Micro Quadcopters Toys Comparison

Number of micro/mini Quadrotor/Quadcopter is now growing everyday. Almost every week, we see a new line of micro quad is released to the market. Basicaly all of these micro quads is a toy. But some of them has a capability of hobbygrade toy! It's getting better and better everyday. It's not easy to choose and buy which one is suitable for you. But in this post, you will see how some of them being compared and rank.

By the way, you can find the latest micro/mini quadcopters here

Walkera QR Ladybird V1, ~$60+, 12cm motor-to-motor center diameter, gyro/accelerometer, arms are 3mm X 3mm CF, full size good feel and responsiveness using a DEVO 2402d Tx. Excellent stability and flight performance. The Ladybird so far is the only micro with a built in firmware upgrade capability. There is a POTI on the flight controller to allow fine-tuning of the gyro performance. There is an undocumented expo setting using the 2402d Tx by setting the AUX2 ON. There are no adjustable rates on the DEVO 2402d Tx which is a full size Tx unlike the other commonly supplied smaller and less precise DEVO 4 Tx. Telemetry info is available from the Ladybird FCB when using the DEVO 7e, 10 and 8 and 12 "s" series of Walkera Tx's, however if telemetry is used expect 1-2 minutes less flight time. The less expensive Ladybird V2 does not have an accelerometer or telemetry. Both versions have a yaw rate that is somewhat limited, but adequate for all but those who like to fly extremely tight turns. You can add some rate and expo with the better DEVO 6 and higher Tx's to compensate for this, if you want to upgrade the Tx. There is an MTC-01 Tx adapter available that will work on Android phones and tablets and allow some older Wakera non-Devo Tx's to be used. There is also a MTC-01 hack by LittleMo that allows it to work on the Turnigy 9x trainer port, so potentially other hobby grade Tx's will work with it too. Weight: 25g minus lipo.

Hubsan X4 H107, ~$35+, 9cm motor-to-motor center diameter, gyro/accelerometer, monocoque plastic 2-piece body. The frame can sustain cracks in collisions with hard objects or hard ground. Sometimes it can be fixed with a bit of CA. The 2-piece body can be replaced for about $5. If you are going to attempt this relatively simple 15 minute job, you must be able to carefully solder the wires to the board. The Tx has a nice feel and responsiveness, Normal and expert adjustable rate modes, coded stick flips, ability to calibrate the accelerometer level. Excellent stability and flight performance. This is the only one that did not come with a set of extra props. The smallest of the micros at 9cm/3.75in motor to motor diameter. A very close second in flight performance to the Ladybird V1. Performance outside in wind is excellent. The supplied Tx(fake antenna), although better precision than the others in the list below, is the only con. The plus for the Tx is that it gives you the ability to adjust the stick sensitivity rates in the normal(beginner) and expert modes to your personal desires. It also has a feature to calibrate the sticks. It would be a real plus for this micro to have the ability to bind with better Tx's, perhaps by using something like the Anylink system. PhracturedBlue has posted a firmware and hardware mod to the better Walkera Tx's that will work with the Hubsan X4.

RC Eye One, ~70+, Although this quad is micro-sized at 12cm diameter motor-to-motor, it uses slightly larger motors and a 2s lipo with a proprietary connector and weighs about 3x as much as the other micros that I have flown. Because of this it almost needs its own category since the weight is almost 3x higher than equally sized and performing micro sized multicopters. The more they weigh, the harder they fall applies here. The props are 2.5in. It uses gyros and accelerometers. The arms are 8mm aluminum and almost unbreakable. The center piece that they attach to is plastic and can break in a hard crash where the arm is attached. The OEM package includes an extra set of 4 props and the motor bottom protectors(skids) and the USB lipo charger that is specific for the proprietary lipo connecter. You can easily do several different connector mods to utilize more common and cheaper lipos. There is a procedure to calibrate the accelerometer's which is necessary for proper self-leveling performance. The RCE1 is a very stable quad at its OEM AUW and has a very docile beginner mode that will make it easy for Noobs to fly. The sport mode allows for more angle input and higher speeds while still using self-leveling. Both these modes limit throttle so when using them it will not be able to lift much extra weight such as an about 17g 808 OEM keycam without inducing a wobble of death(WOD). The Increased AUW of ~17g WOD can be minimized somewhat by fitting either Walkera QR Ladybird or Mini Pet props. The expert mode has more available throttle and better lift, but does not self-level, so it requires more flying skill. It will maintain the angle that was set and you will have to keep it in visual range to pilot it back to level. None of the modes will allow the RCE1 to do a flip, either automatically or manually. It is the only micro that is not capable due to firmware coding to do a flip. These issues point to the need for the capability to tune the RCE1 gyro responsiveness for higher flying weights in all modes, but that capability does not yet exist. The capability of a firmware upgrade has been mentioned as a future feature, but does not yet exist. The Tx is a smallish game controller type. It operates on 915Mhz vs. the more common 2.4ghz and uses a proprietary protocol. It has two buttons on top that are non-functional. It has ben mentioned that RC Logger is developing an add-on module like the "Anylink" that will allow the RCE1 to be controlled by user's hobby grade Tx's. The flight time with the OEM 2s lipo is 6-7 minutes which is about the same as the lighter micros. The range is about 50M. When the RCE1 loses the tx signal the motors will stop, but they will re-start if it is a momentary condition. Weight is 58.7g minus the OEM 18.8g 2s lipo.

