In this review of the BetaFPV Meteor75 Pro HD Whoop, I will walk you through all the technical details. This compact FPV drone is equipped with Walksnail Avatar VTX, tipping the scales at under 36 grams, boasts of 1080p HD video capabilities! Serving as the upgraded version of the well-loved original Meteor75, this new iteration brings some impressive enhancements to the table, along with a few areas that might leave room for improvement.
For a comprehensive list of essential Tiny Whoop accessories and parts, don’t forget to check out this post: https://oscarliang.com/best-tiny-whoop/#Essential-Accessories-and-Parts
Table of Contents
Where to Buy?
You can find the Meteor75 Pro HD Walksnail Edition from these vendors:
- BetaFPV: https://oscarliang.com/product-r2la
- RDQ: https://oscarliang.com/product-nghw
- Amazon: https://amzn.to/42J9jbL
- AliExpress: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DlLKttR
Inside the box, you’ll find the following accessories:
- 2x 1S 550mAh Batteries
- 1x Battery charger
- 1x USB-C cable for charger
- 4x Spare propellers
- 1x USB Cable for VTX (for downloading footage and updating Walksnail or HDZero firmware)
- 1x Screwdriver
- 1x spare screws
Grab spare batteries here: https://oscarliang.com/product-zzj8
Get spare Gemfan 45mm tri-blade propellers with 1.5mm shaft here: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DC7ERtr
Specifications
- FC&ESC: F4 1S 5A AIO FC
- Frame: Meteor75 Pro Brushless Whoop Frame
- Motors: 1102 22000KV Motor
- Propellers: Gemfan 45mm 3-Blade Propellers
- Receiver options: Serial ELRS 2.4G/SPI Frsky/TBS Crossfire Nano
- VTX Options: Walksnail Avatar Mini 1S Lite, HDZero Whoop Lite
- Camera Options: Walksnail Avatar Lite Camera, HDZero Nano Lite Camera
- Camera Adjustable Angle: 0-40°
- Battery connector: BT2.0
- Recommended Battery: 1S 550mAh LiHV battery
- Weight Without Battery: 35.8g (Walksnail)/34.9g (HDZero)
- Weight with battery: 50.1g (Walksnail) / 49.2 (HDZero)
Walksnail FPV Setup
The heart of this tiny drone is the Walksnail HD system, which delivers 1080p video at a smooth 60fps. To get an in-depth understanding of the Walksnail Avatar 1S Mini Lite VTX, you can check out my previous review here: https://oscarliang.com/walksnail-avatar-hd-mini-1s-lite-kit/
In a nutshell, the Walksnail’s image quality is simply extraordinary – it far surpasses that of an analog setup. It boasts an 8GB onboard storage capacity that begins recording flight footage as soon as the drone is armed. Accessing your recorded footage is a breeze – simply connect the VTX to your computer using the provided cable while a battery is connected to the drone. The VTX will show up as a flash storage device on your computer, allowing you to easily import your recordings.
However, a word of caution: The VTX connector and cable are incredibly small and delicate. If damaged, it would be impossible to retrieve videos from your quad. Handle with care and, whenever possible, rely on your goggles’ footage recording feature. This feature still offers a respectable 720p at 60fps HD footage.
Digital video systems on Tiny Whoops present a formidable challenge. Walksnail and HDZero whoops typically are 5-8 grams heavier than analog whoops. In the world of Tiny Whoops, where the entire rig often weighs less than 20 grams, even a few grams can be a significant difference. 5 grams might not sound like much, but in drone terms, it’s a huge deal. To put this into perspective, it’s like flying with or without the GoPro Hero 11 on a five-inch freestyle drone.
There are also power requirements to consider. Tiny Whoops typically run off of 1s batteries, providing 4.35V when fully charged. Powering digital VTX can therefore be a bit tricky because they don’t like low voltage. For example, the Walksnail 1S Mini may even shut off if the battery runs too low below 3.1V. Therefore, it’s important to acknowledge that adopting a digital system can come with a performance trade-off due to these extra weight and power requirements.
Flight Controller
The BetaFPV Meteor75 Pro HD Whoop is built around an All-In-One (AIO) BetaFPV F4 5A AIO FC board. This board features a BMI270 gyro and 8MB flash memory for Blackbox logging. It is also equipped with motor plugs, making motor replacements a easy and solder-free task.
Furthermore, the Meteor75 Pro HD Whoop offers receiver options like ELRS, TBS Crossfire, or FrSky SPI. It’s worth mentioning that the ExpressLRS receiver is a serial type, a welcome departure from the SPI variant.
Battery and Charging
The drone employs BT2.0 battery connectors and comes bundled with two 1S 550mAh LiPo batteries. However, if you prefer, you can also use 1S 450mAh batteries, as they fit snuggly in the battery holder.
It comes with a USB-C charger for charging the included batteries, which doubles as a voltage checker.
Build and Durability
Canopy Color Choices
The Meteor75 Pro HD’s frame and canopy are crafted from durable plastic and are available in an array of colors. BetaFPV offers white, black, yellow, orange, red, blue, and cyan color options for customization. You can purchase your favorite color separately and tailor your drone to your preference. Check out the options here: https://oscarliang.com/product-mt9z
Larger than 75mm Whoops
The Meteor75 Pro HD, contrary to its name, is no longer a 75mm tiny whoop like its predecessor, the original Meteor75 Walksnail (review). The Pro version has expanded its wheelbase to over 80mm. The 5mm increase brings about significant difference in numerous aspects such as weight, prop size, and performance.
