250 Pro Getting Started Guide International edition Rev 1.0 - Dec 2015 Every Vortex 250 Pro is flight tested before leaving the factory.
WARNING Congratulations on your purchase of one of the hobby’s first ARF pure-bred racing quadcopters. A product designed by FPV Racers, for FPV Racers. Do not expect it to fly like a DJI Phantom™ . It does not have a return-to-home feature, no GPS, and it does not have stabilization features that will allow your little brother to fly.
4 Steps: Unboxing to Racing To get your ARF Vortex ready to race, follow the simple 4-step process below.
1) Install Compatible R/C Receiver The Vortex 250 Pro is shipped with three receiver interface cables, one for CPPM, one for S-Bus, and one for the Spektrum receivers. Cleanflight provides a list of receivers stated as working, so please check if yours is listed here: https://github.com/cleanflight/cleanflight/blob/master/docs/Rx.md CPPM As it ships, the CPPM cable is pre-installed in the quad. If a CPPM receiver is to be used (such as the EzUHF, or other CPPM receivers on 2.
2) Also remove the two screws at the bottom of the right-hand side-plate, and remove the side-plate. 3) Remove the installed CPPM cable. 4) Looking in the right side of the quad, a white connector is visible on the fusion (flight controller) board. Install the included S-Bus, or Spektrum cable, as required. Note that the fact that the top plate screws are removed on the rear of the quad means that the top plate can be eased up a few millimeters to allow the connector to be installed.
Receiver Auto‐Detection A unique feature of the Vortex family of quadcopters is that the receiver type is auto-detected by the OSD when running the wizard. With the Vortex 250 Pro, it is no longer necessary to manually specify the receiver type with the ImmersionRC Tools before running the wizard.
2) Install a Suitable Battery The Vortex has a flexible battery mounting system, and uses an industry-standard XT-60 connector. This allows it to use a wide range of different batteries. To help select a suitable battery for your flying-style, read this section carefully: Voltage First things first, voltage. For starting out with the Vortex, a 3s (11.1V) pack is recommended. A Vortex running 4s (14.8V) is an extremely fast race-quad, which can easily get a pilot into trouble.
- Aerial Visions Inc, 4s 1300mAh 60C When installing the selected battery, pay attention to the Center of Gravity mark on the bottom of the Vortex. The COG is not that critical on a quad of this class, but it doesn’t hurt to respect it if possible, especially when racing. The addition of a heavy GoPro, on the nose of the quad may need a heavier battery to re-balance the quad. Note that the largest battery that can be installed safely on the Vortex is approx. 86mm long, by 50mm wide.
3) Setup the Video Link To avoid the traditional ‘dip-switch chaos’ at race events, the Vortex does not use a DIP switch to define Video Tx channels. Instead, the OSD is responsible for setting the channel, and band. The Vortex ships with a default Tx frequency of 5740MHz , which corresponds to ImmersionRC/FatShark frequencies, Channel 1. If you are running ImmersionRC receivers, or a FatShark headset using the standard 5.
4) Run the Wizard In the world of R/C, there is little standardization between equipment manufacturers as far as control stick to channel mapping. There is also little agreement between users as to which of the 4 control modes should be used. Since in the Vortex, both the OSD, and the Flight Controller need to know the channel mappings, a ‘Tx Setup Wizard’ is included to greatly simplify the process.
Mode 2 Controls Mode 2, arguably the most common stick mode, is common in the USA, and is a natural fit to helis, and multirotors. A Mode 2 transmitter is easily identified with the un-sprung (i.e. doesn’t return to center) throttle control on the left stick. For this mode, the multi-rotor controls are typically as follows: Throttle Pitch Yaw Roll Mode 1 Controls Mode 1 is common in Europe. A Mode 1 transmitter is easily identified with the un-sprung (i.e.
Following the Wizard The wizard is used primarily to let the Vortex learn the flight channel order, and R/C Tx mode (1, 2, 3, 4). ‘Left’ refers to moving the stick left, and ‘Back’ refers to moving the stick back towards you. Follow the prompts, ensuring that the correct stick is moved each time. As each control is recognized, it’s name will appear to the left of the servo bar.
NOTE: Use the value displayed beside the bar to adjust the endpoints of your R/C transmitter to have min@1000, center@1500, and max@2000. This is critical for correct OSD and flight-controller operation. NOTE: To restart the wizard at anytime, power up the quad, press and hold the button on the led board until vortex beeps 2 times (first beep after ~3 seconds, second beep after ~5 seconds).
NOTE: Currently there is no ‘servo reverse’ feature in Cleanflight. This means that if one of the R/C transmitter channels is reversed, the wizard will not complete correctly. It is highly recommended to start the wizard with a ‘new’ profile in the R/C radio, without any channel reversing, and also without any expo. Expo is all handled within the Pro-Tuning profiles. All Done, Time To Fly At this point in the Getting Started manual, the Vortex should be ready for its maiden flight.
The ImmersionRC Team wishes you many hours of enjoyment with your new Race Quad, and welcome any feedback that you may have at: feedback@immersionrc.com The Getting Started Manual should have got you airborne. It is a good idea to read the full Instruction Manual also, which contains many more details than this abbreviated manual. Note: The default ‘pro-Tune’ loaded is a ‘beginner’ tune created by Bewweb.
Power Train Standard Prop Gemfan 5045BN Maximum Prop Size 6” without a GoPro, 5” with a GoPro, optional arms for 6” with a GoPro.
