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RTF checklist

Nitro Zeus

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Done some research and spent hours watching countless youtube videos, and this is my setup so far, i think i am missing some things so if anyone could fill in the blanks i would greatly appreciate it,

Drone: Uvify Draco HD
Goggles: Fat Shark Dominator V3
Radio: Flysky NV14 Nirvana 2.4GHz 14CH
Transmitter: 5.8GHz 600mW A/V Tx
Antenna: TBS Triumph

i got everything bookmarked and once i have the cash saved i plan to buy everything which is still a few weeks out, all i have is exactly what i listed so i think im missing a couple things, if anyone could let me know what all i still need to be ready to fly when i get everything ordered i would greatly appreciate it.
 
My advice: Do not buy that thing

We can get you flying with all the gear you need for less than the price of that quad alone. Stay away from proprietary designs like that. While they look cool and made some slick 3d graphics, they're not built to be crashed and fixed the same way our race quads are, and trust me you're going to crash it. We all crash, and we crash a lot, it's just a part of FPV, and you're going to find that replacement parts on that are going to be expensive.

The quads that we're going to recommend have mostly interchangeable parts, and the flight software is updated constantly. I'm going to stop myself because I could write a book about why you really don't want to buy that quad. Of course I mean no disrespect, it's just that we can find you a better flight experience, and it's going to be less than half the price.

These are hot right now:



But if you've never flown FPV get yourself a micro and save some headache while you learn how to fly. Flying this around your house is the fastest way to learn


My practice sessions from last year on that tinyhawk (it's really fast)
 
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My advice: Do not buy that thing

We can get you flying with all the gear you need for less than the price of that quad alone. Stay away from proprietary designs like that. While they look cool and made some slick 3d graphics, they're not built to be crashed and fixed the same way our race quads are, and trust me you're going to crash it. We all crash, and we crash a lot, it's just a part of FPV, and you're going to find that replacement parts on that are going to be expensive.

The quads that we're going to recommend have mostly interchangeable parts, and the flight software is updated constantly. I'm going to stop myself because I could write a book about why you really don't want to buy that quad. Of course I mean no disrespect, it's just that we can find you a better flight experience, and it's going to be less than half the price.

These are hot right now:



But if you've never flown FPV get yourself a micro and save some headache while you learn how to fly. Flying this around your house is the fastest way to learn


My practice sessions from last year on that tinyhawk (it's really fast)

im looking for aesthics yea, looks cool sounds cool, but mainly with great freestyle longrange capabilites, i found a place where ive seen people flying drones around where i live on this rocky hilltop with trees straight out of a national geographic magazine perfect for going around trees and doing dope aerial tricks with a badass view no less, but its completely inaccessible by foot and a fair distance away from where you have to park your vehicle,

also just came across the orqa fpv goggles and want to save some money for them, think they are compatible with the rapidfire module and lumenier axii omni directional and directional antennas, just dont know if whats stock on the orqa is better then that, your thoughts on this?

that hawk pro looks good ill check that out, if i want to run the orqa and rapidfire module with the lumeniier axii antennas will i need something for the hawk pro?
 
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im really just looking for aesthics yea, looks cool sounds cool, with great freestyle longrange capabilites
That's just the thing, it does LOOK cool, but when I was watching it fly I could see a lot of propwash. That beast is over a year old with proprietary flight software; who knows how it flies. The Hawk runs on Betaflight, that puppy is gonna scream. Plus the software is open source so there's a great support community.

We have a couple of Hawk owners around here, not that newest model, but probably every other one. You're nonchalant about it now, but that bird is gonna scare the pants off of you the first time you fly it ?
 
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That's just the thing, it does LOOK cool, but when I was watching it fly I could see a lot of propwash. That beast is over a year old with proprietary flight software; who knows how it flies. The Hawk runs on Betaflight, that puppy is gonna scream. Plus the software is open source so there's a great support community.

