Hubsan Controller Repair

Well, I did it. I finally managed to break something.

My dad and I went out for a flight today to a beautiful, rusty water tower. Within seconds of arriving, I dropped my controller. The fall didn't seem too bad (fell from about knee height), but I didn't realize until we moved to a second location that the left bumper was no longer working.

And, of course, it had to be the button that controlled one of the best things about Hubsan's X4 Cam Plus (H107C+): the camera! Or more specifically, the photo button.

The wind picked up to about 10 mph while we were out, which is more than I can comfortably handle with the X4, so I didn't fly much anyway. After my dad finished his flight, we went home and immediately brought out a tool-kit to see if we could repair the controller.

I didn't bother to take pictures of each step in the process, since fortunately the repair was super simple. The hardest part was just getting the controller open. There are three screws holding it together, one hidden under the batteries. The casing on the controller is a bit hard to pry apart, so I handed it to my dad to open (thanks, dad!).

Here's a picture of the insides (click to enlarge):

Each part is labeled, except for the trim buttons (which I suspect to be on the other side of the circuit board, but I have little or no knowledge of the construction/layout of circuits, so don't quote me on that). I wasn't willing to pop the board out to inspect the other side because, quite frankly, I was afraid I couldn't put it back together!

The left bumper's internal button (little black piece in the photo) had gotten shifted out of place when it fell. To repair it, all I needed to do was push it back into place and snap it back into the casing (white piece surrounding it in the photo) around it.

I closed the controller back up, tested the photo button with the drone to prove it was fixed, and added the screws back. Voilà! Repaired controller!

Syma X51 Spaceship

Specs
Flight Time	6 mins
Charge Time	approx. 40-50 mins
Control Distance	about 30m
Size	6.7 x 5.7 x 2.9 in
Weight	45g

Package includes: 1 x quadcopter, 1 x USB charging cable, 1 x transmitter, 4 x replacement blades, 1 x screwdriver, 1x blade removal tool, 1 x user manual

Here is the first drone off of my wishlist, Syma's X51! I have mentioned previously that I enjoy looking into unique drones. Prior to purchasing this one, I was looking into tricopters (like a quad, but with 3 motors), and to my dismay, the majority of them are quite pricey. At least one of the motors on a tricopter will have a special function where it not only spins the propellor, but can also lean in any direction to control the direction of the drone. Anyway, this was the closest I could find to a tricopter for a reasonable (low) price.

Of course, it isn't exactly a tricopter. The X51 has four motors: two on the front and two on the back. The two motors on the front are positioned facing each other, with one upside down over the other, giving it the same general layout as a tricopter.

The X51 is able to do flips, but due to the design, it can only flip in three directions: left, right, and backward. Even if you try to flip it forward, it won't.

Other than that, it does have a special mode called automatic cruise. Now this sounds super cool, as if it would just fly around by itself. Well, it does, but it doesn't do it in the way I expected. Automatic cruise is more of an... automatic rotation? Activating this mode makes the drone rotate using the front motors (the two within the sphere) as its axis. The drone will continue to rotate until cancelled out of this mode, but you will still need to maintain the altitude manually. It seems to have a different axis of rotation than rotating the drone with the throttle.

This drone is likely meant to be more of a racer-type. Like Eachine's E010 and JJRC's H20, it feels very powerful. When you try to turn or try to move in a particular direction, it feels like the drone really wants to keep going in that direction. It would be better suited for indoor environments with less breakable objects around.

It essentially comes with built-in guards with the two front propellors encased in the sphere and the two back propellors partially surrounded by guards. It is possible to hit something just right to hit any of the propellors, the back two being the most vulnerable. The X51 also has little feet on the bottom to protect the drone from landing damage.

Like any other drone with removable batteries, I get a little nervous inserting and removing the battery. The X51's battery cage (on the bottom of the drone) is a very tight fit and I find myself bending the wires constantly to try and get it to fit in. I'm worried that this may cause damage to the wires and require replacements sooner than other drones with better battery cages.

I have yet to try this one outdoors, as we have had many windy days in a row (> 10 mph winds). But I imagine it would do well, given its speed.

