Its been a while since our last news about AKK Technology latest products. But are happy to mention that this company R|C products lineup is growing and gathering the attention of many pilots around the world. By collaborating with Aliexpress and creating their own site with a webshop AKK Tech made the purchase process much easier for Asia, Eurpore and CIS region which would also positively  affect their presence on the different markets.

Let us remind you about AKK products that we�ve already tested:

• A1 3in1 mini FPV Cam+VTX set
• CA20 FPV camera 
• X1P | X1 FPV VTX
• TS5828 FPV VTX
• LR2 5.8GHz cloverleaf antenna set
• ML2 5.8GHz cloverleaf antenna set 

Our short summary: we were impressed with A1, CA20, X1P and LR2 product perfromance. They look similar to other brands but the price to performance ratio was unbeatable in case if you�d buy it from AKK. We are still using these until now in our FPV quads, for about 3 months and have no quality issues.

Today, we have something new:

1. AKK A5 — 3-in-1 mini FPV cam+VTX (25mW, 40CH)
2. AKK K31 (K33) 5.8GHz 40CH 600mW VTX

Let�s start with AKK A5:

AKK A5 tech specs:

• Output power: 25mW
• Input power: 3.2–5V
• Current consumption: 3.2V-5V, 200mA
• Camera resolution: 600TVL
• Video system: NTSC
• Minimum illumination: 1 lux
• Field of view: 120° viewing angle
• Antenna dimensions: 22mm
• Antenna: dipole
• Frequency: 5.8GHz 5 bands 40 channels (with raceband)
• Size: 18.7*13mm(L*W)
• Weight: 4.5g

Features:

• Compatible with 5.8GHz googles and monitor.
• 40 channel with raceband
• Good quality image with zero latency
• Button control instead of switches to change channels

Package includes:

• 1x A1 AIO FPV Camera and VTX
• 1x Power Cable with 1 extra adapter
• 1x Manual

This mini FPV set looks pretty similar to AKK A1 mini FPV set from our previous reviews. The obly major difference is that A5 comes as separate FPV cam and VTX connected with wires instead of one soldered piece in case of A1.

Such module separation would have its pros and cons:

Pros:

• Easier to fit into different frames because we can move camera and VTX around
• Easier to fit into different frames regarding non-removable VTX antenna
• Easier to fix either module by replacing it (instead of replacing everything)

Cons:

• A bit more weight of two elements + wires
• A bit less neat setup because of wires
• A bit more space on frame to consume

That is how we see it… As an example — we can take our KingKong GT90 (90mm FPV brushless copter) and try to fit AKK A5 or A1 FPV sets. In case of A5 — we do not see any problems — it has the same camera size and VTX that would easily fit on top of the upper frame plate. But such setup would be a bit heavier if compared to the same setup using AKK A1. On the other hand, AKK A1 would not fit perfectly. We would have to mod KK 90GT front part of the frame to fit it inside. But we would end up with less weight, less wires and front VTX antenna placement… Both setups would work fine, just with a slightly different approaches.

Viewing angle of A5 FPV camera seems to be close to declared 120 degrees FOV. The lens is hot glued at place to secure from unexpected turns and defocus. If it would suffer a hard crash we would still be able to replace the lens. Camera board size is regular: 14x14mm.

Camera has 3 pins JST connector with Video, +5V, GND wires which connects directly to the VTX board. VTX equipped with a single multifuntional button that changes CH (short press) and BANDS (long press) and blue|red LEDs that blink to infrom us about the selected CH (blue) and BAND (red).

There is a yellow wire loop on the camera to VTX connector. If you want OSD in your setup — just cut the loop and solder inner cable to VIN and outer to VOUT pads on OSD.

Full frequency table:

VTX antenna type is dipole.

A5 performance:

I can only compare A5 to A1 and KK 90GT stock camera. All three devices have the same 5.8GHz 25mW power output and the same dipole type antennas. A1 is a combined set of camera + VTX and KK90GT stock / A5 has separate camera and VTX boards.

I had a good head-to-head comparison video of A1 V/S KK 90GT stock FPV set performance which I�ve used now and added A5 performance to compare. Unfortunately, I�ve changed the travel path and had to reverse video footage for A5 to synchronize video from all three devices. But you would get a clue anyway, especially for the worst part — when I am walking behind my house.

I would say that A1 and A5 sets perform more or less similar to each other and definitely better than KK 90GT stock camera and VTX which completely lost signal behind my house.

So, either you choose A1 or A5 micro FPV set for your next build — both would do a good job for any micro quad!

You can buy AKK A5 on AliExpress, AKK website or on Amazon

Let�s switch to AKK K31 (K33) 5.8GHz 600mW VTX:

Tech specs:

• Output Power: 26-28dBm
• Operating Voltage: 7-20 V
• Output Voltage(VOUT): 5 V
• Supply Current: 280 mA
• Operating Temperature : -10 +85 ℃
• Video Band Width: 0-8.0 MHz
• Audio carrier Frequency: 6.5 MHz
• Video Input Level: 0.8,1.0,1.2 Vp-p
• Video Input Impedance: 75 Ohm
• Audio Input Level: 0.5 ,2.0 Vp-p
• Audio Input Impedance: 10K Ohm

Package includes:

• 1X5.8G FPV transmitter
• 1X5.8G antenna
• 1XConnector and cable set
• 1X Product manual

Features:

• Super mini, lightweight and durable
• It supports full range of 40 channels including raceband
• 40 channels, cover A, b, E ,F, r bands
• Easy to use 2 buttons and 2 LED display to change channels and frequencies.

Note: K33 variant has vertically aligned antenna connector

First of all what comes in mind when you buy this product is its size: 31x25x9mm which is kind of big in comparison to what we�ve got used to for 210-class frames setup. I would assume that such VTX should be rather used with 250 and up class frames. The best VTX option for 210 and smaller frames would be AKK X1 or X1P instead of «K» lineup. But those are perfect for 250, 330, 450 and larger copters, planes and other R|C models.

AKK K31 VTX equipped with 2 LED indicators and 2 buttons which which makes it fast and easy to choose the necessary channel and band. Full frequency table:

Now, lets see how it performs against AKK X1 at 200 and 600mW and AKK TS5828:

Video shows that AKK K31 performs very similar to AKK X1 (X1P). One of the best VTX I�ve tried so far. Such testing environment is kind of tricky — the more power VTX would output — the more interference and noise we would get. AKK X1 has the ability to switch power output (25-200-600mW) which makes it perfect for racing and to compensate such strong signal back reflection of the testing location. That is why it performs better at 200mW in comparison to 600mW. Surprisingly, AKK K31 which has 600mW fixed power is almost on par… and much better than AKK TS5828 VTX that also has 600mW fixed power and suffers much from back signal interference.

So, I would say that if you want 600mW VTX for your 250 class and larger FPV copters or other models — AKK K31 (K33) is a very decent performer and very easy to operate. But if you want something good for your 210 frame — it is better to stick to AKK X1 (X1P) VTX.

You can buy AKK K31 VTX on AliExpress, AKK own shop and on Amazon

FrSKY continues to develop and give out new interesting products pleasing every single R|C hobby fan. This time, it is a new family of capable flight controllers for FPV racers based on recently introduced F4 boards + one additional F3-based board. To be honest, we always preferred FrSKY FCs over any others because they all have intergated FrSKY receivers (XSR is the most common) which saves final model flight weight, reduces the amount of cables and makes assembling process much easier. But not only that…

Today we would like to present 3 very new FrSKY FCs:

1. FrSKY XSRF4O — F4-based FC with integrated FrSKY XSR, BF OSD and SDcard cslot for blackbox
2. FrSKY XSRF4PO — F4-based FC with integrated FrSKY XSR, BF OSD, SDcard cslot for blackbox and PDB (with current and voltage sensors)
3. FrSKY XSRF3PO — F3-based FC with integrated FrSKY XSR, BF OSD, SDcard cslot for blackbox and PDB (with current and voltage sensors)

First of all — as it is seen from the model names «XSR» stands for FrSKY XSR receiver (S.PORT full telemetry), «O» stands for BF OSD and «P» stands for PDB. Where else would you find so capable all-in-one boards with all those features intergrated on the factory? And having such FC as XSRF4PO or F3PO  means that you would only end up with a single board in your model which would communicate with ESCs, VTX and camera. That�s it. Isn�t it an excellent idea? Having a single board inside the frame… No more huge amount of cables, no need to spend countless hours on soldering everything together… !