We have a couple of Hawk owners around here, not that newest model, but probably every other one. You're nonchalant about it now, but that bird is gonna scare the pants off of you the first time you fly it ?

the other one nazgul sounds from the lord of the rings, and as for video, definitely plan on using a gopro hero 7 black or waiting until the gopro hero 8 gets released in a few weeks, also for the sound, i will be using some instrumental beats opposed to the whirring sound the drone will make, the tri proppeler blades on the hawk pro look awesome,

do you have to have a reciever or something on your drone for the rapidfire module with the lumen axii 2 antennas? how will the goggles pick up the drones camera video feed? does the drone already come with some sort of universal antenna feed reciever or something?
 
does the drone already come with some sort of universal antenna feed reciever or something?
These Bind and Fly models do come ready to go with a video transmitter (VTX). The video is universal at 5.8 ghz, it's the radio controllers that aren't all universal. That Nirvana is nice, but it's going to be a hike to get it all set up. I have a Taranis X9d plus because I feel it's compatible with the most BNF quads out there.
 
These Bind and Fly models do come ready to go with a video transmitter (VTX). The video is universal at 5.8 ghz, it's the radio controllers that aren't all universal. That Nirvana is nice, but it's going to be a hike to get it all set up. I have a Taranis X9d plus because I feel it's compatible with the most BNF quads out there.

alright thanks youre the first person i have come across that stood out in my my mind that actually knows something, seriously appreciate your genuine information dude,

so there is a universal video tranmitter(VTX) built into the fpv goggles and onboard the drone? is there some way to upgrade this for better quaility and feedback? whats the best out there right now oin 2019?

and what sold me on the flysky nirvana was not only its wide channel band which seems to do exactly as you said with your taranis x9d plus but also kind of has that old Nintendo 64 controller style which sold it for me, along with its great specs and capabilities, no less.
 
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alright thanks youre the first person i have come across that stood out in my my mind that actually knows something, seriously appreciate your genuine information dude,

so there is a universal video tranmitter(VTX) built into the fpv goggles and onboard the drone? is there some way to upgrade this for better quaility and feedback? whats the best out there right now oin 2019?

and what sold me on the flysky nirvana was not only its wide channel band which seems to do exactly as you said with your taranis x9d plus but also kind of has that old Nintendo 64 controller style which sold it for me, along with its great specs and capabilities, no less.
You could also look at the Taranis X Lite controller which is cheaper than the Nirvana and will perform just as well. As @rtkDarling has rightly pointed out above, I wouldn’t go near your original list of kit as you’ll burn a lot of money and then some going down that road. I’ve got a ‘reasonable’ number of quads including a Hawk 5 that will easily fulfil your need for speed. I’ve crashed into every vertical structure, burned motors, esc’s and destroyed entire quads during my learning experience and you probably will too.
There are some very good vtx options for any quad you decide on and goggle setups that will do the job, high end Fatshark HDO with Rx/antenna combos for example. The investment in this hobby is around your neck and on your head and possibly less than the cost of just the quad in your original post.
 
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Welcome @Nitro Zeus! Please listen to RTK and Tevek (and now me too), DO NOT BUY that thing in your first post!
There would be a number of issues with compatibility for the video if you did buy it, so it would not work with your goggles.
We can steer you in the right direction so you have the least amount of trouble getting in the air.
I agree with Tevek, look at the Frsky X-Lite series with 18650 battery caps for that Game Controller feel. The Nirvana is nice, but they only have about 5% of the market so getting help on it is almost impossible. If you go for the Frsky, not only do they have about 90% of the market, but we almost all have them and can advise you on setup and programming.
 
