MJX Bugs 3

Rick M

Rick M

Absent-minded professor
I just picked up one of these last week and have 3 flights on it. I'm very impressed with this quad. Its a no-frills (no camera, no headless mode, no altitude hold, no so-called return-to-home) brushless quad that's smooth, fast, and VERY durable. Don't ask me how I know...lets just say that it's fast and fun enough to get in trouble with!

My range so far is 150 meters + (that's as far as I've tested it). It's smooth as glass to fly, and in high mode it's fast enough to make you grin. Slowed down it's stable and powerful enough to use a GoPro or equivalent (basic no-isolation mount is included). To top it all off, the inside of the body is roomy enough that you can put about anything you want in there. Has low battery alarm on the TX with supposedly 1-2 minutes to return before power loss. I've tested it a bit over a minute.

Battery is a caged (so it snaps in, you could use a different battery, it just wouldn't snap in) 2S 1800mah with a TX-30 connector. I have a TX-30 to TX-60 adapter coming so I can plug 'n play with my iMax B6.The included charger is only 500 ma, so it takes THREE, count'em, THREE hours plus to charge.

Battery life is claimed at 18-20 minutes. I'm flying it with only landing gear (no prop guards, no camera), and getting 16-17 after 3 battery cycles. It should pick up a bit more flight time with a few more cycles, but we shall see. Eliminate the battery cage and Ill bet you could fit a 2200 or 2500 mah in there, which (again a guess) would probably get you to 20 minutes in real life.

The price was $114 shipped to my house from Tennessee, USA in 3 days from a guy I know on Facebook. PM me if you want his contact info. I don't have ANY financial stake in this, I just know this is a great price shipped in 3 days, and I LOVE this quad.
 
So far I can get props, haven't looked for motors but I probably will shortly.
 
Forgot to mention spare batteries, which will be here Tuesday. I just checked and all parts are available. Not from US mind you, so they're not available quickly. However, you can order anything (upper & lower frame, LED's, board, front LED, landing gear), in stock from Chinese suppliers. Props and batteries are available in the US.
 
I used linparts to order a replacement transmitter, maybe you can consider it for certain stuff.. I say certain because some things are way overpriced.. also bugs 3 can use H501s props, they are more common and usually better priced, and are perfect fit, and just to share some thoughts on battery, I used a 3s on mine, and it did give a bit of a punch, but takes out the low voltage alarm, at least when it did beep I would have anywhere from 3-20 seconds to land it before the bird shutoff.. I tested this several times, also I used 3s 2200mah 25c, flight time was basically the same as with stock battery just that higher thrust due to voltage change (this also makes the bugs 3 descend really slow). I then decided to stay with 2s on it, and modded the bugs to an xt60 connector along with battery.. in the future can also just grab the H501s battery which are 2s 2700mah 10c for longer flights (requires xt60 mod), or any other good brand rc batteries n adapt them to it.. I also removed battery cage and just use some battery straps, this gave it *almost as much* of increase in power as the 3s by making the bird lighter, and removed battery cage from oem battery (also saves some weight).

Hope info helps others, and this thread to have more bugs 3 data!
 
MJX also has a storefront on EBay and they say to email them about any Bugs 3 part not posted. Linparts has most everything but yeah...they're a bit pricey.
 
Jackson said:
Seems nice, but no spare parts available.
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That's why I bought two ;) (technically three, but one was an Xmas gift to my brother). I've only gotten about a dozen flights on mine so far but I love this quad. As others have mentioned it's very smooth and has decent power, and it seems well constructed and durable.. I think it's a solid choice for anyone looking to "upgrade" to their first brushless :cool:
 
A friend is doing a full PFV upgrade to the Bugs 3. So far, he is adding:

RunCam Eagle camera
Immersion RC 600mw vtx
DalRC OSD and GPS unit
3S 3000mah batttery

He's been experimenting with batteries and is claiming 30 minutes without the FPV setup. The OSD with GPS module will give him a ton of telemetry info including horizon, speed, direction and distance to home. Pretty interesting project....
 
Rick M said:
I just picked up one of these last week and have 3 flights on it. I'm very impressed with this quad. Its a no-frills (no camera, no headless mode, no altitude hold, no so-called return-to-home) brushless quad that's smooth, fast, and VERY durable. Don't ask me how I know...lets just say that it's fast and fun enough to get in trouble with!

My range so far is 150 meters + (that's as far as I've tested it). It's smooth as glass to fly, and in high mode it's fast enough to make you grin. Slowed down it's stable and powerful enough to use a GoPro or equivalent (basic no-isolation mount is included). To top it all off, the inside of the body is roomy enough that you can put about anything you want in there. Has low battery alarm on the TX with supposedly 1-2 minutes to return before power loss. I've tested it a bit over a minute.

