Nice!!! I have Cat 2's on my 5 inchers and on my 7 incher specifically to be able to fly in super low light like that. Now ask me how many times I've actually gotten off my ass to fly in low light like that lol. That looks very impressive!! I can't wait to see your flights!! I also think the Cat 2 looks really good in normal daytime flying. I heard the version 3 is even better in low light. That full moon desert trip sounds like a sick idea!!

I hope it turns out good. Saw the Cat3 reviews and holy moly! That is crazy clear flying around in city scapes. I noted this camera in a lighted parking lot is like flying in daylight. The Cat3 looks better than the Cat2.

Goggles replaced, the new ones are a lot better than my old ones!

Digging up old Threads lol

Any further upgrades for anyone? How are the Explorers, durability wise, like esc? Who's made a longer rear arm for 5"?

Curious minds want to know ?

I am updating my Explorer a little.  I have an F745 FC for it, but not installing it at the moment.  Instead, focusing in on the VTX and swapping in a TBS Unify Pro32 HV.  It is bolted to the underside of the top plate and this mounting works perfectly.

The VTX does seem to work perfectly with the camera when things are just installed on the bench...Camera -> VTX / 4S lipo directly powering.  When I solder it into the quad, Camera -> FC -> VTX / LIPO power it does not.  I have the VTX wired directly to the Crossfire Nano RX for control.  I did not alter the settings in BF and I believe I have a conflict with the SmartAudio tables still set up there.  Will clear them this evening when I get home and test it again.



The GOKU HM600 works fine, but I am desiring better antenna selection and a full 1000mw output.

Will update this evening!  Hope everyone is having a most wonderful day and remember that each of our moments in life are precious! 

This is a very compelling quad. I sort of lost interest in FPV when I couldn't find a lot of good places to fly a 5" or even my 2.5" since I live in a fairly dense and populated area. One cool idea is that my FIL lives further out in the burbs and has a huge yard and a lot of forest and ponds near by. With something like this I could launch from his back yard and cruise around. That sounds really cool. HRMMMMM

Sounds like the stock build is pretty solid, eh? I'd be running FrSky and analog FPV.

It is a pretty neat cruiser, efficient and smooth. This would be perfect for just flying around, not a lot of power for freestyle...it can still do a trick here or there. I am running Crossfire and analog and it works fine when flown as more a glider.

Ok, I have given up trying to get the Unify Pro32 HV working over soft serial. The video is just not working the way I want. The VTX works fine on other builds...so it will be on another build! Am swapping back in the Goku HM600. That worked well enough for the way I fly this Explorer.

When cruising something like this do you use Angle mode instead of Rate/Acro mode? That seems more relaxing and likely more efficient.

(17-May-2021, 05:35 PM)txbdan Wrote: When cruising something like this do you use Angle mode instead of Rate/Acro mode? That seems more relaxing and likely more efficient.

I have always found Acro mode is more efficient because the quad is not constantly adjusting itself to the accelerometer. If your accelerometer is not well calibrated then you keep fighting the quad to keep it on course while in angle mode.

Another aspect is that with angle mode we have to constantly provide stick inputs where as with acro during cruising, I can let go of the transmitter sticks if I need a quick break or make some adjustments to my position or goggles or even look around my surroundings.

I use angle mode indoors on whoops or horizon mode during LOS testing for a new build.

Is crossfire pretty mandatory for LR or would FrSky get 'er done for a couple km or so?

(18-May-2021, 12:17 AM)txbdan Wrote: Is crossfire pretty mandatory for LR or would FrSky get 'er done for a couple km or so?

I adopted the R9 system early on and had to deal with reliability issues until the Flex firmware was released.  I had zero issues flying out to several kilometers with it, but had trouble trusting it...while it was proving to be reliable, my confidence in it was tarnished.  I chose to shift to Crossfire primarily because it just works and updating is so super simple.

If you have an R9 system and are choosing to run it with the FrSky firmware, you will easily be able to fly for 4 or 5 kilometers with the adaptive power set up.