Buy XSRF3PO HERE

Buy XSRF4O HERE

Buy XSRF4PO HERE

Let�s start with more conservative XSRF4O:

Specifications:

• Based on F4 STM32F405 CPU
• Built-in 6-axis sensor MPU6000 (SPI) (Accelerometer/Gyro)
• Built-in BARO BMP280
• Integrated XSR receiver (SBUS, S.PORT), Full telemetry
• 1~16 channels SBUS output
• 1~6 channels PWM outputs
• Integrated BF OSD
• VTX and camera pads
• Buzzer control pads
• LED control pads
• Integrated voltage sensor
• Current sensor pad
• Dedicated V IN|GND pads
• Boot button
• Receiver BIND button
• Aditional S.PORT pads for XSR FW update and S.PORT sensors connection
• Built-in SDcard slot for BB
• Dimension: 36x36x6mm (LxWxH), with 30.5mm mounting holes
• Weight: 7,7g
• Operating voltage: 4-10V (5V is recommended)

This board is very common in terms of its shape and cababilities + has the intergated XSR recever . Requires power distribution board with 4-10V power supply to run. The layout looks like this:

Now, let�s jump to «PO» boards which are physically not so common: XSRF4PO

Specifications:

• Based on F4 STM32F405 CPU
• Built-in 6-axis sensor MPU6000 (SPI) (Accelerometer/Gyro)
• Built-in BARO BMP280
• Integrated XSR receiver (SBUS, S.PORT), Full telemetry
• 1~16 channels SBUS output
• 1~6 channels PWM outputs
• Integrated BF OSD
• VTX and camera pads
• Buzzer control pads
• LED control pads
• Integrated PDB (up to 6S)
• Integrated voltage sensor
• Integrated current sensor
• Boot button
• Receiver BIND button
• Aditional S.PORT pads for XSR FW update and S.PORT sensors connection
• Built-in SDcard slot for BB
• Weight: 14g
• Dimension: 60x36x6mm (LxWxH), with 30.5mm mounting holes

Exactly the same board to XSRF4O in terms of all capabilities but additionally intergrates power distribution board with dedicated ESC connections (SIG, BAT PWR, GND) and current sensor. Moreover, PDB is capable of 6S LiPO max input voltage. Layout looks like this:

This layout tells us that there is no 12V output. There is 5V output for camera or other devices, but you should use the appropriate VTX that would be able to accept raw flight battery voltage depending on the battery you�d use… Or you can add step-down voltage regulator.

And the last one is XSRF3PO:

Specifications:

• STM32F303 CPU – F3 Processor
• MPU6050 Gyro with I2C BUS
• Integrated Betaflight OSD
• Intergrated FrSKY XSR receiver (S.PORT. SBUS), Full telemetry
• Built in MicroSD card slot for BlackBox
• 1-8 PWM outputs (1-4 outputs are situated in the corners of the board)
• LED strip pads
• Buzzer pads
• OSD pads (camera + VTX)
• Integrated PDB (up to 6S)
• Integrated voltage sensor
• Integrated current sensor
• FC boot button
• XSR bind button
• Aditional S.PORT pads for XSR FW update and S.PORT sensors connection
• Weight: 14g
• Dimensions: 60x36x6mm (30.5mm mounting holes)

Very similar to XSRF4PO in terms of shape and PDB integration but really is a similar product to XSRF3O which we have reviewed last week. Its layout:

This layout tells us that there is no 12V output. There is 5V output for camera or other devices, but you should use the appropriate VTX that would be able to accept raw flight battery voltage depending on the battery you�d use… Or you can add step-down voltage regulator.

So, to summarize all FrSKY current FCs available:

• XSRF3E — F3Evo-based, when you want 8/8KHz gyro and PID loop rate + XSR receiver + telemetry
• XMPF3E — F3Evo-based, when you want 8/8KHz gyro and PID loop rate + XMP receiver + SDcard for blackbox and external OSD
• XSRF3O — F3-based, when you want 4/4KHz gyro and PID loop rate + XSR receiver + telemetry + BetaFlight OSD + SDcard for blackbox
• XSRF3PO — F3-based, when you want 4/4KHz gyro and PID loop rate + XSR receiver + telemetry + BetaFlight OSD + SDcard for blackbox + PDB + current sensor
• XSRF4O — F4-based, when you want up to 32/8KHz gyro and PID loop rate + XSR receiver + telemetry + BetaFlight OSD + SDcard for blackbox
• XSRF4PO — F4-based, when you want up to 32/8KHz gyro and PID loop rate + XSR receiver + telemetry + BetaFlight OSD + SDcard for blackbox + PDB + current sensor�

Seems that we have a good product line here that can satisfy almost any pilot with FrSKY radio…

There is one more FC from FrSKY which is called XMF3E. It is almost like XMPF3E but made to fit some smaller frames with board dimensions of 29x29mm. Main difference s are also: XM receiver with limited range of 300m and 4.2V power supply. This board would not be discussed further because it is not very suitable for the most popular 180-250 FPV copter frames.  

Small note about F3 V/S F4-based flight controllers:

F4-based FCs mean that such FC would have faster processor (72 V/S 160MHz), more flash memory (256KB V/S 1MB), and sometimes more UART ports. What it means in real life is that F4 FC is capable of 32KHz looptime, while 8KHz is selected — leaves more room for processor to run all other features, capable of running recently introduced but resource-heavy «dynamic filter», can handle OSD by main processor instead of usind additional OSD unit.  The only drawback compared to F3 is that F4 doesn�t have integrated inverter and using SBUS and S.PORT features might be tricky (all FrSKY FCs based on F4 do not have this issue.)

So, F4 boards would only be required if you have ESCs that are capable of running much faster types of communication than OneShot 125 or 42. Only if you have DShot600 and more capable ECSs — it is reasonable to jump to F4 instead of F3 or F3Evo. Or, if you require more than 3 UARTs or want so many features enabled at a time that your F3Evo|F3 processor shows more than 30% load figures on a bench.

In the box:

All of the controllers come in a small boxes with English user manual and a set of soldering pins for all available pads. But in case of FCs with integrated PDB (XSRF4PO and XSRF3PO) we would also find XT60 connector and soft mounting spacers made of rubber. The package is nothing to worry about during the transportation. English user manual is ok and it really helps to understand board layouts and initial BetaFlight setup.

Formfactor: 

As we�ve already said — XSRF4O is a regular box-shaped board with 30,5×30,5mm mounting holes (36×36 board size) that would fit any kind of FPV quad racing frame but requires any PDB with 4-10V power supply. ESC PWM singnals are located at the corners of the board for easy reach. USB connection is directed to the side of the board and ESCs numbers are located so that it would correspond to BF setup in case if the board located properly without applying yaw compensation.

In contrary, XSRF4PO and F3PO are unique and despite having the same mounting hole dimensions (30,5×30,5mm) — they both have rectangular shape with 60mm in length (width is regular 36mm). LiPO battery connections are at the back and ESC connections are at corners, corresponding to BF ESC setup. USB port is on the side.

This means that NOT every frame is capable of accepting such FCs. For example, I have KDS Kylin 210 square-shaped frame which would not let FrSKY «PO» fit directly. My FPV camera mount and VTX back vertical mount stand closer to each other than 60mm needed for this FCs and frame aluminum standoffs also prevent using these. If I had some longer frame (1-2cm) I wouldn�t have an issue.

So, either to change the frame or try to fit «PO» FCs transversely. In this case, either board would protrude from both sides of a frame to about 1cm…

Not very aesthetical and safe. Moreover, turning FC around 90 degrees would mean that ESC connections at the corners of the board won�t correspond to ESCs on the arms, forcing me to remap the resources in CLI section of BetaFlight setup. Everything is possible and acceptable but the best solution would still be changing the frame to something more suitable.

On the other hand, thinking of the advantages of such all-in-one board setup — I would finally go with the new more suitable frames… I am just amazed with how easy and neat such setup should be to assemble, with much less of cable connections and soldering required. The weight should also be slightly reduced due to no wires between PDB and FC + due to PDB FC integration.

Initial Betaflight Configuration and FW:

In contrary to previous FrSKY controllers XSRF3E and XMPF3E which should be identified as SpRacing F3Evo during FW upgrade using BetaFlight GUI, all newer boards would have the following names:

• XSRF3O & XSRF3PO — FRSKY F3 in BetaFlight FW upgrade list
• XSRF4O & XSRF4PO — FRSKY F4 in BetaFlight FW upgrade list

All these boards have the current FW version 3.2.0 RC2 with all features working properly and supporting the newest BF tabs and settings. All boards feature dedicated BOOT button for easy DFU mode access when FW flash in necessary.

FrSKY boards require some defaults in order for the intergrated XSR work correctly and that are initially set on the factory, supplied in the FW files and mentioned in manuals. Those are:

XSRF3O & XSRF3PO

• UART2 should be Serial RX
• UART3 should be SmartPort
• Receiver Mode should be RX_Serial
• Serial Receiver Provider should be SBUS
• RSSI_ADC Analog RSSI input should be disabled
• RSSI CH should be CH8

XSRF4O & XSRF4PO

• UART1 should be Serial RX
• UART6 should be SmartPort
• Receiver Mode should be RX_Serial
• Serial Receiver Provider should be SBUS
• RSSI_ADC Analog RSSI input should be disabled
• RSSI CH should be CH8

All boards would incorporate BF OSD setup, Battery Voltage&Current, LED strip and BlackBox with SDcard tabs in addition to all other BetaFlight setup tabs and features. All those tabs should be setup as it is usually done on all other boards or additional boards with the same features. Nothing strange or unexpected in settings.

Note: intergrated XSR receiver in all FCs has physical S.PORT pads. Those pads can be used to flash XSR with the newest FW versions, change FW region (from FCC to EU LBT and vise-versa) and even to connect other S.PORT telemetry sensors in chain. But remember that you cannot flash integrated XSR with the FW from the stand-alone XSR receiver. You should locate dedicated FW for integrated XSR on FrSKY website.   

