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We all solder from time to time, various connectors for battery, ESC, motors.... I have used several soldering irons, and was not happy with all of them. So friend of mine has recommended me TS100, I have watched for it and finally purchased the upgraded version.
So what is upgraded version ? Well, all information that I could find is that it comes with sharper soldering tip, new firmware and that it is in brown color.
Never mind for that, I have ordered it and it is here. Comes really nicely packed in the box, with soldering tip in separate packing than the handle itself.
And the handle is the brain of this iron.
Let's run through some specifications first and product description:
Based on 304 stainless steel nested polycarbonate housing, integration of safety circuit design power supply interface, anti-static structure, embedded STM32 processor chip, dual temperature sensor and acceleration extreme cooperate, TS100 intelligent temperature control between 100-400 degrees, instantaneous heating, automatic dormancy, overtemperature alarm, and other functions.
External independent power supply : DC5525 power interface, suitable for notebook DC12-24V power supply, car power and mobile power supply.
Micro USB interface: Through edit the parameter file, custom your own temperature curve and buttons function.
Additional features: Open source for writting your own App. (I don't know what I would do with that)
Temperature rising / falling are just achieved with a finger.
Sleep mode effectively prevents dry heating. Prolong the life of soldering tip. Save more electricity.
When the temperature exceeds preset highest working temperature, it will be on alert and OLED displays: Warning!
Antistatic structure with ground wire connected that makes you safe every working time.
Temperature display and temperature control key built on the handle, operate become more freedom.
Embedded universal interface DC 5525, perfect details shows our strength.
Resisting to high temperature oxidation.
DC 5525 power port be compatible with DC12-24V laptop AC adapter/Power bank/Car power.
Design your own temperature-rising curves.
And what is it why this soldering iron is so good. Well, it heats up really quick, I used power supply from my laptop, you can use any DC power supply from 12V to 24V. Also, it so lightweight and easy to use. One of the benefits is that you can make yourself or jus buy LiPo adapter cable and use standard LiPo battery as power source on the field. Anything from 3S to 5S is good enough.
There are only 2 buttons on the handle, if you want to change temperature, just long press one of them and then change the required temperature. Internal accelerator chip monitors your work, and if you put away your soldering iron, it goes to Idle mode (loweting the temperature for 100 degrees) until you use it again. heating from room temperature to 300 degrees Celsius takes only 10 seconds !! Excellent.
If you forget to turn off your iron, it will turn off by itself after some peroiod of time (or go to Sleep). All these values are configurable via the menu on handle itself (described in the video below).
There are a lot of soldering tips available to purchase, you can purchase single ones or pack of 7 different ones, check the links below.
Anyway, take a look at my video review, I am very satisfied with this soldering iron, and I would recommend it to anybody.
First time that I have done this succesfully, take off and land with FPV goggles on :)
That little camera is excellent, fits almost anywhere you want and with 150 mAh 1S LiPo battery, you cyn have up to 14 minutes of picture at 200 mW output.
Continuing good relations with AKK Technology, I have received 2 new 5.8GHz VTXes for review.
First is FX2-Ultimate, with power output up to 1200mW.
Yes that is a lot and in the mean time, during some FCC rules , they announced that maximum power will be limited to 1000mW on next production line in the future.
That is quite OK and enough
Key features:
Support Smart audio
25mW/200mW/600mW/1200mW power switchable
One button frequency and power setup
OSD configuration using smart audio
7-26V input with 5V output
With MIC
Second VTX on test is Nano3, designed for micro quads and micro airplanes.
My second scratch built balsawood plane. This is actually a slope glider, but I made it as an electric glider. Excellent flyer.
Link to plans: https://aerofred.com/details.php?image_id=96129
I received two charging boards from AKK, one for 1S batteries and one for 3-4S batteries.
So let's start with 1S board. This one is for all those pilots that fly micro types of aircrafts powerwd by 1S battery. Board itself has 5 independent ports with Micro JST 1.25 and JST-PH 2.0 connectors. And I received additional 5 pieces of JST-PH 2.0 male to Micro Losi female and JST female cable adapters, which cover all types of 1S battery connectors available on the market.
Regarding power supply, you have 2 options. You can use standard USB to micro USB cable or charger from your mobile phone to power this board or any 2-6S LiPo battery with XT60 connector. That is really handy if you want to charge your batteries on the flying field.
If you use USB cable or mobile phone charger, be sure that it can provide at least 2A of charging current.
Another great feature is that for each channel you have switch for changing the charging current from 200mA to 500mA. All channels are set to 200mA by default, and I would suggest that you charge your small capacity batteries (up to 500mAh) with that current. Batteries over 500mAh capacity can be charged with 500mA .current.
There is also one blue LED for each channel, which will be turned on when you connect the battery, and turn fully off when battery has ben charged.
Second board on my review is XT60 parallel charging board for 3-4S batteries.
You will need charger for this one, and this one requires that you charge batteries with the same capacity and cell count as all of the similar boards on the market.
