MJX X601H Hexacopter from Banggood.com

MJX X601H RTF Hexacopter from Banggood.com (3 min 5 sec)

As my ten years as an official RCGroups reviewer draw to a close, it’s my pleasure to state that I’ll continue to do the occasional casual review right here on the blogs.

I’ve been privileged to work with some of the hobby’s greatest distributors and manufacturers. Among them is Hong Kong-based mail order house Banggood.com. They often make product samples available for casual review by RCGroups bloggers. So, when I was given the opportunity to do the same, I jumped at the chance.

My first such review is of a fun, entry level RTF multirotor, the MJX X601H hexacopter. This affordable little machine comes fully assembled less the skids and optional propeller guards and comes equipped with a WiFi camera which sends recordable video back to an Apple or Android smartphone. What’s more, the free MJX app also allows the X601H to be operated via smartphone! Definitely a strange but fun experience.

As with every Banggood product I’ve ever reviewed, the X601H arrived wrapped in plastic and foam. Inevitably, the corners of the display boxes get dinged and the X601H was no exception. Still, the contents arrived unscathed. They include the fully assembled model with a 700mAh 7.4V lithium polymer battery, 2.4GHz transmitter, USB charger, spare props, prop guards, a small phillips screwdriver and an illustrated instruction booklet.

Banggood also sells an upgraded 1000mAh battery and they were kind enough to forward one under separate cover. All that are needed are four AA-cell alkaline batteries for the transmitter.

Available in either black or gold, my sample is the gold version. Or, as the box states, the “glod” version.

Because of the claimed time of three hours to bring the supplied battery to a full charge, I opted to charge the battery on my ElectriFly Triton EQ. The battery has a standard JST power plug and JST-XH balancing plug, so any lithium polymer compatible charger may be used.

With the batteries and skids in place, I followed the procedure in the manual to fire up the X601H in my living room. Transmitter on, receiver on, wait for the two to bind, advance and retard the throttle stick fully and…nothing. I tried several times with the same result.

What was failed to be mentioned is the need to press the red button on the upper left corner of the transmitter to start the motors in idle. I found an online video tutorial from the factory which explained the step.

On low rates, the little hexacopter is an excellent indoor flyer with very gentle stick response, making it perfect for beginners. High rates are good for outside flight and while pitch is slightly better, bank and yaw aren’t. MJX erred on the side of caution and I wish it had a third high speed setting. Still, it’s a remarkably nimble and fun machine, not to mention smooth and surprisingly fast on high rates.

Aiding in that smoothness is an automatic, barometrically controlled altitude hold function, It can’t be switched off, but it’s unobtrusive and is a huge aid in keeping the model steady for aerial photography.

Installing the prop guards made a noticeable difference in performance; the model felt sluggish to me. The asymmetrical arms and LEDs make orientation easy; the LEDs can be switched off via the transmitter. There are also automatic flip, automatic landing and return-to-home functions. The flip only seems to work on occasion and I couldn’t get the RTH to work at all, but I’ll continue to try and report back. I may have to check that factory tutorial once more. The automatic landing works very well; that same red button used to start the motors also brings it in for a gentle touchdown.

Video quality is good but not great. Definitely not high definition, but the signal is clear and mostly free of dropouts thanks to the externally mounted antenna. It’s also vibration free. No “Jello effect!” Operating the model via virtual sticks on the app was a real challenge. There’s no stick feel and it reminded me of trying to fly a name brand smartphone flight simulator.

In conclusion, the MJX X601H represents one heck of a bargain, especially at only US$35.19. It’s fun, perfect for beginners, has parts support, an upgraded battery option and is almost unbelievably affordable. What’s not to like?
Two thumbs up! The Banggood.com ordering link may be found here.

My sincerest thanks to Banggood.com for the opportunity to review this neat little model and to my friend George Muir of the Coachella Valley Radio Control Club for his peerless video work.