fly fishing

FrSky VANTAC Swoop SQ130 BNF 130mm Wheelbase FPV Racing RC Drone.It is the latest FrSky multirotor to emerge from our team of pilots. No corners were cut when putting together this ready to fly 3-inch machine.

F.PORT 2.0 PROTOCOL

Running the latest low-latency F.Port 2.0 connection allows for a clean single signal cable for all your control and telemetry needs, and parameters are fully adjustable through flight controller and Lua Script via F.Port 2.0.

QUALITY, COMPATIBILITY & EXTENDIBILITY

Swoop SQ130 has a quality and lightweight airframe, the extremely durable construction made with a high-grade carbon fiber frame, ideal for FPV racing. It offers upgradable and alternative equipment, and perfectly works with all FrSky transmitters.

Loaded with premium components like the RunCam Robin, Gemfan propellers and extremely powerful motors make this an amazing value. You can be sure you are getting a unique and reliable multirotor with the FrSky Swoop SQ130.

SPECIFICATIONS

Size: 120*120*30mm

Weight: 141g (Without battery)

Receiver: RXSR-FC

Flight Controller: Omnibus F4 Nano

VTX: Scout VS600 Black

VTX Antenna: Rondo 5.8G Antenna

ESC: Ori32 25A 4in1 Blheli_32 DSHOT

Motor: 1406 3300KV brushless motors

Propeller: Gemfan 3052 3 Inch 3-Blade Prop

Camera: RunCam Robin FPV Camera

PACKAGE INCLUDED

1x Vantac SQ130 FPV Drone

We will look into the FrSky receiver and answer the question as to whether you should get one for your craft or project over any other receiver. We will also look into the feature list, compatibility and other such details of this receiver and compare it with the FrSky X8R Receiver as well from the previous article.

Hardware & Pin Layout of the X8R Receiver

The FrSky X8R Pro is identical in every way to the X8R receiver, physically.The FrSky X8R Pro is a receiver that is mainly targetted towards planes and larger size quads or crafts where size is not a constraint and where you need pure PWM pins than S.Bus or PPM. The X8R has a plastic cover to protect it from the elements (which you can remove to save space and weight). 

The X8R Pro outputs 8 individual PWM channels and also has an S.Bus port if you want to use with modern flight controllers like the PixHawk or micro quad flight controllers. The 8CH PWM is especially useful when you want to control a lot of servos and systems especially on planes and such systems where PWM is mainly used.

There is also a PWM RSSI output pin for getting Raw Signal Strength Indication for your Flight Controllers.

On the backside of the X8R Pro, there is a Smart Port pinout as well! This is great in case you want to connect external FrSky Sensors or provide telemetry data from your Flight Controller to your FrSky transmitter radio. It is weird that they have chosen to place the Smart Port pins at the antenna side of the receiver than on the right side where all the usual pins are situated; this will bring up an untidy wiring setup.

Speaking of the antennas, the X8R Pro consists of 2 patch antennas(PCB antennas) instead of the normal dipole stranded wires. What does that have to do with the performance you may ask, quite simply, patch antennas provide more range than dipole antennas. In the case of the X8R, FrSky claims an additional 20% more range! So why not put patch antennas on all receivers? The reason is that patch antennas are highly directional with higher gain than traditional dipole antennas. Simply put, they receive signals very well in a particular direction ( parallel to the antenna orientation ) but have low signal strength in other directions.

This can be useful in some cases where the craft is moving parallel to the transmitter but once it changes its heading, it can lose some signal strength. In most cases, this wouldn’t make much of a difference, so you needn’t worry ;)

On the top side of the receiver, you will find the F/S (Bind) button as well as the two RED/GREEN indicator LEDs.

All the above-mentioned points are exactly as described for the FrSky X8R receiver. The only way to distinguish between the FrSky X8R and the FrSky X8R Pro is by checking for the “PRO” logo next to the R-X8R logo on the top of the receiver.

Connectivity

The R-X8R Pro from FrSky is an ACCST supporting receiver. We have already discussed ACCST & ACCESS in other posts, so we are not diving into that in this one.

