Syma X8C from Gearbest

Epitaph

Ebil Filleh Pega-Bat ^.^
Mentor
Hi everyone!!

Today I get to bring to you the review of the Syma X8C from Gearbest

http://www.gearbest.com/rc-quadcopters/pp_152100.html

This is a very interesting quadcopter, as it is the same size and general design as the DJI Phantom, but at a fraction of the price. Compared to the DJI it is very simple of course, as it doesn’t add all the “bells and whistles” of things like barometer, magnetometer, GPS, and doesn’t even have a “return to home” system of any kind. The electronics has also been very much simplified using an all-in-one control board with built in ESCs, brushed geared motors and a much lighter and simplified construction. It also has much less flight time than the DJI model, but then when we compare that it has only a 2000mAh battery compated to the Phantom’s 5000mAh…

But in spite of these simplifications, this quad is a firm bet for Syma, making a quad that almosts leaves behind the “toy” category, getting into the “hobby” one almost completely, even getting somewhat into the “AP” category also. This quad is a great option for anyone that has started out with small toy multirotors, bridging that gap towards something of a larger calibre without breaking the bank.

As soon as I received it through the post I was impressed with the time and effort invested in finding the right packaging, something often overlooked. Being a rather large quad (350 class) with a full size transmitter, the traditional packaging of “everything on the same level” would result rather large, elevating the transport costs in the case of some transport companies. The box itself is rather simple, but dead to the point, with a large photo of the quadcopter and the most important information at the bottom of the box, and on the side the same simplistic general design too.

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Inside the outer box is the typical molded polystyrene protection box with the new quadcopter taking up the place of honour, and a small box containing a power supply unit. Under the main quadcopter body are the four prop guards.

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On the underside of the inner box are the transmitter, the props (8 in total), the landing gear, the charger, the battery, the camera and a small bag of screws with a small screwdriver, along with the other small parts.

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The transmitter is very similar to others of the Syma X5xx range of quadcopters, although it stands out in its white with red trim. It is comprised of the standard 2 gimbals, 2 shoulder buttons, the left to change from low to high rates and also to activate Headless mode, the right to activate the flip mode, and a bottom screen displaying information like what rates are activated and the state of the gimbals. One thing that this transmitter has which is a small detail but a huge bonus is the eyelet to catch on a transmitter neckstrap, making it a whole lot more comfortable to use out in the field.

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On the back of the transmitter you find the typical battery cover, and one curious thing is that there is space inside for 6 batteries, although the transmitter itself only uses 4 AA type batteries. It seems that the transmitter was originally designed to be used with more power hungry setups, and Syma just took advantage of the mold to use on this transmitter, removing the metal contacts from the 2 outer battery slots.

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Inside the bag of small parts are all the screws needed for mounting the legs, prop guards and other things together, as well as plenty of spares of all these. There is also the small screwdriver for fitting it all together, as well as a USB microSD card reader which is something very useful and often missing from most models… something very much needed by people that are just starting out in the quadcopter world!!

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The props are about 9” in size, so they are quite large and efficient to use on this brushed, geared system. The camera is a 2mp one which is pretty standard in toy RTF quads nowadays, and is in fact the same camera that you get with the Syma X5C-1, with the cable changed and enclosed inside a secondary case that permits changing the angle of the camera to get different footage. The landing feet are 4 independent ones that come out on an angle, running just under each of the 4 arms, this means that some people will see them on their cameras should they use a GoPro or a Mobius (seeing as this quad is capable of lifting both these models) if it is set in the centre of gravity, and will be a nuisance to the image… but it’s worth noting that the system and size is exactly the same as the DJI Phantom system, making the Phantom landing skids compatible with the X8C, and they don’t get in the frame when using one of these cameras. You can find the legs pretty cheap on Ebay, both the standard version as also the extended legs. This detail, whether accidental or on purpose by Syma, is a great move on their behalf.

