ImmersionRC Vortex 250 Pro Tear-down Review & Setup

Review & tear-down of the brand new quad racer, the Immersion RC Vortex 250 Pro!

[@pelomixa]

For the grounding plate, you might want to mention that the rear small screws that hold the sides in place actually go through the holes on the grounding plate. Awesome video man!

[@dezman4634]

Broke 1000 subscribers. CONGRATS. Keep up the good work friend.

[@halflife82]

Dezman thank you!!! :)

[@dezman4634]

Hey, do you know how to work the reboot button on the vortex 250 Pro?

[@josephwarwick6772]

nice overview! I watched to learn about the ground spring plate between upper and lower. Thank you for showing and explaining. I am replacing FC board.

[@rikkey3k]

Great Video ! You explained a lot of items that the manual missed.

[@sadigov]

Vortex 250 is the basher equivalent in the RC car world. I don't fly mine anymore, got Chameleons and Talons for acro, but when it comes to flying gates on concrete - I whip out my Vortex 250 - the indestructible tank kwad. A twad!

[@halflife82]

sadigov ya, I haven’t flown this for almost a year now as I fly all my own custom built quads which have much much higher performance than this thing. It’s a fun beater/learner however!

[@UniversalPioneer]

Yeah that was a great tear down. I was wondering on how to get audio and surprised at the other connections for future upgrades. The esc are in the plastic under the carbon fibre arms.

[@halflife82]

Thanks man!

[@UniversalPioneer]

+Universal Pioneer Can you point me in the direction for a compatible mic? Or what should I search for?

[@vibes35]

Great vid! I have been considering getting one of these. Thank you

[@markjennings2315]

If ever you need to remove the top plate I'd recommend checking the top circuit board (F3) screws are tight, mine were finger loose even before my first flight. Also I'd reverse (i.e. refit upside down) the 4 plastic pegs of the damper/isolator camera platform, so that if you ever need to remove it you just pop the circlip and off she comes. (Otherwise you have to take off the side panels and the spring pops out etc!!)

[@jasonnaubur8759]

Nice look inside - hoping you open the arms and show the escs next time! BTW, Airmode is a bit more than that. Here is a bit from Boris' blog (www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2464844): AIR Mode: Some users were mailing me about the fact their radios couldnt be configured to have Idle up switch and asking me to implement something simillar in the software. I initially thought that this could simply just be achived with activating the "Iterm" from zero throttle together with P and D which were already done with "pid_at_min_throttle" feature. Somehow this wasnt't giving the satisfying results. It still felt weak and unresponsive. I was wrapping my head around the fact why this was the case. We got our P, I and D on the ground....so why isn't fully stabilizing? After some readings in other open source projects and some of the older discussions I realized that the key was lying in the mixer logic as someone already had a proof of concept code to improve it, which is pretty much scaling the PID's to our throttle level and stopping the stabilisation when one motor reaches min throttle. Now I understood why folks always preferred this Idle up switch as it was automatically gaining a little bit more stabilisation. But this is just a workaround where you loose some throttle below! The current mixer logic sounds reasonable as the early developers were always considering the low throttle values as a NON flying situation. Guess what? In 2015 we fly a lot with 0 or low throttle and especially in the mini quad scene! This has to be changed! The real answer lies in smarter mixer approach where the pid controller code would co-operate with mixer code, which would give feedback about the available power levels and ability to correct the error to always have maximum stability at all throttle levels. This would in theory also improve full throttle handling. I found some proof of concepts about this approach and integrated it into current betaflight and optimized it based on my and others flight experience. The results kind of amazed me of how much authority this gave me and how locked in it felt. Maybe the best discovery so far in betaflight. You are pretty much able to do everything with absolutely 0 throttle with full stability. Prop wash scenarios get better and it's much more fun and freedom. I also felt more agility in turns.

[@halflife82]

Yep you're totally right Jason. I should have looked into the PID scaling that Boris added before talking about it and assuming it was just an idle-up. Totally my bad. I'm actually really loving airmode, and can't stand protunes without it anymore! Haha. Funny how fast we adapt to new features! :)

[@daviddrysdale8866]

Excellent - One thing though -When you connect wires with Solder - it's called "Soldering" - "Soddering" is what deviants do with Sheep !

[@VideoInked]

where did you get such a nice manual? did you print the pdf and bind it yourself ? and where is the digital version of the manual you have ? Thanks for your great video work!

[@MasterMayhem78]

I just ordered mine today along with the Black Pimp kit. It was a bad design decision to require desoldering to install some plastic bits. For an ARF, it shouldn't require soldering to replace parts. Very bummed. I had no choice but to order the Blade version, which is green. I can't stand the bright green color. I have the soldering iron, but my solder skills have diminished. I certainly don't feel comfortable micro soldering.

