Diatone Roma F4 LR in depth review

[@JoshuaBardwell]

The dry weight with props and no battery is 160 grams. Very sorry I spaced on that. What a ridiculous thing to leave out of a review of a LR quad. Diatone instructions for how to enable the GPS don't seem to be correct. The 9600 baud seems right but when set to NMEA as the instructions show, no sats are detected. When set to UBLOX auto-config, a few sats seem to be detected, but a 3D fix is never achieved. My conclusion based on the one unit I got is that the GPS simply doesn't work.

[@infa008]

I was wondering, but it looked light enough. The shocker is looming. Have you seen the titanium frame yet? I've been thinking about that for a while.

[@fpvnycdream_4197]

I saw that Avant Quads has the Ciro 4LR With brother hobby 1504 motors. This one should also be included in the shootout. It Looks awsome !

[@LAHover]

So glad you are still posting videos :) I'm checking back after a two year break. You are my go to drone guy! That being said, WOW things have changed! lol

[@infa008]

This new class of drone is my next buy. Thanks JB. I really respect and appreciate your perspectives.

[@dansurf828]

I really like these review videos please keep making them

[@bobg1443]

Thank you for an honest review. I purchased the Flywoo and like it a lot, but didn’t have anything to compare it to at the time.

[@MCsCreations]

"Dave C, the genius" would be enough, Joshua. 😬

[@joewalter3963]

I know it is kinda off topic but do anybody know of a good site to stream newly released series online ?

[@psikodelriot6754]

the mounting option for the cam, with the downer scew, is for hybrid or split cams, wich have that two screw holes. The downer screw is for generally fix the cam. The upper screw is to adjust the angle.

[@gmivisualsjason3729]

Great video....... I think my favourite still is the flywoo LR. Well a now that I've swapped the esc and fc to an iflight with 5 full uarts.

[@divingfalconfpv4602]

Nice. Was thinking swapping everything except frame and motors on my flywoo haha

[@dangerous8333]

Just curious, I have a flywoo lr, but I've been out of the scene for a year. After upgrading the GPS module my explorer does everything I need it to do, so I'm curious what benefit having more uarts would be?

[@gmivisualsjason3729]

@@dangerous8333 The original Flight controller that Flywoo made didn't have enough uarts. A serial uart had to be used. Their were some early teething troubles because of this so a few of us simply swapped out the flight controller. Now however I believe all works as it should. Welcome back to the hobby my friend

[@jasonrusch]

I'm excited for this class and enjoying the videos. Looking forward to the summary one.

[@parker1ray]

Ray from the future here as Josh would say, I purchased one of these when they first came out and they were junk and took f-ing forever to get a lock if you were lucky enough to not have the vtx overheat! Three years in the future and I have replaced the M8 gps with a new M10 gps that gets Galileo sats, and if is finally usable! It sat on a shelf for three years and I tried everything to get this turd to work. With the new gps module, it is fantastic and locks with in 20 seconds! I also designed a new mount that relocates the gps to the front. This gets it away from electrical interference!

[@GeebusFPV]

Great vid, Joshua! Really appreciate the work you put into every videos! I'm curious if you plan to actually tune the quad to see if you can fix the quirks you've mentioned. Would love to hear your thoughts.

[@remainsmemories626]

I've flown with hero 3+ an 4s vtc6 on Iflight chimera, and got 18min (450g all up weight), so there definitely will be use for full-size mount

[@MCsCreations]

Fantastic flying and review, Joshua! 😃 Yeah, the PID tuning needs a special Joshua tought... But I REALLY liked this frame! I'm thinking about getting it to build one! 😂 Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@chriswhilsmith407]

Did you end up picking up one of these frames to do your own build? It looks promising maybe with different motors and FC. Would you recommend?

