I can actually explain what is happening here, Since I was banned form the TBS forums after doing a full white paper on the subject (along with digital microscopeimages) as an electronics engineer I can address the issue , quite simply. Its Heat.. And the lack of mitigation of it is trouble for any VTX that does not take it seriously. If you look at most NON Unify stuff you will see that the unit is "canned" this is the shielding that covers the preamp and transmitting/output portions of the transmitter. Most NON TBS have this shielding that doubles as a heat-sink with a thermal pad on the inside. This is to move the heat from the chip to the larger metal surface and keeps the chip , not cool , but cooler and pull heat away from surrounding components. . But since there is no heat removed , things just "cook" if you do not have direct airflow over the chip. I wont even get into introduction of EMF ans RFI without protection on the chip.. that's for later. Heat can cause a wide range of random failures. it depends on what dies first. Just because you have a shutdown at 130c does not mean that product is fine running 90-100c on a regular basis. you shorten the lifespan the higher the average temp. The other thing is .. because they pushed for smallest/thinnest , the lack of big chip caps to tank spikes from the ESC's is pretty much a death knell for something like this . No other VTX have I used have I ever felt that I needed to add a 200uf tantlum to keep it alive because of the lack of filtration. One needs to ask .. why can I take a 25.00 VTX and run it for 2 years. and then switched to this and it lasted 10 days.. Trappy has a habit (like apple) to point out that you are using it wrong. or it is your other components that are causing the issue He is first to jump on "well if you were not such a cheap bitch and bought good ESC's you would not have this problem " When you had NO issues even with a cheaper VTX (but with better filtration to the regulator) I can go on about bad isolation , noise, and other issues.. But If you want to know why it dies.. heat is your answer.
Wow thank you guys for all of your support. My goal with these videos is to effect our hobby in a positive way. It seems to some, like a bitch fest but that's a small part of this. The main thing is to draw attention to the companies that are selling us crap Knowingly! The only way I know to help everyone else is to point the finger at them and hopefully everyone will pay attention and those who don't will still hear my bitching. Trust me when I say that I'm not playing favorites or hating on a product for nothing. Ask yourself if you had paid for over 20 Unifry's that failed and you received no discount refund or even a Im sorry about that. How would you feel? Keep the comments coming guys. Spread the word like and subscribe. Peace out from your baby daddy!!
problem with tramp is that thin antenna wire mine ripped which then it was very difficult to keep ufl attached and mine eventually overheated and went out. im flying all raceday mach and fx800t (if you can find it for sale)
Keep it up my man! saving me money and making me feel good that others have some of these problems. I dont have a job that can support this hobby yet, so I can't keep replacing shit. Speak your mind brother!
It's been a recent problem with TBS I think. Product life cycle usually includes the cost cutting phase where they start chinsing on quality because they have some good will built up from previous good performance. But in China often it's the manufacturer chinsing and the company that ordered the product is the first one to get ripped off. That's why there's still high tech companies that insist on having thier own manufacturing facilities so they can avoid the getting ripped off phase.
I had to give up on the Unifiys, and went with a Tramp HV instead.I've had pretty good luck with it so far, but I find in the end they all fail at some point it seams, but the tramps seams to hold up the best so far for me.
I've had 3 Unifys and 2 crapped out pretty quick. I've been switching my vtxs out for the Furious Stealth. Very small, very clean video and being able to adjust it with the phone app is awesome.
I have had 2 unify pro HV last me almost a year now, flying at least one day a week. Are you using linear regulators or switching regulators for your 5v to the regular unify? do you let them overheat inside a canopy? have you tried to reflow? This just surprises me as my two have lasted and are solid, as are everyone's that I know. I think it might have something to do with your vcc levels or letting them overheat in a canopy.
That's unfortunate Sed. Sorry you've had this happen to you man. My wallet dictated that I buy a cheap VTX (and most parts other than my Asgard and Monster cam). It's an Eachine TX801, and I've put it right up to 600mw and left it, even when on the bench. It gets super hot doing that so I've turned it down now and then on the bench, but it still works as good as new since the beginning of the summer. IMO there is no excuse for these TBS VTX's to be failing like they do. What a shame. So far, it's worked out for me to not board the hype train (even though it's because I can't afford the ticket. Hehe). Peace out! :)
Thanks man I agree with you. I feel like I am consistently replacing these vtx's and trying everything I can think of to protect them filters, capacitor's, hard wire, nothing seems to work. The Unity Pro is just shy of $50 bucks making the hobbies pretty expensive after the build and maiden flight.
