2026-05-01
Tags: hardware
I've been contemplating getting into FPV since I was in high
school, but since I lived in Chicago at the time (and I didn't own
a car) there weren't many places for me to fly a racing drone.
But once I moved to the cornfields I didn't have an excuse, so
after finding a decent deal on a pair of Fatshark goggles (and then
procrastinating for 2 years) I finally decided to commit to
building a drone for freestyle (and maybe racing too I guess?).
(IMG) My 5″ quadcopter in all its glory
I'm honestly not sure why I find FPV appealing since I'm not an
adrenaline junkie and I have no interest in recreational aircraft,
but I can definitely say that this was (and will continue to be) a
really fun project!
Also, I feel a bit proud as this was my first "real" hardware
project that didn't get completely botched[^fn:1]; being able to
practice soldering and proving to myself that electronics aren't so
daunting after all were honestly much more valuable to me than the
drone itself.
== [1m[4mPart list[22m[24m
I'm sure I made some pretty silly decisions a seasoned hobbyist
would avoid (something something Amdahl's law), but I wanted to
take a crack at sourcing the parts myself.
I ordered several parts that were subtly incompatible with my build
and had to make quite a few returns, so if I were to do this again
I would probably buy a kit instead---it would likely be cheaper and
someone more knowledgeable than I would have already verified that
the parts all synergize nicely.
[1mVideo[22m
- [1mVTX:[22m RushFPV Tank Ultimate Mini VTX [2] ($39.99 @
AliExpress)
- [1mAntenna:[22m RushFPV Cherry2 5.8G [3] ($14.99 @
Amazon)
- [1mGoggles:[22m Fatshark Dominator HD2 [4] ($195.64 @
eBay)
- [1mDirectional Antenna:[22m TrueRC X-Air MKII [5]
($39.59 @ Amazon)
- [1mDiversity Module:[22m Eachine PRO58 [6] ($53.99 @
Banggood)
- [1mFirmware:[22m AchilleΣ PLUS [7] (€11.00 @
AchilleΣ FPV [8])[^fn:2]
[1mFlight Controller/ESC:[22m Speedybee F405 V4 Stack [9] ($68.55
@ AliExpress)
[1mMotors:[22m T-Motor V2208 V2 5" [10] ($83.15 @ AliExpress)
[1mProps:[22m HQ 5x4.3x3x3V2S [11] ($14.36 @ AliExpress)
[1mController:[22m Jumper T20S [12] ($139.99 @ NewBeeDrone)
Amazon)
[1mBatteries:[22m Gaoneng GNB 6S 1100mAh 120C [14] ($27.59/ea @
Amazon)
[1mFrame:[22m TBS Source One V5.1 5" [16] ($44.99 @ AliExpress)
[1mSimulator:[22m VelociDrone [17] (£16.99 @ Bat Cave Games)
In addition to the parts listed here I also spent ~$80 on a
Pinecil, solder, wire, Kapton tape, Alien tape, various adapters, a
smoke stopper, and an ST-Link USB dongle.
== [1m[4mBuild[22m[24m
I loosely followed one of Joshua Bardwell's excellent FPV drone
builds [18] and consulted the various manufacturer manuals to get
everything wired up correctly.
For getting software/firmware setup, the ELRS [19] and Betaflight
[20] docs were also invaluable.
The hardest part for me was all the soldering, as I was quite
inexperienced.
I had some perfboard and spare resistors lying around, so I
practiced soldering components on and then taking them off, tinning
and joining wires, and using flux and a desoldering braid.
Even though there was not a single through-hole component in the
soldering I did for the drone, getting comfortable beforehand with
a soldering iron was invaluable for the real deal and I HIGHLY
recommend doing so for anyone who isn't already proficient in
soldering.
I don't have any action shots, so just imagine an incredibly
cluttered desk with a bunch of screws and dried up solder globs
strewn over the place.[^fn:3]
== [1m[4mLetting 'er rip[22m[24m
Before attaching a single prop (or perhaps even before buying most
of the parts besides the controller) you should get at least a few
hours under your belt in a flight sim like VelociDrone [17].
This is a very idealized version of drone flying (negligible wind,
perfect signal, sitting at your desk instead of standing in a
field) but in addition to getting some much needed practice, this
is a good test to see if you're actually interested in FPV drones
without sinking a few hundred bucks into one.
I still don't really know what the ideal flying spot looks like
because public parks tend to have lots of people (which makes a
novice pilot like myself somewhat nervous) and most other locations
are on private property, but a bit of advice is to not fly near
government/police compounds[^fn:4].
I'm (thankfully) not speaking from experience on this one but it
seems like a good call to make.
Also, I want to give a huge shout-out to my roommate Richard [21]
for nagging me to get this project across the finish line, joining
me as another FPV pilot, and serving as [9mchauffeur[29m
transport.
=== [1m[4mAttempt 0: Sanity check[22m[24m
As an integration test of sorts, I took the drone in front of my
apartment for a mock flight.
A few seconds after arming the drone, I heard a strange sound and
one of the motors violently separated itself from the frame.
As I inspected the damage I realized I had pulled a Boeing [22]:
not only had I secured the motors with only two screws instead of
four, I hadn't tightened any of them!
Honestly, it was more surprising that [3monly[23m one motor
detached.
But loose screws notwithstanding, all systems were nominal---it was
time for a real flight!