Summary
Features	★★★★★★★
Battery Life	★★★★★★☆
Control	★★★★★★★
Durability	★★★★★★☆
Price	★★★★★★★
Total: ★★★★★★★

Hubsan X4 Cam Plus H107C+

Specs
Flight Time	6-8 mins
Charge Time	approx. 80 mins
Control Distance	about 50m
Size	135 x 135 x 38 mm
Weight	58g

Package includes: 1 x quadcopter, 2 x USB charging cables, 1 x transmitter, 4 x replacement blades, 1 x user manual

We first bought this quadcopter model for my dad for his birthday as his first drone. To our dismay, it seemed like we had gotten a defective drone. Every time we tried to lift off, the drone would lift up, but take off in a forward direction uncontrollably. We ended up taking it back to the store (and they seemed to agree it was defective) and traded it in for a UDI RC Discovery.

Months later, my birthday came around and my dad surprised me with the same model. And this time, not a defective one! I'll admit: we were a little worried that we would end up in the same situation as the first one, but I'm happy to say that we probably were just super unlucky the first time. This drone is among my favorites (so far)!

For about the first month of flying the H107C+, it had no guard. This was fine since at this point I had been flying safely for a while. I did have a few bad crashes, but none bad enough to damage the drone or propellors too badly. We were so thrilled with our CX-10 guards that I decided to look into buying a guard for the H107C+. I ended up buying two, which came in weeks later and are easy to install and uninstall with no prop removal required.

The H107C+ happened to be my first drone with a camera. Like the UDI RC Discovery, I do find it a little frustrating to constantly fight the wind to take stable pictures. And especially after trying out DJI's Mavic Pro with its camera stabilizing gimbal, it's a little nauseating to watch a video that's constantly being rotated left and right. However, for the price and size of the drone, it's pretty much what you should expect.

One super awesome thing this drone features is altitude hold. Instead of having to constantly adjust the altitude with the controller, the drone stays at a certain altitude automatically. This feature is even noticeable on the controller, since the left (throttle) joystick defaults to a center position instead of a down position. The altitude hold is not perfect; the quad will hover within a few feet of its intended altitude. For that reason, I would recommend that unless you are an experienced flier, don't fly this one indoors unless you have a good amount of space (and no delicate objects nearby).

I do often have a hard time getting the H107C+ to land and turn off the propellers. This is likely some sort of oversight on my part, that perhaps I'm not following proper landing controls. It gets down to the ground easily, but the propellers don't want to turn off right away. It's about a 50-50 chance that they will turn off as expected.

Both recording video and taking photos are super easy. The controller has two buttons on the top (where your index fingers rest) that allow for one-push stop/start recording and one-push photo capture. The lights on the drone blink to notify the pilot if it's recording or capturing a picture (one blink for photo and continuous blinking for video).

Since I liked this drone so much, I also bought extra batteries and a charger hub. The hub uses a USB connection and allows for four batteries to charge at a time. It also has eight extra ports for other types of batteries (4 of one type and 4 of the other) and one seems to fit Syma's X51 battery. This was about $30 for four spare batteries, the charging hub, and a USB cable.

I must say, despite our earlier hiccup with this model, it ended up being one of my favorites. It's so portable, functional, and cute!

Summary
Features	★★★★★☆☆
Battery Life	★★★★★★☆
Control	★★★★★★★
Durability	★★★★★★★
Price	★★★★★★☆
Total: ★★★★★★☆

Fast Lane RC FLX Nano Drone

Specs
Flight Time	5 mins
Charge Time	approx. 25 mins
Control Distance	about 20m
Size	1 x 1 in
Weight	8g

Package includes: 1 x quadcopter, 1 x USB charging cable, 1 x transmitter, 4 x replacement blades, 1 x user manual

I first saw this drone (or at least one like it) while browsing mini quadcopters on Amazon. I believe it was marked around $22-30 and available by a few unfamiliar brands. As much as I wanted it, at the time, I ended up picking 3 other drones instead: JJRC's H20, EACHINE's E010, and HappyCow's Mini Sky Phantom. A few weeks later, we happened to be hunting for a Nintendo Switch at Toys R Us, and there it was! I managed to pick it up for a couple dollars less than online. This particular model/brand seems to be available on amazon for about $14.