[@tomwolves6953]

Eganwp, nice video, but needless to say I can't seem to find the power cable for my GoPro4 Silver, could you send me a link as to where I could get one? Thank you very much. Your RC shop is awesome by the way.

[@PaulKruskamp]

Eganwp, where do you put your D4R-ii RX? I've gone through 3 of them so far in less than a month (which is how long I've been flying the vortex). I've tried different mounts and positions and they still end up getting beat up or antennas ripped off. I'm thinking about putting it inside the vortex and having only the exposed part of the antenna (the last 35mm) stick out the back of the quad. What do you think?

[@michaelleo939]

Hi there and thanks for the video... i have my 250 for a month or so now but today i powered up and all i got was beeping and some red led's appearing along with a couple of green ones in a line , the blue led on the FC also flashes and on my ground station its showing i'm connected via ppm when i'm actually sbus... did i here you say that one can return to system default using the button on the rear led's our the button on the flight controller. appreciate any input. Mike.

[@JohnCuppi]

This was a great video, thanks for the info. I ordered the Horizon version and don't have it yet probably won't until the end of the month but I'm excited. Trying to learn as much as possible about this quad until it arrives. Question - and probably not a common one but you seem like you might know - how hard would it be to install a GPS unit to this little guy?

[@halflife82]

Very easy to just plug in, but the telemetry would all be based off of the manufacturer of the GPS module to configure. For example, I can add my FrSky Taranis' GPS directly to the RX and configure the telemetry on my radio directly and because I know how it works already, it's very simple. Some brands are much more intuitive than others, but like anything, it all depends what you want. :)

[@bradleyoetman8263]

How do I hook up a Spektrum SPM4649T (serial telemetry) receiver? I just got mine hooked up with the serial cable provided with the drone into the serial port. I have removed the PPM cable. Logically, I plugged the other end of the serial cable into the "female" port on my 4649T. But, not able to get it to power up (no flashing light). I know the receiver is working because I hooked it up to another port on another airplane receiver I have and it instantly powered up. Someone on RCGroups thought maybe the serial port voltage was only 3.3V and not the 4649T 4V minimum requirement. Any thoughts on why my brand new 4649T isn't powering up? Is it wired properly? You didn't have it connected in your video. I wonder if you ran into similar problems?

[@vikingdane9757]

Love the vid, but where did you find the manual for the PRO? Looked on IRC website but can only find the one for the 285 which doesn't show the PRO on the cover like the one here...Again, thanks for the detailed breakdown and descriptions.

[@halflife82]

It's there but hard to see. Scroll down to the bottom and under manuals, there's a link. It's easy to miss tho! :)

[@Turk10mm]

Where is this manual, when i look online it says "The full manual will be available shortly."

[@halflife82]

It's there, but easy to miss in the text. Look at the line just about that note, and there's a link to it there.

[@modsavant]

Good vid! Thanks for sharing. Would love to know more about how you modified the X4R antennas, and what is your expected net gain in range (or perhaps other reasons, such as less RSSI alarms?)

[@halflife82]

I haven't done any real-world tests yet, but I modified these into a much more efficient dipole antenna. Out of the box, all whisker antennas don't have a matching ground plane to balance the RF energy. What this does is simply make the antenna really inefficient and short range (short for long range FPV that is, plenty for normal LOS flying). By adding a matching ground plane, you effective range should be around 3x of stock. I also tuned these antennas to my exact middle frequency of my 2.4GHz Taranis for efficiency and increased range. In a nutshell without too much detail, adding a ground plane (one a whisker either a dipole or balun for example) will GREATLY improve your range/reception and is an easy cheap mod to do!

[@halflife82]

+Eganwp sorry for the spelling mistakes, I can't edit the comment without deleting it, but I'm sure you understand. I'll maybe make a video about this next time!

[@modsavant]

+Eganwp No worries about the spelling! Thanks for the reply. What I still don't understand, and i've now done hours of reading/research into antennas: a) why does each side of the pole have a different metal (one looks like copper, the other steel), and b) is each pole connected to a different wire leading to the receiver, or are the poles soldered together in the middle? For the life of me, I can't find ANYTHING out there that will clearly articulate these basic details, including exactly how to orientate the antennas on the quad (some people's pictures show the dipoles parallel to each other, some are perpendicular/offset).

[@halflife82]

+modsavant a) the material doesn't much matter (copper vs alu coax) but the thickness or awg does and it needs to be solid core, not stranded. I used copper as the ground plane because it's common to find in single core. A torn down CAT 5E (or 5, 6 etc) single wire will work great here. I used enamelled copper brushless motor winding wire because I have lots of it in different sizes on hand. B) yes, the Alu wire is the central positive wire of the coax cable itself (the stock whisker of the antenna), and the copper strand I added is soldered only to the exterior negative sheathing of the coax, thus balancing the signal to a dipole. Both are tuned for 2.4GHz in length also factoring in velocity factor and angle via formulas.

