The Best New Tiny Whoop Type Micro Drones

Winter is coming now, do you ready to eat fly indoor Tiny whoop? Here is an overview of some of the best Tiny Whoops we have right now in the market. When talking about Tiny Whoops we generally mean those tiny little FPV drones that have ducts around the propellers. They are tons of fun to fly in the house especially on rainy days and winter.

The Types of Tiny Whoop

There are two major categories in tiny whoops.

Brushed or Brushless

“Brushed” and “Brushless” are the types of motors used in a quadcopter. As an over-simplified summary:

• Brushless motors = power, speed and longevity
• Brushed motor = cheap, simplicity and lightweight

Originally, Tiny Whoops were all using brushed motors. They were popular because of how easy they are to use. They only have 2 wires as opposed to the 3 wires on brushless motors. Brushless motors require dedicated ESC (speed controllers) to make them work.

Brushed motors are known to have a shorter lifespan but they are cheap to replace, while brushless motors are more expensive but can last much longer if handled properly.

Brushless motors recently became popular in tiny whoops and seem to be taking over brushed motors. They are more powerful and battery hungry, new options even support higher voltage for extra power.

1S vs. 2S

“1S” and “2S” are the number of cells in a battery. A 1S battery has a nominal voltage of 3.7V while that of a 2S battery is 7.4V.

1S is the classic choice in Tiny Whoops and it’s still more popular. 2S is catching up, and I really think 2S (or even higher voltages) is the future as it says a lot less than 1S towards the end of the battery. 2S is faster and can just be as effective if used with the right motors and propellers.

2S Whoops are more pricey than 1S at the moment due to the higher spec components. so if all you want to do is casual indoor FPV flying, 1S is totally fine! (and the power is more manageable too)

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1S Tiny Whoop

The latest and greatest whoops are mostly brushless. Here is a spec comparison between three of my favorite 1S models at the time of writing.

	UR65	US65/UK65	SNapper7
Price	$84	$75	$77
Motor	0603 17000KV	0603 19000KV	0802 17000KV
Props Size	31mm	31mm	40mm
Weight (no bat)	20g	22g	28g
FC Firmware	Betaflight	Betaflight	Betaflight
Built-in RX	Frsky Flysky DSMX	Frsky Flysky	Frsky Flysky DSMX
OSD	Yes	Yes	Yes
VTX	25mW	25mW	25mW
SmartAudio	No	Yes	No
Current Meter	Yes	Yes	Yes
Connector	PH2.0	PH2.0	PH2.0
Buzzer	No	No	No

UR65

It’s very lightweight, the lighter the whoop, the less likely you may damage stuff in crashes. The UR65 was probably the hottest whoop during mid-2018. It’s affordable and spare parts are less expensive and widely available.

It also comes with an awesome parallel charging board. It allows you to charge up to 6 batteries at the same time. This is going to cut your waiting time considerably!

US65/UK65

Despite the different branding, the US65 and UK65 are believed to be the upgraded UR65 because of the similarities. Apart from the more colorful canopies, the motors have been upgraded to 19000KV motors from 17000KV. They’ve also added SmartAudio to the video transmitter so you can change channel through Betaflight OSD or LUA script, pretty awesome huh?!

But surprisingly, the US65/UK65 are few dollars cheaper, making it a better option in value if you don’t mind the flags. Compared to the UR65, you might or might not notice the increase in power because the UK65/US65 are a couple of grams heavier. This is due to the possibly different frame material which feels a lot stiffer than the UR65’s.