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The power system includes a balance charger with its power supply unit. It is a good option to have for when you’re starting out, as having your batteries properly balanced is very important on the long run. Those that already have smart chargers would prefer to use those I’d dare say, as the charger that comes with the quad unfortunately takes nearly 3 hours to charge the batty from empty to full!! So it’s good to start off with, but know it would be best to invest later on in something better. The battery is very interesting, as it is marked as a 2S 2000mAh 25C battery that weighs only 104.8g (just under 3.7oz) and is of quite a compact size, measuring the same width and height roughly as a Turnigy 2S 2200mAh 20C, and yet measures almost 20mm less in length than the Turnigy. After a few tests with my smart charger I completely discharged the new battery and charged it up from scratch, findint that the actual capacity of the battery is 2147mAh, putting it almost on the par of the Turnigy, which turned out to be a very pleasent surprise, as it uses the usual typical 14AWG silicone wire with a Deans type connector that I already extensively use, which means this light, high capacity battery can be used on a number of my models. I’m not sure if it will live up to the advertised 25C rating it has printed at this point, but I’m very eager to try it out.

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Before putting the quad together, I decided to take it all apart to see how the internal construction is. The plastic is very firm and rigid,and everything seems well placed inside to fit neatly in its place. There are a total of 16 screws holding the 2 halves together, but you must remember also to cut the stickers on the forward arms to separate the 2 halves. There are an aditional 4 pieces you have to remove to reach some of those screws, which are the motor covers, and each one of these is itself held on by another 2 screws. Inside everything seems well thought out with all the wiring neatly sorted into their places with good quality cable going to the motors, smaller gauge wire for the LED clusters on each arm, and all going to a central control board, which boasts a secondary board for the on-off button and the camera jack socket.

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The board is a lot larger than the Syma X5SW board, although it comes with the same common elements. On top of the typical receiver, decoder and 6 axis stabilization circuits, it also has a 3.7V power regulation circuit to feed the camera with, which of course adds to the overall size of the board. The soldering points seem very well made and the components all appear to be pretty good too, with no obvious cold solder points or bad quality soldering.

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The motors are large and seem pretty good, using a very well designed and protected gearing system instead of a direct drive, allowing them to turn much larger props. The gears are well housed away from dust and dirt, yet still remain well refrigerated from the airflow from the props themselves. It seems someone took their time to design an efficient system to get the most from these brushed motors without sacrificing their lifespan. The motors themselves even come fitted with small SMD type capacitors to help filter out any parasitic noise from the wiring, so someone certainly did their homework!!

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The motor mounting system has also been well designed not only for its general working but also for replacing parts should you need to change a motor. To change one of the motors you don’t even have to take the whole quad apart. Just remove the motor cover, unplug the motor from its base with the handy plug system it brings, remove 2 screws from the top side, and the motor slips out from its housing. This makes the whole system a real “plug and play” on the workbench!!

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Before putting the 2 halves back together, I had to sort one thing out that is my little pet hate of these types of multirotors, which is to swap the LEDs around to the way the colours SHOULD go, green on the front and red on the back. The LEDs are connected to the main board via a plug system, so you don’t even need soldering skills to do this!! Just unplug the LED groups, unscrew the clusters, and swap them around, it’s that simple!! Each cluster consists of 3 LEDs… 2 SMD type LEDs facing down to shine out through the plastic windows on the bottom of the quad, and one standard type LED facing upwards which fits into a small triangular shaped window on the upper cover, meanign that it has small orientation LEDs on the top as well as the bottom, making it easy to know which way it’s facing at night even before you take off!!

Once the 2 halves are back together, I proceeded to fit the lansing legs, which was a very easy system indeed, and the props… this is where I found it rather interesting. Instead of the normal “stab on” system of toy grades, or the screw caps of hobby grade, this system has a hexagonal part coming up from the gear which the prop fits onto very nicely. In the middle of this is a fixed metal spike with a hole going through it.

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Once you have fitted the prop in its place, you have to add a small nylon piece on top, then a metal bar through the spike, then the nylon piece turns 90º to lock into place. Then you just have to put on the plastic cone ontop which is for aesthetic reasons more than anything, but this piece remains fixed, not like other quads where it turns with the prop. It is quite a curious system they have devised here for this quad, and it works very well. The small nylon pieces and the bars are easy to lose, so a complete spare set comes in the plastic bag together with the screws.

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The prop guards also have an interesting mounting system, as each arm has a resort in the side for it to slip into and fix into place with 2 screws from underneath. If you decide to not use prop guards, rather than just leaving the slot open for dust to get into, and leaving it rather ugly, Syma have included some small covers that slip into the slots to cover them up and give the quad a nice finish. It’s a nice little detail they thought of here.

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Finally, the only thing left is to fit the camera in the slot under the belly of the aircraft, and plyg in the 3.5mm jack that comes with it, a very different system than what comes on the other Syma models.

