Ultra-tiny receiver too weak for daily use? Nah. (ExpressLRS HappyModel EP2)

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---
The Happymodel ExpressLRS EP2 receiver is the smallest long-range receiver you can put in a quadcopter today. It's got a tiny ceramic antenna soldered to its circuit board, so you don't even need to mount a wire antenna on your quad. But how is the range? The ceramic antenna has less range than a full size antenna, but it might still be good enough for typical daily use. Let's find out.
For REAL range testing, check out: / wezleyvarty
How to flash, bind, and set up ExpressLRS 2.4 GHz: • You can flash this rec...
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[@WezleyVarty]

Wow, LQ held up even better than I expected around the property! Heaps of trees / a house in between and it stayed above 95ish for pretty much the whole freestyle. 💪

[@ClareFPV]

Nice mention here mate. Great work

[@Cre8ionz.]

I once saw LQ value of 1 in my OSD lol.. (10 mW @500 hz)

[@terpsquirter7107]

@@Cre8ionz. but did it fail safe? 😏

[@martinwager8815]

For every question in FPV there is a Bardwell video answering it. Thank you!

[@laurynasagejevas1200]

If someone is worried about longevity, I've been running an EP2 since launch on my main quad and it's been solid.

[@jan-ce8xb]

It depends on how you mount it, dont expect it to be unbreakable and stuff it into a cramed canopy of a 3 inch like i did.

[@chezfpv9139]

@@jan-ce8xb i second this ^ the little square antenna is very fragile and you gotta mount it in a place where nothing can flex in a crash and bump it. Other than that, those things are rock solid. They should make a receiver with both the ufl and the ceramic antenna in case you break the cube.

[@cinemoriahFPV]

I run these on my 3" toothpicks and they are rock solid!

[@cinemoriahFPV]

@@jan-ce8xb I put clear heat shrink on it and glue it on top of the USB connector.

[@danielwood3861]

@laurynasagejevas1200 how has it held up now, after two years?

[@ATXAirborne]

Your approach of testing the range in terms of how it applies to normal flying (rather than doing a scientific long range test) is exactly how I approached this testing in my ELRS review. Definitely think it makes the most sense for this type of thing. A lot more useful for most people.

[@jaysonbishop8455]

I have always respected your flying but the last couple of videos I've watched of your flying seem like you have gone to another level. Awesome !! Nice!!

[@spaced-mouse]

I love the split s roll over the house/tree line you do. I went from an frsky r-xsr to an ELRS PP rx. Night and day difference in everything. Thank you for the great content!

[@ziazia153]

thankyou for this comment. Im upgrading from rsxr right now

[@brightnovastar]

Your channel is the best. And it's not even close. Thank you for your hobby contribution.

[@gordonmajor122]

Your the Best Bardwell I’ll be supporting this channel a 100% you are a Legend Man from Hamilton Ontario Canada you should come for a Tour it would be very worth it for you lots of fpv pilots in Canada look up to you Man like i said your a fpv legend but you already know this though!!!

[@NickRO1989]

Hey bro, where you fly? I'm in Brampton. I'm looking for some new spots to rip

[@gmivisualsjason3729]

I sense a man crush here....... 😂😂😂🤣😂

[@BradTraver]

If you hit Hamilton you gotta come to Ottawa too JB!

[@ClintChapman]

@@gmivisualsjason3729 you noticed he winked at me too at the end?

[@gmivisualsjason3729]

@@ClintChapman 😂🤣

[@MadRC]

I always love the fridge ending. Only grumbled by baby Bardwell. Damn impressive for a Tiny antenna buried in a frame on 2.4 that.

[@JThemelis]

Awesome..just ordered the HM 2.4 module, 1 rx with ceramic antenna, 1 rx with ufl...and above and beyond all of the cool stuff that's about to happen when they arrive, your welcome sign just made my day.

[@JonE5FPV]

been loving this system lately. Using it on all my race builds this season, and anything 4" or smaller. (I am keeping crossfire for any 5" freestyle or larger, and for long range, because the link is just so good).

