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: ★★★★★★★