Reddit reviews Tattu 4S 1300mAh LiPo Battery 75C 14.8V Pack with XT60 Plug for RC Boat Heli Airplane UAV Drone FPV Skylark Emax Nighthawk 250

Yeah but it's gotta be affordable, and not fake. I've tried searching for available graphene batteries or systems and so far there isn't really anything you can buy that seems not sketchy. I'm also not impressed by any of the stats that come with some of the less sketchy ones i/e actually rated and not just fake reviews. Until that "graphene" battery has specifications that dictate it's significantly better than anything else I won't buy it. They are always claiming graphene is crazy amazing with super storage and fast charge times but when it has barely more than standard battery storage I get a bit skeptical. I found one which says it's a graphene battery but it's only 14v 1.3 Ah and it weighs 176 grams. While numerous other standard type batteries like this one have the same exact specs but actually weigh less at 155 grams. Which makes no sense considering the supposed capabilities of graphene and perks for using it. Which leads me to believe that it being advertised as graphene is a bit of a stretch towards and outright lie.

Buy cheap and buy twice. Save your money and get good stuff. The extra money you'll spend will be less in the long run when you factor in having to upgrade all of your current equipment when you start getting serious and realizing you shouldn't have gone cheap.

• Do you want a monitor? For that price you can do a DIY goggle system which is much more immersive.
  
  
• That camera isn't great (especially considering the best camera you can buy is only $35) and that VTX transmits too hot to be used in a race. You can get a 200mw ImmersionRC VTX for ~$30. If you wanted to spend a little more you could get the TBS Unify Pro or TBS Unify Pro HV (the newest version which has a built in regulator) which, on top of other nice features, lets you adjust the output mW between 25-200-500-800
  
  
• I always recommend the Alien 5' frame first and the QAV 250 second. If you don't want to spend $100 more dollars on a frame - I don't blame you, but you get what you pay for. You can buy clones that have lesser quality or stick with the one you have picked out. Keep in mind, the Rotor Riot edition frame I linked to includes a lot of nice extras that you'll end up needing during your build - zip ties, ratched ties, foam padding, heat shrink, wires, etc.
  
  
• Those motors are small. Depending on if you want to race or if you're just looking to fly casually, you'll need to double your motor budget and get something bigger that can deliver more power. The best motors out right now for price and performance is the Emax 2205 2300kv (aka "Red Bottom") motors. They also happened to be recently added to the Rotor Riot store and match the red anodized screws of the Rotor Riot Alien Frame
  
  
• Naze 32 is a popular board. If I'm not mistaken this is an F1 board and most people have/are migrating to F3 boards. I would consider an F3 board since it has better features and faster calculating speeds. Popular F3 sized flight controllers are the Tornado, LUX, or the SP Racing F3 boards. I personally use the KISS flight controller and matching KISS 24a ESCs which are the best of the best and 100% worth it.
  
  
• The Props are good but you'll want to go with a 5040 or a 5045 for that size quad. 5x4x3 is preferred by many, but this is completely personal preference and tri-blade props will break more often. However, props are really cheap. Gemfam is pretty good, but HQ is higher end. Lumenier just released their own line of props I'd like to check out. Most Lumenier stuff is really good quality.
  
  
• The best receiver you can get right now is very inexpensive. I wouldn't recommend any other receiver or transmitter combo no matter how you're planning to fly or what you're planning to do. The Taranis X9D Plus and X4R w SBUS are the only TX and RX on the market for FPV worth buying. Anything else is a waste of money and a complete shame. The TX is the last one you'll ever buy no matter how far you go into the hobby and the matching RX is the best money can buy right now and it's only $25.
  
  
• Those ESCs are very, very dated. Not many people use 12a ESCs anymore and if you ever plan on competing you won't get very far with these 12a Afros. At least get the 20A Afros if you're sold on the brand. If there's anywhere on your quad you don't want to go cheap - it's the ESCs, Motors, and Flight controller. For ESCs and Flight controller I recommend nothing but KISS (KISS flight controller and matching KISS 24a ESCs). Some people might diagree, most would argue there's better and cheaper alternatives, but hardly any would contest the fact that KISS is the best. It's what guys like FinalGlide and Steele use.
  
