Originally Posted by dferrey

If you mean which X1, I have this one.

No, for a moment I thought I was still in the v911 thread. Sorry.

Originally Posted by dferrey

To add to this...

I love that I can land and take off on my carpet Yeah, I'm liking this quad thing

I have a couple of v911's now I need a 2nd quad. So many choices.

I know what you mean

If you want something about the same size, a bit more powerful and more functions, consider the V959. I'm digging the Tx and all the remote control possibilities.

But if you want a smaller one, consider the V939. Although there are other quads of that micro size. I like the V939 for its Rx compatibility with this line of products, so that you only need to carry one radio.

And the 939 has lights for night flying/orientation. Very fun.

Originally Posted by Heli Pad

Wow, Oz, you're the soldering master!
Best of luck after work. I hope this mod extends the range.
I still don't quite get the Tombstone of capacitance.
Where to get the 2dB antenna?
Could you feed the antenna up the fake stub?

The antenna was from an old 2.4GHz router.

The 2.4GHz antenna is better placed horizontal.

The term "Tombstone" came from when the circuit board goes though the solder process, the surface mount parts (resistors, capacitors, diodes, etc) sometimes stands up, just like a Tombstone on a grave, and since it opens the circuit, something does not work and has to be troubleshooted to repair, see picture. I repaired motherboards and all the add in cards for 9 years before getting into engineering.

The 0201 (size) 100 pico Farad cap that I stand up is pretty small, see the second picture for reference.

Originally Posted by Heli Pad

I tried two of my fairly new NanoTech 600s tonight. Indoor hovering, 100% stock. I got 12.5 mins, from 4.2v to LVC for both of them. I don't know what you guys are doing different that get 20% more flight time than I did. Pretty impressive.

One possibility from what I remember reading about helicopters: forward flight (at certain mediumish speeds) takes less power than hovering. This is because with forward flight, the forward motion produces more lift on the rotors (the extra lift in the rotor going forward is more than the decrease in lift in the rotor going backward), like a plane gets more lift from the wing when it is flying faster or a breeze blowing past a hovering heli will make it rise.

Originally Posted by --Oz--

The antenna was from an old 2.4GHz router.

The 2.4GHz antenna is better placed horizontal.

The term "Tombstone" came from when the circuit board goes though the solder process, the surface mount parts (resistors, capacitors, diodes, etc) sometimes stands up, just like a Tombstone on a grave, and since it opens the circuit, something does not work and has to be troubleshooted to repair, see picture. I repaired motherboards and all the add in cards for 9 years before getting into engineering.

The 0201 (size) 100 pico Farad cap that I stand up is pretty small, see the second picture for reference.

Well, no wonder your mods are so clean. I think I understand what tombstoning means now. So, by standing the 100pF cap up, it is no longer connected to the trace antenna on the PCB. I could not quite see it from that picture angle, but I assume that center wire of the antenna is soldered onto the top end of the tombstoned cap. Now, would it be the same as leaving the cap as it, cutting the trace antenna and solder in the new antenna? But then cutting the trace is not as reversible. But having both antenna running at the same time is a no-no, right?

Could you explain why the 2.4GHz antenna is better horizontal than pointing up/out? I have always been under the impression of the other way. I noticed that my Spektrum radio has the antenna up that stub.

Originally Posted by Heli Pad

Interest indeed. I have the V5 Board. What do you have? The writings is in the underside of the board. You could see it from below.

Like what I said in the FAQ. After I bound the Tx to the Rx once. I doesn't need re-binding after battery change. I always turn the Tx on first. Then I plug in the Lipo, set X1 on flat surface. LED would flash rapidly and goes to solid. And I'm ready to fly.

Just checked, it's V5. If I turn the Tx on first it does the beep beep beep long beep before the x1 gets to the fast flashing...and then when the x1 goes slow flash no control.

Just tried again with the stock controller - plugged in the battery and put the x1 down, as soon as the fast blink started I turned on the TX, the x1 then switched to slow blink and I had control. Unplugged the battery leaving the TX on, plugged it back in - and it goes from lights off to fast blink eventually to slow blink - but apparently not bound to the TX anymore as I have no control.

Then tried again with the 9x. Same deal, did a bind and it worked. Unplugged the battery leaving the TX on - no control until I did another bind.

Not the end of the world - but kind of a bummer to have to bind each time I turn it on. At least with the stock TX it's just a matter of turning them on at the right time...but with the 9x it's a process that would be easier with a 3rd hand

Originally Posted by jhitesma

Just checked, it's V5. If I turn the Tx on first it does the beep beep beep long beep before the x1 gets to the fast flashing...and then when the x1 goes slow flash no control.

Just tried again with the stock controller - plugged in the battery and put the x1 down, as soon as the fast blink started I turned on the TX, the x1 then switched to slow blink and I had control. Unplugged the battery leaving the TX on, plugged it back in - and it goes from lights off to fast blink eventually to slow blink - but apparently not bound to the TX anymore as I have no control.

