Matek F722-SE - brand new flight controller that brings STM32F7 closer to the needs of many

At the beginning of 2018 I've stated that Matek F722-STD is the first F7 flight controller that makes sense. Today, I have in front of me I have the first F7 flight controller that has all you need (and more) when 4-in-1 ESC is not what you are looking for.

It is Matek F722-SE!

• STM32F722 processor
• MPU6000 and ICM20602 gyro/acc - user selectable to match the needs. Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of dual gyro design. From my perspective, MPU6000 is enough for everyone. Really!
• OSD compatible with INAV and Betaflight
• BMP280 barometer
• 5 hardware serial ports
• possible 1 software serial
• 8 outputs
• I2C bus

This is the standard data. Nothing super fancy at a first glance. Until you go into the details:

• PDB with a current meter is integrated into the design
• you can connect 2 separate FPV cameras and select the one that will be connected to OSD and VTX with your radio without any additional hardware. Super option for fixed wing flyers
• power VTX on/off from your radio as well (I really will have to test that soon)
• TX6 is conveniently positioned at every corner for ESC telemetry setup
• F7 means that you can connect anything you want to any serial port you want. F7 series have integrated serial inverters, so SBUS and SmartPort is no longer a problem

I'm super eager to put this baby on one of my racing quads

Matek F722-SE is coming soon!

Mamba F405 and F40 40A 3-6S 4-in-1 ESC combo hands on

I have to honestly admit, up to the beginning of 2018 summer I was rather against 4-in-1 ESCs and flight controllers combos. The reason was quite simple: 4-in-1 were a rather new thing, had a tendency to burn without a reason and were quite expensive. Pretty much a normal state of a new technology. In comparison, FC + PDB + 4 separate ESC had more flexibility, were cheaper to replace when something puffed the magic smoke and seemed to be a reasonable choice when few extra grams of weight was not a problem. Lately, things started to change...
4-in-1 ESCs are no longer a new thing, manufacturers learned their lessons and prices went down! And that means you can get a decent quality flight controller and 4-in-1 ESC for less than $50. That's cheaper than 4 ESCs! C'mon, things ARE happening.

Today let's take a look at the example of a new age FC + 4-in-1 combos: Mamba F4 Power Tower.

What comes inside the package?

1. Mamba F405 flight controller
2. Mamba F40 4in1 ESC

Mamba F405 flight controller

Mamba F405 comes preflashed with Betaflight 3.3 and uses target FuryF4 OSD (FY4O). It comes in standard 30,5x30,5mm hole spacing.

• STM32 F405 processor
• SPI connected MPY6000 gyro
• 3 hardware serial ports: UART1, UART3, and UART6
• LED support
• built-in OSD
• built-in 16MB flash memory for blackbox logs
• I2C pads

Mamba F40 4in1 ESC

• 40A constant, 50A peak current
• DSHOT support
• uses QN3109 MOSFETs
• current sensor

Pros and cons

Some pros and cons after taking a "static" look at Mamba F405 and F40 4in1 ESC

Pros:

• pretty good quality PCB, I would even say surprisingly good for a price
• FC comes with rubber grommets for vibration damping
• side mounted DFU button instead of flat buttons or just pads on some lower quality boards
• c'mon! $45!

Cons:

• FC can be used only with 4in1 ESC, no separate soldering pads for ESCs
• There are many versions of QN3109 MOSFETs, and depending which PDF you take a look at, 40A rating is either overrated or underrated... hmm...
• location of pads for motors on the 4in1 is problematic. It collides with mounting standoffs. Careful soldering required!

Overall verdict? So far, positively surprised! Really, this thing goes to one of my mini quads immediately!

Betaflight 4.0 - improved dynamic filtering on 7 inch quad

The next major release of Betaflight will be 4.0 with new and improved Dynamic Filtering. For now, today I only did a quick test of Betaflight 4.0 running on my TBS Source One 7-inch FPV drone. No tuning, no playing with settings. I only flashed, set modes and radio and that's all. I pretty much like how it feels. This quadcopter was mainly doing cruising, no freestyle, and it felt good to put those props into more demanding use. Yes, Betaflight 4.0 has a good chance to be just awesome...

Hardware

• TBS Source One v0.11 7-inch
• Motors: EMAX RS2 2206 1600KV
• Propellers: Gemfan FLASH 7042
• ESC: DYS XSD30A
• FC Matek F722-STD with Betaflight 4.0
• PDB: Matek FCHUB-6S

A note about the sound. It indeed sounds like a V8 engine. Bear in mind, that those are default settings and Gemfan FLASH 7042 props are light and do not like to have too much D gain.

Smooth 7-inch FPV drone - motor soft mounts, part 1

I have a theory that 7-inch FPV quadcopters fly "below expectations" due to frame resonance, I did not expect, so many pilots agree with it. We had nice talks in comments, I've learned a lot about stiffness and moment of inertia (that you Pierre-Louis). Many of you shared some of their tricks and ideas on how to solve that. Let's start testing some ideas how to fix that!

Flybot Flux Freestyle FPV flying wing

What happens when multirotor world meets flying wings? Flying ZM250 without arms is born. Today we will take a look at a new example of German Engineering: Flybot Flux Freestyle FPV Flying Wing

Bottom line is that Flybot Flux is just an amazing flying wing!

Ritewing Mini Drak - Above The Fog

Weather like this happens only a few times a year: raising fog, low sun and another layer of clouds... And very little wind. To be honest, when I went to the "airfield" I did not expect to use my Ritewing Mini Drak at all. The fog was too dense and too low. But then it raised and holes appeared... Awesome...

• Airplane: Ritewing Mini Drak
• HD Camera: RunCam Split Mini 2

If you want to know more about my Mini Drak, here is the link that has more details.

Xiaomi Mijia Wiha 24 in 1 screwdriver set

Good screwdriver set that will not ruin your budget? Or rather honestly priced screwdrivers set that will not disintegrate after the first usage? That's a tough one. Xiaomi to the rescue? Why not, Xiaomi Mijia Wiha is apparently good enough!

Eachine TX805 video transmitter power test

Let's measure power output from Eachine TX805 that is supposed to be up to 800mW. Well, it is not. It matches the specification only at 200mW and 800mW is just not there. But, well, it's only $16 and when used at 200mW or 500mW it works quite well.

RF power meter can be purchased for really cheap. Surprisingly, it is a pretty decent hardware too...

Eachine TX805 5.8GHz video transmitter with SmartAudio review

I love Team BlackSheep Unify Pro series of video transmitters. But they are bloody expensive. $50 for an HV version is way too much in my opinion. Still, I own several of those. Whey on Banggood I've found a presale of Eachine TX805 VTX with SmartAudio for $16, I could not resist and I've ordered a couple of them. This is what came out of it:

Want to fly longer with a drone? Here is what you have to do!

I will keep it short: drones are not designed for a long flight. Sure, you can put bigger props, bigger batteries and make it lighter, but comparing to even simplest airplanes, there is nothing to compare.

The conclusion is: try airplanes. They are cheap, simple, easy to fly with modern flight controllers and are much more efficient than drones!