How I went from hating to Loving my Vortex

[JavierBayArea]

There's been so much negativity on the forum about the Vortex (from myself included) that i thought maybe i would update my feelings on the quad.

Before i got my Vortex, i had a hoard of Horizon Hobby quads. The reason why i never got into DIY quads was because i just didn't have the time to research and build them myself, i wanted ready to fly and that's that.

So ImmersionRC comes into scene, stating that the Vortex is ready to fly out of the box and all that nonsense and i was SOLD, immediately put a preorder for a first batch vortex.

But like i said, it was nonsense, and that's why i started hating this quad so much, so many little issues and i had to go out and figure it out myself knowing next to nothing about cleanflight or the innards of Quadcopters.

But after having to learn all about cleanflight and how to assemble/dissasemble the Vortex with almost my eyes closed I'm a happy customer.

The Vortex is flight tested before they ship it to you, but i'm pretty sure that's not more than a Hover. Mine had yaw issues, arming issues and most terribly the PID pro tunes just really do not work for my Vortex and i had to go out and fix the PIDs myself.

Next time ImmersionRC, be a little less bold on your claims, a lot of people understand ready to fly from a Horizon Hobby perspective and this is why you got so much hate.

You made a great quad, i love it, but basically what happens is you kind of put it together 90% and left the 10% for the customer, and a lot of them do not know how to do 1%.

My vortex flies great now, very smooth, very precise, although i am still traumatized on how it randomly wiped when i did a roll so i'm still afraid to do them.

[Hally1983]

Its a cracking machine but its not for noobs... its pitched like that due to the RTF element but its a super quick machine and you do need basic understanding of radio and FC config incase as you mentioned above something isnt quite right.

[kevinpratt823]

I'm still somewhere in the middle lol. I do appreciate that it has been an educational experience, but I didn't sign up to be forced into a crash course, it would be nice to be able to fly it with confidence along the way.

[JavierBayArea]

I'm still somewhere in the middle lol. I do appreciate that it has been an educational experience, but I didn't sign up to be forced into a crash course, it would be nice to be able to fly it with confidence along the way.

Yep agreed. At the end of the day i'm glad i got to learn so much, but like you said, it was forced and i didn't sign up for it

Now, had i not been able to fix my issues (like those guys with Wizards popping up mid flight) i'd still be pissed.

[TheDrizzle]

i love it!! but one of my esc's is stuttering cant find a replacement anywhere so now i hate it lol

[quadnewbie]

i recently just got my vortex and did the basic set ups as described on numerous post, and still getting no where. Right now having either an esc issue or setting issue. where one of my motors when armed and throttle barely on quater throttle races to the max and the other three jump up then quickly go back to low idel.
so far done setting the mid points via TX

https://youtu.be/X-QqR1at4Nw

which clean flight got with immersion and right a blog for new to the DYI RTF Naze 32 quads for specific transmitters.
Running a spektrum DX6I with an orange R615x RX for now.
If any of you could guide me through if any of you have the same set up. What did you change in clean flight. The only thing havent done yet is change the mid on cli, for the Yaw issue. because i initially did that with no help
You tube Naz 32 tutorials don't help my issue here.
my vortex been like this out of the box so haven't been able to put it through its paces since i can't fly it as is.
Not dissapointed in the product, more dissapointed in the support for peoplereal like me who want to transition from BNF quads to actual real quad such as the vortex.
So if there is anyone one out there with the same set up email me or could you post what you did to get your vortex up and flying would be greatly appriciated.
Note sure how to link you tube vids but I posted the link, so not sure it will be able to be viewed here

[dtubbs]

I just got mine recently and I've had more than my fair share of repairs on it already and it was really putting me off. IRC's support-response personnel did nothing to make me like it any more. However, I did more research and found that all the top quads have their warts and you'll have some issues with any of them in this performance category. I was fortunate that mine did fly great right out of the box but I had a few awkard mishaps that cost more than they should (my own fault) and then the mid-flight-initial-setup but bit me and that cost me a pretty penny. Had to get both a plastic and carbon crash kit and currently have the LED PCB removed entirely.

But, in the end, considering how new it is, and how much functionality it packs into such a convenient package, and the fact that it costs at least $100 less than competitors would with all the same features, I have decided it's ok and that I'll bear with IRC's growing pains with it.