The most common reaction to this drone that I have seen so far is "wow, it's so cute!" It's SUPER tiny, smaller than the Cheerson CX-10, and about the size of a quarter. It is unbelievably adorable.

It's hard to knock this drone down too many points for its control considering its size. But I do have to point out: it's quite sensitive even at the lowest speed setting (and only gets worse as you increase the speed). It does scare me a little bit that they sell this at a children's toy store because handing this to a young child (without a guard on it or anything) is a recipe for disaster. There is, of course, always the chance that I got a 'defective' quad, but I find it difficult to adjust the trim to have it be able to hover without moving forwards/backwards or left/right. It drifts a lot and drifts even more the longer it's in the air.

One feature of the drone that I particularly love is the low battery signal. On other drones, such as the CX-10, the lights will begin to flash when the drone is low on power. The FLX Nano Drone also incorporates this signal method, but as the battery gets even lower, the back lights stop flashing while the front lights keep flashing. Ideally, when all the lights start flashing, you should bring the drone back to you and close to the ground; when the back lights go off, you should have the drone as close as possible and ready to land.

The FLX Nano Drone features a 360° flip in all four directions. It incorporates this well, as the drone automatically adjusts for the drop in altitude caused by the flip (unlike the CX-10, which you have to really push the throttle to keep it from falling to the ground).

The drone is also nice to travel with, since it can be stored in the controller. However, you will need to pack the charging cable and spare props separately.

Summary
Features	★★★★★★★
Battery Life	★★★★★★☆
Control	★★★★☆☆☆
Durability	★★★★★★☆
Price	★★★★★★☆
Total: ★★★★★★☆

JJRC H20

[PHOTO]

Specs
Flight Time	5-7 mins
Charge Time	approx. 45 mins
Control Distance	about 30m
Size	10.5 x 10 x 2.5 cm
Weight	14.5 g

Package includes: 1 x hexacopter, 1 x USB charging cable, 1 x transmitter, 4 x replacement blades, 1 x user manual

JJRC H20 was the third out of three of the drones I received for my birthday this year. I tried to pick out drones that were from different companies and a bit unique, so this particular model was picked because it has six motors.

When I was deciding whether or not to get this model, I did pay attention to the existing reviews on Amazon, and although they were mostly positive, a few pointed out that the drone flew a little wonky. It wasn't until about the 5th or 6th flight (with no bad crashes) that I noticed it sometimes has a hard time flying straight. At this point, I wish I had more flight experience with this model to get a more accurate idea of what's going on. But other than that, the drone flies well.

The H20, like EACHINE's E010, features a removable battery. Benefits of this include extra flight time for additional batteries and easy replacement if the original battery goes bad.

The drone also integrates both headless mode and return to home features. To be blunt, I don't recall testing the headless mode too much on this drone. I'll have to add in an update with my thoughts on that later. And the return to home feature is about as reliable as Eachine's E010. By this point, I'm not sure if I'm just a little bit too much of a novice (and perhaps misunderstanding the features) or if they really aren't working as intended. But as usual, use these features cautiously and maintain line-of-sight and control of the drone regardless!

After having to purchase separate prop guards for the Cheerson CX-10, I was pleasantly surprised that this model came with built-in prop guards. Of course, there are ways for objects to slip in between the guards, but the way they are built makes it less likely that the drone will get caught on anything. I tried to remove one once, but it does seem to be VERY built-in, and (as a novice drone hobbyist) I didn't want to take apart something I couldn't put back together. A more experienced drone enthusiast would likely be able to remove them without any trouble.

Another interesting thing about this drone is its speed. This little monster is ridiculously fast! Even at the lowest speed level, I found myself a little afraid of how quick the H20 zips around. I couldn't imagine using a higher speed mode for this one unless I was flying outside.

It's probably also worth mentioning that the controller does not look like it goes with this drone at all. Most of the mini quadcopters have similarly colored bodies and controllers, but JJRC decided to put a red and black drone with a white and blue controller. Not really an issue, but just make sure your drone and controller stay together!