But, as allways with AKK, they have added something that other boards do not have. First are the fuses between all XT60 connectors. Why is that needed? Well, some hobbysts (like myself) often solder their battery connectors by themselves. and if at some occasion someone reversed polarity...that is where fuse comes in, it will prevent short circuits and battery damage or fire. Excellent safety issue.
Second is small LED display, which displays voltage for every cell and total voltage of the battery.
Two new micro AIO cameras have arrived on test . I can't keep up with these guys, they are publishing new products weekly now.
I am going to start with AKK A3-OSD
It is integrated all in one solution which means that camera, video transmitter (VTX) and antenna are joined together in one device.
These little systems are so versatile, you can put them anywhere.
Primary, they are meant for micro quads like Tiny Whoop or Inductrix, but actually , you can use them on anything related to RC: cars, helicopters, airplanes...
Let's run through specifications first.
Input voltage: 3.3V - 5.5V Operating current: 300 mA (at 25 mW output) Antenna connector: dipole Video Format: NTSC 600 TVL Lenses: 120° FOV Frequency: 5.8 GHz, 6 bands, 48 channels Output power: 0.1mW / 25mW / 200mW Weight (measured): 4.57 g Dimensions: 18 mm x 13 mm OSD: Call-Sign, CH, Band ,FR, voltage and flight time
So, the easiest way to power this little thing is by using 1S battery. There is battery adapter provided with the unit for different battery connectors.
Big surprise is OSD. You can type in your Call-sign and all necessary data is visible like band, channel, frequency and power output.
All settings are done with single button and 2 LED lights.
And what can I say about this one. Well I like it. I like it a lot. With its 200 mW of output power and versatility plus OSD this is my favorite.
Previously I have tested AKK A5 AIO which is split system without OSD and with maximum power of 25mW, and with that system i got around 700m range with clear picture.
Since this one has 200 mW output power, range will be much bigger, I assume over 1 km.
That is a lot for such small device.
Battery consumption depends on your power output, and with 150 mAh 1S battery and 200 mW output, you can have around 5-6 minutes of picture.
It looks almost similar to A3-OSD but with additional cable connector.
And that SA stands for Smart Audio. That means that you can setup all parameters via BetaFlight OSD in your micro or mini quad and use special PitStop mode (0.01 mW output). Of course, you can setup this camera with single button on camera and 5 red LEDs and 2 blue LEDs.
There is a loop yellow cable on that additional connector which allows you to insert your own OSD in between.
Let's run through specifications:
Input voltage: 3.3V - 5.5V Operating current: 300 mA - 480 mA Antenna connector: dipole Frequency: 5.8 GHz, 5 bands, 40 channels Output power: 0.01mW / 25mW / 50 mW / 100 mW / 200mW Weight (measured): 5.25 g Dimensions: 18 mm x 14 mm
You can see whole review and setup in video below.
And my final thoughts.
I like both of them, but my favorite is A3-OSD since I fly mostly planes and that little thing has everything that I need: good stable picture, good range, versatility and extra integrated OSD.
Good job AKK
There are many FPF VTX systems on the market these days and AKK keeps making new products almost every two weeks. This time, I have tested their new FX2 40CH switchable VTX. So let's start with specifications first:
As all new AKK video transmitters lately, this one also has Smart Audio port which allows you to change channel band and frequency and even power output via your BetaFlight OSD controller. PitStop mode is also present (that mode transmits with very low power output ,around 0.1mW, and if you accidentally enter channel that someone is using at that moment on the race track, he won't loose his picture because of that very low output). Antenna connector is MMCX and in the package there is MMCX to SMA cable, so you can use your existing antennas with this VTX and place it anywhere you find appropriate on your drone, plane...
Setting up band, channels and power output is very easy with one button, and is described in video below.
Time to test picture quality and range. As always, I am using Eachine EV800D googles (Link on Banggood) with standard antennas, so nothing special and pricey.
It was -1 °C that day in Croatia, with very cold wind...I was thinking of making range test, but at 2.5 km range, my fingers froze, and I had to return back. Anyway, at that range I had no issues with picture as you can see in video footage. Perfectly clean picture. Nice job AKK.
I have received 2 new VTX from AKK Technology.
First one is AKK Nano2, small and lightweight video transmitter for your micro and nano flying vehicles (like Tiny Whoop, Inductrix, E-Flite UMX series...).
Key features:
Support 0.01mW Parameter-adjusting Mode
25mW, 50mW, 100mW and 200mW power switchable
One button frequency and power setup
OSD configuration using FC Uart (F3/F4/F7 with OSD)
5V to camera @ under 300mA
Second is AKK FX2.
This one has output up to 800 mW.
AKK FX2 5.8Ghz 40CH 25mW/200mW/500mW/800mW Switchable FPV Transmitter support OSD (configuring via betaflight flight control board)
Key features:
Support Parameter-adjusting mode
25mW, 200mW, 500mW and 800mW power switchable
One button frequency and power setup
OSD configuration using FC Uart
7-24V input with 5V output
With MIC
If you are new in this hobby, this can be a great help during your first flights. In this video, I have explained What Dual Rates and Expo mean, and how it works on control surfaces