MJX X100, ~$35+, 12cm motor-to-motor center diameter, gyro/accelerometer, 4.4mm X 4.4mm aluminum arms. Frame has LEDs. Beginner and Pro selectable Tx rates, throttle adjustment knob on the Tx can be used to fine-tune hover. Coded button and stick flips in Pro mode. Note: The Mini Pet and X100 have the same Tx/Rx protocol and will bind with each others Tx's. The flight control boards appear to be identical, and the arms, motors and props are interchangeable. The flight performance is about the same when using the same Tx. They both perform the best with the MJX Tx. Weight: 29.2g minus lipo.

Mini Pet V997, ~$35+, 12cm motor-to-motor center diameter, gyro/accelerometer, 4.4mm X 4.4mm aluminum arms. Frame has LEDs. Beginner and Pro selectable rates. Coded button and stick flips in Pro mode. This one is one step below the X100 due to a slightly more toyish Tx. Both the X100 and Mini Pet have slightly less performance than the Hubsan X4 Ladybird QR V1 and no firmware upgrade capability. Selectable Tx rates. Weight 28g minus lipo.

Vitality H36, ~$35+, 12cm, motor-to-motor center diameter, gyro only, 3mm X 3mm CF arms, normal and expert rates, Auto flip button. The Tx has the ability to change Modes 1, 2 and 3 but the instructions do not describe the modes correctly and the switch for Mode1 makes it mode 2. Can be bound with FlySky/Turnigy/Eurgle Tx's. Weight: 26.3g minus lipo.

SH-6043, ~$35+, 13cm motor-to-motor center diameter, gyro and accelerometer (the ads inaccurately say 4-axis), 3mm X 3mm red and gold anodized aluminum arms, Tx uses a proprietary protocol and is a game-pad shape and uses non-standard trim buttons and orientation as side to side for yaw and aileron and a rocker switch on the top right for the pitch, top left rocker switch sets one slower rate mode and a higher rate flip mode. The Tx can be set to modes 1, 2, 3 and 4. No English manual included but one is posted here. Weight is 24.0g minus lipo, canopy weight is 1.4g.

WLToys V202, ~$35+, 13cm motor-to-motor center diameter, gyro/accelerometer, 3mm X 4mm CF arms.(different flight controller but same frame as V939 including LEDs and wire connectors), Selectable Tx rates x5 on top left button. Auto flips with full stick in any direction on 100% rates and produces very tight flips when using a fully charged lipo. Top right Tx button turns LEDs on/off. Most of these seem to require significant trim of 8-10 clicks back pitch and 6-8 right aileron/roll to keep from rapidly drifting off and to make it takeoff straight up. The yaw response is the slowest of the micros here on my list. There is also a glitch in the code that shows up as an occasional drop in the left front motor/arm when you are hovering. Proprietary Tx/Rx protocol with familiar WLToys Tx. Weight: 30.9g with relatively heavy 2.3g "scorpion" canopy minus lipo.

WLToys V939, ~$35+, 13cm motor-to-motor center diameter, gyro only, 3mm X 4mm CF arms. Frame has LEDs. Selectable Tx rates. Auto flip button. Can be bound with FlySky/Turnigy/Eurgle Tx's. Weight: 31g minus lipo

UDI U816, ~$35+, 12cm motor-to-motor center diameter, gyro/accelerometer, 3mm X 3mm. CF arms. The throttle control makes this one more difficult to maintain an altitude in hover and requires more finesse control on the sticks. Selectable Tx rates. The Tx uses a proprietary protocol. Weight: 25.9g minus lipo.