Tests, flights and recommendations:

We have already tested XSRF3O board some time ago (in our previous review). It flies good, easy to tune, all features work as expected. It replaced our previous SpRacing F3 board because XSRF3O intergates receiver, OSD and SDCard slot making our FPV copter easier to assemble, more advanced in terms of amount of features and less heavy (only 288g for 210-class frame). Integrated XSR seems to be working exactly the same as any other stand-alone XSR receiver. The range is the same…

Consequently, the newer XSRF3PO would act very similar if not identical… This board shares the same features and specifications… The only difference is that «PO» would also act as PDB making the whole setup even more convenient. We have checked all the features on the bench — everything working fine, but we cannot really make any flight checks now because we are in a process of making / ordering some suitable frames that would accept such rectangular design. But we have already tested the amount of noise or interference from PDB to camera + VTX on the bench with motors and ESCs running — PDB quality seems to be very good as there is no visible picture problems or interference lines. It might happen so that we wouldn�t even need the additional capacitors to filter out the noise.

Other 2 boards that are based on F4 are also yet to be tested thoroughly. I have already tuned and flown XSRF4O which was set to 8/8KHz looptime for my HobbyWing XRotor DShot600 ESCs and XRotor 2205/2300kv motors. I haven�t noticed much of a difference with XSRF3Evo board which had 8/4KHz looptime configuration on the same setup. A bit more precise and a bit more predictable. But I would continue to tune PID and other settings to polish the flight capabilities of the board trying to find the obvious advanyages of F4 boards over F3Evo.

As to XSF4PO would also wait for the newer frames to arrive. All bench tests and settings show consistent and expected behavior. All features work as described. But we would still conduct some flight tests on order to share it with our readers. As already mentioned for F3PO — PDB quality is good and picture quality from FPV camera and VTX shows no signs of distructive noise.

We would add flight test videos to this review soon.

Note: all FrSKY flight controllers with XSR receivers have detachable XSR antennas. So, antenna swap is not a problem. 

Conclusion:  

I have 4 FPV racing quads that I use regularly. All of them are based on FrSKY XSRF3E (F3Evo), XSRF3O and SpRacing F3 FCs. I would definitely get rid of SpRacing F3 boards just because they don�t have the necessary features and require additional stuff, wiring and soldering… I would definitely change it to FrSKY FCs with integrated XSR receivers and other features. Those of my quads that have ESCs capable of DShot600 (and more) are already using XSRF4O and would be using XSRF4PO in future because F4-based boards are able to handle >8KHz looptime and don�t have any stability or processor calculation power shortage issues. But those quads that have OneShot ESCs would be left on XSRF3O and XSRF3PO flight controllers because 4/4KHz is totally enough in this case.

Anyway, concerning that I have already tried what it is like to build and use a racing quad with all-in-one boars — it seems that I would never go back to all-separate solutions. All-in-one boards make the whole setup much more convenient to assemble, much easier to look after it and more neat. In addition to that, all described above boards originate from a good manufacturer — FrSKY — and incorporate one the most popular receiver in FPV racing world — XSR. This is everything that I need for all of my quads!!!

Buy XSRF3PO HERE

Buy XSRF4O HERE

Buy XSRF4PO HERE

Today, we have another 4 FPV products from fastly emerging AKK Tech company for test and review. We have already reviewed couple of products from this brand recently (micro FPV cam + transmitter / set of FPV antennas) and found those to be very good perfromers considering price to performance ratio. Therefore, conducting further tests for some other components we have here today would prove us either right or wrong about our positive attitude towards this company. Let�s move along and jump into the action!

Good news here for international customers: AKK Tech notified us that they have launched their new online store at AliExpress (free shipping terms). HERE. Customers from USA might find it more convenient to use AKK corner at Amazon. HERE.

This would be the group review, test and comparison for the following AKK FPV components:

1. AKK CA20 FPV camera
2. AKK X1P 5.8GHz 40CH 25/200/600mW video transmitter
3. AKK TS5828 5.8GHz 32CH 600mW video transmitter
4. AKK LR2 set of cloverleaf 5.8GHz FPV antennas

Let�s start with the video. This video covers some of the review information and visualizes the conducted tests. But we would recommend to read this text review first as it has more details…

Starting with the AKK CA20 FPV camera features and specifications:

• 600TVL high picture quality
• Low Power Consumption
• 1/3″ SONY SUPER HAD II CCD, Nextchip 2040 DSP
• Special connecting cable for camera and FPV transmitter

Specifications:

• CCD: 1/3” Sony SUPER HAD II CCD
• Resolution: NTSC: 768(H)×494(V)
• TV System: NTSC
• Optical Resolution: 650TVL(b/w), 600tvl(color)
• Shutter Speed: (CCD IRIS) NTSC: 1/60~1/100000 sec
• Noise: > 60 (AGC OFF)
• Video Out: 75ohm, synchronize
• Min. Illumination: 0.01Lux
• Auto Gain: Off/Low/Mid/High
• Back Light Compensation (BLC): Off /Back light compensation/ Strong light suppression
• Private shading (PRIVACY): 1~8 private shading area
• Motion Detection (MD): On/ Off (Multi level sensitivity adjustment)
• Auto White Balance: Manual / Auto / Auto track
• Mirror: Horizontal Mirror optional
• Negative: Positive / Negative optional
• Color to B&W: Auto
• DNR: 2DNR; WDR: D-WDR
• Day / Night Shift: Auto/ Color/ B&W
• Menu (OSD): English menu
• White Dot Repair: Supports
• Image Adjustment: Supports
• Camera Title: Supports
• Power Requirement: DC5V~22V
• Working Temperature: -10 C ~ +50 C
• Working Humidity: 20~80%
• Dimensions(mm): 25X25(W*L)
• Power Consumption: 70mA

Packaging:

Camera comes in a small box with special mounting bracket, 4 screws, camera cable leads, OSD control joystic and power supply leads and English manual.

Item description:

CA20 is wery well built FPV camera that looks very familiar if you happen to use Foxeer XAT600M before. The same size, shape, weight and cable lead connector at the upper left corner on the back. As the matter of fact — all features and specification are also identical. It comes with 2.8mm M12x0.5 thread lens with ~115° FOV from the factory which I would change to 2.5mm with ~130° FOV right away because this is my most preferred angle for FPV flying.

This camera is built on very common pair: 1/3” Sony SUPER HAD II CCD sensor and Nextchip 2040 DSP that deliver perfect performance for FPV use. Camera is widely controlled through OSD settings and the resulting picture quality is perfect in terms of danymic range, auto white balance and smooth exposure compensation. Moreover, it is perfectly usable under low light conditions. Such functions like wide dynamic (WDR) or even digitally controlled wide dynamic range (DWDR) optimizers are very suitable and doing a good job on keeping the entire frame with large bright-to-dark area difference more or less evenly lit which is very good for any FPV pilot.

OSD menu and camera operation:

OSD menu walkover for this camera can be found in my review video. It looks being almost the same to Foxeer XAT600M OSD and has a plenty of control for different camera functions. The main are picture adjustments in terms of saturation, contrast, brightness and sharpness and some additional settings like DWDR, WDR. You can play with it to tune the picture quality to your liking. OSD control joystick comes in the box.

AKK CA20 VS Foxeer XAT600M:

After tuning both cameras in OSD to exactly the same settings — they both produce more or less similar results that would also depend on transmitter used. If the transmitters are also the same — we would end up with the perfect match. Unfortunately, my video would not represent this because I�ve tuned both cameras in the same way only after the test and have used different transmitters that would impact the picture quality in a different way, especially concerning picture contrast. But I would say that both cameras are perfect for FPV use and AKK that costs a bit less would have a better value for money…

NEXT: AKK X1P video transmitter features and specifications: 

•  Long transmission distance and stable performace
•  One switching button to set CH, FR and power ON/OFF
•  Antenna connector: RP-SMA female connector
•  Frequency range: 5645-5945MHz
•  40 channels: covers A,b,E,F,r bands

Specifications:

• Modulation: Wideband FM Modulation
• Video Format: NTSC/PAL
• Output Impedance: 50 Ohm
• Output Power: 25mw: 12,13,14 dBm/ 200mw: 22, 23,24 dBm/ 600mw: 26,27,28 dBm
• Operating Voltage: 7-24 V
• Supply Current: 25mw: 100 mA/ 200mw: 200 mA/ 600mw: 280 mA
• Operating Temperature : -10 +85 C
• Video Band Width: 0-18 MHz
• Audio carrier Frequency: 6.5 MHz
• Video Input Level: 0.8,1.0,1.2 Vp-p
• Video Input Impedance: 75 Ohm
• Audio Input Level: 1.0 Vp-p
• Audio Input Impedance: 10K Ohm

Packaging:

Video transmitter, set of connection cables and English user manual.