  
• Batteries can be really confusing when you're starting out so I won't fault you there, but these batteries aren't what you're looking for. You want either a 1300mah or 1500mah. Most people consider the 1300mah size the sweet spot. On top of that, you'll want a 3s or 4s depending on how fast you want to go and how much power you want to have. 3s is getting really dated and most people are running 4s these days. The third thing you want to look for is the "C" rating (which isn't dependable anymore because of marketing). You want a battery with a high C rating which means your battery is capable of outputting large amounts of power without catching fire - something you need for FPV. I've never used these, but the Turnigy Nano batteries are a great price. For the price I'm thinking about getting a few and testing them, but I have a feeling this may be one of those situations where a brand is marketing a higher C rating than what the battery can actually output due to the price. However, I could be wrong and I'm sure it's a great battery for anyone starting out. Other high end batteries are the Lumeniers and Tattu.
  
  
• Perfect antennas. These are what I use and you shouldn't use anything else. The next comparable set of antennas are TBS Triumph, but the ImmersionRC antennas have still been tested to be a hair more reliable.
  
  I was in the same boat as you. I only had roughly $700 to spend, and for me, that's a lot of money. I picked out most of the components you did and read reviews, watched videos, and did nothing but learn, learn, learn. After dozens of hours researching and learning new things, what I found is that if I wanted a drone that a) Flew good and b) was fast and c) was responsive - I was going to have to spend more and go quality. The adage "Buy cheap and buy twice" rings true in life and holds doubly true in this hobby. In the end, I decided to go the quality route. I ended up spending ~$475 on my quad and picking up a second job to pay for the TX and goggles. It's ultimately up to you, but if you want to freestyle, go fast, and end up racing. I would strongly recommend not going frugal in regards to your quad. It's what the vast majority of people told me not to do and, even though I spent way more, I'm glad I listened and built a top quality high end quad that's going to last.
  
  My Build:
  
  RotorRiot Alien 5' Frame
  
  KISS FC & KISS ESCs
  
  EMAX 2205 2300KV (aka Red Bottoms)
  
  TBS Unify Pro HV
  
  HS1177 camera
  
  ImmersionRC Spironet Antennas
  
  HQ 5x4x3 Props
  
  
  Taranis X9D Transmitter and matching X4R Receiver
  

I was looking for a 4S with a high discharge rating, ordered 6 of these this morning. Tattu LiPo Battery Pack 1300mAh 75C 4S

Some really popular LiPos that a lot of the pilots use are:

Tattu 4S 1300mAh 75C

Lumenier 4S 1300mAh 60C

Thunder Power Adrenaline 1300mAh 4S 80C

Well that mostly depends on budget. I got this Eachine Wizard x220 a few days ago, but I got the bind & fly version since I already have a radio. This thing is GREAT, my main quad I built about a month ago needs to be tuned and I didn't have time to today so I flew this instead for all of my flights and it is SHARP. The RTF version (the one I linked) comes with everything you need to fly but you'd also need goggles like FatSharks if you're willing to spend a lot on goggles or Eachine VR007's if you want something cheaper to start out on FPV with. I started with the Eachine's and they work fine, but after awhile the size will start to get annoying with no DVR and some other bells and whistles FatSharks have (I just got FatSharks a couple days ago and they're great!). And of course you would need a camera. The first GoPro session does 1080p60fps and it's only $200 so you'd be under $500. I'm not 100% sure this comes with a battery too though so you'd want a few extra 4S 1300mAh batteries and a charger for them (lot's of different options here so these are the batteries I use and here is the charger I use ). Just make sure you get batteries with an "XT60" connector and your charger has an XT60 charging cable. Here's a great video made by a fellow r/Multicopter user on how to safely charge LiPo batteries. They are no joke!