The PWM as discussed is 8CH output and the S.Bus pinout would be perfect for stabilizers and flight controllers.

What differentiates between the R-X8R Pro and the X8R is that the FrSky X8R Pro version has higher precision and lower latency. Its deviation of PWM is reduced to 0.5us, and the delay of PWM output is 9ms less than that of the X8R in high-speed mode. A feature that deserves mention is the decreased effect of interference caused by the ignition process.

The Smart Port connector on both the X8R Pro also supports FrSky FBVS from with A2 port for simple voltage monitoring as well as other sensors and telemetry systems from FrSky like the TEMS-01 for temperature monitoring of your craft or engine etc. or another example would be the FSH-01 sensor hub, so you can connect multiple sensors to one board which then relays the data to the X8R Pro receivers for telemetry.

This feature is quite useful in helis and places especially the ones with a petrol or nitro engine where you have to monitor temperature and RPM along with other data.

You can use the S.Bus to output all 16CH from the receiver and in case you need to use 16CH PWM channels, you can get an S.Bus to PWM decoder which will translate the S.Bus signals into individual PWM channels for all your servos

But that isn't all the FrSky X8R Pro receiver can do. It can also work in the D8 Mode to work with transmitter modules such as the DHT, DJT, DFT and DHT-U. In this mode, you have 8 channels and at the same time, you can use the Smart Port.

Specification:

Dimension: 46.5mm x 27mm x 14.4mm

Weight: 16.8g

Operating Voltage Range: 4V-10.0V

Operating Current: 100mA@5V

Operating Range: >1.5km (Full Range)

RSSI output: analog voltage output (0~3.3V)

Firmware Upgradeable

Servo Frame Rate: 9ms (HS—High-Speed Mode)/18ms (FS—Normal Speed Mode)

All 16 channels require the FrSky Taranis or the XJT module.

For 8 channels in D8 Mode, you can use the FrSky Taranis or XJT, DJT, DFT, DHT and DHT-U modules.

Compatibility:

The FrSky X8R Pro receiver is a great receiver for planes, helis and large drones where you need the full-range capabilities of the FrSky system and breaks out 8 channels of PWM and Smart Port connector with low-latency mode as well.

FrSky transmitter X9E 2.4GHz ACCST Transmitter Full CNC Arm with X6R Receiver Carton and Eva Package.The most important aspect for any transmitter is maintaining a rock solid connection with the receiver. FrSky is well known for the frequency hopping ACCST technology taking advantage of the entire 2.4GHz band resulting in excellent range and reliability. FrSky knows many things can affect the connection between Transmitter and receiver so RSSI (receiver signal strength indication) is incorporated into all telemetry receivers. The Taranis transmitter is continually monitoring the reception quality at the aircraft. The Taranis will alert the pilot before signal quality becomes critical. This saves planes and makes the hobby much safer!

Description:

•      Brand Name: FrSky

•      Item Name: ACCST Taranis X9E Transmitter Full CNC Arm with X6R Receiver Carton and Eva Package

•      Number of Channels: Up to 16 channels

•      Operating Voltage Range: 6~15V (2S, 3S Lipos are acceptable)

•      Operating Current: 260mA maximum (both RF module and backlit are on)

•      Operating Temperature: -10~60℃

•      Backlight LCD Screen: 212*64

•      Model Memories: 60 (extendable by SD card)

•      Compatibility: FrSky X series, D series and V8-II series receivers (plus other receivers if an external module is used)

•      Taranis X9E-EU version is only compatible with X series receiver EU version and L series receivers

Features:

•      Quad Ball Bearing Gimbals

•      Receiver Match

•      Audio Speech Outputs (values, alarms, settings, etc.)