There is rumor that the UR65 and Snapper 6 are made in the same factory because they come in the same design, package as well as instruction manual. But the Snapper 6 uses heavier frame material which results in over 3g weight difference, that’s why we recommend the UR65/UK65/US65 over the Snapper 6. Three grams makes a huge difference to flight performance and flight time when it comes to a tiny whoop sized aircraft! And this battery is fit for you, check 220mah 1s Tiny whoop battery

SNapper 7

The frame of the Snapper 7 is made of aluminum and carbon fiber, so you can expect it to withstand harder crashes. If you don’t trust plastic frames and want a more solid solution, this is the one you want to get. However, the downside with metal frame is, if you crash really, really hard, the frame can be bent out of shape and obstructs your props. The Snapper 7 is the bigger version of the Snapper 6, (and the UR65 if you believe they are made by the same people). The differences are in the beefier motors, and it’s using bigger propellers (40mm vs. 31mm), resulting in more powerful and efficient.

AcroBee by NewBeeDrone

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The AcroBee is a classic 65mm Tiny Whoop equipped with 0620 brushed motors. This is the model I’d recommend if you are looking for a brushed Tiny Whoop. It flies super well, and easy to configure as it’s running Betaflight. Great for indoor flying, it’s quiet and gives long flight time.

2S Tiny Whoop

If you are looking for more speed, and racing in places with more room, 2S is the way to go. Here are some of the most popular 2S Whoop currently:

	Mobula7	Beta65X	Beta75X
Price	$96	$140	$150
Motor	0802 16000KV	0802 17500KV	1103 11000KV
Props Size	40mm	31mm	40mm
Weight (no bat)	25.9g	26g	41g
FC Firmware	Betaflight	Betaflight	Betaflight
Built-in RX	Frsky Flysky DSMX	Frsky Flysky DSMX Futaba	Frsky Flysky DSMX Futaba
OSD	Yes	Yes	Yes
VTX	25mW	25mW/200mW	25mW/200mW
SmartAudio	Yes	Yes	Yes
Current Meter	Yes	No	No
Battery Connector	2x PH2.0	2x PH2.0	XT30
Buzzer	Yes	No	No

Mobula7

Still too much power? You can consider limiting your throttle in your Taranis. You can do this in the Mixer page in Taranis, reduce the weight of throttle from 100 to 75 or 50, and adjust the Offset so the range starts at -100. Either you are into racing, or just general flying you will find the Modula7 more manageable compared to some other options in its class. It’s far easier to change the camera tilt angle in this model. Battery fit for you here.

However please note that the frame seems to be less durable compared to the Beta 65X or 75X.

Beta 65X

The Beta65X has the exact same size as traditional 1S 65mm whoop, but powered by 2S batteries!. Comparing to 1S whoops, some might find them harder to fly indoor especially in tight spaces due to the higher voltage and camera angle. They would be perfect for garden or park flying though!  The battery for this type: 220mah 1s with ph 2.0 plug

The Beta 75X is the bigger brother of the 65X and it’s a beast! I’d say this is designed more for long range and outdoor. For indoor you probably need a really big house 

Which is the Best Tiny Whoop?

I’d pick the US65 or UK65 as the best whoop for value if you are just looking for the smallest FPV drone to fly in your living room. It’s not too powerful, and it’s so light it’s will hold up well to crashes.

For something faster than you can fly both indoor and outdoor, definitely consider the Mobula7. It’s 2S brushless, so it will have more power and potential than all the 1S whoops. Is it too powerful for indoor? Not necessarily as you could easily adjust the camera angle, or even limit your throttle in the Taranis if you want to reduce the power.

For flying outdoor and racing, I’d probably get the Beta75X. It will handle the wind better than the Mobula7.

Building Your Own Tiny Whoop?

The whole tiny whoop craze started by adding your own camera and video transmitter to tiny toy quadcopters. I had a tutorial teaching people how to build a tiny whoop from scratch.

You no longer have to build it by yourself. You can buy a tiny whoop straight off the shelf and it includes literally everything you need: the quad, camera, VTX, batteries, and charger. Just bind it to your radio transmitter and you are ready to fly! They fly straight out of the box, and they are also cheaper!

