Quad Estes Proto X mini quad

[FlightlessBird]

I can't be the only one here with one of these little buggers. Those tiny little props make a pretty big whine and they do sting even through a sock! I haven't had much luck with quads previously, so this has been pretty fun. Of course I can't fly it like a 13 yr old, but I can keep it off the ground.

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Here's the little guy sitting on my laptop.

 

[Tony]

Holy crap, I would lose that thing in my house lmao. We need VIDEO!!!!!!!

 

[pvolcko]

I bought 6 of these are gifts for people this year. And a heli-max 1Si w/Camera for another.

I got a Habsan X4 mini quad (bit larger than the protoX, bit smaller than the 1Si) given to me. Will be posting video of it tomorrow probably.

As for the ProtoX: It is a riot. Very small, but it will get moving pretty fast. Surprising stable and has quite a bit of collective authority. Yaw rate leaves something to be desired but ail and ele response is pretty good (little difficult to do precision moves with the small remote). Resilient (if you have pets or a family member who sheds hair readily check the props and motors for hair wrapped around things every few flights). Only downside is that the battery is contained and not easily replaced or changed out for a spare. Gets about 5 minutes of flight time if you aren't bouncing it off the ceilings too often. 30-40 minutes to recharge with the included USB charger cable (plug into a computer or other USB port device or charger wall wart).

 

[Lee]

I almost bought the Hubsan 4X as a throw around toy. That little one looks great.

 

[FlightlessBird]

Sorry most of my video turned out pretty bad. Maybe there is a decent clip in there somewhere..

 

[cn63bug]

I know this thread is a little old, but I got one of the proto x's for Christmas, but found I didn't like the transmitter for it. Cramped my hands way too much. So I built a module to plug into the back of my dx8 to control it. Has a small 1S lipo installed so I can re-charge it when needed. Red light indicates power, green light indicates bind. Just attached to the back of my tx with velcro. Much better response now and hands don't cramp up . The cool thing with the module is that it allows the quad to do flips and control the lights too. I can also control the x4 and it will also control the QR-1 from traxxas since it's just a "re-skinned" x4.

 

[pvolcko]

Cool beans! When they go on sale?

 

[Stambo]

So how does it work, stripped out original TX with PPM from DX8 trainer port?
What are you using for aerial?

I have been thinking about trying that with a WLToys V212 TX.
I have plenty of V949 and V911 TXs I can experiment on.
Making lights and cameras work could be a challenge though.

 

[cn63bug]

So how does it work, stripped out original TX with PPM from DX8 trainer port?
What are you using for aerial?

I have been thinking about trying that with a WLToys V212 TX.
I have plenty of V949 and V911 TXs I can experiment on.
Making lights and cameras work could be a challenge though.

It doesn't use the tx from the original controller at all. Right now, the main board is a pro-mini board that I coded with the protocol from hubsan. It uses a separate board for the transceiver to handle the arial. It seems to have doubled the range that I have as far as the original tx is concerned. And it all fits within the case that I made for it. At this point, it just receives the PPM from the dx8 and the pro-mini handles the rest. Lights and acrobatics can now be controlled from the dx8 and no more cramped hands . Currently working on a new PCB of my own design that would allows everything to be on one small board instead of two separate boards. What tx are you using? I could create the code for the WL models, but I don't have one of them at the moment to test on. Been thinking of getting one to try out though.

 

[Stambo]

It doesn't use the tx from the original controller at all. Right now, the main board is a pro-mini board that I coded with the protocol from hubsan. It uses a separate board for the transceiver to handle the arial. It seems to have doubled the range that I have as far as the original tx is concerned. And it all fits within the case that I made for it. At this point, it just receives the PPM from the dx8 and the pro-mini handles the rest. Lights and acrobatics can now be controlled from the dx8 and no more cramped hands . Currently working on a new PCB of my own design that would allows everything to be on one small board instead of two separate boards. What tx are you using? I could create the code for the WL models, but I don't have one of them at the moment to test on. Been thinking of getting one to try out though.

I have a Taranis and I love it.
I don't have a problem with the older ones, they work with the module out my 9x.
The newer heli's have an external module add on thingy available but it doesn't work for the V212 quads.

 

[cn63bug]

I have a Taranis and I love it.
I don't have a problem with the older ones, they work with the module out my 9x.
The newer heli's have an external module add on thingy available but it doesn't work for the V212 quads.

From what I've been able to find out, the protocol in the 212 is completely new and not compatible with the old system. I'll try to find out more about it.

 

[EyeStation]

Just a little orientation practice with the Proto-x and Chris' cool little module to fly it with my DX6i.
The foam has a 6.5 inch wide circle and is 3.5 inches thick. The lower hole is double thickness, so basically a 7 inch tunnel. The Proto-x is 2.5 inches at the outside of the prop tips.
Thanks for the good clean fun Chris!
[video=youtube_share;onuk3HeSDbI]http://youtu.be/onuk3HeSDbI[/video]

 

[cn63bug]

Cool little vid David. I'm glad that you like the module
I need to set up my own obstacle course, but my cats would have more fun with it than I would

 

[FlightlessBird]

It doesn't use the tx from the original controller at all. Right now, the main board is a pro-mini board that I coded with the protocol from hubsan. It uses a separate board for the transceiver to handle the arial. It seems to have doubled the range that I have as far as the original tx is concerned. And it all fits within the case that I made for it. At this point, it just receives the PPM from the dx8 and the pro-mini handles the rest. Lights and acrobatics can now be controlled from the dx8 and no more cramped hands . Currently working on a new PCB of my own design that would allows everything to be on one small board instead of two separate boards. What tx are you using? I could create the code for the WL models, but I don't have one of them at the moment to test on. Been thinking of getting one to try out though.

Impressive work!

 

[cn63bug]

Thank you. I appreciate that.

 

[SIXFOOTER]

So where does one aquire one of those coolio modules to fly the Micro with a DX8?
I have the same probs you do, way more hand than remote