Tiny whoops have been around for a couple years now as micro, indoor, FPV quads, but only recently brushless motors and other additional features have come to the micro scene. The Happymodel Mobula6 is one of these BNF brushless tiny whoops, but it comes in at a much lower price point than average. This article will explain its pros and cons, and help you make the decision on whether or not to buy one.
This article was submitted through the GetFPV Community Program by JasonFPV. You can check out more of his content at his YouTube.
Disclaimer: This article was written solely by a member of the FPV Community. Views and advice in this article are that of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of GetFPV.
Overview:
In the box, you are given the Mobula6 wrapped in plastic, 4 batteries, 4 extra props, a screwdriver, a prop tool, a manual, and a 1 channel USB battery charger.
Starting with the quad, the Mobula6 has a fairly average build structure and quality for a 31mm brushless whoop, with a frame identical to that of a UR/US65 and a plastic canopy that gives good protection to the camera. The 4 batteries that come with it are 300mAh with PH2.0 connectors with solid pins, which helps deliver extra amperage to modern brushless whoops where the original PH connectors failed. The screwdriver is included to help remove the canopy, tighten the camera mount, or replace the motors, and is a nice touch as not everyone has a micro screwdriver. The manual with color pictures is also a nice change from most other products, however I would still suggest watching YouTube videos for help rather than the actual manual.
The most defining trait right out of the box about the Mobula6 is its weight, which, at about 20 grams, is very light for a brushless whoop. This is because the Mobula6 doesn’t have a separate PCB for the VTX, it is integrated into the standard-size flight controller, and the Runcam Nano 3 is one of the lightest cameras available right now. This contributes to its high agility, which can be seen in this video: youtube.com/watch?v=FUSutlYJHTw by Angry Don FPV. It comes with one of two sets of motors, either 25000kv or 19000kv. The lower kV version offers better flight times but less power, which is still plenty for most indoor flyers.
Specifications:
- VTX: 25mW, 40CH
- Motors: 0802, either 25000kv or 19000kv, with plastic connectors
- Receiver: either ACCST D8/D16 FrSky SPI, or AFHDS/AFHDS-2A Flysky SPI
- Propellers: Gemfan 1219 Tri-blade, 31mm Diameter, 1.0mm Hole
- Flight Controller: CRAZYBEE F4 Lite with included VTX/RX, 1A 5V BEC, 1S input, and OSD
- ESCs: 5A cont. / 6A burst current rating, BLHeli_S firmware target O_H_5_REV16_7
- Batteries: 300mAh, 30C cont. / 60C burst, PH2.0 Connector
Software Features:
The Mobula6 has all the software features that the whoop community has been working at for years, including OSD, turtle mode, and 48K ESC firmware/RPM filtering on an F4 processor and BlHeli_S ESCs. The OSD works the same as any other quad, and is set up in Betaflight. Turtle mode is a “flight mode” option in Betaflight that allows the motors to be reversed when you’ve crashed upside down in order to right yourself, avoiding the “walk of shame” to go pickup the whoop. Almost no brushed whoop has this ability, which is why it isn’t as common in whoops. This can be setup in Betaflight quite easily and there are many instructional videos about it on YouTube.
The third feature is slightly more complex, and involves ESC firmware. This is not at all required, but may be useful for getting better flight times, especially on the 25000kv motor version of the Mobula6. If you want, you can use jazzmaverick esc firmware for RPM filtering on the Mobula6, but it doesn’t need it very much. Instead, you can use the free 48k JESC firmware to extend flight times, which can be found here: https://github.com/jflight-public/jesc-configurator/releases . All you have to do is flash the firmware to each ESC for 48k and flight times should improve. Make the correct target is flashed or the ESCs could be bricked. If you bought the 25000kv version, you may also want to set up a throttle limit/curve to reduce power when flying inside, which can be done in the Betaflight CLI and set to a switch or knob.
My Experience and Conclusion:
Overall, I am extremely happy with this whoop, especially considering the price. I got the 25000kv version, and get an average of 3 minute flights on the 300mAh batteries ripping around inside. I am also yet to break the frame or lose a prop, which I attribute to its low weight. I also added 65%, 85%, and 100% throttle limit modes for different flying areas on a knob, because it is very difficult to maintain a good altitude without a throttle limit when inside a smaller area. If you have an area outside with small gaps, like a playground, then the 25000kv version could be a lot of fun there, but it really isn’t fast enough to have fun around small trees, which is to be expected. The camera mount also does a fairly good job at dampening vibrations; I only experienced slight jello in the video when flying outside and none inside. If you don’t plan on flying outside at all, and want the better flight time, then the 19000kv version is probably what you want, but 3 minute flight times with that amount of power output is still really good for the 25000kv version, and you can always add a throttle limit, so personally I would recommend the 25000kv version. In the end, the choice is yours, but if you want to add a brushless whoop to the collection, this is a great option.
Happy flying!
-JasonFPV