ImmersionRC Vortex 230 Mojo User manual


Instruction Manual
International   edition
Rev 1.0   - Oct   2017








Thank You!
The team that designed the Vortex 230 Mojo would like to thank you for purchasing this product.
Many hours of development and testing went into the Vortex 230 Mojo, and we’re confident this is reflected in
your experience with this exciting new mini-quad, as this Vortex combines all of the greatest features of
previous generations.
The Vortex 230 Mojo was designed as an racer/freestyle crossover, equipped to excel both at the race track as
well as at your favorite freestyle spot. The included pro-tunes will get you up and running quickly as the
mini-quad has been tuned properly right out of the box.
We would love to hear your feedback on the product, whether good or bad, at [email protected].



 



2






 WARNING
Congratulations on your purchase of one of the world’s finest ARF pure-bred freestyle/racing mini-quads. A
product designed by FPV pilots, for FPV pilots.
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 it.
Take it easy if you are new to the world of FPV racing, find an empty field for your first flight and get
comfortable with flying the quad first before you hit that downtown bando.
Acro mode is something that should be learned as soon as possible, flying any other mode is a bit like driving a
Lamborghini around a parking-lot in reverse… not exactly what you bought the Lambo for. 
Please carefully read the recommendations in this instruction manual, as far as equipment/battery selection,
and how to run the Vortex 230 Mojo setup Wizard.

 REMOVE PROPS
Mini-quad props can do serious damage when coming in contact with human skin, risk of deep cuts and
lacerations should be avoided at all cost.
So when you are working on a quad with the battery connected, it is highly recommended to REMOVE ALL
PROPS, unless you are just about to fly. Keep in mind that when setting up mini-quads, there is always a
remote chance that a configuration change can spin up motors unexpectedly.
ImmersionRC   accepts   no   responsibility,   or   liability,   for   any   injury,   or   damage,   to   persons   or   property,   caused   by   the   use
of   the   Vortex.

 INSTALL ANTENNA
The Video Transmitter included in the Vortex may be damaged permanently if run without the supplied
SpiroNET Antenna.  Please take care to install this antenna before every flight, and when powering up the
Vortex for even a short time period.
ImmersionRC   accepts   no   responsibility   for   damage   caused   to   the   Vortex   by   operating   without   a   suitable   Tx   antenna
installed.



3






Getting Started for Newcomers to Racing Drones
This manual focuses on preparing your Vortex 230 Mojo for first flight, and how to maintain it in the future. One
step that is highly recommended for newcomers to the world of racing drones is to take the first flight within
the safety of a simulator.
Lugus Studios ‘Liftoff’ simulator contains a full realistic 3D simulation of the Vortex 230 Mojo, and is an ideal
way to get the hang of flying a mini-quad without breaking props.  Hovering, turning, carving around flags,
racing through gates, all can be practiced before charging your first battery.

Liftoff is distributed on the Steam platform, and may be downloaded from here:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/410340/










4





Getting Started, ARF Version
The separate Quick Start Guide should be used when setting up your Vortex 230 Mojo for the first time. It
includes sections on choosing an appropriate battery, and R/C receiver, and also the operation of the setup
wizard.




 



5






The Anatomy of a Vortex 230 Mojo
Connectors and Switches
1) USB connector, pictured on the left, is used to configure the flight controller and upgrade the Vortex
firmware. Note that when used with most USB hosts, a separate battery connection is not required
when connecting to the USB connector.

Please   be   careful   not   to   put   too   much   strain   on   this   connector.   It   is   a   lightweight   surface-mount   part,   and   if
the   quad   is   dragged   around   by   the   USB   cord   it   may   not   survive.
2) Reset button, pictured right below the ImmersionRC logo on the side-plate sticker, is used to change
Video Tx band, to restart the wizard and also to put a Spektrum receiver in bind mode.
Press and release after 1st beep to change video band, release after 2nd beep to restart the wizard,
release after 3rd beep to put a (non-autobind) spektrum rx in bind mode, finally release after 4th beep
to cancel operation.
Note:   To   bind   a   Spektrum   Rx   using   the   reset   button,   the   Vortex   must   be   placed   in   SPEKTRUM   1024/2048
mode,   and   not   AUTO   mode,   using   the   Vortex   Chrome   App   on   a   PC   or   Mac.
 WARNING:   Be   careful   how   much   pressure   is   placed   on   this   small   button.   It   is   a   surface-mount   part
which   may   easily   be   damaged   with   a   heavy-hand.   Use   an   appropriate   tool   to   access   the   recessed   button   (a
bent   paper-clip   works   fine),   and   do   not   push   harder   after   the   first   ‘click’   is   felt.
3) Synergy FC/OSD button, used to enter firmware update mode in the case of a ‘bricked’ OSD, it is
positioned beneath the hole located right above the top of the anti-slip pad. Note that we don’t expect
this button to ever be needed, but this is where it is located just in case...
See   the   Firmware   Upgrades   chapter   for   more   details.