Item Description: 

One of the most interestion items in AKK products lineup. This transmitter has 2 versions: with a pigtale and with SMA connector soldered directly to the board. But both share the same features: 40CH and 25, 200, 600mW switchable + ON|OFF switch. This would allow you to judge which power output to use depending on the flight conditions and to avoid transmitter overheating or|and distructing other pilots with power OFF state while waiting for your turn to fly.

It is small and lightweight. LED indicator and single button to control all functions. Controls are easy — short button press to change channel, longer button press to change group and 15 seconds button press to change power output and to switch ON|OFF.

The build quality is also great. All soldering is neatly accoplished and covered with the heatsink.

AKK X1P 200mW VS 600mW VS KDS Kylin 600mW VS AKK TS5828 600mW: 

As seen from our testing video — X1P is the winner in this comparison. It delivers excellent picture quality, handles signal better and has almost no frame losses during my test travel. Expecially this is true for 200mW output setting. 600mW would be a bit worse in the test when I walk around the house. Why is it so? Because such conditions have many obstacles to reflect the signal and make it interfere with the signal following the direct path. Therefore, the higher the output of a transmitter -> more strong reflections -> more direct to reflected signal interference -> picture is worse. Such testing conditions would always require some less but adequately powered transmitters to produce better results. That is why in this test 200mW setting for X1P is performing better.

And viseversa for the open field (flight) test in my video. X1P still does the better job than my Kylin 600mW transmitter but only when set to 600mW. Here we do not have much of reflected signal coming in and the direct signal strength is what really matters.

So, X1P not only have some superior functionality but also outperforms all other transmitters in my test. Very good product with a good price. Excellent value for money.

NEXT: AKK TS5828 600mW transmitter features and specifications:

• 5.8G 32CH 600MW Mini AV Transmitter
• Small size and lightweight
• Easy to operate
• 32channels: Covers A, B, E, F bands.

Specification:

• Output Impedance: 50 Ohm
• Video Format: NTSC/PAL
• Antenna Connector: RP-SMA Connector
• Output Power: 27-28dBm
• Operating Voltage: 7.0-24V
• Supply Current : 280mA
• Operating Temperature: -10-+85 C
• Video Band Width: 0-8.0 MHz
• Audio Carrier Frequency: 6.5 MHz
• Video Input Level: 0.8-1.2 Vp-p
• Video Input Impedance: 75 Ohm
• Audio Input Level: 0.5-2.0 Vp-p
• Audio Input Impedance: 10K Ohm

Packaging:

Comes with a set of GoPRO connection cables with power, a set of other camera connection cable leads, omni-directional antenna and English user manual.

Item description:

This is a classic-type small and lightweight video transmaitter that is controlled with a dip-switches on the board. All channels and frequencies are stated at the back of the box and in user manual. Easy to operate but is less handy to control if it would be situated deep inside your model. Build quality is nothing to worry about — very neat.

AKK TS5828 VS AKK X1P VS Kylin 600mW: 

TS5828 show some similar results to my KDS Kylin 600mW transmitter that I am using for more than 1 year now and which has never let me down — thus, would be 100% enough to use in most conditions. But as it is clearly shown in our testing video — it falls short to X1P performance. Which means that X1P would be more versatile to use. Anyway, the price difference also matters and TS5828 is an excellent choice for the tight budget. It performs well, stays reasonably cool, costs less and can compete with many others rivals with the same or sligtly higher cost.

NEXT: AKK LR2 set of anetnnas features and specifications:

• Frequency Range: 5.8GHz
• Gain:5dBI, Impedance: 50Ω
• Connector: RP-SMA
• Four Leaf mushroom Antenna, LCPL or RCPL
• Small size and lightweight
• Stable signal transmission

Electrical Specifications:

• VSWR: <1.5:1
• Gain: 5dBI
• Polarization: Circular polarization
• Max Power:50W

Mechanical Specifications:

• Height: 88mm
• Max diameter: 4mm
• Min diameter: 1mm
• Connector:RP-SMA
• Lighting Protection: DC Grounded

Packaging:

Comes as a set of 1 RCPL/LCPL RP-SMA and 1 RCPL/LCPL SMA antenna.

Item description:

This particular design of antennas is believed to originate from Aomway. Moreover, Aomway of this type would outperform most of all other antenna designs currently availbale on the market. This has been proven by many youtube videos where Aomway antennas of this type were compared to many other types and designs and Aomway would either be a winner or at least not worse than a winner.

Considering the fact that AKK LR2 set is perfectly crafted and looks exactly the same as Aomway — seems that it should deliver the same perfect performance.

AKK LR2 (with TS5828) VS Aomway (with TS5828):

Our testing video clearly shows that…. I have tested Aomway and AKK LR2 antennas on the same AKK TS5828 600mW transmitter under the same conditions. And they perform very similar, as expected. So, considering that AKK LR2 cost less than the same antennas produced by Aomway — I would stick to AKK products to save some amount for other equipment.

Overall conclusion:

We like that fact that there is a new name on FPV equipment market — AKK Tech — that delivers very good products at lower cost. We have already tested 6 different items (4 now and 2 previously) and found that most of them outperform their rivals with the same price while the rest of the products are just equal to well known brands. This lets us think that AKK would aquire their client base very quickly and continue to expand as long as the price to performace ratio of all of their products would stay at the current excellent ot better-than-average level.

Good news here for international customers: AKK Tech notified us that they have launched their new online store at AliExpress (free shipping terms). HERE. Customers from USA might find it more convenient to use AKK corner at Amazon. HERE.

Stay tuned, more reviews to come!!!

Sometimes we were thinking about having some extra VRX that would allow direct FPV flights recording or watching without the need of carrying our FPV goggles, batteries, screens and other FPV stuff to the field. This means that such device should be small, powered from USB and be connected to either a smartphone and|or to other devices capable of showing picture on screen and recording. And here it comes — some amount of such OTG VRX started to appear on the market and today we would review one of them.

Get yours here: LINK Don�t worry, this shop is from good person in China. It might look unfinished yet but your orders would be pocessed in the best way. Support this shop on its early stage and we would eventually have one more good place to order from. If you would have any questions about your order — leave a comment and I�d help you out.

5.8GHz 150CH OTG FPV receiver features:

• Support all 5.8G transmission.
• Support Video output and Audio output — there are reserved solder joints.
• Channel up to 150 with the step of 2MHz. It can lock 95 percent of all frequency table which is the highest precision of the chip.
• New function: 150 frequency + automatic sweep frequency + frequency analyzer graphical interface + snow display + more simple and beautiful appearance
• Uses mobile phone power supply, simplifies wiring.
• Size: 60 x 30 x7.5mm
• Weight: 21g with antenna
• Antenna connector: RP-SMA

Package:

This little receiver comes neatly packed in a small aluminum box and wrapped with soft foam. The package includes:

• VRX
• Omni-ddirectional 5.8GHz antenna
• micro-USB to micro-USB OTG cable

the user manual is not included. In fact, using this receiver is very easy and instruction is just a waste of paper.

Compatibility and connection:

5.8GHz 150CH OTG FPV receiver is designed to work with most of the Android OS based smartphones and tablets, as well as all Windows 7/8/10 tablets, laptops and PCs. In case of the smartphones — you should check whether your smartphone supports OTG function and has UVC (universal video class) drivers in the firmware build. If not — it probably won�t work. The easiest method to check whether you device support UVC — is to download GoFPV application from Google Play and run it. This application would notify you whether it has discovered UVC drivers on the smartphone. Usually, most of the MediaTek based smartphones would not have UVC drivers and most of the Qualcomm, and Exynos would. Also, make sure that you use the provided OTG cable and inserted it the right way — the side that goes to the receiver has an arrow mark on the connector. If you are lucky and your smartphone works with the receiver — you can use any camera and UVC app from Google Play to watch stream and record videos. You can even build your own FPV googles using some cheap VR-glasses. Furthermore, most of the apps would allow you to make a split-screen to turn this device into VR FPV googles.

In case of the Windows devices — this receiver can be connected to any USB with a regular microUSB — USB cable and would be recognized as external USB camera. No drivers needed. Just install any camera or other USB-video grabber application like Free2X webcam recorder to receive stream and record it.

Smartphone compatibility chart shown on some online stores. But it doesn�t cover all the options:

Stream Parameters:

5.8GHz 150CH OTG FPV receiver would output MJPEG PAL/NTSC (720×586 max), 60FPS stream that is totally enough to run 3D VR FPV in case if needed.

Device operation:

There is a single multifunctional button on the receiver. Located on the left down corner on the face side. It would:

• Start 150 channels autoscan procedure with the long press. Goes through the table of 5645 — 5945MHz which takes about 20 seconds.
• Show current frequency and signal quality (RSSI) with single short press
• Change to the next frequency in step of 2MHz with another short press if you want to dial to specific frequency manually.

While performing autoscan — VRX would show OSD infromation including current frequency, RSSI and spectrum analyzer. All OSD infromation would also be recorder to your video because it is a part of the stream. Sometimes it is handy to record video with RSSI and currently selected frequency infromation on screen.

This receiver would heat up to 41°C after about 7 mins of operation. But the temperature would stay constant further. Not a big deal.

