FlySky 2.4GHz Long-Range Radio - FRM302 and FTR16S

[@bonafidepirate]

Thanks for the look inside this module! I'm thinking I may want to try it out just for fun, since I had such good results with the same little receiver and the FRM301 module in the PL18. It might be a decent setup running on a OpenTX radio when you can't or don't want to use UHF.

[@mrcoffeeman454]

So, is this PRM-302 a good companion for my Paladin PL18

[@Kajedkid]

I was thinking about getting crossfire or r9 but it seems like ghost is the way to go with more than enough range for mid-range and freestyle also faster update rates for cleaner rc signal. I think I will hold out for now.

[@WX4CB]

i wonder what their FCC part 15 application looks like. also, i noticed there's ZERO rf shielding on that at all even across the back on the other side of the board from the heatsink where there's obviously a big ground trace for bonding an rf shield to it.

[@twinturbostang]

Will be interesting to see if object penetration is worse on 2.4GHz than 900 MHz.

[@gazzoification]

Definitely will be worse, however, you'll loose video before the radio link regardless. The new chip in the FRM302 is 500 times more sensitive than the current 2.4 systems!

[@davey911]

Slightly more $$$ than Ghost or Crossfire. Since when is Flysky more pricey than ImmersionRC or TBS?

[@Cryptoscio]

The FRM302 module has worked great for me so far but I haven’t really pushed the distance too far yet. I have only used the omnidirectional antenna it came with. I haven’t been able to locate the yagi style antenna (maple leaf) you show in the video. It is on the flysky website but doesn’t seem to be available to purchase anywhere yet. I guess I might have to message Flysky and ask them, but before I do, would you happen to know if I can simply buy it somewhere?

[@JyeSmith]

ExpressLRS 2.4 has been in the air for a little while now. If you have those sx1280 modules handy you could be in the air asap. And I believe you are correct, 2.4 lora will be the dominant modulation protocol soon.

[@xjet]

The regulators will be having a fit with all these long-range RC systems being rolled out because, as we know, flying beyond visual line of sight will cause the fabric of time itself to disintegrate and bring an end to the universe!

[@FPVUniversity]

Funny that you mention that. On Saturday I was a the first-and-only-in-2020 RC gathering and nobody had anything against huge nitro acrobats doing crazy stuff near to gliders taking-off and landing while me got "wow, we are not sure" when I pulled out a 66g FPV flying wing...

[@emmetray9703]

what is the name of the big WHITE component (near power amplifier AWB7232) ? PALC? Anyway where I can find FRM302 schematic?

[@levitezer]

How difficult can it be to find some basic information of this module like how many channels, does it have telemetry? etc.

[@jamesceastep8874]

Pawel: Thanks for this review and discussion. You are at a much higher plane of understanding & performance than I am, but you speak clearly, use good videography skills, and help me to understand the principal's of this technology. I have just subscribed, so I will get notification of your next videos. Keep going for the gold and sharing as you have with the little guys like me. Jim

[@justlearning8475]

Hi Pawel, I like the honest talk and I wish to use this with FRM302, Flysky FTr16S long range setup soon. I ask about Frsky Smart Port with i-bus for FRM302 setup. I have the Frsky Smart Port RPM sensor with the 2 temps and I want to connect to my MatekH743 slim Flight Controller which has 7x Uarts (1,2,3,4,6,7,8) with built-in inversion. I am using a Flysky Nirvana Transmitter FS-NV14 2.4G 14CH with FTr16S which has connections for i-bus and s-bus support and Sensor, for telemetry. From watching other videos it has been stated that Flight Controllers of the F7 series and above are able to convert the signal, is this true and can it be configured in Inav3. If you have any CLI command for this it, please. Just learning.

[@jibbajabba4597]

The problem with these high power systems is if you rock up to the field with a 1 or 2W TX you'll swamp everybody else that is there flying regular 2.4GHz at 150mw and blow them out the sky, this happened at our field when a guy turned up with one of those wifi extenders, took down four planes as soon as he switched it on,, and if I switch on my DJI googles at 700mw, I kill everybody within half a mile on analogue 5.8Ghz as soon as they sync to the air unit. You can only run these high power system if you're Billy Nomates or if you are very very careful around others.

[@AndrewHollywood]

I think I'm a "billy nomate' do you have any advice to fix that?

[@brubakerjm]

Hey, Pawel! Do you know which antenna connector the Ftr16s receiver has? I can't find that info anywhere and mine are still in the mail. I'm wondering if swapping the whip antennas for something like Ghost qTees or some hand-tuned dipoles would tangibly improve performance. Thanks for all you do on your channel!

