65 Tech Tips For FPV Pilots | YOU DON'T KNOW #40 I GUARANTEE IT

[@LazerLord10]

On the topic of battery voltage damage, I have an anecdote of recovering from an undervoltage event where the quad was stuck on in a tree for a while. I think it ended up at a resting voltage around 2V per cell. I had to charge them by using an external power supply, but after they got up to voltage, I can't even tell the difference between that battery and my other ones. Generally, if the cell doesn't self-discharge after you charge it, it's not 'damaged'. Its performance might be a bit less, but you don't need to toss it out.

[@BillFrazier]

Joshua, I'm new to FPV and just starting to get in the various items I ordered, but I think I learned something today. I learn many things from all your videos. Well, actually, in reality, I noticed my playlists that I have been saving of good videos to learn from are mostly yours. You cover everything I feel I need to learn and you do it in such an easy-to-learn-from way. Thank you!!! Your The Best!!!!

[@markm8983]

Tip #21 addendum - Be sure you only cut one wire at a time so you don't short the battery

[@BayAreaFPV]

Mark M I was going to make this same recommendation until I saw that you already posted it. This is EXTREMELY important!!

[@attackhelicopter7403]

That's like a Darwin level advice....

[@jonwhite6894]

@@attackhelicopter7403 It can happen by accident when caffeine is involved...still have all my fingers luckily

[@ficere5192]

I literally did that yesterday. Luckily the battery is ok, internal resistance went from about 20 to 60, but it still works. The quad is fine to, it’s flying great, and other than that, it was a pretty successful first build. I should probably clarify that I was being incredibly stupid and was trying to cut the wires of the xt60 on my quad to the right length while the battery was plugged in.

[@divingfalconfpv4602]

@@ficere5192 😳 Markers are ur friend.

[@mc-dev]

I'm Joshua Bardwell, and you're gonna learn 65 things today...

[@Rynoblock]

Nobody can like this now. 65 likes.

[@mc-dev]

@@Rynoblock lock it up, it's good

[@slicksix8892]

Tip, if you get a small burn on your fatsharks from the sun, leave them on with just static and after a while it should disappear. Try this first before sending them off for repair👍😉

[@Chilla2006]

I always unplug my quad first and leave the fatshark on for a few seconds to prevent sun damage and osd burning ;)

[@quadsquadfpv2476]

Nice tip! I’ve got a few Burnt pixels. I will try to give this a shot. Been times when I wasn’t thinking and the sun was shining in the goggles.

[@karldonald748]

@@Chilla2006 Eh, how does that work? Damage is done by sun through lens to lcd. Nothing to do with quad.

[@Morboeatspeople]

#5, #31, #49 and #64 are all lifesavers that I had zero clue about. Thanks for another amazing video!

[@spencersharpefpv8084]

this is what is important to good fpv experiance and journey so people dont get fed up with the complex start to this hobby love you josh been watching 3 years

[@ArchmageAU]

Awesome job. Condensed at least 2 years worth of learning into 30 mins. This is MUST watch/bookmark for FPV pilots.

[@Black-ice_fpv]

I just can't get enough, RR...is on point, J got this.....more people like yourself are needed in this world.....endless info....you guys are DG....Drone Gods...💡

[@aaaaaaaaaassssssssdf]

im glad you mentioned not pushing the sticks hard on calibration. i would do the stick bang on mine and eventually had some issues arming (or getting an airplane esc to arm) because it wasn't at min throttle. gentle up down left right and its fixed

[@quadsquadfpv2476]

Bardwell, you have hit two homeruns with the last two videos you have put out. I saw one guy say change the title to for noobs, I’m not a noob and one of these really helped me out. Every time I turned on my Taranis QX7 it would give me a throttle warning, it was because when I calibrated I pushed too hard down on the throttle. Thanks a lot man, this helped me, and it’s good to get a refresher on all the ins and outs.

[@jpbatinic]

Awesome. Small addition about FatShark receiver switch, mine shipped with a non-functioning, dirty switch. I just had to flip it on and off 10-20 times before the switched cleared itself up and made proper contact. Very frustrating but also glad that's all it was haha. i heard others had the same issue with HDOs

[@kevinvieths3604]

Wow. That is an amazing amount and quality of info. I have been wanting to get into FPV for a long time now, but if that is just some "tips", I am wondering if am even smart enough to do it. It appears that you have forgotten more about FPV than I could likely learn. Much respect.