Despite its larger size, BetaFPV has successfully trimmed the Pro’s weight by 3 grams compared to the previous version. This weight reduction can be attributed to a redesigned canopy and the use of a basic dipole antenna for the VTX.
Just like the frame, the canopy comes in various color options that you can purchase separately here: https://oscarliang.com/product-8l62
Bigger Props
The Meteor75 Pro HD’s expanded frame allows for larger 45mm props, a significant step up from the previous version’s 40mm props. The drone also features higher KV 1102 motors, which have been boosted from 18000KV to 22000KV. This combination results in a more responsive drone, albeit with a minor compromise on efficiency.
Flight Performance
Weighing 3 grams less than its predecessor and featuring larger propellers, the Meteor75 Pro HD whoop is both lighter and more powerful.
When taken outdoors, its robust motor and prop combo allow it to handle conditions fairly well. However, it’s worth noting that the default PID tuning doesn’t seem to be optimal for windy conditions, as shown by some video shakiness.
One standout feature is the adjustable camera angle, which allows for a seamless switch between indoor and outdoor flying. The onboard VTX and RX signals consistently maintained their strength within a 300m range. When navigating around the house, though, it’s evident that the signal isn’t as strong as in the original version. This is likely due to the switch from a circular polarized antenna to a simple dipole antenna—a change made to reduce weight.
One word of caution: avoid crashing into grassy areas. With no onboard buzzer and super quiet motors, locating this drone in the grass can be a challenge—you might struggle to hear it even from just 5 meters away.
In terms of battery life, expect around 3 to 4 minutes of relaxed cruising time.
A Noteworthy Drawback
One major issue with the Meteor75 Pro is voltage sag. This drone is more power-hungry than the original version, primarily due to its higher KV motors and larger propellers.
The Walksnail Avatar 1S Lite VTX, a key component of this quad, requires a minimum of 3.1V of power to function. When the drone’s voltage sags—often during acrobatic maneuvers in the latter half of the flight—it can lead to unexpected VTX shutdowns. When it happens, your goggles screen simply goes black.
It’s important to note that this issue doesn’t arise when you’re gentle on the throttle and just cruising around. However, it does mean that the Meteor75 Pro may not be the best choice for racing or freestyle flying, where abrupt power demands are frequent. Instead, it’s more suited for relaxed flights and exploration, especially in larger indoor areas.
The drone can handle outdoor conditions reasonably well, albeit with some minor shakiness in breezy conditions—I noticed this while flying in 10MPH winds in my flight video. As a precaution, when you see a low voltage alert or voltage readings around 3.3V, avoid any aggressive maneuvers that could further drain the battery.
Digital vs Analog
The Meteor75 Pro is also available in an analog version, which, while lighter, offers a different flight experience. This reduced weight significantly enhances its flight performance, making the analog version more suitable for freestyle and aggressive flying. See my review of the analog edition here: https://oscarliang.com/betafpv-meteor75-pro-whoop-analog/
However, it’s important to note that the image quality of the analog version falls considerably short of the Walksnail version. So, if your flying style involves more relaxed cruising around, you might find the superior HD visuals of the Walksnail version more enjoyable.
How to Setup
The flight controller comes preloaded with Betaflight 4.4.0 firmware. FC Board Target: BETAFPVF411.
I did the following before the first flight:
- Setup arm switch in Modes tab
- Enable Telemetry in Receiver tab
- Load ExpressLRS 500hz preset in the Preset tab
- Bind radio (by flashing receiver with bind phrase, the receiver device is BetaFPV 2.4GHz AIO RX)
- Bind Walksnail to goggles (no firmware update needed)
- Lower voltage warning in Power tab – minimal voltage 3.3V, warning 3.5V
Here’s the location of the Walksnail vTX location.
Conclusion
My main criticism of the BetaFPV Meteor75 Pro HD Whoop lies in the decision to incorporate higher KV motors with larger props. While these motors may enhance speed and responsiveness, they do so at the cost of efficiency. Despite the drone’s utilization of a larger battery, I didn’t see any noticeable increase in flight time. In fact, I experienced more voltage sag, leading to unexpected VTX shutdowns during the second half of my flights, particularly when performing flips and rolls.
If you’re experiencing similar issues, you may want to consider replacing the tri-blade props with two-blade ones, such as the Gemfan 45mm 2-blade with a 1.5mm shaft, which you can find here: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DFpm3wZ. This change could help improve efficiency and reduce voltage sag, thereby potentially extending your flight time.
Despite these issues, it’s important to recognize the notable improvements that the Meteor75 Pro HD brings to the table when compared to its predecessor. Its reduced weight and slightly larger size, coupled with the addition of larger propellers, are welcomed upgrades. However, I do wish BetaFPV had opted for a less power-hungry motor option for the Walksnail edition, which could have further optimized the drone’s overall performance.
1 comment
Finally someone points out the bad motor Prop choice, I have the walksnail version and the flight time it’s just terrible, combined with the video out at 3.1v its a bad buy.
Don’t expect more then 2m flight time with the default setup.
Change props to 2 bladed ones, install a step up on the vtx and use gnb 600mah lipos to make it a more enjoyable drone, or even limit the motors to 85 or 90%.