ImmersionRC Vordex 250 Pro User manual

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250ProGettingStarted
Guide
Internationaledition
Rev1.0-Dec2015
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EveryVortex250Proisflighttestedbefore
leavingthefactory.
FlightTestedBy:
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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.
TakeiteasyifyouarenewtotheworldofFPVracing,trytoavoidslammingthequadintothe
firstwallbeforeyouhavemasteredslalomingthroughthetreesonthewaytothewall.
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gettingstartedguide,asfaras
equipment/batteryselection,andhowtoruntheVortex250ProWizard.
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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.
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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. 
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2
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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
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2)Installsuitablebattery
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3)Setupthevideolink
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4)Runthewizard
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3
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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
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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2.4GHz)thereceivercansimplybeattachedtothe
rearmountingplate,andthecableconnected.Noothercablingisrequired.
CPPMsendsallPPMchannelsdownasinglecable,andeliminatesthemassofwiringthat
mostmini-quadshavetocontendwith.
NotethattheVortex250ProisnotcompatiblewithstandardR/Creceiverswithmultiple
channelsofPWM,eachconnectedviaaseparatecable. 
Thereceivershouldbemountedontherearofthequad,ontheshelfprovided.Avelcrostrap,or
apieceofdouble-sidedtapeisthebestwaytomounttheareceiver.
SBus,orSpektrum
Tosupportoneofthesereceivers,acablemustbeinstalledinthequad,whichdoesrequire
removingafewscrewstoaccesstheconnector.
1) Removethescrewspointedtobelow:
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4
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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.Don’tforcethetwoaparttoomuch,orrisk
damagingthePDB.
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NotesonReceiverSelection
Onecriticalparametertokeeptoaminimuminaracequadsetupislatency.Latencyfromwhat
thecameraseestothedisplaydevice,andalsofromthecontrolsticktotheflightcontroller.
Forminimumlatency,withreasonablerange,theSpektrum™radiosandsatellitereceiversarea
greatchoice.Anothergood(andquitecommon)choiceistheFrSkyTaranisradiowitha
matchedS-Busreceiver(X4Rforexample).
Forlonger-rangeFPV,theEzUHFsystemisagoodchoice.Duetothecloseproximityofthe
electronicsandVideoTransmitteronamini-quad,andthelackofasuitableground-plane,a
diversityreceiver,withdipoleantennasishighlyrecommended.
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Note:AnupdatetoallexistingEzUHFsystemswillbeavailableearlyDec.2015,whichwillenable
anS-Busoutput,asopposedtothemoretraditionalPPM.Thiswillgreatlyreducelatency.
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 
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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.
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R/CTransmitterConfiguration
DependingupontheR/Ctransmitterinuse,certainparametersneedtobemodifiedinorderto
ensurecompatibilitywiththeVortex250Pro,andmoreimportantlywiththeCleanflightFlight
Controllerfirmware.
Inallcases,duringthewizardsetup,thecurrent‘PPMValue’isshownon-screenbesideeach
control.Thisvaluemustbeascloseaspossibletoamin.of1000,centerof1500,andmax.of
2000.
Itishighlyrecommendedtostartwitha‘clean’configuration(newmodel)forallradios.
Spektrum™Radios
Spektrumradiosneedthefollowingconfiguration:
- Twochannelsneedreversing,AIL,andRUD.
- Mapchannel5toa2or3-positionswitchtocontrolflightmode(Acro/Horizor
Acro/Level/Horiz).
- Verifythattheendpointsare1000/1500/2000asdescribedabove.
FrSkyTaranisRadio
- Mapchannel5toa3-positionswitchtocontrolflightmode(Acro/Level/Horiz).
- Verifythattheendpointsare1000/1500/2000asdescribedabove.
FutabaS‐BusRadios
- Mapchannel5toa3-positionswitchtocontrolflightmode(Acro/Level/Horiz).
- ReversechannelsELEandTHR
- Changesubtrimto-31forTHR,AIL,ELE,RUD
- Changetravelto+/-119onallchannels.
- Verifythattheendpointsare1000/1500/2000asdescribedabove.
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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.
A3spackcalmsthingsdownabit,andisagoodwaytoeaseintothehobby,hencenovice
pilotsshouldcertainlystartouton3s.
Notethatthe20AESCsinstalledintheVortex250Prodosupport‘LiHV’packs,withacellvoltage
of4.35Vasopposedtothestandard4.20VcellvoltagewithLiPopacks.
Capacity
Forcapacity,thereareafewthingstoremember.Firstly,keepingweightdownonamini-quadis
thebestwaytoincreasecrashsurvivabilityaswellasimproveacceleration,climbspeedand
generalagilityofthequad.
Alsorememberthatmostracesarejustafewlaps,soahugecapacitybatteryisjustdead
weight,andwillneverbedrainedinthetypicalrace.
1300mAhpacks,orsimilar,areImmersionRC’schoiceforracing.3sforbeginners,4sforpros.
‘C’Rating
For‘C’rating,theVortexinstocksetup,with5045props,canpullover80Ampsduringfast
pull-outs.A1300mAhpack,witha25Crating,isgoodforabout32A,andwillhaveit’susablelife
reducedwhenpullingmuchmorethanthat.
Thesepackshavebeentestedforthe3sconfiguration
-Turnigynano-tech1300mAh3S45~90CLipoPack
-Lumenier1300mAh3s60cLipoBattery(XT60)
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Andtheseforthe4s
-Turnigynano-tech1300mAh4S45~90CLipoPack
-Lumenier1300mAh4s60cLipoBattery(XT60)
-ReadyMadeRC‘OrangeSeries’,60C1300mAh,4s
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-AerialVisionsInc,4s1300mAh60C
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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.Theselargerpacksarenotgenerallyrecommended,duetothedamagethatthe
extramasscandoinacrash.
NOTE:Ensurethatthebatteryissecurelymountedontheanti-slippad,withatleasttwo
batterystrapsinstalled.Thebatteryshouldnotbeabletomovearoundinflight.Alsomake
suretheplasticlinerontheanti-slippadisremoved!
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ANOTHERNOTE:Ensurethatyourmainbatterycables,andalsothebalanceleadsare
securedinthestraps,andcannot,underanycircumstances,touchtheprops.
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Slicedbatterycablesand/orbalanceleadsareacauseofexpensiveshorts,fires,and
crashes!
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