[@FRY_FPV]

Amazing 😍 couldn't you have done this a year ago when I started FPV 😅 I figured most of them myself but it was a paiiiiinnn. What a year hahaha. Really useful video though! Thanks for putting it all together. I'll redirect fpv newbies friends to it when they ask me questions

[@GuyBurdick]

Your entertainment/informative ratio is still off the charts! Also, more wing stuff!

[@Enderkruemel]

I Put my Balance connector between the bouth powerwires Also i glued my xt60 to the frame whith epoxy (my wire comes in the Back of my copter) You also can use the external (mostly blue) wire on runcam to overwrite the 5v osd Display to your actual Batterie voltage so If the FC hasnt an osd you can use this

[@dfw_sleepypillz1007]

Addition to tip #6 - It's not just FatShark modules that have the AutoScan for channel issues. It's happened to me on several different goggles over the years from Box goggles on up. Rock on! Great video!

[@softsmoken]

Good way to make sure you bent the prop back to right spot is look at it from the exact same angle as u turn it and pick the head of a screw or something for one blade to line up with then turn it, and if the tips of the blades dont all hit that exact spot...well u get it, but i pick a good little reference point then turn it is how i do it. its easy to screw up alittle depending on your own level judgement alone. but maybe im just over cautious

[@sunshynff]

Hey JB, had to pop in and tell you that you literally saved my quad this morning!! I watched this video late last night, then I was up early this morning and had some time to kill, and it was beautiful out. Behind my house there is a small creek, thin row of tall trees and bushes then a golf course. No on one on the course and I had a couple 2s batteries charged, so I took my new Sailfly X for a spin from my back porch. During the first flight I looped up over the very top of a tree and clipped a branch and tumbled to the ground luckily, but I had zero Idea where exactly it crashed at. Then I remembered your tip on setting the FS Dominator's DVR to auto record, and that I had done just that while I was watching your video. So I checked, and sure enough they were recording, I fast forwarded the footage to just before the wreck, slowed it down and could totally tell what tree I hit, went right to it and there was my Sailfly X. It was in tall grass too, without your tip, It would have been really difficult to find it. Thanks JB!!!!!

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Excellent!!!! Thanks for letting me know.

[@d1o2n4]

I’ve been away from the hobby for a bit and just today struggling to get my R-XSR working. Sat down to do some research just now and thought I’d watch your video to get some tips before I start. 5 min mark you solved my problem! Had the SBUS_IN wire connected instead of SBUS_OUT. Easy. Cheers. So much good info!

[@jeffwilliams409]

i build and fly collective pitch helis. i just recently starting flying fpv. thank you sir for your info

[@danieldewindt3919]

Thank you once again for this tutorial. Starting with drone flight feels a bit like stairing into a black box 🎁 You just shined some light in the corners i missed. 💡

[@KCQuadTronX]

I HAVE LEARNED ALL THAT I KNOW IN DEPTH ABOUT THIS FPV THANKS TO YOU AND BETAFLIGHT IS ABOUT TO BECOME SECOND NATURE TO ME LIKE BUILDING COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONICS I LOVE DOING

[@Perforator2000]

That was a handy tip about being gentle on the gimbal calibration. I guess I probably gave my gimbals a bit too much of a push on a recent calibration, because in the receiver tab on Betaflight, I was seeing the quad move around and the values weren't resting at 1500, but moving up and down by about 10. I added deadband to make it go away, not realizing that it might have been my recent calibration. I just recalibrated the sticks gently, then went in to check the receiver tabs on my quads, and the values were pretty much right at 1500, except the occasional little blip up or down. I turned the deadband down to 2, and everything seems good.

[@readysetdrone]

Wow - I watched all the way through. Many of these items were new to me and great to know. Thanks for the video and the tips!

[@slowentropy4531]

Wow I used to watch you when I first started drones as a hobbie!

[@MrBirdshell666]

Regarding the last tip. Buy some polymorph and apply makeshift protection to the arms. Works good in abandoned building, I use it to apply on top as well with zip ties. It is shatter proof and slides well on concrete upon impact

[@dannygaron]

Just can't get enough of ur vids. The amount I've learned in the past three months from you is incredible. Thank you for that. I design trackers for military and law enforcement for a living... Ur level of knowledge with electronics, etc is great man!

[@fededabz]

i definately use cam control on ur board for smart audio. that way i can run gps and crossfire. works awesome for me. thanks jb

[@Bournefort]

Tip #25 is important. I sliced my nose very badly and got 25 stitches to re-connect the tip of my nose after my quad went full throttle into my face.

[@nickfrazier8013]

Bournefort dang dude, hope you’re ok now

[@quadsquadfpv2476]

Happen to a buddy of mine too. He forgot to disarm and angle mode, bent over to pick up the quad and hit the throttle. It wasn’t pretty. At least it wasn’t and Eye.

