Hey all,

My Flywoo Explorer LR Pro 4" BNF arrived today. I was originally going to do a custom build, but parts are so scarce that it turned out faster, easier, and cheaper to just buy it. The "Pro" version comes with the F745 AIO board, an upgraded camera, a bluetooth module, and a mic!

The first order of business was to swap out the supplied Frsky XM+ for an ExpressLRS EP1 receiver. I just installed the EP1 on my 5" quad, but I couldn't get the damn XM+ to bind so rather than mess with flashing XM+ firmware, I threw out it the window. I then proceeded with stealing the EP1 from the 5" and installed it on the Explorer. I must say soldering on that tiny FC was no fun at all. I'm glad I didn't build the whole thing. ExpressLRS is very easy to setup and bind and it worked straightaway. I did have a little trouble with battery strap clearance above the FC and EP1 (which is double stick taped on top of the FC) so I ended up take it all part again, removing some spacer washers on the FC stack screws, and cinching the rubber grommets/spacers down further. 

I then setup my Modes in Betaflight and took it for a LOS test flight. It all ran well except it wouldn't stop beeping! As LeopardFPV pointed out, the beeper was mapped to AUX1 in the modes tab and I missed it! Wow, what an odd default setting. I fixed that and all is good. I also updated form BF 4.2.0 to the latest stable BF 4.2.9. I just saved the CLI config, flashed, and dumped it back. 

My only batteries are 450mah 3S and 1300mah 4S so I ran the 450s to test. It was smooth and easily controlled LOS, but certainly a little lazy. I ordered a couple 850mah 4S and they're on the way. Batteries are also hard to find these days. 

Next I need to figure out all the GPS features and get the OSD organized. I also need to figure out why link quality OSD element isn't working.

Updates:
I fixed the link quality issue by setting rssi_channel = 0 in the CLI. I swear I don't see that option in the GUI. I'm running BF Configurator 10.8.0 beta and its like.. gone?

I updated the ESCs with JESC at 24kHz and enabled telemetry. Then enabled bidirectional DSHOT and RPM filtering. I noticed that Flywoo includes a pretty unique PID and filter tune with the quad. I'll be keeping their settings (besides enabling RPM filtering) until I fly it of course, but I'd like to compare with the default BF tuning to see what they've done. The one thing that stands out to me is that the yaw authority/rates seem very sluggish. Then again I've been flying Project Mockingbird Mobula6 a lot lately which is super yaw centric.

I got the Speedy Bee app and tried out the bluetooth module. Easy peasy and it works great. Fantastic!

My only complaint so far is that the battery lead seems very short. Maybe it'll work better once I get a bigger 4S battery on it.

The only other odd thing to report is that this quad's VTX kills my wifi at home. My other quads don't do this as far as I've noticed and I'm using the same channel. I have it at 25mW, too. Pretty weird.

your antennas are all very close to each other, you might get better performance by give it some distance. i would suggest to mount the express lrs antenna vertical in the middle of the body, best way would be a 3d print to mount it.

(28-May-2021, 07:02 PM)hugnosed_bat Wrote: your antennas are all very close to each other, you might get better performance by give it some distance. i would suggest to mount the express lrs antenna vertical in the middle of the body, best way would be a 3d print to mount it.

Yeh, I went through lots of scenarios trying to rig something up so I could get to flying it. I'd like that antenna up front. Seems to be a popular frame so maybe I can find a holder or mount for it. I don't have a 3d printer.

The Explorer went on its maiden exploration today. It was a bit breezy, but I took it to a nearby high school with several big fields. My first impression is wow, this thing is smooooth. It just glides around like butter. I updated it to Betaflight 4.2.9 and setup RPM filtering, but the pids and rates are factory. I ran my two 850mah 4S batteries and got almost 11minutes of flight time each. I was mostly cruising around, but I did a few flips and rolls and tight turns around the soccer nets. I also fought headwinds strong enough to move me backwards a few times. I was also flying my 2.5" Eclair and I broke the VTX antenna off so had a spare 450mah 3S battery to use. I plugged that into the Explorer and flew a bit as well. It didn't feel dramatically different and I got over 4min of flight time with it. Not bad.

I am a bit disappointed with the VTX or my VTX setup. I could only go around 500-600ft before I'd lose my video. This is direct line of sight. I have a Lumineer AXII 2 circular polarized on a decently long stem as well as the AXII patch connected to my SKY04Xs. I started with the VTX at 100mW, but worked my way up to MAX with no noticeable range increase. Hrmm

Also my ExpressLRS EP1 receiver showed mostly 100 link quality, but it would dip down to 94 or so at times. I need to read up on that and see what is expected. I think they said it should be fairly fixed to 100. Maybe the thoughts up above about my RX and VTX antennas being too close is right. The VTX antenna is so long and high up though?

GPS hooked up quick to 10+ satellites and worked well. It was really neat to have distance to home, direction to home, speed, altitude, etc all running.

I can't wait to get it out on a less windy day so I can get it up in the air more.

(01-Jun-2021, 12:37 AM)txbdan Wrote: The Explorer went on its maiden exploration today. It was a bit breezy, but I took it to a nearby high school with several big fields. My first impression is wow, this thing is smooooth. It just glides around like butter. I updated it to Betaflight 4.2.9 and setup RPM filtering, but the pids and rates are factory. I ran my two 850mah 4S batteries and got almost 11minutes of flight time each. I was mostly cruising around, but I did a few flips and rolls and tight turns around the soccer nets. I also fought headwinds strong enough to move me backwards a few times. I was also flying my 2.5" Eclair and I broke the VTX antenna off so had a spare 450mah 3S battery to use. I plugged that into the Explorer and flew a bit as well. It didn't feel dramatically different and I got over 4min of flight time with it. Not bad.

I am a bit disappointed with the VTX or my VTX setup. I could only go around 500-600ft before I'd lose my video. This is direct line of sight. I have a Lumineer AXII 2 circular polarized on a decently long stem as well as the AXII patch connected to my SKY04Xs. I started with the VTX at 100mW, but worked my way up to MAX with no noticeable range increase. Hrmm

Also my ExpressLRS EP1 receiver showed mostly 100 link quality, but it would dip down to 94 or so at times. I need to read up on that and see what is expected. I think they said it should be fairly fixed to 100. Maybe the thoughts up above about my RX and VTX antennas being too close is right. The VTX antenna is so long and high up though?

GPS hooked up quick to 10+ satellites and worked well. It was really neat to have distance to home, direction to home, speed, altitude, etc all running.

I can't wait to get it out on a less windy day so I can get it up in the air more.

You should be getting more range than that?

Is your antenna polarization on the quad consistent with your receiving antenna?

You may want to try a different antenna.

You also mentioned that you updated Betaflight, did you setup the VTX table correctly? Do the LED flashes indicate the correct power level?

In the end it may just be a faulty vtx.

Yeh, I'm not sure what's up. Yep, my polarization handedness match up. The antenna is the included Atomic one. I'd imagine its fine? Yep, I verified the VTX table against the table that Flywoo has on their website. I'll double check the LED flashes and what not. Changing channels on the OSD works, so I assume power works as well, but I'll confirm.


For those of you with Explorers, do you run the side support pieces between the side legs? This thing seems pretty benign to fly (famous last words) and I suspect the supports catch the wind a good bit. Any experience with how delicate the legs are without the supports?

Delete the side braces from your Explorer for sure. Better without IMHO.

As new to fpv drones I use the side braces to help fortify the thing for my up coming crashes....
I too got a v2 pro
But my Vtx never did work
I replaced it with a Zeus Nano so far so good !