Battery review: Ovonic 2s 5000mAh 50C 2S LiPo battery Pack from Ampow

This is the new OVONIC 2s 5000mAh 50C LiPo battery pack from Ampow. The battery features a hard case design with a 12-gauge pre-wired Deans (T-style) connector and JST-XH balance charge connector. It is rated with a 50C discharge and 100C max burst discharge rate. The battery is a standard “stick pack” with dimensions of 137mm x 45mm x 24mm and weighs in at 302 grams.

This 5000mah lipo battery pack is ideal 1/10-scale off-road vehicles which use a full-length battery pack (such as short course trucks, monster trucks, and rock crawlers). 

This battery pack provided ample run-time in our Traxxas 2wd Slash with a modified motor, and remains well balanced and consistent charge after charge.

Specifications (provided by Ampow):

• Brand: Ovonic 
• Chemistry: Li-polymer
• Cells Number: 2S
• Voltage(V): 7.4V 
• Capacity(mAh): 5000mAh 
• Discharge: 50C 
• Max Burst Discharge Rate (C): 100C 
• Charge Plug: JST-XH
• Discharge Plug: Deans Plug
• Battery Weight(dev.20g): 302g 
• Battery Dimension: 137x45x24mm 
• Wire Gauge: AWG12# 
• Wire Length(mm): 115mm

Pros:

• Very reasonably priced at only $24.99.
• Plug and play with pre-wired connectors.
• Clear shrink-wrapped hard case design.
• Fits most 1/10-scale short course trucks, monster trucks, and rock crawlers.

Cons:

• Balance plug has a bulky protection clip that can make placement in the car difficult without removing it.

Final Word:

While this is not our first pick for serious competition, this battery pack works great for someone who is looking to go backyard bashing, upgrade from a NiMh battery pack, and/or looking for a budget-friendly LiPo battery pack.

Traxxas Trx-4 Land Rover Defender Review &Test

Ever since the Nuremburg toy fair back in February, we have been excited about the prospect of a genuine scale Land Rover Defender. Previously to achieve such a look, you would have had to go for a custom body over a modified crawler chassis.
So we were hyped to hear Traxxas were officially licensing the Land Rover brand and bringing their usual eye for detail to this ready-to-run truck. Thankfully we haven’t been kept waiting long and this month the Traxxas TRX-4 Land Rover Defender arrived at RC Geeks. This blog is  ‘pic heavy’ so if you prefer to look at pretty pictures rather than read a lot, this is for you.

Body style and detail

As an officially licensed Land Rover product the body has a great balance of contours and decals, faithfully capturing the iconic shape. It measures 586mm by 248mm by 291mm tall from tyre to roof-rack.

Thick plastic is used for the exterior roll cage, rugged arch extensions and wing-mirrors.
Pic is about Ovonic 3S 11.1v lipo batteries power Trx-4 test

Whilst the fuel tank and jack mounted on the rear of the body are for show only, the spare wheel is actually fully functional and can be fitted to the chassis. The body comes pre-painted and stickered with windows, numberplate and defender badging.
The body sits over two posts upfront, two large pillar mounts to the roof clips and two post locators into the rear bumper.

Under the removable body, the chassis has thick moulded plastic bumpers and hard plastic rock slidersfor rock riding. The body itself also has arch liners to protect the chassis from the elements.

Powertrain and Chassis

The model features the Traxxas XL-5 HV ESC, a waterproof unit that will accept a 7-cell NiMH or 2-3 cell (11.1v) battery packs for punchy performance. It has a selection of profiles programmed including crawl, offering hill-hold and instant reverse to get your out of trouble. The chassis features a dual-fit battery tray that accepts such big cells and requires no tooling to unlock when its time to swap out.
This ESC feeds the torquey Titan 21T 550 brushed motor that powers all four wheels of the truck along. It is front mounted to assist with the weight balance. Admittedly we would have liked to have seen a brushless motor at this price point, but in practice this unit is more than capable and is powerful enough to pull wheelies with the diffs locked correctly.