I appreciate your videos. I’m a new subscriber to your channel. Good stuff man. I like your honesty. Most of my set ups are only 4s, and have not had to many issues with these vtx’s , BUT now I am experiencing a rather strange situation and I’m not sure if it is my vtx (Tbs unify HV, an older one). The video appears to blurr at hard turns after about 1.5 minutes. Would you suggest this is the vtx, or maybe something else? Not seeing my setup I’m sure makes it hard to answer, but curious what the tell tale signs would be on a vtx going bad in the early stages. I don’t have the experience you or envyastro have, but really enjoy watching both of your videos.
I know this is three years old. But I recently ordered two nano receivers, A hat and a shirt, and a few antenna's. Its been almost 4 1/2 months since I ordered these items. TBS can barely even let me know what is going on. For being a top dog in Fpv. This really makes me not want to ever order from them again. Miss seeing you making videos Sed Hendo.
Can't wait for the motor review all these big ass motors coming out with shit small bearings don't last.In Australia a lot of us are having problems with tbs power output seems to be too high a races things set to 25mw and blows people out can't set the shit lower then that so what can I do has happened on many different tbs I've owned but I still buy them
Thank-you... I have gone through 30 Unify Pro's that were well protected, serge protected ect... pro built all of my quad's, all 10... all running Unify's... by far best performance I find, but the handful's of garbage ones are frustrating as .... thank-you for keeping it real... big time fan.... fly well brother
Thanks Sed for this video. This is my second one, and its just blacking out after a min. But worked perfect the other day. This helps me out with my next VTX decision. 👍🙌
I think they must overheat or something its sad as it seems everyone is getting these i am very grateful you spoke up about this as a local store to mine is selling TBS unify's for a discount and i was considering it. I keep hearing good things about the new Matek Vtx maybe give those a try they also support Tramp VTX control.
Hey man, try out the (RDQ) Race Day Quads Mach 2 vtx. I hear its fairly decent! U and astro should do a review on it.Looking forward to your content. Keep at it 👊
Hmm this is worrying. I use Unify pro hv on my quads but I’ve not had one fail on me yet. Did you and trappy ever get to the bottom of this issue and find out what went wrong?
I too have a unify graveyard I’ve tried switching parts to get one these damn things to work, NO LUCK. I still love unify vtx’s though. Oh, you guys do treat your batteries n quads like a stepchild, I’m surprised more shit don’t fry! Lol , just saying, 😂🤣
Hey Sed ,do you use a cap like 35v 1000 uf low esr ran parallel to bat. w your set-ups?...i do religiously on every build 3-6" and never had any issue....so far....idk,just tryin to help... just cheap extra protection n helps whole video system quality in general...spikes do evil sheet man. N as hard as u fly ,i believe it would benefit u hugely brother! Jus tryin to help...im sure u already know this n probably just wanna conserve wieght...its really worth it tho
it's about time man, 😀 was waiting for this video. I got a Unify V2 and it's been total jusk, can't get 30 feet from it before it loses signal, get almost read hot, it's also loads of static. ordered a tramp v2 to replace it. hope its better then 30 bloody ft. have to have the Unify replace and I guess I'll get V3 now. but who knows if it's any better? they need a heatsink they get so hot, u can't even touch them they run so hot. thanks for the upload load, yo'baby'daddy! haha have a good evening sedrick
Hey Sedrick, I have commented before on your videos, and i have thought about the importance of what your doing. It is a very honorable endeavor to call a liar a liar. The unfortunate thing about this young hobby is that all the manufacturers Are to addicted to MONEY to accept responsibility for their failings and fix the problem. Just for the record I too have had problems with those damm all in 1’s ..no less than 4 different manufacturers ..4 different failures. I to have had issues with the unify both HV and standard units. The worst part and the most unbelievable part is that none of these products come with a manual or pin out...absolutely absurd. As a business owner for more than 25 years ,it would only make sense to provide the customer with a guide on installing the board! DA!!