[@MCsCreations]

@@chriswhilsmith407 Unfortunately I didn't, dude... I didn't have money for the hobby since January 2020. 😕 I still want to do it though. About recommendations... Different motors, definitely. Maybe they're better now, but they weren't in the beginning. About FC there's no issue, you can use whatever you want. And Diatone's boards are very good! But you can look for one with barometer in case you want to try iNav. You know? Other than that, a better GPS module. Pawel Spychalski changed his for a Matek GPS and it worked flawlessly! Anyway... Great luck with the project! 🖖😃

[@infa008]

I can't wait to see the shocker

[@jerryz_here3614]

I love this quad but I have lost the GPS mount before and had to replace it, make sure you add rubber bands/zipties around it for security

[@tom-nl7fg]

im so hyped for the SHOCKER i tryed many frames all failed but i have sooo goooooood Catalist Mashineworks Banggod experience it still is flying i cant belive it. I wrecked soo many frames ( im a realy bad and risky pilot ) this one is a tank realy reayl good stuff.

[@divingfalconfpv4602]

I was eyeing shocker lite 5". Build my own long range. 2004 5" but didn't bite the bullet couldn't find t-mount biblades

[@philthayer4087]

Lets see...GPS not recommended on a LR quad? flies like crap out of the box?

[@protonus]

Hey Joshua - did you also get an AirBlade Transformer? Compared to the Flywoo, iFlight, GEPRC, and Eachine offerings... this frame seems like it would be the best of them for the purpose this segment is intended for (long range cruising)? I hope you get to review this one too! Also, of all of these, which 1404 motors are your favorite?

[@fpvnycdream_4197]

I was really hoping for this one to be the one. I’m a fan of diatone’s products. But unfortunately there are to many iffy’s. I’m curious if the bobble is frame, tune or motor related. Thanks for the comparison vids on the ever growing 4” lr

[@JoshuaBardwell]

I blame the motors.

[@ScottDougherty96]

I agree. I wanted to buy just the frame and build it myself but now I’ll wait it out. Maybe some better motors and a tune and you’d have a great quad.

[@artie782]

Joshua, great people like you make this hobby great. keep up the good work. Can you look into the new Eachine SHADOW FIEND LR 4S.

[@DjCjx]

I am in the process of building my own version of a 4in lr. Should have the fc in this week and get it up by the weekend.

[@uptimefpv]

I think that the bobble may come down to the Betaflight stock tune on Mamba flight controllers. I have used other Mamba flight controllers and esc combos with the same outcome.

[@timechaser4313]

Yeah, seeing the camera wasn’t mounted with TPU, I though this would have no jello. Wow. Given all the things it should have had, but didn’t, and the things it should not of had, but did, I feel like this was thrown together as much as any of the 4” LR quads. I was rooting for them too. C.M.W. could knock one out of the park here. Also in regards to the camera, was it foggy in the distance? Or was that an artifact of the sun, like we have seen on other Digital cameras?

[@tehllama42]

Diatone has been crushing a fair bit of the RTF game, just not always crushing the whole thing every time. I think this one came out good... although I want some higher KV variants of those Mamba motors, because I want a Stealthy TinyTrainer

[@no-wing7229]

This is un related from the video.. but i have this flight controllers and esc f7 kakute stack esc if i plug the battery the fc wont turn on but the esc will make the sound to turn on the Fc you need plug something to the usb first then plug the battery to the esc so that everything will work fine..

[@lavachemist]

I wish HGLRC made one. It's probably just luck of the draw but I seem to have mixed results with both Diatone and iFlight hardware (moreso iFlight). So far I would be between the Flywoo and the GepRC, personally. Interested in seeing the Catalyst Machineworks quad.

[@KreezeTV]

thank you for these videos joshua i am most likely going to buy your favorite with a caddx vista at the end!

[@austinsmith9413]

Interesting. Just a few days ago I made a li-ion battery pack for my standard 5 inch drone with a custom frame(racing drone style with the strength of a free style) on my first flight I got over 22 minutes while still playing around a bit and only flying down to 11v. So I believe that 25+ minutes is possible if someone used different props, flew to a lower voltage, and flew easier than what I did. Everything was the exact same as I would normally run except the battery. So my drone without the battery was 344g, I was running dji snail 2400kv motors with the dji 5048 three blade props, and I had an all up weight of 674g. Would be a market for a battery like this for people who wanted to fly long range with whatever drone they currently have?

[@flylow3457]

You can definitely get above 30 minutes with right pack. Check my channel, I flew the explorer lr for 47 minutes on a 3s liion pack.