Welcome @Nitro Zeus! Please listen to RTK and Tevek (and now me too), DO NOT BUY that thing in your first post!
There would be a number of issues with compatibility for the video if you did buy it, so it would not work with your goggles.
We can steer you in the right direction so you have the least amount of trouble getting in the air.
I agree with Tevek, look at the Frsky X-Lite series with 18650 battery caps for that Game Controller feel. The Nirvana is nice, but they only have about 5% of the market so getting help on it is almost impossible. If you go for the Frsky, not only do they have about 90% of the market, but we almost all have them and can advise you on setup and programming.

right on, yea was actually looking at the hawk pro now, and appreciate the help, ive never soddered before and heard it takes some serious time to get used to, to do it proficiently and correctly, smoke testing and such, was watching youtube videos just now earlier and it seems very easy but seen plenty of people short circuit and completely ruin their builds, thats why i was looking into rtf prebuilt quads, with cheap replacement parts,

so scrapping the first post, so the hawk pro quadcopter, the taranis x9d plus, and the orqa fpv1 goggles with rapidfire module and the lumeniier axii antennas, this would be a better way to go? any drone flight simulators that you reccomend? want to not crash as much as possible when i get my build together and flight simulators make a considerable difference i was told.
 
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also just came across the orqa fpv goggles and want to save some money for them, think they are compatible with the rapidfire module and lumenier axii omni directional and directional antennas, just dont know if whats stock on the orqa is better then that, your thoughts on this?
My Orqa FPV.One's will be here very soon, I was one of the first backers on the Kickstarter so I got a great deal, and get them in the first 200 deliveries. I got mine with the Rapidfire options for a few reasons...
1. I got it at a reduced price of about $95
2. It is the only RX module that I have seen to be "the best RF performance capabilities" and my True-D works too good to have wanted anything else previously, but that brings me to number 3 reason.
3. The RapidFIRE (RF) is the first and possibly only module that is integrated to the goggles software. If you already had a RF, the goggles come with an Orqa RF cover for your module, and there is a RX firmware version to turn it into the RF Orqa Edition which should have an Orqa splash screen and software integration between goggle buttons and RF buttons which will allow working in RF module using OSD and the Orqa buttons.

Yes all the same antennas are compatible, the only concern is SMA or RP-SMA, the RF is SMA so all your stuff you have will work.

The "Bonus" Pro antenna set that you can get if you preorder on GetFPV, by spec will be better than the Lumenier ones, only a few reviewers have gotten them, but so far they look to be a really good set of goggle mounted antennas. I have some of the best old school pieces like an original Mad Mushroom omni, and the venerable SpiroNet Patch and these should outperform them according to the specs.

Just my 2 cents on the Orqa's
 
My Orqa FPV.One's will be here very soon, I was one of the first backers on the Kickstarter so I got a great deal, and get them in the first 200 deliveries. I got mine with the Rapidfire options for a few reasons...
1. I got it at a reduced price of about $95
2. It is the only RX module that I have seen to be "the best RF performance capabilities" and my True-D works too good to have wanted anything else previously, but that brings me to number 3 reason.
3. The RapidFIRE (RF) is the first and possibly only module that is integrated to the goggles software. If you already had a RF, the goggles come with an Orqa RF cover for your module, and there is a RX firmware version to turn it into the RF Orqa Edition which should have an Orqa splash screen and software integration between goggle buttons and RF buttons which will allow working in RF module using OSD and the Orqa buttons.

Yes all the same antennas are compatible, the only concern is SMA or RP-SMA, the RF is SMA so all your stuff you have will work.

The "Bonus" Pro antenna set that you can get if you preorder on GetFPV, by spec will be better than the Lumenier ones, only a few reviewers have gotten them, but so far they look to be a really good set of goggle mounted antennas. I have some of the best old school pieces like an original Mad Mushroom omni, and the venerable SpiroNet Patch and these should outperform them according to the specs.

Just my 2 cents on the Orqa's

your original mad mushroom omni antenna and spironet patch are better then the lumenier and stock orqa antennas? where can i get them? ill buy them up right now
 