I have 3 working. The oldest one works the worst. I’ve trying to buy the original product to support the designer but buying the cheap nock off doesn’t hurt as bad when they break.
so what are you using now days mine just started to get weak like it's in pit mode but it's not I can't walk down the hall way before I loss signal on 2 of them and I can't return them because I had to solder the wire pigtail because that little thing popped off and it works good for a while probably better that way is that what yours do?
just got one of them... and never again... today i use a cheap eachine TX526 VTX on my Tokio X. This one works great with not a single issue... running on 200mW... for around 11$ !!! go for this thing... and you will be happy :o) BR
Same with me . ive picked up an evo the new one and not even a week of use it slowly degraded in video and now completely gone. I used my rapid fire module spectrum analyzer tool . to confirm the vtx out puts for a moment then gone off the grid , then a bunch of random spikes like its trying to come back but wont. Just another bogus vtx confirmed. Thank u for your info also .
I've been using the 800mw version for almost a year now with no failure.. however all my newer quads all rock the Matek vtx.. does pretty much the same thing plus it's cheaper.
Maybe it's because they are as you say "in a stack" and "under a canopy"? I'm not saying you are wrong about the TBS, others here have pointed out that they have heat issues, but I'm saying that maybe doing the same install every time and expecting a different result is probably on you? Others swear by the unify, but I notice that those that do have an open frame like an alien, and make sure it has good ventilation and it's usually away from the stack... As I said, not saying you are wrong, but if a component kept breaking on me I might try to see what I was doing different to everyone who doesn't have issues and compare notes...
Unifys are AMAAZZINGGG!!! For like a week..🤣 everyyy long range video you see they have unify 5g8 hv........ HOW...!! They suck so fucking bad! A few puff on 1st plug in... 3 here puff smoke when I come in and land, 2 like you said... just get staticky after 10 flights... THANK GOD you are making this video!! I was about to give up on fpv... thinking I just suck at..... having shit go bad on me...?! Frustrating😑
I haven't had any problems with mine yet ... but I do think a lot of product manufacturer need to Fix-up and make there product bomb proof . specially for racers .
Sed, Like you vids and thing you should never let EnvyAstro fly your builds haha. On to the Unify, I have an Unify HV Race and feel the issue most are having is how it is mounted. THese are supposed to use the carbon frame as a heat sink to dissipate heat. Very similar to the way a cpu heat sink works. I found that the need that due the the massive heat the have after being on for a bit. Also a lot of times during set ups people will leave the vtx plugged in while the lipo is in there duing flashing of esc's and what not. I suggest unplugging the vtx while working with esc's or any set up on the bench if it needs to be powered on more that a minute. I have the Unify Race the Tramp HV and Cricket Por vtxs and to be hones even though it is a beast of a vtx the cricket pro in the blue aluminum case is by fare the most robust vtx I have. I like the tramp and unify but the Cricket is so far the toughest I have had. www.readymaderc.com/products/details/rmrc-cricket-pro-5-8ghz-vtx-race-band-pigtail-connection? It is hard to find and I think amazon has it as well. It is not cheap but the price is worth it.
That's funny as hell I quit buying the unifry too.. I switched to either the holybro ATLATL HV it stacks on top of the fc, it outputs 800mw, sports smart audio and it's above all RELIABLE!! Another great vtx is the RDQ mach 2..I had several units of the unify and each one went out inexplicably without warning..2 of said units were only a week or two old so I got replacements and.....You guessed it they too went out for no reason.. so I now use a mix of the holybro ATLATL HV and the race day quads mach 2 and I swear by them both.. the tramp is great as well..All my unify vtxs are gone now replaced with one of those...But ya I stay away from the unify because it's $50 wasted and of course is always the users fault..so id rather be an "incompetent" user of the other units that handle my improper uses.. P.s. yes they always were mounted flat onto the carbon well within airflow but they still died..
I don't use the HV version but I have the 5 volt unify pro v2. The first one I have used for over a year and the second one failed almost immediately. I emailed TBS, no answer. Then I found out that I can file a "ticket" on TBS homepage. That ticket was answered in a few days and after I told them I'm an electronic engineer and I always check polarity and supply voltage, they sent me a new one. I have now been running these two vtxes for about 6 months and they work well. The 5 volt version get really hot and the HV version must get even hotter so that's why I don't buy the HV version.
