Review: HGLRC Sector132 FPV Drone with Caddx Vista

by Oscar

I have always wanted a small pre-built FPV drone with DJI FPV System (under 250g), so I can fly in my local parks. The HGLRC Sector132 does exactly that! It’s not super powerful, but nimble and functional, the more I fly the more I enjoy it!

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Here is my review of the DJI FPV System.

Where to Buy?

There are many receiver options you can choose from:

It comes with the following accessories:

  • Sector132 Drone
  • 4x Gemfan 2540 propeller (2.5″)
  • 4x HQProp T3X3X3 propeller (3″)
  • 2x battery straps (15x210cm)
  • TPU mount for battery
  • TPU mount for HD camera
  • Bags of spare screws (M2 5mm and 7mm)
  • Manual

Specs

The Sector132 FPV Drone takes 3S and 4S LiPo. With prop guards and 2.5″ propellers, the total weight is about 160g. Removing the prop guards can bring the weight down to 142g.

With the prop guard removed, the Sector132 can fit 3″ propellers which are included in the box, and the weight is only 144g.

Here are the specs of each components:

  • Frame supports 2.5″ and 3″ propellers
    • Bottom plate thickness 3mm
    • Top plate thickness 2mm
    • 132mm wheelbase
    • Weight: 58g
  • ZEUS AIO F4 FC
    • Input Voltage:3-6S
    • Integrated 35A 4in1 ESC
    • FC Firmware: BF HGLRCF411(HGLR)
    • ESC Firmware: BLheli_S
    • Dimensions: 40x32mm
    • Weight: 10g
  • CADDX VISTA
  • Forward 1106 3800KV Motor
    • Supported Voltage: 3-4S
    • Recommended Prop(inch): 2.5-3 Inch
    • Weight: 6g

Closer Look at the Sector132

The build is very simple and clean thanks to HGLRC’s very own Zeus AIO FC board, which has 4in1 ESC integrated. There is no messy and complicated wiring like many other micro quads we reviewed before.

I have no problems accessing the USB ports in the FC and Caddx Vista, but if you find it difficult to plug in your USB cables, check out this magnetic USB cable.

The Sector132 is larger in size than other 3″ drones. Here is the Eachine Twig on the right, modified for the Caddx VISTA (see flight here). But the Sector132 frame design is easier for building and repairing.

The best part about the Sector132 is the removable prop guards, and these are some of the most durable prop guards I’ve seen. They are made of slightly flexible but very crash-resistant material.

The build quality is quite decent, and HGLRC added a 35V 220uF low ESR capacitors at the power to reduce noise.

The motors used in the HGLRC Sector132 are 1106 motors, which is a relatively small for this weight class in my opinion. I think they might have made design choice trying to keep the weight down, prioritizing flight time and durability over power.

The extension of the arms provides extra protection to the motor in crashes.

I quite like the frame design, simple and sturdy – makes it easy to build/repair, and crash-resistant. It’s also very stiff, which is a must for good flight performance.

I also like the TPU antenna mount a lot, holds the Crossfire antenna and VTX antenna in place nicely and securely.

As you can see, the Caddx Vista camera is sticking out of the frame, and I don’t think it’d survive long if you crash a lot.

Also the way they’ve mounted the camera, makes it impossible to adjust camera angle.

Clearly, they didn’t seem to put much thought into the build, because both of these problems could have been easily avoided by slightly changing how the camera is mounted as shown in the following picture. No more protruding camera, and you now have more camera angle.

They provided a mount for your HD camera, such as the GoPro Session, but I just don’t see myself using it. The camera is supposed to be strapped to the mount, and I cannot guarantee the camera would stay on the drone after a crash, or even during an acrobatic flight.

I don’t find the TPU battery mount useful either. It only works for certain battery sizes (e.g. 4S 450mAh), and because it’s mounted on the frame with bolts, the heads might puncture your battery in a crash. Just use the provided LiPo strap instead.

Here is the annoying part, the provided battery straps are too long! (they are 21cm long)

I think 15cm to 17cm should be the ideal length for 4S 450mAh – 650mAh Lipo’s. You can get some here: https://oscarliang.com/product-q0iz

And they missed one bolt in the frame (standoff), which weakens the strength of the frame. When you get yours, make sure you should check, they’ve given you more than enough spare bolts so not a huge problem.

Even with the prop guards installed, it’s still possible to break those props. I smashed my quad into a lamp post, not a scratch on the post nor the quad, but one of the props broke into pieces.

Unfortunately there is only one set of props included, so make sure you buy more!

The manual provided is not great, it doesn’t give you any useful instructions on how to setup your Sector132. It’s even confusing for beginners because they mention about analogue FPV channels, which is not what we use with the DJI FPV system. But don’t worry, I will show you step by step how to setup the Sector132 for first flight.

The Ideal Configuration and Best Battery

To get the best possible performance out of the Sector132, you should definitely remove the prop guards and use 3″ props, which are included in the kit. It has so much more power (roughly 20-30% more) than 2.5″. Not only it flies faster, it has more grip in the air, it just feels more responsive and more stable.

The only time I would use 2.5″ props and prop guards, is when I fly near people and shooting small gaps :) And if you are a beginner, it’s also a good idea to keep the prop guards on, so it’s less likely to break props :) Using the smaller 2.5″ propellers also helps you with throttle and speed management.

As for battery, I recommend going 4S – more power, more nimble, more stable, and handles the wind better. I tested 3S (520mah to 650mah) as well, it did work fine, but it just wasn’t as fun as 4S.

