We just lately did a roundup of all the favored 3-inch FPV drones with the DJI O4 system and concluded that the DeepSpace Seeker3 stands out as the most effective choices primarily based on specs and design. As promised, I picked one up for a extra in-depth overview to find out whether or not that is an FPV drone actually price getting!
Take a look at my 3-inch FPV drone with O4 Air Unit comparability right here: https://oscarliang.com/best-3inch-micro-fpv-drone/
The place to Purchase
Get the Seeker3 right here:
Within the field:
- 1 × Seeker3 3-Inch 4S Freestyle FPV Drone
- 2 × Battery Straps
- 8 × HQ T3×3×3 Propellers (2 units)
- Mounting {hardware} for DJI O3/O4 Professional Air Unit
- Handbook
- 2 stickers
Specs
- Body wheelbase: 139 mm
- FC: HAKRC F722 (ICM42688-P Gyro, 16MB Blackbox)
- ESC: 40A 4-in-1 BLHeli_32
- Motors: Aether 1505 4000KV
- Propellers: HQ T3×3×3
- Appropriate FPV Programs: Analog / DJI O4 Professional / DJI O3
- Receiver Choices: ELRS 2.4 GHz / TBS Crossfire / DJI Distant Controller (with O4 or O3)
- Battery Connector: XT30
- Really helpful Battery: 4S 650–850mAh
- Max Battery Bay: 72 × 26 × 33 mm
- Weight (with out battery): 178g (together with DJI O4 Professional Air Unit)
The 1505 motor dimension has change into the brand new normal for in the present day’s 3-inch and three.5-inch quads. Previously, we regularly used 1404 motors, however they at all times felt a bit underpowered in comparison with 1505s. The Aether 1505 motors ship wonderful torque, giving the Seeker3 a power-to-weight ratio that feels a lot nearer to a light-weight 5-inch freestyle quad.
Putting in the DJI O4 Professional Air Unit
The model I obtained didn’t include the DJI O4 Professional, so I needed to set up it myself — however the course of is simple. Right here’s a fast overview.
You may go away the SBUS wire linked. It’s wired to UART3 (RX3) on the FC, which isn’t utilized by default, so it shouldn’t trigger any issues. Nonetheless, if you happen to plan to make use of UART3 for one more peripheral, ensure that to take away the SBUS wire from the harness.
The O4 Professional Air Unit connects to UART4, and it’s already configured in Betaflight. You shouldn’t want to vary any settings — it ought to work straight away after set up.
Design and Construct
The DeepSpace Seeker3 has an old-school design, however it’s sensible and simple to take care of. It makes use of a deadcat type body, which helps hold the propellers out of the digicam view.
The carbon fiber body consists of:
- Replaceable 3.5mm thick arms (about 7.5mm vast)
- 2mm thick high plate
- Break up 2mm thick backside plates
- Arm guards, the GPS mount, and antenna mounts are all 3D printed from TPU.
On the entrance, there’s a CNC-machined aluminum digicam mount designed to suit DJI O3, DJI O4, and even analog cameras. This mount isn’t simply practical; it provides rigidity to the entrance finish and provides the drone a premium, high-quality look.
The XT30 connector is securely mounted on the rear, stopping the facility lead from flopping into the props. Nonetheless, I might have preferred to see a bit extra solder on the joints for further reliability. It might even be sensible if DeepSpace had utilized liquid electrical tape or glue over the joints to stop potential quick circuits.
The ESC comes preloaded with an older BLHeli_32 firmware model (32.8). Throughout my testing it appears to work high-quality and didn’t trigger any points, however notice that BLHeli_32 improvement has formally ended, that means future updates are now not attainable. Extra particulars right here: https://oscarliang.com/end-of-blheli_32/
Minor Points:
- The receiver solely powers up when a battery is linked, not by means of the USB port. This makes bench setup and troubleshooting much less handy, as you’ll must both take away the propellers or use a smoke stopper for security when engaged on the drone on the bench.
- The present sensor isn’t correctly calibrated — it overestimates present draw significantly. Setting the amperage meter scale to 275 appears to repair the readings.
GPS Module and Rescue Mode
GPS Rescue Mode is a implausible function — it’s basically a return-to-home perform that brings your drone again to its takeoff level if you lose sign. It’s particularly worthwhile for novices and long-range pilots who need peace of thoughts in case of a failsafe or lack of orientation.
The Seeker3 ships with a GPS module pre-installed on the entrance, which is a perfect location because it’s removed from each the VTX and RC antennas, decreasing interference. As a pleasant design refinement I want the GPS mount had a couple of slight upward tilt so it stays comparatively degree with the bottom throughout ahead flight.
DeepSpace didn’t specify the precise GPS mannequin used, however primarily based on the variety of satellites detected (as much as round 25), it’s virtually definitely M10-based — which is superb. That stated, the module is kind of tiny with a small antenna, so it could possibly take round 2 minutes to lock onto no less than 8 satellites on a chilly begin. As soon as powered up, although, subsequent satellite tv for pc search are a lot quicker.
GPS Rescue is pre-configured because the default failsafe motion out of the field, however it’s not assigned to a swap within the Modes tab, so that you’ll must set that up manually. In my testing, it labored effectively in open fields. Nonetheless, a couple of parameters may be optimized, akin to:
- Throttle Hover – ought to be tuned to match the battery and general weight of your setup.
- Return Velocity – may be elevated significantly.
- Channel Fallback Settings – not configured.
It’s best to at all times fine-tune Rescue Mode in your distinctive flying setting to make sure it performs reliably. Take a look at my full tutorial right here: https://oscarliang.com/setup-gps-rescue-mode-betaflight/
One minor inconvenience — the USB connection doesn’t energy the GPS module. It’s essential to plug in a LiPo battery to energy it, which additionally activates the air unit/VTX. This could introduce interference and decelerate satellite tv for pc acquisition throughout startup.