•      Antenna Status Detection and Adjustment

•      Real-time Flight Data Logging

•      Switch Numbers Extendable

•      Receiver Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) Alerts

•      Super Low Latency

•      Smart Port Supported

•      Vibration Alerts

•      Bluetooth

Package Included:

•      1 x X9E Transmitter

•      1 x X6R Receiver

Long-range drones are increasingly present on the market, being used in military operations and agriculture, and the range of said drones is connected to its signal frequency, for example, a 900 MHz drone can reach a distance between 7 and 10 km. In general, the higher the frequency, the farther the drone can go. When operated in large centers that have interference from other frequencies, such as radio, TV, and cell phone, this distance can have a considerable drop.

The combo with the FrSky 900MHz R9M 2019 transmitter module and FrSky R9 MX Long range receiver is the best on the market for building a 900 MHz drone. The quality of these products, pioneers in the industry, provides long-range and more efficient flights when compared to other modules and receivers.

Both the FrSky ACCESS R9M 2019 Long Range Module System and the FrSky R9 MX can be purchased at HorusRC’s online shop (horusrc.com) for just $29.99 and $19.99, respectively.

Transmitter Module

The FrSky 900MHz R9M 2019 consists of a module system with 4 RF power outputs, the R9M can also be used together with another receiver, which provides greater safety for the flight of your aircraft.

The different power output ports allow you to choose the ideal power for each flight situation. The RF power can be 10mW, 100mW, 500mW, and 1W, and at all levels, the use of telemetry is supported. An intelligent port is used for the transmission of telemetry data.

Long-range, low latency, and high precision are the characteristics of the FrSky 900MHz R9M 2019. R9M's power supply is 6.5 ~ 13V. Modulations can be PXX or CPPM, being detected automatically. The R9M is compatible with all R9 series receivers. The frequency varies between 868 ~ 900 MHz. The operating range reaches 10 Km, perfect for the 900 MHz drone used on long distances.

The Smart Port (S. Port) present in the 900MHz R9M is a digital transmission interface developed especially by FrSky. In all products that contain Smart Port, user data from the serial port and other user input and output devices can be connected without limitations for numbers or sequences at high transmission speed, which is very important for a 900 MHz RC drone.

Fail-Proof

The module works with 3 failsafe modes: No Pulse, Hold, and Custom. In the first mode, when a signal loss occurs, the receiver does not produce pulses on any channel. The Hold function consists of making the aircraft maintain its last position after the loss of signal (when the failsafe mode is activated). In custom mode, the aircraft will move to the predefined position after a signal loss.

Receiver

The FrSky R9 MX, another product of great relevance for the construction of a 900 MHz drone, consists of an enhanced version of the other receivers in the R9 MM series, making it compatible with more external devices, providing an inverted S.Port output and supporting the use with other receivers. In addition, it has solder points to connect 4 PWM channels.

The improved design proves to be more robust, compact, and durable and, together with synchronization with the latest ACCESS firmware, can be used to the true potential of ACCESS. The frequency varies between 868 ~ 915Mhz. Its dimension is 18 x 12 x 3.2mm and its weight is only 3.2g. The operating voltage is 3.5V ~ 10V and the operating current is 100mA at 5V. The R9 MX also supports OTA functions.

The MX differential for other FrSky receivers, in the SX and Stab line, is in the inverted S.Port output, signal redundancy, and super low latency. The range of control and telemetry can reach an impressive 10 km. The compatibility of the MX is confirmed with the receivers R9M Lite, R9M Lite Pro, and R9M 2019 with the firmware ACCESS. This receiver can be obtained together with the R9M module or individually at horusrc.com!

Final Considerations

Investment in these products is recommended. The combined use of the FrSky 900MHz R9M 2019 transmitter module with the FrSky R9 MX receiver will provide a safe, long-range flight and will bring an upgrade to your drone. The installation does not require any secrets and its use is very intuitive. These products stand out among others found on the market.

Don’t worry, we haven’t stopped the FrSky GPS Module and sensor series here, We will be covering them in detail in the upcoming articles. Stay Tuned! In this article, we are going to cover some of the basics about the FrSky GPS Module and sensors. GPS that stands for Global Positioning System has gained its popularity from day to day life applications as well as many industrial applications. Moreover, it has rooted many applications in the Military sector where it is widely used. The applications of GPS is highly useful in RC hobby because of the same reason why it has gained popularity in day to day life.         