=== [1m[4mAttempt 1: Maiden flight[22m[24m
After perennially being "just one small thing" away from flying the
drone, the day had finally come to actually get the damn thing in
the air.
I get the drone off the ground and... my video immediately turned
into a sea of static.
(BIN) Video
[3mIt was not "just like the simulations"[23m
Turns out I had turned my VTX power way down to prevent the VTX
from overheating during the build, but I had forgotten to set it
back to a reasonable value.
There's a way you can flick the sticks [23] to change settings via
the on screen display but I couldn't find the VTX menu (it didn't
help that the OSD was completely illegible).
That having been said, it's entirely possible I didn't configure
SmartAudio properly.
=== [1m[4mAttempt 2: With video this time[22m[24m
After cranking the VTX power back up to a reasonable value, we
headed to a more secluded piece of farmland where we didn't have to
worry about pedestrians or cars.
I tried putting my goggles on only to realize I had forgotten to
wear contacts; one way or another I was still flying half blind.
Due to aforementioned lack of vision and accidentally getting some
magnetic gravel jammed in one of the motors[^fn:5], this was a
short-lived excursion.
=== [1m[4mAttempt 3: Accidentally creating a bomb[22m[24m
By this point I had a checklist for everything I needed to go out
flying: batteries charged, hex screwdriver, contacts on.
We returned to the same field from last time, and although the
landscape wasn't exactly diverse, for the first time I was actually
able to get some good flying in!
Some rolls, flips, and yes, even landing the drone instead of
crashing it.
(BIN) Video
(IMG) My roommate Richard piloting the drone
However, due to my carelessness in not securing the balance charge
lead on the LiPO, it got caught in a prop and started shorting when
I picked it up （゜Д゜）
So although that led to a stressful car ride back to our apartment
with me ready to throw our unintentional ordnance out the window, I
would consider this mission success!
== [1m[4mRetrospective[22m[24m
Some parting words of wisdom to hopefully save someone some of the
trouble I went through:
[1mChoose digital[22m
A fairly big misstep I made was assuming that the drone build
advice I gathered back in 2018 was still relevant: a decent chunk
of it was, but I had no idea how far digital video for FPV had
progressed (both in cost and quality).
Technically I don't have an informed opinion having never flown
with digital, but from everything I hear the quality is really
just that much better than analog (and I think any difference
in latency is probably not very perceptible to an inexperienced
pilot like myself).
I'm generally not a fan of buying into proprietary systems, but
I'm also a pragmatist---at least for me, shelling out the extra
$100--200 for dramatically better video quality probably would
have been worth it.
[1mRTFM[22m
I wasted [3mcountless[23m hours going down rabbit holes or
worrying that my equipment was broken when that could have been
avoided by spending 5 minutes reading a manual.
For example, I spent an inordinate amount of time buying and
soldering on a JST connector to the 3 wires sticking out of my
Fatshark LiPO battery only for me to realize those 3 wires are
in fact not for a balance plug but instead meant to power the
fan on the goggles.
D'oh!
[1mHave fun![22m
Instead of constantly worrying that you're going to crash the drone
or make an expensive mistake, I think you just have to embrace that
mistakes are inevitable and part of the experience (plus, if you
built the drone yourself you can easily repair individual parts
relatively cheaply).
And if never putting your drone in a situation where it might
crash is what helps [4myou[24m enjoy flying, you should do
so; who am I to tell you how to fly your drone?
[^fn:1]: The irony that I finished this project and then proceeded
to go work on knocking drones out of the sky [24] is not lost on
me.
At least I had a head start!
[^fn:2]: I was a bit impatient and assumed this shop was dead so I
cracked the license check, but the owner responded after a few
days.
Given the low price and the (surprisingly) good quality of the
software I would highly recommend buying this!
[^fn:3]: It's actually quite important that you clean these up, as
they can cause a short!
[^fn:4]: This goes doubly if you don't have Remote ID [25].
Hypothetically, of course.
[^fn:5]: According to Reddit you should use compressed air to
handle this, but I alternated scraping it out with my fingers and
flooring the throttle (with no props).
References:
(HTM) [1] CaddxFPV Ratel 2
(HTM) [2] RushFPV Tank Ultimate Mini VTX
(HTM) [3] RushFPV Cherry2 5.8G
(HTM) [4] Fatshark Dominator HD2
(HTM) [5] TrueRC X-Air MKII
(HTM) [6] Eachine PRO58
(HTM) [7] AchilleΣ PLUS
(HTM) [8] AchilleΣ FPV
(HTM) [9] Speedybee F405 V4 Stack
(HTM) [10] T-Motor V2208 V2 5"
(HTM) [11] HQ 5x4.3x3x3V2S
(HTM) [12] Jumper T20S
(HTM) [13] RadioMaster RP1 V2 2.4GHz
(HTM) [14] Gaoneng GNB 6S 1100mAh 120C
(HTM) [15] SkyRC D200neo
(HTM) [16] TBS Source One V5.1 5"
(HTM) [17] VelociDrone
(HTM) [18] excellent FPV drone builds
(HTM) [19] ELRS
(HTM) [20] Betaflight
(HTM) [21] Richard
(HTM) [22] Boeing
(HTM) [23] flick the sticks
(HTM) [24] knocking drones out of the sky
(HTM) [25] Remote ID
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