Staceman FPV - BLOG - 2023

This morning I went out to make a video, but when I got to the park, I realized that I had forgot my SD Card for my goggles. So, I thought I'll just fly a bit and have a fun session. But as I was getting everything ready, a new idea popped in my head.

My last video got some good responses, but one of them struck a nerve with me, and I replied with a lengthy reply. The comment said:

Four words that cover it all:
Stop being so scared!

Now, I get the sentiment. You're going to crash. If you are not crashing, then you aren't really pushing your skill level. I agree. Where I have a disagreement though, and was the gist of my really lengthy reply, is the idea that if you are not crashing then you can't improve. There are a lot of things that one can do to improve their flying that don't realy require pushing your skills in areas that would result in an extra amount of crashing.

And this is where my thought that popped in my head this morning.I mentioned in my video that you need to work on flying close to the ground, and then close to things, and by doing that you can really improve your flying, and resulting videos that you share. Basically, the idea is to work on improving throttle control. So, the thought that came in my head this morning was to come up with some ways for pilots to practice that will improve throttle control. So, this morning, for five packs, I worked on throttle control myself in order to come up with some ways that pilots can do it. And I think I have some ideas now. I think it's going to be a great video, and I can't wait to create it, and share it.

Let's talk a bit more about Remote ID, and in particular I am wanting to address those that are going to comply. First, I am not mad at you for choosing that. I don't blame you. We each have to choose what is best. What I want to discuss is this: Do you think the current Remote ID modules are going to be sufficient long term? I don't think they will. Congress tasked the FAA with implenting Network Remote ID, not Remote ID. The current modules are not going to work. I really think the end goal is to basically eliminate the majority of the hobby as it is today. I know some think there is a big conspiracy to do this. I don't think that is the case. I honestly think this is being done out of complete ignorance. The only hope we have to get this fixed is for this to be the case. If this is being done with full knowledge of how many in the hobby fly their models, then we are screwed.

Been thinking about Remote ID, part 107, and the hobby in general. At this point, I think that non-compliance is really the only option for many hobbyists. I have looked at some of the current options for complying, and there is only one that I have found so far that gives the option to keep the pilot location private. The big problem with most of these things is that they are not going to be durable or easily switched between models. In order to be easily moved, it seems that you would give up durability, and if you want some durability, you'll give up easily moving betwen models. And then there is the cost. For the hobbyist, if you can find a solution that is easily movable, the cost might be a bit much, but it's a one time thing (assuming in your situation durability won't be too much of an issue).

For the commercial pilot, it says that you need a different Remote ID module for each model. Thinking on this some, I am wondering if that is really the case, and could you comply without doing that? I guess it would depend on how much information about the model you have to provide with the registration. For someone who has a lot of similar models that they use (a primary and a backup for example), I would think that one remote ID module could be moved between the two. If the information is vague enough, maybe all of the part 107 pilot's models could use one remote id module. And additionally, they would only need 1 registration for each, saving extra money. I am sure that pilots are probably already doing this in some form, but maybe I am wrong. I have not heard anyone discuss it.

Today, I created a video to share some tips on improving your fpv freestyle flying. I have 4 basic tips that I think will help anyone who wants to improve their flying, and in particular if you plan on sharing the flight videos, or want to make flight edit videos. These are basic ideas, but I think I present it in a way that anyone can utilize, from a new flyer to someone more experienced.

Also, we had our HOA meeting. These are always interesting as they usually turn into a gripe session. This one didn't fail to deliver on that. Today's meeting was to elect the board members as we are just taking over the HOA from the developers/builders. It is a new community, so nothing is set fully in place yet. During the course of the meeting, we always discuss things that we think need to be addressed, and one of the items brought up was the number of cars that keep speeding on our streets. One person suggested speed bumps, and my wife went into full crazy mode. Oh it's going to be interesting at meetings when she goes with me in the future. She is not one to hold her tongue when she is adamant about something. Residents beware!

Today is 626, aka Stitch Day! We are heading to EPCOT to ride Guardians later today. I've got my Hanapepe shirt on in honor of Stitch Day. On our way, we are meeting some friends from WV to drop off a MagicBand+ that we picked up for them that they couldn't find online. I think EPCOT is having extra Magic Hours this evening, so I expect it to be a bit busier. Even when super busy, EPCOT isn't too bad to navigate around, but enjoying many rides is usually much more difficult. The good thing is that we have a Virtual Queue all lined up for Guardians. Other than that, we typically go to get some walking in, and maybe get a treat. It's great being close by so we can pop in easily, and with little to no expense.