Summary
Features	★★★★★☆☆
Battery Life	★★★★★★★
Control	★★★★★★☆
Durability	★★★★★★★
Price	★★★★★★★
Total: ★★★★★★☆

Eachine E010

Specs
Flight Time	5 mins
Charge Time	approx. 30 mins
Control Distance	about 30m
Size	8 x 8 cm
Weight	21.5g

Package includes: 1 x quadcopter, 1 x USB charging cable, 1 x transmitter, 4 x replacement blades, 1 x user manual

The EACHINE E010 was the second out of three drones I received for my birthday this year. I picked this one out primarily because my dad thought it was cool-looking and durable.

This drone, along with the JJRC H20, were the first two quads with removable batteries I've owned. Obviously, this is a benefit since you can easily purchase and install a new battery, and have extras on hand for additional flight time. It's a little unnerving to remove it from the drone. The E010, unlike the H20, does not have an on/off switch. Instead, removing and inserting the battery acts as the on/off switch. The battery plugs right into the circuit board and is easier to take out if you have nails to get a grip on it.

The guide for this drone is not well translated. I ended up taking Google Translate's camera feature to correctly translate the manual to English. There are a lot of terms within the manual that should be clearer, such as 'headless mode' translated into English as 'carefree mode.'

However, in this case, carefree mode might be a more apt name for the feature. I have yet to get this model to (what I assume to be) correctly fly headless-ly. It doesn't seem to rely on the location of the controller as most models advertise, nor the way the drone was facing at the beginning of the flight as the Mini Sky Phantom does. If anything, it seems to rotate the controls by 90DEG, which can be nice to practice flying the drone while it's facing a different direction.

Although so far this review is sounding a little negative, I do actually like this drone a lot. The first thing I noticed about it while flying was the stiff-ness of the controller and how the drone reacts to input. Stiff sounds like a bad thing, but compared to the other extremely temperamental and sensitive drones, a drone that REALLY does what you tell it to is a welcome alternative.

The E010 is a stable-feeling drone, both in flight ability and structure. It has crashed a few times with no damage (yet, knock on wood). It allows you to switch into a high speed mode, which is well-suited for outdoor flying since it fights the wind better than the slowest mode. I've seen this particular model recommended for beginner fliers, and I would wholeheartedly agree! It's strong, stable, and powerful enough to have some real fun for both new and experienced fliers.

Summary
Features	★★★★★☆☆
Battery Life	★★★★★★★
Control	★★★★★★★
Durability	★★★★★★★
Price	★★★★★★★
Total: ★★★★★★★

HappyCow Mini Sky Phantom 777-374

Specs
Flight Time	5 mins
Charge Time	approx. 40 mins
Control Distance	about 30m
Size	8 x 8 x 2.5 cm
Weight	23g

Package includes: 1 x quadcopter, 1 x USB charging cable, 1 x transmitter, 4 x replacement blades, 1 x user manual

The Mini Sky Phantom was the first out of three gifted to me for my birthday this year and was my second drone. This drone in particular is always the one I hand to a novice flier since it handles well and features a pretty darn good headless mode.

At the time of receiving this drone, I had no previous experience with headless mode. In fact, I'm still not entirely sure how headless mode is supposed to work. With this model, headless mode seems to be based on the last location of the head, which in this case, is the location of the light on the drone. It works well, assuming that you begin your flight (and switch to headless mode) with the LED light pointing away from you/the controller.

One of the other major features on this quad is the 'return to home' function, which does exactly what it describes. However, it does not do it well. Only a few of the drones this size I have had experience with implement this feature, so it really blows my mind that it even has this function. More often than not, it goes in a seemingly random direction when the feature is activated. You can quickly jump out of this mode by moving the directional stick.

Among the only complaints I have about this drone is the lack of an LED on the back of the quadcopter. On most of the drones of similar size there are two LEDs on the back and two LEDs on the front. With this common set-up, the back LEDs indicate when the battery is running low. However, since the Mini Sky Phantom features only 1 LED on the front of the quadcopter, it is difficult to tell when the drone is running low on power unless you turn the drone around to see the light.

The Mini Sky Phantom's controller features a spot to carry the drone, making it easier to travel. Mine frequently pops open in transit.

Overall, the Mini Sky Phantom handles well and comes with a few great features!

Summary
Features	★★★★★★☆
Battery Life	★★★★★★★
Control	★★★★★★★
Durability	★★★★★★★
Price	★★★★★★★
Total: ★★★★★★★