Blade Inductrix FPV build working, and it's awesome!

[buffo]

So I've been flying this thing around the house this weekend, and I have to say that it is the most fun I've had with an RC model ever! Sure, the larger units are cool to fly, but you have to get all your stuff together, cart it to the location where you want to play, and then set it all up before you can get started. But not this one! Plug a battery in, turn the transmitter on, put on the goggles, and you're flying FPV around the house!



The pen is just for scale. The battery you see is actually an upgraded one that gives me about 4 minutes of flying time. The motors have been upgraded too, to counteract the extra weight of the camera and video transmitter assembly.

Once you get the googles sync'ed up to the transmitter, you can fly all through the house and still see where you are going. Down the hall, into the bedroom, back up the hall, through the kitchen, into the living room, up the stairs to the loft, back down and past the front door entrance, through the computer room, and back into the hall again! Fly as fast as your reflexes allow... (The ducted-fan blade guards do a nice job of protecting both the quad and whatever you happen to bump into.)

Total cost: around $300 for the Cadillac setup I have, but you can do it cheaper if you omit some of the extras I bought.

I started with the Bind-and-Fly version of the Blade Inductrix. ($50 on Amazon Prime) You can get the one with a controller for $70, but I wanted a nicer controller (see next item).
Then I added a spectrum-compatible radio for $65. This will work with any model that uses a Spectrum DSM2 or DSMX receiver. (Nearly all the Blade models use Spectrum DSM2)
Then I bought upgraded batteries. $6 each. (I have 5)
Lazerjock bought the upgraded motors for me, but I think these are the ones: They are 0615-14, which is 6mm x 15mm at 14KV. $25 for a set of 4, and they are plug-and-play.
I bought the tiny camera and video transmitter from HobbyKing for $40.
I also bought a set of 3D-printed mounts for the camera for $6. (You don't need this, but they look cool and work better than double-sided foam tape.)
Then I got a cheap set of goggles from HobbyKing for $60.
You will also need a battery for the goggles. They run about $9. (Note: a 9 volt battery will not work, contrary to the manual's instructions, as it can't deliver enough current.)
And, of course, you need a charger... $30. This one needs a 12V supply to operate. They also sell one that runs off 120VAC for $40.
Oh, and if you want to charge a bunch of batteries at once, you'll need one of these for $10.

The upgraded batteries are a must. You'll only be able to fly about 90 seconds otherwise.
The upgraded motors really help. It flies much slower with the stock motors, but with the upgraded ones it's very fast!
The nicer controller is a luxury. If you don't plan to fly anything else, you don't need it at all. I wanted it so I could use it for my other models.

Assembly is really simple. And once you get it in the air, you'll find that flying it is quite easy - once you get used to the first-person viewpoint, that is. The bird is very forgiving, but with the upgraded motors it will still move quite fast, so as your skill level improves you can throttle up and really have some fun!

There are several good resources on-line that show you how to perform the modifications. Here are a couple:

http://blog.matthew-evans.info/2016/...og-parts-list/
https://tiny-whoop.myshopify.com/

Many people saw these units flying in the Cafeteria at SELEM this year. I had only flown a few batteries on mine by that point, because of other problems I was having with my goggles. Those issues are now solved, and I've been having an absolute blast zooming around my house with this little thing! The video quality is amazing (especially since the transmitter is only putting out 25 mw!), and I did not lose video anywhere in the house. I hope to be threading the needle between the legs of the kitchen chairs in a week or two!

My cats hate this thing, of course, but they're smart enough to get out of the way when I come barreling down the hall with it! So much fun... Hope someone else gives this a try.

Adam

[masterpj]

Nice! FPV wise I use this: http://www.goodluckbuy.com/3-axis-br...fpv-black.html
However I might use it as a phone camera stabeliser for outdoor recording with a modified microphone scissor mount to dampen motion in the Z-axis! (4 axis gymbal kinda!)

[lasersbee]

Good job on the mods...
I saw that Inductrix upgrade on Y/T and just had to have the mini 25mw
camera and transmitter combo. I bought one at Banggood for $27.00
delivered to test out the range and stick it on some of my mini quads
I've accumulated over time.

Damn HobbyKing... I've left a king's ransom there for big boy toys in the
past 5 years.


Jerry

[White-Light]

Interesting for anyone into RC vehicles / Quads:

[buffo]

Nice! FPV wise I use this: http://www.goodluckbuy.com/3-axis-br...fpv-black.html

If you are flying very slow, you can use a gimbal mount for FPV, but if you want to fly fast, and especially if you want to race around objects, then the camera MUST be mounted to the frame. A gimbal mount stays straight and level, which is terrible if you are trying to bank around a corner! You have no way of knowing what the true orientation of the quad is, and sooner or later you will crash into something. No way you'd be able to race around a course with your FPV camera in a gimbal like that.

However, if your goal is to shoot aerial video, then yeah, the gimbal mount makes sense, since you're flying very slow and smooth to start with, and all you want is a stable platform for the camera. It also adds weight though, and that will really eat into your flight time especially on a smaller 250-sized quad like I have. (Not the Inductrix; that thing fits in the palm of your hand...)

I mostly see 350 and up birds (DJI Phantom size and larger) using the gimbals, but even there many operators will install a small fixed camera in the nose for FPV flight and then a nicer one (GoPro or better) on the gimbal.

Good job on the mods...

Thanks Jerry! It's really pretty simple. Just 2 wires to solder for the camera and transmitter combo, and 3 screws to hold the camera tray in place above the main board. Cut a hole in the cowling, swap the motors (they are plug-and-play), and you're ready to fly!