[@Krondelo]

Are you not putting it on 5" just because you don't need the range?

[@thirtythreeeyes8624]

@@Krondelo He said he's keeping crossfire on them for the range, 900 goes further than 2400

[@BradTraver]

That quad rips, the freestyle session was 🔥

[@aphinion]

Now that's a clever way of mixing OSD and HD Footage! I like it! And gosh ELRS is tempting...

[@holmesteadready]

Mate, 3 things - Your property looks amazing Your flying is incredible, and your videos are always super well presented 👏

[@ChristopherF_1971]

His property isnt to far from our farm.

[@fatihbirkan8527]

Very entertaining video. Thanks Joshua.

[@whowechina7018]

I've installed more than 10 EP1/EP2s in my quads. Really nice. And I had a perfect stealth installation of ExpressLRS 2.4GHz TX inside a Tango2.

[@kevinwappler5011]

Do you have a guide for this installation in a tango 2?

[@KernsJW]

I put one each on two of my small quads where mounting an antenna was annoying. I havent noticed any issues and I no longer have to worry about chopping up the antenna or printing some TPU mount. I think if you can fit an antenna, you should. However, when its a pain, use these! Great video!

[@JoryFPV]

I love the EP2. I use it on an 85mm 2s whoop. It's a huge upgrade over other options on that size.

[@lorenzoabad5265]

nice place you got there sir 😍

[@benaresq]

I think "good enough" is the perfect description of the range of an EP2 receiver. It seems to always outlast my video, so I don't really care about range after that.

[@MrLaserpowered]

Thanks for stopping in JB.

[@firemanx202000]

I have the EP2 on my tiny hawk. No complaints.

[@MCsCreations]

Fantastic, Joshua! Thanks! 😃 I can't do much, yet, but I'm going to flash my R9 module and receivers with Express LRS. It's decided! But I'm also considering getting the 2.4Ghz module, specially for micros. That small antenna... ❤ Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@kurtzFPV]

Lol. Joshua is an excellent man. Critiques his own video at the beginning and lets us know there's a follow-up on the way.. Nice gazebo out back. Missed it before.

[@nikolaystelmakh9721]

7:37 nice grill, man! I like it.

[@Shauny_D]

I've been using these receivers on my quads for paid gigs the last month or so and and never had an issue. I just heat shrink them to a stand off or behind the camera and they just work. I love how you don't have to have a whole bunch of individual models on your radio too with fine tunings and whatnot! I will say that I have NEVER gotten rssi number over 60. Not sure what that means but seems just like the rssi numbers are just scaled down.

[@gilgsn]

I have two EP2s, on 3inch twigs. You are less likely to damage an antenna with these, and you save the weight. I will definitely order more for non-gps quads. All my other quads run Crossfire. I use the Tango 2 with BetaFPV ELRS module without any compatibility issue. Crazy range for 2.4GHz!

[@brianfreland9065]

I have 2 of these ep2's installed on quads and an extra one just ready and waiting for my next new quad haha. ElRS is the best!

[@quadroneld4401]

Holy crap that's the antenna, I think it's great when the technology continues to develop so that everything becomes smaller in size.

[@ozdemirsalik]

Espressif really makes incredible chips for incredible prices. Both esp8285 and sx1280 offer amazing value.

[@scottsouthard6491]

@ 45seconds is the best technological term. Thank you for your real reviews and not going all high tech terms

[@CatzRuleZWorld]

I’ve had that antenna to 7.7km on 50Hz and 3km on 500Hz.

[@uhu4677]

That's impressive. Can't wait to get my ExpressLRS stuff.

[@quaneu9216]

for 3inch tooth pick ep2 should be enough1 right？ much difference as compare to ep1？

[@ghostrot]

At how many mw

[@jacobreezyfpv6287]

My my yes I love it I want it for my 2.5 inche drones

[@alwayshathbeen3340]

Love ya Bardwell! Stay golden!

