I like designing my own copter frames and choosing different components for every quadcopter build, but the RTF (ready to fly) Walkera F210 Racer caught my interest. Here are some of the details:
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Dimensions: 182 x 182 x 103mm
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Carbon fiber frame
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Propeller: 5”
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Weight: 370g without battery
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STM32 F3 flight controller
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5.8GHz TX5825/TX5824 Video transmitter
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700TVL FPV camera
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OSD
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1300mAh 4S 40C LiPo battery
According to the dimensions the Walkera F210 should be a 250mm type quadcopter, so I am not sure why they choose the F210 name. The carbon fiber frame should be crash resistant if the material is good. I like that the racer has a motor protection too as well as a landing gear.
I don’t have other information about the motors, except they are 2500kv. These look very similar to Scorpion 2205 2350kv motors, but this is just a speculation. I am interested how the 5” propeller are mounted, as I don’t see any lock nuts.
The flight controller is FCS-210 with a F3 processor. There is no information about the gyroscope/accelerometer sensor or the flashed firmware. It could be Cleanflight, but it is not mentioned anywhere.
There are two types of video transmitter: the FCC version with 200mW output power and the European CE version with 25mW output power. The video transmitter has only 8 channels:
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Band B: 5733, 5752,5771,5790,5809,5828,5847,5866
These are not the FatShark / ImmersionRC channels, so if you have FatShark goggles, you will be not able to bind these with the Walkera F210 video transmitter. The mushroom antenna, a circular polarized antenna, should give you some more range for your FPV flight.
Having a 700TVL and OSD is nothing special, but it is good to have these in a RTF qaudcopter.
Personally I think the 4S 1300mAh LiPo battery is well protected. I am not a fan of batteries mounted on the top of the quadcopter, but this is a good way to protect it in case of crashing. It nice, that you get a balance charger for the battery in the package too.
Summary: I like the design of the Walkera F210. Personally I don’t think it is for experienced pilots, who love building a quadcopter according to their needs. But is very good for beginners, without experience in soldering or connecting all the components. Overall it is a nice RTF quadcopter for about 360$, but it is a bit overpriced in my opinion. It will be interesting to compare the Walkera F210 with the upcoming JYU Hornet S too.
Isn’t the Walkera 210 video transmitter band b?
Yeah, you are right: the 5733-5866 Band is called “B”. Thanks for that 😉
Would the fat shark nexwave beta module work?
If you mean the (Beta Bands) receiver module for the Dominator Goggles, yes it will.
Ok thanks for that information. I am new to fpv racing and I have pre ordered a Walkera 210. I already have a pair of fat shark dominators v3 I use with my phantom 3 so it is good to know I can use these goggles with the Walkera 210.
No problem 😉
What can we use for battery upgrades? I know the battery holder is somewhat small. Thanks you.
Hi Andrew, I think you should be able to use the Turnigy nano-tech 1300mAh 4S. Best, Sergey
Yeah that’s what I was looking at but I’m trying to get more run time. Somewhere 2000+mah. Any idea? Thank you for your speedy reply!
You can check some other Nano-Tech 4S LiPo batteries and their dimensions. 2000+ is in my opinion too much for this quad, maybe max a 1800mAh. Otherwise the weight of the battery will be so significant, that you will not get more flight time than with a 1300mAh battery. Best, Sergey
I have recently got a 1500mah battery from desert racing in australia, fits perfectly in the 210 and only just. Approximately 5 _7 minute runtime
I decided with the 1800 mah pulse battery. Fits perfectly. Couldn’t be happier. Thanks for your help guys!
Sorry 5_7 minutes more runtime
Hey, 5-7 min more flight time is great!