Flying blind is scary. My first car crash.

Roadking · Aug 20, 2019

Second flight trying out my new TH Freestyle. Just getting used to it so this is not a particularly interesting video, but at 1:23 the video signal is very poor and I have no idea where I'm going.

Luckily I make it out alive.

The at the end I wind up crashing into a car. Well, not exactly. I wind up flying into the trunk of my own car and landing.

I re-routed the antenna which hopefully improves the video transmission. My first observations: Quite a bit more power than the TH, longer flight time, more responsive. Definitely a good step up and loads of fun.

I need to practice now but of course it's raining today. AGHHHHH!

Maiden Flight

tevek · Aug 20, 2019

Well at least you didn’t hang it up in a tree! Considering how new you are to the addiction, you’re doing just fine. Would you recommend the TH Freestyle as a general freestyle piece of kit? Not keen on the 25mW vtx given the places I fly but it looks nimble enough for more wide open spaces.

Wayno52 · Aug 20, 2019

Nice one mate. This is a good video of some upgrades which will dramatically improve the quad if you are up for it at some stage.

Wayno52 · Aug 20, 2019

Lol Tevek, a few upgrades on that video. Looks great after that.

tevek · Aug 20, 2019

Wayno52 said:
Lol Tevek, a few upgrades on that video. Looks great after that.

Thanks for the link. You can pick one up for about $170 (over east), if I factor in the additional cost to upgrade, wondering if I’m heading into a better quad, good to go kind of territory, that is already on the shelf? Size is good, looks are there but I need a minimum of 200mW to bang around the trees on my block. The antenna upgrade tip you gave me for my X140 worked a treat, but my Trashcan easily beats all my smaller quads, but I’m churning through FCs to keep it in the air.

Wayno52 · Aug 20, 2019

Just waiting for Grant to get these in.
My next victim, comes in I think 4 styles I will go the 2s as I have packs already.
It's quick.
[AU$210.53]Diatone GTB329 Cube 120mm 3Inch 2S 6500KV PNP FPV Racing RC Drone RC Drones from Toys Hobbies and Robot on banggood.com

https://banggood.app.link/4PyqLATVjZ

Wayno52 · Aug 20, 2019

tevek · Aug 20, 2019

Wayno52 said:
Just waiting for Grant to get these in.
My next victim, comes in I think 4 styles I will go the 2s as I have packs already.
It's quick.
[AU$210.53]Diatone GTB329 Cube 120mm 3Inch 2S 6500KV PNP FPV Racing RC Drone RC Drones from Toys Hobbies and Robot on banggood.com

https://banggood.app.link/4PyqLATVjZ

Ok, max of 50mW for the vtx so not sure of the maths behind a doubling of output vs range/penetration but may be a better option for banging around the block. Like you I have a pile of 2S running my other quads, so that would be handy. I’ll watch your linked review to see how it runs, price point is similar to the toothpick Grant has in his shop.

Wayno52 · Aug 20, 2019

Yeah, I agree 50mw isn't great but it is tbs which I like and an upgraded antenna it should be pretty good I think.

Wayno52 · Aug 20, 2019

Just looked again and it has the pro 32 Nano. Up to 400 mw

tevek · Aug 21, 2019

Wayno52 said:
Just looked again and it has the pro 32 Nano. Up to 400 mw

Dead right, misread the guff on the home page. Take my money right now. So Grant is going to stock them?

Wayno52 · Aug 21, 2019

He said he is looking into them but will most likely order on next diatone order so not a definite but most likely..
That with an R-XSR and antenna upgrade will be sweet.

Roadking · Aug 21, 2019

tevek said:
Would you recommend the TH Freestyle as a general freestyle piece of kit? Not keen on the 25mW vtx given the places I fly but it looks nimble enough for more wide open spaces.

Well I don't have much to compare it to, other than my white Tinyhawk.

It is a good step up from that and flies really well. Plenty of power and flight time is very good with the 2x1s batteries. The VTX is not great and I'm working on making sure I'm doing everything right.

I rerouted the antena to make sure it's not being blocked by the batteries, and set up the goggles to make sure everything is on the same channel. I think it's the same VTX that's in the Tinyhawk which gets better reception, so hopefully the adjustments I've made improve it, but it's been raining here so I can't test it.

RPR · Aug 21, 2019

I rerouted my antenna similar to yours, before I flew it last night, my problem on mine is when I roll, the antenna is not getting a straight line signal to my goggles (I don’t if that makes sense) that’s when my video transmission breaks up.

I relocated the placement of the wire to the bottom and kept the same stock configuration and for me it seems to help with the video feed.

RPR · Aug 21, 2019

@Roadking BTW two of my screws came off, and when I checked the whole drone, the majority of the frame screws are loose, so I undo them and added Loctite expect for the motors.

Roadking · Aug 21, 2019

RPR said:
@Roadking BTW two of my screws came off, and when I checked the whole drone, the majority of the frame screws are loose, so I undo them and added Loctite expect for the motors.

Good to know. I'll check mine too. Thank you.

tevek · Aug 21, 2019

Roadking said:
Well I don't have much to compare it to, other than my white Tinyhawk.

It is a good step up from that and flies really well. Plenty of power and flight time is very good with the 2x1s batteries. The VTX is not great and I'm working on making sure I'm doing everything right.

I rerouted the antena to make sure it's not being blocked by the batteries, and set up the goggles to make sure everything is on the same channel. I think it's the same VTX that's in the Tinyhawk which gets better reception, so hopefully the adjustments I've made improve it, but it's been raining here so I can't test it.

As luck would have it, another forum member has thrown up an alternative for me to consider. It’s a diatone GTB 329 cube that looks the ticket, similar price point to the TH Freestyle but a stonking 400mW vtx that should do the job. I can get it from banggood but will wait for my local supplier to bring in stock.

Roadking · Aug 21, 2019

tevek said:
As luck would have it, another forum member has thrown up an alternative for me to consider. It’s a diatone GTB 329 cube that looks the ticket, similar price point to the TH Freestyle but a stonking 400mW vtx that should do the job. I can get it from banggood but will wait for my local supplier to bring in stock.

Banggood! Aghhh. I’m waiting for a quad I ordered 3 weeks ago and it will still be another 3 weeks before I get it.
I’m waiting for the GEPRC Toothpick. Check it out. A little more than the TH Freestyle but much better specs.GEPRC Phantom

tevek · Aug 21, 2019

Roadking said:
Banggood! Aghhh. I’m waiting for a quad I ordered 3 weeks ago and it will still be another 3 weeks before I get it.
I’m waiting for the GEPRC Toothpick. Check it out. A little more than the TH Freestyle but much better specs.GEPRC Phantom

Hearing you, bit of a lottery with delivery and good luck if you have any issues with warranty. My local supplier (similar pricing as it turns out to banggood) has access to the GEPRC Phantom, but these days I’m leveraging off other people’s experiences with a particular model. I’ll never buy another quad made by HappyModel due to their crap after sales service, and am moving away from anything from Eachine for similar reasons. It’s narrowed down to either anything from Diatone or Emax given their general acceptance in the marketplace and access to either parts or compatibility with upgrade spares. Having said that, I have a armattan Chameleon Ti 6” which is the absolute bench mark for me in build, performance and schmicko quality. Probably should be for the money, but it is streets ahead against my other gear.