New flying stuffs RC pilot !

[Toownky]

Hi Flite-Testers from all over the world !

I'm not a complete newbie in RC world, but playing with flying stuffs is a new thing for me. Last time I played with a RC model, 2.4Ghz was barely reaching the market. No need to say the actual electronics were inexistant. I fell (again) for the hobby 3 months ago and I have so much to learn it's quite overwhelming ^^

Also I'm new to this forum so a here is a little presentation. I think the best thing to do is to list my gear :

Fixed wings :

• First plane ever flown : A FT Old Fogey built by a friend who never had the guts to maiden it => great first flying experience but I can't get used to the 3 axes
• Second plane : A FT Explorer built from plans, using 6mm depron (dollar tree foam equivalent is VERY expensive here in France) => flies like a dream. It lacks agility for my own taste, but it's really stable and makes a very nice FPV platform.
• Third plane : A FT Cruiser built from plans. Half the building time was to give it a nice black/orange livery. I'm quite proud of the - aesthetic - result, but it does not fly at all (will post a separate subject about that).
• I also built a FT Mini Arrow and a FT Mini Sparrow (still waiting for the motors to be delivered).
• My wife kindly bought me a Durafy Zephyr V70 as a birthday present, still have to wait before I can test it.

Multi-rotors :

• Lazy first experience with an Eachine Racer 250 RTF with radio and FPV screen. Probably not the best quad on the market but an excellent first one to learn the basics.
• A custom built based on the Tarot FL280 frame, 2204 motors 6045 tri props, naze32 and OSD. A really nice little beast configured for hardcore acrobatics.
• A custom built tricopter based on the HJ-Y3 frame, KK2.1.5 board
• An home made 3D printed tricopter => fun, but too heavy
• A TBS discovery cheap copy (Diatone White Sheep) with a "gimbalized" mobius => received today, not assembled yet !

All my models are now controlled using a Walkera Devo 10, flashed with DeviationTX firmware.

 

[rockyboy]

Welcome to the addiction!

How do you like the DeviationTX firmware? I've been an OpenTX on Taranis pilot for a while now, but am curious about the benefits of the DeviationTX software.

Thanks!

 

[Toownky]

The DeviationTX firmware is work in progress and I found a few more/less annoying bugs, but it's part of the game
I can't really compare with other radios or firmware, the only other "modern" radio I have is a Eachine I6 / FS TS-I6 / TGY-I6.

With my limited experience I can say I'm quite happy with it.

• Mixer : The mixer mechanism is quite disturbing at first, but is really flexible and you can really go crazy and do complex stuffs. There is absolutely no ready to use mixers like vtail, flaperons, elevons, differential thrust but they are easy to do. Virtual channels is a nice feature too.
• GUI : The main page is totally configurable, with custom icons, labels, trims, graph bars, and so on
• File system : Models configuration are not stored in strange and encrypted files deep in the firmware. Simply connect with USB to your computer and everything is accessible easily.
• Protocols : The list of supported protocols and receivers is quite impressive

You should go to the DeviationTX website, in the download section, and get the emulator to try this by yourself. You can get the release, or the nightly build (nightly build has really great improvements but the emulator has a bug with keyboard input).

 

[nickszelc44]

Hey Toownky,

Welcome to the forums! I saw in your first post above that you have an Eachine Racer 250 RTF with radio and FPV screen. I was actually looking into purchasing one of those myself as an upgrade to what I currently have, as well as to introduce me to FPV without breaking the bank (I found it online for $300 US). Can you give me some thoughts on this machine? How many times have you flown it? What was the setup process like (I know this thing comes with little to no directions out of the box)? Maybe a quick list of some pros and cons of this. Would you recommend this to someone like me (I have no building experience)?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Toownky]

As I said briefly in my first post, this might not be the best quad, but it works really well !

Setup
This package is labelled as RTF and it really is. Radio batteries : check. Props : check. Main battery : check. Fly !
But, to be honest, even for the complete newbie I am, the quad is not properly tuned out of the box. I quickly updated the CC3D firmware (I stuck to OpenPilot, but you can install something else) and started to tune the configuration.

I might not be the best for someone else, but to suit my personal tastes :
- Increase the P factor a bit to make the quad movements crisper
- Increase the responsiveness in the stabilization tab, controls are way too soft by default
- Increase the expo on the radio (I use a switch to choose between 15%, 30% and 60%) to have smooth controls around the stick center

Flying
Compared to my other quads/tris, the Eachine does not have to be ashamed. Not the most powerful, but plenty enough to fly fast and do acrobatics (boosting the responsiveness you can do very quick multiple flips). Can also do smooth flying for easy FPV.

Repairs
I had quite some crashes with it. Hard crashes. I mean the kind a crash where you want to take your smartphone, go to banggood and order another quad before you even go and check the crash site
But frame and arms are virtually indestructible if you don't smash them against concrete.
Only damage so far is a burned ESC. Cheap and easy to change.

Batteries
The provided 1500mAh batteries are OK for the video receiver but too small to fly comfortably. I'm using Zippy compact 2200mAh 3S 25C and they offer far better flight times. Usually around 10-12min flying fast but smooth.

Radio
The flysky Fi6 copy is very nice. Light, small, simple but quite powerful. You can configure other models.

I can't say I regret this purchase as it allowed me to enter the hobby very easily.
But :

• Building is part of the fun
• If you fly, you WILL have to repair
• FPV screen is great to begin with, but as soon as your try FPV googles, you're doomed
• The radio is great too, but 6Ch is too limited for more complex models (thing about barometer, GPS, compass, gimbal, video switch, and lots of other stuffs).

If you just want one quad, no building, not go into the hobby seriously (no offense), I think this is a good choice.
If you know you are going to buy/build/get other models, the quad itself is a nice starting point, but buy a separate radio.

No matter what you choose, buy spare propellers. Lots of them. LOTS OF THEM. (I use the gemfan 5030 and they did not disappointed me).

Sorry the the loooooooooog post

 

[nickszelc44]

Great information I really appreciate it. I don't have very many building skills as of right now. I would like to build my own one day but not right now. I am looking for something that is an upgrade from my toy quad to make sure I do want to jump into this hobby with both feet. I figured getting a better ready to fly quad would be a good stepping stone. It would get me some of the equipment and then with crashes I would slowly learn how to build and repair. I don't know at this time what I should do for my next quad, I thought that the Eachine Racer would be a good buy for the money. I was aware of the tuning that would be necessary out of the box to improve the flying of the Racer. But now I am wondering if I should just spend the extra money and get the Vortex 250 Pro and add my own radio and goggles to it. That's just an increase of $700 compared to the Racer. In your opinion do you think the Racer is a good FPV starter quad. Enough to get into the hobby and develop better piloting skills, and then slowly add my own radio and goggles. And work my way up to building my own or just buying the Vortex when I get that kind of money.

Sorry to keep asking questions about your Racer but this info has been a huge help so far!

 

[Toownky]

In your opinion do you think the Racer is a good FPV starter quad. Enough to get into the hobby and develop better piloting skills, and then slowly add my own radio and goggles.

For me, it was a good quad to learn. Now I'm a bit more confident both with my piloting and FPV skills, even with more powerful quads, but I'm still flying the Eachine a lot.

 

[nickszelc44]

Thanks a bunch for all of your help. I think I will look into purchasing just the Eachine Racer 250 and then add my own radio to it. This way I have a good radio for future planes and quads.