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I compared it to its smaller sibling, the X5SW, and as you can see most of the things are the same, just scalled up enormously. But even details like the battery compartment and the general design have been kept constant in this larger model. When I got the X5SW it didn’t seem like a small quad at all, but now I see it next to the X8C it seems tiny in comparisson!

I weighed the X8C complete without the battery and no prop guards, and it weighs in at 483g (just over 17oz), which with the battery added brings it to a total weight in flight of 588g (20.74oz), making it the heaviest quad in my collection so far, and I really have high hopes for this quad, that its brushed motors really live up to the quads needs. People say it’s capable of lifting a GoPro, and if this is true, then it really is impressive for these motors on a quad with this weight to lift all that. It’s a shame I can’t put that to the test as I still don’t have anything in the lines of a sports cam :(

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So all that’s left now is to try it out outside to see how it handles in the air as well as how the camera captures, but that will be in the next part of this review. For the moment, I like this quad very much!! It seems to be very well made, with a lot of small details seen to rather than being overlooked as per what usually happens, and it retains a very noticeable design which is in the norms of what people are looking for in a basic AP platform. I hope these impressions last!!
 

Epitaph

Ebil Filleh Pega-Bat ^.^
Mentor
Hello again friends!!

This weekend I had a little time to try this quad out in the air to see if it really lived up to my expectations. It’s been a sunny weekend as usual, with a little southerly wind, but with strong gusts every now and again. The pensioners were out playing “petanca” (a traditional Spanish game based very loosely on bowels) in the park, so I decided to try it out on the wasteground next to it.

Before going outside, I decided to do a quick test with my ammeter to see what the consumption was and to know what to expect., and it turns out that at full power it takes in a total of 17A, quick seems quite a lot to me off the bat, but then that was at full power and I wasn’t expecting to get to that amount of throttle… we’ll see how the battery holds up to that amperage draw.

I placed the quad on the ground with the camera fitted (mainly to have the weights right), but not the prop guards, turned it on and bound it to my Devo, which was a little harder to configure than some and in the end the camera control buttons even resisted, which I couldn’t get them past the trim control… and figuring out the headless and flip channels too, as there were no base .ini’s made yet. The transmitter bound to the quad with lightening speed, and I began to give a little throttle to give it life, which the props started to turn almost immediately with almost no dead zone. The quad raised from the ground at just under half throttle, leaving plenty of throttle power for later. The movements were slow and steady even in high rates, but it was very stable in the wind I was having that day, which just goes to show it’s made for a basic AP platform, not an acro quad. The moves were very precise, and resisted even the gusts very well. Thanks to its larger size it was easy to see at a higher altitude. The flip system works very well, although because of its size takes quite a bit of airspace to do and recover. The LEDs are not very bright so as to see them well during the day, but are plenty bright enough to use at night to help with orientation, although seeing as the movements are slow it’s easy to remember which way it’s facing at any time.

One thing that I did like very much on this model is the fact that it didn’t inherit the wind bug from its smaller sibling, the Syma X5xx, and it really does self stabilize itself pretty well in the winds, making this yet again a much more versatile model. The headless function works fantastic, being very precise and it can even be activated and deactivated in the air without having to land or anything… this is due to the fact that it fixes a heading every time you activate it, unlike some models that fix a heading at the moment it binds with the transmitter, making that position fixed until you rebind. This means you can bind, take off, fix a heading and activate it, then deactivate it, change to a new fixed position and reactivate it again without even having to land, making it so much easier to change position or orientation for different camera views.

The total flight time was 9:30, but saying that, that’s when the LEDs started to flash that the battery was low, but there was still plenty of power to fly it safely back to me and gently land, it’s not like it hit 9:30 and fell out of the sky or anything like that!! After I got it back inside, I measured the battery level with my LiPo checker, and it was showing 3.60v per cell and it wasn’t hot at all, no more than what is expected for a battery flying this amount of time and getting a low battery warning, so it seems that it may not be reaching the stipulated C rate, but for this model there is plenty of kick from it, and knowing the power consumption with this model it’s opened up a whole lot of possibilities in the below 20A range of models for a light battery with plenty of capacity. The motors were a bit warm, but again, no more than is to be expected for a quad that has flown for almost 10 minutes, and the same goes for the body and the main flight control board.

