Category: RC & FPV

  • Setting up iNav on 250 class racer

    Although iNav (iNavFlight) with advanced GPS and navigation support is best suited for larger, GPS equipped drones, there is absolutely no reason not to use it on something smaller like 250 racer. Why? Well, why not? Basic flight mechanics is the same like in Cleanflight or Betaflight. FP-PID is brand new PID controller, not very…

  • Magical LiPo tree

    Since LiPo batteries are potentially dangerous, they can not be just put into garbage. They have to be properly handled, utilized, before they can be safely thrown out. I will write more on this topic later. Here is only a picture of my magical LiPo tree. Knife, electrical connector, 12V halogen lightbulb, some sand, a flowerpot…

  • Hands-on: Beitian BN-880 GPS module

    Looking for a decent replacement for my u-blox NEO-6M GPS modules I came by super cheap, Chinese, Beitian BN-880 modules from Banggood. According to information found in the internet, it’s build based on u-blox Neo-M8N and is capable of receiving signals from GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS and SBAS. Plus integrated magnetometer module. Yesterday package…

  • Connecting ultrasonic rangefinder (Sonar) to INAV

    Keeping constant altitude with a drone is not a trivial task. Specially, if drone is supposed to keep give altitude very precisely few meters above the ground. One of the reasons for it is difficulty of reading precise altitude. Barometer can drift when atmospheric pressure changes and can produce a lot of noise. GPS is…

  • WiFi telemetry for Cleanflight with EZ-GUI and ESP8266

    Some time ago I have written a tutorial how to setup Bluetooth based telemetry link between Cleanflight and PC or smartphone. It’s simple and it works. But it has some disadvantages. For example, connection is very very slow and has a limited range: up to 10 meters. While it is enough to change PIDs before…

  • New PID controller for INAV

    If anybody keeps track of my posts about iNav flight controller software, he or she should notice that I like it very much. Guy nicknamed DigitalEntity did excellent job improving Cleanflight’s navigation modes. Maybe it is still not the same level as Pixhawk or Naza, but with this improvement speed those two are within reach…

  • Smartport telemetry for Betaflight

    Smartport telemetry for Betaflight

    With their latest transmitters and receivers FrSky changed telemetry protocol. XJT module, Taranis radios, X8R, X4R and X4RSB are using SmartPort telemetry protocol. And that creates few problems. First of all, SmartPort is a serial protocol. That means, flight controller has to have free serial port to connect S.Port device. Second of all, TX and…

  • What is Betaflight Air Mode?

    Better late than never, so here is mine explanation what is AirMode implemented in Cleanflights fork Betaflight and hopefully soon available also in Cleanflight. Before we will go to any details, please read this to understand how PID controller works. If you know, you might skip it. In normal flight mode, No Air Mode, flight…

  • Problem: no OSD when camera is connected on minimOSD MW OSD

    Problem When camera and minimOSD are connected to video transmitter, minimOSD is not overlaying OSD data. If camera is disconnected, OSD data is transmitted. After connecting camera, only camera image is transmitted. Possible Solution Check if camera and minimOSD are using the same display system. Usually monitor/goggles and video transmitter does not care very much…