8




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5.8GHz
module,justselectChannel1,andthewizardimageshouldbeshown.
Ifyouarerunningnon-ImmersionRC/FatSharkgearwhichcannottuneto5740MHz,itmaybe
necessarytoswitchbandsontheVortexbeforethewizardimageisdisplayed.Todothis,set
yourreceivertoChannel1,andusethebuttonontheLEDboard(rearofthequad).

Toswitchbands,pressthebuttonontheLEDboardforapprox.2secondsuntilyouhearthe
firstbeep,andrelease..
TheVortexwillbeepanumberoftimes,representingthebandnumber.Eachtimethebuttonis
pressed,thebandnumberwillbeincremented.
Theband/beeporderisasfollows:
Band1:IRC/FS(5740MHz)
Band2:RaceBand(5658MHz)
Band3:BandE(5705MHz)
Band4:BandB(5733MHz)
Band5:BandA(5865MHz)
Forafulllistofchannelfrequenciesforeachband,pleaserefertothefullInstructionManual. 



9




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.
Thiswizardalsoconfiguresvariousflightcontrollerparameterswhichwouldnormallyrequirea
personalcomputer,withaUSBconnectiontothequadcopter.
NOTE:Thewizardshouldallowabrand-new,unconfiguredVortex,toberemovedfromits
shippingboxataraceevent,andpreparedforflightinlessthanaminute,withnotools,or
USBhookupsrequired.

Forthetechies,thereisafulldescriptionoftheconfigurationstepsperformedneartheendofthe
fulluser’smanual,under‘AppendixA:TheWizard-Details’.
ThefirsttimetheVortexispoweredup,theTxSetupWizardispresented,asshownafterthe
mode1/mode2controldescriptionsbelow.
Followingtheinstructionson-screen,5simplesteps,willconfigurethe4flightchannels,and
oneauxiliarycontrol(CH5)whichwillcontroltheflightmode.

 



10




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.doesn’treturntocenter)throttle
controlontherightstick.
Forthismode,themulti-rotorcontrolsaretypicallyasfollows:

Pitch

Throttle



Yaw





Roll


Note:Modes3and4areintentionallyleftoutofthisabbreviatedGettingStartedguide.Itis
assumedthatpilotsflyingthesemore‘uncommon’modes,arealreadyveryfamiliarwiththeir
remote,andtheircontrolmapping.




11




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.

Takeyourtimewiththisstep,ifthewrongstickmovementsarefedtothewizard,itwillbe
difficulttonavigatetheOSDtocompletethesetup.


Oncethefourprimaryflight
controlshavebeenlearned,
placethequadonaflatand
levelsurfaceandmovethe
rightstickback.Thiswill
calibratethe
accelerometer.
Itisimportantthatthequad
islevelwhenthisstepis
performed,ortheauto-level
flightmodeswillnot
functioncorrectly.





