Hubsan offers a complete micro FPV quadcopter package with a sleek transmitter design and nifty features, competing with the Walkera LadyBird FPV. It’s quite affordable and definitely in the toy category, but is it any good? Find out in our review!
Making an autopilot for an RC plane is hard, which is why ArduPilot has taken a long time to become what it is now. Larry Grater now demonstrated the successful use of ArduPilot to automatically guide an RC plane dropped from 30.780 meters, or 101.000 feet. Larry didn’t just upload a flight plan via APM, there were quite a few obtacles to tackle for ArduPilot to be able to pilot the plane at such altitudes.
According to Larry, “two major and several minor issues with software have been run to ground. Roll autopilot capture was delayed due to a coordinate system issue with pitch and roll rate feedbacks. Navigation bearing hunts around the waypoint bearing due to lack of pressure-altitude correction in wind estimate and bearing correction code.”
Um.. alright. One thing to note: Most GPS modules don’t work above 18km altitude, due to the military being afraid that you might build your own ICBM or something. We don’t know if Larry circumvented this issue by having the plane take a steep dive down to 16km altitude or if he had a GPS module that is not altitude-restricted, but in any case, the plane successfully reached each of the programmed waypoints before loitering down to the ground.
In a completely unexpected turn of events, SNCF joins the many businesses discovering mini UAVs for inspection work. In this case, SNCF commissioned the french inspection company Diades to use a custom built quadcopter for inspecting TGV railway bridges – without interrupting the train schedule.
More interestingly, the quadcopter in use is a custom construction using a geared brushless motor system and a heavy 4kg rigid frame, offering 20 minutes of flight time and a maximum range of just 200 meters, apparently. It does have a decidedly french look to it, at least.
Cost: 500 Euros. Just kidding, that’s the “running cost per hour”. Allegedly this thing costs over EUR 100.000.-
Considering that you can get a GPS-ready drone with similar flight times and complete autonomous functionality for a bit over USD 200 .- the SNCF drone is unlikely to take the world by storm.
Video and photos after the break.
Hubsan is out to give the popular DJI Phantom a run for its money. Or less money, actually. The new 200-size H109 quadcopter features four 2000KV brushless motors, an optional FPV camera system, and GPS hold/return home functionality for a targeted price point of EUR 150.- , a set including the transmitter will cost EUR 200.-
A 2200mAh 2S LiPo is said to deliver a flight time of up to 25 minutes.
After a mediocre start with the original SpyHawk, Hubsan did deliver an interesting low-price entry level mini FPV package with the H107D, which costs about 200 bucks with transmitter right now. Nice little detail solutions like the transmitter being able to control the copter even if the batteries were too low to drive the color LCD screen make us hope that the H109 starts up a new class of mid-sized quadcopters with nifty and useful features. One thing is certain though: Walkera has some work ahead of them, for the H109 is a very interesting entry due to the smaller 200 size as well as the low price point. The Walkera QR x350 costs more than twice as much, though it can carry a GoPro. It will be interesting to see what kind of video quality the optional camera system will offer.
Official specs and images after the break.
Goodluckbuy has a lot of cool stuff, and a lot of crappy stuff. This is definitely in the cool category:
An ARTF package for a F550 based Hexacopter, or a F450 based Quadcopter, both including aluminium brushless gimbal for a GoPro, complete with motors, ESCs and flight controller. The real kicker is the price: Just $210 for the quadcopter, or $270 for the hexacopter. GPS is a $24 addon. As far as one can see there’s only two downsides here: The frame comes with the MultiWii-based flight controller… because it’s integrated. So if you break the frame’s PCB you will have to get a new flight controller. The second downside is that it’s unclear whether the more capable MegaPirate or other firmwares will run on this flight controller. Our guess is, it won’t.
But other than that… frankly this is an amazing deal even if you just ditch the integrated flight controller, buy some F550/F450 baseplates without the integrated flight controller and stick a Crius AIO onto it. This is as cheap as it gets. Compare this with the less-capable DJI Phantom where the base model costs more than twice as much and doesn’t even include a gimbal, much less a high quality one as this. In fact, depending on where you buy, the DJI gimbal costs more than this entire set.
Remember the Hubsan H510 FPV Goggles? The ones sold for around 100 bucks? Well now you can buy the same goggles, just Walkera-branded, for… $140 at ehirobo.com
Unless they seriously improved the resolution (which they haven’t) or improved the design (nope), not exactly a great deal. If you must absolutely have them, buy the cheaper Hubsan original.. Or better yet, save up for better FPV goggles.
Is it a toy? Is it a RC model? No, it’s a $200.000 drone for the military! Read on how these ebay toys suddenly look like even more of a steal.
Read more and comment
GLB is offering the D58-4 four-channel FPV receiver that features both four independent receivers + individual outputs as well as one additional diversified output. The idea is that you tune all four receivers to the same channel, then use the diversity output for your FPV goggles/DVR/etc. – this device will switch between the four receivers and take the one with the best video signal.
Serious FPV pilots can use this to achieve 360 degree coverage, or just additional safety by combining four antennae with different characteristics.
Note that this will not solve multipathing issues, which account for most of the close-range image distortions. You’ll want a circular polarizing antenna for that, like these Cloverleaf Antennae. That said, diversity is a good thing to have and a setup with several types of circular polarizing antennae, for example 3 x patch + 1 x cloverleaf, will give you pretty much the best wireless video link you can get.
Don’t want diversity? This receiver also has four independent outputs in case you tune those receivers onto different channels and record them all at the same time.
Price at Goodluckbuy.com is a less-than-stellar $258.85, whereas the same receiver can be picked up at fpvmodel.com for $209 and at Foxtech for a mere $199. Depending on where you live however, GLB may or may not end up being cheaper due to shipping being included in that price.
Walkera has obviously been looking at the Hubsan FPV transmitter and has just come out with their own integrated system, the Devo F7 FPV transmitter. This new model offers a color LCD screen and integrated 5.8GHz video receiver. Click the read more link for fancy press photos and details.
Looking for lightweight FPV video goggles that don’t break the bank? You’re not alone. Hubsan has a product to fill that itch, the H510 FPV glasses, which are available for as low as $119. Can they scratch the itch, or are they complete garbage? Read our in-depth review after the break!
We need more cheap video goggles. Hubsan joins the fray with one of the cheapest offerings yet, the $110 Hubsan FPV Goggles. Read on for sources and a link to our review!
Is the wire mess of typical FPV setups not your thing? Goodluckbuy is now distributing pretty much the whole lineup of Hubsan.com, at quite attractive prices.
The Westland Lynx single rotor fpv helicopter with FPV remote is on sale for $221, the coaxial rotor version of the Invader helicopter also costs $221. There’s also a coax version of the Lynx available for $260. The good old Spyhawk V2 can be yours for just $250, and as always with GoodLuckBuy, this already includes shipping.
There’s a new FPV HD camera contender in town. Can Foxtech’s HorizonHD dethrone the sturdy but heavy GoPro, or are you better of sticking to the more established products? Find out in our review!
See someone flying FPV? Chances are they are wearing a FatShark. With a brand this ubiquitous, can they actually live up to the hype?
It should be noted that RCModelReviews have made a excellent review, so we’ll try to shed light on some of the aspects that weren’t the focus of that review. Read on to find out the details!
Connect
Connect with us on the following social media platforms.