(14-Dec-2019, 08:16 PM)the.ronin Wrote: I'd actually never given the ImpulseRC frames much thought because I figured it was just a Steele hype train (pun intended lol).  But I see so many incredible freestylers swearing by this frame who don't seem to have an apparent relation to Steele swear by it.  But seeing it in person was what really caught my attention.

My main quad is an ImpulseRC Reverb. I was in the market for a second one so I could transfer the parts from my Martian into it, and waited until the Apex came out. I got a second Reverb in the end anyway. The Apex is designed pretty much exclusively for 4-in-1 ESCs, and is a bit dogmatic. The Reverb is a bit more open to other options. A bit cheaper too.

But yeah, ImpulseRC are legit. They're well designed and solidly built.

Gahhh I wish I had read your post before pulling the trigger Banelle. Yes, I quickly got the impression that the Apex and really a lot of the ImpulseRC line is geared towards a KISS setup with 4-in-1 ESCs. I wasn't so concerned about the frame flying "less good" on Betaflight ... cos that just doesn't make sense lol ... but really space on the arms for individual ESCs. I did find some build videos with ESCs on the arms as well as BF builds. In addition they were all really positive about the frame - and this isn't Rotor Riot / KISS types but just random Youtube dudes with few followers. Those are the videos I trust.

So I got the Apex despite all this and folks great advice on this thread, again, mostly because after seeing it in real life, I felt it was such a solid frame. I really like the F40 Pro III's I got for the Chameleon but SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) was giving serious stink eye so I opted for this deeply discounted 4-pack of F40 Pro II's in red to match the red plastic on the Apex I ordered. Hey, if you can color coordinate why not right? lol Otherwise I'm sticking with the Holybro Kakute F7 since I was very impressed with it and also Holybro ESCs rather than the Spedix because they are just a smidge narrower (for the narrow arms). Both of these ESCs however are narrower still than the KISS ESCs I've seen people put on these arms. The Byte Frost will be migrated from the Acrobrat.

As always, thanks for your advice guys. I may not always go by them but I do take them into serious consideration because they are honest and make sense. I'd like to think I'm honest but I don't always make sense lol.

So I'm well into this Apex build now just finalizing some 3d print mounts. It is indeed a solid frame despite being removable arms. It's also far better looking frame in real life for whatever reason. But I do have some serious gripes about this frame. In particular, so much of the hardware is countersunk. Countersunk has it's place but in this case, I'm not sure where the value add is considering there are other massive screws to hold the arms down which stick out quite a bit. In addition, the main stack screws (countersunk) are blocked off by a bottom plate securing the arms. You need to either assemble your stack before installing that bottom plate or tighten the stack down with a nut from the top and hope the screw doesn't turn along with it. I really don't get the logic there.

Anyway build log incoming ...