[@Bournefort]

Yeah, I went out flying the next day but it sure scared some sense into me. It has changed my perspective on failsafes, prearm, and proper controller use. Still love flying FPV and quads!

[@danieldimitri6133]

Incase anyone gets confused. Brightness is black level not white level it should be set high enough to prevent black level clipping. Contrast is the difference between black and white. If your whites are blown out turn it down but generally you want brightness set first. If you're trying to figure out which control is which look at the black levels as you adjust. The contrast should only change blacks slightly if at all.

[@argyleskyfpv461]

Always have alot of battery straps and prop nuts and props. Learned those the hard way.

[@AngryPepper1964]

Wholly smokes, I’m new to fpv and this video is all Greek to me. Hopefully I’ll understand all this some day. I had no idea there is so much to this. Wow!!

[@PilotPlater]

was diagnosing tip22 video issue while watching this video in the background, thought I had a bad sma cable because it worked when I moved the connection. Thanks Joshua, good fix

[@Davidwilburjr1]

Thank you for the tip on when calibrating radio/Transmitter i was trying to figure out on my diatone crusader gt200 why the throttle would increase when throttle all way down and quad was not slowing down. Plus when i was trying to arm quad i couldn't because had to push down little hard to do so. thank you again!!

[@PenPeng]

Regarding tip 58 (set Channel Range to 1-8): I think you should only set it to 1-8 or 1-16. I heard that the RC channel smoothing of betaflight might not work if you set it to 1-10 for example. The radio always sends out packets of 8 channels. If you set it to only have 8, then every time a packet of 8 gets sent out, it contains all new values for all 8 channels. If you set it to 1-16 then the first packet will contain channels 1-8 and the second packet will contain 9-16. That's where the extra delay comes from when using 16 channel mode. But what happens if you set it to 1-10 for example? The first packet will contain channels 1-8 and the second package will contain channels 9,10 and 1-6 again but with new values! That means that channels 1-6 will get updated twice as fast as channels 9 and 10. If all your "flight channels" (throttle, yaw, roll, pitch) get updated twice as fast as your flight mode for example, there's no problem. But if some flight channels get updated twice as fast as others, there could be a problem with the channel smoothing.

[@moviepassion7995]

rare to find a video with such a title that is actually good and this one really is. Keep it up

[@jackdaniels7913]

Such a wealth of information in one place only JB can pull it off so smooth and effortlessly!!! 🥃cheers🍻

[@krisw8419]

2 switch arming is a must #25 when kids are around. I have setup mine in the radios and not the quads though. This way if i forget the pre arm or running a quad without that mode it still is active no matter what

[@ghosthunterc]

Great video, I’m going to send this link to all of my newbie pilot friends now. You really summed everything up in a nice, tidy, easy to comprehend package here. Most tips I did know... but thanks only to watching all of your videos in the past couple/few years. Also, I love the shirt! I thought it was just the same Kwadbox Rotor Riot shirt that I have for about half of the video... very subtle and fun, now I want one! Thanks again, and keep up the great work!

[@jorouss33]

We are lucky to have you in this hobby! I wouldn't be flying if weren't making these videos! Thanks Joshua!

[@DronemanfromNepal]

now back to work , well spent my 37 minutes from my office . thnx man for all the tips

[@benknights6432]

Rain

[@TheBer7y]

DO A 3inch PERSONAL BUILD PLEASE

[@dustinjlewis1]

Joshua, I clicked this video thinking it was "6S" tech tips. Now that's a good idea for another video. Tuning etc.

[@topgundk]

TIP #15 I learned that lesson the hard way.... As a noob i was sure I was messing up getting LUA scripts running, not it was a crappy SDcard they send with it. Wish i knew that 3 months back... TIP #57 THANK YOU I did not know that, but i have been annoying me like hell to have those steps on my throttle. I actually paused the video right here, saw the linked video and made that change right away to my Taranis X9D This is a really good video for the beginner. Thanks for taking your time sharing. And I learned something today (again) :D

[@Vaviation11]

I rewatch this video every few weeks and keep learning!

[@highwaymen1237]

Fantastic list. The numbering is a great help to take notes and going back to review.

[@dmitrysozinov2391]

Thanks for tips! Most of them are evident, but for beginners it'a a great guide to save time and nerves

[@speedy0_FPV]

i actually flew with one of my quads without a vtx antenna, it was about 3 min, with a tbs unify on 25mw

[@jayholt2101]

Tip #52 is the most useful. Thanks Joshua.