From what I’ve seen from this flight, this quad is definitely worth considering when moving on a little further in the multirotor universe and wanting to get something cheap that has a purpose and actually gives results, even if it is just to last you until you get a Walkera or a DJI, or even a little experience before moving up to the CX-20!!
 
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Epitaph

Ebil Filleh Pega-Bat ^.^
Mentor
Well friends, it’s time to write to you to tell you about the camera, part 3 of the Syma X8C review, thanks to Gearbest

The camera on the outside seems pretty spherical, with a big chrome coloured bezel on the front with the red lens in the middle of this… seeing it in that way, it’s like a mix of the spaceship Discovery along with its onboard computer HAL from the movie “2001”!! The shape means it is quite easy to change the capturing angle without changing the actual aerodynamics of the quad. The sphere has a mounting hardpoint that’s pivoted on the top, and respiration vents on the top and bottom.

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Opening the sphere up, we find inside the real camera, which is non other than the standard X5C-1 camera with a change of plug to a 3.5mm stereo jack. The camera is the typical 2mp one you usually expect, and also comes with its own set of refrigeration vents on it, as it can get a little hot when in use. I have hopes for this camera, as it is very similar on the indise, and the same on the outside as the DM007 one, and that camera gave quite good results considering its simplicity and resolution limitations. It might be possible to use the new DM007 5mp camera on this with either a change of plug, or making a 1.25 Molex to 3.5mm jack adapter which would be pretty easy to homebrew, and you wouldn’t even see it as it can be hidden inside the sphere part. If this is so, then you can probably get similar to 808 #16 camera images without any increase in weight or anything, meaning almost 10 minutes of aerial imagery

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The interior main camera is held into place by the lens ring on the front, and the actual shape of the camera itself on the back, leaving the microSD card slot on the back with easy access when the sphere is back together. The camera also came with a 4gb microSD card included, which is great meaning you can take images straight out of the box!!

Activation of the camera is very easy… everything is controlled from the throttle trim on the transmitter. With a click downit starts to record a video, and clicking it again stops the recording. Remember to click the video recording off before turning the quad off or the video will not save to the SD card. Clicking up on the trim tells the camera to take a photo, and holding it makes the camera take a series of photos. The camera has 2 LEDs (red and green) inside that can easily be seen through the bottom ventilation ducts. When the green LED is on it’s in standby mode. When you tell it to take an image it will flash red, then back to green to indicate the photo has been taken. When you put it into video recording mode, the red LED will flash continuously until you stop the video, in which moment it will go back to solid green. Everything very simple to understand and to see.

The video was recorded with quite a bit of wind, and with gusts every now and again, but it didn’t really prove to be much of a problem for the quad.


As you can see, there are 2 problems to look into solving in this video. One, is the same problem I encountered in the DM007 camera, which is that the lens is not set straight, resting on a slanted angle to the left. I opened the camera up and found it was just the lens was not in straight, but the ribbon wire was causing it to be slanted as this was soldered directly to the board of the camera, on one side rather than in the middle, so I used a little epoxy to fix the lens into place and let the tab in the lens ring hold it in place.

The other problem is the jelly effect the recording is suffering from. I suspect it might be to do with the props not being balanced, and I will be looking into that in part 4 if it is the case. Any additional jelly COULD come from electromagnetic interference from the motors or the wiring, in which case there might not be much I can do with this particular camera, but a higher end camera like a GoPro or even a Mobius comes with more shielding against this and should solve it… it might even be getting the problem from parasitic interference via the actual feed wire itself.

Apart from those two problems, the camera image quality isn’t bad at all. The colour balance is pretty good, although the balance when changing from light to shade is pretty drastic, but that said, it does adjust well, optimizing the image quite well. The sound isn’t anything special, as all you hear is the sound of the motors and the props, so that’s nothing special really, and is very typical of any camera hanging from a multirotor. In general the camera isn’t bad at all, and if I can get rid of that jelly effect it’ll be a lot better.

Let’s see how long it takes before technology catches up and brings us out some nice small gimbals to use on these quads that don’t weigh anything. It’s only really a matter of time, and it may not even be years!! For the moment, things are on a good road though!!
 
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Epitaph

Ebil Filleh Pega-Bat ^.^
Mentor
Modifications on this model are really very few actually…

Actually, apart from swapping the LEDs around which I already explained in the first part of this review, what’s left are more like “addons” than mods, and a Little general maintenance as is usually needed with a multirotor anyway. As far as everything else goes, this quad runs great!!


