iSDT SC-608 Smart Charger Review
This ultra-portable charger sports 150W power and charges up to 6 LiXX cells. But looks aside, is this a good charger to take with you to the field? Find out in our review!
Tag: Hobbyking
Fatshark Spyhawk Bundle by Hobbyking
Let’s face it, the Hubsan Spyhawk is not the most amazing piece of RC gear that you could get. For pure beginners it does have its virtues however. The experience was hampered by an inflated price (early sets sold for as much as 400 dollars) and a stabilization system that could not be disabled. That the original transmitter had an extremely short battery life didn’t help either.
Hobbyking is now offering a package that includes the Hubsan Spyhawk v2, the Fatshark Teleporter v3 goggles, a 5.8GHz Fatshark-compatible video transmission system with cloverleaf antenna, and the console-controller sized Hubsan transmitter without integrated TFT screen. The whole package retails for USD 299.-
All things considered, that price tag is decent. The goggles aren’t going to rock your world (and with Oculus-sized FOV goggles soon to become the norm, the current 40-ish degree FOV goggles are going to be obsolete by next year), the transmitter is basically a toy, and the Spyhawk itself isn’t the most amazing plane there is – but as whole, that’s not a bad package for beginners.
HK KK HC adds rugged case to the KK 2.x, is not a secret message
The nifty KK2.x is an awesome flight controller regardless of whether you have one of the earlier or the later models. Now Hobbyking adds a Hardcase variant into the mix: Realizing you only really need the display and buttons during initial setup, they moved those components into a separate programming box, while also giving the main controller a rugged case.
Internally, it’s a KK 2.1.5, which means a solid MPU6050 sensor and excellent performance and stability. The connectors now exit to the side, which is good news for a lot of people who had problems with the layout of the KK 2 board until now. The external programming box is hot-pluggable, allowing you to connect and disconnect it at any time. The previously optional buzzer is now already installed inside the controller case. In our review we found the KK 2.1.5 board to be ideal for both people looking for great stability as well as aerobatics.
The whole thing is being sold for USD $35.- which is slightly more than a “naked” KK 2, but in our opinion a very welcome upgrade. Now Rolf just needs to add GPS support… 😉
Product video after the break.
Hobbyking announces Quanum Nova RTF Quadcopter, a rebranded CX-20
HK recently announced that they’re going to sell a rebranded version of the Cheerson CX-20 soon, calling it the “Quanum Nova”:
The CX-20 is a GPS-capable quadcopter comparable to the DJI Phantom. We haven’t had a chance to review one yet, but from various flight footage on youtube this model seems to be very stable and have a good GPS position hold function. The RTF copter features a replaceable RC receiver so you can connect your favorite RC control system and use your existing transmitter instead. Interestingly, the cool-looking external GPS antenna seems to be for show only, as images by customers show that the actual antenna is right inside the quadcopter’s main body.
The original CX-20 is on sale for $330 on Banggood, so it remains to be seen how much HK will charge for this one.
X100 100W Balancing Charger Review
The HK X100 balancing LiPo charger, actually a rebranded IMAX unit, is the smaller brother of the X200. According to HobbyKing, the “new X100 Charger is the latest and most innovative battery charger, with its super cool aesthetics and full color touch screen”, and has become the “must have charger”. But is it really? And is it worth getting at the $50 that HK asks for? Let’s find out in our in-depth review after the break.
KK 2.1.5 released – wait what?
The KK 2.1.5 flight controller board has been released!
Ok so this is basically the same animal as the KK 2.1, meaning MPU6050 and Atmel 644PA. According to HK, the new thing is “added polarity protection to the voltage sense header and a fuse protected buzzer outputs, in case something is accidentally plugged in incorrectly. The voltage sense line has been updated for better accuracy. The board is clearly labeled and the voltage sense line color has been changed to red for easy identification, making installation and connections a snap.”
Was that really worth a hardware upgrade? Are we going to get asymptotic hardware updates now? Is the KK 2.1.5.25 upon us next? In any case, the good news is that the price is still the same, USD $29.99 and it’s otherwise identical to the KK 2.1 flight controller we reviewed recently.
HKPilot Mega Mini
Hobbyking is selling a miniature version of the Ardupilot APM 2.5 flight controller. This board features a HMC5883L compass, MPU-6000 gyro/acc, MS5611-01BA03 barometer sensor as well as a ATMEGA2560 8-bit microcontroller.
The only problem is, things have moved on with the introduction of the PixHawk flight controller. And at a price of USD $83.- without GPS or telemetry the MegaMini is not exactly a bargain offer either. The fact is that the 8-bit APM platform will not see much new development over the next few years, so you better be content with the current state of affairs for there won’t be much in terms of revolutionary new updates for this platform.