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right on, yea was actually looking at the hawk pro now, and appreciate the help, ive never soddered before and heard it takes some serious time to get used to, to do it proficiently and correctly, smoke testing and such, was watching youtube videos just now earlier and it seems very easy but seen plenty of people short circuit and completely ruin their builds, thats why i was looking into rtf prebuilt quads, with cheap replacement parts,

so scrapping the first post, so the hawk pro quadcopter, the taranis x9d plus, and the orqa fpv1 goggles with rapidfire module and the lumeniier axii antennas, this would be a better way to go? any drone flight simulators that you reccomend? want to not crash as much as possible when i get my build together and flight simulators make a considerable difference i was told.
Ok, there is actually a lot here, but here goes...
I have spent 40 years working electronics, mil spec soldering certified, and complex hardwares and softwares, so that part of this is a breeze for me, it's the flying part I couldn't do, along with NOT being a gamer or RC enthusiast previously (aka no skill on the sticks) so I went with a number of PNP and BNF's to start learning to fly. What I found is that you will crash and need that soldering skill sooner rather than later, when you get a soldering iron and Rosin Core 37/63 Eutectic solder shoot me a PM and I can brush you up on the basics and soldering should be a breeze for you. Hell, I got @Wayno52 soldering so you can too!

As for going with BNF (or PNP, which needs a Receiver soldered on to talk to your radio, aka the control link, not the video link), is that you will learn to solder doing repairs on something that already works, instead of trying to learn it all before you can even learn to fly.

As far as your controller (aka the TX or Radio)
The X-Lite series with a 18650 battery caps gives a good game controller feel experience, one of the differences between Nirvana and X-Lite is the X-Lite has "mini" (Hall Sensor) gimbals, so they have a shorter throw than full size gimbals, which reduces your finger resolution precision, but I still can adjust to the smaller gimbals if I fly them for a while.
Still you should look at and consider the QX7S if you can't go all out and get the X9D+SE, you want the better gimbals (Hall Sensors) and upgrades on one of those models over the base X9D+. I run the QX7S and will never change back to my X9D+ (I also have an X-Lite, yeah I know, I got a problem, but I got backups and ride along's for days so there is that! LOL).
Sims... sims are great for learning tricks before you put your quad in danger, but I think they are not like the real thing so they have less use just learning to fly at all because it is harder than most realize. I think the best way to safely get the muscle memory to "Just fly" is with a micro brushless like the TinyHawk, it will take the abuse so the Hawk won't have to take it. I'm sure @rtkDarling will agree hear.

About smoke stoppers... DONT TRUST THEM!!! Just get a good digital multimeter with at least 2 digits to the right of the decimal point and you'll be good, I can tell you how to check that your build (or repair) is good, you just gotta learn to read the Ohms and Voltage readings and what they mean and you will be much better off.

I hope this makes sense, questions?

Randy
 
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so pretty much get the basics of soldering stuff what you mentioned and ditch the sims and go for the tiny durable hawk mini quadcopters for first test flights then once i have solid skill level move up to the better hawk pro and such, to be honest i build my own mech mods for vaping though i rarely vape and this got me into electrical stuff more for battery safety ohms, volts, etc. i got a fluke 101 multimeter i use, soldering isnt all that hard just requires a little more finess higher degree of intricacy, i do actually enjoy building like how i like building super sub ohm dual coil resistance wire setups for my mech vapes just the whole different level aspect you know, then showing up to competitions and just dominating,

i also have a youtube channel in the works and want to add my gopro drone footage to it,

seriously appreciate the info, already bookmarked this page and will definitely be hitting you up for soldering stuff, thanks dude.
 
your original mad mushroom omni antenna and spironet patch are better then the lumenier and stock orqa antennas? where can i get them? ill buy them up right now

Yup, IMHO...

First let me say that I only fly the TBS Triumph V1 on the bigger quads, they work best of all the Axii's and such, and they are much sturdier, anything newer, including Lolipops and EVERYONES V2+ versions are weak and the caps/covers pop off

I had tested all the top rated available 6 months ago, and that included a set of the Lumenier's AXii series, and what I found after my testing was the best on the goggles was my Mad Mushroom V1 and the Spironet (for distance flying, as opposed to dual Omni for all around flying), but today, if I needed to buy new, there is better, and still the best are the VAS series for that extra little better performance. Today I would buy a set of Mad Mushroom V2's and a CrosshairXtreme

Now don't get me wrong, the AXii's are good, but the VAS are better, hands down.

This is 2x Mad Mushrooms for all around flying, when distance flying remove the bottom Omni and put on the Crosshair.