[@TheJoker6789]

Damn I learned something. First time I watched this video. Actually it's information overload to my brain. There are a few tips I definitely need and want to learn more about. And there were a few I was so lost and not understanding what you were saying my thought were " way over my head never going to figure that one out , don't even want to try". This was a long video probably going to have to watch it a few more times way better than trying to read some text book. Appreciate your videos and help.

[@carbonfire1247]

I knew #40! lol, discoved it by going the wrong way with the yaw stick a few weeks ago. Seriously though, you should not be able to post any questions on a facebook group until you have watched this video, lots of good stuff.

[@gregstewart4692]

Excellent video Joshua. Many little things that I am now aware of, as well as things I was aware of but needed to be reminded of. Thank you.

[@ohmyquadfpv6648]

awesome stuff! I learned a few things today, thanks!!

[@denniswegner9924]

Tahts one of the first videos i fully watched in 2years and enjoyed

[@ReeferNoob23]

The comanders v1's that i use i have set for continuous record as well its wonderful because i can guarantee that i would forget

[@billyd78]

Every time you crash, inspect your props carefully. Especially at the root where the blades meet the hub. There could be tiny cracks which will grow each time you fly, until the blade suddenly flies away and your copter becomes mostly uncontrollable leading to another crash. Use a magnifying glass and bright light to inspect for cracks.

[@rjredd]

tip 36# i have different models for the same quad but different voltage alarm values for 4s on one and 5s on the other. also sometime telemetry is on different channels for different quads which is another reason i have multiple models.

[@stevefox3763]

Tip no 66- if your running GPS, you can plug in your USB to get a sat lock without having your vtx powered and getting hot, the plug In Your flight battery when your ready to fly.

[@robmalan7137]

Do you plug into a laptop, or can you plug into a power bank?

[@stevefox3763]

@@robmalan7137 does not really matter, i have used a power bank but for the craft this is most useful for i tend plug it into a laptop as it makes sense to do setup things through the usb as not having the 433 telem active also speeds up a gps lock. On my 450 quad i have a much better gps module and that gets a lock in like 15 seconds and i always just plug the flight battery in on that.

[@dronereviewman9580]

Thanks so much for posting this!!!! I have such a hard time with my fat sharks!! Love them and they work great im just stupid sometimes!! I have still not learned acro!!! I really want a new laptop or something i can run a acro sim on and learn acro without so many broken quads hahaha!!!!! But i habe learned so much the last 2 years i have been into f.p.v. & drones!!!!!! And still i have so much 2 learn!!!!!

[@JerryCalverley]

Most condensed useful knowledge in one video ever! Great tips! Thanks JB!

[@thebra]

I did the #10 tip on my first little whoop but it did teach me how to do tip #11 :)

[@hyperhelis4313]

Wow! This answered so many questions. Thank you for taking the time to do this video 👍

[@mikolajswider964]

You channel and content is truly amazing. Great job!

[@heimwolf]

Stick Commands. These exist at least since MultiWii. Not invented by Timecop, will work on DJI frames as well.

[@elis51501]

Thanks Joshua, after almost 3 years of fpving there were still a few things out of that list that i didn’t know!

[@rickm1283]

Outstanding! All 65 tips are super useful. Thanks JB

[@mikeoleksa]

Another great video! JB, you really need to start letting us know where you get some of these t-shirts. LMAO

[@MrJKillarado]

Most of his shirts come in the Kwadbox subscription boxes. You can also buy the shirts at the rotor riot store.

[@mikeoleksa]

@@MrJKillarado thank you!

[@DavidReynolds-kr6yh]

Thanks Joshua, good tips, I won’t remember them all, and some of them aren’t going to affect me because unfortunately I fly with a spektrum radio, but they’re still a valuable lesson about a lot of radios.

[@steady747]

Great video. Out of all your videos, this is close to the top. So much info and very useful stuff. I did, indeed learn something

[@darkraft1020]

Tip 1. Not even using the fatshark, a noobie with an EV100, but just found the same button for brightness and contrast, thanks

[@IanBeaty]

Fantastic video! I knew most of them, but had forgotten many of them so this was a great reminder. There were definitely some gems in there too, and you were right, tip #40 was new and will be really helpful. Thanks for this video!

[@harrylenon9594]

when a motor dies the corner dips then everything just shuts off, i think betaflight recognises when a motor stops and cuts out so it looks pretty much the same as a total loss of power

[@stevensbox9625]

Wow! So much knowledge! Thanks dude, you are a gold mind. Was hoping to find a solution as to why my OSD RSSI displays 50% of what my FrSky Lite Pro displays, but thats OK; I learned so much more. Keep doing what you do so well. God's speed!

