OK, seen a few antenna mod's here. but I don't have an old WiFi antenna laying around.. can't I just solder on a longer wire to replace the little one in the TX? I'm really only getting like 50 ft or range which is really bad. there is only 2 Wifi's around me and neither is that strong outside where I fly. my Hubsan X4 gives me more than I can keep it in view soooo..?
Yes batteries are brand new, and changed once to double check, even put on meter to verify


Is there a set length for the wire? I opened the TX up and it seems the antenna is a twisted core at like 3/4 of an inch long... couldn't i just solder on a piece of solid copper wire that was a few inches? I know there are set lengths for the fequancy but is going too long hurting anything?

thanks

Originally Posted by LooneyTunes

Thank you for your replay I usually fly 6 minutes with 250mAh battery sometimes i use 500mAh and flying 5 minutes and have break 5 min and then flying again.
But i didnt like 500mAh battery, actually they are useless for syma x11c it's just makes more heavy to fly and anyway flying longer time kills motor life. i think i will get some 240mAh or 300mAh battery.

Thank you for your replay ccw motors also has a bruches for turning to props clockwise direction. I cloundn't understand why most of the people have problem with cw motors. Maybe those syma cw motor has a problem?

Ya I do the same , the 250 and the 380 mAh is what I use. I rather fly often but with shorter flights.

My two X11's showed up yesterday, and one of the boxes was badly squashed on one end.
....cp!

The other package was banged up a fair amount, but not beyond what would be considered normal for something that has come such a long way through several different carriers.

So, I opened up the damaged package in front of the mail-lady to see what the hidden carnage would be. Of course the box was squashed on the end where the X11 quad was,
....double cp!!

Nothing appeared to be physically broken, so I signed for the delivery, the mail-lady left and I went in the house to test fly the new arrivals.

Spun the props with my finger, and felt a lot of resistance and clunking in the gears on one of the props, like the gears are too tight together with not enough clearance between them. Did a low throttle up and down a couple times to spin the props. The prop would just stop dead when I cut the throttle and the other 3 would spin down normally.
....triple cp!!

Will see what GearBest has to say after the CNY. Two months of waiting, ...and then this!

Could a gear be pushed too far down its shaft? Might be worth checking that all gears are running at the same height/position. Hope the other one flies properly! I just love the slow flying ability of this quad!

Gearbest is now running a special on the X11 that includes a free CW motor. See the "buy together and save" area.

Originally Posted by alalufra

Congratulations! Share what you think about it now that you have it.

Originally Posted by Flint Hills Dude

Hopefully you won't be needing the parts any time soon! Happy flying!

Originally Posted by jeremie31

Glad you finally received it ! Enjoy your flights !
For your charts, i think you are going to have to add mine on the "motor failure" ....

Thanks guys for the well wishes, I appreciate it. I’ve been preoccupied with a hexacopter project the last couple days so today will be my first full flight. She's charging as I write! I did do a pretty thorough inspection already and brief motor test and noticed a few little issues which I’ll post in a little while.

Jeremie, definitely post you failed motor info and I'll update the chart.

Originally Posted by speedlever

I'm getting the impression that brushless motors are more reliable and long-lived than brushed motors (even though I've had no issues with my brushed motors... yet). Ergo one of the reasons I'm looking at my options to expand my quad hobby in the brushless direction.

Yes, brushless motors are more reliable. If for no other reason, because they have no friction wearing parts other than [usually] high quality ball bearings which are replaceable. And they are solid state and effectively electrically sealed; they can even run in water. They are comparatively more expensive though, but barring some unusual damage, theoretically cheaper in the long run for a long lived craft since they generally don’t need periodic replacing. Good luck making a quad this size with brushless motors though.

But when you're talking the size of an X5C or larger, then it starts making sense to me to go brushless. Some of these bigger toy quads look cool, but I struggle with the rationale of spending that kind of money when you can build a better quality, better performing, better featured and longer lasting bushless quad for not a lot more. Especially if, like most of us, you will end up expanding your fleet. Then the up front investment really makes sense.

Btw, where did you buy the replacement Red/Blue, Black/White motors?