Today was a good flying day. I got out to a spot that I haven't flown in a while, and I had a blast. It was very hot out, but I stayed in the shade under a nice tree, so it wasn't too bad.

I just finished an edit from the flying today, and it is probably a favorite edit of mine. I love when I have several good packs, and I find a great song to use. The song I used was one I was flying to for a couple of the packs, and it just put me into a nice flowy groove.

Days like today are why I enjoy FPV. I get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather, and leave the cares of the world behind. The FAA will not take this joy from me.

It has been good to see a lot of people creating videos discussing Remote ID. There have been a lot of great thoughts and ideas presented in these videos. One of the most interesting ones so far has been from Bacon Ninja FPV. I won't spoil it, but it basically comes down to making the government do work.

So, xJet linked to me, and man, the views and comments have blown up! Lots of postive feedback, but some negative stuff as well. There's a lot of apathetic folks as well. I can definitely sympathize with that view, but we need to get past it. Apathy gets us nowhere. I have some other ideas that I think I will put out relating to Remote ID, and will bring out some more things that we need to discuss.

I don't think we are in a hopeless situation, but we are definitely on the cusp of losing much of what we love to do. Now is definitely the time to fight. Will we be victorious? Doubtful, but if we do nothing we certainly lose. I think we can make some positive ground in this situation, despite what many may think.

In the end, even if I am proven wrong, I can at least know I put some effort to fight for the things I enjoy. I hope you do the same.

I made a couple videos relating to Remote ID, and they have been received quite well. People defintely have lots to say. Most are in agreement that this regulation is not going to accomplish much of anything related to what those behind are claiming. Most are likely not going to comply with it. And most law enforcement is not going to care so long as we are not making their jobs more difficult. In other words, if we continue to fly like we have been, nothing is going to change other than we are now breaking yet another rule.

Currently, when we go out to fly, most of us are doing it illegally in the strictest sense. Many of us do not have a visual observer. Many of us are flying "beyond visual line of sight" by the FAA's definition. And the vas majority of us are flying without a HAM license. Now, for some, that is ok. Some of our equipment is FCC Part 15 certified, and we use it within the bounds that it was certified. There are many, though, who don't. If we were to look at the whole of those enjoying the FPV hobby today, and applied the laws, a very high percentage wuld be in violation of them, and yet nothing bad is happening.

There are bad actors in every facet of our lives who will do stupid things. We can't make everything illegal, and over regulate everything to try and stop the very people who will continue to do stupid things, and act in bad form. And yet, that is what government and politicians try to do all the time in all facets of our lives. They like the power. They like to say, "Look at me! I've saved you! Yay me! Vote for me!"

Welcome to summer! We are officially in the rainy season here in Florida, and in true Florida fashion, we were welcomed to summer with a rain storm this morning.

The nice thing about rain storms here in central Florida is that they don't last long. They come out of nowhere with no warning many times, and they leave just as quickly, and the sunshine returns. The downside is that many times it is hotter after a rain storm here than many places. When we lived in West Virginia, the rain storms would settle in for a solid day, or two, but the upside is that the temperatures would be much nicer after the fact, but here in Florida, when it storms, you get that nice cool effect before the storm comes, but afterwards, the sun comes out, and now with all the water, the humidity is through the roof, and it is even hotter.

My son has developed a sixth sense when it comes to rain storms. We were at Disney a few days ago, and there was no indication that a storm was coming. We got off of Guardians of the Galaxy (yeah we ride it nearly every day it seems), and he says, it's going to rain. I didn't think so, and checked the weather app to confirm, and sure enough, I was right. At least I thought I was. We headed to France to get some ice cream.

We got our ice cream (which was delicious by the way), and we began to meander on our way towards the front of the park. We passed by some folks enjoying an expensive dinner outside by the lake. My son and I discussed how terrible it would be if it were to rain. My son again told us it's going to rain, and we should be leaving. There wre some more clouds in the sky, so I began to think that he's probably right. I check the weather app again, and now it is saying that there's a slight chance of some light rain in another 1.5 hours.

So we decided to start heading out, but we were not in a hurry. We got to the front of the park, and maybe 15 minutes had passed. The clouds were looking much more ominous. My son then said, see I told you it was going to rain. We started heading out, and he and my wife feel a few drops of rain. If there is anything we have learned living in Florida is that if you feel some drops of rain, you best be finding shelter and finding it quickly if you don't want to be caught in a deluge. So we kick it up a notch,, and start to bolt for the car. We make it just in time, and the heavens open up.