[@SiamFpv]

This one look’s really nice thanks a lot for this vid’ Joshua 😉

[@moblades1]

Good review as always. Maybe I might go for just the frame later on and build it up myself and tune.

[@ho-xo8my]

Try emuflight on this one.

[@volvo850enjoyer8]

why is nobody reviewing the tmotor ft5 6s bnf? I fly fpv since 3 years now and i have never ever flown such a good quad, even better than the "special" "best" RTF Nazgul. I really love it and I would also love to see a review!!

[@aemarkov]

Hey, thank you for reviewing long range 4"! Maybe a week ago I was surfing the youtube lazely and found you review for Flywoo Explorer and I realised that this is the class I was looking for. So what... I've already purchased Diatone Roma F4 several days ago. Why this one? Like Diatone and quality. Many people were excited with the Roma F5 and it's quality. So, will see...

[@sheldonsaintstudio]

Hey Josh, Eachine also has a micro long range.

[@baggszilla]

I saw that today on banggod I think it's called the Shadow Fiend lol it looks good but probably has all the same flying characteristics that this Roma F4 LR has. Maybe JB can review that one too.

[@dividingbyzerofpv6748]

I gave up some flight time/effeciency dropping from 4in biblades going to 3.5in Emax Advans. Prop wash handling got better.

[@sbezialisd]

LR with the DJI receiver??? Did I missed something??? Is this possible??

[@neilfpv]

Hi Joshua. You mentioned unlocking 1200mw. I have a vista. Is it safe? Honestly, that nano isn't really that bad.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

It's totally safe.

[@neilfpv]

@@JoshuaBardwell Cool! Thanks a lot, always! :)

[@neilfpv]

@@JoshuaBardwell I just finished updating it. I'll try it tomorrow. There's a spot about 500meters from my house the signal becomes so bad. I guess it's because of multiple houses blocking the signal coming from the vista into my dji goggles. There is no LOS. I honestly thought the culprit was the short caddx vista antenna being blocked by the lipo battery when quad becomes almost parallel to the ground. So I bought a 130mm Lumenier antenna. Today, I flew the same spot and I was disappointed. I saw the same signal degradation. I was flying at 700mw. I'll keep you posted tomorrow.

[@silverspork86]

Josh, I'm a fpv noob and have just been flying 1s and 2s (I own a tinyhawk2, eachine novice II, and tinyhawk freestyle2). I use a taranis x-lite RC and some discount eachine ev800 goggles. I want to step it up a bit. The transmission range of my goggles combined with my tiny quads is very poor. The signal in the goggles breaks up easily. What 4s or higher quad would you recommend for someone like me? I have the basics of flying down and I can fly decently. I watch your videos and would love to get the RC and video range you get on your quads. Would I need to updrade my goggles and RC too?

[@Thund3r013]

You forgot about the AirbladeUAV Transformer mini. It came before all of these.

[@jac8392]

Had simular tuning issues with my Diatone R349. Wonder if there's a systemic problem with Diatone tuning department

[@tinycat4597]

great, now I have more drones to decide from

[@philthayer4087]

I bought the frame, motors, Matek gps and iflight FC. Love it! Well except for building it....tiny and spindly.

[@jhughes2286]

Hey JB which one of these micro long-range quads do you think is the best ? I'm getting ready to buy and need help deciding which one to get?

[@jlarson42]

Great review. Not so great kwad, which is sad. Hopefully they'll take care if the issues you brought up. I'd be a bit upset if I bought that the way it is. Good thing I watch your reviews. Happy flying 👍💖🤓

[@princesfpvdrones]

I just bought the frame, I will build my own VERY light 4" long ranch one.

[@fpvnycdream_4197]

Nice. Do you know what motors your going with ?

[@princesfpvdrones]

@@fpvnycdream_4197 Not yet, welcome to ideas.

[@princesfpvdrones]

@@fpvnycdream_4197 I am planning to install these motors: BrotherHobby VY 2004 1700Kv Motors. Same motors that the catalystmachineworks shocker uses. Not planning it for long range but I plan it for performance only.