[@halflife82]

+modsavant Maybe I'll make one of my next videos about how to build these and increased range in general.

[@IceCreams62]

Hi. When you will setup your Vortex 250 Pro could you please check in Cleanflight if the Board Alignment - YAW Adjustment is set to 90 degrees and let me know ? OSD setup 'pushed' 90 degrees on mine but it seems to be strange, i was expecting 0 degrees !!!! Thanks in advance Mirco

[@halflife82]

Sorry, forgot to reply but yes, it's offset 90* in CF by default.

[@IceCreams62]

+Eganwp Thanks a lot for confirmation !!

[@laxfpvpilot589]

What receiver do you recommend? I have a taranis radio and this cortex bit. It sure what rx to use

[@DylanBogusz]

I destroyed my SBUS cable and don't want to spend $20 on the cable set. I heard you say "pico" cable? can I just make my own with a pico connector?

[@tione435]

Hello, I enjoyed the video. I'm recently getting involved with quadcopters, could you tell me what all I need other than a soldering station needed for soldering.....

[@GoProBro]

use google, all your answers can be found there

[@GoGupGo]

Did I see where you can run 4S on this? It will not fry anything will it. Thought I seen in the manual you had there that it would support 4S.

[@halflife82]

Yep, 4s is fully supported out of the box with no issues. Be careful running 4s 6x4.5BN props tho, you may overamp the esc's.

[@gonun69]

+Eganwp How many channels do you need? Will it work with a Futaba R617FS receiver? Or has it to be S-Bus?

[@gonun69]

+Gonun sorry for the stupid questions, but I couldn't find it on the web...

[@PaulKruskamp]

+Gonun at least 4 plus 1 for acro/horizon/whatever the other mode is. So 5.

[@gonun69]

thx. It looks like it is not possible to run it with a PWM receiver... need a new one with SBus or whatever.

[@PaulKruskamp]

Gonun ppm is easiest for noobs.

[@PaulKruskamp]

Gonun Someone correct me of I'm wrong but I don't think you can use pwm when a flight controller is involved. The D4r-ii using ppm works just fine.

[@nickmcbride1208]

I just got the ummagawd edition and i can not get it to go past the part where it says center all sticks and it dont recognize my receiver and im using same as yours you seem pretty knowledgeable so i thought you might have some advice for me and my receiver is bound and evverthing shows up on the osd but it want go any further ive tried everything that i can think of not sure whats up

[@halflife82]

Nick Mcbride It’s been awhile but I remember having this exact same issue after reflashing BF. I believe if you long press the button (can’t remember finch one but it’s either the one on the LED bank on the rear, or the one inside the quad on the flight controller with a small Allen key and part of the top removed) you can cycle through the receiver modes until you get to the correct one. The manual mentions how to do this so check there first. It might also work just to set it in Betaflight via USB to set your receiver type in the Configuration tab. Hope this helps and good luck!

[@nickmcbride1208]

@@halflife82 it does help i saw the fc button but wasmt sure what it did i have the manual downloaded so ill check how to do that i was planning om hooking it up to betaflight if i couldnt get it fixed was juat trying to avoid that for now to see if i could set it up through the wizzard but im a try all that i appreciate bud i let you know what happens

[@angel00demon]

Hi! Anywhere I can find a tutorial or some help in making the mod you have on your X4R antenna?

[@halflife82]

Probably not as I made-up the mod myself from scratch. Just take an X4R (or XSR or de-pin an X4R) and wrap it in clear heatshrink. Design your own balun base-loaded antennas or if not that tech savy, just use pre-made whiskers and run them out the rear of the quad. I use clear plastic tubing for shielding the active element, and use heatshrink to keep it all together and protected. By building antennas like this you will never again cut one up due to crashing or prop strikes! - Travis

[@kwadracer3805]

ok thanks for the infos.

[@maverick-san9289]

How do you make your antennas for the FrSky rx?

[@halflife82]

Design your own balun base-loaded antennas or if not that tech savy, just use pre-made whiskers and run them out the rear of the quad. I use clear plastic tubing for shielding the active element, and use heatshrink to keep it all together and protected. Sometime I should make a video on how to do this. By building antennas like this you will never again cut one up due to crashing or prop strikes! - Travis

[@tylermcbride2807]

is it easy to learn how to fly

[@richswat]

Sorry but "AIR MODE" is not a simple "idle-up"! Please read the release notes. ;)

[@halflife82]

Ya I was wrong, and didn't realize it had PID scaling when I first heard about it. Totally my bad. I love airmode!!