After testing a bunch of 4S LiP, here is my recommendations for the Sector132:

Can Sector132 Take Cinematic Footage?

Sort of, but the Caddx Vista doesn’t have an SD card slot, so you can only record video in the DJI goggles, which is limited to 720p resolution. And even if that’s enough for you, it’s not going to be as smooth as using a GoPro with Hypersmoth or Reelsteady Go for stabilization. You can put a heavy GoPro on the Sector132, but I don’t recommend it because the extra weight will make this thing fly terribly, just not enjoyable.

HGLRC also offers a 4K version with Caddx Tarsier. It has analogue VTX though instead of DJI. But I think 4K on the Sector132 is fairly pointless anyway, because there’s no stabilization for the HD recording, the footage will look shaky and bumpy regardless how high the resolution is. It only takes more hard drive space and slows down your video editing.

If you really want an HD camera for cinematic footage on a small platform, check out the naked GoPro Project. I recently built the Umma85 and Umma95 and they give me stunning results.

The other option is using the Insta360 GO, which just arrived in my mailbox and waiting to be reviewed :) I will report back when I’ve tested it.

How to Setup Sector132

I do think the HGLRC Sector132 makes a great quad for beginners, but it lacks a proper setup guide. So i will try my best to show you how I set up mine for first flight.

Setup Caddx Vista

FC Firmware

The Betaflight firmware target is HGLRCF411, and it comes with version 4.1.5 pre-installed. For my first flight, I didn’t update Betaflight because I wanted to see how well it flies out of the box. I will update it to 4.2 before tuning it.

UART Ports

They’ve already setup the UART’s for you, so there is nothing to do here. There are only two UART on this FC, but enough for this setup:

  • UART1 is set to MSP, for the Caddx Vista OSD
  • UART3 is set to Serial RX, for the Crossfire Nano Receiver

Betaflight Configuration

In Configuration tab:

  • Disable “Motor Stop” – so you know the quad is armed or not, this option is ignored anyway when you enable airmode (default off)
  • Enable Airmode – better flight characteristics
  • Under DShot Beacon, Turn on RX_SET – because this quad doesn’t have a buzzer, this makes it easier to find after crash

In Modes tab:

  • Assign switches to arm, beeper and turtle mode

In OSD tab:

Flight Performance and Tuning

Stock Tune

First flight was with prop guards and 2.5″ props on 4S, vibrations was very noticeable. But mind you it was a very windy day (15MPH).

https://youtu.be/dy1CqvKhsdU

I went home and enabled RPM filter, flight performance immediately improved with less oscillations. You should definitely do that! I also removed the prop guards and tested 3″ props, and it was way more enjoyable, handles the wind much better.

At this point the quad is still on default settings from factory, next I will be tuning this quad and see if I can get it to fly even better and reduce the vibration.

A Slightly Better Tune

First thing I did was updating it to BF4.2, make sure you back up settings first! Just type Diff All (or just dump) and save it to a text file somewhere. Here is my CLI backup (Diff All, not dump) if you lost your: https://intofpv.com/t-original-cli-diff-all-from-hglrc-sector132

https://youtu.be/E9Lc7heepFc

I spent 3 packs tuning the Sector132, it definitely flies much better now than when I first received it. There’s still some oscillations in the top end, I could spend more time improving it, but the park was getting busy and i have some other quads i have to test today, so i will leave it there for now. But the Sector132 is very prone to vibration and hard to tune, maybe something to do with the hardware. I might have to investigate blackbox log to learn more. And yes, the Zeus FC has flash memory for blackbox, so that would be handy.

I actually think the jello might be coming from the camera mount, it’s quite flimsy and very flexible if i try to move it with my fingers. I will try a sturdier TPU mount next.

Conclusions

It’s not the most powerful 3″ nor the smallest, but overall a decent “all-around” micro drone that offers flexibility. I personally don’t do anything fancy with it like racing or building diving, it’s perfect for relaxed flying and exploring the small local parks.

Get your HGLRC Sector132 from here:

What else you need to buy to fly:

Pros

  • It’s small and under 250g weight limit, suitable for beginners and great for casual flying in local parks, doesn’t look intimidating
  • Fun to fly, performs really well on 3″ for freestyle moves
  • Nice build quality and components
  • Removable prop guards
  • Props are clear from camera’s view
  • 3D printed parts are provided, not really useful, but at least options are there :)

Cons

  • Tuning is not optimal as there is quite a bit of vibration, and it’s not easy to tune – maybe they should consider tuning it better in factory
  • Not the most powerful 3″ micro quad due to the slightly heavy frame and small motors, but still an enjoyable freestyle quad
  • No protection to the camera lens – you can mount it differently as I shown for better protection
  • Useless manual (not a problem as I’ve shown you how to set it up :D )
  • The provided battery straps are too long
  • No buzzer, but you can use DShot Beacon though it’s not as loud

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4 comments

Maksim 22nd February 2021 - 12:15 pm

What you thought to be a TPU battery mount is actually a holder for a DJI air unit!
No idea why they put one your package. ^_^

Reply
Tom Warlow 20th July 2020 - 7:53 pm

Mine’s sat on my desk waiting for my DJI goggles to arrive ?, I assumed that TPU strap that came with it was meant for an Air unit (as its the right shape), no mention in the instructions though.

Reply
afam 20th July 2020 - 3:47 pm

hi oscar! hows the rssi reading on your quad? mine shows 0 rssi and 9 lq

Reply
Oscar 21st July 2020 - 1:56 pm

LQ doesn’t display in DJI goggles yet.
RSSI works though and mine is working fine.

Reply