[@fpvnycdream_4197]

@@princesfpvdronesthat’s awsome. I’m actually building a machine catalyst shocker 5” with brother hobby 2004 3150kv 4s.

[@princesfpvdrones]

@@fpvnycdream_4197 Ah, I see, 4s I presme?

[@Girtthquake]

I'm stuck between this one and chimera4. Which one would you recommend?

[@frankoneill8423]

Hello, I purchased a Diatone L3 HD runcam split nano. I had zero any luck connecting my Spektrum 4650 micro receiver to it. The wires are soldered black to negative, red to 5v, and brown to the uninverted tx pad (I even tried the RC pad). I am not getting any input in the receiver tab on beta flight. I have uart one for serial rx, and IRC tramp uart two in peripheral‘s. Receiver mode is serial based receiver (speksat,s....) and the serial receiver provider is SRXL2. I wound up trying a different receiver a newbee drone dsmx, i soldered the signal wire to RC pad. It bound and worked, unfortunately the quad flew about 50 feet away and my goggles lost reception and the drone fell to the ground. It happened twice. I think either failsafe or its resetting itself. Can you please tell me what you think is going on ? Any help is appreciated Thank you

[@JoshuaBardwell]

SRXL connects to UART tx not rx. The rc pad is rx. Also you might need to go to the CLI and type set serialrx_halfduplex = on save

[@ftank603_fpv7]

@@JoshuaBardwell I soldered it to the uninverted tx pad. I will try adding the CLI command set serialrx_halfduplex = on save. Thank you

[@eliasfpv6550]

Yeah, we are gona learn something today😍

[@stattack5855]

i'm looking for an upgrade on my drone and i'm considering this one, but i'm wondering if i can solder on a frsky xm+ reciever and if i can remove the gps to use the drone for more freestyle type stuff?

[@checkm8606]

are those problem with the motors or more with the frame?

[@julienvoeffray1997]

Why do you plug your axii patches in the bottom conectors ? I think it should be reversed because of the feedback on top, nice review like everytime, wait for the final one to choose one of theme

[@JoshuaBardwell]

In my testing, omnis on top did better. You can check out my Axii HD review linked in the video description.

[@julienvoeffray1997]

@@JoshuaBardwell thanks a lot for the link, the Excel tabs are very explicite.

[@xombifpv7528]

What happens if you have a blheli s, with jazz firmware for bidirectional and run 8k/8k dshot 600?

[@predatox1515]

Verry nice keep it up love ur vids

[@ДмитрийПогорелов-я8и]

Hi, There is one thing I do not understand. roma f4 has mamba f30mini esc, which is blheli_s and doesn't support bidirectional. So how it possible that rpm filter is working?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

BLHeli_S ESC can be flashed to JESC, BLHeli_M, or BlueJay firmware to support bidirectional.

[@ДмитрийПогорелов-я8и]

@@JoshuaBardwell I tried bl-helli jazzmaverik 16.73 but still have error in betaflight saying rpm filter not working

[@sheldonsaintstudio]

Well, it does has a nice frame.

[@chrisyoung8062]

do you believe the "bobbling" is inherent to the frame or something else? i.e. tune?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

It's hard to know if it's the frame (resonance) or motors.

[@Maxbl4]

Is it possible to put DJI air unit in it?

[@jimreynolds8284]

you can change motors and maybe gyro but ya cost don't know.

[@olexanderChorny]

how long work it?

[@javieruriel]

joshua what is the best frsky receiver for small quads?

[@DronieBoy]

When would the roundup be ready?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

I am hoping to finish it by the end of this week but with my editor gone on vacation it may get pushed. Definitely before the end of next week.

[@DronieBoy]

@@JoshuaBardwell I want to buy me either the baby crocodile or the flywoo but am waiting on your Roundup first to make a decision. Thanksb

[@sirgaz3927]

@@DronieBoy same

[@tehllama42]

@@DronieBoy Start a thread in RRC or on his page, then let other people make recommendations... but FIRST, figure out what your real use case is for it, and how you will actually fly it.

[@DronieBoy]

@@sirgaz3927 I couldn’t wait lol. I just went on and bought the Geprc baby crocodile. Hopefully I ames the right decision

[@infosec1812]

Whats long range?