Lastly steering control is handled by a large waterproof, metal gear servo. This connect to the hubs via high-mounted steering arm linkages to maximise ground clearance. With the front diff unlocked the system allows for 45 degrees of steering angle.

Our happily dragged itself out of a many a muddy puddle as we subjected it to the sort of (scale) tasks you expect the full size defender to tackle.

We decided to really test the waterproof components by heading to a local stream and driving right in. Impressively the little truck wades in without issue, handling the stream admirably.
The chassis has 80mm of ground clearance thanks to those fancy portal axles. This enables it to climb over big rocks and deal with shallow water with ease.

And even when the water is deep enough that the truck will float, it will still paddle along quite happily

Its waterproof credentials were repeated tested, the below mishap when crawling along a particularly steep part of the bank turned into a full on barrel roll into the river!

Thankfully this ability means that the TRX-4 is game for pretty much any terrain!

In Control – The TQi Transmitter

The TQi 4-Channel Radio System is a familiar trigger radio-controller with extra inputs to control the model specific features. The large red two-position toggle switch behind the trigger-pull, switches the transmission between high and low.
On the top of the controller is a metal three position toggle switch that remotely adjusts the differentials, unlocking both diffs in the rear position, lock just the front diff in centre and lock both diffs when toggled forward.

The red set button can also be used to lock the throttle position as a basic ‘cruise control‘ function which can be useful when demonstrating the car to friends.

Besides these features it also has the usual array of trim dials and neutral adjustments you would expect. It also features a slot for the Traxxas link wireless module, allowing you to access training mode or  view real-time telemetry with the accompanying smartphone app. Underneath the handset is a panel covering the battery tray. The TQi requires four AA batteries that are not included with this model

Performance

Waterproof micro servos are employed to remotely actuate the front and rear lockable T-Lock differentials, as well as switch between the high/low setting on the transmission.

In use this system works fantastically. When the truck reaches its limit on clearing an object you can lock the entire transmission system, drop it into crawler speed and have it drag itself out of nearly any situation without any hands-on intervention.
Traxxas have gone to great lengths to give this as much articulation and clearance as possible. Using portal axles (two gears stacked on each hub) they have lifted the diff housing and drive shafts further away from the ground. This system also massively reduces torque twist, reducing the total axle gear force compared to a standard crawler.

Out of the box the chassis has a 56.49 degree front approach angle thanks to the short overhangs and high clearance. In real world terms the high bumper position allows it to attack steep rock faces without issue.

The big 1.9″ wheels not only look the part but come fitted with S1-compound Canyon trail tyres. These have deep tread blocks for gripping rocks and are fitted with foam inserts to flex and behave like the real thing. Since the chassis has a standard 12mm steel hex mount for the wheels, you can easily swap them out for your favourite crawling combination.
Whilst it is something we are yet to test, it is interesting to see that the TRX-4 has an adjustable wheelbase. This could have just been a design consideration for offering the chassis with different body styles, but it also effectively changes the performance.

Theoretically the standard longer layout would be better for climbing at the expense of turning circle and break-over angle; Whilst the shorter layout would offer the opposite.
As said the ECU does have hill braking, allowing the truck to hold itself on near vertical slopes (assuming you have traction)

The high/low speed also comes in use on the trail when conditions are ever changing. Traditionally crawlers can be quite dull when it comes to flat terrain, gearing for climbing control rather than out and out pace; Whilst I couldn’t put a number on the top speed, it certainly shifts!

Also impressively (considering is relatively high centre of gravity) is how well it can change direction at speed, we even managed to get it to powerslide!

In fact in all of our testing, the only thing that managed to stop the TRX-4 was of all things, grass! Whilst forging a path through a 2ft high field of grass the Defender did come to a halt, as the grass bound itself around the axles and differential housings.

No matter of rocking or diff unlocking was going to free it from this tangled mess!
Find lipo battery for Traxxas Trx-4 now.