[@BillyBag2]

TIP: To find a lost quad with no beeper in long grass/crops use the video quality as you search. When you get close and there is no noise in the video remove the antennas from your goggles and continue searching. Great for woops which can be difficult to find and may not have a buzzer.

[@mantis-toboggan62]

Great video, personally tip #6 stands out once you're up & flying with other's. Cause there's always that ignorant one that knocks someone else or yourself out of the air

[@LandonCramer]

Great tips, Josh! I would love to see some about flying over water.

[@argyleskyfpv461]

Im thinking about cutting pool noodles into little pieces zip tying them somehow so if i crash at least if floats.

[@LandonCramer]

@@argyleskyfpv461 I wrapped a water bottle in neon yellow duct tape and zip tied it to the bottom of my quad after conformal coating it and covering the camera seams in silicone, that should work well. I tried pool noodles, but a water bottle was better because it's lighter and more buoyant.

[@Ryasis12345]

Tip #4 helped BIG TIME with my first set of Fat Sharks

[@CgitEinsteins]

tips 29 thank you

[@nicefpv8436]

Halk bang

[@mece66]

This was an excellent video! Perhaps not mind boggling for experienced people, but very good stuff to be reminded of!

[@atlanticwoodsman8347]

I really love this! Thanks for putting all the work into this stuff.. helps ton's any tips on discharging 1 s batteries? all I do at this point is I just put the battery in a tiny whoop and let it run down.

[@beltaine777]

Love the Potato Riot shirt!

[@befreestudios]

Thank You! I've been flying for a couple years and found myself taking notes on at least 3 tips. Mostly around batteries and random stuff. :P ~ cheers

[@jlarson42]

Super helpful information. Learned many things today. Sharing this with my son in law. Happy flying 💖🤓

[@zahimo]

This video is priceless, thank you Joshua.

[@motofpv82]

i learned sooo much today, holy bardwell..

[@clementfraisier-vannier8169]

OMG #40 & #41 are freaking awesome!

[@RCwithAdam1]

Wow. You were right. #40 will save me a lot of time! Thanks!

[@killingfields5853]

Drew loves sharing his tip

[@jlynndo]

hallo Joshua, I like your channel very much and it is all about the info in this hobby. I am a beginner in this hobby and every info that you release is very handy to know. keep up the good work. greets from the Netherlands

[@wdubduece8913]

You're like the Alton Brown of drones. It's awesome!

[@mike216ism]

I learned a lot. Much appreciated 👍. I really like kiss FC wish you were a fan. The only thing I have on betaflight is tinyhawk s. Love that little quad

[@MrJKillarado]

I just bought a tinyhawkS today from Banggood with the Summer sale coupons that Bardwell just had a video about today 7/11. I always wanted a tiny whoop but couldn't decide which one to get so I'm curious to know how much you like it and if I made a good buy? I got mine for $88 including shipping.

[@mike216ism]

@@MrJKillarado it's incredible. I fly on 2s. since flying it I learned flips and barrel rows. Will try on my big 5" quads this weekend. The tinywoop s is making me a better pilot. I crashed it at least 30x and still keeps flying like a champ. I did have the camera lens pop off but after much abuse. I'm fairly new to acro. It's a blast, I try moves on it that I'm hesitant to try on my 600$ newly built 🐓. Have plenty of fun and enjoy your weekend

[@northernflyer5311]

Josh, unless you have already and I missed it, would love to see you do a deep dive video on the crossfire fail safe.

[@zoroe]

Best episode ever! I was watching it thinking I already heard everything and you proved me wrong! Loved it dude, keep being awesome ❤️

[@BillFrazier]

If you had already heard everything, Joshua's videos were probably where you heard if from. Just sayin'!

[@motiv8154]

Eyyyoooo Mr J duuuude, That was a good video.. I definitely learnt somethings 2day 🤓

[@dcsmith5839]

Always good info.Thanks for posting. The tech is still changing fast,good to have small details pointed out.New to hobby,benefiting from your experience

[@andrewb9942]

Just wow. The half of the tips that I understood were so important and useful that I'm really worried about the half that went over my head . . .

[@GibsonLesPaul2273]

The full battery warning has got to be Betaflight showing their sense of humour.

[@AdrianoCasemiro]

This is a gem. It's a shame I can't hit the like button more than once. Thanks again FPV maestro.

[@monsieur7246]

I really did enjoy the format of this video!

[@TheRCAddict]

lol at 56. I understand why some pilots leave the cam OSD on for their sponsor, but at least turn the on timer and 5v off haha