I can only imagine those poor folks enjoying that expensive dinner by the lake, and the heavens just opened up and dumped on them. I am sure they learned a valuable lesson that day. I am sure they will think twice before choosing to do that in the future in central Florida.

We had some serious storms roll through yesterday evening. I have not experienced anything quite like it. The sky was lit up like a strobe light for hours. So many lightning strikes. For a while, it was 50 or more strikes per minute. It was quite the light show. But the thunder was just as impressive. Things were shaking like crazy. I have never experienced thunder like that. I have heard some loud rumbles and even some shaking before, but nothing like last night. I can't really describe it. I think we are supposed to have some severe weather again either today or tomorrow. I hope it's not quite that bad, but we'll have to wait and see.

Today, I released a video on my YouTube channel where I talk about Remote ID, and my thoughts on what we can do as pilots. For me, nothing is going to change. What about you? I know some will have to comply (at least in part). It's pitiful that we have got to this point. It all started way back when some congressmen were paid off by some lobbysits from some large corporations (like Amazon and Google) to get 336 nixed from law so that it would open the door for the FAA to promulgate new rules for UAS. This is why it is important who you vote for. Remember that when you go vote next time.

Happy Fathers' Day everyone! I got up, and at the suggestion of my wife, I promptly went out and flew a bit. It felt great! I had a blast flying those 5 packs. The sunrise was beautiful, and I had some nice tunes playing. It was a perfect way to start Fathers' Day. Later today, we are heading to my parents' house for dinner, and I'll likely get beat in a game of Five Crowns. It will be nice to relax and hang out with the people who mean the world to me (my parents, wife, and son... My daughter does too but she is in WV, so she'll call later I am sure.)

If your father is still living, and you can make it out to see him, I suggest you do that. If he is living, but too far to travel to see, make sure you call him. And if your dad is no longer here, relish those memories you had.

And remember, #neverstopflying!

Today, I got stuck in a tree. And of course, I forgot my pole. Thankfully, I was only a mile or two from the house, so we headed back to the house to retrieve my drone recovery pole, and then head back. After 10 minutes or so, I had my drone back in hand. It seems that I had gotten into the habit of not bringing it as I had not had any problems, and had no need for it. Laziness crept in, and I would just leave it. This was a gentle reminder that I need to make sure to have all my proper recovery tools any time I go out flying.

Flew some packs today, and just worked on juicy flicks. It was super windy, so it made it difficult, but it was nice to just go pack after pack working on one thing. I used to do that regularly when I was just getting into FPV, and it really makes a difference to get something down. I know we all want those epic videos, and just want to fly, but to improve you really have to train. Training is boring and repetitive, but the rewards are worth it in my opinion.

I was going to switch both of my drones over to EmuFlight, but after several attempts, reasearch, and then a discussion with my EmuFlight mentor, Mystery D, I found out that EmuFlight doesn't support the BMI270 gyro on the T-Motor F7 currently. So for now, on that setup, I'll be staying with BetaFlight.

I am getting back to my prop testing today, and began testing the HQ J40 Juicy props. I just ordered some more of those, and some more of the J37 props as well. One of these may become my go to prop. After gving the J37 a second chance, I really found that I like how they fly. The J40 has a similar feel, but with a little more punch. I have not decided if I like that yet or not, so I ordered some more props to give myself plenty to test with over the coming month.

And lastly, I am going to finally get around to reviewing the MepsKing motors. My plan is to do a bit of an overview of what I think based on what they look like from a build quality, looks, and such. And then put them on a drone, and fly it hard at the local park next to my house, and see how they hold up. I have seen a lot of positive reviews, but I also know what their standard contract looks like, so I don't hold those with much regard. We'll see how it goes. It should be interesting to say the least.

Have you seen the latest video from XJet showing the real plans that the FAA has for Remote ID? If not, you need to go watch.

Several years back when this stuff started, I made a series of videos calling out people to get people involved in commenting on the NPRM for Remote ID. I got a lot of flack for doing that. In fact, I even lost a couple of friends over it as well. I feel much like XJet, and wonder if I should even care. It seems no one else seems to care enough to do much. I know some are, but personally, I think it is for naught. What do you think?

