TEST: HBRC HB65S, a 29.9g/0603-20000Kv FPV 65mm Whoop

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INTRODUCTION

The new HBRC HB65S is a new 65mm brushless tinywhoop competitors with 0603 motors. This machine comes after the two excellent, extra fun URAV UV65/Eachine UK/US65. For the HBRC model, no crazybee F3 board with a builtin SPI receiver but we have a more classic F3 omnibus FC requiering an external micro-receiver. It means clearly some extra weight is added … but we have some 20 000Kv motors so faster than the 19000Kv for the US65 and 17000Kv for the UR65. For the FPV part, we have a 800TVL CMOS sensor coupled with a 16CH/25Mw VTX. Unfortunatly no smart audio here dislike the US65. Let’s check this new 65mm machine…. maybe the battle is not completly over vs the US65

BOX CONTENT

+ 1 x HBRC HB65S
+ 1 x FrSky Pro (D8) receiver (SBUS)
+ 1 x 260mAh LiHV battery
+ 1 x USB charger
+ 4 x Spare props (2 CW, 2 CCW)
+ 1 x Screwdriver
+ 1 x Rubber band
+ 1 x Prop remover wrench
+ 1 x Instruction manual (English)

OVERVIEW

Same 65mm format but the HB65S frame is more similar to the UV65 model, more flexible able to absorb better crashes. The US65 frame is known to be more fragile.

-FRONT VIEW
Dislike the UR65/US65, the lens angle orientation is fixed to something around +15 degrees.

-SIDE VIEW
A unique VTX button but easy to access is present. Since there are “only” 16CH, just short press on it to cycle among them. No Vband subsivisions.

-UPPER VIEW
The 5.8G linear antenna is installed vertically via a rear tiny hole on the top canopy

-BOTTOM VIEW
We have a Beecore F3 Omnibus board with builtin 5A BLheli_S 4-in-1 ESC

This FC accepts any SBUS/PPM receiver connexion and includes a Betaflight OSD compatible chip

Motors are directly plugs via 1.25mm micro-JST connector. Super easy for motor’s maintenance.

Unfortunatly the frame don’t offer a large enough battery tray. You must attache the LiPo via a rubber band addind some little weight at the end.

-WEIGHT

29.9g…. in total !!!! compared to the 27.2g for the UR65 and 28.5g. It’s a lot more for such size, close to 10% more vs the UR65.

With the OpenSky receiver directly soldered, 0.8g can be saved….

Motors and props

Probably the best ingredient in this bundle. 20 000Kv motors associated with quadriblades 31mm props.

They got 1mm hole section so directly usable for other US65/UR65 motors.

LiHv battery

The LiHV is a 260mAh model rated from 30C. The battery is at least 1cm more longer than the US65 model…. so the 260mAh seems more “realistic”.

Be aware, versus multiple crashes, the pH 2.0 connector can be damated.

Camera module

The same FPV solution as for the HB68. A 150 deg FOV camera with a 800TVL CMOS sensor.

For the VTX, it’s a 16CH module, 4 channels of the classic 4 Vbands. No smart audio controls

Disassembling

If the AIO module is directly soldered, the SBUS receiver enjoys a dedicaced 3position connector for a plug & bind operation.

As the provided FrSky Pro D8 receiver was broken out of the box, I had to install a more compact OpenSky D8 receiver. I soldered directly the receiver on the main SBUS Pads to same some light weight.

UNBOXING, ANALYSIS, CONFIGURATION AND DEMO FLIGHT

The HB65S comes with an old version of Betaflight 3.2 not supporting ESC beacon and flip over crash features. For the BLheli_S firmware, 16.6 is installed so it need also an upgrade to support the last quoted feature. In term of configuration, no specific optiization have been done except for the SBUS receiver pre-configuration. It’s strongly advised to update both Betaflight & BLheli_S firmwares.

When the battery is attached, the machine is still more or less leveled. Now when the throttle is applied… the answer is more linear versus the US65. You can feel more thrust at lower throttle inputs. At the extremity, punch out are really comparable as for UR65/US65… Not superior but not inferior despite the 2.5 extra grams. The other good news is about the quadriblade props…. they offer jellofree conditions dislike the unbalanced triblades edition associated with the UR65/US65. The FPV camera is correct for a CMOS sensor with vivid colors but the FPV range is clearly inferior to the US65 ‘ VTX performances. Statics comes after crossing only 2 walls. Whatever the machine is stable, precize indoors. Notice few times, a prop has been pop out…. Probably a small drop of glue can be an option to apply. In term of power the machine is acro compatible, climb fast enough for loops & rolls…. but expect some prop’s wash at the end of the operation. With moderate winds, the machine handles well outdoors condition. The battery offers good discharge capacity and expect about 3min of flight time with.

CONCLUSIONS

No major drawbacks can be noticed with this HB65S except to be more expensive, with less features (no smart audio), with less FPV range, more heavier than the UR65/US65…. In other words, there is no magic ingredient in order to prefer the HB65S versus these two competitors. Maybe the HB65S just comes few months too late.

PROS

+ Good and powerfull 20000Kv motors
+ Super stable, no jello out of the box
+ Good 260mAh LiHV battery
+ 3min 15s of flight time
+ OSD

CONS

– More expensive than the Eachine US65
– No real battery tray
– 2.5g more heavier than UV65
– No RSSI & telemetry for the FrSky receiver
– No smart audio
– FPV range shorter than the US65’s one
– Old Betaflight OS installed (no ESC Beacon & Flip over crash features available out of the box)

dump_BF_3_2_0

This quadcopter have been courtesy provided by Banggood in order to make a fair and not biased review. I would like to thank them for this attitude.
You can find it actually for 119USD at https://www.banggood.com/HB65S-65mm-1S-Brushless-RC-FPV-Racing-Drone-PNP-BNF-F3-OSD-25mW-800TVL-0603-20000KV-Motor-p-1333638.html

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