Originally Posted by B Fun

Btw, where did you buy the replacement Red/Blue, Black/White motors?

I'm glad you asked that question. The time difference between ordering from China and receiving the product tends to make me forget both what I've ordered and what it is when it gets here!

I mistakenly thought these were X11 motors when they came in the mail the other day. In point of fact, they are X5C-1 motors, which I discovered when I went looking for my email receipt and tracked down the data. I think I bought them because they were so cheap ($3.79 shipped for a pair of C/CCW motors... so I bought 2 pair).

http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/6...65580048017170

Regarding the brushless category, I'm looking hard at an inexpensive option... the RC Loggers Eye One Xtreme for $129 RTF. I just ordered an 808#16 camera so hopefully can use it on my spare camera-less X5C-1 and on the Xtreme, should I decide to spring for that. Of course I'll likely spring for the aerial kit and by the time I add up the ancillary costs, it will be more expensive than I think going in.

Originally Posted by Thomllama

OK, seen a few antenna mod's here. but I don't have an old WiFi antenna laying around.. can't I just solder on a longer wire to replace the little one in the TX? I'm really only getting like 50 ft or range which is really bad. there is only 2 Wifi's around me and neither is that strong outside where I fly. my Hubsan X4 gives me more than I can keep it in view soooo..?
Yes batteries are brand new, and changed once to double check, even put on meter to verify


Is there a set length for the wire? I opened the TX up and it seems the antenna is a twisted core at like 3/4 of an inch long... couldn't i just solder on a piece of solid copper wire that was a few inches? I know there are set lengths for the fequancy but is going too long hurting anything?

thanks

anyone?

2.4gHz wavelength is 0.125 meters.
Make your wire either 1/4(stock config.), 1/2, 3/4, full length, or 5/4 of this length.

Originally Posted by Thomllama

anyone?

I did mine by cutting off the original antenna and soldering on a 2-7/16 inch long 18g solid copper wire. It did extend range a bit, but not to my satisfaction.



Best to use a coax to sma with a dipole antenna.
http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Antenna-R...ME2424FXE78WRX

See Durete's post on his modded x11 controller
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...279447&page=95

I did a quick range test in my house. The controller is put in the far corner inside the house. This is a test with signal going thru walls and stuff.

Stock x11 tx-: 40 ft inside house

Modded x11 with 18g, 2-7/16 inch solid cw: 50 ft outside house, going thru one extra wall than stock

Modded x5c-1 with dipole ant: Could not lose signal, but my house lot is only 100 ft.

This test is done by syncing the x11 and tx, and walking away till the x11's lights start blinking, indicating loss of signal. If I walk back, it will resume signal (solid lights).

Update: I have updated this review since originally posting it on February 23, 2015. As you may know or will see, my original Red X11 suffered a failure shortly after I received it and it was subsequently replaced by Gearbest with a White X11. So, I have broken this into two parts to include my original Red X11 review followed by supplemental information regarding my White X11 replacement experience. I have also add a few new photos.

Part 1 – Original Red X11:

I got my first three flights on my new X11 last night after receiving it from Gearbest a few days ago. Very stable, smooth and precise flying. Virtually no trim required and so far, no significant trim drift throughout flight. I do notice some tiny vertical oscillations which are likely caused by the “slop” inherent in gearing, but it's not a problem. I think the LED lighting is adequate when viewed from above and good from eye level or below. But the LVW (Low Voltage Warning) is basically useless since it's only about 2 seconds before LVC (Low Voltage Cutoff). So flying with a timer would be advised if you don’t want your quad falling out of the sky.

I got right around 7 minutes flight time on stock 200mAh battery. For more complete information about battery options and flight times, check out my X11 Battery Comparison Chart which you can link to on my Blog page. Also, all the replacement parts are currently available from Gearbest at reasonable prices and probably other sellers too.

While I’m not a fan of game pad style controllers, I must say the stock TX delivers decent control. Although, as is typical with these toy quads, a little more range in yaw stick would be nice. The thumb pads are removable, so it would be possible to add stick extensions (see example photo below). However, I really think it was designed for thumb fliers as it feels awkward to hold when trying to use pinch technique. I also find the shoulder buttons are annoyingly easy to accidentally press.