Well as I wrote, they get hot but except for the one that broke, the other two work well. So mount them where they get cool air and don't keep it powered unless you fly.
yeah, this is interesting topic. I have unify pro 5GB which is very noisy one, and I added a capacitor to slightly improve the video quality, but noise issue was always happened when vtx gets hot. so I needed to give my quad a rest to cool down the vtx, otherwise the noise was terrifying my flight. and then I found the Race edition one which allows you to power up to 200mw, but this one doesn't have the long range to fly further, and I don't do race, so yeah, I only didn't try the HV one which could be better? anyway I was tired to keep trying the vtx series, so I simply started using immersion RC trump now. I only have 2 of them, but so far they work better
Sed move in to furious fpv stealth. I tried to get help from TBS and all i can say is goodluck. Theres no new HV unify yet. There is a V3 out and its not HV its the 5v and the only thing that has changed is it can handle a 13v spike instead of a 6.5v spike.
Ive had issues with 3 of mine and everyone I fly with who uses them has also had issues. TBS has always fixed these free of charge excluding the shipping cost to them. Maybe you should try emailing their support, they usually get back to me within 24 hours.
I have to be honest on this one. I emailed TBS on a ESC that caught fire on me after many packs out of the blue. I simply asked if it was something normal or if I did something wrong. I have since learned quite a bit more about importance of a good tune, proper solder joint, most important to me FOD inspections after soldering. I was kind of under the assumption that once you solder any part ordered it was no longer under warranty or the manufacturer could use your work to negate replacement. After all so many variables come into play with inexperienced people. Anyway I didn't get a response from TBS and kept seeing in blogs where warranty was no longer in play once the item was installed. Under this personal understanding I never bothered to try going for warranty expecting to be shut down. I guess If you say they are receptive I will try.
I've had 4 or 5 Unify's crap out on me as well, and now I refuse to purchase any more of them and have switched exclusively to the Matek vtx, which perform awesome and don't overheat on me like the Unify's do.
It's not a good vtx. It burns as you know, has terrible noise in the video. I fly with someone that uses them, but he's giving up. Stop buying them and they'll be forced to put out a better product or go bye, bye.
Damn, i post one negative comment about someones favorite vtx and they go out of their way to create fake youtube profiles in order to leave negative comments on my channel. Brand loyalty is strong with these dumbshits.
it's definitely necessary to point out those ego feeding/money-hunters of this hobby. In case that you don't know what I'm talking about there are two options: 1.you are successfully brainwashed; 2. you are on the other side. just be aware of the fact that you don't pay with money, but with your life - the time you spend to collect that money. I can count on my one hand those YT channels which offer HONEST product reviews and besides they make money and that's alright because they focus on TO PROVIDE A SERVICE FOR OTHERS. It's difficult to recognize them but that's not them problem. for the rest (which I mentioned above) my micro reminder - to be smart doesn't mean automatically to be wise.
Mines still working but I always heat sink mine. This may not be possible on some builds due to size. Ive smashed the nuts out of my cheap build but still vtx is working.
oh yeah... want to see the 30 plus crap hypetrain's I got lol... quality crap... took them off all my quads... finally had enough... I bought all mine from rotorgeeks, and they have helped document each of the let down's.... but that is for your motor video ;)
Dude! I was so going to mention you and the Hypetrains lol. I had to give up on them also, but I quit after about 6 of them. I also gave up on these crappy Unifys, after about 4 or 5 of them.
Mate bought a Unify, would work for a few minutes then the range would go to a few feet. Dunno how they can justify the price of them. I have to ask though, why do you and your group keep buying them when they keep failing?
if your Unify failed within a few minutes of powering it up, you probably connected the power output of your quad to the power output of your Unify. That is the only scenario in which it can fail within a short amount of time.
So on a Unify HV if I power both the quad and Unify to the end points of Plus and Minus on the Flight Controller that will result if failure? I thought that was the way it worked. My typical build would be power to the main FC pads, Add a capacitor and Unify same pad. I vary the cam to a filter pad on FC or extend from Unify. I have several Unify that do exactly this excellent video on the ground but after 20 feet or so total loss. I am about to just drop this hobby with frustration. It is so fun to have working video but totally pisses me off when I have time to fly and my quad looses video for no apparent reason especially if it worked fine the last time. And yes I do use Tramp with much better results but our local hobby shop does not have a clue what drone parts to carry and always has Unify. My only other option is online which is fine but sometimes you just want the part so you can fly that day.
