Aurora RC is at it again! They just keep on bringing us awesome new FPV racers. First was the ARFUN 90, then in my last review of an Aurora quad, we looked at the Bfight 210, and now it's time to check out another of their new quads. This time it's a new brushless micro. The QAV105, is modeled after the very popular QAV250, and QAV210. This little 105mm racer comes loaded with features. You get the popular Omnibus F3 FC with integrated OSD pre-loaded with Betaflight, a 48 channel 5.8ghz VTX, and 4 in 1 BLHeli-S 10A DShot ESC. For power we get some very peppy little 1105 7000kv motors swinging 2345 quad blade props, and to top the package off they've equipped this little drone with the amazing RunCam Micro Swift 600TVL FPV camera featuring a Super HAD II CCD sensor, and 165-degree FOV. All of this in one great little frame could make for one of the best equipped micro FPV racers currently available. It certainly looks the part, and I expect it to perform just as good as it looks. Here are some detailed pics of what you get in the box.
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As any RC hobbyist knows, safe battery charging practices are a must. With today's Lithium based batteries, it is even more important than ever that we take care not to overcharge, over discharge, or mistreat our batteries. The threat of LiPo batteries bursting into flames is very real, and is not meant to be taken lightly.
I'm pretty sure many of us know someone, or have a friend that knows someone that has experienced a household, or garage fire due to a LiPo battery bursting into flames. Many times this is not even due to misuse, or bad charging practices. It can happen at any given time. Therefore, it has become important to find ways to charge more safely, and with a little added protection in the event that the worst does happen. Most of us nowadays have begun using what we call LiPo safes, or LiPo charging bags. I use LiPo bags not just for charging my batteries in, but I also store my batteries in LiPo safe bags. It simply gives me a little peace of mind knowing that if something does happen to go wrong, the fire should be contained to the bag, and not spread to the rest of my garage/house etc. My biggest issue with the LiPo bags I was using was that they just didn't seem to close securely when charging in them. They would seal up just fine as long as there were no wires going into the bag, but during charging, I just wasn't happy with a simple velcro closure. Well... HOBBYMATE to the rescue! As soon as I saw their new bag with its double zipper closure, accompanied by the traditional velcro flap, I knew I had to have one. This is by far the best storage, and charging bag I have owned. The double zippers allow me to position the wires coming from my charger in ways that the bag is still very securely sealed no matter which way I have the wires coming in, and with the zippers, and the velcro flap I feel very confident that I have little to worry about in the event of a fire. Check this bag out for yourself if your looking for a good size bag, with plenty of storage capacity. As you can see in one of my pics, there is room for a large variety of battery types. In the one picture I have a 4800mah 2s, and 5000mah 2s car/truck batteries, three 3s quadcopter batteries, and a 4s quadcopter battery, and I have only covered the bottom of the bag. It will easily hold 4 times that many packs. I personally try to keep a few packs in a few different bags, so if one goes up in flames, I still have some batteries in another bag. Don't hesitate to ask any questions. I will do my best to assist you if you are in search of a good bag for your particular needs. Click me to purchase this bag on Amazon. Use coupon code LIPOSAFE to get 30% off. My FuriBee H801 arrived today, and I am pretty stoked about this little guy for some FPV buzzing around the house. This is basically an updated, FPV'd F36. A couple differences I noticed right away (aside from the obvious) is that the motors now plug into the board, so no more soldering to replace burned out motors. 7mm motors instead of the F36's 615 motors, The yaw is much more docile which IMO makes this little guy easier to fly, and there's a third speed rate instead of just the two that the F36 has. It also comes with a 260mah battery instead of a 150mah. This little quadcopter flies very well both indoors, and outdoors on calm days. The WiFi FPV also works better than most that I have seen so far. For under $30 this is simply an unbeatable little package for getting started with FPV. Just be aware that WiFi FPV has a much shorter range than 5.8ghz FPV. Here are some pics and a quick flight video. The MANA M285 is a 295mm FPV quadcopter that is perfect for park flyers, and for those pilots that want a quad that can carry an HD camera, yet easily fit in a backpack. Thanks to its folding design it can easily slip into even small backpacks and totes. Best part is, it is highly affordable and is currently available for only $121 Even though this quad has been designed to be compact when folded up, it is still big on features. You get a carbon fiber frame, and arms, and a vibration dampened carbon fiber plate for mounting the HD action camera of your choice. You also get an excellent electronics package with an SPRACINGF3 flight controller with MWOSD, 20A 2-4s ESC, and 2204 2300kv motors. If there's a downfall to this electronics package it's that it ships with an older version of Cleanflight, and will either require you to use to an older version of the Chrome APP, or update the firmware on the FC. I chose to update the firmware, and installed Betaflight 3.1.7 and it installed easily, and without so much as a hiccup. If you have, or get this quad and need any assistance, just ask and I will help walk you through the process. On the FPV side you get an excellent performing 700TVL camera, and 600mw 40 channel 5.8ghz VTX. As always, here are pics and a quick flight video. AWESOME ASUAV have been releasing some quite, well, awesome quadcopters over the past couple years. The AWESOME Q95 which I reviewed earlier this year was an excellent flying brushless micro. Let's see if the AWESOME F100 follows suit. This little quad is equipped with an Omnibus F3 flight controller with integrated OSD, A 4 in 1 BLHeli-S 10A ESC running DShot600, and 7500kv 1103 motors spinning 2035 four blade props. For the FPV we get a 600TVL camera, and 48 channel 25mw VTX. The package includes the quad, as either a Frsky BNF, or as a PNP version ready for the receiver of your choice. They also give you a a 500mah 2s 7.4v battery, two sets of props, a set of prop guards, and a couple extra bands for securing the battery. All in all it is a very complete package for those that already have a radio, and a charger. The quad itself looks great, and has a very high quality feel to it. If you like purple, you will really like the frame, motors, and props. Kelly loves it. Personally, I'm ok with plain old black, but I'm sure there are plenty of folks out there that will dig the purple color scheme. With the popularity of Drone Racing growing more and more by the day, manufacturers are hard at work to bring us the latest, and greatest features. FuriBee is no exception to this, and they have been steady releasing some awesome new products, including some very nice FPV quadcopters. One of their latest releases, the FuriBee DarkMax 220 is turning the BNF quad world upside down. The FuriBee DarkMax 220 is absolutely loaded with features! It starts with the new ARTOWER F4 Plus flight controller with SD card slot, integrated OSD, VTX, and current and voltage sensor. Next is a 4 in 1 BLHeli-S 30A DShot ESC, capable of handling up to 6S power. They also teamed up with DYS to bring us some excellent new SR2205 2550kv Race Edition motors. To make things even better they used the popular 960H CCD FPV camera for some of the best FPV image quality currently available. As if all this wasn't enough, they also include 2 sets of Gemfan Flash 5152 tri blade props. The end result is one heck of a bind and fly package, and all for only $169 I managed to get my DarkMax set up in Betaflight this afternoon, and got it out for its first flight. I am very impressed with this quad! It is fast, smooth, and agile. It actually surprised me how much power it has even on 3s. I can't wait to get some 4s and 5s flights in with it. I can only imagine what the speed, and power will be like when I hit these motors with more voltage. If you're in the market for a brushless quad that's not only very well equipped, but also looks absolutely amazing, then check out this DarkMax 220. It is an impressive quadcopter that will satisfy experienced pilots needs for speed, but can also grow with less experienced pilots as their skills improve thanks to its ability to be flown on 2-6s batteries. Don't hesitate to ask any questions, and stay tuned for flight video coming shortly. Happy Flying! |
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