitter itself, you can see it a bit better on the carrier board itself. Also the silk screen is a bit confusing in my opinion - you can definitely see it way better in the manual:
Conclusion
I would recommend this one to people who fly races where it is important that your VTX can be controlled by IRC’s magic wand.
With a price of around 30$ on banggood is it definitely on the higher priced side of nano sized video transmitters but it also comes with features that no other one has. If you are a racer, then I am sure you will appreciate those features.
For me personally, since I do not participate in races, I would rather go with the flywoo goku nano or BetaFPV’s M02.
Sources:
Chris is a Vienna based software developer. In his spare time he enjoys reviewing tech gear, ripping quads of all sizes and making stuff.
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