Radiomaster Zorro ELRS Review - The Best Portable RC In 2022?

[@TheMkourkis]

I've had my Zorro/Crossfire for about a month now and absolutely love it. Haven't even touched my ts16x since. Also purchased the AG01 gimbals directly from Radiomaster (pre order)but still waiting on those to ship..... Battery has been a non issue for me. I usually go fly for about 1 1/2hr with no problems. Based off of so many reviews and people gripping about the 18350 I thought it would be smart to pick up another set to quickly swap out in the field. Haven't had to use them yet... All in all fantastic radio!

[@amadeuspati980]

What is the max range of zorro?

[@dronedaddyfpv1109]

I couldn't be happier with my zorro

[@revfpv7908]

I agree with everything you said. The battery is my only complaint with mine. I bring a usb 3.0 portable charger and plug it in between flights. Works great but it’s on my mind constantly.

[@ezalku]

it's outstanding and fun when you fly whoops, waiting for radio master to release the addon future modes

[@Jangmo88]

I like the way it feels in the hands

[@JP-qq2kn]

I really like my Zorro with the 4in1 module. The batteries last longer then I was expecting, and the charging/power options are great! I bought and attempted trying an ELRS Zorro but was unsuccessful setting up the ELRS recievers.

[@Fly_High_FPV]

Usually I have to flash the latest BF and the latest opentx/edgetx to get ELRS to work

[@SnaggyWasTaken]

What protocols are the 4 in 1. Like is Frsky included?

[@JP-qq2kn]

@@SnaggyWasTaken Yes, frsky is in there.

[@GuitarsandDrones]

What if you want to use ELRS and FRsky which one do you pick, we do have a micro ELRS unit that would fit I guess but I don’t understand which one to get lol 😂 option paralysis

[@GuitarsandDrones]

@@gizmochicken hey thanks, so the one that only does FRsky and one other would also be ok I guess, then put a module on, as we only have FRsky stuff no other other than ELRS

[@GuitarsandDrones]

@@gizmochicken I went with the 2500 and we already have the ELRS unit but not used it yet, it’s for my son his birthday is in a few weeks and he mention he likes the game style controller but he uses a Taranis 9x perfectly well, this would be just right size, had to order batteries tho extra ugh 😑 lol

[@typxxilps]

finally a review worth to be called review touching serious and nice points on both sides. Radiomaster seems to listen, at least this time. I have purchased roughly over a dozen TX16S very first batch from first quarter 2020 usually 2 - 3 radios each time per order, some cheap ones with no touch, the touch edition and the crossfire one. What we recogniced is that RM seems to improve the hardware continously + silent cause comparing those from different orders we found some changes assuming those were improvements. Some were mechanically others pcb or parts. Feels good and bad depending how old your personal one is cause those complain why rm did not do that earlier. Zorro is on our watchlist cause kids prefer that size or are keen on the bling & specs of the tx16s. personally I try to avoid buying much this year but I guess in November I might get the elrs edition. One final point: I like the current measurements cause many missed that point and the small battery is still my biggest concern. But your trustfull measurements are a big relief for me to get one. I would still want a bigger built in battery but not that external one they had shown at release.

[@richardjohnson2331]

I always bring extra batteries for my goggles and transmitter. So the 18350s aren't an issue for me. My only (very minor) gripe is the center detent on the pots. Thanks for the review.

[@MadRC]

Are yours also very loose ?

[@richardjohnson2331]

@@MadRC I haven't noticed that the batteries are loose. The covers take a bit of effort to fit back right at first, but you get the hang of it.

[@24kJames]

Try setting the radio to beep at center for the pots.

[@RubyS.1]

I think it's a great radio. There's a custom INAV Lua for it that supports the lua fully too.

[@MadRC]

Yea I wanted to cover this too but it was too long but I am going to talk about this in another video.

[@AerialWaviator]

@@MadRC Stuff like Lua, and using external modules are worth a second video. Kind of a "field ops" perspective.

[@soppingclam]

I managed to use just the R88 receiver to plug into my VW Mk7 Golf R 2015 car into the ECU. With a bit of programming I can now drive my car up to 20km away with the Zorro plugged into the house roof antenna. Took me a few days to do it but there is nothing like having camera's live streaming from your car and controlling it with a playstation looking remote. I'm working on a more - wireless ECU hack using some new AI software to de-encrypt everything I need within about 10 mins (used to be days) for other cars to attach to body to drive various cars. Also, the screen it comes with can be modified/unlocked. It actually has a lot more features that are hidden but to unlock require a series of button pushes and so forth. I disabled the data uploader that goes to China. I am still working out exactly what information it is taking.