The original has stood the test of time, even till this day, since you can still get the old V1 in this set


The Orqa Pro series may be able to compete, but I won't know until they get here and I can run them through the paces, but previously, none have beaten IBCrazy (Alex Greaves) and VAS offerings
 
Yup, IMHO...

First let me say that I only fly the TBS Triumph V1 on the bigger quads, they work best of all the Axii's and such, and they are much sturdier, anything newer, including Lolipops and EVERYONES V2+ versions are weak and the caps/covers pop off

I had tested all the top rated available 6 months ago, and that included a set of the Lumenier's AXii series, and what I found after my testing was the best on the goggles was my Mad Mushroom V1 and the Spironet (for distance flying, as opposed to dual Omni for all around flying), but today, if I needed to buy new, there is better, and still the best are the VAS series for that extra little better performance. Today I would buy a set of Mad Mushroom V2's and a CrosshairXtreme

Now don't get me wrong, the AXii's are good, but the VAS are better, hands down.

This is 2x Mad Mushrooms for all around flying, when distance flying remove the bottom Omni and put on the Crosshair.



The original has stood the test of time, even till this day, since you can still get the old V1 in this set


The Orqa Pro series may be able to compete, but I won't know until they get here and I can run them through the paces, but previously, none have beaten IBCrazy (Alex Greaves) and VAS offerings

awesome man, if you have a youtube channel or do a review i definitely want to hear your thoughts on it for sure.
 
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awesome man, if you have a youtube channel or do a review i definitely want to hear your thoughts on it for sure.
Friends have been after me for years to do review and how to's, I just haven't had the time or desire to compete out there with all the keyboard warriors. I got my Youtube, but haven't added anything since the first few flight videos when I started and couldn't even fly straight, but I will always give the great group here my thoughts if they care to consider them. This is a very open and kind group of people, there is <.000001 % hate here, and that's why I'll give advice here.
 
Friends have been after me for years to do review and how to's, I just haven't had the time or desire to compete out there with all the keyboard warriors. I got my Youtube, but haven't added anything since the first few flight videos when I started and couldn't even fly straight, but I will always give the great group here my thoughts if they care to consider them. This is a very open and kind group of people, there is <.000001 % hate here, and that's why I'll give advice here.


i can understand that, in fact its actually better here, not only do you only get those solely actually interested to the degree and level youre at, this is solely a forum for this subject matter alone, with youtube on the otherhand who knows what psychos are out there mindlessly posting nonsensical things in the comment section and how dense some people can insanely be, then there is the just as mysterious youtube reccomendation algorithms and such, posting exclusively here is much better and far higher appreciated, many thanks.
 
so pretty much get the basics of soldering stuff what you mentioned and ditch the sims and go for the tiny durable hawk mini quadcopters for first test flights then once i have solid skill level move up to the better hawk pro and such, to be honest i build my own mech mods for vaping though i rarely vape and this got me into electrical stuff more for battery safety ohms, volts, etc. i got a fluke 101 multimeter i use, soldering isnt all that hard just requires a little more finess higher degree of intricacy, i do actually enjoy building like how i like building super sub ohm dual coil resistance wire setups for my mech vapes just the whole different level aspect you know, then showing up to competitions and just dominating,

i also have a youtube channel in the works and want to add my gopro drone footage to it,

seriously appreciate the info, already bookmarked this page and will definitely be hitting you up for soldering stuff, thanks dude.
Depending where you live if you get winter or not, and of course rainy days and windy days, it is nice to have something to practice with indoors. And while not as capable as the Hawk, it will give you practice with the basics of flying around, hitting gaps, and having a ball.

If you want to get a sim so that you pick up advanced tricks without damaging your 5 inch, and I would suggest that you do, get Velocidrone or one of the other higher rated ones, just google best sims of 2019 and see what Oscar Liang and other reputable people have to say.

With your Mod knowledge, you will pick this up no sweat, I think it is a little easier than a sub ohm mod in general, just a lot more complex theories on features, wire out, and configuration.

Oh, and you're welcome!
 

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