There are many AIO with built-in ELRS for 1-2S, but it seems there are very limited choices for 3S and up? Anyone know of any besides these?

Happymodel CrazyF411 2-4S 20A UART ELRS
Happymodel X1/X2 2-4S 12A SPI ELRS (discontinued)
DarwinFPV 1-3S 15A SPI ELRS


Also in this day and age of digital, anyone see any digital only AIOs? Meaning no OSD chip or camera/video pads, that would reclaim quite a bit of precious board space for other components like a beefier voltage regulator, pit switch, digital vtx connector, etc.

Other than the three you already mentioned, the only other 3s plus capable aio with built in ELRS that I’m aware of is the DarwinFPV Hulk aio. It’s 3s to 6s, but it’s their water resistant one and it’s *not* light:
https://www.racedayquads.com/products/da...lrs-2-4ghz

I know there are some digital only (no osd chip) aio’s out there, but from what I recall they didn’t then use that extra space to improve the circuit design or use higher rated components, they seemed to just use it as a cost cutting measure. That said, I’m still analog so I don’t pay much attention to boards without an osd chip, so I’m far from an authority on the matter.

Edit- besides being heavy, that Hulk also uses an spi ELRS rx, and it’s an f411.

I'm also on the hunt for (affordable) 3s capable aio elrs whoop boards. My mobula7 hdzero quads use the happymodel x2 aio which is really a sweet spot for me, but I guess they're tragically discontinued and I'm not sure what would make a good replacement when I crush these boards.

For now I crushed the elrs antenna on one of them, but I think I can replace that with a bit of effort.

This cheap quad has a 2-4S FC inside, but i can't find more details from it: https://www.hglrc.com/products/hglrc-dra...-fpv-drone
Another one from BetaFPV: https://betafpv.com/collections/brushles...-aio-fc-v1

If its just the antenna, you can swap one quite easily, those AIOs have ufl connectors. The CrazyF411 should be a good swap for your X2, it comes with motor plugs soldered, but you will need to solder up the VTX. Otherwise if you don't plan on running more than 3S, Betafpv has since released a 2-3S F405 ELRS HD only AIO. Though it does have the power lead/usb sticking out on a tab, that could be a good or bad thing depending on your frame, but probably not a direct fit for a whoop.

Don't know why there aren't more 3-4S capable AIOs with ELRS, Happymodel use to have quite a few boards with Frsky. I guess ELRS takes up too much real estate on a 3S+ board, but hey if they can fit everything plus a VTX into a tiny diamond board...

(20-Nov-2023, 05:57 PM)radla Wrote: This cheap quad has a 2-4S FC inside, but i can't find more details from it: https://www.hglrc.com/products/hglrc-dra...-fpv-drone
Another one from BetaFPV: https://betafpv.com/collections/brushles...-aio-fc-v1

Interesting on the HGLRC drone. I actually ordered one and waiting for it to arrive, since it is for 2S, I just assumed it was a 1-2S AIO. I should really read the specs more carefully... it will be good to see how it does.

That's really helpful, thanks all. I'm definitely going to try replacing the antenna, but the day isn't far from now when I blow this FC to smithereens crashing into a wall/ceiling/my own head.

Probably not recommended, but may work if you're not flying out too far. If the T-part of the antenna is damaged, but the length is still more than 30mm, you can try cutting off the T-part, and then carefully stripping roughly 30mm of the wire. It should be coax, so remove the outer black plastic plus the thin metal shielding underneath, but leave the inner transparent insulation and thin core wire intact. That should keep you in the air untii you are ready with a replacement antenna.

This is actually the onboard ceramic cube antenna that is directly soldered to the board. I think I can desolder it and either attach a new cube or even just a length of wire? I've had a little trouble finding a real walkthrough for this, so I have to do some more reading.

Didn't realize x2 came with the ceramic antenna. There are four pads, but only one corner is active. If you still have the base of the original antenna, follow the gold line down and take note which corner it leads to before you remove it. Otherwise you might be able to spot the trace on the PCB. You want to solder the wire to that pad.

Great, I'll take a look and see if I can trace it, but the ceramic antenna was truly pulverized somehow, so not much to see there. What kind of wire is acceptable for this application?

Any wire should do. Manufacturers tend to use enamel wire, if you have thin solid core wire that might be good, but any wire should do. If you use shielded/coax then make sure around 30mm on the free end is unshielded, but it should all still be insulated. They recommended a paperclip on the ELRS discord, but I couldn't imagine that being a good option.

That's great news. I have a slew of tiny copper wire in the basement from when my wife and I first started making jewelry. I'll try desoldering the old antenna and soldering a copper wire to live pad. Thanks!

You do want it to be insulated (ie enamel coated) and not bare conductive wire as you don't want that to short out anything in your stack.

Okay, that's an important tip, I think I can pull that off easily enough. Do you think a thick layer of conformal coating on a bare wire would suffice for protection?