[@przyna]

my sides 😂

[@soppingclam]

@hotspalling I don't even remember writing this hah must have been after coming from from a .. night

[@XILEFK]

Hey! So I have you in front of approx. Ordered 1.5 weeks. Can't I put two ADDITIONAL 18350 batteries (because of the small size) in a printed case, solder a 2-pin USB cable on it, then feed the internal batteries from it until the external ones are empty, so that the internal batteries can continue to be used? 🤔 Or is the 7.4V (8.4V) voltage too high for the USB port?

[@MichaelRaveh]

Can you charge via USB C while using it? Thanks

[@crank_FPV]

Mads - def need your help with the ago1 hall final install in this radio..this radio seems to be exactly what I need. Iflight commando 8 is not doing it those gimbals suck..

[@MCsCreations]

Awesome review, Ian! Thanks! 😊 I can't buy one for now, but I really hope they start selling it with the AG01 gimbals already installed! Because I want one! 😂 Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@AerialWaviator]

Nice well balanced review, with a bit more depth of coverage than couple others I've watch. Regarding the sliders, worth noting that RadioMaster just released the Tx16-MAX which has sliders with an improved centre indent and better few (per reviewers). RadioMaster also offers the improved sliders as an accessory to upgrade older Tx16S's. Under Accessories for Zorro, there is no such option (yet). Personally, I'd be interesting in such an upgrade. While I'm not thrilled about manufactures releasing a 'simplified' version of a product and continuously releasing upgraded editions; I do understand the current global sourcing an logical issues. That RadioMaster does make parts for such upgrades available, does reduce some frustration, hopefully remains transparent when features are upgraded, and better manages the upgrade cycle of newer editions. (considering all things in general are more pricy these days and we expect them to give a great user experience for 2-3 years) That said, I do have a Zorro on order (placed late December), as initial pre-view seemed to check many boxes for me. This review seems to confirm. Looking forward to first flight with mine. Thanks Ian. :)

[@halledwardb]

Just got one for my 11 yearold daughter to fly a DarwinFPV tinyape. The battery issue should be better for everyone when ELRS code is updated to use less power.

[@BlueDroneBlues]

Does that link up to PC and iMac, or PC only? I need a good controller to practice my simulator on my iMac 24" 2021 but need the controller to be compatible with my iMac. The DJI Controller 2 just isn't. Thank you Ian.

[@pavelack]

Ive gotten a ELRS version by accident (used) and i infact needed the 4in1 protocol version. I know you can fit a elrs module onto the 4in1 model but is there a way to get the 4in1 unit onto a elrs model? ive got alot of experience with land rc but not helis and drones.

[@ThomasTheVirus]

yeah after crashing too many drones with my incomplete pinch method(i just have too long fingers) i have decided after trying the dji control that this zorro is going to be my jam.. i am a thumb flyer with experience with joystick on thumbs since i got my PSX 1 back in 1995 with the dualshocks.. ( the psx i got actually came with the controllers without the joysticks, but we bought a controller)

[@shinymike4301]

👍

[@ivanluhi]

Nice review! Would you mind measuring the Radiomaster 18350 cells you have in it?

[@seanconnolly2179]

I’d like to know if I can use an external lrs to be able to keep the firmware at 2.0 for exclusive use of internal spi lrs whoop receivers, and use the internal lrs to keep updating the firmware??

[@eatyourvegfpv]

*TX16S... You've always called it a T16 or T16S which is a different radio! 😜 Otherwise, another fantastic video Ian. Don't you find it funny treaty no one talked about flex on gimbals until the AG01's came out? Now everyone mentions flex!

[@paulhenrythegreat]

Hi Ian - do you know if its possible to get removable gimbal sticks for the Zorro? I love radiomaster quality - would rather not have to get the Commando 8 or Jumper T-Pro - so i am trying to get this as compact as possible :D

[@MrOlezhandr]

Can you please advice external radio transmitter and receiver _non_ 2.4GHz with high power for Zorro? Thank you for quality video)

[@colorado_a3766]

Been looking at this transmitter pretty heavily, is this a transmitter that could be used for flying helis?

[@MrJoris666]

Will you also be reviewing the upcoming Iflight commando 8? It looks like the best option so far for ELRS.

[@martr]

Great review Ian. What is the status of this as regards CE/UKCA certification?

[@kenwu324]

Every time when I run the build in ELRS lua script, I can not get out to the main page unless power down and up again the unit. Is this normal?

[@MadRC]

Try pressing and holding the back button. That’s not normal but back should get you out with a hold.