[@dauntlessfpv]

Love this rx for micros

[@soundscrispy]

Love the EP2 on my Flywoo Firefly Nano.

[@sadteeto]

this is THE best antenna ever!

[@steve-adams]

What! I bought the Radiomaster equivalent of this thinking the range would be limited but acceptable. These things are incredible!

[@NickRO1989]

Lol throw your hair back... Also from Ontario Canada, I agree with Gordon you should come up here! Was wondering if you could try some bando or heavy foliage testing with the on board antenna. I have express LRS and love it but would also love to get rid of the antenna if I don't need it. I don't usually fly more than 1km out but I do a lot of behind obstacle freestyle. So I'd love to see how it works. Looks like it was doing pretty well behind your house but maybe a bit further out with some trees. Thanks for the vids!

[@stephenmutch4034]

I've used the EP2 Rx on two quads for a few weeks . I display RSSIdBm and LQ Link Quality on my OSD and have flown far enough to see intermittent low LQ figures of about 60. I record and display after disarming the quad RSSIdBm min and LQ Min. The minimum values of both are frequently well below what I see during flight. As I have not yet experienced any glitches I deduce that the flight values are an average over the telemetry periodic time. I use 1:8 telemetry ratio at 100 kHz (and 100 mW signal strength btw)

[@WinstonSmith1984]

FYI these are the settings I use in BF 4.2 to get the full 0 - 100 RSSI range with an ExpressLRS RX: set rssi_scale = 255 set rssi_offset = -48 # optional alarm stuff: set osd_warn_rssi = ON set osd_warn_rssi_dbm = ON set osd_rssi_alarm = 13 set osd_rssi_dbm_alarm = -99 For BF 4.1, osd_rssi_dbm_alarm doesn't accept negative values, so in that case, set osd_warn_rssi_dbm = OFF I determined the best settings by performing walk tests. Things I've noticed: - You can run the RSSI quite low before LQ starts to drop. - LQ drops off exponentially: first slowly, then rapidly and erratically. - RSSI drops off the opposite of LQ, (logarithmically): rapid at first but then increasingly slower. That's why an RSSI alarm value of 13 is still what I consider safe enough using the settings above. - When the RX is at the very limit of the signal range and the receiver looses signal, it seems to struggle to acquire signal again if the signal strength isn't increased. I think this is the same for most receivers. I didn't notice any OSD LQ alarm setting in Betaflight 4.2. I suppose you can put LQ in a channel and then link that to RSSI, but I'd also like to keep my real RSSI and alarm too.

[@MrDeathFPV]

Thanks mate, I've put these into my cli to try today when chasing my mates model aeroplane 🤟

[@RubyS.1]

Good info.

[@FPVHans]

Lookin good JB!

[@neilfpv]

Would love to see your refrigerator test on that device. I remember you did that one time to check when it will failsafe. Would that be a good test to check its performance?

[@Sprinthurdles]

Yes. Worth it. Not having to mount an antenna is very convenient. Especially when I fly less than 400m away

[@gsfpv]

Thanks for the review! Any plans to do a Iflight FPV Backpack review?

[@scu-dub]

Ahhhhh....coffee and JB teaching that's my most important meal to hell with breakfast!😁🤌....

[@kevinsmith9420]

Good stuff. Thanks. And can you post pics of when you did through your hair back!

[@terminsane]

2.4ghz has some really cool antenna possibilities. Check out the wireless Raspberry Pi's for example. They have a triangular "antenna" printed directly onto the PCB.

[@Nick-PaiN]

Amazing!!

[@ZPFunk]

Waiting on that next episode of Bardwell's Bode Well torture testing.

[@MrDeathFPV]

I have an ep2 in my racing quad and I'm putting one in my tinyhawk 2 next week

[@nelsonza6403]

Segui asi pibe vas bien Saludos desde Córdoba capital

[@Ugly_Baby_Gaming]

be good as a backup antenna incase of damage would like to see it on crossfire but with the normal plug there to add a standard antenna so a choice to run an antenna or not if on small quads

[@JuanCintron]

Waiting for that video about setting up OSD and RSSI on the these Express LRS receivers. Great video!!