GPS can be highly useful in RC Hobby ranging from RC Airplanes from Drones or even RC Boats. It can be used to locate the precise location of Crafts if they are equipped with a GPS Receiver. If we know the precise location of our rigs at a specific time, it can be used to calculate some other highly useful data as well.

Having the Precise location of our RC craft can be used to retrieve it on the scenarios of crashes or failures. It can be used for autonomous flights or RTH (Return to Home) functions with the help of a Flight controller. Using the coordinates of the location at a specific time interval can be used to calculate the speed at which it is moving. Because speed follows the simple equation, distance divided by time.

When we know the coordinates of the location of our RC plane or other crafts with respect to the time, it is easy to calculate the speed at which it is moving with the simple equation. How cool it will be to know the speed of our rigs to have more excitement? I would really like it. That is how GoPro cameras (not all the GoPro cameras) are able to show the speed data on the videos as the camera has built-in GPS to calculate the speed.

GPS gives x,y,z (and time as well) coordinates which means it just not give the latitude and longitude but also the Altitude. Hence we can know the altitude without having the need for a Barometer sensor. In Short, We can get the location, speed, and altitude with the help of GPS of our RC Crafts. Let's cover more about the Frsky GPS module and sensors rather than talking about GPS and its uses.

FrSky GPS Module

Before getting to know about FrSky GPS Module, we need to understand the difference between a module and sensor in order to have a better understanding of the next section. A module is a part of a circuit or hardware (or software) that can be connected like auxiliary devices. But on the other hand, the sensor is more like a “raw module” which cannot be used like how you can directly use a Module.

The sensor is more like “PNP (Plug & Play)” where the module is more like “RTF (Ready to Fly)”. A module usually has extra circuits in it which makes it easier to use than a sensor where the wiring will need to be figured out.

FrSky GPS Module (or GPS-01) is a very old one released by FrSky. It was released before 2010 and that’s like more than 10 Years technology. I highly doubt if it exists today to purchase. This was supposed to use with the first prototype of telemetry released by FrSky. Smart port might be the first word to come to the mind when thinking about Frsky Telemetry.

But that wasn’t the case before 10 Years. There was no Smart Port telemetry and it required complex wiring to get Telemetry back in those days.  For Example, You will need a sensor hub in order to serve as an information collecting and processing center, monitor the model status, and feedback all data back to the receiver.

FrSky GPS Module 01 is a small module and its output gives longitude, latitude and speed. The wiring is pretty simple as there is only three wires coming out of it. They are Ground, 5v, and Signal (RX) to be connected to the respective pins on the FrSky receiver that have telemetry. If you want to use other sensors like voltage, accelerometer, or even a temperature sensor, then you will need the sensor hub as they won't work in series.

FrSky GPS Sensor V2

This is a more developed and advanced version of the FrSky GPS sensor that runs on Smart Port Telemetry. The wiring is pretty simple. You can connect it directly to the smart port of the receiver. Moreover, you don’t need a sensor hub to connect more sensors. Instead, You can connect the sensor in series without having a sensor hub.

This is supposed to be an introduction to the FrSky GPS Module and sensors. Hence we will cover this topic in detail in another article including how to use it. 

We have briefly covered the Frsky GPS Module and sensors. The GPS Module (GSP 01) is a very outdated product and the chances are rare you might find it on sale somewhere. Above all, this stand-alone GPS are outdated, and more advanced functions can be performed with the help of a Flight Controller.

FrSky GPS sensor V2 is a little bit advanced and easy to set up, but we cannot set any RTH functions with it. Hence it is more suited to go for a Flight Controller plus GPS Combo which might be cheaper than the GPS Module and can be used for autonomous flights as well.

The FrSky X9D was undoubtedly the most popular FrSky radio for years. Even with competition from other veterans brands such as Futaba, Spektrum, etc., FrSky managed to get a large following with their line of Taranis products and in the forefront is the FrSky X9D.