Actioncam support

The first "mod" I made was to include a support for various models of action cam, making it posible to use a higher quality camera than the 2mp one that comes with it. I found the support on Ebay, which originally comes with 2 straps to hold it onto a helmet or something like that, but if you remove the straps, it also has a double sided sticky silicone piece to stick it to anything, and it sticks REALLY well. The main base plate comes with grooves to cut it down to size where needed, so I just cut it down to fit in front of the camera support that’s built into the quad. Then I cleaned the plastic of the quad with a little alcohol, and stuck the base plate into place. Once you have it in place, the screw part of the support, the same system that tripods use (and the same size, so it’s OK to use on almost any camera) falls just on the centre of gravity.

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The new support allows you to mount your ctioncam upside down, and you just flip the image in the software which most allow you to do. The main support can slide free from the base plate leaving it free to be used with the original camera should you wish to, and all you have to do is take the support foot off the original camera and mount it back into place backwards, so the end tabs are on the back rather than on the front, and then you can slide it into its correct position from the back, and the original retaining tab serves to hold it into place under pressure rather than a clip now, but it doesn’t come free at all.

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The adapter is available on several Ebay online retailers at around €3, so it’s definitely worth getting as it tuens your quad into a much more useful AP platform for very little money!!


Landing Skids

This “mod” is very simple and costs roughly the same as the mod before. The problem on this quad with using a normal actioncam with the existing landing legs is that they are further forward than the ones on say a DJI Phantom, meaning that when th camera starts recording, you either have to put up with the legs being in the shot because of the wider angle, or you have to put the camera further forward, unbalancing it and causing flight problems that the motors have to work overtime to compensate because of the CG being off.

But either by designo r through one of those weird systems of coincidence, Syma happen to use the same type of system to fixing the legs on as DJI do on their Phantom, even having the same spacing between the legs. I found a pair of third party extended Phantom legs on Ebay for a very low price, which are originally designed to raise the Phantom off the ground from 121mm to 156mm, so as to give more room for a gimbal and such. But at that price, who could resist? So I got the pair of legs, and just used them as they would go on a DJI, although you ave to use the original Syma screws as the ones that come with the skids are a lot larger and a totally different thread. Once fitted, the nw legs give a lot more space because of them being extended, and they go out further on the sides, and less on the front and back than the original Syma legs, meaning that they will not come out in the image when you have an actioncam fitted on the quad’s CG, and they don’t ven add much as to weight goes, because the new skids weigh less than the original legs with the prop guards for example!! Not to mention it looks really good on the quad!!

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Props

This isn’t a mod at all, this is just typical maintenance on a quad… the props as to be expected from a mass production part were pn pretty bad shape as far as being balanced goes. They were not just off, they were WAY off!! I had to do a lot of sanding in the end to get them right, but it was worth it. The image on the video did clear up a littl, but the difference in flight was very noticable!!


As you can see, there is still a jello issue, but it’s not as bad as it was. I still need to see if there is vibrations going from the motors themselves into the camera or if there is an issue with electromagnetic interference, but considering that I will be using this with an actioncam that is both better at absorbing the shakes with the fixture I added, as well as being better shielded against EM issues, then there shouldn’t be much of a problem. All I have to do now is get hold of an actioncam!!


Transmitter LiPo

This is just something to add onto the list as it was suggested on the comments… I haven’t made this mod, but I did try it out to see how it worked for those that are interested in using the original transmitter with this quad. I connected the 2S battery for the quad itself direct to the transmitter positive and negative inputs, and waited for the blue smoke to come whilst I turned it on… and the blue smoke never came!! It turns out that the power regulator can take 2S LiPo no problem, and doesn’t even get hot at all!! I had it turned on for 10 minutes with no problems at all!! So this is an interesting mod for those that don’t want to start using NiMH or alkaline batteries in this radio, preferring something that charges faster for example.

Later on, if I get to actually do the mod, I will document it and add it onto here for you, but I’m thinking the easiest way would be to use a Zippy Compact 2S 1000mAh battery as it has a good width to fit in, only having to cut out the plastic between the AA batteries for it to fit in, and then adding the appropriate connector.


