actually here is a clip for anyone interested in converting their x1 into an AP and fpv platform....

v929 micro quad FPV and HD video recording with an 808 #16 v2 (0 min 0 sec)

I finally got to maiden her tonight, but it was just after sunset and quite blustery and windy... the gws props helped alot.. infact u can hear the wind on the onboard mic...

Also it was just after sunset so not the best time to test the camera...

The camera is storing video in HD onboard and has live video out for FPV.

It is a great micro AP and FPV platform.

I flew about 1.5hrs today in pretty stiff 5-15mph winds, and the X1 was a bear to manage flying into the wind. At times it would take off vertical like a kite. I lost contact with it several times. I'm surprised your FPV video is as stable as it is in a wind with the X1.

Originally Posted by ArchillesElbow

actually here is a clip for anyone interested in converting their x1 into an AP and fpv platform....

Also it was just after sunset so not the best time to test the camera...

The camera is storing video in HD onboard and has live video out for FPV.

It is a great micro AP and FPV platform.

Looks great - but since we have to walk before we can run.....

Is the 929 generally the same as the X1?
Are there different props or batteries I should use in the X1?

And, assuming that I don't yet want or need the FPV, should I simply take one of the keychain cams out of the case to save the weight? Does it still use it's stock battery, or can I replace it with a lighter one or somehow take power off the main battery?

I'll keep the 86 grams in mind and weigh before I fly next time!

Originally Posted by craigiri

Looks great - but since we have to walk before we can run.....

Is the 929 generally the same as the X1?
Are there different props or batteries I should use in the X1?

And, assuming that I don't yet want or need the FPV, should I simply take one of the keychain cams out of the case to save the weight? Does it still use it's stock battery, or can I replace it with a lighter one or somehow take power off the main battery?

I'll keep the 86 grams in mind and weigh before I fly next time!

From a payload perspective they react the same, except the v9x9 can recover easier since it is more agile...
The x1 is slightly lighter as well....
The big difference is the ability to out on gws props on the 9x9 but not the x1(easily) I put an x1 on a v929 frame with gws props...
If u take the keychain off its case u can use a lighter battery... I have not used a common flight battery as this will not work easily for fpv...
I am not sure how much using a common flight and cam battery will affect the flight time tho...

craigiri, the 929 has 8.5mm diameter motors, the x1 has 7mm motors. The gears are different sizes. The blades on the 929 fit on 3mm round carbon shafts, the x1 has hex shaped shafts the blades fit onto. You can probably use 500 or 600 mah batteries on the x1, but you need to check the size of the batteries and the weight. When I tried to use the 808 cam on a smaller battery and helicopter, the battery did not have enough power for both, and the camera would shut off after maybe 30 seconds. The batteries on the x1 are more powerful than what I tried, it might work, but a seperate battery for the camera would probably work better. I stripped the case off of my 808 to reduce weight, and wrapped it with electrical tape. Someone may respond to your questions with better answers, but I hope my response helps

I heard pulling power from the flight battery for the 808 may introduce interference in either the video or audio. I forget.

You should be able to lighten the v929 quite a bit.

The GWS props on the v929/v949 are great. It really fits my flying style. I just posted my observation of them if you didn't catch it already.

Originally Posted by siriusflier

craigiri, the 929 has 8.5mm diameter motors, the x1 has 7mm motors. The gears are different sizes. The blades on the 929 fit on 3mm round carbon shafts, the x1 has hex shaped shafts the blades fit onto. You can probably use 500 or 600 mah batteries on the x1, but you need to check the size of the batteries and the weight. When I tried to use the 808 cam on a smaller battery and helicopter, the battery did not have enough power for both, and the camera would shut off after maybe 30 seconds. The batteries on the x1 are more powerful than what I tried, it might work, but a seperate battery for the camera would probably work better. I stripped the case off of my 808 to reduce weight, and wrapped it with electrical tape. Someone may respond to your questions with better answers, but I hope my response helps

Sorry forgot about the motor size!!!

I got my first real outdoor flights on my X1 this weekend and I'm really impressed! Using 300mah Nanotechs from my mcpx I get a bit more than 5 minutes. Not long, but I'm okay with it, since I already have a bunch of them. And that was with temperatures near freezing, so maybe I'll do better when the weather warms up.

The stock high rates are still much too tame for me, but I guess that makes sense when you figure it's basically a toy that's going to be picked up by a lot of people who've never flown anything before. The auto-flip button is the saving grace there.

It was easy to fly it out of range with the stock transmitter, then "exciting" to try to save it as it fell back and regained its link. But for me to go out and buy another transmitter to increase the range and responsiveness would kind of defeat the purpose of this low-dough quad for me.

I don't know whether this is good news or bad news. The bad news is that I've been experiencing this issue with range on and off with my Syma X1. I believe that the issue is with the stock Tx that I have. I guess I could say that the good news is that I'm not the only person experiencing it. I could attest to the excitement of trying to save it as a fall back to regain its link. But in all honestly, losing link has been annoying.