Regardless, if you yearn for a more portable (even if slightly outdated) APM, the MegaMini is up for order on the HK website now. And who knows, maybe the price will drop down a bit, making this a good alternative to the T1000FC to throw in to your everyday model as an automated return-home and recovery system.
T1000FC GPS Auto Pilot Review
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!
KK 2.1 Flight Controller Review
The KK 2.1 is here! This incremental hardware update features new sensors and a beefier microcontroller, but does this improve performance? Read all about it in our review after the break!
A bunch of new Quadcopters from Hobbyking
HK has updated their growing catalogue with several interesting new multirotor offerings:
The Micro-X is a tiny MultiWii Quadcopter with a lightweight frame that has the flight controller integrated into it. You may be wondering why this is new given that they already have several versions of this available – well this model comes with two batteries, and the DSM2-Receiver is integrated on the PCB. It’s about USD $50.- which is a pretty good price.
The FPV250 frame is a one-piece frame for mini-sized FPV quadcopters. You can fit any 50×50 standard flight controller like the Crius AIO or the KK 2.0/2.1 boards, and it has tabs and mounts for small fpv cameras and video transmitters. Being a one-piece frame means that while it’s very rigid and certainly repairable with epoxy, severe crashes mean you’ll have to buy a whole new frame. However, it’s $10 a piece so we can’t complain!
The SK450 is a ready-to-fly quadcopter featuring a KK 2.0 flight controller, 20A ESCs, four 2213 motors and a full set of 8×4.5 as well as a set of 10×4.5 props. This is an interesting package because not only is the KK flight controller absolutely excellent (even more so with RC911’s amazing “++” firmware), but you get props for both heavier payload (battery, camera) as well as for aerobatic flying. Also included is a Turnigy 5x radio system, so this is really a complete RTF package. The KK 2.0 looks a bit strange, given that they’ve phased out this model in favor of the KK 2.1 recently, but from our tests you should not let that deter you as the 2.0 board flies just as well.
Sadly though the Turnigy 5x, although functional, is pretty much a throwaway radio and brings the package price to USD $190.0,-
If you already have a radio and/or you want a better radio, you should consider building our $120 Quadcopter instead. You can get a really nice computer radio for the $70 you save. That said, the idea is a good one and maybe HK will release a version without TX, or with a Turnigy 9x lateron.
Turnigy T1000FC fixed wing autopilot
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.
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.
KK 2.1 Flight Controller First Look
The new KK 2.1 arrived! This updated version sports an MPU6050 sensor, which should remove the rotation rate limitations of the KK 2.0 controller. A full review is coming, in the meantime check out the first look inside.
Quanum QFX flight controller is actually an IFly-V4M
Hobbyking is selling the Quanum QFX, a new multirotor flight controller with GPS for a mere $120. Among the usual fare are GPS position hold and return-to-home, 2-axis gimbal output and PPM/SBUS support. It looks a lot like a Naza but it’s actually a rebranded IdeaFly V4M flight controller as can be confirmed by comparing the PC software and the manuals.
As such it shares the limited angular sensing rate of 200 degrees/s as well as the limited PC setup program – then again, it does let you tweak a bit more than the DJI Naza software. According to our information this is the same FC as installed in the IdeaFly Apollo.
FieldView 12 inch FPV Monitor
An interesting daily over at Hobbyking.com: The FieldView 1212 FPV monitor is a positively giant FPV monitor. According to Hobbyking, the 1212 has been “optimized for FPV use with features such as a non-blue screen if the input signal gets weak, a wide range of input voltages, an integrated 2 axis tripod mount and of course a removable sun shield for those sunny days.”
And indeed, input voltage ranges from 6V to 24V. Resolution is 800×600 which is more than enough for FPV, but the brightness is a mere 330cd which is not really fit for bright summer days. However if you want a large screen that includes the sunshade and doesn’t bluescreen on a bad signal, you could do worse than spending $160 over at Hobbyking.com
Note that what you’re getting is essentially the same as the M1200 from FoxtechFPV, except they sell theirs for 10 bucks more.
KK 2.1 Flight Controller released, sports MPU6050 goodness
HobbyKing just released their KK 2.1 flight controller. It’s a hardware upgrade from the already-great KK 2.0 and features the same tried and tested integrated display and buttons.
What’s new then? Mainly an upgrade to the excellent MPU 6050 accelerometer/gyro sensor chip, as well as a big fat Atmel Atmega644PA for additional outputs and more program memory.
The KK 2.0 was already an excellent flight controller (see our review), and the little integrated LCD proved to not only be highly crash resistant, but incredibly useful in helping with setup – making this a lot easier and quicker than setting up a Naza actually. With this upgrade one of the minor negatives of the KK 2.0, the limited maximum rate of rotation sensing that can result in the flight controller becoming confused during extremely fast flips, is greatly improved.
The KK2.1 can be yours for USD $30.- via Hobbyking.
Specs and video after the break.
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