Actually 2 builds here. Decided to try out the new Meteor65 Pro frame for 35mm props and built both, Walksnail/Avatar & HDZero versions at the same time (Meteor65 Pro frame, 35mm tri-blades, BetaFPV 1S 5A AIO with serial ELRS Flight Controller, Happymodel EX0802 19000KV motors, Happymodel Mobula6 HDZero canopy).
These were quick and easy builds (could save weight by removing motor and FC plugs), but they fly very nicely "as is" too.
Nice frame option to go "in-between" Mobula6 and Mobula7 1S builds.
TrueRC "The SMOL" UFL antennas proably will break, but I wanted to try them out. Did not see any drastic improvement over a simple omni whip antenna when flying inside my house.
For Some reason Walksnail build seems to affect ELRS range on otherwise identical builds (or it is BetaFPV AIO quality issue - need to experiment further, but none of my other HDZero whoops have substantial noticable link quality issues in that same corner in my house).
BT2.0 MyLipo 305mAh 3.8V 80C 1S1P HV Lipos are some of the best HV lipos in that size. They do not sag gradually (at least when new) and drop off real fast in the end instead.
I flash BlueJay firwmare on all my whoops ESCs. Smoother and a bit longer flight.
Betaflight 4.4 nowadays makes it a breeze to get both SPI ELRS and Serial ELRS boards running + HD OSD for digital systems like HDZero and WalkSnail.
Update:
I made another otherwise identical Meteor65 Pro build, but with the new Happymodel CrossF4 FC (with built-in 5V 1A BEC). For a test, I powered Walksnail 1S kit from its built-in 5V 1A BEC. As predicted, its 1A BEC is not enough to power it properly. Starts off fine at full battery, but you start getting artefacts (thin horizontal lines accross) when battery drains/sags to about 3.5V and thing starts going down-hill from there, ending with very mushy & unflyable image towards the end. I re-soldered VTX to power leads and all was fine. I think batteries dropped voltage also much faster towards the end and the FC built-in BEC was not really capable of suppying 5V anyways (maybe up to half a Volt more than the battery direct - if to believe Walksnail goggle telemetry vs the OSD battery Volts).
Painless360 shows in his testing (
So, only with 1S Li-Ion cells it makes sense to power 1S VTX off a voltage booster (which has to be over 1A capable then) like Matek VB2A5V 1S to 5V voltage booster, which is way too big for tiny whoops.
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Great build.. what kind of flight times are you seeing?
I am getting around 3:30+ minute flights indoors with decent BT2.0 ~300mAh batteries. In wide open space with more throttle, probably quite a bit less. HDZero version is slightly lighter and VTX drops off at slightly lower volts, thus, you can milk more flight time out of HDZero than Walksnail, but it is good to see both systems improving constantly. Running both VTX at 200mW since Walksnail seems to not behave that well at 350mW without much benefit over 200mW.
What is your final verdict - walksnail or HDZero? I don't own any of the two digital system but I like walksnail more and want to get theirs VRX but still can't pull the trigger to baught it becouse flying only micros like yours walksnail is heavyier and I won't use full 1080p with analog goggles (skyzone 04x) and latency will be introduced too.
Both platforms and options keep improving, so the decision is more about what solution for what kind of flying / applications. I have more toys than I have time, so instead of choosing, I can afford to play with most options. I do not race, but for whoops & smaller quads I definitely prefer HDZero. I like my Mobula6 HDZero whoops indoors the most, but this new "BetaFPV Meteor65 Pro" frame and new 35mm props provided an interesting option to have something in-between 75 and 65 mm size. Walksnail has potential for being my preferred choice on airplanes (especially with the new V2 & Pro camera options). I also still use DJI "naked Vista VTX" on 2S and bigger quads. If Walksnail 1S could also accept more than 1S voltage like HDZero Lite and/or could also shrink down their larger VTX further (to naked Vista dimensions and weight), then it becomes more versatile option, but until then I keep using all 3 probably.
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Hello, I can see You put vtx on the top of fc, what screws did You use to attach them to the frame? Hard to find such a long M1.4? screws. these shorter ones won't fit if You do not put fc under the frame unfortunately.
I measured that I used M1.4 8mm long screws. I have no clue from which kit I got them and they are not easy to source indeed.
Another question, should I solder vtx power to 5v pad or to power lead? I soldered to 5v and I have rainbow as soon as I arm whoop.
VTX is supplied voltage directly from power leads.
ok so maybe thats the problem here, bit I thought that 5v pad will give constant 5v, so even better than power lead?
No, HDZero and Walksnail 1S VTXs have their own step-up circuitry and most Flight Controllers struggle to supply enough power for external VTX anyway, so direct to power leads is the only way in most cases.
I figured out that the long screws came with the Walksnail/Avatar HD Mini/Nano 1S Lite kits, 2 different lengths which covers you 2 whoop builds. When making Walksnail CrossF4 FC build I put only one M2 O-ring underneath it instead of 2 and in this I think 8mm M1.4 screws were enough (works as long as you keep the VTX to FC wiring neat between the boards). 8mm M1.4 screws show up on Amazon shop searches, anything longer seems hard to find.