Conclusions

This quad is great!! It has a lot of possibilities with very easy and cheap mods to achieve a first time AP platform for very little money to see if you actually like where its going before investing a lot!! The quad itself has very good stability, especially after balancing the props, and handles wind very easily. It is not a speed machine at all, so it’s not something to by with the intention of going whizzing in and out of trees, it’s made to go high and steady, and it does this well. It is something you can take straight out of the box and not be intimidated by, finding it very easy to fly even for a beginner, but a little prior experience does go a long way also for getting more use out of it. It’s handy for those that are already fliers and want to get into AP to see if they like it for very little money, and for first timers you don’t need a thousand dollars to be the cool kid on the block anymore!! It’s definitely be designed to get a lot of people into the hobby easily, and Syma have really thought the small details over like the motors and such to make it easier for people that don’t feel comfortable with a screwdriver to even gather the guts to fix anything that may happen. All in all, this quad definitely gets thumbs up from me!!

Thanks to Gearbest for supplying thi quad for the review, and I hope you have all enjoyed it and get the most out of it!!

Until next time!!
 
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Epitaph

Ebil Filleh Pega-Bat ^.^
Mentor
Hi people!!

Sorry for the delay, here's the second part ready for you all to enjoy!!
 

jipp

Senior Member
looks like you are staying busy over there. it is interesting some of the choices these company's make.. for one id think by now brushed motors would be more expensive than brushless. gears just seem prone to breaking. anyhow, its amazing how far camera technology has come. that cheap camera would of been very expensive 10 years ago id imagine.. technology, advances so quick. also i think they figure just use the same mold for the TX would be ok.. as anyone who wants could mod it real easy to use a larger battery quickly.. and there be plenty of space. so that was probably a no brainer to use. but i do sometimes wonder about the logic of using proprietary stuff. is this not compatible with other major TX brands Rx?
chris.
 

Epitaph

Ebil Filleh Pega-Bat ^.^
Mentor
Hi Jipp!!

The protocol used in this is a proprietary one to Syma called Syma X, based on the nRF24L01+ receiver chipset. There are ways to make it compatible with other transmitters... in the Devo range, you just have to add the module which costs less than $10 and update to the latest Deviation software. In other systems you COULD get it to work via the trainer port, but you would need a PPM encoder to use with the nRF chip, which would mean adding an Arduino to the mix. This isn't expensive to do, but it is something you would have to totally homebrew.

As far as the motors go, it does work out cheaper actually to use geared brushed. Don't forget that rather than using a flight control board and 4 independent brushless ESCs, they only have to add a few MOSFETs to their own control board and it's working... the fact that replacement control boards for these quads are usually well under $20 retail proves that. The motors used are very common to the ones used in the past on many model trains, so it's just a case of ordering a big batch of those from the factory in question, and the gears are just typical nylon molded, which when being mass produced doesn't cost much.

The problem is you can't just put in a larger battery just like that, because that would imply more power, and higher power demands, and that would just end up with the same results. Add to that if you put on a larger camera with the battery, you might not even be able to get it off the ground because it will be too heavy.
 

cranialrectosis

Faster than a speeding face plant!
Mentor
Wow that's some jello! :)

I started out with a Zyma X1. Good toy but the props were horrid.

!HORRID!

Can you swap these props out for something better and does that help with the jello?

Nice write up too. I like how you take the motors out and demonstrate how they may be replaced.
 
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jipp

Senior Member
yeah, this is a video you show someone if they want to know what jello is. heh.

i was thinking the space in the TX could fit a rechargeable battery.. but you are right.. voltage probably would be different.
if its anything like the dx6i double A's last for ever.. and if you want to know how long they will last from new to death.. its 2 days. laughs. i forgot to turn the darn thing off, and it took 2 days for the thing to start beeping ( im still using it tho for the nano qx.. ill put new battery's in it before i fly out side.. weather is getting so close to being able to fly out side now.. woohoo i want to say winter is here, our summer.. but i may jinx it so i wont say winter is here till next week if this weather holds up.. lots of rain last few days so good sign its here. ).. that is so much better than my hitec optic 6. very nice radio makes the DX6i feel like a toy.. but unfortunately its FM.. so its just used for my flight sim.. but a battery charge on that thing only last a few hours.. such a hog for energy.. could be the battery needs to be replaced.. but since i wont be using it.. i just charge it every day.

hope all is well on your side of the pond.. that sea looks like it be fun to go fly over.. maybe even toss a glider out there and see if you can not catch some thermals.. i have to say gliders look like they be fun.. cliff gliders or whatever they are called.

my luck id crash in the sea tho.. :D
chris.
 