Anyway this is a GREAT quad to start with, the only downside to it IMO is that it uses the "FlySky" radio transmitter and receiver which is not that great. I started out with a different version of the one this has and my first quad lost signal and smashed face first into concrete from over 50 feet up. Luckily most components on these are tough as nails so it's a cheap fix, I just had to replace a GoPro lens (GET LENS PROTECTORS!) and a couple small parts. Anyway, I believe the radio in this one is a newer version that has had way less problems than mine, so if you get it maybe just range test low and over grass or something before going crazy?

If you want to watch a review of this quad, here's a great review made by u/uavfutures (same guy that did the LiPo video), who convinced me to buy it and I wasn't disappointed.

One more thing...have you ever flown a quad before or flown FPV? If not you may want to pick up a Blade Inductrix FPV and some goggles to get the basic idea down before you spend money on something you don't know how to fly. If you have any more questions let me know!

something like theses if you have the money

https://www.amazon.ca/Tattu-Battery-1300mAh-14-8V-Airplane/dp/B013I9T0T6
Would recommend these.

Nah you want a minimum 50C constant, 50C burst is too low.

https://smile.amazon.com/1300mAh-Battery-Airplane-Skylark-Nighthawk/dp/B013I9T0T6/

or

https://smile.amazon.com/1300mAh-Battery-Nemesis-Skylark-Nighthawk/dp/B01N9H2I19/

1300mAh 75C and 1550 mAh 75C. This is my first build and my FC is about a month out so I couldn't tell you how they fly, but the reviews are decent and they're an okay price, even with the Amazon Tax.

I live in Canada also :P
That's still cheaper though, I'll keep that in mind for next time. Thanks.
https://www.amazon.ca/Tattu-Battery-1300mAh-14-8V-Airplane/dp/B013I9T0T6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1505498334&sr=8-1&keywords=tattu

You're spot on for the propeller measurements. One thing to keep in mind is almost everyone runs 5" props, so you'll have a lot more options if you build based around that. The only benefit you can find from 6" is if are intentionally trying to do efficient flying for more time, otherwise you won't really see much of a difference.
The additional benefit of smaller props is that you can go a bit smaller on your build, which means less force across the frame when you land and less breaking. I find that 4mm arms are the sweet spot for durability, 3mm is just a little bit low for anything above 150mm. Removable arms are even better while learning, so you don't have to replace the entire frame if one breaks.

I have normal Prime, but not sure if the stuff that shows as Prime eligible for me is the same as the one-day eligible stuff for you. That being said, if I had to build a drone from Amazon right now, I'd go with:

Frame 1 or 2 (actually have this one from a previous build)
ESCs (I prefer separate ESCs rather than 4-in-1 or all-in-1 in case anything breaks)
Flight controller
PDB
Props 1 or 2 depending on what your motors can handle, should be able to do either based on that kv and measurement
Receiver (assuming you get the QX7)
Video transmitter
Camera
Batteries
Charger
Balance board for charging multiple batteries

Left out motors since it sounds like you have some in mind. This kind of build will have plenty of power, probably hover at around 30% throttle if I had to guess, so just keep that in mind. You can tone it down manually by getting some less aggressive propellers, in the flight controller max throttle, or on your transmitter max throttle, but I recommend just getting used to it. Also mess around in simulators, there weren't any when I started out and I would have probably saved a few hundred in parts if they were (though parts back then were like 8x the cost they are today).

> I ended up with a bunch of 550mah 3S batteries: can I use them to tinker with this build?

I suspect you would get a minute of lackluster performance from those batteries on a 5" quad. However, those are great bats for a 2" build. So save them.

> Battery options once I'm 100% ready to fly?

Amazon sells Tattu and Infinity Graphene 1300 mAh 4S batteries that would work well with your rig. Ensure you get a high C rating (60+).

> Prop options?

Those DAL props are great. Other options are the HQ 5x4.3x3 props.

> Extra wires?

I have never needed to buy extra wires. You'll collect plenty from parts you buy.

> I feel much more comfortable dealing with this kind of merchant.

There are other reputable merchants with US stock at competitive prices. Examples are heli-nation.com, getfpv.com, racedayquads.com, etc. The amazon/ebay merchants are mostly just buying from the overseas guys and upping the price. But I understand the sentiment.