12




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).
Alternativelyyoucanalsoentertx
WizardviaOSDmenu

Oncethewizardisfinished,
variousCleanflightsettingswill
beconfigured,includingenabling
oneshot,motor_stop,and
failsafe.
AnothersettingwhichisautomaticallymadeistheassignmentofCH5totheflightmode,Acro,
Horiz,andAngle.Tocompletethesetup,configureyourR/CTxtolinkCH5toa3-position
switch.
Ensurethattheswitchcorrectlyswitchesbetweenthethreeflightmodes,reflectedinthe
top-rightcorneroftheOSDmainlandscape.
NotethatItishighlyrecommendedtoattemptthemaidenflightineitherAngle,orHorizmode.
Acrotakesalittlegettingusedto.
NOTE:Eventhoughtheflightcontrollerfailsafehasbeensetbythewizard,itisimportantto
alsosettheR/CRxfailsafe.

seehttps://github.com/cleanflight/cleanflight/blob/master/docs/Failsafe.mdforcleanflight
specificfailsafetestprocedure.

OntheEzUHFthisisaseasyassettingthecontrolsina‘safe’position(verylowthrottlefor
example)andholdingdownthebindbuttonontheEzUHFTxuntilabeepisheard.

Flyawayswithmini-quadsarealmostalwayscausedbyincorrectfailsafesettings!




13




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WizardhassetuptheflightcontrollerwithourdefaultPro-Tune,generatedbyoneofour
expertteampilots.PIDsandgainsareunlikelytorequiremajorchangestoachieveprecise
flight.
Ifthepropswereremovedduringsetup(aswehighlyrecommend),pleasere-installtakingcare
ofthepropdirectionsbelow:

TakeiteasyforthefirstfewLiPos,andgetusedtoyournewVortex.
P.S.Toarmtheflightcontrollerafterrunningthewizard,formode2,movethethrottlestick
downandtotheright.See‘FlightControllerStickCommands’inthemainmanual.



14





TheImmersionRCTeamwishesyoumanyhoursofenjoymentwithyournewRaceQuad,and
welcomeanyfeedbackthatyoumayhaveat:[email protected]
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.Forexperienced
racers,whorequiremore‘crisp’flightcharacteristics,itisrecommendedtoloadthemore
advancedtunesbyUmmaGawd,orBorisB,eachwithdifferentcharacteristics.
Specifications 
FlightController

IMU
Invensense6050,3axisGyro,3axisAccelerometer
Altimeter
BoschBMP180
CPU
STM32F30332-bitARMprocessor
Firmware
Cleanflightcompatible(withAPIversionmatchingthatoftheOSD)


OSD

CPU
STM32F37332-bitARMprocessor
Resolution
440Hx280V
Style
White,withblacksurroundaroundallpixels
Output
ProgrammableBlack/Whitelevels


VideoTxFeatures

TransmitterModule
Socketed,CustomNexWaveRF5.8GHzmodule
Channels
40Initially,programmedviaOSD
Bands
5,includingtheImmersionRC/FatSharkbands,andRaceBand
Frequency,IRC/FS
5740,5760,5780,5800,5820,5840,5860,5880MHz
*
Frequency,RaceBand,
CH1..8
5658,5695,5732,5769,5806,5843,5880,5917MHz
*
Frequency,‘A’Band,CH1..8
5865,5845,5825,5805,5785,5765,5745,5725MHz
*
Frequency,‘B’Band,CH1..8
5733,5752,5771,5790,5809,5828,5847,5866MHz
*
Frequency,‘E’Band,CH1..8
5705,5685,5665,5645,5885,5905,5925,5945MHz
*
PowerOutput
350mW+/-1dB(25mWmoduleavailableforLicenseFreeEUuse)
Audio
Stereo,RightchannelusedforTelemetry,Leftchannelunused
RecommendedAntenna
SuppliedSpiroNETOmni,SkewPlanar,4leaf



15






PowerTrain

StandardProp
Gemfan5045BN
MaximumPropSize
6”withoutaGoPro,5”withaGoPro,optionalarmsfor6”withaGoPro.
RaceMotors
OEM2204-2300kV,single-strand,3mmaxle
RecommendedBattery
1300mAh3S45~90C,or1300mAh4S45~90C



ESC

Type
ImmersionRCEzESC20A
Rating
20Acontinuous,25Apeak
Features
OneShot125,andMotorBraking
Processor
32-bitARMrunningcustomImmersionRCESCFirmware


R/CReceiver

ChannelsRequired
Absoluteminimumfour.Fiverecommendedtosupportmodeswitch.
Interfaces
3.3v-5vPPMSum,SBUS,Spektrum,XBus,SumD,SumH
ReceiverPower
+5Vor+3.3V@200mAmax.


FlightCharacteristics
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FlightTime
Dependsuponbattery,andflightstyle
MaximumRange
Highlydependentonbattery,andflyingstyle
MaximumSpeed
TBD(Fast!)
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CameraSupport
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OnboardGoProSupply
+5vat1A
VideoStandard
Composite,PALorNTSC,switchableusingacamera-mountedjumper
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WeightandSize
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Weight,asShipped,ARF
~415g
Size
250mmbetweendiagonalmotors
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*
Note:Certain5.8GHzchannelsmayberestricteddependinguponthetargetregion,andreseller
requirements.
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16
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