[@EnglishTurbines]

It's all very well having high TX output on 2.4g...but it's reciever won't like being sat next to a long range vtx running on 1.2g because of the harmonic. It's why UHF was invented...lol.

[@bonafidepirate]

Low pass filter on the vTX can handle that... ;) I did a bit more than 3 miles in a stock old one-way FrSky setup some years ago just as a proof-of-concept. Not ideal, but doable.

[@MCsCreations]

It definitely looks fantastic, Pawel! 😃 Too bad the support for it isn't there yet on OpenTX. 😕 Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@budokaiboy]

I just got mine from Bangood. I didn't get the maple leaf antenna or any receivers. You can get the developer firmware from the Chinese website, they have transfer software for the firmware update. Love your videos. Thanks for this.

[@GertBurger]

There is also ExpressLRS if you want to DIY your own control link

[@FPVUniversity]

I have build my own link already :) github.com/DzikuVx/QuadMeUp_Crossbow

[@yannickg6904]

@@FPVUniversity Pawel. Quick question. With Crossbow, could I use your code using a Lora32u4 II board as a TX and a "Bee" module as a Receiver? I already have the 915mhz LoRa Board, the Bee receivers intrigue me. This is the EU frequency equivalent... www.robotshop.com/eu/en/lora-long-range-transceiver-bee-868-mhz-eu.html

[@maybenikhil]

@@FPVUniversity the thing with ELRS is that it offers 200Hz+ (up to 1kHz in testing on non OTX radios) and both 915 and 2.4 for specific needs + the devs are super receptive to communication.

[@robertgosz4281]

@@maybenikhil ELRS is not 2.4

[@livingthedream2221]

Hello, Thankyou for the information. I have just bought a Paladin PL18 and want to use the full 16 channels. The instructions show how to wire up the FTR16S, but not how to wire it into anything after that. Does it somehow hook into the servo plug area on the FTR10? Then is it the same and as simple as setting up the aux channels 5 - 10? Apologies, I am a novice in this area and any advice appreciated.

[@hape4]

Depends what you want to do. It’s easy to hook the Ftr16s to a s-bus to PPM converter and connect servos to the converter. Other option is to connect ftr16s over i-bus to flight controller.

[@wilfredocampo4215]

@@hape4 I can’t even bind my FTR16s receiver, it seems it needs to be updated fist but I don’t even know how to do that

[@gmivisualsjason3729]

16:45-52 So it's not truly market ready if only 30% functionality with ppm. Ghost is 100% ready Just thinking out loud based on what you said. I fly crossfire Tango2 never had any issues. How is this better? I suppose it would be good to see you fly a crossfire set up to an area where it fails then send the flysky/Ghost and compare. I prefer to see real life differences to truly appreciate the advantages.

[@FPVUniversity]

you can use it with FlySky radios

[@BrianWebbN]

I don't understand why you would prefer the much more congested 2.4GHz band over, well, pretty much anything else. I agree that most don't need the super long ranges, but you can fly shorter range at 900MHz with lower power, and not need a huge heatsink and fan. IMO, the RC/telemetry link is a solved problem for 99% of the use cases. What we should be working on is more and better digital video links.

[@KrotowX]

Not easy to do for small models - like 3" and smaller things. Try to put CrossFire receiver in 75mm Mobula7 quad.

[@BrianWebbN]

@@KrotowX Don't those typically have a built-in radios? Clearly you don't need/want LRS for those tiny quads.That said, I don't think my crazyflie would have a problem with an 0.5g nano rx.

[@KrotowX]

@@BrianWebbN Not the size of RX is the main issue in tiny things. But size and weight of antenna is.

[@BrianWebbN]

@@KrotowX You can just solder a wire directly to the board, and that doesn't really weight much of anything.

[@MagnnifyOGx]

so... should i get crossfire, flysky or ghosts in your opinion?? thanks for the awesome job you have been doing!

[@FPVUniversity]

you should wait for some independent reviews of Ghost

[@FreeBirdFPV]

in page i see they crate this module for flysky controllers for long range and one of big +++ they have huge rx module selection for fixed wings with pwm output

[@FreeBirdFPV]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4C5g3Wirt2Uqqs

[@rabidbydesign]

get this man a ghost!

[@tugrasarchive]

i want to have the best range with my car (2.4ghz) what can you recommend? The range should be very long, have FPV. Any 2.4ghz boosts?

[@FPVUniversity]

Probably the IRC Ghost in Long Range mode will give you most range

[@tugrasarchive]

@@FPVUniversityI can’t find it on the internet.. Can you give me a link? Thanks!

[@CsotPet]

Is that an Ikarus bus on your shirt?