As far as checking your build. You'll probably need to buy an XT60 connector and wire to solder to the FC/PDB (Like these). You'll need need some battery straps (Like these). You'll need a vtx antenna (rec: Foxeer).

Do you have a battery charger?

Do you have FPV goggles?

I would recommend wraith32 escs if you're going to spend that much money. They support a higher dshot and are rated for more amps.

https://www.fpvmodel.com/wraith32-32bit-35a-blheli_32-esc-dshot1200_g1271.html

You should get a Pagoda-2, it's designed to work with a case which protects the axial ratio of the antenna.

https://www.banggood.com/5_8-GHz-Pagoda-Omnidirectional-FPV-Flat-Panel-Antenna-LHCPRHCP-SMA-Male-p-1159835.html?rmmds=search

And lastly those batteries are good but they're cheaper on amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Tattu-Battery-1300mAh-14-8V-Airplane/dp/B013I9T0T6

Man, you don’t fly much RC do you. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013I9T0T6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_7BnUBbJP8FSQT RC lipo packs are literally multiple pouch cells glued together, leads soldered to the end tabs. Definitely no circuits of any kind, and no hard case.

Ive flown well over a thousand hours of RC, built quite a large number of fixed wing and multirotor UAVs for fun, and I’ve worked on multiple large electric aircraft in my career. I am speaking from experience.

The bottom line is that SUAS / manned aircraft collisions are going to do a substantial amount of damage, as this study and others that test ingestion into turbofans (for example) demonstrate. But it’s silly to think of SUAS batteries as a bomb that will inevitably go off and start a fire. It’s possible, just like Jet-A fires are possible, under the right circumstances.

I would replace the VTX you chose for the tx526 as you can change it's output power and it isn't as massive as the ts832 (you will most likely run into problems mounting it in the martian 220).

Like another commenter said, you should buy bigger motors, maybe rs2205s I can vouch that the rs2205s are practically indestructible and run very very smooth.

You should get 4s batteries, I use tattu 4s 1300mah 75c batteries on my martian 220 with rs2205s motors and just this week I got a shipment of cnhl Lipos.

You should get VR-D2 Pros goggles, they are much better bang for buck, diversity+dvr for 90$.

Responding to your comments mostly... sorry for the wall of broken up text..

Attaching a gopro is more about the thrust of the quad than the strength of the carbon fiber. I would guess you could attach one to either build.

They will both likely be "overpowered" for you, but yea you'll grow into it.

I would argue the Racerstar ESCs are also more reliable than the Eachines.

If that's the matek with the OSD that shows your battery voltage, it's a great PDB (around $13 right now I think).

Haven't used an F4 board yet, but recently upgraded to the SP racing f3 and I sure do like it.

Props are cheap anyways and you'll be buying more at some point.

The Monster FPV cam should work great for you, there's a $25 clone of the HS1177 on banggood that would also work well.

Your vTx looks good. Make sure your antenna match the vtx port (sma or rp-sma) and check whether you need male or female.

YES get the 65C batteries. Though that rating isn't held to a standard for marketing them, you'll want some nice high-C, 4S batteries. I suggest both these Tattu 4S 1300mah batteries on amazon for around $25 (the price changes), and those infinity graphene 4s batteries on banggood (though it looks like maybe they took them off their site?). Get a few batteries, you're not going to want to have to charge every 5 min of flight you get.

I hear great things about the IMAX B6 charger here, but I personally use this Charsoon Antimatter 250W charger and love it. I grabbed a nice balance/parallel board for it and can charge 4 batteries in about 45 minutes. Just get one that people haven't had many problems with, and learn to safely charge lipos. Otherwise, there's a fire risk.

I have both the EV800s and the VR D2s. Got them for the same price (~$50) and like the VR D2s a bit better. But really, the EV800s are great. Again, make sure you get the correct antenna upgrades.

If you'll want to be flying a lot right away, maybe try to get 4 batteries. Otherwise I'd start with 2 if that's all you can afford, and get more later.