[@robertogden5239]

Any idea that you will be able to buy with metal gimbals as with the TX16s ??

[@MadRC]

It won’t be long. Pre ordered are getting ready now I believe. Next few weeks.

[@RCRitterFPV]

have Tango2 and Mambo, want to love Mambo, but my arm switch SE doesn't inspire confidence so I don't use it nearly as much as the much easier to pack Tango2, which has just enough switches. Wish the screen was bigger and battery lasted longer. my dream TX - the Mango...Between Tango2 and Mamba size. optional cnc gimbals - nice high quality grips, maybe alcantara or something bigger mambo size touch screen tango2 switches (nothing that breaks when you toss in bag.) internal Crossfire and Tracer antennas. JR bay for ELRS... if ya want. 18650 But I might try one of these just so I don't need to use ELRS module, I hate modules but it seems to hit all the marks. the little batteries irk me.

[@user-yk1cw8im4h]

if they listen to customers there won’t be flawed products like this

[@Fly_High_FPV]

is 250mw ELRS enough? Coming from 900mhz 1000mw...wondering if this is going to get deep in the bando and failsafe.

[@volkergoe]

250mW elrs @100Hz will outrange 1W CRF or R9 easily!

[@dronedaddyfpv1109]

I usually keep it on 100mw and can basically fly anywhere

[@truggles120]

@der-v I think you are over-hyping ELRS. 900mw systems at one watt will probably go 100km easy. No 2.4 Ghz system even ELRS(which is awesome) will beat a 900mhz system in range. ELRS gets really good range for 2.4ghz, but please don't overhype it. It will only hurt the ELRS project. (Not an ELRS dev)

[@Fly_High_FPV]

@@truggles120 exactly what i was thinking, trappy has shown 55km on Tango2 at 1000mw. I do 7-8 walls of concrete and rebar daily on crossfire. i'm tired of hype, and about to just test it myself...the ceramic antenna on 100mw barely gets through my house and failsafes in the yard...i'm just hoping for more out of the ep1 🤷‍♂️

[@AerialWaviator]

There are also 900MHz ELRS and 2.4GHz ELRS external module options. Antenna type, placement and the environment you flying in will likely have greater impact. Nice thing is the Zorro ELRS edition only cost 2x that price of a typical ELRS external module. Nice form-factor, and opportunity to test out ELRS first hand. Can always add your existing 900MHz module to Zorro. If your external module is JR and not micro edition, BetaFPV makes a ~$9 adaptor (think TBS offers similar adapter as well) Worst case is need to upgrade by adding 1000mW external module, so an extra $50 for $150 total. Not huge cost for testing and learning if ELRS works for you flying style and location(s). Alternatively you can wait and watch reviews of others to get feel the setup meeting your needs. NOTE: I've yet to fly ELRS, but have ordered a Zorro to test myself.

[@rickikilvi5406]

Can't understand why RM are still selling the 900mAh 18350 button top cell when the newer Zorros can take 1600mAh flat top 18350 cells. Considering RM's recent build quality issues with Real Time Clocks reseting randomly, i think this review is somewhat irrelevant.

[@volkergoe]

Great review as usual! As I feared the runtime just won't cut it for my flying habits and I have to stick to my X-lite pro for another year.

[@24kJames]