[@chezfpv9139]

Just go to osd tab in betalfight and enable link quality and that's it

[@JuanCintron]

@@chezfpv9139 if you watch his video is more indepth than just selecting link quality on the OSD. He also talk about setting up rssi on the radio to remove/minimize rssi low feedback.

[@soddytai2341]

@@JuanCintron check the rssi dbm in OSD tab, and set the warning alarm to 5 to 10 below the limit in cli (e.g.: set osd_rssi_dbm_alarm = -100 {dbm limit is -108 for 250hz reflesh rate})

[@JuanCintron]

@@soddytai2341 thank you!!!! That worked for me.

[@bigtunitube]

what makes me even more happy then a stable LQ is that tehre seem to be no issues with penetration (of all the trees and wires....)

[@FPVKermyt]

If you put RSSIdbm on the screen as an OSD element you would have a much better idea of what's going on.

[@jmckenna2k10]

LQ and RSSIdbm were on AUX11 and AUX12 for me (Not sure if it just puts them at the end of the list, no matter how many channels you're sending from the TX or not). So, any idea what's a good RSSI warning and TURNAROUNDNOW level?

[@FPVKermyt]

@@jmckenna2k10 You need to work with RSSIdBm and LQ together as a unit. Neither one of them tells the whole story of your RF environment. RSSIdBm is the received signal strength and in a perfectly quiet world you could pay attention to it alone. But you are working in an environment that could potentially be quite noisy. This raises the noise floor and if the noise floor raises above the minimum sensitivity then you may still have a decent signal that you can't hear for all of the other signals. This is where LQ comes in. Even if the signal is high, if the noise floor comes up to meet the signal, then the LQ will try to inform you of this by describing the percentage of received packets. So as the 100 in the LQ starts to go down when your RSSI is still quite high you know something other than just signal strength is mucking about with your link. But in general your LUA will tell you what your minimum RSSIdBm should be based on your current packet rate. your warning should be a little above that number.

[@BimoWicaksono]

I broke the ceramic camera on EP2 receiver, then I changed it with simple linear cable antenna from one of my whoop FC, and the results I got better signal than before

[@FerralVideo]

If these tiny things don't have the QC problems that have plagued earlier ELRS units, they could easily become a staple to put into "anything" that's not a Send It aircraft, be it an LR quad or a fixed wing. As I continue my quest to decide how I want to return to FPV, I start seriously considering ELRS, since I only have one quad that's currently scheduled for retirement because it's really old, and most BNFs are also available in plug and play receivers. (If I could find a way to run the old Cleanflight Configurator I could even upgrade the ancient quad.) I also have a few other cheap toy grade RTFs. Given that ELRS costs half that of Crossfire, and I don't have either system right now, I'm starting to bias ELRS 2.4 instead of CF for my next air link.

[@xyra132]

Love my EP2. It's been brilliant - I only fly local parks etc, but where other control links (mainly Flysky) would failsafe sometimes looping behind trees or a building the EP2 just keeps going, not had a single failsafe as yet in maybe 50 packs. It just lets me trust the quad more and allows more concentration on the flying. I was skeptical of how much punch the 2.4ghz link would get through vegetation despite the LoRa, but it seems to work great in my situations. It might not be a long range link in the ExpressLRS world, but it still seems way more reliable and consistent than other control links I've used for general penetration even with the ceramic antenna. My only gripe is I wish they had a mode with more than 4 full resolution channels (or even 6 or 8 middle resolution channels would be great for wings where you don't generally need the resolution quads need) then I could use it everywhere!