Device latency:

I would say that one of the most important aspect here for those who plan to use this VRX to fly their models in FPV mode — the device latency — is a matter not of the device itself but of the full chain: Receiver ADC -> smartphone/other device stream processing speed -> application level processing speed -> (smartphone/other device recording — optional) -> smartphone/other device on screen output. Such long chain may lead to uncomfortable lags that would prevent a pilot from using this device as FPV flight VRX. In fact, I have found that my Windows OS tablet and powerful PC would show some longer lags than Android based smartphone. Something like this:

• <50ms latency on Android smartphone (Xiaomi Mi4c, Android 7.0). No record
• >100ms latency on Android smartphone (Xiaomi Mi4c, Android 7.0). Recording
• ~50ms latency on Windows 10 tablet (X5, 8500CPU, Free2X Webcam). No record
• >100ms latency on Windows 10 tablet (X5, 8500CPU, Free2X Webcam). Recording

Concerning those results I would not recommend to use this device for FPV flights when you plan to control your model. But it is perfectly suitable to watch how others fly and to record your own flights in parallel to main FPV googles.

Let�s say that the signal passes too many layers now and needs some types deeper implementation to avoid such long chains. Even despite the fact that smartphones are way much powerful that dedicated FPV devices. Maybe, one day we would see something close to acceptable, but not now.

Conclusion:

Despite the fact that I won�t use 5.8GHz 150CH OTG FPV receiver as my primary FPV VRX due to some high latency figures, I still consider this product to be a perfect choice for watching how other pilots fly and recording your FPV video. It is small, light, easy to use, has wide CH range coverage, has good level of reception (watch my video review), can be powered from any USB source and most important — can be used almost stand-alone — just connect to your smartphone or tablet in the field. Very convenient to use!!!

Get yours here: LINK Don�t worry, this shop is from good person in China. It might look unfinished yet but your orders would be pocessed in the best way. Support this shop on its early stage and we would eventually have one more good place to order from. If you would have any questions about your order — leave a comment and I�d help you out.

Stay tuned, more reviews to come!!!   

Today, I would like to introduce some great FPV set for micro copters:

AKK A1 — 600TVL FPV Micro AIO Camera + 40CH (with raceband) 5,8GHz 25mW VTX

Technical Specifications:

• Output power: 25mW
• Input power: 3.2–5V
• Current consumption: 3.2V-5V, 200mA
• Camera resolution: 600TVL
• Video system: NTSC
• Minimum illumination: 1 lux
• Field of view: 120° viewing angle
• Antenna dimensions: 22mm
• Antenna: dipole
• Frequency: 5.8GHz 5 bands 40 channels (with raceband)
• Size: 18.7*13mm(L*W)
• Weight: 4.5g

Features:

• Compatible with 5.8GHz googles and monitor.
• It�s just one more way AKK technology lets you have more fun with fewer hassles.
• This AIO camera can be installed in minutes and ready to fly.
• Its signal range is ideal for park flyers or racing quads. Integrated booster circuit prevents motor and servo interference.
• 40 channel with raceband
• Good quality image with zero latency
• Button control instead of switches to change channels

Package includes:

• 1x A1 AIO FPV Camera and VTX
• 1x Power Cable with 1 extra adapter
• 1x Manual

I�m not new to this stuff and want to submit a little bit of expertise here. Moreover, this AKK A1 set is worth a try as you would see from my tests. Finally, I would be comparing this set to the one that I have on my KingKong 90GT RTF micro copter which has very similar cam and 16CH 25mW VTX with the similar antenna.

PACKAGING:
My package contained camera with a lens protector and integrated VTX with dipole antenna and battery lead. There were also one more power adapter lead from more convenient 1S battery connection and a short user manual. All neatly packed in a small box full of soft foam.

CAMERA and VTX physically:
Camera lens is glued at place which means that you wouldn�t have to worry about focusing it — it is done on the factory for you. This is an advantage over my KingKong set — I always touch the camera and it looses focus.

VTX back plate is soldered to the camera board and antenna is also soldered to VTX. This does a good job on maintaining the least possible weight but would be a bit harder to tilt the camera. Although, as you would see further — it is not needed. VTX has a great feature and advantage over many other micro FPV sets — it has a control button and small multi-segment LED to indicate CH. This is much more convenient than using flashing LED.

The process of CH selection is very easy:

• Short button press = CH 1-8 change
• 2s button press = FR A,B,E,F,R change
• 5s button press = ON|OFF switch

Frequency table is the following:

Very easy to use in comparison to my KK 90GT VTX where pair of LEDs tell me what FR to guess…

CAMERA at work:
Picture quality of this camera doesn�t stand out of the crowd… It is usual for the micro sets like this but not more than that. You should remember that the smaller physical size of the camera sensor is — the less sharpness details you have and the earlier noises come through. But anyway, all those cameras are almost the same in terms of piсture quality. I�d say — completely enough to fly indoors and outdoors.

One of the best thing about this particular AKK A1 set is that despite the fact that FOV is stated to be 120 degrees — it seems to be much wider. KingKong camera claims to have 150 degrees FOV but the final picture is narrower in comparison to AKK A1. This is better because cameras are usually fixed and not tilting on micro quads and the more degrees FOV we have — the better….

Watch my video comparisons between AKK A1 picture and KK 90GT picture quality indoor, outdoor and side by side at the end of this post.

Exposure change and levels are not an issue for this cam as well. I would say that KK90GT cam has a bit wider dynamic range by default but AKK A1 is still perfectly usable.

VTX at work:
Here is where AKK A1 really shines and takes over KK90GT set. Having the same output power and antenna type — the range of AKK A1 is covering noticeably more distance. I am using my KDS Kylin Vision FPV goggles with Aomway cloverleaf antenna to check the signal quality. As you would see from my comparison videos — AKK A1 does a better job in terms of signal quality and strength. It falls off later and doesn�t have so much interruptions like KK90GT FPV VTX does. Neither outdoors nor indoors. But remember that video recorder and Youtube reduces actual picture quality.

Watch my video comparisons between AKK A1 picture and KK 90GT picture quality indoor, outdoor and side by side at the end of this post.

Neither it gets hot. Just warm. I would say that this is a very decent performer! Cloverleaf equipped model might be even better. But this one is lighter and does a perfect job to cover my concrete house and surrounding area. The only place it really suffers — when the house is between VTX and goggles. But even in this case it keeps some frames much better than KK90GT. But don�t forget that this little piece of technology also has 40CH with a raceband. KK90GT only have 16CH. AKK A1 is just has more superior features that are packed at the smaller board.

CONCLUSION:
In case if I�d build new micro quad or have something wrong with my KK90GT FPV set — I would definitely use AKK A1 as a better subsitution product. It has less weight, more range, less RF interference and wider FOV — ideal for the micro quads build. And I would say that this is very good first try from the new company AKK Technology. I hope that each of their following product would be even better.

PROS and CONS:
PROS:

• Excellent range
• Good picture quality
• Wide FOV
• Light
• Convenient to use

CONS:

• Lens is fixed

AKK Technology corner at AMAZON

Recording setup: KDS Kylin Vision modified goggles (added video out connector) + Aomway cloverleaf antenna + EasyCAP USB capturing stick + Win10 Teclast X10Pro tablet + VitrualDUB app to grab the video.

OUTDOOR TEST COMPARISON:

INDOOR TEST COMPARISON:

SIDE BY SIDE COMPARISON:

Stay tuned, more reviews to come!!!

At the same time, what I�ve always lacked is the video output feature and longer battery life. I wanted to be able to record video to external recorder with the same quality of reception I have in the goggles instead of using separate video receiver + battery. And I wanted to be sure that 1 battery for goggles would last at least full flight day. Finally, I have succeeded in both quests. I�d tell you how:

Adding Video OUT possibility:

This mod would require:

• 1 RCA (female) connector (or any other connector you like)
• 10-20cm of thin cable (2 pieces)
• Ф8mm drill
• hot glue gun
• soldering stuff
• 1.5mm hex screwdriver
• crosshead screwdriver

First, we would have to disassemble our goggles. There are 10 screws in total to open the case.

• 4 screws holding front monitor part (2 at the top and 2 at the bottom). After unscrewing it — you can gently remove front part with the monitor. Be very careful because monitor is attached to mainboard with the thin and wide tail that cab easily be broken.
• 2 screws holding top and bottom parts of the shell toghether
• 4 screws at the back, under the soft face pouch

After unscrewing everything, you can  open the shell — just pull the top part gently while holding the bottom part — the shell should come loose and open. Be careful on this step as well as there is antenna cable that still holds 2 parts of the shell together. It is long enough to open the shell and fold top part to the left.

photo source: Anton Chukin YouTube channel

Now, when the shell is opened, you would see black plastic cover on the bottom part of the shell that cover the mainboard. Unscrew 4 screws there to remove it.

It would be better to remove left cable connector that comes from control buttons board to the mainboard and to remove monitor tail (push forward left and right plastic clips of monitor tail connector on the main board and gently remove the tail from the connector). As well as antenna clip (just pull it off gently).

photo source: Anton Chukin YouTube channel

So, now you�ve ended up with the bottom part with the mainboard that is disconnected from all other parts. Good.

Note: you can keep everything connected but be very careful when drilling the shell.