What is your plan when this goes into effect in 3 months? Are you going to comply? Honestly, I am not sure what I am going to do. I personally think that in the long term, this is going to fail, and it won't matter. But will the hobby survive through it to come out on the other side? I like to think it will, but it is hard to say which companies will make it to the other side. If a lot of people bail on the hobby, the vendors providing the parts we use will dry up, and close shop.

I made a poll on my YouTube channel to gauge what the community is going to do. Most everyone seems to indicate that they are not going to change anything. Personally, I think that is probably the best solution. Compliance with this gets us nowhere in my opinion. On the flip side, non-compliance can be a scary thing.

I guess we'll see what happens in a few months. I don't plan on stopping my flying, but I may have to adjust a bit.

We have had some beautiful weather the past few days. Beautiful, but very hot. I have wanted to fly, but I have been exhausted when I wake up, and by the time I feel up to it, the heat has arrived, and I don't feel like going out. Hopefully, tomorrow I can get out and fly a couple packs in the morning.

Today was a frusrating day. We had a mobile mechanic scheduled to replace the starter in our Chevy Traverse, and the part got delayed. He finally gave up on the part showing up where it was supposed to be delivered, and found it in stock at a different retailer. It would have been finished by around 2pm-3pm, but because of the delay, it didn't get finished until almost 7:30pm. We had made plans to go to EPCOT this evening, and we did. We just made it in before closing to ride Guardians of the Galaxy.

The line for Guardians was the longest that I have seen it. Thankfully it moves pretty quickly, and even with the really long line, it was only about 1.5 hours from the time we got in line unil we got off of the ride. We met a really nice couple while we were in line, and we adopted them for the ride. It was their first time riding, and it was their last day at Disney World before heading home in the morning.

They loved it! I got their e-mail address, and we sent them the photo from the ride. It is so nice to be able to do little things like that for people. So the frustrating day turned out to be nice in the end. If we hadn't been delayed, we wouldn't have met. Sometimes God has better plans for us. We can't always see the big picture.

I just realized I wasted over thirty dollars, and a week of my time. I'm happy to finally have a resolution, but also so agitated with myself for not realizing the problem sooner. Have you ever done that?

On the upside I have a spare TBS crossfire nano receiver, and my flight controller doesn't need to be replaced. It's bittersweet.

I put together a video that will premier in a couple of days on YouTube. In this video, I admit to being wrong about something that I had posted a video about. Sometimes it is not easy admitting when one is wrong, but it is key to improving as a person.

If you ask my wife, she will let you know that I am wrong a lot. She will also tell you that I will own up to being wrong as well. I may not do it as soon as I should, but I will. I may be stubborn in coming to grips with being wrong sometimes, but I will own up to it, and take responsibility.

Oh, how I wish more people would do this. I am not trying to toot my horn to show how great I am. Far from it! I mess up many times. I'll likely mess up many more times in the future. But as long as I can take responsibility when I am, and admit when I am, I will grow as a person.

So, with that, one final note. I was also wrong last night with how I acted when dealing with the transportation staff at Disney. We were trying to get back to Hollywood Studios from Epcot, and we took the boats as the Skyliners were down because of weather. Well, we didn't make it, and were forced to depart at Swan & Dolphin. We had to take a bus from there to Magic Kingdom, and from there we had to take a ferry to get to the Disney buses so we could get back to Hollywood Studios where our car was parked. It ended up pouring the rain, and no one was helpful in getting us this information on how we could get back to where we needed to be. So, on the ferry, I let my frustration be known to a couple of the cast members, and I did that in a way that I shouldn't have. I really wasn't mad at them, but my wife let me know later that it seemed to her like I was directing my frustration at them, and that I was raising my voice when I shouldn't have. I was wrong. I am sorry. So to Jennifer (the very patient cast member talking with me), I AM SORRY!

I am finding myself leaning toward ditching being involved in groups on Facebook. Sometime back, I got frustrated with people who feel the need to argue with you when you are trying to help people with questions. They want to tell you how you are wrong, etc, etc, etc. Well, this seems to be happening again.

It's not like it stopped, but I had taken a break from groups for a while. I had removed myself from all facebook groups related to FPV and/or drones. I have since gotten back into some of the groups thinking that maybe people have changed, and even if they hadn't maybe I could tolerate it.

Well, I think I was wrong. People definitely have not changed. I tolerated the stupidity for a while, but it is becoming clear that the nonsense just grates at me far too much. I try and help someone by giving them good info, and someone feels the need to inteject their opinon dismissing me as completely wrong. So, I am thinking I am going to bail from these groups.