[@deltageek7177]

They're working on it! One of the channels is 16-POS which is good enough for flaps and headtrack

[@xyra132]

@@deltageek7177 Yes - I use the 16 position channel already, although I don't think it sends updates with every packet when you enable that (could be wrong). I'd personally be happy with 4 x 7 or 8 bit channels and a couple of 10 bit channels, (personally I want 2 DoF head tracking) but I know others want more, particularly the larger scale fliers and glider fliers. Obviously it will impact latency as the packets will be larger which I realise was the core point of ExpressLRS (with the amazing range being a happy side effect as I understand) so perhaps isn't likely ideally aligned to be philosophy of ELRS. But it would be nice to have a configuration option where you can play with the variables yourself to tune the performance vs capabilities. I keep wondering about pulling the code down and having a play myself to see if its relatively easily possible, but so far haven't been bothered to.

[@theroxs9707]

I have it on my 4 inch explorer and have gone 1.5 miles away with no problem.

[@thirtythreeeyes8624]

In my experience unless there is heavy rf noise or you fly behind something you can go all the way to 10s in lq on 250hz and still have a really crunchy control. The lower the Hz the quicker your LQ will drop. 50 LQ is getting low for that smooth ELRS goodness on 250hz but, unless you're ripping hard you probably won't notice it until it drops into the 30s

[@zg6038]

watchya building back there anyhow. The ultimate quad workshop?

[@silbaerFPV]

I use the EP2 for all my quads, regardless 5" or 2.5". I allways get trouble with my video before I get trouble with the ELRS link (500m+ behind trees). And I usaly fly ELRS with 25mW (ans video much higher)

[@Kapharnaum92]

Would love to see the video about configuring elrs lq/rssi. Is it out?

[@kaskalo2]

I soldered thumb cam to my moblite7. Works fine. Can I solder on top of the same pads this elrs? Or is it too much? Will i burn something or it won't have enough power?

[@mootine2007]

Can you do a video of how to Setup the ExpressLRS Slim Pro for the Tbs Tango 2 pleassse? Oh and Taranis X9D. Lol

[@jwdavidson]

Loving the ExpressLRS content! Is that a Roma F5 v2 you've got the receiver mounted on? My F5 has been great but really missing some of the upgrades they made in the v2.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Yep it is! Review coming soon.

[@traviscook5144]

Doesn’t the kapton tape block some of the signal?

[@jfish1245]

My biggest worry is durability of the antenna. I crash...a lot. At least the rx is cheap enough to keep several on hand. Be great if there was a connector to swap antenna though. Maybe a u.fl like connector? Something like a Lego brick 🤔

[@misericordiaSUD]

I see you have been getting those FPVLUX shirts. How are you liking the bag?

[@itzjoeylo4501]

I have a custom AtomRC Killer Whale with this ceramic antenna. Other than the standard antenna rules, is there a certain orientation of the ceramic antenna is positioned and mounted inside the fuselage. Currently it is mounted on the port sidewall pointing inward. Any suggestions?

[@Switch180fpv]

Moved to elrs never looked back

[@TheBuddha4]

I had to laugh when I saw the pool filled with green water, lulz

[@revert2theStr8path]

Do I need to put a cover on it? I lost the one that's comes with the receiver. What material can I use to remake or cover it so that the range is not affected!

[@dkkids]

Like someone else mentioned... Josh REALLY needs to clean out the pool!!! :P

[@ignasanchezl]

Now I just need to find out how to run ExpressLRS on my PL18

[@sandnessmj]

Shock that pool, sir! She’s lookin’ green…

[@macintosh6994]

would it be good for a 2.5inch cinewhoop? Like cinelog25? Or is it better to put dipole antenna?

[@mysticguido1]

Just received my Happy Model EP2. It didn't come with wires so I need to know what Size wire should I get???

[@licensetodrive9930]

Happymodel have put in the post to me an ExpressLRS RX so I can make folding TPU holders for it for everyone, like the ones I made for Crossfire, Tracer, Ghost & XM+. Hopefully they sent more than one version and an antenna. BetaFPV are also sending me a 2.4G ExpressLRS RX to make folding TPU holders for.

[@josephj.pasternack2988]

Are you going to do a video about RSSI and LQ for ELRS?