Hopefully they'll get their parts suppliers spun up soon and the lack of spares will disappear. Over time I'm sure some third parties will throw in some parts that might make it more reliable or cheaper to repair as well.

All in all I think IRC did a pretty good job designing it. It has some clever engineering. I just hope and pray that the PDB holds up.

[fog199]

i recently just got my vortex and did the basic set ups as described on numerous post, and still getting no where. Right now having either an esc issue or setting issue. where one of my motors when armed and throttle barely on quater throttle races to the max and the other three jump up then quickly go back to low idel.
so far done setting the mid points via TX

https://youtu.be/X-QqR1at4Nw

which clean flight got with immersion and right a blog for new to the DYI RTF Naze 32 quads for specific transmitters.
Running a spektrum DX6I with an orange R615x RX for now.
If any of you could guide me through if any of you have the same set up. What did you change in clean flight. The only thing havent done yet is change the mid on cli, for the Yaw issue. because i initially did that with no help
You tube Naz 32 tutorials don't help my issue here.
my vortex been like this out of the box so haven't been able to put it through its paces since i can't fly it as is.
Not dissapointed in the product, more dissapointed in the support for peoplereal like me who want to transition from BNF quads to actual real quad such as the vortex.
So if there is anyone one out there with the same set up email me or could you post what you did to get your vortex up and flying would be greatly appriciated.
Note sure how to link you tube vids but I posted the link, so not sure it will be able to be viewed here

I was running a 615x and dx6i to start with (changed to 620x for full range now).... I think you should start from scratch again with both vortex and tx.

Take off your props.

Make a new vehicle in tx (i used plane), bind the rx, go through OSD set up (pitch and throttle will need reversing in your tx if remember rightly), connect to cleanflight and make adjustment to your endpoints using travel adjustments on your TX make all endpoints either on 1000/2000 or just over if they don't match up, now see what your midpoints are and set that in CLI (i forgot the command but its in the sticky in this forum) make sure you save it when exiting, unplug vortex, now hold the button on the back of your vortex until OSD set up screen comes up again and complete it again.

After this mine flies almost perfect with one click of sub trim on yaw/rudder. Also make sure your props are on the correct way!

[Gnimmel]

I'm still hating mine and actually have it up for sale at the moment. Still not convinced I should sell it yet as it seems I just don't know enough about the set up like the OP.

Perhaps I just need to start a thread and ask for set up help so I can learn to love it as well. The last time I flew it I nearly hit a tree as it just didn't turn fast enough, and I know that isn't right from watching videos of other pilots.

[alx100]

Gnimmel, when you have a Vortex which is fully working, it really handles very nicely and is tough, serviceable and generally a very nice package. I think what is missing is a list of some "known issues" list along with some easy fixes. A few that spring to mind:

EzUHF -> make sure you convert/upgrade the monopole rx antenna to a dipole and preferably upgrade the tx antenna to a diamond 771 or dipole

LED board ->
1. there are at least some which will fail very easily (without taking any impact from foreign objects or the arms) if you subject the body to torsion.
2. the arms will hit the board in some crashes so make sure you prevent this (IRC will provide metal straps for free if you ask)
3. if the board fails mid-flight it can trigger a reset causing a nasty crash. Firmware 1.0.0.10 fixes this so make sure you update before your first flight

Failsafe defaults -> if your rx becomes disconnected during flight the Vortex can go completely crazy and spin out of control (in my case, 2 motors on full!) instead of just cutting power. Make sure the rx does *not* become disconnected (secure the cable and rx well) and try to fix the Cleanflight failsafe settings (if anyone has settings which will result in the cleanflight failsafe cutting power to the motors, please let me know).

Also note in this case even if the quad lies upside down motionless, it may spring to life when the props are free to spin, so be very careful picking it up.

There are also updates on the blog on immersionrc.com - read ALL of them before you fly.

Yes there is quite a lot of reading to do on this quad, and some work to do to make it safe/reliable, but it's not really very hard when you know what to do, and if you enjoy fixing things it's like building your own quad but in "easy mode" because it comes pre-assembled.

I wish we could get spare electronics though, especially the ESCs.

Edit: IRC have added a nice page explaining the issues with the LED board here: http://www.immersionrc.com/vortex-le...d-reliability/