Makerfire Armor 65 Lite Whoop Review
The drone industry isn’t only about big camera drones. You can use just as fine and have a lot of fun with a whoop drone as well. Therefore in this article, we will present you with the Makerfire Armor 65 Lite Whoop.
Whoop drones are smaller, almost toy grade drones with an inferior camera, or no camera at all. The purpose of having those is to perform tricks and rance with them. And the Armor 65 is just fine for this purpose. It comes with a light build and a powerful motor. But that’s not all, due to the versatile Silverware flight controller, the drone can fly in Acro and Level flight modes. So, whether you are, a complete newbie or a professional pilot, the FUN is guaranteed!
You can get the Makerfire Armor 65 Lite Whoop with multiple variants: the RTF and BNF packages, as well as in DIY KIT you have to build your own Whoop. But if you have a higher budget to spend on the drone you can get an Armor 65 Pro, which comes with a more versatile F3 flight controller and multiple radio options (FrSky XM, FlySky FS-RX2A, RX800 Pro, or DSM2).
Specs
- Whoop alike blade protectors and protective canopy;
- 65mm sized unibody frame;
- Dual flight modes (Acro and Level);
- Silverware (NotFastEnuf/NFE_Silverware) Tiny-Lite flight controller;
- Bayang radio receiver protocol;
- 0716, 17600KV (65000rpm@3.7V) brushed motors;
- AIO 800TVL camera with integrated 5.8G/25mW video transmitter;
- High voltage, 4.35V Li-Po battery;
- Low voltage protection;
- About 4 minutes of flight time.
Design and build
Like almost any Tiny Whoop drone, the Armor65 Lite is also built on a uni-body frame. All the electronic parts are under the frame, so they are well protected by the plastic canopy. The shell is made out of ABS plastic, unfortunately, there is no option to get in carbon fiber, but this plastic-type is sturdy too. The drone measures around 80 x 80 x 35 mm, so it’s so small that it can easily fit into your palm and the wheelbase distance is 65 mm.
Behind the protective canopy, you can find the electronic board where all the magic happens. The drone and the controller are connected with an STM32F030 based Makerfire Tiny Lite flight controller with a built-in radio receiver and it comes with Silverware firmware. There is no USB port, just soldering pads, so it will be more difficult to do a PID tuning or firmware update. The flight controller has 4 LED’s (2 x RED in front and 2 x BLUE on the back) which indicates the status of it.
The drone comes with a 300mAh battery. In the package, there is a USD charger included (no case, just PCB). The charger included can be switched between 4.2 and 4.35 voltage, for safety issues use only the provided charger for the drone. With this stock LI-PO battery, the drone usually gets 4 minutes of flight time.
Remote Controller
As I said in the introduction the Lite version comes in a bundle with a basic, entry-level remote controller. The controller is pretty much a toy like a controller, that is small and feels kinda cheap. Luckily, the RC uses the Bayang Toys protocol and it can be connected with a better open-source transmitter like the Jumper V2 Plus.
According to the specs, the drone allows about 100 meters of control range in conditional options, where is no interference in the environment at all. These drones are not meant to be used for photography, so you would need a strong but short connection over a long and weak one.
As for the outlay of the controller on the front side, there are two joysticks, and 8 trimming buttons, each of them has different purposes. There are also two shoulder buttons, the one on the left allows to unlock/lock motors, and the right one allows to toggle between Angle and Acro flight modes.
Camera
Although it has a bad camera, it still has one. The camera is located on the front of the aircraft. The camera itself measures 16 x 14 x 12mm, and it’s an 800TVL AIO FPV camera. The m8 lens has a 150° field of view. The camera can be changed between NTSC and PAL video standards by long-pressing the control button. You can also change the channels (1-8) and bands (A, B, E, F, and R) through the same button. All changes are shown with the changing of the LED lights. The camera works with an integrated 5.8G transmission, that is 25mW rated.
Regarding, the price and the style of the drone, the image quality is quite nice. The FPV signal is really strong, it can go through walls or trees without a problem.
Flight experience
First of all, you have to connect the drone to the controller in some steps. First of all, you have to power on the drone and the remote controller. The LEDs will show you if you did that successfully.
As for the flight, when the drone is stabilized, you can’t flip, you can do it only in acro mode. The tilting angle is set to around 45 degrees. When you switch to Acro you can do anything you want, the possibilities are limitless.
You will be impressed with how durable this drone is. If you’re at the beginning make sure to put on your prop guards. Unfortunately, the motors are not stopped automatically in a crash, which can harm more damage to the drone or the environment, and ultimately it can even burn-out.
FAQ
How many batteries does it come with?
- The ARMOR 65 PLUS only comes with one piece 260mAh 30C 3.8V LiPo Battery.
What motors does this drone come with?
- 7x16mm Motor: 716 brushed (17600KV)
Can this work with a Flysky fs-i6?
- Nope, this Armor 65 Plus is Frsky Version, not compatible with Flysky fs-i6.
Will this bind to a jumper t12?
- Yes it will look at your manual and it will tell you how
What is the size screw to tighten down the top? Mine fell out and I’ll never find it.
- It’s 1.2*4 meson head.
What is the camera angle? Is the angle adjustable?
- The Camera: 199C(800TVL 150 °) and the camera field of view: 150 degrees, that can not adjust the angle.
Conclusion
This is a very well-built drone, that can perform any trick you have in mind. It is built very well, and sturdy. It probably won’t break at the first crash, but I advise you not to do it. The only bad thing about the whole package is the controller, which feels kinda cheap, but they work really well. The camera also works really fine and transmits a clear image. After all, the drone is a good piece of technology, and I can only suggest you buy it, especially if you have a compatible controller.
If you’re interested, you can buy the Armor 65 from Amazon, (link 2).
