Please Help a Noob: Mobula7, Controller, SIM Questions

S

SkyDogg

Member
Hi guys! I am very, very new to flying quadcopters, but I seem to be hooked now for sure ;-) Quickly, I wanted to get into cheap toy/hobby level quads exactly four years ago. I narrowed down my choices to the Syma x5c and the Hubsan X4 107c (again, this was 4 years ago). I ended up buying the Hubsan, and I flew it a number of times and liked it, but for no real reason (maybe the cold New York winter weather) I stopped flying it, and it sat in the box until just recently.

About a month or two ago, I found a Syma x5c in a Goodwill store for $10, complete, minus the charger and prop guards and I grabbed it. Flying the Syma x5c made me dig out the old Hubsan, and long story short I have been flying both almost every night since. Between the two, I MUCH prefer the Hubsan for its quickness and power for such a cheap little toy quad. I got extra batteries for the Hubsan, and I've been loving it. And, just because it was so cheap (under $40 shipped from Wally World), I have a Holy Stone HS150 Bolt Bee on order; coming Wednesday.

So it seems I have a "need for speed", lol! I am interested in photography quads and others, but right now I really want something fast and fun, and I want to try FPV flying. I really had no idea where to start, I found the Hubsan H123d and thought that looked like a good fit. From reviews, I knew it had some negatives (no full acro, for example), but I was strongly considering it. I posted some questions about it on that big online bookstore, and a really nice member steered me away from that Hubsan and to the Mobula7.

So now I am REALLY considering the Mobula7, but I would like to ask some questions. First, is there anything else like it that I should consider before getting the Mobula7? Ideally, I had wanted something bigger, yet this quad flies on one battery indoors, and (I've read) rips on two batteries outside. Being small enough to fly inside might be advantageous for me, since I live in Upstate New York with not the best weather.

I should mention, I am not trying to be a seriously competitive quad racer, I just want to be able to fly around my yard and the playground up the street quickly and FPV. That's the hope, anyway ;-)

My questions are: Is the Mobula7 a well regarded small, fast, FPV quad is this community? Is there something else that's recommended over the Mobula7? My budget on the quad is about $150 +/-. I know the basics of electronics (though nothing about quad specific stuff) and programming, and I can solder, so if there's a kit option I would happily consider it.

What controller would you guys suggest for the Mobula7 quad? Suggested to me was a Taranis qx7. Would this controller be advised, and would it also work for other RC craft like other quads and planes? About $200 +/- would be my max for the controller, prefer less, but I'd like to hear recommendations, and I realize that the controller is probably where you want to invest for the long run. I don't know if this is how these things work yet, but I'd like a controller that can control more than one quad for sure, as well as planes or other RC craft. If that's not possible, let's just focus on what's best for the Mobula7 (or similar) right now.

I would be VERY interested to get some kind of FPV flight simulator software. Could someone recommend something to me? I'm absolutely clueless. Do you need to match the controller you buy to the flight sim software, or is there a generic controller you use with the flight sim software?

Could someone recommend a decent, *budget* pair of goggles to fly the Mobula7 FPV? I'd love to say I want to be at $100 or less for the goggles, but I want a decent experience, I'd like to hear some suggestions.

I'm listing a proposed budget for items because I know that's the first question I'll be asked ;-) But I'm flexible within reason, if I can understand the value in what I'm buying. Any help would be really appreciated!

I have a few more questions, but I am continuing to read and watch YouTube videos (The RC Saylors and FliteTest come to mind, among others). I know this is a lot of questions, and I know they are very basic. I am not in any rush and I am prepared to do my own research and learning, but I would really appreciate some help an guidance getting going.

Any help would be most gratefully appreciated! Thank you in advance for your help!

-SkyDogg
 
Short but sweet reply: I have the Mobula7 and love it. Replacement parts are readily available and it's a great little flyer inside or out. I clocked mine on 2S at 76 mph. For indoor I'd suggest the RaceDayQuads RDQ Series 1S 400mah lipo for indoors as extra batteries, it'll increase your flight time to 5 minutes.

For your transmitter, you can't go wrong witht the QX-7 or even the X-Lite if you want something in a smaller form factor and game controller type. Butyou're correct in thinking that this is where you don't want to cheap out. And yes, there are modules available for these radios so that you can fly other models.

As for FPV goggles on a budget, I'd say the Eachine EV800D would be a decent choice to get your feet wet
 
@RENOV8R - Thank you very much for the reply! I've been researching extensively, and learned a lot more about the transmitters yesterday. I am now 99% sure I want the Mobula7, and I'm about 99% sure I'm going to go for the Taranis X9D Plus. The QX-7 looked good, but you have to buy a battery and an SD memory card additionally, and that makes the price difference between the X9D Plus and the QX-7 much smaller. The X9D Plus seemed a little more versatile if (maybe when?) I get into other RC craft, so I think this is a good buy. I did like the X-Lite transmitter, but I read in a couple places where it's better for "Thumbers" and not as good for "Pinchers" and although I'm a fairly new flyer, it does seem like I'm a "Pincher". That, and I'm not a gamer, so the gaming style control has no familiarity with me, and really not that much appeal, other than it's much smaller, easier to transport size. With the exception of the smaller size of the X-Lite, I think I'd prefer the X9D Plus. I want to get the controller ASAP so I can start using some simulator software.

For goggles, I'm going to start that research today, but I appreciate the tip, and will look into what you suggested.

Thank you again for your help, I very much appreciate it!

Any further thoughts or suggestions?

-SkyDogg
 
Yes, I have the X9D Plus. You'll never need anything else and when you download a simulator it's just a matter of plugging it into your computer with a USB cable and a quick stick calibration and you're good to go. Lots of great simulators out there if you do a little research, I use FPV Air 2 on Steam (it's free!)
 
Good to hear! So you recommend the X9D Plus controller? I think that looks like the best value/fit for me.

Thank you again for your help!

-SD
 
SkyDogg said:
Good to hear! So you recommend the X9D Plus controller? I think that looks like the best value/fit for me.

Thank you again for your help!

-SD
Click to expand...
For sure. Some of the reasons I like mine are:
Larger, easier to see backlit LED screen
Built-in charger for lipo
You can upgrade to a 3 cell lipo for longer run time
It has 2 slider controls (QX7 doesn't have sliders)
More custom switches
Better USB port location

Keep in mind that there is a huge learning curve for the Taranis if you want to learn a lot of the functions like LUA script, logic switches, etc. The first thing you want to do is go to rcdiy and start researching, this is an invaluable resource that gives detailed explanation of every function on every page of the menu together with setup instructions and links to all the firmware, OpenTX, downloads, links for Lua scripts. It's an awesome site

http://rcdiy.ca/
 
Great! Thank you, I am going to try to get the Tx ordered soon (I'm hoping to find a gently used one, if not I'll get it new), and I will absolutely check out that website.

Thanks again, really appreciate your help!

-SD
 
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