[@HelloNotMe9999]

What antennas are those on the DJI goggles?

[@wing_it]

Lumenier Axii

[@JohnCuppi]

Wow, so they shipped a "long range model" with GPS hardware... not enabled from the factory... on a long range quad... because it doesn't work. Really disappointed in the results of this one, jello and vibration, look like a poor tune too. I expected better from Diatone having tried and reviewed other models by them. I loved the R349 and had higher hopes for this.

[@kwadkrazy6078]

Not impressed either, if this was a "guess the company" game, I would guess eachine made this one :/ The review itself was still fantastic, thank you JB!

[@JohnCuppi]

@@kwadkrazy6078 agreed I guess it’s back down to either the iFlight chimera or geprc crocodile for me to choose from. Heavily leaning toward the croc honestly at the moment because of the props in frame on the chimera and acro isn’t a priority.

[@jpslayermayor9293]

Seems like they phoned this one in, to satisfy the company edict to "Get out and make one of those LR Micros! Now!"

[@JohnCuppi]

@@jpslayermayor9293 All of the companies are pooping these out as fast as they can. I'm thinking of just skipping this generation as I live in an area where it's about to be too cold to bother with most outdoor flying soon anyway and see what the spring brings.

[@divingfalconfpv4602]

@@JohnCuppi yea I think Geprc makes the best one.. from setup, weight, flight time. I have a flywoo. Its great but the nano 2 cam is horrible.

[@lichen901]

JB am I blind or those solar panels on the roof are something new you got there recently? This is the question bothering my OCD during the whole video :D Not impressed by Diatone with this one unfortunately... Keep it up bro!

[@Vaughnboilore]

Super lite!

[@DougEfresh.]

Doesn't Eachine have one coming out also?

[@tehllama42]

They'll have multiple

[@HuntAndFishExchange]

Is it possible to have a DJI Receiver connected at the same time as Crossfire Receiver?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Yes. But you can only be using one of them to control the quad.

[@HuntAndFishExchange]

@@JoshuaBardwell - Hmmm, Thanks. Sound like a good subject for a Video. I had to send my DJI controller along with one of my quads to Adabom FPV for some repair and I still want to fly. All of my quads except for one micro has been switched to DJI. I'll have to make one of my other DJI quads DJI/Crossfire capable.

[@Dianaranda123]

Curious why you guys now a days dont think about say a Naked Mobius? (or just a Mobius cam) Anymore?

[@FalconRadFPV]

I have found Diatone flight controllers don't handle GPS signal properly. It's been my experience as well I have read posts by others saying the same. Diatone + GPS = NO!!! Don't trust it. This quad is a joke, a long range quad that comes with a faulty flight controller that can't handle GPS?! Don't waste money on this quad people!!!!!!!!!!!! I think you could have skipped this one. Or maybe it's best to let people know that Diatone ships faulty products just to keep up with the competition. BTW Only the quad sucks. You Joshua are absolutely awesome! Thank you for all your help over the years buddy!

[@MKST-CA]

gps connect uart port how it relationship with mamba fc… on F4 not enable gps in bf ,the main purpose keep some beginners fly it more safe,people can open it easily,and also can contact services for manual how to use it well

[@inerstw]

I tested MAMBA FC(MAMBA F405 DJI) and Iflight FC(SucceX-E F4 V2.1), only FC is connected to GPS for test(No other device connected), MAMBA FC is always (difficult) cannot be fixed, Iflight FC does not have this problem.

[@FalconRadFPV]

@@inerstw Thank you for responding and checking yours out as well. I think it's quite certain then that the mamba f405 definitely has some kind of design flaw or quality control issue when it comes to receiving and processing GPS data.

[@yaronskp]

Where is the round up???

[@ChrisJohnsoniShootnRaw]

I don’t think DJI will ever let another companies camera outshine theirs. Nobody would buy theirs and they don’t want that. Probably why they let Caddx do it lol. They knew Caddx wasn’t gonna top their regardless P.s thatquadis💩

[@karl244]

well the vista is pretty good and light weight, so compared to DJI camera def the better choice on LR 4 or not? but both nebula yeah they look a lot worse.. woudn't buy

[@enricobononi8655]

nice review but i think the concept of the 4" long range is not really so good...they are too susceptible to wind, shaking etc.