6








4) Receiver Connector (All Protocols, CPPM, SBus, DSMX™, etc.)
The Vortex 230 Mojo has a single connector for all supported receivers. 5V and 3.3V power supplies are
available, to support most of the commonly used receivers on the market today. In most cases, one of
the supplied cables will suffice, but if a cable must be built, the pinout is (from left to right) Signal, GND,
+3.3V and +5V.




7





Note that a piece of double-sided tape may be used to secure the receiver on top of the metal can
beside the connector.
Receiver antennas may be routed through any of the four available slots. Two at the back of the quad
in the LED diffuser, and two in the side-plates. Be sure to use some extra shrinkwrap over the fragile
antennas so they’re better able to handle the abuse of rough landings and handling the quad.
The best solution is to route them through the holes in the side-plates in front of the rear arms but
certain receivers may not have sufficiently long antenna wires, so routing them out the back is the only
option in that case.
Connector Part Numbers and Sources
If any of the connectors on the Vortex 230 Mojo are damaged, or if 3rd party components are to be integrated
into the system, the following list of connectors and pre-crimped wires should be useful. Obviously we also
have all the cables available in a set as a spare part with part number V23CAB.
Cable
Description
Manufacturer’s PN
Digikey PN
FUN/GPS Signal Connector
Picoblade 5 pin
0510210500 
WM1723-ND
Camera Signal Connector
Picoblade 3 pin
0510210300 
WM1721-ND
Picoblade Signal Wires
(all Picoblade connectors)
Picoblade
0006660013
WM2320-ND



 



8





Arm Assembly
When changing an arm, a soldering iron is required, to remove the ESC + and - battery cables, along with the
signal cable.
Note: The choice of soldered connections here, instead of the much more convenient connector option
may not seem ideal, but this is the best way to transmit the 30+ Amps of battery juice to the ESCs and
motors without losses.

Camera Mounting
Flight Camera
The Vortex 230 Mojo is equipped with a state-of-the-art FatShark CCD camera featuring a Sony CCD and Sony
chipset which puts it a step up over other popular FPV cameras.

Note that the camera tilt is adjustable. Loosen the two upper-screws and tilt the camera to the desired angle,
before re-tightening them.
OSD Camera Control: The Vortex 230 Mojo is able to control the camera settings directly from the Vortex OSD,
so no need for external cables with switches etc. to set it up.



9







Lost Model Alarm
The Lost Model Alarm on the Vortex 230 Mojo  sounds when the quad is disarmed after landing, or if a receiver
failsafe occurs, this alarm can also be assigned to a switch from within the Betaflight Chrome app if desired.
The alarm is designed to be as simple as possible, without controls which could allow it to be accidentally
disabled, resulting in a lost quad, hence we suggest leaving it at the default setting.
The Touch’n’Race (TNR) Tag
The Touch’n’Race tag is located behind the plastic side-plate of the right-side of the quad (looking from the
back).
A TNR Wand or an NFC enabled Android phone with the NFC app may be used to not only query the video
transmission frequency before powering-up the quad, but also to set it to any of the supported channels before
powering up.




10






The On Screen Display (OSD)
The Welcome Screen
Each time the Vortex is powered up, and before sticks are moved, the following welcome screen is displayed.
This shows various pieces of status information, including the Flight Controller version number, and Flight
Controller API version which is fairly important for OSD compatibility.

Moving the pitch/roll stick (right stick for mode 2’ers) will dismiss the menu.


 



11





The Main Menu
For Mode 2’ers, holding the throttle stick down and to the left will enter the main menu. Note that this stick
position needs to be held for a few seconds before the menu appears.
Note that some menus are multi-page, take a look in the top-right corner of the display to see how many pages
in the current menu, and which is selected.

To navigate the menu, use the pitch/roll stick.