kerjs02 there is a 5V output, and a HV input. as long as you input power on the input, you'll be good. sed is complaining about a very old revision of unifies that had range issues due to voltage spikes. all transmittera had these issues in prior revisions, as the voltage spikes kept increasing on setups until they ran out of spec. this issue has been fixed for almost a year now
I planned to buy both foxeer cameras and TBS equipment, but now im happy i didnt buy any of them. I am glad a few take their time and tell their experience with the equipment we use, and say its crap if it is. There are so many people on youtube nowadays that dont want to tell the truth, maybe because they get products for free or maybe also get payed. Even if they know the products is crap they dont tell because they are afraid they will loose credit to the companies that put products and maybe money into their pockets. I watch a lot of youtube videos and i see many people say video after video that it is the best they have tested or flown. In a year they have many many videos that claim best this and best that. Some will claim the innovation is so rapid that in a year every company have presented several new products, yes i know that. But that does not mean every new product is better than the last one. I think many of these people get their mailbox full of new equipment to test out, that they dont get time to test the products thoroughly, maybe as little as just one time. While the consumer see this video and think i just have to get this product, its the best i can get now. Start to use the new product and find out after a couple of uses that it fails, then think i must have done something wrong. The reason is several youtube testers and companies that also make youtube videos say its a great or even the best product they have seen/tested, so it must be me as a consumer that have done something wrong or stupid. Sadly the only thing the consumer do wrong is believe the hype of a product. I look foreward to hear about your next rant, so we dont have to throw away money on products that dont hold up quality vise.
Has trappy contacted you yet ??? Please let me know. I run 7 quads and am switching all to the unify as the old vtx's die. If he hasn't responded I'll look again at the Tramp !!!
I bought a brand new tbs unify pro 32 hv it didn't work out of the box it gives me 4 feet of range only I bought it considering its a best vtx but my eachine tx08 works better . Tbs has gone down in quality
@@sedhendo4177 yes I've tried that also in betafligt and also separately i tried to turnoff the pitmode via tbs agent via USB and also tried to turn off through the push button chart by the blinking of led it show pit mode in off status but still I get only 3 to 4 feet of range 😭 I don't know how to solve this issue
I hate the unify, plug it in, spend a minute in the OSD, screen goes black, cuz it overheated. I have one left to get rid of then they'll all be gone and good riddance!
Hey Sed, I've fried a few VTX's as well. I just killed 3x Furious stealth's and I've killed a many tramp HV VTX's in the past. I've had similar issue with video slowly fading and fuzzing out, as well just them literally not power on at all or powering on but with no video. I've found that the issue seems to stem from our ESC's and voltage spikes. I've been using the cicada and spedix 4in1 without caps or a small 350UF 25V cap. Video looks great until the VTX stops working but these ESC's produce a ton of "noise" that ends up wearing down the components, particularly the VTX. I've recently been introduced to Drone Mesh's channel here to explain some of this and started using 1000UF CAps (pirofliprc.com/PANASONIC-1000UF-35V-LOW-ESR-CAPACITOR_p_4537.html). I can't say that this is the end all solution but i think it's at at least an explanation of why this is happening. I think there is going to be a huge push for high capacitance ESC's like the new Airbot Thyphoon 35a ( store.myairbot.com/esc/typhoon324in1v2.html ). According to these manufactures we can run these ECS's without addtional caps... Well see!
Jeremy broyles what do you mean you need a tester for it? I know that other things get in the way of range and proper operation. Change doth antennas. Change the pigtail coming off the vtx to the antenna. And if your vtx goes through your FC check your settings in the Betaflight configurator
sums up TBS, shitty quality. Steele Motors, 3 lasted 5 flights with bell issues with good quality build and light flying. No warranty support at all. Avoid TBS now, really poor. Also understand nothing is faultless, but still, all TBS failed whereas so many other brands have not with same exact build and use.
I can actually explain what is happening here, Since I was banned form the TBS forums after doing a full white paper on the subject (along with digital microscopeimages) as an electronics engineer I can address the issue , quite simply.
Its Heat.. And the lack of mitigation of it is trouble for any VTX that does not take it seriously. If you look at most NON Unify stuff you will see that the unit is "canned" this is the shielding that covers the preamp and transmitting/output portions of the transmitter. Most NON TBS have this shielding that doubles as a heat-sink with a thermal pad on the inside. This is to move the heat from the chip to the larger metal surface and keeps the chip , not cool , but cooler and pull heat away from surrounding components. .
But since there is no heat removed , things just "cook" if you do not have direct airflow over the chip. I wont even get into introduction of EMF ans RFI without protection on the chip.. that's for later. Heat can cause a wide range of random failures. it depends on what dies first.