X lite Pro still the best radio for me. Actually my daily is an S with Pro gimbals, because I like the white shell. X-lite S/Pro easily has the best build quality of all game pad style radios, and the Pro gimbals are fully adjustable, and feel great. I sold my two standard X-Lites, and have my blue Pro as a spare to my daily. The 2 Panasonic 18500s deliver what I consider the absolute minimum capacity any radio should ever have. T-Lite is my next favorite, as it's truly compact, unlike the XLite, and the tubby Zorro, and its pokey "schwing" screen. I can fit a T Lite, Orqas, 3" 1S Toothpick, and handful of packs, all in a single headphones case, which is nice because I like to have fpv as option no matter what I'm out doing on my bicycle. Feels and flys great, and the battery has never presented a concern. I have two T-Lites in play, one modded with an "in-tenna," one ELRS, and a brand new one as spare. The BFPV Lite II is great for handing to friends, sharing. Now the Zorro, it is a pretty evenly mixed bag, not completely terrible, but offers nothing compelling over the others. The obtuse screen is inarguably out of place, hurting the otherwise attractive, if not a bit plump, curves. The huge pixels on the low res display are insult to injury, and remind me of the digital Etch A Sketch from decades ago. A smaller high res display like the X Lite was the far better choice here, perhaps with a lightly magnifying optic as the screen cover. The zorros stock gimbals are positioned great, very nice (I ordered the cnc'd ones anyway,) and those plump handles fill out my hands nicely. Yes the overall perceived quality is beyond the T-Lite, but the schwing screen, chess square sized pixels, do much to detract from the overall, Installing the calosolly idiotic baby batteries calls for manual overide of even the most modestly capable brain, in order to achieve the required level of cognitive disonence. Speccing 18300 batteries for this radio has an effect equivalent to a running jump kick, square to the nuts, with golf spiked high heels shoes. Even the fair and reasonable $99 price tag became meaningless when I was startled by the low battery voice alert while attempting my first corrective action of changing the firmware to OpenTX. I absolutely love all the switches, and buttons on the zorro, and If I need to know where center is on the pots, I'll set opentx to provide a beep at center, but it's true the damn things could have been positioned far better. No doubt it is a fantastic radio, at a fair price, for many pilots, and I am genuinely happy they have it. But for anyone more particular like me, or anyone that knows better, it's a pass. And that is just fine since there exist radios that do meet my needs and desires. I recommend the Zorro for 90% of people out there. For me however, it simply does not have a place in my stable beyond being a massively upgraded loaner unit, over the Lite Radio II. Oh, I also got interference noise coming from the speaker, and even in normal operation at moderate volume, the speaker at times crackled, and sounded blown, and every one out of ten steps or so was not registered with the indexed jog wheel. It does seem worthy of consideration for a total redesign and custom printed housing though, and I'm seriously tempted to try it. Based on what I've seen people do with moddimg the Lite Radio II, there is a ton of potential in the Zorro.

[@tonhabraken9339]

How does this compare to TX12 with an elrs module?

[@kurtzFPV]

Just my opinion, but the tx12 has a Jr module bay, better battery life and better screen placement. Plus it is cheaper and available. 523 grams with ELRS module and a 2s 2500mah battery. Potentiometer gimbals that I thought I'd replace with Halls right away, but decided to keep them now until they wear out. They feel plenty smooth to me. They will also take the same, more expensive upgrade gimbals as the zorro. No flysky built in though.

[@tonhabraken9339]

@@kurtzFPV I'm thinking the same.. I've been running a T8SG (deviationtx and elrs) and really like to form-factor.. been considering to go to edgetx but don't like gamepads and the tx16's too large.. might go with the tx12 and those ag01 mini's ... .. or stick with my t8sg and try and fit the ag01 mini's in there... not sure yet..

[@kurtzFPV]

@@tonhabraken9339 it's a real simple upgrade to edgetx. My primary is the tx16s, but I use the tx12 a lot, especially if I want to take a compact kit out with me. The Jr bay making all my modules interchangeable was what helped me make the final decision.

[@kurtzFPV]

@@tonhabraken9339 just looked up the t8sg, and they do have almost identical form factors, although it looks like the t8sg has a couple of extra switches up top. Good luck, whatever you decide.

[@nuhbiwan]

the battery has made it a no-go for me

[@user-yk1cw8im4h]

ridiculous design decision from the Chinese as usual

[@wanglanyu408]

确实好用，我花了450人民币买的，你们呢

[@user-yk1cw8im4h]

哪有這麼便宜

[@wanglanyu408]

@@user-yk1cw8im4h 刚预售的时候，在淘宝，叠加上券，我还曾150买了speedybee 调参3

[@fluoxethine]

No. The best is Frsky Twin X-lite

[@imager09tube]

Sorry, it is for thumbers only! Pinchers are down on it.

[@qskaras2154]

first

[@dr0n3droid]

You are win. 🏆

[@user-yk1cw8im4h]

such a dumb design to have the screen sticks out like that

[@rickikilvi5406]

Does that mean the FrSky X18, Jeti DS14 is a dumb design too !.

[@user-yk1cw8im4h]

@@rickikilvi5406 Yes as long as the screen sticks out it's dumb. There's absolutely NO reason they can't make it not stick out even with a large screen like TX16

[@imager09tube]

Too much like a toy!.

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

LOL! This whole hobby is just mostly playing with our toys in our second childhood. ;-)

[@user-yk1cw8im4h]

@@theoztreecrasher2647 yeah grow up then

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

@@user-yk1cw8im4h LOL! A bit late now, Sonny! May you have more success. ;-)

[@user-yk1cw8im4h]

@@theoztreecrasher2647 its never too late.

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

@@user-yk1cw8im4h Ah the innocence of youth! But may you never be faced with the realization of the fallacy of those words of wisdom until the moment of your death. ;-)

[@HomoHereticus]

it´s quite ugly...

[@MadRC]

So am I