Don't let the Smoke Out - Rekon 3 Nano Long Range Review

Not all reviews go to plan. Winston and I had fun with this Rekon Nano LR before things took a turn... Check out what we thought of the Rekon 3 Nano Long Range Drone before someone let the magic smoke out...
Rekon 3 Nano Long Range
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[@ampedandvolted]

The interferance at @3:12 is because of the power lines above. That always happens

[@desertdronepilot]

It’s like a flying TV remote. Hahah best thumbnail ever.

[@GlowShow5113]

Its a relief seeing/knowing that even you guys make those fatal mistakes. I've fucked up so many times it's embarrassing. But this helps.

[@anonymouslegion4928]

It’s part of the hobby:)

[@MessFPV]

Yeah, too bad they did not include the 5v step-up for the vtx that DaveC used in its original setup, that way it is possible to fully deplete the battery down to 2.5v and have more flight time ;)

[@NURKFPV]

yeah daveC has it figured out

[@divingfalconfpv4602]

Wait the production one doesn't have step up 😳 Yeah cause sucks punch throttle it sags and no video lol

[@3000gtwelder]

Well, I just found my answer lol.

[@fjsidebar]

the production one prob. uses the 5v step up of the fc which can only deliver 1 amp. just get a ldo step up and itpl be alright :D

[@JacobBaron]

My friend and I designed our own version of this based on the nanolongrange. Getting much smoother flights, cleaner video, and up to 15 minutes of flight time. If you swap out the props to HQProp T3x2 it will get a little more punch too. The gemfans are great but not as powerful.

[@NURKFPV]

That's awesome! Stoked to hear that people are trying different things!

[@RCRitterFPV]

I really enjoyed mine, Until I broke it during a battery swap, that holder holds that 18650 pretty snug, I pulled from camera plates.. don't do that... it barely flies... but that is the fun part. plan your dives accordingly... I'll do another or buy a proper frame, the Petg replacement I printed doesn't fly as nice. it works..... I got about 12-14 min before the VTX starts browning out at 2.7v

[@NURKFPV]

Plan your dives accordingly lol

[@rolisaenz]

you can use a polulu to feed the VTX and you can go down to 2.2 on the 18650, the FC will die at 2.5 or 2.4 still :) .

[@TrentTationnaiseXization]

Would a diode prevent reverse polarity? You can give away the drone even if it's broke.

[@RCRitterFPV]

honestly... Color coordinated tape... strip of Colored Super33 on the positive...

[@sputniksam]

A diode produces a voltage drop of 0.7Volt or 0.3Volt, depending if you’re using silicon or germanium diodes. So with a fresh battery the maximum voltage you’ll have prior to arming would be 3.9Volt (Germanium diode) or 3.5Volt (Silicon Diode).

[@dronepilot260rc]

I thought about getting one of these. Maybe the Rekon 4 tho

[@alexall]

I flew on it for 15 minutes))) But I have a different version, no printed parts.

[@NURKFPV]

What batteries did you use?

[@alexall]

@@NURKFPV Sony (Murata) VTC6 18650 3120 mAh

[@LaraEzarik]

I haven't quite got to 15 minutes, I can manage 12 minutes mine has printed parts and I use Samsung 25R 2500mAh cells

[@JP-qq2kn]

Dvr video is pretty good considering your patch antenna's are basically pointing at the ground.

[@NURKFPV]

hehe I kept trying to look up and kept forgetting..

[@JP-qq2kn]

@@NURKFPV Hey it seemed to work great! Those patch antenna look pretty serious. If the video was that good while looking at the ground, I bet it wouldn't have even had a glitch at that distance if the antenna were positioned better.

[@3000gtwelder]

Doesn’t that thing have a step up converter or Pololu or something for the video??

[@Fr3ud]

“Small compact package” I relate a lot 👊🏾

[@SunriseWaterMedia]

Lol that was funny.

[@dougcooper4917]

Great Video, Great Information, and Great Flying!! Thank You Nurk!!