Now, you have to decide where your RCA female jack would be placed. I�ve placed it on the top left side near the plastic standoff that holds plastic cover over the mainboard. Why? Because the space is tall enough to enclose RCA jack and I prefer my cable on the left. But you can choose any other place.

photo source: Anton Chukin YouTube channel

Drill 8mm hole (for RCA female) at the desired place. RCA female would fit tightly into this hole.

Prepare 2 cables with the right length that would be enough to go from RCA jack place all the way to the bottom right of receiver on the mainboard.

photo source: Anton Chukin YouTube channel

The pinout of the receiver is the following:

So, we need only 2 right contacts — Video and GND. Solder your cables from RCA jack to those contacts. Video to Video and GND to GND (on RCA jack Video is center pin and GND is on the side).

Now, just put RCA into the driller hole, hot glue it in place and you are done. Connect all the wires back together, place plastic cover over the top of the mainboard and assebmle the shell back in the reverse order.

You should get something like this:

Now, you have can connect your recorder to this jack and record flight videos.

Second mod to supply 4.2V power from 3S LiPO is easy:

You should have:

• DC-DC step down voltage regulator
• 3S LiPO
• JST female plug and some wires
• XT60 (or whatever you have on your 3S LiPO) male connector
• soldering stuff
• voltmeter

Solder JST female plug to OUT + and — of the DC-DC regulator

Solder XT60 to IN + and — of the DC-DC regulator

Connect your battery to DC-DC and voltmeter to OUT + and — of DC-DC. While rotating variable resistor on the DC-DC regulator make sure to get close to 4.2V output from it.

Connect JST female to our goggles. You can also cut off any corner of the battery bay cover to let the cables from DC-DC to pass from the bay to the external battery.

Using some battery strap — attach the battery to your headstrap of the goggles and connect it to DC-DC. That�s it. I am using 3S LiPO 2200mAh old battery and it lasts more than 6 hours of continuous use.

Stay tuned, more reviews to come!!!

Hobbywing — a well known name in the R|C hobby for a long time — not only for perfect Platinum ESC series for helicopters and numerous auto R|C power products but also for the recent series of modern ESCs and motors for popular FPV racing quads. We are especially pleased with the fact that such respected company has joined the emerging quad electonics market and keeps it technologies up to date. We would rather vote for HobbyWing instead of trying to distinguish bad from good among many products and one-day companies that saturated this market.

Today, we would like to review two latest FPV quad products that make a perfect match if used together — Hobbywing XRotor 2205/2300kv motors and XRotor Micro BLHeli_s DShot600 ESCs. Moreover, we would go over the process of tuning those ESCs and explain what is DShot and how to deal with it. Kind of a guide for those who would like to try but is not familiar with DShot yet.

Let�s start with the motors:

Hobbywing XRotor 2205/2300kv Tech Specs:

Full specs in the MANUAL

These are really beautifully crafted motors. With great attention paid to details and high quality materials used. As seens from the pictures, almost every design element serves some technical role. Not only the motor iteslf makes an impression, but everything starts even with the box — small, neat and informative. There is even anti-counterfeit codes to make sure that you get the genuine product.

Box contents are: 

• Motor (CW or CCW)
• Self locking nut to hold the prop
• 4 x M3 short screws (for the thinner type of frames)
• 4 x M3 long screws (for thicker type of frames, 4-5mm frames — ok)

Motor performance: 

HobbyWing shows the following performance graph for this motor:

Unfrotunately, we don�t have our own thrust stand to check those figures… We can only compare different motors in real flight conditions or|and try to locate the necessary tests on the web. That is what we�ve found so far:

source

Full results file: HERE

Very interesting results that definitely shows that Hobbywing XRotor 2205/2300kv are one of the best 2205/2300kv motors currently available on the market. Our opinion is the same — we have tried and found that those are making impression and looks to be the best we�ve flown so far. Smooth, powerful, quick and staying cooler than many others. What really impressed us is that they are only 5g heavier than our favorite Kylin 2204/2300kv motors that look much smaller and fragile. Only 20g added to our flight setup after changing all 4 motors from 2204 to 2205 but the power output has noticeably increased. Max. throttle input now results in faster climbs and more speed. But the battery drains a bit faster as well…

We wouldn�t say that such powerful motors should be the only choice. Some entry pilots might prefer to use 2204 motors in favor of a bit longer flight times with less speed but with more manuevrability. But those who compete on racing quad arenas would definitely need something like these motors to have the most out of their setups.

By the way, HobbyWing has other 2 options for XRotor motors: 1800 and 2600kv. Check the series details HERE.

Manual and test parameters for 2205/2300kv motor: HERE

You can buy Hobbywing XRotor 2205/2300kv worldwide: HERE

You can buy Hobbywing XRotor 2205/2300kv in Ukraine: HERE

Enough about the motor, let�s shift to the perfect driving match — XRotor Micro BLHeli_s DShot600 ESC. 

Tech. Specs:

Features:

• Quality components: EMF8BB21F16G MCU (with the operating frequency of up to 48MHz), 3-in-1 drive IC, American Fairchild MOSFETs, quality ceramic capacitors, 3-ounce copper and 4 layers of PCBs guarantees less heat, higher efficiency and rapider response.
• The ESC supports the original BLHeli_S firmware. User can flash or upgrade the firmware via the signal cable (on ESC) and program 4 ESCs simultaneously after connecting their flight controller to the BLHeliSuite software (if the flight controller uses the CleanFlight or BetaFlight firmware).
• The ESC firmware uses hardware generated motor pwm for smooth throttle response and silent operation. Damped light does regenerative braking, causing very fast motor retardation, and it inherently also does active freewheeling.

Each ESC comes is a separate package that includes:

• ESC (power and signal/gnd twisted cable with servo connector soldered, ESC is wrapped with the heatsink and have moisture protection laquer and hot glue applied)
• Spare heatsink
• Manual

ESC package also has the countefeit product protection label.

So, what is so good about those ESCs? Of course — it is an ability to work in DShot 150,300 and 600 modes. Moreover, you wouldn�t even need to remove signal filtering capacitor to succesfully run DShot600 like you would do in many other DShot600 compatible ESCs.

You can buy XRotor Micro BLHeli_s DShot600 ESCs worldwide: HERE

You can buy XRotor Micro BLHeli_s DShot600 ESCs in Ukraine: HERE

From this point, let us start the short guide to DShot and show how to deal with it:

DShot — is a new way of communication between flight controllers and ESCs. It is not only an improvement over the very familiar OneShot125, OneShot42 (or even a MultiShot) but it is rather a very new way of communication because DShot represents a digital protocol, not analog. It still uses PWM signal but the peaks of the signal are used to indicate «0» and «1». Why is it better over regular PWM that sends electric pulses to ESCs to determain power? Because DShot is:

• Not succeptible to jitter and noise
• Doesn�t require ESC calibration due to the absence of the oscillator drift
• It has high resolution of 2048 steps
• It has CRC in the signal and every signal is proven to be correct
• It virtually capable of >30kHz loop times
• It is more precise that «analog» type signal

Looks promissing!

Do not be afraid of DShot. It just looks complicated but in fact it is easier to setup and work with than the regular ESCs.

My example of working with DShot ESCs would be based on described above motors, ESCs and SpRacing F3Arco and F3Evo boards (in my case FrSKY XSRF3E but any other F3 would do).

XSRF3E wiring diagram:

In case of F3Arco — it is very simple and straight forward. In case of F3Evo it is a bit more complicated — read the *note section to get F3Evo DShot compatible. And I also assume that you use BetaFlight FW on your FC.

*note: in case if you are using F3Evo board — solder motor 4 signal cable to motor 5 signal output on the FC. Upon the next FC connection to BetaFlight configurator do the following: in CLI type the next commands:

resource
resource list

save the results to any text file to be able to use them later, if needed

and more commands:

resource motor 5 none resource motor 4 A06 save

this would move MOTOR 4 to new pin assignment to fix DMA conflict with motor outputs 2 and 4.

and: 

set sdcard_dma = OFF

this would disable BlackBox logging to fix the DMA conflict

Source

So, the first thing to know is that most of not all of the FCs with BetaFlight would let you setup BLHeli ESCs using a passthrough method. Just solder ESCs, motors and everything like you always done before and with the props off prepare the following:

• From Google Chrome store download BLHeli applet for Chrome.
• Remove your props, power your quad, connect FC to the BetaFlight Configurator and make sure that you have OneShot125 or 42 selected for now.
• Disconnect from BetaFlight and connect to BLHeli configurator

Configurator would discover your ESCs and there would be a button at bottom right to read the configuration from ESCs. Hit that.

One the next screen you would see some default parameters along with the option to select and upgrade the FW. Notice that this applet shows some common parameters sections and each separate ESC additional parameters. Moreover, it would also tell you which FW version you currently have on each of your ESCa and let you choose from the drop down menu the appropriate newer|older ones. Decide whether you want to upgrade. I did it, flawlessly.