Battery is a caged (so it snaps in, you could use a different battery, it just wouldn't snap in) 2S 1800mah with a TX-30 connector. I have a TX-30 to TX-60 adapter coming so I can plug 'n play with my iMax B6.The included charger is only 500 ma, so it takes THREE, count'em, THREE hours plus to charge.

Battery life is claimed at 18-20 minutes. I'm flying it with only landing gear (no prop guards, no camera), and getting 16-17 after 3 battery cycles. It should pick up a bit more flight time with a few more cycles, but we shall see. Eliminate the battery cage and Ill bet you could fit a 2200 or 2500 mah in there, which (again a guess) would probably get you to 20 minutes in real life.

The price was $114 shipped to my house from Tennessee, USA in 3 days from a guy I know on Facebook. PM me if you want his contact info. I don't have ANY financial stake in this, I just know this is a great price shipped in 3 days, and I LOVE this quad.
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Can I ask what you were flying before you got the Bugs 3, and is this your first brushless quad?

The reason I'm asking is that I feel like I'm getting pretty good flying my Syma X5C and X8C and it won't be long before I want something better (faster, more grin-inducing). It seems like the Bugs is my next logical step. I'm 100% sport flying right now and I'm headed toward FPV. But the X8C at the park and the X5C in my backyard is going to get boring, fairly soon I think.

Is that what made you get a Bugs 3, that you were ready for something with some serious kick and you felt you were ready? Or something else? Just curious because I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on one also.
 
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Jeff Neese said:
Can I ask what you were flying before you got the Bugs 3, and is this your first brushless quad?

The reason I'm asking is that I feel like I'm getting pretty good flying my Syma X5C and X8C and it won't be long before I want something better (faster, more grin-inducing). It seems like the Bugs is my next logical step. I'm 100% sport flying right now and I'm headed toward FPV. But the X8C at the park and the X5C in my backyard is going to get boring, fairly soon I think.

Is that what made you get a Bugs 3, that you were ready for something with some serious kick and you felt you were ready? Or something else? Just curious because I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on one also.
Click to expand...

Preface: TL;DR = YES buy the Bugs

I'm not the OP, but if you feel you're ready to move up to a brushless, I believe the B3 is a solid choice!

My first quad was also an X5C (gift to me Xmas Dec 2015) and hands down, that is the BEST trainer one can learn on IMHO (there's a reason why so many people recommend it as your first!)

Fast forward through an X8C, X8G, plus countless indoor minis (some awesome flyers, some crappy) I "stepped up" to an RC Logger Eye One Extreme as my first brushless RTF. That quad was/still is fun to fly, but it had/has issues that needed to be addressed right out of the box (for example I added a carbon fiber reinforcement frame before my first flight lol). It's still a quirky (but fun) flyer and I'll leave it at that..

Back to the Bugs.. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I believe this is currently the BEST bang for your buck as a beginner brushless model. It's a very stable flyer and seems well constructed and durable (at least the early batches). At the same time, it does require some diligence and patience while flying as power can come on fast for a beginner and things can quickly go out of control. You need to have a decent grasp on LOS flying and regaining orientation at distance if you don't want a flyaway ;)

I gifted a Bugs to my brother this past Xmas and it was his first brushless. I don't know his exact flight count at the moment, but he has literally flown (and crashed) his Bugs dozens of times more than me, and his keeps flying and takes the abuse..

Others have pointed out that spare parts aren't readily available, but they're slowly beginning to show up..

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading and good luck with your ultimate decision !!

Bottom line: Buy it, fly it, crash it, you'll enjoy it !! :D
 
MultiRtrAviator said:
Preface: TL;DR = YES buy the Bugs

I'm not the OP, but if you feel you're ready to move up to a brushless, I believe the B3 is a solid choice!

My first quad was also an X5C (gift to me Xmas Dec 2015) and hands down, that is the BEST trainer one can learn on IMHO (there's a reason why so many people recommend it as your first!)

Fast forward through an X8C, X8G, plus countless indoor minis (some awesome flyers, some crappy) I "stepped up" to an RC Logger Eye One Extreme as my first brushless RTF. That quad was/still is fun to fly, but it had/has issues that needed to be addressed right out of the box (for example I added a carbon fiber reinforcement frame before my first flight lol). It's still a quirky (but fun) flyer and I'll leave it at that..