Then tried again with the 9x. Same deal, did a bind and it worked. Unplugged the battery leaving the TX on - no control until I did another bind.

Not the end of the world - but kind of a bummer to have to bind each time I turn it on. At least with the stock TX it's just a matter of turning them on at the right time...but with the 9x it's a process that would be easier with a 3rd hand

Very curious. You and I have the same board. Yet our experiences are almost opposite to each others.

I just tried again, making sure I'm not imagine it. I started with battery unplugged Tx off.
1) Turn (stock) Tx On. It went beep, beep,... BEEP! Steady.
2) Now I plug in the Lipo. And turn the X1 right side up.
3) There is a brief delay before the red LED starts flashing rapidly.
4) Then it goes straight to Solid Red. Bound, and have control.

Mine doesn't go to slow flashing - because I think that's the undesirable state. When the LED flash slow, the Rx is saying, "I couldn't find no stinking radio!!"

I could induce slow flash, by skipping step 1, and go straight to step 2. Then step 3 becomes: changing from rapid flash to slow flash. And even at this point, if I go turn on the Tx, it will go, beep, beep,... BEEP! At the last BEEP, the Red LED goes solid, and I'm ready to fly!!

Originally Posted by Heli Pad

Mine doesn't go to slow flashing - because I think that's the undesirable state. When the LED flash slow, the Rx is saying, "I couldn't find no stinking radio!!"

Yeah, I just read the instructions (man I thought the 9958 had some bad chinglish!) and saw that it seems to indicate that the slow flash on the X1 means no bind.

But on mine it seems to indicate when there is a bind. Very odd. I'll have to play with it some more this evening when I'm done with my work for the day....

Originally Posted by Heli Pad

Well, no wonder your mods are so clean. I think I understand what tombstoning means now. So, by standing the 100pF cap up, it is no longer connected to the trace antenna on the PCB. I could not quite see it from that picture angle, but I assume that center wire of the antenna is soldered onto the top end of the tombstoned cap. Now, would it be the same as leaving the cap as it, cutting the trace antenna and solder in the new antenna? But then cutting the trace is not as reversible. But having both antenna running at the same time is a no-no, right?

Could you explain why the 2.4GHz antenna is better horizontal than pointing up/out? I have always been under the impression of the other way. I noticed that my Spektrum radio has the antenna up that stub.

With a 2bDi dipole antenna, the antenna spreads it signal over a broad range, kinda like an apple shape (small holes on top and bottom), i f you use a higher gain antenna, like 5dBi, the same radiated energy is now flattened, so longer range, BUT, flatter, like squashing a balloon. this creates a larger hole at the top of the antenna (direction the antenna is pointing). In the picture below, the 2dBi is not correct, it has a hole, but the least of all the antenna. So you really do not want to point the antenna at the Rx, so laying it horizontal is the preferred method. Yea I know, that will start an argument, LOLThis topic is hammered in other threads, amen.

2 antennas at once,, more then likely it screws up the loading of the driver driving the antenna, but you never know until you try

Cutting the trace is easily reversible, just jumper with solder.

If you are looking for a responsive, fun, quad then the Syma X1 is not for you.

The Syma X1 hovers. On high rates you can get it to move, but don't ask it to change direction unless you plan the move six months ahead of time.

If you want to do more than hover in place then you will want something other than this. Mine went back in the box after just a few flights. Wasted money.

I would love to see video proving me wrong.

Originally Posted by TomQ

If you are looking for a responsive, fun, quad then the Syma X1 is not for you.
...

Well, what is "fun" is different for different people.
From a video of yours, the X1 is badly suited for what you would like, but it seems to be pretty well suited for what many on this thread would like.

Originally Posted by TomQ

I would love to see video proving me wrong.

No video, but the consensus in this thread agrees with you that the stock tx is incredibly dumbed down.

However, people have found the performance to be much better when binding the x1 to a different tx, such as a 9x.

I'm coming from a v911 heli would this quad be the next step after the v911 before a cp heli?

Originally Posted by TomQ

If you are looking for a responsive, fun, quad then the Syma X1 is not for you.

The Syma X1 hovers. On high rates you can get it to move, but don't ask it to change direction unless you plan the move six months ahead of time.

If you want to do more than hover in place then you will want something other than this. Mine went back in the box after just a few flights. Wasted money.

I would love to see video proving me wrong.

No, no one claims that the X1 is the most responsive Quad ever made. But don't ask it to change direction unless you plan the move six months ahead of time? I'm not sure if I'd agree with that.

Too bad that it didn't work out for you. By all means, get something for yourself that you would enjoy. Stop by and let us know what turns you on.

As for video, I didn't make this, but I posted one early on page 5. You may say that the owner was easy to please, but it sure sounded like he was having FUN.

Syma X1 Quadcopter - Maiden Flight (with Review Commentary) (3 min 30 sec)