The rest of the parameters are:

Common parameters:

• Prgramming by TX: common sense — whether you want to use programming mode from TX or not. Leave it default.
• Start up power: the power with which the motor would start to spin. Usually should be left at default 0.50
• Temperature protection: common sense. I set it to 80C.
• Low RPM power protection: protection form overpowering the motors at low RPM — set YES.
• Brake on stop: leave it as NO. We don�t need braking.
• Demag Compensation: protection from motor stalls caused by long winding demagnetization time after commutation. Leave it default.
• Motor Timing: common sense. Most of the motors would run with Medium (default) settings.
• Beep strength: common sense
• Beacon strength: the strength of beeps for motors when Thr is idle too long. Don�t set it high or it can burn your motors. Default value is ok.
• Beacon Delay: time perior of Thr inactivity after which beacon beeps would be sounded.

Individual parameters:

• Motor direction: the direction of motor rotation. Set this appropriately to the direction you need. You can check motor rotation direction when connected to BetaFlight configurator and using Motor tab. You might have to return here again to change the direction.
• PPM mix. throttle: for DShot set it to be 1000 (*note)
• PPM max. throttle: for DShot set it to be 2000 (*note)
• Flash FW: look at the top bar of each ESC — it syas which version and which FW is currently on your ESCs. Check for the newer FW versions in the drop down menu. Flash if necessary.

You can also check the default parameters in the ESC manual: HERE 

Just hit «Write Setup» and you are done.

*note: Since DShot doesn�t require to calibrate Thr signal for ESCs,  Min and Max Thr values should be set to the stated limits of 1000 to 2000. The digital signal is passed within those boudaries, therefore, it should be like this for any DShot ESC.

Now, as you are done with ESCs setup, you can connect to BetaFlight configurator, select DShot 150, 300 or even 600 on the Configuration tab.

The last thing to do is to set the idle Thr % for the motors and ESCs (you can see such parameter in the Configuration tab below DShot protocol selected).

This is also easy:

• go to Motors tab
• check «I uderstand the risk……..» warning at the bottom right
• connect your flight battery if it is not yet connected (better to use some current limiter, but I don�t use it)
• click on Master slider and with your keyboard UP button (one press at a time) start to increase Thr%.
• when the motors would start to spin normally (no stall noise, no clicks, just a smooth run) — write down the resulting value. Let�s assume that you�ve got 1050.
• Subtract 1000 and divide by 10. 1050 — 1000 = 50/10 = 5
• You can now enter this number as the idle Thr% in the Configuration tab.

That is it. Your motors and ESCs are now ready to go.

Original DShot document on Github: HERE

Important: one of the main question about DShot and reason to have those on your quad is the loop time: what loop time DShot can handle and how it correlates with the gyro and PID loop times on your FC board. As you probably know, the rule to set max Gyro loop and PID loop frequency in Configuration tab is CPU load of the FC (shown at the very bottom of the applet). CPU load should not exceed 30% after making the change. F3Evo boards would allow up to 8 / 8kHz to run but it depends of the features enabled on the board (acceleromter, barometer, etc). Since one of my flight modes (Horizon) requires accelerometer to run, I can go as high as 8 (gyro) / 4 (PID loop — that is what ESCs would use) kHz loop time and get 27% CPU load. Now, let�s see what DShot is capable of:

• DSHOT150: 4kHz max
• DSHOT300: 10,6kHz max (10,6khz is only available on 32khz gyro boards)
• DSHOT600: 16kHz max
• DSHOT1200: >32khz max

So, in my case DShot300 is the right choice. Why? Because DShot150 would reach the limit (it is always bad not to leave some room) and DShot600 would be a huge excess that would drive DShot600 ESCs to the max amount of signals despite the FC board is incompatibe of running such speeds (FC PID loop is 4kHz, DSho600 loop is 16kHz ). Therefore, DShot300 is a good choice.

That is it. 

We hope that this review and small guide helped you to understand what is so good about recent DShot protocols and such products as HobbyWing XRotor series ESCs and motors that are capable to run it smoothly. Have it, set it, fly it. And you would notice the positive difference right away.

Our setup:

• KDS Kylin 210 frame
• Hobbywing XRotor 2205/2300kv motors
• XRotor Micro BLHeli_s DShot600 ESCs
• FrSKY XSRF3E (F3Evo board with integrated XSR RX), BetaFlight
• Matek PDB
• Foxeer 700TVL CMOS FPV cam
• DalRC 5,8Ghz 600mW VTX
• Aomway 5.8Ghz cloverleaf antenna
• Some addressable LED strip
• KingKong 5045-V2 3blade props
• 1,300mAh Bonka 45-90C 4S

Original DShot document on Github: HERE

You can buy Hobbywing XRotor 2205/2300kv worldwide: HERE

You can buy XRotor Micro BLHeli_s DShot600 ESCs worldwide: HERE

You can buy Hobbywing XRotor 2205/2300kv in Ukraine: HERE

You can buy XRotor Micro BLHeli_s DShot600 ESCs in Ukraine: HERE

Urgent!!! Excellent offer if you are willing to buy FrSky Taranis QX7 and other FrSKY radios: the lowest price on the market AND 4-7 days express delivery worldwide!!! Such offers are rare, don�t miss that one!!!

Recently, racing and acrobatic copters became very popular, especially small frames setups. Many events run worldwide, much competition on the market, lot of newcomers to start their r|c hobby in this segment. And if a year ago we would fly different setups and buy different frames and electronics, now most of the things have been brought to some obvious standards — 180-250 class frames, F3|F4 flight controllers, FrSKY Taranis radios, CleanFlight|BetaFlight FW, etc. This also leads to different manufacturers starting to present all-in-one electronic sandwaiches for copters equipped with different options to keep the weight down and maintain the ease of setup.

FrSKY would also jump into this boat and today I would like to introduce their new products — latest SpRacing F3Evo boards with integrated XM+ or XSR receivers:

• FrSKY XMPF3E (F3Evo with integrated XM+, no telemetry, only RSSI to F3Evo, priced $35)
• FrSKY XSRF3E (F3Evo with integrated XSR, full telemetry, priced $42).

These long model names are just the abbreviation of two names — SpRacing F3Evo board and XM+ or XSR FrSKY receivers.

What is good about those products? XM+ or XSR receivers are intergrated to the latest F3Evo board, still keeping most of the additional features of both products.

Of course, SpRacing F3Evo and XSRF3E or XMPF3E boards are not completely the same. A slightly different layout and amount of I|O ports in favor of having built-in receivers. But most of the features are still there for the most of the user demands. It is not a compromise and you would not lack something in comparison to genuine SpRacing board.

Technical Specifications XMPF3E:

• 36×36×6mm (L × W × H) with 30.5mm mounting holes
• STM32F303 CPU (72Mhz inc FPU), MPU9250 (accelerometer/gyro/compass), and BMP280 barometer for F3EVO, CC2510 CPU for XM+ receiver
• 16CH (8CH is RSSI) by SBUS to UART2 Rx of F3EVO
• Voltage Range: 4.0~10V
• Current: 100mA@5V
• Supports: FrSky Taranis X9D/X9E/ Horus X12S/XJT in D16 mode
• Weight: 7g
• 6 PWM outputs from F3Evo
• Separate SBUS output port on the board for XM+ (upgrading and CH output)
• Blackbox microSD card onboard
• Full range receiver
• CleanFilght|BetaFlight ready (comes with Betaflight from the factory)
• Race transponder ready

Technical Specifications XSRF3E:

• Full telemetry downlink to|from UART3 of F3Evo
• 36×36×6mm (L × W × H) with 30.5mm mounting holes
• STM32F303 CPU (72Mhz inc FPU), MPU9250 (accelerometer/gyro/compass), and BMP280 barometer for F3EVO
• 16CH (8CH is RSSI) by SBUS to UART2 Rx of F3EVO
• Voltage Range: 4.0~10V
• Current: 200mA@5V
• Supports: FrSky Taranis X9D/X9E/ Horus X12S/XJT in D16 mode
• Weight: 6g
• 6 PWM outputs from F3Evo
• Separate SPort output port on the board for XSR (upgrading and telemetry output)
• Full range receiver
• CleanFilght|BetaFlight ready (comes with Betaflight from the factory)
• Flight controller PIDs can be configured with LUA scripts from Taranis radios over telemetry and SPort
• Race transponder ready

main differences between 2 boards are in bold letters.

As you can see from the technical description, the main difference between 2 boards is that XSRF3E does support full telemetry + OTA PID configuration over SPort and XMPF3E doesn�t do that (it can only output RSSI value to CH8 of F3Evo). But, at the same time XMPF3E has an additional feature — microSD card slot for blackbox logging. Hard decision, right? Either to go with full telemtry and buy separate blackbox or stick to onboard blackbox and have no telemetry, only optional OSD… It is up to you.

In the box:

XMPF3E comes in the box that includes a short user manual, 5 JST-SH sets of connector pins, JST-SH connector with 6 cables for PWM output and microSD card (1Gb) for blackbox.

XSRF3E comes in the same package but with no microSD card because it doesn�t feature onboard blackbox logger.