[@fishman241]

I find that almost all batteries lie about capacity. You might get 15 out of a real 3.3 amp hour Panasonic cell. Which 18650 did you use?

[@NURKFPV]

I agree that they lie. These are samsung cells

[@LilwickedFpv]

Amazing review luv your work keep up the great work bro 👌🏽👍🏽

[@NURKFPV]

Will do!

[@su_K3N]

I'm using that vtx in a micro. Has a mic on it, pretty impressive 👏

[@NURKFPV]

It's pretty good

[@timmac3128]

Crushing it lately, subscribed!

[@FerralVideo]

What would you use this for? Fun. It's so tiny and light that you can just pack it with you. I also see hacking potential. use a 5v step-up/down, bodge a little 2s LiPo in there for more spirited flight... Just watch that polarity! :D

[@flyingsrn]

enterntaining as hell - love that nurk & winston content!

[@dietwedge]

I pulled mine apart, after it broke in a light crash and put it in a FlyFox Nano3 frame.

[@mikehrenak1390]

Great flying have you gone swimming for any? Air2 s army out

[@skinnyflea2628]

You could still give it away lol. It would be fun to try to fix.

[@NURKFPV]

we'll find something better to giveaway

[@hallio111]

sorry to rekon... not really buddy. if youre building a finished product like this, with batteries like this, you should consider reverse polarity protection. not hard to implement, cost is low.. when flying these things it is highly likely you will plug in the li-ion backwards in like one of 20 flights ... so that is worth to improve. pretty sick that no one else ever mentioned this... our 5inchers have a xt30 and that this plug is keyed is pretty much needed. Rekon should stop shipping out, installing a diode for reverse polarity protection or something...

[@quentincampbell5865]

A diode for reverse protection will cause a voltage drop of between 0.2V and 0.7V. Not what you want on a low power system like this. A XT30 plug adds weight. Here's a thought: Draw a big plus sign on the battery with a marker. no weight or voltage drop.

[@DaveCFPV]

It's not that we dind't want to include reverse polarity protection, but as Quentin already said there simply aren't any diodes that don't produce a significant voltage drop...

[@technoxtreme178]

Rekon has managed to build a true retro drone....2012's performance in 2021.

[@NURKFPV]

rofl

[@paulys._]

Hello, i have problems to bind this quad. Can me somebody help?

[@flowstate_link]

Looks like fun

[@NURKFPV]

very

[@randolfaquino9998]

would it b good as a trainer ?

[@NURKFPV]

not sure what you mean

[@randolfaquino9998]

@@NURKFPV for exploring fpv i mean

[@evFPV]

@@randolfaquino9998 naaa... That would break on the first crash

[@evFPV]

@@randolfaquino9998 get a tiny whoop instead

[@fpvMazerolle2607]

I want one so bad this is dope!

[@roguekwads_fpv7368]

Bro no seriously these are trash man!! And like the video shows, it's so easy to simply get complaisant and plug in backwards and there goes 140bucks!! Ridiculous, they didn't think this drone through in my opinion it sucks! If you like something like this then buy it by all means it's your money dude. Look into the iflight 136RS and 160rs I think is the names, 3in and 4in buy and build kits, the smaller 3in is almost completely plugnplay only soldering is your RX (receiver) the flight controller plugs on top of ESC and on top of FC goes the plug in VTX! Best beginner build I'd ever suggest

[@fpvMazerolle2607]

@@roguekwads_fpv7368 I have turbobee 136rs I want something that runs on 18650s lol

[@alloutofdonuts3998]

I’d like to see a dji equivalent, w/naked vista. Same concept I mean. Obviously it’d need completely different specs.