Naturally, after years of success, Frsky released an upgraded version of the ever-popular X9D with the X9D Plus variant and have subsequently phased out the original X9D transmitter from its product line.

FrSky X9D Plus Initial Impressions The unboxing experience is pretty good. The X9D Plus comes in a carry case that is included with all purchase of the transmitter.

The transmitter comes with the following accessories:

Taranis X9D Plus (SE version) Charger Lanyard (Neck strap) Battery (pre-installed) Carry Case 1GB SD Card (pre-installed) That is plenty of stuff to get you started and my favourite is the carry case as it is quite tiresome and dangerous to carry your transmitter without any protection and this hard carry case will protect it quite easily.

The Build Quality The X9D Plus has the same build quality as its predecessor. The same switches, sliders, gimbals.

The gimbals are traditional potentiometer based gimbals which are kinda a bummer because you lack the precision and the longevity of a hall-effect based gimbal system. You can however always purchase the upgrade M9 hall-effect gimbal for about 25$.

Coming to the switches, they are of decent quality and the switches are nice tactile ones with good ‘clickiness’.

Features The X9D Plus comes with a host of features including the new haptic feedback vibration motor which gives you haptic feedback during turn on and off and when you have set something up in the settings. Quite useful when you are flying in a crowded area and can’t hear the audible feedback.

Another noticeable update is that the display now comes with a dual colour screen. You can choose between a white or a blue colour backlight for your display, thus giving you some degree of customization and let us face it, it is cool ;)

Haptic Vibration Feedback System Dual Backlight Colours (Blue & White) OpenTX Firmware RSSI alarms (warns you of reception problems before it becomes an accident) 16 channels with internal XJT module with ACCST firmware 64 mixers, 9 flight modes 16 custom curves with 3-17 points each, 32 logic switches 60 Model memory which is expandable with the SD card (comes with 1GB SD card) Audio Speech outputs USB and SD card slot for unlimited memory, and firmware upgrades, sound editing. Potentiometer gimbal Super-low latency for an ultra-quick response (9ms) Big Display Real-time data logging Traditional JR Style module bay for external RF modules Powerful processor The back of the X9D Plus stays the same as the previous X9D. It has the JR bay for external RF modules such as the R9M or the Team Black Sheep CrossFire module.

Below the JR bay, you find the mini USB connector for firmware upgrades as well as simulator use. On either side of the USB port, you find the trainer port or ‘buddy box port’ which is used to link two transmitters together in a master-slave configuration to teach others how to fly. The other is the 3.5mm audio jack in case you want to connect a headphone or earphones to listen to the auditory feedback from the radio.

Ergonomics The ergonomics of the radio is kind of too big for me personally and I am not a huge fan. But a lot of people prefer this as it gives a good grip and is good for pinching and thumbing, unlike the QX7 which is more suitable for thumbing than pinching.

The switches are accessible but can be too crowded. Your fingers might hit the wrong switch and this isn’t a good thing while you are flying.

He RunCam Eagle is a high-performance FPV camera that makes your custom FPV drone to be easy to assemble and is made of resistant materials. The camera features a 1/1.8" 16: 9 CMOS image sensor for 800TVL resolution and has excellent latency. The model includes a variety of mounting options, making it very versatile, perfect to be used in many kinds of custom-made FPV drones  

With a compact size and reduced weight, more precisely only 16 grams, the camera easily fits in different layouts and at a wide range of angles. It also presents low energy consumption, thus guaranteeing the long-lasting experience to take photos and film videos that you want, making it one of the best cameras for drone-assisted media production.

You can find the Runcam Eagle 800TVL DC 5-17V FOV 130° 16:9 CMOS Image Sensor FPV Camera PAL NTSC Switchable for just $49.99 at HorusRC online shop, horusrc.com.

Product specifications The RunCam Eagle has a wide operating voltage of 5 to 17 Volts that allows you to use different batteries to power the system. Together with its ability to support videos in NTSC and PAL formats, which makes life easier for its users, making this camera a great option and choice to use with your fpv drone.

