Remember my budget FPV setup with a smart phone plus EasyCap? How about a dedicated FPV headset for only $50? Gearbest let me try out the Furibee VR01 FPV Goggles and I am pretty impressed. I flew it with my Hubsan H501S, my XK X251, and my MJX Bugs drones, all with great success. The goggles provided a clear signal, and easily found the FPV output signals from the drones (or the onboard video transmitter setuo). A extra battery is required to power the drone, thankfully a 7.4v 2S lipo does the job fine (see video link for battery). Overall, quality is very similar to my FPV smartphone setup, and this is a little easier to setup, saving time and letting me fly more.
The MJX Bugs drone (https://tinyurl.com/mg8v6p3) is a very reasonably-priced, budget-friendly drone. It is also a brushless drone, packing powerful motors with a durable, well-designed frame. I'm not sure why they named it "Bugs", but it looks fast and no-nonsense. I really like the included action camera mount. I made it a little more snug by inserting a small piece of foam in it, helping hold my camera tighter. Range on the drone is quite good, although a little less than the XK X251. However, it carries a camera much better than my XK X251 does! Gearbest hooked me up with a review sample of the MJX Bugs, and I love it!
I have taken the Bugs drone and turned it into a great budget FPV drone. Using the simple EasyCap adapter setup, I can now fly FPV style, thanks to my Android smartphone, a pair of cheap VR goggles, a free app, an action camera with video out-recording feature (I use the GitUp1, but the SJ4000 and many others also have this capability), a cheap video transmitter/receiver combo, and the EasyCap adapter. Here's my complete list of gear for this rather bulky but very cheap and quite nice quality FPV setup:
Not counting the cost of a phone and action camera, this FPV setup costs just over $50. Dirt cheap for getting into a very fun hobby! Make sure your phone is OTG USB compatible before jumping into this setup. There is a tiny amount of latency, but not enough to impact my flying. As you can see from the video below, this little setup packs a punch! Sure, you probably wouldn't want to rely on it for competitive FPV racing, but it does a great job for fun hobby FPV flying. As always, make sure to have a spotter when flying FPV style, as I do.
Have any questions about this setup or the MJX Bugs drone? Let me know below, or on YouTube. Check out this bargain-priced brushless drone on Gearbest: https://tinyurl.com/mg8v6p3
Other Gearbest Drones: https://tinyurl.com/lkqldzo
One of the most popular quadcopter models is the Tarantula X6. I love flying it, with great range and reliability. However, it lacks several features, and at times can be cumbersome to work with. Recently, the HeliCMax Sky Vampire drone was released. This one is supposedly very similar to the Tarantula X6, but with some unique features setting it apart. I spent several weeks with the Sky Vampire courtesty of HeliCMax, filmed constantly with a mounted action camera (ELE Explorer Pro, EKEN H9, and SJ7000), in a variety of environments.
It's a very nice drone with great features that set it apart from the Tarantula X6 (altitude hold mode, beefier look, battery compartment door, and on/off switch), but suffered from drone board reliability issues as well as intermittent transmitter range difficulties. If these problems can be fixed, the Sky Vampire could replace the Tarantula X6 easily. Take a gander at my video review of the Sky Vampire drone above!