[@bertbeinaaf8314]

I am waiting for that video too

[@MRdeLaat]

your guides and insights are amazing. i have a nice idea to make even better videos. if you pauze for lets say 07:34, and you set up a camera on the top of that roof. i mean that move that you did i would like to see that from that perspective so much. you can set op like 3 or 4 or more cameras around some nice spots and you make some nice flybys. would love to see those shots. mount light on it and your views wil rocket cus that would actually make good shots between your informative talk. and thumbnails, i see quads with shiny neonlight trails infront of me. idea?

[@mepanza]

Hi Joshua do you know how to fixes some issues on expresslrs specially on rx’s, sometimes they don’t go all beautiful like needs to be. The wi-fi in two of my five receivers are make me crazy lol and they don’t accept the firmware.

[@ChristopherYotz]

Bando or car park test of the surface mount antenna would be great to see. I have not seen that yet from anyone else. Like many others, I'm slowly switching over all my Frsky receivers to 2.4ghz HM Expresslrs. 3" and below are getting the surface mount antenna and larger are getting the wire antenna. But, I have not had a chance to test the penetration on either. I also haven't seen anyone else test it out.

[@Tokyo_Dom]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKOadHabo85lmrs Unless you have a very good VTX, it will outdo your video

[@DP69264]

Can ELRS 2.4 ghz receivers bind to the tx16s using the internal multiprotocol module?

[@MrSabram07]

Okay what's set up should I use on my TX16S? I'm thinking of switching over from tracer

[@LehtusBphree2flyFPV]

It advertised as ceramic but it melts so its not ceramic is it. Mine broke off the hit it with s soldering iron to try to fix it and it melted. So I'll never but that ever again and stick to the wired antenna

[@Oxizee]

And still no XJT Lite from HB with ExpressLRS. Maybe i should go for BetaFPV XJT Lite ExpressLRS.

[@Revelation1177]

How would this hold up in a heavy interference area like nyc ?

[@Happy_FPV]

i don't know if anyone said this or not but what about size and performance compared to the immersion rc zepto?

[@Varun_underyourspell16]

Hey does anyone know how to setup an Fs i6 with an sm100 cable For Fpv simulators Pls Help

[@jonnyphenomenon]

any chance we could connect to this with out crossfire TX? haha

[@Rohit-oz1or]

You are doing these tests in the wilderness. Results would be different in practical, real world & urban locations

[@unknw51]

I have Mobula7 frsky version, can I install EP2?

[@KrotowX]

This is interesting. For freestyle pilots tiny receiver seems more than enough. Question however is about where to safely mount it on quad.

[@cinemoriahFPV]

Put clear heat shrink on it and glue it in top of the USB connector with e6000.

[@ho-xo8my]

I think u can do same on 500hz. Could u do this on Crossfire 150hz 250mw ?

[@laser_simon922]

I have one built into my Mobula7, never even had a change in LQ…always full strenght…

[@bertbeinaaf8314]

Same here 👍

[@unknw51]

I have Mobula7 frsky version, can I install EP2?

[@Gereon_]

How many minutes/hours do you fly each day on your property, if you don't mind answering?

[@emmanuelmenenedez6737]

Hi. I tried installing a happymodel ep2 express lrs external rx in my Happymodel Mobula HD7 2s-3s and cant get the Serial Rx to save in ports on betaflight. When I set it, it just reverts to disabled every time . I have set the Receiver to Serial and Crossfire in the receiver section. Any ideas? I cant even get the soft serial that I want to use to have VTX smart audio on to save either. It shows up in ports but wont let me save any changes.

[@anseljohnson9954]

I know this is late hut I just had the same issue. 1. Make sure that you are using the correct UART. Somethimes the first UART is taken by USB and betaflight prevents you from doing this because it can force you to reset your FC. 2. Some AIO boards (like mine) dont support the EP1/EP2 recievers and will require a split 5v wire with a resistor attached to a 3.3v pad. Mine didn't have this so I wasted 4 hrs troubleshooting😢.

[@orientasiprodikelasA]

which is better, EP1 or EP2 ?