TBS Tango 2 Pro INTERNAL ExpressLRS Module | 2023 How To Guide Update

[@bcc1955]

Nice update. I am still super happy with the Happymodel ELRS Board, but I do not do long distance flying. At any rate Mangorille has hugely improved my RC experience with his internal ELRS mod. Now I can fly lighter whoops an 2" micros with onboard ELRS that dramatically improves my experience. While there are fantastic radios out there such as Zorro and Boxer, I really prefer the Tango 2 as the ultimate KISS radio. Totally minimal layout that is perfectly located for efficient control for thumb flyers. Its only fault IMO is the postage stamp sized screen. I dream of a mod that allows a bigger screen to be taped/glued on top of that little screen. TBS Tango 3 should offer ELRS version and increase the screen size. Only other mod I have done and would advocate is to increase the bump size of its momentary switches on the back of the radio. Other than that keep it the same. I love that 3 menu buttons become 5 buttons by doing short vs long presses. Brilliant!!

[@Mangorille]

Thanks buddy. The happymodel module was great just became really hard to find so I made this video with the betafpv instead to give folks additional options for the mod.

[@RynoRotorSports]

Yeahh think im going to do this lol thanks for making this video! If i do it, ill be sure to film the process like you did to share with others! Great work man!

[@Mangorille]

Welcome and good luck. Check out the other two related videos if you want even more detail before you start. Links are in the video description.

[@markgfpv]

Hey! Really liking this mod. Was gonna do it but cant seem to find the specific module you used. Betafpv has phased it out and only the new v2 is available.

[@Mangorille]

The new module looks similar from the outside so you may still be able to follow this guide but I can’t confirm without having one of those modules myself. I do see the v2 supports 1w.

[@DanoFPV]

@@Mangorille V2 is too large for the area between the gimbals, FYI

@@DanoFPV Large how? Too wide? Too long? Did you try? Is there another module that fits?

[@califpv]

Thanks for the great detailed guide 🤜🏻

[@Mangorille]

No problem, happy flying!

[@brynearson]

That is really unbelievable! Especially the fact that you were able to chop up that module with out ruining it. Super awesome job! Oh I was going to ask how you cut the board?

[@Mangorille]

Thanks buddy. I used the cutoff wheel on a Dremel.

[@BOTGRINDER]

awesome

[@Mangorille]

Thanks Bot!

[@daich]

nice. I did this with my t-lite's 4in1 board years ago :P

[@Mangorille]

Excellent!

[@epoinescu]

Very neat mods

[@Mangorille]

Thanks! Happy flying!

[@deroskar]

thats cool!

[@Mangorille]

Thanks buddy!

[@the_fourth_sheet]

Could you use any module to just use the interior of that module or are there specific requirements

[@Mangorille]

You need a nano module and one that ideally has a UFL antenna connector otherwise you'd need to do what I did in this video. You also want a module that is as small as possible or that you can modify to become small, such as sanding the PCB a bit.

[@DriftaholiC]

I've been thinking the boxer 1W module would fit.

[@Mangorille]

You mean the one that comes inside the boxer radio? That one looks quite large. The other module I had my eye on for this modification was the happymodel nano pro 1watt but they weren’t interested in working with me on something like this. I’d also be worried about 1watt without a fan or sizeable heat sink, both of which will not fit inside the Tango 2.

[@RynoRotorSports]

Nah I doubt it. It's much bigger. Almost twice the size of these

[@Mangorille]

@@RynoRotorSports I don't see anything bigger than this BetaFPV fitting in there. It's both a matter of size and thickness. I also don't see a 1W module being okay without a heatsink and fan (both of which you won't have the space for).

[@toritor]

Right now betafpv 2.4 GHz module is gone everywhere. I am thinking about happymodel ES24TX slim pro. Seems to be slim but I can not find any image of the module stripped down. Any recomendation?