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Epitaph

Ebil Filleh Pega-Bat ^.^
Mentor
Thanks Cranial, you know me, I just HAVE to take things apart hehehe!! I am going to write up part 4 tomorrow where I look into the props (as I FINALLY have a day off with nothing to do AT LAST!!), but yes, they were horribly out of balance... but... I'll save that for part 4 heheeh

I was thinking about sacrificing the transmitter in the name of science, jipp, because I don't actually use the original transmitter. There is a possibility that the power regulator inside the transmitter can take 2S, so I was considering hooking up a small 900mAh 2S Li-Ion I made a while ago out of 2 old Nokia batteries to see how it goes, and if it blows up, well, I use my Devo with it anyway. Thing is there are some transmitters that can take more than they are designed to, like the Devo, which is designed for 4x AA batteries, but can take even up to a 3S no problem, although there is nowhere to put it unless you do some mad mods as the case format doesn't fit a LiPo in any bigger than a 500mAh out of the box, so I just use my Turnigy LSD 2400mAh NiMH batteries on that transmitter, and they give me 12 solid hours before it starts to beep. I will try it out and let you knwo how it goes, but if it does accept the power, it'll probably just burn off the excess volts in heat, meaning that it won't be very effective. That said, it should work with a 2S LiFoPO4 battery, or a couple of those CR2 Li-Ion 3V battreies no problem as hey don't exceed 4 brand new alcalines by much...

Anyway guys, I'll have the last part up for you tomorrow, and if I get a chance to try out the 2S on the transmitter, I'll add that in.
 

Epitaph

Ebil Filleh Pega-Bat ^.^
Mentor
And by the way jipp, have you thought about modding your Optic 6 to 2.4 with a FrSky internal hack module? If you like that transmitter that much, you can get it onto a GOOD, proven protocol for not that much money and it's not hard, and even add it in parallel with the FM module so you can use both and just flip a switch to choose which is being used at that moment!! All you have to do is wire it into the trainer port PPM out, and the Vcc and GND on the mainboard which aren't hard to find the spots with a volt meter... If your trainer port has all 3 pins needed, in fact, you could even make it as an external module you just plug onto the back, and then do the same with the internal OrangeRX unit to have DSMX too!! And if your trainer port doesn't have all 3 pins you need, you just add a female header onto the back connected to the 3 pins you need and that's it!!

Remember: modding is fun!!! :eek:

We do have a lot of thermals here in this area because this is basically desert land, so the sun does give a lot of hot air rising... the cliffs are good for small VTPR type slopesoarers for when we get some wind coming from the south-east, which I would like to make a "Le Fish" to try out on them, specially as I have found a few bits and bobs in the electronics department that I like and would work wonders with it, just a case of getting a hold of some depron, maybe a slightly scaled down version of the plane as it is a little big...

And if you don't know what VTPR soaring is, then here's a good example!!

 
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Epitaph

Ebil Filleh Pega-Bat ^.^
Mentor
Hi guys!!

Just finished writing up part 4 of the review, and last night I tried out the LiPo with the transmitter with some very good results. It works fine, I had it here connected for 10 minutes with the 2S LiPo that comes with the quad and it was going fine!! The only issue there might be is that you would have to add a low power buzzer or something, as the internal circuitry obviously is set for low power on 4xAA batteries, by which time a LiPo would be dead, and maybe flaming in your hand!!

Anyway, thanks for the support guys!!
 

jipp

Senior Member
thats cool. modding, yeah that is a option. but i will wait. until i get a taranis plus.. so i know what protocol ill be using.. as im not sure what radio im gonna get yet to update my dx6i.. but im pretty sure its gonna be a taranis.. but if a good 9ch lands in my lap for pennies well i aint to proud to say no. heh.. but i do like the idea what the taranis is all about and open source is a bonus to me.

i think there are two mods im gonna have to learn to do on the taranis.. so im gonna have to learn how to do that.. sigh.. i suck at this electronic stuff.. im use to rebuilding engines and building cars, and making them have high horse power while handling better etc, you know hotrods.. heh.. but electronics is so different from anything iv done in the past.. so lots of learning, and hopefully not a whole lot of blue smoke. but im glad i bought a good soldering iron.. so i think i can do it.

but sometimes i wish i was in a club to have someone hold my hand sometimes.. but then im a hermit, and a crippled so that would never work. so i just have to dive in and hope for the best.. sorta like this hobby, most people do not wake up one day and say I want to do that.. with out having some kind of interest in it at some other point.. but im so damn spontaneous.. im always trying new things just to see if i can do it.. unfortunately when i was younger my health never got in the way and while i was working i had a disposable income unlike being a crippled where i have zero hobby money but i make do. anyhow im starting to sound like a baby now. lol.
rock on.

this was the link i was given to upgrade the battery on the optic 6.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1450781

chris.

that air plane with the holes in it is a trip.. looks like fun tho!

chris.
 