Speaking of its resolution, RunCam Eagle has a Global Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) which allows better lighting transitions than most traditional CMOS sensors. The WDR (wide dynamic range) makes it possible to capture images in low and high light environments in the same image, without affecting image quality.

This superior technology makes a big difference when you are flying with your drone and it suddenly enters an unlit area, since generally most cameras will lose quality in the images. However, the Eagle is no ordinary camera: even with sudden transitions between lighter and darker places, it will still get incredible photos and videos that will be sure to impress every pilot that gets to use it.

Sensors and why are they a differential? Another interesting feature is the 1/1.8" 16:9 CMOS Image Sensor that guarantees higher image quality. You may wonder what these numbers mean and if there is a lot of difference in image resolution. The answer is yes! Those numbers give the type and the physical size of the sensor: the smaller its size, the worse its image resolution is expected to be.

The RunCam camera features a type 1/1.8” CMOS sensor. For cameras of this size, the eagle is only 26mm x 26mm x 31mm, you can't get much better than that. In addition, the RunCam Eagle has Horizontal Resolution of 800TVL equipped with an NTSC system that provides the best performance for any fpv camera you want.

Product material and components This camera is made of high-resistance materials. The aluminum bracket mount that comes included when you buy the camera is a standard one, so there is the option of using the RunCam Eagle with other mounts you might already have. The bracket is easy to attach to most multirotor frames, and can be easily adjusted to the angle you want. It can also serve as a support for other compatible cameras.

Furthermore,it uses the standard OSD dongle cable in order to be able to change settings in a faster way. That makes it easy and practical, offering  customers a wide spectrum of options for using the camera. The images it produces are great, very detailed and possesses a wide dynamic range of colors, with the appropriate saturation

One of the most impressive features of this camera is that its transmitter comes with wires coated with silicone instead of plastic (which retract with the heat of the soldering iron and may crack). Also, the system signal can be automatically changed through the OSD to be used with NTSC and PAL equipment while you fly with your drone, for greater convenience and less headache.

1. The top of the head is sticked with net cap,perfect fit for any size wig cap,avoid slipping.

2. Pure handmade real makeup, have eyelashes, makeup looks more exquisite and realistic.

3. Imitate human clavicle, better display necklace and other neck accessories.

4. The bottom is sticked with yellow Anti friction fabric，in order to reduce wear in use

5. With the intallation of holder inlet, the mannequin head can be put onto a holder after tearing apart the anti-slip cloth from the bottom.

1. The Skin Of The Mannequin Head Can Be Inserted Into The Needle. Can Fix Heavy Wigs To Display.

2.This Professional Manikin Wig Head Is Designed For Displaying Wigs,Sunglasses , Hats , Jewellery.

3. Manikin Head Height :18” Head Circumstance Is About 22”(Please Allow 0.2” Size Tolerance.)

4. This Manikin Head Have The Hole In The Ear, And You Can Wear All Kinds Of Earrings.

Scarves.

1. J&F professional Mannequin Head is made of PVC and designed according to human's head shape.

2. The top of the head is sticked with net cap,perfect fit for any size wig cap,avoid slipping.

3. Pure handmade real makeup, have eyelashes, makeup looks more exquisite and realistic.

4.Imitate human clavicle, better display necklace and other neck accessories.

5.The bottom is sticked with yellow Anti friction fabric，in order to reduce wear in use

6.With the intallation of holder inlet, the mannequin head can be put onto a holder after tearing apart the anti-slip cloth from the bottom.

In this article, we are going to dig out the pros and cons of various Frsky Receivers to find out the Best Frsky receiver for your Race Rigs! A receiver is an important and basic component in racing drones as without it the signal sent from Radio or Transmitter cannot be processed by the Flight Controller. But the question arises when choosing a Receiver for your Taranis or Horus Radio as there are plenty of receivers to choose from.