 



12





The OSD Setup Menu
Various OSD setup parameters are available in this menu.
The Landscape, defines the elements that are shown on the main screen in flight, including an EzOSD-type
landscape (the default), a clutter-free landscape for hardcore racers, and a gaming mode which is currently in
Beta form (documented later in this manual).
The Pseudo lets you name your quad. This is useful when several Vortexes are being used in a race, and
simplifies Video Tx channel assignments.
The Pack Capacity should be set to the capacity of your flight battery. The OSD will track battery consumption,
and will warn, with screen-center alarms, if it gets critical.
NOTE: It is highly recommended to set this to match the flight pack that you are using to allow the OSD to
warn you when the battery is reaching critical levels.



 



13





Alarms may be enabled and disabled in the Alarms Setup menu.
It is highly recommended to start flying with all alarms enabled, and disable them if required after getting used
to the quad.



 



14





The LED Setup Menu
The RGB LEDs on the rear of the Vortex are fully programmable, with colors, and various patterns.

For Parameter Mode = Intensity, the intensity of the LEDs will reflect the current throttle position.
For Parameter Mode = Frequency the blink rate of the LEDs will reflect the current throttle position.
For Parameter Mode = Gradient, the LEDs will shift from the foreground color, to the background color, based
upon the current throttle position.
Other   modes   will   be   supported   in   future   firmware   updates. 

 



15





The Flight Controller Menus
In-field tweaking of flight-controller menus is possible without a laptop and USB cable.
All of the critical parameters, PIDs, Expos, Loop time, etc. are available.

General configuration settings should not need changing, except to enable Air Mode (which is highly
recommended).




16






Note that the PID Settings menu is a two page menu, keep moving the caret down to access the second page.




17







Note that all of the Flight Controller parameters can be preset by loading one of the installed Pro-Tunes.

 



18





The Video Tx Menu
The Video Tx menu shows, graphically, the 5.8GHz frequency band, from low (left) through high (right)
frequency.
5 bands are supported, covering the standard ImmersionRC/FatShark frequency bands, plus all of the ‘Boscam’,
Team Black Sheep bands, and also the new ImmersionRC ‘RaceBand’.
Note the need for RaceBand in this hobby is immediately obvious after looking at this graph!
NOTE:   Channel   8   of   the   IRC/FS   set   cannot   be   received   by   7   channel   ImmersionRC   or   FatShark   receivers.   Unlocked
Uno/Duo5800   receivers   can   receive   it,   as   can   the   new   FatShark   4-band   RaceBand   Dominator   module.

WARNING:   Please   pay   attention   to   the   legality   of   the   channels   that   you   are   using   in   your   area.
While   the   authorities   have   been   relatively   tolerant   of   emitted   power   on   5.8GHz,   out   of   band   transmission   is   a   more
serious   issue.
In   the   USA,   with   a   Ham   license   (required   to   emit   more   than   about   1mW),   operation   within   the   5650MHz   to   5925MHz
band   is   allowed.   All   8   RaceBand   channels   fall   within   this   band,   but   the   outer   channels   of   the   Boscam   E   band   are
outside   the   band.
Within   Europe,   the   Ham   band   is   5650MHz   to   5850MHz,   which   allows   the   first   6   RaceBand   channels.
NOTE #1: There are several SKUs for the Vortex 230 Mojo to allow sales in most countries. Each SKU may
limit power and/or available channels.

NOTE #2: The Vortex 230 Mojo is always in ‘Dynamic Power Control’ mode. This limits output power to a
maximum of 25mW before takeoff, and after landing (disarming). Advantages are multiple, including
much lower battery consumption while waiting on the starting grid of a race and reduced temperatures.



19





The Camera Settings
The Camera Settings menu allows the camera settings to be modified using the camera’s built-in OSD.
Ideal for tweaking settings to optimize the camera for challenging lighting conditions.

A confirmation prompt appears before entering the camera’s OSD menu. When selecting YES, the OSD controls
will change slightly from those used in the Vortex OSD.
For Mode 2 users, the right-stick becomes the OSD setup joystick (up/down/left/right), and the Vortex OSD
‘Enter Menu’ control (left stick back and left) becomes the ‘select’ function.
A long ‘Enter Menu’ control (1 second or more) returns control to the Vortex OSD.

If for any reason the camera OSD control doesn’t function, even if the cameras has been changed for a different
model, please follow the guide located in the following blog post:
Vortex OSD Control of Camera OSDs




20