Features:

XMPF3E has the following layout that describes all the features it has:

Besides having all the latest accelerometer/gyro/compass/barometer and blackbox logger, it also has additional inputs for:

• LED strip
• Buzzer
• Race transponder
• OSD
• Battery voltage and current monitoring

there are additional unused ports available for a user:

• UART3
• UART1
• SBUS XM+ output + upgrade

So, having everything described above you can make a 100% working setup with optional OSD, optional race transponder, onboard blackbox logging, optional buzzer, optional LED stips and so on. Moreover, you can have 16CH via SBUS output for your external devices and upgrade XM+ receiver with SBUS port.

XSRF3E has a slightly different layout:

It also features the latest accelerometer/gyro/compass/barometer but with no blackbox data logger. And has additional inputs for:

• LED strip
• Buzzer
• Race transponder
• OSD
• Battery voltage and current monitoring

there are additional unused ports available for a user:

• UART1
• SPort XSR for telemetry output and upgrade

So, again, having everything described above you can make a 100% working setup with optional OSD, optional buzzer, optional LED stips, full telemetry link to your radio and so on. But with no SBUS CH output to external devices and with optional blackbox logger. Moreover, you can upgrade XSR receiver through SPort and output telemetry to external devices as well as to use OTA PID tuning from your radio. And the main feature in case of using XSRF3E — having all telemetry values from your F3E board to your radio via SPort telemetry. Which values? All described THERE. Probably, you would be aslo able to connect additional SPort sensors using SPort pins on the board. But this should be yet checked.  

Made a wiring diagram:

It is interesting that XSRF3E uses usual-sized servo pins for SPort output from the receiver on the board. XMPF3E uses smaller pins for SBUS port output.

Frequent question is where to connect ESC grounds to XSRF3E and XMPF3E — you can solder all ground ESC wires together and than to any ground contact of either FC, I prefer to solder it to incoming from PDB to FC voltage GND contact. Or, you can choose any other more convenient soldering GND pad.

FW setup specifics (CleanFlight and BetaFlight):

First, you have to bind your receiver to the radio in order to see channel monitor in the CleanFlight | BetaFlight FW. For this, you have a dedicated bind button on the board and 2 LEDs (red and green) as in any other FrSKY receiver. Press and hold this button while powering your board with microUSB, set your radio to D16 and bind mode, wait until red led on the board would flash and green would be lit, turn eveything of and turn on again. Bind is ready. Now, you can proceed to the CleanFlight | BetaFlight setup using your microUSB cable connected to the board (CleanFlight and BetaFlight GUI are the extention appllications for Chrome and could be found in Chrome Shop).

XMPF3E has the following musts on configuration:

• UART2 has to be confiugured as Serial RX
• Receiver mode should be RX_Serial
• Serial Receiver Provider should be SBUS
• RSSI_ADC Analog RSSI Input should be disabled
• RSSI channel should be 8

XSRF3E has the following musts on configuration:

• UART2 has to be confiugured as Serial RX
• UART3 has to be SmartPort
• Receiver mode should be RX_Serial
• Serial Receiver Provider should be SBUS
• RSSI_ADC Analog RSSI Input should be disabled
• RSSI channel should be 8 (or disabled. RX would still transmit RSSI value to radio without F3Evo board settings for this)

The main difference in this section is that UART3 port in XSRF3E board would be busy with SPort telemetry data coming from XSR receiver. Moreover, it gives you a great advantage — a possibility to tune board PIDs over the telemetry channel. To get this to work you should have BetaFlight 3.1 on your flight controller,  OpenTX 2.2 with Lua support on your Taranis radio, have this script on your SD card in SCRIPTS/TELEMETRY (not more than 6 characters in the file name), set it in MODEL — Telemetry settings (Page 14|14) as one of the 4 dedicated telemetry screens… That is it! Or, in case if it doesn�t work — put it in SCRIPTS folder on your SD, navigate to SD card browser, find the script, execute it and have fun — checked — it�s working.

photo source — flymod.net

XSRF3E telemetry:

The following sensors are transmitted back to the radio (partially taken from here):

• RSSI — seems to be sent directly to radio from receiver. Even with RSSI switched off on the F3Evo board — we still see the value.
• A4 : average cell value. Warning : unlike FLVSS sensors, you do not get actual lowest value of a cell, but an average : (total lipo voltage) / (number of cells)
• Alt : barometer based altitude, init level is zero.
• Vspd : vertical speed, unit is cm/s.
• Hdg : heading, North is 0°, South is 180°.
• AccX,Y,Z : accelerometers values.
• Tmp1 : actual flight mode, sent as 4 digits. Number is sent as (1)1234. Please ignore the leading 1, it is just there to ensure the number as always 5 digits (the 1 + 4 digits of actual data) the numbers are aditives (for example, if first digit after the leading 1 is 6, it means GPS Home and Headfree are both active) : 1 is GPS Hold, 2 is GPS Home, 4 is Headfree, 1 is mag enabled, 2 is baro enabled, 4 is sonar enabled, 1 is angle, 2 is horizon, 4 is passthrough, 1 is ok to arm, 2 is arming is prevented, 4 is armed
• Tmp2 (only of there is GPS sensor available) : GPS lock status, Number is sent as 1234, the numbers are aditives : 1 is GPS Fix, 2 is GPS Home fix, not used, not used, number of sats
• VFAS : actual vbat value.
• GAlt : GPS altitude, sea level is zero.
• GSpd : current speed, calculated by GPS.
• GPS : GPS coordinates.
• Cels : average cell value, vbat divided by cell number. Didn�t find this. Seems to be Vfas or A4.
• RxBAT : voltage of F3E
• Curr : current from main battery if sensor is used, unit in mA
• Fuel : something is provided but cannot figure out that yet

Flight setup and tuning:

I would not focus on this part because all settings, PIDs and configuration is done the same way as you would do it for any other board capable of running CleanFlight | BetaFlight FW. It is better to refer to FW documentation or SpRacing manual in order to understand how eveything works. Besides, I am still waiting for the new 210 frames from KDS Kylin… I would add some information here about my setup as soon as it would arrive and I�d manage to get it into the air. I have XSRF3E & XMPF3E boards from FrSKY and would use it as my next flight controllers (updated — setup is ready, written in the end of this review).

Upgrading receiver FW in XSRF3E and XMPF3E boards:

As usually, built-in receivers in both boards would be available as FCC and EU LBT versions of FW. Whenever you buy the wrong version, you would be able to upload the required FW and upgrade it in future.

In case of XSRF3E it is a straightforward — you have SPort pins (SPort, +5, G) on the board which you can use to upgrade XSR receiver from your Taranis radio or using Upgrade Stick or FUC cable.

In case of XMPF3E it is not so logical but still — you have SBUS pins on the board (SBUS, +5, G) which would act the same as SPort during the upgrade process. You can also use your radio or upgrade stick or FUC cable.

But remember, firmware for the receivers that are a part of F3E board is not the same as the FW for standalone XSR and XM+ receivers. If you�d just try to upload such standalone FW inside the built-in receivers — they wouldn�t work. There would be separate FW for  receivers in XSRF3E and XMPF3E on FrSKY website. 

My current setup using XSRF3E board:

Frame: KDS Kylin 210

Cam: Foxeer 700TVL
VideoTX: 5.8GHz DalRC 600mW
Antenna: clover, Aomway
Flight board: FrSky XSRF3E (F3Evo with built-in XSR)
Power DB: FlyMod.net BEC/ZMR
Motors: KDS Kylin 2204 2300kv
ESC: KDS Kylin 20A OneShot125
LiPO: FlyMod.net 1,300mAh, 4S, 45-90C
Props: 5x4x3
Total weight (everything except LiPO): 300g

Flies great. Yes, I had to use some silicone dampers to mount the flight board, but see no problems with vibes after that.

Conclusion: 

Both flight controller boards from FrSKY have detachable antennas. Whenever you�d kill one or both — you would be able to exchange it. Both have the same physical and mounting size. Therefore, the only decision you should make is about Telemetry + PIDs OTA configuration VS Blackbox. The rest of the features are almost the same.

So, what are the pros and cons of using XMPF3E or XSRF3E instead of SpRacing F3Evo?

Pros:

• built in 16CH SBUS XM+ or XSR receiver
• keeps the weight lower
• keeps the setup easier and smaller
• RSSI on CH8
• 16CH SBUS separate output for XM+
• SPort telemetry output for XSR
• external receiver still can be used
• price is very attractive

Cons:

• UART2 is busy with the receiver in case of XM+
• UART2 and UART3 are busy with the receiver in case of XSR
• 6PWM output instead of 8PWM
• No I2C for external screen or sensors

What are the pros and cons of using XMPF3E instead of XSRF3E?

Pros:

• microSD card slot for blackbox data log
• 16CH SBUS output to external devices

Cons:

• No telemetry
• No OTA PID tuning

What are the pros and cons of using XSRF3E instead of XMPF3E? 

Pros:

• full telemetry to|from UART3 of the F3Evo
• SPort output to external devices
• OTA PID tuning

Cons:

• no onboard blackbox

That is all folks. Make your decision!!

You can buy FrSKY XMPF3E from FrSKY premium dealers

You can buy FrSKY XSRF3E from FrSKY premium dealers

FrSKY XMPF3E in the shop of my own preference

FrSKY XSRF3E in the shop of my own preference

Kylin 210 frame

Stay tuned, more to come…