I am going to just use discord. I can much more easily ignore stuff there. I don't find myself mindless scrolling. It is much easier to not get caught up in mindless arguments. I can still keep up with others in the hobby, but not in a way that I get caught up in the bickering, and nonsense.

I forgot to charge batteries last night since I was on Nappy's livestream till after midnight, so I didn't get to fly today like I had wanted. I just finished charging some packs for tomorrow though.

We are going to head over to Disney again tomorrow to get some rides in, and get some free snacks (courtesy of being a passholder). Our favorite ride is Guardians of the Galaxy:Cosmic Rewind which is at EPCOT. I have ridden a lot of coasters, many that are super fast, and super tall, and super intense. Cosmic Rewind tops my list, though, as my all-time favorite coaster. It's fast, got just the right amount of intensity, has a unique coaster feel with the cars since they can turn 360 degrees, and has cool visuals, story interaction, and music. It ticks all of the boxes and then some. If you ever get the chance to go to EPCOT, do not miss this ride.

There are some, though, who really don't like it. A friend of mine from college doesn't like it at all. He rode it once when it first opened, and it made him sick. He rode it again tonight, and he said it still makes him sick. I believe that he, and others like him, cause this problem. They tense up, look down, hold on for dear life, and miss the fun. When you ride coasters, you really have to just let go (figuratively, and literally), and just enjoy it. And for a ride like Cosmic Rewind that is even more true. It is a dark ride (meaning it is hard to see where you are going), and it does a lot of twists and turns, and sends you backwards twice.

There really is nothing like it. We ride it every time we go to EPCOT. We go to EPCOT several times a week just to ride it. It really is that good. If anyone tells you to avoid it, and that it's awful or no good, do not listen to them. You won't be disappointed, but take my advice: Let Go! Hands up! Sing along to the music, and just have fun! Now that I think about it, that is great advice for life as well.

I had a lot of fun hanging out on the NappyFPV livestream last night. We talked about drones, RC ground vehicles, and all sorts of fun stuff. The time flew by, and we chatted for over 3 hours. You should check it out.

I just got back from some flying again. I am enjoying flying again. I am not flying to create content right now (though I may share some in the near future) and it feels great. My flying is so much better when I don't have this notion in my head that I need to create something cool or interesting.

It is taking me back to the beginning of my FPV journey where I just enjoyed flying. The difference now? I am much better than I was then, so I can enjoy it even more!

We are meeting up this evening with some friends from out of state for dinner. It will good to cacth up. It has been several years since we have seen each other. I am looking forward to it.

So here it is June 6, and I am writing my entry for yesterday. You will likely be pleased to know (at least those that enjoy my freestyle flying) that I finally cleaned the sensor on my camera, and I now have a nice blemish free video display.

Not much happened yesterday. I did get some motors in for testing a couple days back, so you will be seeing a review of those in the coming weeks. The manufacturer wanted me to sign this crazy contract where they got final say so over what I said, and I needed to be positive, and just give them praise essentially. I told them thanks but no thanks. They wanted to know why, so I told them, and they agreed to change the contract to meet what I asked. I wanted to give them an honest review, and was not going to promote them with graphics, etc. They agreed. I was surprised honestly, but I'll give them an honest review. Everyone has been praising these motors, but given what I know about the contract, I would probably ignore all of those positive reviews. I'll give it to you straight. If you want even more straight, you can ask FlyHigh FPV.

I may have been wrong. I know. How is that even possible? And yet somehow, here we are. On my YouTube channel, I gave the HQ J37 props quite a scathing review, and I think I may need to eat my words.

See, I really wanted to like these props. I had bought quite a large amount of them. When I tested them, I really liked how they felt, but the durability seemed to be lacking quite a bit. Some commented on my video that their experience had been quite different from mine. I put these comments at the back of my mind to come back to at some point.

I gave them another try, and found them better, but still lacking in durability as compared to most GemFan props that I flew, and the Ethix props. Yet, I still had liked the feel, and I still had a bunch of them in a box on my shelf.

I let some time go by, and here we are today. I have been flying just for fun, and not with any intention of creating content from my flying, and as such, I have just been flying props that I have laying around. Today's prop? Yep, the HQ J37.