Here are my observations. Perhaps you folks could help figure this one out.
1) First maiden flight of X1, cold night, not freezing. No signs of trouble.
2) Indoor flight - went through multiple packs. No signs of trouble.
3) Same night as (2) out in the park, very cold, 1st sign of losing signal.
4) Switched to T9x, no trouble. So I'm thinking it is the Tx not the Rx.
5) Recharged Tx batteries. Tested during the day, not cold, no trouble.
6) More flights in doors, no trouble.
7) Recharged Tx batteries again. Went out to park at near freezing temp. Signal loss.
8) Switced to T9x, same conditions as (7), no trouble.
9) Same Tx batteries did not recharge. Indoor flight, warm. no trouble.

In summary, I only have signal drop when I went out to park at night, whether my Tx is fully recharged or not. Under the same conditions, T9x is flawless. That leads me to believe that the Rx is okay. The Tx is iffy at best. The Tx never lose signal when I'm using it indoor (short range and warm places). So, I don't know if the cold temp as anything to do with it.

Next time when I see a signal loss, I'm gonna try and bind it to my V949 Tx, because they both use the same kind of trace antenna, not the full range antenna as the T9x. Any other suggestions?

A few people have asked me to share my v929 fpv HD build... Although its based on the v929 it will apply quite a bit to the x1 should anyone want to try it..
I has started the build log here if u are interested:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1809332
It's not complete yet... But it's a start... Let me know if you want more detail etc

@ Heli Pad, someone probably has a better answer but, I suspect none of "toy" TX's are what I would call a full range transmitter and any drop in TX voltage will likely hurt range. I have tested my v911 out to 400m with my 9x. Do a range check with the TX you want to use. Once you have a bind walk away from the TX until you loose bind with your quad. Now at least you know what kind of range to expect unless of course you have other issues.

Originally Posted by Stevez1kart

@ Heli Pad, someone probably has a better answer but, I suspect none of "toy" TX's are what I would call a full range transmitter and any drop in TX voltage will likely hurt range. I have tested my v911 out to 400m with my 9x. Do a range check with the TX you want to use. Once you have a bind walk away from the TX until you loose bind with your quad. Now at least you know what kind of range to expect unless of course you have other issues.

I tested my v929 quad and 9x upto 400 meters at head hight, I expect the same on the x1
But I must caution just after I did the test I decided to fly that distance (fpv ofcourse) at 330 meters far and around 200 meters high things went wrong...

V929 fpv mechanical or battery failure and epic journey home (3 min 22 sec)

What I think happened is that the quad momentarily lost bind and then Rebound but the gyros initialized in flight... Which was the cause for all the chaos you see... There must have been some interefence from the big mansion I was flying over...

Originally Posted by Heli Pad

I don't know whether this is good news or bad news. The bad news is that I've been experiencing this issue with range on and off with my Syma X1. I believe that the issue is with the stock Tx that I have. I guess I could say that the good news is that I'm not the only person experiencing it. I could attest to the excitement of trying to save it as a fall back to regain its link. But in all honestly, losing link has been annoying.

Here are my observations. Perhaps you folks could help figure this one out.
1) First maiden flight of X1, cold night, not freezing. No signs of trouble.
2) Indoor flight - went through multiple packs. No signs of trouble.
3) Same night as (2) out in the park, very cold, 1st sign of losing signal.
4) Switched to T9x, no trouble. So I'm thinking it is the Tx not the Rx.
5) Recharged Tx batteries. Tested during the day, not cold, no trouble.
6) More flights in doors, no trouble.
7) Recharged Tx batteries again. Went out to park at near freezing temp. Signal loss.
8) Switced to T9x, same conditions as (7), no trouble.
9) Same Tx batteries did not recharge. Indoor flight, warm. no trouble.

In summary, I only have signal drop when I went out to park at night, whether my Tx is fully recharged or not. Under the same conditions, T9x is flawless. That leads me to believe that the Rx is okay. The Tx is iffy at best. The Tx never lose signal when I'm using it indoor (short range and warm places). So, I don't know if the cold temp as anything to do with it.

Next time when I see a signal loss, I'm gonna try and bind it to my V949 Tx, because they both use the same kind of trace antenna, not the full range antenna as the T9x. Any other suggestions?

Do u always fly in the same place?

Originally Posted by ArchillesElbow

I tested my v929 quad and 9x upto 400 meters at head hight, I expect the same on the x1
But I must caution just after I did the test I decided to fly that distance (fpv ofcourse) at 330 meters far and around 200 meters high things went wrong...

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8uUmEFeP0PQ

What I think happened is that the quad momentarily lost bind and then Rebound but the gyros initialized in flight... Which was the cause for all the chaos you see... There must have been some interefence from the big mansion I was flying over...

I believe orientation of the antennas behind people, trees, or even the battery of vehicle itself become more important the farther out you go.

Yes depending on the frequency u are using, the gain, polarization, type of the antenna and the power output.
There is also issues of reflection and ground waves.... Antenna theory is complex