Just because you have a shutdown at 130c does not mean that product is fine running 90-100c on a regular basis. you shorten the lifespan the higher the average temp.
The other thing is .. because they pushed for smallest/thinnest , the lack of big chip caps to tank spikes from the ESC's is pretty much a death knell for something like this . No other VTX have I used have I ever felt that I needed to add a 200uf tantlum to keep it alive because of the lack of filtration. One needs to ask .. why can I take a 25.00 VTX and run it for 2 years. and then switched to this and it lasted 10 days..
Trappy has a habit (like apple) to point out that you are using it wrong. or it is your other components that are causing the issue He is first to jump on "well if you were not such a cheap bitch and bought good ESC's you would not have this problem " When you had NO issues even with a cheaper VTX (but with better filtration to the regulator)
I can go on about bad isolation , noise, and other issues.. But If you want to know why it dies.. heat is your answer.
Nicccccce! So why no heat sink or themal mah fucker onder the missing tin plate?! They just supposed to go bad eehh eh eh?!
I been saying that as well. I can not use this brand at all. Texas heat kills em dead.
Wow thank you guys for all of your support. My goal with these videos is to effect our hobby in a positive way. It seems to some, like a bitch fest but that's a small part of this. The main thing is to draw attention to the companies that are selling us crap Knowingly! The only way I know to help everyone else is to point the finger at them and hopefully everyone will pay attention and those who don't will still hear my bitching. Trust me when I say that I'm not playing favorites or hating on a product for nothing. Ask yourself if you had paid for over 20 Unifry's that failed and you received no discount refund or even a Im sorry about that. How would you feel? Keep the comments coming guys. Spread the word like and subscribe. Peace out from your baby daddy!!
Thank you.
I had same problem with unify so I've moved to tramp not one has gone bad yet.
problem with tramp is that thin antenna wire mine ripped which then it was very difficult to keep ufl attached and mine eventually overheated and went out. im flying all raceday mach and fx800t (if you can find it for sale)
Keep it up my man! saving me money and making me feel good that others have some of these problems. I dont have a job that can support this hobby yet, so I can't keep replacing shit. Speak your mind brother!
Honestly, honesty gets me every time! I really enjoy you Sed!
I'm with you... left TBS for RushTank. Same failures. BUT!!! I'm back as the Rush don't even come close to published output power. Feeling 🔥🔥🔥
Same issue here bro!! I switched to the new matek VTX and it they work great.
For my rules, when an electronic item fail to work correctly a couple of times, i will never buy again...this is for any brand
My unify pro hv has
Been kicking ass for 2 years. Never had to replace it. The pigtail went but that was an easy fix
PHD GRAPHITTI this is a very old video.
It's been a recent problem with TBS I think. Product life cycle usually includes the cost cutting phase where they start chinsing on quality because they have some good will built up from previous good performance. But in China often it's the manufacturer chinsing and the company that ordered the product is the first one to get ripped off. That's why there's still high tech companies that insist on having thier own manufacturing facilities so they can avoid the getting ripped off phase.
I had to give up on the Unifiys, and went with a Tramp HV instead.I've had pretty good luck with it so far, but I find in the end they all fail at some point it seams, but the tramps seams to hold up the best so far for me.
I've had 3 Unifys and 2 crapped out pretty quick. I've been switching my vtxs out for the Furious Stealth. Very small, very clean video and being able to adjust it with the phone app is awesome.
I have had 2 unify pro HV last me almost a year now, flying at least one day a week. Are you using linear regulators or switching regulators for your 5v to the regular unify? do you let them overheat inside a canopy? have you tried to reflow? This just surprises me as my two have lasted and are solid, as are everyone's that I know. I think it might have something to do with your vcc levels or letting them overheat in a canopy.
Dang thanks for the video. Hadn’t read up much on these yet and almost bought some
That's unfortunate Sed. Sorry you've had this happen to you man. My wallet dictated that I buy a cheap VTX (and most parts other than my Asgard and Monster cam). It's an Eachine TX801, and I've put it right up to 600mw and left it, even when on the bench. It gets super hot doing that so I've turned it down now and then on the bench, but it still works as good as new since the beginning of the summer. IMO there is no excuse for these TBS VTX's to be failing like they do. What a shame. So far, it's worked out for me to not board the hype train (even though it's because I can't afford the ticket. Hehe). Peace out! :)
Thanks man I agree with you. I feel like I am consistently replacing these vtx's and trying everything I can think of to protect them filters, capacitor's, hard wire, nothing seems to work. The Unity Pro is just shy of $50 bucks making the hobbies pretty expensive after the build and maiden flight.