Flight Efficiency
Proper off the bat — the Seeker3 rips. Regardless of its small dimension, it doesn’t really feel underpowered in any respect. Acceleration is instantaneous, and throttle response feels crisp.
In calm circumstances, the highest pace can attain round 150 km/h, which is spectacular for a 3-inch quad. When flown gently, it may also be fairly environment friendly — however these torquey 1505 motors can draw quite a lot of present at excessive throttle, considerably shortening flight time. With aggressive freestyle flying, I sometimes get 4–5 minutes of flight time with 4S 850mAh, however when cruising easily, it could possibly stretch to round 7 minutes.
In my check flight video, the wind was round 20mph, and the Seeker3 dealt with it surprisingly effectively — although efficiency may be even higher in calmer climate.
It’s virtually vibration-free, with solely minor instability or propwash throughout sharp turns or Break up-S.
General, the Seeker3 feels quick, nimble, and extremely enjoyable to fly. There aren’t any props in view, making it an incredible alternative for cinematic flying. In comparison with a typical 5-inch quad, it’s additionally noticeably quieter, which makes it good for park flying with out drawing an excessive amount of consideration.
My Customized PID Tune
The inventory PID and filter tune on the Seeker3 is already fairly good — most pilots might be blissful flying it straight out of the field.
If I needed to be important, although, the inventory tune feels barely tender and never as snappy or locked-in as I choose. It’s a conservative tune, which is sensible — it’s extra forgiving to bent props or minor vibrations.
That stated, there’s undoubtedly room to tighten the tune and push the PIDs and filters a bit additional to make it much more responsive and higher at dealing with propwash.
Would you prefer to see my customized tune for the Seeker3? Let me know — it takes me hours to make a customized tune, if there’s sufficient curiosity, I’ll fortunately do it.
Battery Selection
If you wish to keep beneath the 250g weight restrict, the biggest battery you may realistically use is the Sub250 4S 720mAh LiHV (get it right here: https://oscarliang.com/product-fmf7), which weighs solely 67g. Alternatively, the BetaFPV LAVA 4S 650mAh LiPo is one other wonderful light-weight possibility.
If weight isn’t a priority, I’d suggest stepping as much as the BetaFPV LAVA 4S 850mAh. It provides loads of punch and longer flight occasions. The Tattu 4S 850mAh can be a very good possibility, however in my expertise, the LAVA has noticeably higher longevity — I purchased each packs across the similar time, but the Tattu already reveals extra voltage sag. In my flight footage above, you may really see low-voltage warnings showing early throughout punch-outs when utilizing the Tattu.
When cruising, the Seeker3 attracts round 6A to 7A, which is impressively environment friendly. Nonetheless, as quickly as you begin flying aggressively, the present draw will increase sharply, so your flight time will rely closely in your flying type. Count on round 5–7 minutes on a 4S 850mAh LiPo, and as much as quarter-hour on a 4S 3000mAh Li-ion pack when cruising gently.
The right way to Setup
FC / ESC / RX Firmware:
- Flight Controller Board Goal: HAKRCF722V2(preloaded with Betaflight 4.4.3). Authentic CLI Diff obtainable right here.
- ESC Firmware: BLHeli32 (Model 32.8)
- Receiver: Generic ESP8285 PA 2.4GHz RX operating ExpressLRS v3.5.1
Setup Directions:
- Bind the ELRS Receiver: Plug within the USB cable, wait about 60 seconds till the receiver enters WiFi mode (inexperienced LED flashing quickly). In your cellphone, be a part of the ExpressLRS RX WiFi community (ensure that to position your cellphone near the drone, because the WiFi sign from the FC is extraordinarily weak). Open browser and go to 10.0.0.1, then enter your bind phrase on the webpage. Detailed directions may be discovered right here: https://oscarliang.com/bind-expresslrs-receivers/#Technique-3-Coming into-Bind-Phrase-in-Net-UI
- Pair the DJI O4 Professional Air Unit together with your Goggles: Observe the directions right here: https://oscarliang.com/how-to-setup-dji-o4-pro/#Pairing-DJI-Goggles-3-with-O4-Air-Unit-Professional.
- Connecting the drone to Betaflight Configurator. Setup the Modes Tab: Configure your arm swap, angle mode, and turtle mode. For steering, see this tutorial: https://oscarliang.com/betaflight-modes/#How-to-Setup-Arm-Swap
- In Energy tab, set Amperage Meter (present sensor) scale to 275 for extra correct present / mah drawn readings.
- Out of the field, you received’t be capable of arm till you get a GPS repair. When you don’t need to wait, you might disable “Permit arming with out repair” in Failsafe tab – however notice that rescue mode received’t work when there’s no GPS repair earlier than take off! Or change failsafe methodology from Rescue to Drop (this basically disable Rescue mode if you failsafe)
- To setup OSD for the O4 correctly, ensure that to re-select HD in OSD video format (choose analog then choose HD and save, for some cause the canvas was caught in analog though HD was chosen)
That’s it—your Seeker3 ought to now be prepared for its maiden flight!
Right here’s the included handbook:
FC wiring diagram:
Conclusion
The DeepSpace Seeker3 isn’t low cost — however you get what you pay for. In case your finances permits, I can wholeheartedly suggest it.
For freestyle and park flying, the Seeker 3 hits the proper stability — highly effective sufficient to fly like a 5-inch and lightweight sufficient to remain beneath 250g. It’s simply the most effective all-rounder 3-inch FPV drones obtainable proper now — particularly for many who need a compact quad that may journey, freestyle, and nonetheless supply GPS security.
Get the Seeker3 right here: