This article provides an extensive list of brands and components for FPV mini quadcopters and racing drones. It’s an ever growing resource to keep you updated on all the new and exciting parts available for mini quad running 5″ and 6″ propellers.

Update (2018): I have started using spreadsheet to document new products so I have stopped updating this post:

The “Almost Complete” 250 Mini Quad Parts List

Are you new to mini quad? Make sure to check out our drone racing beginner’s guide first.

FPV Drone Racing is a fast growing industry, making it difficult to keep track of all the products that get released every day. This guide is here to help you stay up to date with the latest in the hobby. For Brushed Micro quad: brushed micro quad parts list

New products are added to the top of the lists in each category on a monthly basis, make sure to come back and check the list regularly. I will endeaver to keep the lists up to date, but if you spot any missing products please drop me a product URL link on our forum thread.

Update History

Dec 2014 – Article created

May 2015 – Edited

Nov 2015 – Edited

Mar 2016 – Added 20+ new products

Aug 2016 – Added 100+ new products; Removed 30+ obsolete products

Feb 2017 – Added 70+ new products; Removed 10+ obsolete products

Aug 2017 – Added 60+ new products; Removed 30+ obsolete products

Dec 2017 – Edited; Added 70+ new products; Removed 70+ obsolete products (BLHeli 1st gen, board FPV cameras, 1st gen motors, etc)

RC Transmitter and Receiver

One of the first items to get before flying a mini quad would probably be an RC transmitter. We have already compiled a list of popular RC transmitters for racing drones, and the considerations when selecting one for your specific needs.

At the moment, the most popular TX is the Frsky Taranis QX7 (Purchase | Our Review) and the Taranis X9D (Purchase | Our Review).

Frame – Mini Quad Parts List

A good frame should be crash-resistant, rigid and have a well thought-out design. Choosing a reliable frame can give you an enjoyable building experience, keep your downtime to a minimum, and save money on replacement parts.

In addition to protecting your electronics, the frame plays a key role in the flight characteristics and performance of your quadcopter.

Here is a beginners guide to help you understand the basics of mini quad frames.

Flight Controller

The standard size of a racing mini quad flight controllers is 36x36mm (with 30.5×30.5mm spaced M3 mounting holes).

Smaller boards (with 20x20mm spaced mounting holes) are becoming available, which save weight and space by sacrificing certain features. Most 5″ and 6″ frames currently are designed for 30.5×30.5mm mounting holes, so you might need adapters to use these smaller FC’s.

Firmware

You will most likely to only use one of the 3 major firmware that are developed specifically for FPV mini quad.

The majority of FC’s run the open-sourced Betaflight firmware these days, which is compatible with all F1, F3, F4 and F7 flight controllers. Both KISS and Raceflight are close source firmware and only compatible with their own flight controllers.

Further Reading: FC Firmware Overview

(Dec 2017) – Betaflight has recently announced to end update of F1 FC due to the lack of resource, also neither KISS nor Raceflight support F1 FC, therefore we have excluded all F1 FC in our list.

I compiled the specifications of all FC’s for mini quad in this spreadsheet so you can compare them more closely.

** “AIO” in the features column means integrated PDB and 5V voltage regulator.

Motors

Choosing a motor is a major decision when building a mini quad, it is one of the the main factors determining the speed, flight time and performance of your quadcopter. There are just as many options for motors as there are for mini quad frames.

You might see varying thrust test results for the same motors online, this is because of the different testing equipment and environment. Some thrust data shown here were obtained in my own testing, while the rest was pulled from MiniQuadTestBench.com.

Thrust is not everything! :) There are many other factors to consider when selecting the ideal motors for your build. Remember that the quality, responsiveness (how quickly can RPM changes), and efficiency of your motors, as well as performance under different throttle levels are just as important as peak thrust.

Here is our guide to highlights some of the important things to consider when choosing quadcopter motor.

Propellers (Prop)

You should check out my article to learn about the basics or quadcopter propellers.

Get plenty of spare props

Propellers should be considered the “consumable” in this hobby, especially so for flying mini quad because we crash… A LOT!

Breaking or bending props are inevitable, how many you break depends on how much you fly and how much fun you are having :)

Propellers are generally fairly cheap ($1 to $2 a pair), therefore it’s a good idea to get a bunch of them, so you can order more before running out.

Always get “durable props”

When I started flying mini quad back in 2013, mini quad props were mainly made of ABS or some other brittle plastic, and were extremely easy to break. Luckily new material was introduced in propellers, and these are commonly referred to as “durable” or “indestructible” props.

These durable props are slightly flexible, but extremely hard to break, they will also save you money in the long run. However there are downsides to “indestructible” props though

Durable props often bend in a crash and if incorrectly straightened, they can cause vibration in flights later on

When a propeller maintains its integrity in a crash, more of the force from the impact is transferred to the motor bearing which can result in shorter motor life

The number of blades in a propeller

Theoretically, the more blades a propeller has, the more thrust it’s capable of delivering at the same RPM, but it will also increase current draw dramatically because more energy is required to spin it.

Fewer blades equates lighter props, which means that the motors don’t have to work as hard to spin or stop them, making them run more efficiently and can response (change of RPM) more quickly.

Bi-blade and Tri-blades propellers are both excellent options: bi-blade is more efficient while tri-blade has better “grip” in the air. However in my opinion, Quad- and Hex-bladed props are designed for very specific motors and applications, so unless you know what you are doing it’s best to avoid these props.

My Favourite Props

Popular brands of propellers are:

DAL (or DALProps)

HQ

Gemfan

Kingkong

Racerstar

If you are a just getting started flying a mini quad, I would recommend Racerstar, Kingkong and DAL props. These are cheapest and yet perform very well.

ESC – Electronic Speed Controller

After making the choice of motor and prop combination, you should now be able to estimate the amount of current your mini quad will draw. If your motors draw more current than your ESC’s can handle, the ESC’s will eventually fail.

To find out the maximum current draw of your motor, check motor thrust data provided by the manufacturer or online reviewers. One excellent resource for that is MiniQuadTestBench.

For more detail, check out my tutorial on How to choose ESC for racing drones.

ESC Firmware

Nearly all the newest ESC’s are running BLHeli firmware, except KISS ESC’s, who has their own close-sourced firmware.

Further Reading: ESC firmware and Protocols

These ESC’s can be running either BLHeli_S or BLHeli_32 depending on what their hardware can support.

In a nutshell, BLHeli_32 is the latest ESC firmware and it allows you to run DShot1200 protocol, and has many other new features such as higher throttle resolution, ESC telemetry and current limiting.

I’ve personally found that ESC’s these days mostly perform similarly well, so it’s hard to go wrong with any latest ESC’s from a brand name (except a very few that might have terrible noise issues,anyway you will hear that from my blog or from the community).

I compiled the specification of all ESC’s for mini quad in this spreadsheet so you can compare them more closely.

LiPo Battery

Once you have determined what motor, props and ESC you are going to put on your mini quad, you can now look at choosing LiPo batteries. The decisions you need to make revolve around:

Cell count

Capacity

C rating – max discharge rate

Further Reading: the basics of LiPo batteries.

Cell Count – 3S or 4S?

Manufacturers of motors and ESC’s state how many cells LiPo you should use with their products. Motors can run faster (higher RPM) with higher voltage, and that’s why 4S is preferred over 3S for racing and freestyle flying.

Now 5S and 6S are also getting popular, but it’s so new there aren’t a lot of hardware can support voltages that high yet. We will recommend some 5S and 6S gears when technology becomes more mature.

For beginners, I would recommend 4S because it’s the most widely supported battery voltage, and yet it’s a lot more powerful and fun to fly than 3S.

Capacity

The most popular capacity range for mini quad is between 1300mAh and 1800mAh for both 3S and 4S setups. You will need to find a good balance between flight time and battery weight.

Larger capacity batteries give you more time in the air, but are also heavier. When it gets too heavy, the aircraft starts to feel sluggish and flies like a tank. For serious racers and free-style pilots, you want the aircraft to be as light as possible, making 1300mAh and 1500mAh the most popular packs to pick.

C Rating

Safe peak current draw = C-rating * capacity

For example, if a mini quad draws 48A in total at 100% throttle (12A per motor), any 1300mah battery that has a C rating higher than 37C should suffice.

Some people believe batteries of lower C rating work just as well, so why bother? That’s because if the C rating is below requirement, the quad will have no punch due to voltage sag under load.

Drawing current faster than your battery is capable of safely supplying it, can cause a battery to overheat and “puff”, eventually it can permanently damage the pack. Extreme cases can even result in fire!

Note that higher C rating batteries tend to be slightly heavier as well.

HVLi?

There is a new type of battery called HVLi (or sometimes LiHV), which stands for High Voltage Lipo battery. These batteries have higher energy density, and allow you to charge up to 4.35V per cell, giving you a higher initial voltage. Check out this post for all the pros and cons about LiHV batteries.

However, it’s been reported that HVLi has issue with longevity, and their performance and capacity degrade faster than regular LiPo batteries after the same amount of usage.

Fo special racing events the HVLi can still be considered because it gives you an advantage of higher initial voltage, but for everyday practice it’s still better to use regular LiPo batteries.

FPV Goggle / Monitor Display

To get a basic understanding on how FPV system work, please check out my FPV guide.

You can’t fly FPV without display equipment!

FPV Goggles give a better flying experience, but a cheap alternative such as a small LCD monitor can also work and doubles to show others what you see while flying.

I started with a 7″ monitor, it’s great for people who wear glasses. It also allows you to switch between line of sight and FPV quickly. However, I quickly grew out of it, not to mention it was hard to see what’s on the screen in bright conditions. I moved onto a pair of FPV goggles and have never looked back.

For a full list of FPV Goggles, check out this shopping guide for FPV goggles.

If you prefer monitors, here are some good choices.

It’s worth knowing that some FPV goggles come with great features, such as built-in video receiver, DVR (digital video recorder), head tracking, etc, which you don’t get on a monitor. Some box goggles even have a removable screen to double as goggles and monitor.

FPV Camera

Originally, CCD security board cameras like the PZ0420 was used on quadcopters, but nowadays everyone is turning towards well protected cameras that are design specifically for FPV, like the Runcam Swift or Foxeer Arrow.

Modern FPV cameras are easy to install in a mini quad frame, and have similar if not better performance than those board cameras.

For day time flying, my current favorite is the Runcam Eagle 2. It’s also a really good all around camera that works well at night too.

For night and extremely low light FPV flying, check out the Night Eagle 2.

I compiled the specifications of all FPV cameras for mini quad in this spreadsheet so you can compare them more closely.

All the cameras on this list have a 4:3 aspect ratio unless specified otherwise. I try to point out the FOV of the lens whenever I can, otherwise I will state the focal length of the lens.

Video Transmitter / Receiver

There are many choices for video transmitter (vTX) and video receiver (vRX). There are even different frequencies for FPV such as 1.2GHz, 1.3GHz and 2.4GHz (but some frequencies are restricted in some countries, so check your local regulations). The reason we prefer 5.8Ghz for a mini quad and micro quad is mainly because of the tiny antenna and VTX unit. A mini quad isn’t usually designed for long range either, so 5.8Ghz is enough for most people.

Here is a more detailed guide on how to choose a video transmitter.

I compiled the specifications of all 5.8GHz VTX for mini quad in this spreadsheet so you can compare them more closely.

It’s important to know that there are 5 common frequency bands used in 5.8Ghz video transmission for FPV, they are known as the A, B, E, F and Raceband bands. Some new VTX supports even up to 80 channels across 10 different bands

Here is a 5.8Ghz Frequency band table that explains what the frequencies (channels) are in each band. Beware there might be frequencies in certain bands that are illegal to use in your country, make sure you check your local regulation before broadcasting.

You rarely have to buy the video receiver separately these days, it’s usually built into the FPV Goggles, or comes with it as a module. Even on some FPV monitors there is integrated video receivers.

But when it comes to selecting an external, standalone VRX, make sure it’s compatible with your choice of video transmitter (uses the same frequency band).

FPV Antenna

VTX and VRX normally come with dipole antennas. They work fine, but to get better range and penetration it’s always advised to replace them with some circular polarized antennas.

Here is a tutorial on how to choose the best FPV antenna, and my recommendation.

To further improve range, directional antennas like helical and patch are used on the video receiver. These antennas can give you longer range, but they also have a narrower beam of reception. That means you will get weaker signal on your left and right, even worse behind. They come with different gains, the higher gain, the more directional it is.

Here is a guide about how antenna gain affects range in FPV.

Lastly, when choosing antennas for video transmitter and receiver, make sure the type of connectors are compatible. To learn the difference, check out the guide on SMA and PR-SMA connectors.

Converters are also available if you do get the wrong type, but you will lose some signal strength for every adapter you use.

OSD – On Screen Display

OSD is an optional device that displays flight information on your screen. For most mini quad pilots, we only need the basics like battery voltage and a timer. Of course you can also use Telemetry for the same purpose, but it’s useful to have the information on your FPV screen.

On many latest flight controllers and FPV cameras, even on some VTX, there is integrated OSD that works out of the box. This saves the users time and effort to wire and configure external OSD modules.

Check out this OSD Guide.

Out of all these external OSD module, my favourite is the Micro MinimOSD. It’s cheap (only $7), small, light weight, and powerful. It allows you to display many types of data such as voltage, RSSI, current, GPS info etc. With MWOSD firmware you can even change your PID/Rate settings on your quad. However some find it easy to break, and it’s known to be vulnerable to voltage spikes in the power system, so additional power filtering is required.

PDB and Voltage Regulator

A PDB is used to distribute power to all the electrical components, inclduing the FC, ESC’s and FPV gear. I would recommend getting a good PDB (power distribution board) that comes with power filters and regulated 5V & 12V outputs.

But many FC these days have PDB and BEC integrated so you might not need to purchase a PDB separately.

It might also be beneficial to know about LC Filters, which are used to reduce noise in the power when there is interference in the your FPV feed. You can buy them or make one yourself.

HD Camera For FPV

Check out this HD Action cameras buyer’s guide for mini quad.

There are usually two cameras used on the same mini quad. One is the FPV camera, which is used for the real-time, onboard view while flying. The other camera is used to record your flight footage in HD (e.g. 1080p 60fps). Most high quality drone videos you see on Youtube/Vimeo are filmed using one of the HD cameras listed below.

The best known camera here is probably the GoPro. The Runcam 2 and Xiaomi Yi are also popular due to their affordibility. Compared to the GoPro, they are only a fraction of the cost, lighter, and yet still capable of capturing decent footage.

Miscellaneous Items

There are many other parts and tools you might consider adding to your shopping list.

LiPo Battery Charger

Soldering Iron and Equipment

In this article I will suggest what soldering equipment you should get, and show you how to solder.

Battery Straps

Where to buy: Amazon | Banggood

Heatshrink

Electrical wires and XT60 connectors

In this tutorial I will explain how to select the correct wire size and what type of wire and battery connector you should use in a quadcopter.

Loctite glue

Loctite glue is used to secure the motor screws in your quadcopter, for more detail and what options to buy, check out this article.

Liquid electrical tape

Where to buy: Amazon – http://amzn.to/2AmnirP

LED Light

Programmable by FC: Amazon | Banggood

Standalone LED: Amazon | Banggood

Buzzer (lost model alarm)

There are so many types of buzzer, it takes a whole article to explain! :) Check our my tutorial on buzzers and learn about where you can buy them.

Mini Quad Kit | RTF | BNF | ARTF

Some mini quads are pre-built with the majority of the parts that you need, e.g. motors, ESCs, FC, etc. Although i do recommend you to research each part and build the quad yourself, some beginners might still prefer RTF (Ready to Fly) option. Here are some nice RTF/ARTF Mini Quads:

You’ve Made It!

I hope this post gave you some insights into what components are involved in a mini quad, and all the popular options out there. If you still have questions, don’t worry! Join our forum: IntoFPV.com, we have a great community who are always there to help.