[@Mangorille]

I haven't tried the Slim Pro but I think it could work given the size. You'd still need to desolder the SMA connector and perhaps some other components to make it fit. This is the best I have been able to find showing the internals: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bpWpfoKMjaeHf7Msi=U_oXeQu2fkjIorEn&t=128

[@toritor]

@@Mangorille really appreciate your research. Seems a bit too populated at least at the bottom. I may have the option to chop a bit of the top board. Another option, but considering it to close distance could be kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJTRammrlNOfpNksi=u4n2P_95mwuPhXXh A simple happymodel ep dual Rx converted into tx. It only goes up to 50 mw but for 200m it should be enough right?

[@blaw_0121]

​@Mangorille was the happymodel es24tx slim still working good you just wanted more mw?

[@Mangorille]

The es24tx was working perfect and never really needed more than the 250mw in practice. However, it was a difficult module to find so this was my attempt to not only get a more powerful module in there (just in case) but to also get a module with better availability. Since this video was made the BetaFPV module is out of stock too unfortunately.

[@blaw_0121]

@Mangorille okay fantastic. Thanks for the quick reply!! I found the es24tx for sale on eBay, a bit pricey, but imo worth it. I will buy and use that for my mod. I believe 250mw will be plenty, and the happymodel mod seems a bit more in tune with my skill set! Fantastic video! Many thanks.

[@Mangorille]

@@blaw_0121 Welcome. Ya unless you're really good at soldering, the happymodel iron man version is a lot easier to work either.

[@TERBANGFPV]

The issue is elrs needs 2s, but tango 2 only 1s radio..

[@Mangorille]

The external module bay boards take care of the up-convert required.

[@TERBANGFPV]

@Mangorille I know but when tango batrry around 3.6v and elrs is higher than 100mw im having failsave because the bec is brownout? I already use the happymodel ext module which is stronger than tbs one

[@Mangorille]

@ I haven't had any problems but I rarely need to go higher than 10mw where I fly.

[@brycellewellyn3483]

As you are removing the button from the pcb. Should you bind an rx before hand?

[@Mangorille]

You can do all the binding through the ExpressLRS LUA script or by simply flashing a binding phrase when updating the firmware. The main thing is to do the initial firmware update before you start modifying the PCB so that you are sure you can continue accessing the module through WiFi down the road.

[@brycellewellyn3483]

@@Mangorille perfect. This is my first time using elrs. Not sure how it works. Wifi enabled when you update the firmware?

[@Mangorille]

@@brycellewellyn3483 You'll like the way it works, very intuitive. You enable the wifi through your radio's menu once you access the ExpressLRS LUA script. The main thing is you want to make sure everything is working before you start to tear apart the module. Check out the ExpressLRS website. They have some really good guides on setting up ELRS.

[@brycellewellyn3483]

@@Mangorille cheers. Will do

[@Rawk59]

Happymodel module bay attachement is out of stock everywhere. What would you pick today to do this mode ? Thanks

[@Mangorille]

Use the TBS one, you’ll need to make space for the entire daughter board as I couldn’t find a way to eliminate it when I tried. The daughter board is fairly small so you should be able to make it fit with a bit of creativity.

@@Mangorille Which one? I can't find this anywhere. I'd like to try this mod with ES24TX. Thank you

[@Mangorille]

This one: www.team-blacksheep.com/products/prod:tango2_modbay?srsltid=AfmBOoru1gexGmhn55DFON0FxKmOJL4Opuodsl1dlGYhxXrhSVPfFVF8

[@outboxfpv4360]

Hi sir do we need edge tx on tango to run radiomaster ranger Nano module on tango?

[@Mangorille]

Hey. Never tried the Radiomaster modules so can't comment from experience. But I did a search and came up with the link below that shows someone was able to get that module working on the Tango 2 by updating the Freedom TX version. intofpv.com/t-tango-ii-and-radiomaster-ranger-nano-problem

[@tanoenaczycaitin]

I have the same setup as yours, but my expresselrs lua said "error1-firmware"

[@Mangorille]

Are you using the LUA script that was generated by the version of ELRS you're on?

[@tanoenaczycaitin]

@@Mangorille yes, from elrs configurator, i tried all, still no luck

[@Mangorille]

@@tanoenaczycaitin are you able to update the firmware of the module through wifi?

[@sapph1ros]

Wonder if it would fit the Mambo

[@Mangorille]

That's a way bigger radio so good chance of being able to fit a module inside it.You'll need to figure out the wiring though.

[@sapph1ros]

@@Mangorille Yeah.. One day I'll get the perfect radio, surely it will happen. Mambo has the best ergo, but uses Tracer. I only fly ELRS and Crossfire for LR. The Tango2 works well, made a tiny SuperSlim DIY module for it, all is fine. For the Mambo, I'll have to also wire up a switch, that will toggle between the "internal" ELRS module, and the "original" JR bay connection (utilized by external Crossfire). That way I'll be able to permanently have Crossfire module in the Mambo's JR bay, and just flip a switch to use ELRS instead.

[@brycellewellyn3483]

Also, could you just remove the headphone jack too?

[@Mangorille]

You can. I didn't want to modify the Tango 2 Pro too much but yes especially if you don't plan to use that ever. Not really required though, I show that with a bit of patience is all fits together.

[@brycellewellyn3483]

@@Mangorille I don’t have a dremel, any ideas how to trim the pcb?

[@Mangorille]

@@brycellewellyn3483 Do you have an angle grinder? If not, see if you can borrow from a friend or your local home improvement store's tool rental.

[@SammyFi]

Hi, what fw version FreedomTX & Crsf are you running? No issues with elrs v3 lua script?

[@Mangorille]

Running whatever is the latest public release. Also running the latest version of elrs. Only issue I have is that I get a low voltage alarm when I use crossfire on higher outputs. I worked with tbs and they said it’s a firmware bug and they’re supposed to be releasing a fix. This was 6 months ago though and I don’t use crossfire that often anymore.

[@raikagenu7072]

so based on your experience, is there any packet-rate limitation (issued in just up to 250hz) when internal ELRS module installed on Tango 2?

[@Mangorille]

I only run 150hz but I did try putting the module up to 1000hz and I did not see any errors being reported. From the controllers perspective, this is wired no differently than if it was outside the controller. So anything that would work with this external will work with it internal (other than perhaps heat as we no longer have a heatsink).

[@raikagenu7072]

thx u very much@@Mangorille

[@ahmetturan8292]

İs it durable frame ? I wanna buy this for bando freestyle do you suggest it ? İs it shaking when you doing freestyle ? And I just wondering topspeed :))

[@Mangorille]

The Quadmula Siren F3 frame?

[@ahmetturan8292]

@@Mangorille djinn 2.5

[@Mangorille]

@@ahmetturan8292 Tell me more about how you're planning to fly this thing. It's designed more to balance freestyle and cinematic so would not be my first choice for a bando.

[@ahmetturan8292]

@@Mangorille ı just searching durable frame because I wanna do bando and I will always fall on the floor

[@ahmetturan8292]

@@Mangorille can you suggest me 2.5 inch durable frame for bando ?

[@ziggyaiefpv]

Hello, I've installed the same model in my Tango 2, but I can't set the baud rate to 1000 Hz. I can only set it to a maximum of 333 Hz. Is this normal? Perhaps it's a limitation of the BetaFPV module? Could you provide me with optimal settings to achieve good latency and avoid any risk of failure? I use my drone for cinematic shots.

[@Mangorille]

Did you update to the latest version of ELRS? The module does support 1000hz but I wouldn't suggest that unless you're a hardcore racer. I use 150hz and that is more than enough. The higher the packet rate, the less sensitive the receiver becomes which means less range.

[@ziggyaiefpv]

@@Mangorille

[@Mangorille]

@@ziggyaiefpv Yes sir?

[@monacocross4241]

need 1w

[@Mangorille]

What kind of flying you doing that you need ELRS at 1w? That should be way beyond what your video system can do.

[@monacocross4241]

@@Mangorille 2w better

[@Mangorille]

@@monacocross4241 😱

[@axemanarbor]

😮

[@Mangorille]

@@axemanarbor Yup