The good news is that the X11 & X11C are also compatible with the "hobby grade" style Syma transmitter that comes with the current X5C-1 Quadcopter kit and is also available separately. It provides the same functionality as the stock controller. So if you have or will be getting that quad, you’ll be able to use its controller for both quads, as well as some other Syma quads. However, if you are planning to buy one of these controllers separately, you should be careful to make sure you will be getting a compatible one. As far as I have determined as of this writing, there have been at least 3 editions of this transmitter and only the latest one is compatible. It is designated in the Syma manual as part X5C-14. I had several communications with Gearbest in February about them making it available as a separate item which they have since done. There are other sellers listing the X5C-14 as well, but Gearbest is the only seller I have seen so far that actually lists all the Syma quads it is supposed to be compatible with. Meanwhile, I received an X5C-14 from Fasttech.com and although they did not mention X11 compatibility on their product page, I can now verify that it is the correct edition and flies the X11 (and X12) very nicely. For me, it delivers more precise control; I find it easy to hold and use. I think pinchers will find it a more comfortable controller.

Also, both transmitters allow selection of two different stick configurations or modes. Mode 1 is Throttle/Yaw left stick, Pitch/Roll right stick. Mode 2 is Throttle/Roll left stick, Pitch/Yaw right stick. Pitch, Roll and Yaw trim, flip, master zero trim reset, manual re-calibration and photo/video on/off (X11C), are all available. All features are well illustrated in the included manual.

My ground level range tests of the two transmitters got a maximum of about 130m for the stock TX and about 140m for the X5C-14. That's with TX batteries at 5.22 volts and X11 lipo at 3.80v. I found a variation of about 5-10 meters depending on orientation of both the TX and the Quad. I also found that a voltage drop of about .2v in my TX batteries reduced the range reliability by about 10m.

The X11 has two pitch rates available. With the Syma transmitters, the maximum yaw speed may be a little slow for some at 24 RPM and the speed does not change with the different pitch rates. Also, the protocol has been "Deviated", so if you are up for the modding, then a Devo TX option is available and with this arrangement the maximum yaw speed jumps to 36 RPM. In any case, this quad is a real joy to fly.

So, before doing any flying, I did a full out of the box inspection which turned up a few issues. To start with, two of the props were very loose. The screws had not been fully inserted and one was barely in at all. It probably would have come off on first flight and would be an easy loss of the screw for someone who didn’t notice it before flying. These are not screws you are likely to find at your local hardware store and I have yet to see them listed as an available spare part. Syma, don’t be stingy or just charge us the extra 5 cents, but please include a spare prop screw with your quads.

Two of the motor gears were too far down the shafts so that they rubbed against the motor bearing. On the other hand, I thought two of the prop gear axles were a little too loose which gave them excessive play. I have also seen one report of an axle that was too tight and you would certainly not want that. So, I added gap on the two tight motor gears and reduced it on the two loose prop gear axles using a gap gauge to make sure they were all consistent (see photos). Since the gears themselves were well shaped and had no deformed teeth or shallow lands, once the above adjustments were made all the gears worked fine with no binding or slipping.

A few of the motor wires and LED solder joints were a little sloppy, but seemed secure enough. But one motor wire was badly pinched between frame pieces. Otherwise, the rest of the quad assembly looked good. The body parts fit together well with no apparent warping. The arms look level and straight and the four rubber feet all touch a flat surface together. One other very minor issue I had to deal with was straightening out bent pins on the charger connector in order to get it to mate with the battery plug.

Unfortunately, the big question and worry at the moment is the motors. There has been a number of reports in this forum thread of premature failures of the Counter-Clockwise Propeller (CCWP) motors which Syma identifies as "A" motors. These are the Red/Yellow wired motors on the Starboard/Front and Port/Rear of the quad. Sure enough, with hand spinning, I found both of these motors on my quad to have a distinctive grinding, clicking or ratcheting sound compared to the other two. Again, this was the brand new, out of the box condition, with only momentary power up just to make sure they all operated. The video below is a demonstration of the sound. The S/F motor in particular is the loudest of the two and has noticeable drag on it. The sound is not from the gears as I could also hear and feel it in the motors when I had them out of the quad. Now, after only three flights, the S/F motor already sounds and feels worse. Post flight temps are higher on these two motors too, especially the S/F motor. See my Inspection and Testing report in the photos below for more details about my product checking.