 Frsky XM+

Frsky XM+ is a Small Size Reciever that Frsky Mainly developed for Mini or Micro Racing quads where the space to allocate the components is challenging. Frsky calls it Ultra Mini Reciever as it only weighs 1.6g and Moreover, it is a  Full Range receiver which means it will be identical to the X4R, XSR … Receivers. The receivers feature Dual Antenna which means you have diversity with it. It has an IPEX V4 Antenna which makes it easier to change the antenna in case if it breaks and you don’t need to do any soldering to replace it.

The major Disadvantage of this FrSky receiver is that it lacks Smart Port which makes it incapable of telemetry. Telemetry is a dual way communication between your Radio and receiver, as you can receive data such as Flight Time, Battery Voltage, Battery Consumption, RSSI, etc From your Flight Controller to the Radio through the Reciever. Even though you can receive the RSSI output from the 16th Channel of the Reciever.

The receiver is very compact and simple in its design with only three-pin outputs, power, Signal, and Ground which makes it very simple to connect to the Flight Controller. There are no complications in the Connections and It is very easy to configure.  Only SBUS Output mode is available in the Reciever with the D16 Mode of the Frsky Radio. A wide range of Input voltage (3.7-10v) is accepted by the receiver But it is recommended to Connect a 5V output from your Flight Controller to it as you don’t need to find any other Battery Eliminator Circuits.

You can use this receiver in a 5inch build as well as in a 2-inch Build because of its small size factor. It will suit any build where housing space is challenging.  This may be the best Frsky receiver for Micro and Whoop Builds where you fly it in Closed Environment because it doesn’t support telemetry.

Frsky XM

Frsky XM can be called as the younger brother of Frsky XM+ receivers. It follows a similar design but consuming very little Circuit Board to accommodate the components. It only weighs 1g and it is the lightweight receiver Frsky has ever released. It follows similar features of XM+ Receivers like RSSI output on 16th Channel on it But not a Full range Reciever. Also, it doesn’t have a diversity antenna that you may have to consider flying it in very closed environments.      

The receiver is very tiny that you can place it at your fingertip. It also has only 3 Pins which are Power, Ground, and Signal. It accepts voltage ranging from 3.5-10v where it is recommended to Supply stable 5v to prevent Failsafes. It also follows Sbus output with 16 Channels output and compatible with FRSKY D16 Mode. Frsky XM is best suited for Whoops due to its compact design and doesn’t support telemetry. Hence it may be the best Frsky Receiver for Whoops.

Frsky XSR

Frsky XSR is a Full Range, Telemetry Supported (SmartPort) Reciever with PPM and Sbus Outputs. Smart Port telemetry is a big advantage in this receiver so that you can have full telemetry from your Flight Controller. It weighs 3.8g and has a footprint dimension of 26x19.2x5mm. This receiver is not tiny as XM+ or XM and it is not suited for Micro Builds. As long as you have enough space in your Frame to accommodate this receiver, you are good to go. Although you may find a bit challenging to use this receiver in the Frame.

 It supports a wide range of Voltage between 4-10v but it is always recommended to Supply stable 5v from your Flight Controller. The antennas are directly soldered to the receiver and there is no IPEX/IPEX 4 Connector to replace the antenna without soldering it. Perhaps this may be the best Frsky Receiver  suited for Mini to Medium-sized quads where you have plenty of Housing Space in the Frame

 Frsky R-XSR

Frsky R-XSR is a simplified model of XSR Receiver with its features as well it follows the compact design of the XM Reciever series. It is a full range receiver with switchable 16 channel Sbus output and 8 Channel CPPM Output with smart Port Telemetry. Moreover, it is only 1.5g. It is a Full Range receiver with Smart Port Telemetry Supported. It has the IPEX 4 Antenna Connectors, so replacing the antenna won't be a hassle.

The wiring is the same as of XSR with 5 Pinouts, They are Power, Ground, Signal, CPPM, and Sbus. You may find all the features of XSR Reciever in it and the compact design of XM+ Reciever. It can be called as a combination of these two receivers. The RXSR is very tiny and can be placed in the fingertip. So it can be used in Whoops, Micro, and Mini Drone Categories. Therefore, R-XSR seems to be the Best Frsky Receiver for 5inch Miniquads as well as Micro Quads.