I appreciate your videos. I’m a new subscriber to your channel. Good stuff man. I like your honesty.
Most of my set ups are only 4s, and have not had to many issues with these vtx’s , BUT now I am experiencing a rather strange situation and I’m not sure if it is my vtx (Tbs unify HV, an older one). The video appears to blurr at hard turns after about 1.5 minutes. Would you suggest this is the vtx, or maybe something else? Not seeing my setup I’m sure makes it hard to answer, but curious what the tell tale signs would be on a vtx going bad in the early stages.
I don’t have the experience you or envyastro have, but really enjoy watching both of your videos.
I know this is three years old. But I recently ordered two nano receivers, A hat and a shirt, and a few antenna's. Its been almost 4 1/2 months since I ordered these items. TBS can barely even let me know what is going on. For being a top dog in Fpv. This really makes me not want to ever order from them again. Miss seeing you making videos Sed Hendo.
thank you for your honesty.
How long did it take for the vtx to fail? Maybe this is something I should look for.
yeah man! say it loud! Truth 💪💪💪 its involved lots of money one after another..
Can't wait for the motor review all these big ass motors coming out with shit small bearings don't last.In Australia a lot of us are having problems with tbs power output seems to be too high a races things set to 25mw and blows people out can't set the shit lower then that so what can I do has happened on many different tbs I've owned but I still buy them
Thank-you... I have gone through 30 Unify Pro's that were well protected, serge protected ect... pro built all of my quad's, all 10... all running Unify's... by far best performance I find, but the handful's of garbage ones are frustrating as .... thank-you for keeping it real... big time fan.... fly well brother
HomeGrownCanadianFPV damn dude that sucks
I'm subbing, I think you saved me and other money.
Likely it the manufacturing, bad reflow.
Thanks Sed for this video. This is my second one, and its just blacking out after a min. But worked perfect the other day. This helps me out with my next VTX decision. 👍🙌
Unify on every build .... I install them where they can get air..... never had an issue ..... thanks for a great item TBS
I think they must overheat or something its sad as it seems everyone is getting these i am very grateful you spoke up about this as a local store to mine is selling TBS unify's for a discount and i was considering it.
I keep hearing good things about the new Matek Vtx maybe give those a try they also support Tramp VTX control.
Hey man, try out the (RDQ) Race Day Quads Mach 2 vtx. I hear its fairly decent! U and astro should do a review on it.Looking forward to your content. Keep at it 👊
Hmm this is worrying. I use Unify pro hv on my quads but I’ve not had one fail on me yet. Did you and trappy ever get to the bottom of this issue and find out what went wrong?
I too have a unify graveyard I’ve tried switching parts to get one these damn things to work, NO LUCK. I still love unify vtx’s though. Oh, you guys do treat your batteries n quads like a stepchild, I’m surprised more shit don’t fry! Lol , just saying, 😂🤣
Hey Sed ,do you use a cap like 35v 1000 uf low esr ran parallel to bat. w your set-ups?...i do religiously on every build 3-6" and never had any issue....so far....idk,just tryin to help... just cheap extra protection n helps whole video system quality in general...spikes do evil sheet man. N as hard as u fly ,i believe it would benefit u hugely brother! Jus tryin to help...im sure u already know this n probably just wanna conserve wieght...its really worth it tho
I do now
it's about time man, 😀 was waiting for this video. I got a Unify V2 and it's been total jusk, can't get 30 feet from it before it loses signal, get almost read hot, it's also loads of static. ordered a tramp v2 to replace it. hope its better then 30 bloody ft. have to have the Unify replace and I guess I'll get V3 now. but who knows if it's any better? they need a heatsink they get so hot, u can't even touch them they run so hot. thanks for the upload load, yo'baby'daddy! haha have a good evening sedrick
It does not have smart audio but the vtx03 has done me good. 0, 25,50,200mw. Have two and they have never failed yet.
Hey Sedrick,
I have commented before on your videos, and i have thought about the importance of what your doing.
It is a very honorable endeavor to call a liar a liar. The unfortunate thing about this young hobby is that all the manufacturers
Are to addicted to MONEY to accept responsibility for their failings and fix the problem. Just for the record I too have had problems with those damm all in 1’s ..no less than 4 different manufacturers ..4 different failures. I to have had issues with the unify both HV and standard units.