Back to the Bugs.. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I believe this is currently the BEST bang for your buck as a beginner brushless model. It's a very stable flyer and seems well constructed and durable (at least the early batches). At the same time, it does require some diligence and patience while flying as power can come on fast for a beginner and things can quickly go out of control. You need to have a decent grasp on LOS flying and regaining orientation at distance if you don't want a flyaway ;)

I gifted a Bugs to my brother this past Xmas and it was his first brushless. I don't know his exact flight count at the moment, but he has literally flown (and crashed) his Bugs dozens of times more than me, and his keeps flying and takes the abuse..

Others have pointed out that spare parts aren't readily available, but they're slowly beginning to show up..

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading and good luck with your ultimate decision !!

Bottom line: Buy it, fly it, crash it, you'll enjoy it !! :D
Click to expand...

Thanks - your input is helpful to me. I guess it's not a choice of which one (pretty sure it will be the Bugs 3) but only when.

Like I said, I'm getting "good" but certainly not expert at LOS flying with my X5 and X8, including getting my orientation back when I lose it at distance. I've specifically been practicing that on calm days by getting them up and out and then deliberately spinning it so I lose orientation on purpose, and I'm getting better and quicker at getting the orientation back. And in daily flying, I lose orientation a lot since (I guess) my vision isn't so good. Once I get that X5C out to 100 yards, it doesn't matter what color the lights or the props are - it's all kind of blurry so I have to fly "by feel". Same thing with X8C - after a certain distance it's a flying orange blob and there is no visual orientation.

I guess my real question is whether there are faster (and cheaper) brushed quads I could play with that would satisfy my need for speed while giving me even more hours in the air. I'm thinking a Tarantula X6 or something like that, and I'm very open to suggestions. I don't want "features", just faster and more fun and preferably long flight times.
 
Jeff Neese said:
Thanks - your input is helpful to me. I guess it's not a choice of which one (pretty sure it will be the Bugs 3) but only when.

Like I said, I'm getting "good" but certainly not expert at LOS flying with my X5 and X8, including getting my orientation back when I lose it at distance. I've specifically been practicing that on calm days by getting them up and out and then deliberately spinning it so I lose orientation on purpose, and I'm getting better and quicker at getting the orientation back. And in daily flying, I lose orientation a lot since (I guess) my vision isn't so good. Once I get that X5C out to 100 yards, it doesn't matter what color the lights or the props are - it's all kind of blurry so I have to fly "by feel". Same thing with X8C - after a certain distance it's a flying orange blob and there is no visual orientation.

I guess my real question is whether there are faster (and cheaper) brushed quads I could play with that would satisfy my need for speed while giving me even more hours in the air. I'm thinking a Tarantula X6 or something like that, and I'm very open to suggestions. I don't want "features", just faster and more fun and preferably long flight times.
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You're welcome! You're also brave flying an X5 out to 100 yards ~ I've lost one that way first starting out ;) Honestly, I don't feel the need to fly these toys that far without GPS and RTH (I'm not flying any FPV yet). I wear glasses and my eyesight isn't the best either, and 300' is a pretty far distance to me.

There's a HS football field around the corner from my house I sometimes fly at (it's open to the public and I'll only fly on evenings or weekends when no one is around). I can stand in one end zone and fly my Bugs down to the opposite end zone, and that 100 yards is all I'm comfortable pushing it lol. Flying between 20' - 50' AGL.

If you haven't already watched it, this is a good vid by Quadcopter 101 for distance flying and orientation:


And yeah, the Tarantula X6 is cheap fun too! Forgot about that one, lent mine to my younger brother last summer and haven't seen it since lol. That was my second quad moving up from the X5, and it felt like quite a handful first time I flew it! The frame is more fragile than the X5 and it's easy to crack an arm if crashed at the right angle. Don't bother with the landing gear (it will snap like a toothpick your first landing). I burnt out a few motors but they're easy to replace.

Lately I've seen the Tarantula as low as $45 and as high as $65 between BG and GB, so check daily for flash sales and try to buy at the lower end. If you buy one, pick up a JJRC 1000a BNF for about $15 as it will bind to the same transmitter as the X6. It's a micro and a blast to fly, although this one is a little too quick for indoor use..

Also, do you have any micros to fly indoors? They've helped me develop LOS skills that transfer to the big sky outside, and it doesn't matter what the weather is doing as I'm just sitting on the couch lol.

The eachine 010 or JJRC H36 (they're identical) are one of the current popular models available from BG and GB that are stable and simple to fly. Many folks are modding them as tiny whoops with FPV cams and upgraded motors. I've bought 7 of these now (3 more on the way from GB lol) as I like to have a few handy as spares and to give out to friends. Every few weeks they seem to pop up on flash sale between $11.99-$13.99.

And to your final question for longer flight times: numerous quads plus many, many batteries :p :D
 
Thanks man - again your comments are helpful and confirming some of what I'm already thinking.