Conclusion

 In this brief article, we will look at the FrSky Taranis QX7 Review. We shall see what its pros & cons are, its specifications and features, and finally decide to see if it is indeed a great value purchase in 2020.

Impressions

At first glance, the QX7 is unlike any other radio in the market. With a bold edgy look and a broader profile, this radio definitely sets itself apart from the crowd. This has new design feels more firm in the hand (partially due to the rubbery grip for resting your fingers on the back of the radio) and is more suited for ‘thumb-ers’ than ‘pinch-ers’

The switches on the radio are positioned in an okay manner. The two switches at the back might interfere with your hand position while you are holding the radio. Quality isn’t too bad either. It gets the job done fairly well.

The scroll wheel is a much better execution than the switches in X9D and other radios. The display is also sufficiently large enough to read well

Coming to the Gimbals, they are of decent quality. They have the standard throw rate and is good for all types of users but mainly suited for thumbers because of the edgy ergonomics of the radio;  for pinchers, it might be hard to reach the corners of the sticks.

The Back

The back of the radio has a battery compartment (with a tray that holds 6x AA batteries that aren’t shown in the above picture) along with the JR module bay that holds your external modules such as the FrSky R9M radio or 4in1 Multiprotocol module or even the TBS CrossFire (which needs some modifications to the radio to make it work correctly)

 The Bottom

The bottom of the radio has the SD card slot, Mini USB for connecting to your PC and SmartPort connector to update your receivers and such.

 The Insides

The insides of the radio are also neatly built. The connecting wires are all silicon wires (except the daughterboard connector). All the wiring is neatly tucked with holders in place. Soldering jobs on the switches are covered with individual heat shrink that protects it from short circuits.

 You can also see the tiny vibration motor on the bottom right part.

 At the top, you can see the RF board with ACCST firmware capability and two 3.5mm jacks - one for connecting to an external speaker or earphone and the other for trainer port or ‘buddy-boxing’. One unfortunate pointer is that on some models, the 2.4G antenna is directly soldered onto the RF board. This is usually not an issue for most people, but in case you need to change out the antenna, you will need to solder it directly onto the board.

The good thing about the internal RF module is that it is the same XJT compatible module that is found in the X9D radio, therefore you would get the same range as the X9D.

Specifications

16CH output up to 32CH

Operating Voltage Range: 6~15V (2S, 3S Lipos are acceptable)

Operating Current: 210mA maximum (both RF module and backlit are on)

Operating Temperature: -10~60℃

Backlight LCD Screen: 128×64 outdoor readable LCD

Model Memories: 60 (extendable by SD card)

Compatibility: FrSky X series, (D series and V8-II series receivers if running D8 mode plus other receivers if an external module is used)

Mode 2 by default

Features

Quad Ball Bearing Gimbals

Receiver Match

Audio Speech Outputs (values, alarms, settings, etc.)

Real-time Flight Data Logging

Receiver Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) Alerts

Super Low Latency

Vibration Alerts

Model files are compatible with TARANIS X9D/X9D Plus/X9E.

Open source firmware OpenTX installed.

Pros & Cons

Pros

A cheaper alternative to Taranis X9D

Internal XJT module is same as X9D which gives you the same range as well

Can be switched between Mode 2 and Mode 1 easily

Lighter and smaller as compared to most other radios

Good build quality

Bold and edgy new design

The antenna can be replaced in some models

An improved speaker compared to the X9D

Much more user-friendly menu navigation buttons and scrolling wheel

Rubber grip

Comes with cheaper quad bearing gimbals instead of hall-effect gimbals

The LCD screen is of low resolutions and smaller. Only one backlight colour that cannot be changed

The battery cover is a bit flimsy and difficult to remove, especially when you have 18650 cells inserted

The Mini USB is outdated and the location (bottom mounted) is not that great

No battery charging facility

Cons