Syma X11 Quadcopter - Bad OEM Motor Sounds (0 min 28 sec)

Motor Failure: Just after halfway through my forth flight the S/F motor gave up. Quad lost power and prop slowed to a stop. When I squeezed the motor pod to check the temperature, the motor was so hot it nearly burned my fingers. After cooling, the motor can spin up again, but cannot generate enough power to achieve flight. And if run at about 50% throttle it will heat to 160­°F in about a minute (see photo). Also, the drag on the motor is quite strong now. You can clearly see the effect of it in this video demonstration below. Unfortunately, that's the end of flying for now, so the rest of my testing and review will have to wait. Now it is time to see how good Gearbest's customer service is.

Syma X11 Quadcopter - Bad OEM Motor Binding (0 min 8 sec)

Part 2 – Replacement White X11 from Gearbest:

I am happy to report that Gearbest did indeed come through and then some....In addition to replacing my failed X11, Gearbest requested my assistance in providing failure samples and documentation for Syma to review. It seems they have been in communication with Syma about this issue and as a result, my original Red X11 from this review, along with failed and replacement motors have been returned to China for analysis by Syma. I think this is a very encouraging event from the standpoint of a seller who is engaging with a manufacturer to help resolve real-world issues experienced by their customers. I am hopeful the samples along with my efforts to compile and document the frequency and details of motor failures will help Syma to examine this issue, correct the situation and improve their products going forward.

In the meantime (at the time of this writing), Gearbest is offering two free replacement motors with the purchase of this quad. Again, I think this is a pro-active effort on their part to help mitigate the potential motor problem until this issue is resolved by Syma.

So, after receiving my replacement X11 (White) which came in new and I think improved packaging, I again did a complete tear-down inspection. And I found a few similar issues as on my original Red X11. Namely, loose prop retention screws, inconsistent assembly of the gears and pinched wires.

Once again, to assure no gear issues, I made some fine tuning adjustments to make sure the prop gears ride near the middle of the motor gears. Although this is arguably not necessary most of the time, I did noticed a couple of things that if combined, could potentially present an issue. So I do recommend checking the gear positions for any potential problems. In which case, gear adjustment might be beneficial, if not necessary.

For example, I noticed that the round “knob” that is on one end of the motor gear is slightly larger in diameter than the “root circle” of the gear. (The root circle is the diameter at the lowest point of the space between gear teeth.) Perhaps this is by design. But if the prop gear touches this “knob” portion on the motor gear, it can cause binding. In fact, this was happening slightly on one of my motor pods when the quad was at rest. In flight it did not cause a problem because the prop gear would rise up away from the ‘knob” end of the motor gear. But if the motor gear was any higher on the motor shaft, it would have caused binding during flight too.

This time (on the White X11) I found two motor wires that were badly pinched between frame and motor covers at the point where they pass by the screw anchor posts (see photos). In both cases, the insulation was crushed to the point of exposing the wire inside. While the plastic frame would not cause a short at the point of contact, if both motor wires were to get crushed together, it might indeed cause a short-circuit. Of the eight arms I have now examined, all had wire pairs routed together on just one side of the screw post instead of separated by it as the design appears to have intended. Given the frequency of this occurrence and the percentage of pinched wires I’ve seen, I would say this is an assembly issue that can use improvement.

Other than the above, the rest of the assembly on both X11s looked good. And, except for the current motor problem which is hopefully temporary, the quality of all other materials and manufacturing seems quite good. As for the the assembly issues I found, as I mentioned, they would probably not result in a problem most of the time. But as part of a detailed inspection and review, well...there you have it.

As for the motors, they “sound” much better out of the box than did my Red X11 motors. I have 17 flights on them as of this writing and they are working okay. Of course, it is likely too soon for this replacement X11 to have realized any direct “motor fix” related to the above mentioned efforts towards product improvement. But so far so good and this White X11 is flying every bit as good as my Red X11 did before the motor failure.