[@dimarusful]

study the question before you say anything. It flies quite successfully in winds up to 30m. S, and large drones withstand the wind even worse, because large windage appears,

[@enricobononi8655]

@@dimarusful yes sure I believe you

[@mr.j9232]

13:36 the best part..

[@jana171]

Not impressed here, this really need some tuning/hardware fixing to get rid of all these bubbles and the horizon jello ... really good video JB, keeping it real !

[@joshuasterling2144]

The FlyWoo Explorer LR is super smooth on 4s, it kinda flies like nothing else I have. Its athletic, but mostly for cruising. You can build some reall strait ahead speed however, it still feels fun to take the platform towards its limits. I like Lihv 650 all the way up to 1000mah packs on it, your ready to come in when 3.5v hits and you get time to bring your quad in which is really nice. I will have 3 of them soon.

[@WrongWayFPV]

That new ending 😂🤣😂

[@syzygyfpv5135]

I like the white balance on this video.

[@RCOverKill]

If it's the future it's probably out, lol very insightful Joshua.

[@legendy.9822]

no gps? sounds like my kinda quad

[@MKST-CA]

GPS device connect already,but not enable function, you can conntact us,we can tell you how to open it,give you a config file,but the most important thing,tell you some caution need know before you using it,be responsible for safety and our Hobby,enable it very easily,but This GPS(all betaflight gps) a lot difference compare with DJI one :)

[@PKB94]

anyone notice how CG is way aft on all these 'long range' 4"?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Deadcat layout keeps props out of view but pushes CG back.

[@RADERFPV]

Nebula??? Oh no :( Hope that's not the case when they ship them out.

[@JohnCuppi]

The nebula, the bad tune, and disabled 'unstable' gps included is really appalling on this one for diatone.

[@nistax2880]

Nebula looks worse than shark bite so yeah I think when thay do a better camera for shark bite it will be litaf

[@AliBFPV]

was just thinking exactly the same!

[@lukafpv4300]

Hell yeah

[@cmacclel]

Then you swing over to Drone Camp and he says the Roma F4 has a great tune.......man does each quad fly different :)

[@divingfalconfpv4602]

I laugh cause every drone is the best drone he has ever flown..

[@cmacclel]

@@divingfalconfpv4602 Yup! LOL

[@dauntlessfpv]

The caddx nebula shows how hard it is to make a good hd fpv camera. What runcam did with shark byte is pretty darn impressive

[@CarbonGlassMan]

Maybe it's meant to be a wall hanger?

[@TheSnow520lee]

you could make a video to tune that quad to reduce all those bad behaviour...

[@moblades1]

ItsBlunty discovered Vistas were in short supply because of China requiring chip makers to focus more on Huawei chip production

[@nistax2880]

R349 is hella good

[@brodyport6395]

I want that shirt

[@MoppelMat]

what about weight? it looks like a tank. missed the point on this thing? thats maybe bc it flies like sh**

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Ah heck! How did I leave out weight! Total brain fart. I'm really sorry.

[@hateeternalmaver]

Woohoo! ^^

[@seewell8168]

Too bad it flies like poo, this is the one I was hoping would perform well.

[@mamoshimiloni9559]

I have 4, YES 4 MAMBA F4 and F7 on my desk, and all of them are busted. MAMBA is a JOKE. I bout a diatone roma f7 from a dealer in DK and stil after a mounth I have not been able to fly it, even thou they send me a new stack ( Mamba f7 ) I wish I had never bout the Bl. diatone man. I hope that they send me a drone that works so that I can tell you how it fills when it works, right now I am not able to do so :(

[@outlawdareal]

Real Eyes realize real Lies ;)

[@Vaughnboilore]

Everyone that runs little ships like this run a naked GoPro bud that’s what the mount is for!!!☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻✋🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻

[@nuhbiwan]

Dust off your shirt JB😜

[@joshuasterling2144]

Sad bit is the worst DJI system looks better than Sharkbyte.....

[@alanvictorreno]

First like!!!

[@lukafpv4300]

Second comment