Tag: GPS

FPVStyle Unicorn 1 combo features interesting video goggles

FPVStyle Unicorn 1 combo features interesting video goggles

December 25, 2014 20:15 | By | 5 Comments

Warning: The retailer mentioned in this article appears to not be fulfilling orders. See our news on this for more details.

So, www.fpvstyle.com is selling a kit for USD 499.- containing a mini FPV quadcopter and video goggles. The specs on the quad sound pretty alright, even though we don’t know the flight controller it does have GPS and uses SimonK firmware on the ESCs and a claimed flight time of 15 minutes on 2200mAh 3S batteries.

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So far so mildly interesting. Until you see that they’ve finally caught on to the day and age of the Oculus Rift, and done away with the now-obsolete FPV goggles we’re used to. It’s a giant pair of goggles with a wide field of view! Check out the closeups after the break!

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Blade 350QX Review

Blade 350QX Review

April 13, 2014 13:57 | By | 2 Comments

Finally, we got to play with the 350QX from Horizon Hobby. There’s been plenty of reviews of this little guy, but aside from the usual “flies great” statements in hobby magazines, we wanted to find out how this RTF quadcopter compares against the ilk of a Phantom, Crius, or even a KK2.x. Curious? Read on after the break.

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WLToys V303 Seeker GPS Quadcopter announced

WLToys V303 Seeker GPS Quadcopter announced

March 6, 2014 23:01 | By | 1 Comment

Begun the clone war has. Or rather we’re right in the middle of it. WLToys just put up a new product on banggood.com, the V303 Seeker Quadcopter.

seeker1aIt’s another RTF quadcopter with basic GPS functionality, position hold and return home to be exact. It comes with a 2700mAh 3S battery for flight times of 12-14 minutes. Included in the package is a horrible WLToys transmitter.

Price at the time of writing is $387.- at BangGood.com

To be honest, at that price WLToys is not going to get many customers. Not with DJI dropping prices considerably recently, as well as even cheaper competition coming up. Take for example the Cheerson CX20, which has similar specs but can be yours for just $255.

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T1000FC GPS Auto Pilot Review

T1000FC GPS Auto Pilot Review

February 28, 2014 15:00 | By | 6 Comments

The T1000FC is a cheap autopilot for fixed wing aircraft and promises a simple way to have your aircraft automagically return to you at the flick of a switch. But does it live up to that promise? Find out in our detailed review!

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Draganfly Shadow and Guardian announced

Draganfly Shadow and Guardian announced

January 20, 2014 15:42 | By | Add a Comment

Draganfly recently announced their  Shadow and Guardian models, which are RTF Quadcopters designed to carry camera payloads for extended filming missions. Both share the same frame, with the Guardian sporting stronger motors and a bigger battery.

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Both come with a fancy-looking handheld radio with a bright color touchscreen in the center. The shadow sports a 300g payload capacity, while the Guardian can carry up to 400g at even longer flight times. Available options include a vibration dampened GoPro mount, a stabilizing GoPro gimbal, as well as a stabilized 1-axis gimbal for a 20 megapixel sony camera with optical zoom.

Of course both support GPS position hold, return home, altitude hold, etc. and the Guardian even comes in a stylish pelican case for quick mission deployment. No word on pricing yet, though with a turnkey system like that, expect a nice four-digit sum.

Promotion video after the break.

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Turnigy T1000FC fixed wing autopilot

Turnigy T1000FC fixed wing autopilot

January 7, 2014 12:55 | By | Add a Comment

Need a simple GPS-based autopilot for your FPV model, with autolevel and return to launch function that doesn’t break the bank? Hobbyking’s T1000FC may well fill that need. It’s basically a complete package with accelerometers for autoleveling, barometer for altitude hold, as well as a GPS antenna for navigation. Best of all, it’s $70.- which makes this a no-brainer if you don’t require waypoints and just want a safety device that brings your plane home.

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It supports various airframe types (traditional, V-tail, A-Tail, flying wings) and features multiple flight modes. For example, you can have the FC limit the bank and roll angles to 45 degrees, you can turn the stabilization on or completely off, and there’s altitude hold and direction hold modes. On top of that you can of course have the autopilot steer the plane back to the starting point automatically.

If this got you interested, you can order this autopilot over at HobbyKing.

Also check out the impressive demonstration video after the break.

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Locust ARF Quadcopter Kit Review

Locust ARF Quadcopter Kit Review

December 1, 2013 21:58 | By | 90 Comments

The Locust Quadcopter Kit from Goodluckbuy is an amazingly cheap offer for USD $209, complete with Crius AIO, brushless GoPro gimbal and optional GPS antenna. Is it too cheap? Find out in our review below.

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Hubsan H109 with FPV and GPS

Hubsan H109 with FPV and GPS

November 13, 2013 13:34 | By | Add a Comment

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.

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Crius All In One Pro GPS Howto – Updated for MW2.2

Crius All In One Pro GPS Howto – Updated for MW2.2

March 17, 2013 0:38 | By | 9 Comments

The Crius AIO promises loads of functionality with its many ports. But how do you hook up that GPS module anyway? We’ll show you how in this updated MultiWii 2.2 tutorial. Things are substantially easier with the new version, read on after the break.

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SkyRC GPS logger measures your speed, slowly…

SkyRC GPS logger measures your speed, slowly…

June 2, 2012 14:43 | By | Add a Comment

The SkyRC GSM-010 is a GPS receiver/logger with an integrated display for current and maximum speed and altitude, trip length, time etc. – it was designed for RC modelers, or so SkyRC claims, allowing pretty much everyone to drop this 40 gram heavy unit into their plane to measure the maximum speed over ground.

In essence this is just a GPS datalogger with a display. The model name (“GSM”) doesn’t hint at a built-in GSM modem, it’s just there because… that’s what they call it. There’s 4MB of data storage, and a USB port so you can download the recorded route to your laptop for display in Google Earth. A miniscule 200mAh LiPo inside gives you 150 minutes of GPS tracking time. You won’t be able to put this into your pylon racer any time soon, as it’s definitely on the bulky side:

The GPS has a 1Hz maximum update rate, which can be slowed down even further using the supplied PC software – you know, just in case you want your top speed measurements to become even less meaningful.

Honestly it’s difficult to see this being useful for anyone but an RC beginner with a mild curiosity for how fast their model can go. The 1Hz GPS receiver pretty much disqualifies this for high-speed planes as you’ll have to sustain your top speed for several seconds before this unit will provide even a half-accurate measurement, the bulky case will make it impossible to place this in cramped or slim fuselages, and the battery capacity is suboptimal as well.

You can buy this for $70 at Goodluckbuy, or you can get the Voltron mini GPS logger instead, a smaller device that weighs only 12 grams despite also having integrated display – plus it connects directly to your receiver. The Voltron is sadly restricted to 1Hz GPS updates too.

 

A much more professional GPS logger can be found by visiting SM-Modellbau (german), their GPS Logger weighs only 11 grams, has a fast 10Hz GPS and a micro SD slot, and it supports telemetry communications with Multiplex M-Link, HOTT and Jeti Duplex receivers out of the box. You can find this product in their shop here. They have a whole range of products for your logging and measurement needs, and best of all, they’re all compatible with each other.

 

The GPS Logger by SM-Modellbau is smaller, lighter, and features a high-performance 10Hz GPS receiver.