[@DaveCFPV]

Coming soon ;-)

[@alloutofdonuts3998]

@@DaveCFPV 😲

[@SlipperyBannana]

The fact that this thing has a full-size immortal t makes me wonder if I’m ok with just a minimortal t on my new 3s 3” toothpick build. Will a minimortal-t outrun a 400mw vtx 100% of the time

[@NURKFPV]

I'm sure you're fine with it just watch your LQ

[@SlipperyBannana]

@@NURKFPV ty! I will

[@divingfalconfpv4602]

I have it on firefly hex nano and I lose video first. I definitely looking at logs see it is worse than full size. But at 1w you still out run vtx. Think firefly vtx is 350mw

[@SlipperyBannana]

@@divingfalconfpv4602 nice, i ended up outrunning the vtx no problem. It makes me wonder why the 1s bnf from Nurks video came with the heavier, full-size antenna; it feels like the weight would make a huge difference on it.

[@Tidges01]

I want to see this battery on the nanohawk x

[@NURKFPV]

We were thinking about trying that

[@NateBperkins]

For more power stack 2x 18350s for 2s

[@NURKFPV]

Yisssss

[@pixelcomet]

diode, little coil with reed switch. disconnecting the power, when wrong batt direktion.

[@gargolaconrad3188]

You should still give it away to somebody that likes to tinker with quads, and that might be able to bring it back to life. That poor little quad had so much more life to look forward to. : ( lol

[@DutchCommando]

flight time is all about the used cell.. the one used in the video (the pink one) is most likely a clone of a panasonic cell.. it has an IR of wel over 30ohms.. not good.. the only 18650 cell that should be used on these things are the Sony/Murata VTC6 cells who have an IR of around 3ohms, new, not refurbished and bought from a trusted local seller.. with real vtc6 cells i get over 20 minutes of flight time on my 2.5" cruiser, which is heavier than the recon and has smaller props.. if one wants to go into LR flights with 18650 cells, it is best to invest in a good 18650 charger which can read IR and can do cell management. my 2S long range sub250 plane flies 35 minutes with ease on real 2 vtc06 cells, with china bought cells that should be (but are not) real new VTC6 cells flight times is reduced to a tight 20 minutes.. so get real VTC06 cells and be flying for a long, long time!

[@icelordthetrader9013]

Do you buy the goggles to??

[@SunriseWaterMedia]

Who needs video to fly anyway!? 🤣

[@NURKFPV]

Ikr

[@baggszilla]

A flying TV remote!

[@NURKFPV]

indeed

[@dyk0n]

Next time let Winston fly first! 😂

[@NURKFPV]

ikr?

[@evFPV]

LoL

[@dronereviewman9580]

I want 1

[@NURKFPV]

I wish I could have given this away.

[@evFPV]

Noooooooooo (facepalm) It was fun while it lasted though...

[@NURKFPV]

Whoopsie...

[@seablake4116]

I would personally still take it broken

[@NURKFPV]

haha fair play

[@KernsJW]

Never pulled the plug on this one, for much of the reasons you said/showed. It does seem cool, but not really interested

[@sircrashalotfpv144]

I take it anyway ,,,,,,,

[@SensorDelay]

Parts giveaway? LoL

[@Double0steve0]

Man after using dji goggles analog just looks absolutely disgusting I can’t go back.

[@SunriseWaterMedia]

It's so easy to accidentally reverse an 18650 battery. 😕

[@NURKFPV]

Agreed 😅

[@jcfpv3454]

Please help save my life I need a dr to get a lung lavage to remove silica dust before it kills me

[@pizzyfpv]

Waaa waaa lol

[@divingfalconfpv4602]

I don't see the point of this except simple toy to easily take flying. Very tiny. Batteries cheap and tiny. But doesn't fly long. Most I've seen is 11 to 12mins on rekon3 (a custom version a guy made did 18mins) But my 3" long range with vista I built. On 4s 750mah flies close to 8mins while doing 2 top speed runs. And I could put a 1300mah on it and prob fly 11mins. Does 75mph. So maybe I could lift a Li-ion idk. Just started testing. Swapped props 3x1.8x3 to 3028 . Tested 2 different batteries. I need to do more testing and tune it better

[@SilverFox80521]

Compared the the Babyhawk2HD that you flew for 20 minutes, this is useless.