[@FPVUniversity]

a man of culture! Yes, Ikarus it is

[@maybayson4203]

Range test plz

[@thecraftking113]

Having software compatibility is what stopped me before when trying to configure 915mhz LORA boards for rc . pretty impressive construction and no arduino lol😂

[@typxxilps]

soldering quality 3,5 out of 6 or 10 ? And 1 being the best result ? Would be great how you differentiate the example now your microscope offers great DETAILS. I hope the microscope video comes next . Maybe you can add an unusual example like reading newspaper. My father had lost 1 eye and has only left 60% sight so we could benfit a lot. Just saw the link that it is really a microcope and not a cam with display on top as I had thought. great work

[@FPVUniversity]

Since quote comes from the Chernobyl show and that was happening in USSR, the scale was IIRC from 1 to 5 with 5 the best. But I might be wrong here

[@JuanRodriguezArchitect]

This is great but what we really need is the 5.8ghz version of this. Yes you could buy ridiculously expensive antennas for 5.8ghz or 1.3ghz complete system,but more compact is better.👍👍👍

[@KrotowX]

If you mean FPV LoRa then YES.

[@tonyhadiputra]

Range test plz 😁

[@IanF-FPV]

Hopefully someone can lend you a Paladin or NV14 Pawel.

[@KrotowX]

Sems LoRa is the next big thing in RC crowd. And I would like to see similar development in FPV receiving. Even better if final product would be compatible with existing 5.8 GHz FPV receivers and googles. By now there is only DJI with LoRa FPV and obstacle capable penetration without noise, but 1) DJI solution lock in end user in one manufacturer ecosystem. You must have not only DJI camera and VTX, but also flight controller plus DJI transmitter. And 2) all required DJI hardware even for one model cost obscene amount of money. Not for casual folks like many of us here.

[@EndiHamid]

We’re also hyped 😅 because you’re hyped

[@TakeItToTheGround]

Going to wait. I'd like more reliable range but bitten by being an R9 early adopter. Even now, after many firmware updates, improved antenna's etc, it's range is so variable that it is essentially on par with normal frsky 2.4 receivers.

[@josepfpv2127]

If tbs makes a 2.4ghz module they would agree with flysky and rc immersion that 2.4ghz plus LoRa is better than 900mhz or 800mhz for a connection with less information loss and lower latency, anyway few fly more than 5km with a drone. The two systemshave market. the 2.4ghz LoRa from flysky and immersion rc for racing and freestyle drones and the 900mhz and 800mhz for fixed-wing aircraft.

[@MrVasmikey]

Sounds interesting except video will not go out that far. I would be more excited to see some long range video protocols.

[@uavtech]

Nah, nah, nah,.... i'm not hearing you. ImmersionRC was first! Whelp until TBS releases, then they will be first!! Whelp, it's a good thing I just got Crossfire. 🤦‍♂️ Damn it.

[@FPVUniversity]

It's not about who is first but who is the best. So far, it's very hard to say that

[@uavtech]

@@FPVUniversity , ExpressLRS!! Haha. Opensource FTW!

[@gmivisualsjason3729]

@Dominic Douglas I'm trying to get my head around how 2.4 is better if most of us flying crossfire are happy with it? It's never let me down.....

[@sompongpire3027]

I can't fly 10km. My battery will be running out before then.

[@Chopperglide]

AWB7232 2.3 - 2.4 GHz Small-Cell Power Amplifier Module The AWB7232 is a fully matched, Multi-Chip-Module (MCM) designed for picocell, femtocell, and customer premises equipment (CPE) applications. Its high linearity and efficiency meet the extremely demanding needs of small cell infrastructure architectures. Designed for LTE,WCDMA and HSDPA air interfaces operating in the 2.3 GHz to 2.4 GHz band, the AWB7232 delivers up to +27 dBm of LTE (E-TM1.1) power with an ACPR of -47 dBc. It operates from a convenient +4.5 V supply and provides 29 dB of gain. The device is manufactured using an advanced InGaP HBT MMIC technology offering state-of-the-art reliability, temperature stability, and ruggedness. The self-contained 7 mm x 7 mm x 1.3 mm surface mount package incorporates RF matching networks optimized for output power, efficiency, and linearity in a 50 Ω system. Enter power in dBm: 27 dBm Milliwatts result: 501,18723363 mW Please note: AWB7232 is being discontinued and is not recommended for new designs. The suggested replacement is SKY66292-11. www.skyworksinc.com/products/amplifiers/awb7232

[@FPVUniversity]

so OK, 500mW :)

[@IanF-FPV]

Wow...that explains alot. This module is dead on arrival unless Opentx provides support for it.🙄

[@DronePlayground]

👍👀🇭🇷

[@220volt-u7]

Duplex