Today's session was SO MUCH FUN. I am not sure what the difference was. I did recently change motors from the Emax Eco 2 2306 2400kv to the T-Motor Velox V2 2306 2400kv. Maybe it is the combo of that motor and these props? I also recently began testing Emu Flight. Maybe those props, with this new motor and FC firmware is the golden ticket? Whatever it is, the props held up to some serious crashes, and stayed silky smooth the whole time. And I mean SMOOOOOOOOTH!

My flying was so much better this morning. I think all of these factors have contributed in some way. Suffice to say though, I will be flying with these props more. I need to know if it was a fluke, or did I just have a serious change of heart. Either way, this morning brought back the joy of FPV to me again.

We've been having a lot of rain lately as we are entering the rainy season, and it's made it diffucult to get the grass trimmed and cut at my house. I was able to take of it this morning though, and it's a good thing as we got dumped on with rain again this afternoon and evening. Ah the joys of Florida living. It's really not that bad though. If we were to have rain like this back in West Virginia (where we moved from), I would never be able to get the grass cut as it would have been too wet. Everything dries quickly around here, and I love it!

I was able to fly some today as well before the storms came. It felt good to just fly for fun and not with the intent of creating any sort of YouTube content. I need to do that more often. I enjoy creating YouTube content, but sometimes it can bring one to the brink of burn out. I'm sure I am not the only one who has experienced this. I have gotten better at not geting lulled into this feeling, but even with the progress I have made, it is still something that I struggle with.

Another day, another broke drone part. It seems that this is happening far more frequently than I would like. I don't want parts to break ever, but I concede that it will. Still, I don't want it happening multiple times a week. Today's broke part? T-Motor Velox V2.

Now, when I told my buddy RanHam that I picked up some Velox motors, he said, "I should have warned you about those." He hasn't had much luck with them in the durability front. So far, I might have to agree. I just had a few minor crashes, and the motor was partially seized up. I can't see any physical damage to the bell, but it is catching some as you try and rotate it. I haven't written these motors off entirely, but it seems that they might be phasing them out anyways, so I may be looking for another motor again.

I think I may go ahead and design a motor bumper thing for my drone anyways as it definitely can't hurt to add a bit more padding around the motor bell. I know Dave Shaddix doesn't agree, but I think I'll have to disagree.

Today has not started like I planned. I had planned on doing a couple of videos because we have some storms coming, and I wanted to put some new content out. It started out ok. I recorded my video intro, got my gear together, and went up to the local park to fly a bit. The pack was going well, and then I crash, and the drone won't arm. Great... another broke FC I thought.

Pick up the drone, set it back down, and it arms. Ok, maybe it was just a glitch. So I start to fly again, and this time, I do a quick blip to do a roll through the shelter, and the quad doesn't drop the throttle, I crash, and I get the familiar telemetry lost, but I still had video. Weird, what could it be this time?

I pick up the drone, and notice that the receiver doesn't have power, and the lights look wrong on the FC, but appears to have power. So I am thinking the FC 5v regulator might be toasted, but not sure since it looks like the FC has power.

I bring it home to the bench, tear it apart, and everything looks good for connections, so I am beginning to think it is the FC. I connect the FC to the computer, and open BetaFlight Configurator, and it appears to be working just fine, and the Receiver has power. That's making me think that it's the FC regulator again

So, I decide to plug it in again, and sure enough not working. That is when I notice that the Rx wire seems to have a fray in it, and I am thinking that maybe that is causing some sort of problem. So, I repair the wire, and test again. I still have no power on the receiver. I scrounge through parts and find a spare receiver, and connect it. No power.

At this point, I am not sure if the spare receiver is working or not, and I am not sure if the receiver I removed was working or not, or just not getting power. Pull out the meter, and check the 5v pad feeding the receiver. I have 5v just like I expect.

So, it appears I have a broke receiver. Thinking back, it would make sense how the drone behaved. The receiver was acting up which kept me from arming, and then the throttle getting stuck would make sense, as it would function like that in a failsafe too since I had just blipped the throttle, it kept the throttle input for a second when it lost the receiver, and then failsafe kicked in, and shut it off.

Mornings like this are why I get burned out with this hobby sometimes. It is a love hate relationship. I love the joy it brings. I love solving probelms, and tracking down what is wrong, but at the same time, when those happen it keeps me from flying, and I get frustrated having to spend more money to get it working again. Thankfully I have a backup, but it makes me nervous to fly it thinking it'll break too. It is quite a dilemma!

JUNE 2023 - BLOG