I fly my X5C with the X8C controller which gives you much better range - past where I can see it anyway. I have a park with an open area a little bigger than a football field. I do find the smaller X5 to be a lot of fun in that wide open area, but I lose orientation, depth perception, and everything else at that range.

I've seen low prices on the Tarantula X6 (I guess since the i8h came out) so I'm thinking why not? Another quad to play with and most reviewers say it's a lot of fun. I've also thought a JJRC 1000a would be fun but didn't know you could fly it with the same controller. That's a plus that might put it over the edge.

I do have a Hubsan H107L, the little zippy one, that I practice with on rainy or windy days. It's definitely not a beginner quad and being able to handle that in Expert mode has made me a better pilot outside. I'd definitely add a JJRC 1000a to the fleet, just for fun. People seem to like that one too and right now I just have the one indoor quad.
 
Jeff Neese said:
Can I ask what you were flying before you got the Bugs 3, and is this your first brushless quad?

The reason I'm asking is that I feel like I'm getting pretty good flying my Syma X5C and X8C and it won't be long before I want something better (faster, more grin-inducing). It seems like the Bugs is my next logical step. I'm 100% sport flying right now and I'm headed toward FPV. But the X8C at the park and the X5C in my backyard is going to get boring, fairly soon I think.

Is that what made you get a Bugs 3, that you were ready for something with some serious kick and you felt you were ready? Or something else? Just curious because I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on one also.
Click to expand...

The Bugs 3 was my first brushless. I also fly the ubiquitous X5 and X11's and a JJRC H8D. The Bugs 3 is a very fun sport flyer, but slow it down and it's stable enough to get some very passable video. I used to fly RC years ago, so I wasn't quite starting from scratch. I wanted something faster and more powerful, and I am loving flying the thing. In high rate it screams pretty well, and it's a great bargain for the price.

I did a short video upload just flying the Bugs in my neighborhood with an SJCam: https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=us8vWioD5S0

I have done a little FPV flying with the H8D (on a monitor), but I'm pretty much a LOS flyer.
 
Rick M said:
The Bugs 3 was my first brushless. I also fly the ubiquitous X5 and X11's and a JJRC H8D. The Bugs 3 is a very fun sport flyer, but slow it down and it's stable enough to get some very passable video. I used to fly RC years ago, so I wasn't quite starting from scratch. I wanted something faster and more powerful, and I am loving flying the thing. In high rate it screams pretty well, and it's a great bargain for the price.

I did a short video upload just flying the Bugs in my neighborhood with an SJCam: https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=us8vWioD5S0

I have done a little FPV flying with the H8D (on a monitor), but I'm pretty much a LOS flyer.
Click to expand...

Thanks Rick.

Based on MultiRtrAviator's input (just yesterday) I now have three more quads on their way, and a Bugs 3 is not one of them (this time). I had already been looking at the Tarantula X6 and that should fill my "in-between" phase while I get more flight time under my belt. It's not that I don't think I could handle the Bugs, but I wouldn't be able to make use of it's full potential yet anyway, and the risk of crashing or losing my brand new Bugs 3 gets lower, the longer I put it off and get more experience. And the price is not going to go up. I also bought a couple of $20 JJRC 1000a BNF versions, since those fly with the same controller and those seem like a blast to fly too.

But yeah, a Bugs 3 sounds like it's definitely in my future. Probably sooner than I think - impulse control is not my strong suit.
 
Jeff Neese said:
Thanks Rick.

Based on MultiRtrAviator's input (just yesterday) I now have three more quads on their way, and a Bugs 3 is not one of them (this time). I had already been looking at the Tarantula X6 and that should fill my "in-between" phase while I get more flight time under my belt. It's not that I don't think I could handle the Bugs, but I wouldn't be able to make use of it's full potential yet anyway, and the risk of crashing or losing my brand new Bugs 3 gets lower, the longer I put it off and get more experience. And the price is not going to go up. I also bought a couple of $20 JJRC 1000a BNF versions, since those fly with the same controller and those seem like a blast to fly too.

But yeah, a Bugs 3 sounds like it's definitely in my future. Probably sooner than I think - impulse control is not my strong suit.
Click to expand...

You should have a blast with the X6 - they get really good reviews. Let us know what you think of it! From what Ive seen of them, they fly a lot like the H8D I have. It's a bit of a handful to fly because it's very responsive, but it's a lot of fun.
 
Jeff, it sounds like you're making some wise choices! The X6 plus the little JJRC should give you the 'adrenaline' kick I think you're looking for, and both will help develop your skills before you spend the $$ on your first brushless. They're both quicker than the X5 and X8 :D
 
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