I saw that Inductrix upgrade on Y/T and just had to have the mini 25mw
camera and transmitter combo. I bought one at Banggood for $27.00

Yeah, Chris (Lazerjock) has the same camera from Banggood that you bought. I got a slightly different one from Hobbyking so it cost me a bit more. But I see people putting these types of small cameras on everything. (Small 1/12th and 1/10th scale RC cars are a great choice!)

Damn HobbyKing... I've left a king's ransom there for big boy toys in the
past 5 years.

I hear you man. Between what I've spent at HobbyKing and Banggood in the past year I could have purchased a nice 3 watt RGB projector!

But the 250 series racing quad I have now is a ton of fun. We raced them at SELEM this year, and it was great! I think I was the only one who didn't break anything, despite several spectacular crashes. (You know it's bad when the world begins tumbling sky-ground-sky-ground in the goggles and all you can hear is the crowd going "Woah....") But all week all I did was bend a prop. My son broke a frame arm (started to delaminate) and Chris had something else let go on his, so I feel lucky...

Still, it's a bit of a pain to cart all that stuff to a park or field to fly it. The cool thing about the Inductrix is that I can fly it anywhere, anytime. And it's the perfect size for flying around the house. (Haven't tried it at the office yet, but I think it would be even more fun there - at least until the boss showed up!)

Interesting for anyone into RC vehicles / Quads:

I've been thinking about adding a Mobius to my 250 quad to record some high speed runs. They are way cheaper than a GoPro, and they are lighter as well, despite having similar video quality. I just haven't dropped the $70 yet...

Adam

[White-Light]

I've been thinking about adding a Mobius to my 250 quad to record some high speed runs. They are way cheaper than a GoPro, and they are lighter as well, despite having similar video quality. I just haven't dropped the $70 yet...

Adam

Just be aware Adam the above is the Mobius 2, it's only been released about 2 months, and not to be confused with the Mobius 1 - v.2, B.2, C.2, v.3 etc. It's slightly larger and squarer than the original and has the buttons on the side. It also has enhanced spec:

http://www.mobius-cam.com/nl/mobius-...df13c82565rl33

Mobius 2:




Mobius 1:




There are still some reported issues with green screens and H.265 although it's new out so mostly likely just an early firmware issue.

Hard to say for definite which is best, the cams in that video are well established RC / Drone cams.

Also, be careful where you buy from as there are Mobius fakes out there.

[kecked]

How does such a small device fly n wind outside?

[lasersbee]

Just be aware Adam the above is the Mobius 2, it's only been released about 2 months, and not to be confused with the Mobius 1 - v.2, B.2, C.2, v.3 etc. It's slightly larger and squarer than the original and has the buttons on the side. It also has enhanced spec:

Mobius 2:




Mobius 1:




There are still some reported issues with green screens and H.265 although it's new out so mostly likely just an early firmware issue.

Hard to say for definite which is best, the cams in that video are well established RC / Drone cams.

Also, be careful where you buy from as there are Mobius fakes out there.

The Mobius 2 at €99.95 on your link works out to be $131.74 USD.
At BangGood they are only $89.00 USD.

I noticed on the video that the Mobius 2 darkens a bit when it sees the
brighter sky.

I have a few of the standard Mobius 1 and standard RunCams. I like the
video that they record. Mobious 1 is about $69.00 and Runcam 1 can be
had for about $54.00.

Jerry

[buffo]

How does such a small device fly n wind outside?

I haven't flown it in a wind outside, Marc. I did fly it around the backyard in the late evening when the air was quite still a few times, and I had no problems, but I don't know if I'd want to chance it with any real wind. It probably has a top speed of around 10 MPH (just guessing), and I don't know if that would be enough to keep control in a wind.

If you did decide to get one, I'd try flying it stock first and see how it handles the wind before you do all the upgrades to make it fly FPV. If it can handle the wind when stock, it should be just as good (if not slightly better) with the hotter motors and the upgraded battery that you need to support the extra camera weight.

I have heard of people flying them off their balconies in larger apartment complexes, but that kinda worries me because if the battery dies it basically drops out of the sky, so you could easily lose it. The current draw is around 3 amps, so you hit the low-voltage cutoff pretty fast once the battery gets low. When the LVC kicks in you are dead in the water, although the video still works. I normally get about 5 seconds of flashing lights before LVC drops the motors and it falls from the air. That's why I now use the timer feature on my transmitter every time I fly. I set it for 4 minutes, and I start the timer as soon as I bind it. When the timer goes off, I land right then.

At BangGood they are only $89.00 USD.

Yeah, I've been looking at the Mobius cameras on Banggood. I think the Model 1 is probably all I need though.

I noticed on the video that the Mobius 2 darkens a bit when it sees the brighter sky.

Better exposure control on the Mobius 1, you think?

I have a few of the standard Mobius 1 and standard RunCams.

What sort of bird are you flying them on? I'd be putting mine on a 250 racing quad frame, up front just behind (and above) the FPV camera. Would like to hard-mount it to the frame rather than using the rubber vibration-isolation mount if it wouldn't screw up the camera too much. (My FPV camera is also hard-mounted, as is my CC3D flight controller, and none of them have any vibration issues.)

Adam

[lasersbee]

I had purchased a few Mobius camera holders and I've mounted then to my
Quads, Hex and Tri copters and 2 meter FPV RTH SkyEye plane as well as
smaller RTH planes like the Bix3.
This way I can use the same camera on different flying platforms.
Maybe not better exposure control on the Mobius 1 but maybe the Mobius
2 was not configured correctly with WDR.

Jerry