One little benefit of the White body worth mentioning is improved visibility of the LEDs as they glow through and illuminate the body shell. This is a “feature” I like and I’m ordering more white body quads now as a result.

Summary: I think the X11 is a great flying quad that anybody would enjoy. In that regard alone, I give it a big and can whole heatedly recommend it for anyone considering it. And as I have said, I also think the overall product quality is quite good, current motor problem excepted. However, given the frequency of the premature motor failures being reported here, until this issue is resolved, I would be a little hesitant to recommend it for anyone who isn't up to the possibility of having to deal with a motor failure sooner rather than later.

That said, the fact is that the coreless motors used in RC toys like these will eventually fail regardless—its just the nature of the beast. It may happen on the 50th flight or the 100th flight or in the case of a certain CX-10 I know (see my Blog page), sometimes not until after the 300th flight! But sooner or later they will fail. For some, that time may be an acceptable end of life for the quad. But for many, it just means a reasonably simple motor replacement. And from that standpoint, now may actually be a good time to buy this quad from Gearbest since they will include two free replacement motors.

More Info: For additional information I have compiled about this quad, such as other battery options and motor failure analysis, check out the Lists and Charts links on my Blog page: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/member.php?u=565296

You can download PDFs of Syma product manuals here: http://www.symatoys.com/support/49.html

Very thorough review and person you must be Bfun. I used to be like that ,,, have fun with your X11.

I went to the park to do some line of sight range testing.

Stock x11 tx-------150 feet or 45.7 meters

Modded x11 tx (2-7/16 inch, 18g solid copper wire)--------280 feet or 85.3 meters

Modded x5c-1 tx (3db dipole antenna)--------365 feet or 111 meters

Originally Posted by B Fun

I got my first three flights on my new X11 last night. Love how quiet it is. Very stable, smooth and precise flying. Virtually no trim required and so far, no noticeable trim drift throughout flight. I do noticed some tiny vertical oscillations which are likely caused by the slop in the gearing (I hope), but not a problem. I’m not a fan of game pad style controllers, but I must say the stock TX delivers decent control. However, the shoulder buttons are annoyingly easy to accidentally press. A little more range in yaw stick would be nice and as expected, max yaw is a little slow, but not too bad. Overall it is a real joy to fly. Now, if it will just keep flying...please!

So, before doing any flying, I did a full out of the box inspection which turned up a few issues. To start with, two of the props were very loose. The screws had not been fully inserted and one was barely in at all. It would probably have come off on first flight and would be an easy loss of the screw for someone who didn’t notice it before flying. They really should include an extra prop screw or two. Honestly Syma, don’t be so bloody chintzy or just charge us the extra 5 cents, but include a spare screw!

Two of the motor gears were too far down the shafts so that they rubbed the bearings. On the other hand, two of the prop gears were too loose which gave them excessive play. I added gap on the two tight motor gears and reduced it on the two loose prop gears. Once fixed, all the gears looked good with no binding or slipping. I also had to straighten out bent pins on the charger connector in order to get it to mate with the battery plug.

A few of the motor wire and LED solder joints were a little sloppy, but probably secure enough for now. But one motor wire was badly pinched between frame pieces. Otherwise, the rest of the quad assembly seemed okay.

However, the big question and worry is the motors. Sure enough, with hand spinning, both of the CCW Prop motors (S/F and P/R) have a distinctive grinding or ratcheting sound compared to the other two. The video is a sound demo. The S/F motor in particular is the loudest of the two and has noticeable drag on it. The sound is not from the gears as I could also hear and feel it in the motors when I had them out of the quad. I've made a short video with the sound of the motor which I will post once YouTube has finished processing it. Now, after only three flights, the S/F motor already sounds and feels worse. Post flight temps are higher on those two motors too, especially the S/F motor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ1i_JGmxio

So I love the quad, but I'm concerned about these motors, especially since I have no replacements yet. It would be a real disappointment ...no, I shouldn’t tempt fate!

So now you have me worried, as I have an X11 on order.

My read on what you said was that you thought the noise was from the motors? Does that mean you also think that if those 2 motors are just replaced, that that'll eliminate the potential problem (and that clicking sound)?

Jim