Epitaph

Ebil Filleh Pega-Bat ^.^
Mentor
One thing you can do to make sure you're not going too far over the 12V it can take when using a LiPo is put a small diode in series which will consume a volt approximately, and this way you won't have too many volts going into your radio, and you can still use your Optic 6 with a LiPo battery. It's common practice actually, lots of people do it on their Turnigy 9X's already

And as for a cheap transmitter, I love my Devo 7E, which has 12 channels when upgraded with Deviation (which is open source), and has so many protocols to choose from!! And at $50, you can't really go wrong!! I will be making some changes for bigger, more sophisticated planes and stuff, but for parkfliers and things like that, the Devo is great!!

As far as the Le Fish goes, Surfimp has SOOOOOO many videos of him flying that plane, although an advanced radio is recommended because eventhough it's just 3 channels, it uses snap-flap mixing, expo (especially on the elevator with that 180º deflection angle), dual rates, and all the other bells and whistles... He also has several other models he flies in this modality, not just the LeFish... If you wanted to build one, he has some full building instructions somewhere, but he uses EPP, depron balsa... everything!!
 
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jipp

Senior Member
Morning. yeah i could see how the devon is a hell of a bang for your buck. especially for park flyers.. its always amazing what software can do to modern electronics to change there function. im gonna need a decent radio for the AP build i plan on..

one of the mods i plan on doing is adding a small stick to the back of the panel to control the gimbal. heh.
and the other is just to install a DX5 part into it.. so you do not need the spectrum module for it..
( this will be handy i think for the gimbal.. i originally was just gonna use the sliders on the side for a gimbal but i think this mod will work better. )
http://www.ebay.com/itm/231695675975?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

once i know for sure the taranis can do both protocols.. then ill give the dx6i away to someone who needs a radio. :)

yeah if i lived somewhere i could fly a glider, heck a plane with out much effort i would look into planes.. but to be honest, quads just make more sense for me where i live.

ill have to remember the tip of the diaod.

chris.
 

Epitaph

Ebil Filleh Pega-Bat ^.^
Mentor
The Taranis can do DSM2/X if you ad the module on the back no problem.

Me for my larger models I have my big radio that I have to upgrade as it still runs on 35mhz (European equivelent of the US's 72mhz), and I love that radio, but I can add a gimbal on the front somewhere to control a camera in the air pretty easily, as it's made to be upgradable.
 

jipp

Senior Member
yeah, im sorta glad i did not have to experience the head ache that FM caused.. but then it did allow you to fly further.
that is cool your radio was design for mods from the start.. i think the taranis is kind of the same as it has at least one spot you can solder either toggle or a pot.. left open if you want to add one your self.

what i meant by make sure it can do both protocols, i meant after the dx5 mod. with the dx5 mod you do not need the spectrum module. just flip a toggle.
ill probably buy one for christmas.

chris.
 

Epitaph

Ebil Filleh Pega-Bat ^.^
Mentor
FM wasn't much of a hassle when you slopesoar, as you do tend to do it alone or with very few people around and in the middle of nowhere, so the chances of finding someone was remote, much less finding someone on the same channel you were using!! It was only really something to watch out for at clubs, but so is today with FPV where you have to make sure everyone's using a different channel, so it's not really changed that much.

In this country at least, 2.4ghz can be inhibited in certain places for security reasons or even just because someone wants to, where as 35mhz is exclusively for model aircraft and no one is allowed to touch it!!
 

jipp

Senior Member
"35mhz is exclusively for model aircraft and no one is allowed to touch it!!" that is always a good thing.. heck now a days i bet you could fly on that band and be ok as no one is using it.. as how many kids will have a old FM radio.. if i mod mine ill be sure to keep it so i can use FM to with a toggle.. maybe handy one day.. zombies wont touch my FM band :p

chris.