The worst part and the most unbelievable part is that none of these products come with a manual or pin out...absolutely absurd.
As a business owner for more than 25 years ,it would only make sense to provide the customer with a guide on installing the board!
DA!!
I have 3 working. The oldest one works the worst. I’ve trying to buy the original product to support the designer but buying the cheap nock off doesn’t hurt as bad when they break.
Sed, have you tried the matek VTX? They do work very well.
I guess you have enough new unity’s now to keep you going for a while. 👍
so what are you using now days mine just started to get weak like it's in pit mode but it's not I can't walk down the hall way before I loss signal on 2 of them and I can't return them because I had to solder the wire pigtail because that little thing popped off and it works good for a while probably better that way is that what yours do?
I just subbed and am truly diggin' the "crap" videos. More folks need to say it like it is instead of hoping for more free "crap"!!!
just got one of them... and never again... today i use a cheap eachine TX526 VTX on my Tokio X. This one works great with not a single issue... running on 200mW... for around 11$ !!! go for this thing... and you will be happy :o) BR
sedrick seems like the type of guy to fist fight with words and intelligence
Same with me . ive picked up an evo the new one and not even a week of use it slowly degraded in video and now completely gone. I used my rapid fire module spectrum analyzer tool . to confirm the vtx out puts for a moment then gone off the grid , then a bunch of random spikes like its trying to come back but wont. Just another bogus vtx confirmed. Thank u for your info also .
I've been using the 800mw version for almost a year now with no failure.. however all my newer quads all rock the Matek vtx.. does pretty much the same thing plus it's cheaper.
Maybe it's because they are as you say "in a stack" and "under a canopy"? I'm not saying you are wrong about the TBS, others here have pointed out that they have heat issues, but I'm saying that maybe doing the same install every time and expecting a different result is probably on you? Others swear by the unify, but I notice that those that do have an open frame like an alien, and make sure it has good ventilation and it's usually away from the stack... As I said, not saying you are wrong, but if a component kept breaking on me I might try to see what I was doing different to everyone who doesn't have issues and compare notes...
Oliver Lardner everyone does have those same issues. And it’s happens on builds that have them open to the air
Thought I was always doing something wrong lol it was such a good vtx didn't think it would be the design... any suggestions on alternatives?
Unifys are AMAAZZINGGG!!! For like a week..🤣 everyyy long range video you see they have unify 5g8 hv........ HOW...!! They suck so fucking bad! A few puff on 1st plug in... 3 here puff smoke when I come in and land, 2 like you said... just get staticky after 10 flights... THANK GOD you are making this video!! I was about to give up on fpv... thinking I just suck at..... having shit go bad on me...?! Frustrating😑
thats a really important issue..... alot of us aint got $$$ and when we spend it on premium products we should expect quality long lasting products
weirrddd, i have 5 tbs unifys....no issues and have been running them for months
I haven't had any problems with mine yet ... but I do think a lot of product manufacturer need to Fix-up and make there product bomb proof . specially for racers .
I only use Unifys, not had a Problem yet, 3 pro HV, 2 HV race, 1 V2, still all working, only things i broke are ufl and pigtails
You need to make more content! Beeing honest will bring you a lot more subscribers with time, that is something that we all miss these days.
Sed, Like you vids and thing you should never let EnvyAstro fly your builds haha. On to the Unify, I have an Unify HV Race and feel the issue most are having is how it is mounted. THese are supposed to use the carbon frame as a heat sink to dissipate heat. Very similar to the way a cpu heat sink works. I found that the need that due the the massive heat the have after being on for a bit.
Also a lot of times during set ups people will leave the vtx plugged in while the lipo is in there duing flashing of esc's and what not. I suggest unplugging the vtx while working with esc's or any set up on the bench if it needs to be powered on more that a minute. I have the Unify Race the Tramp HV and Cricket Por vtxs and to be hones even though it is a beast of a vtx the cricket pro in the blue aluminum case is by fare the most robust vtx I have. I like the tramp and unify but the Cricket is so far the toughest I have had.
www.readymaderc.com/products/details/rmrc-cricket-pro-5-8ghz-vtx-race-band-pigtail-connection?
It is hard to find and I think amazon has it as well. It is not cheap but the price is worth it.
GARBAGE VTX! I hate TBS Garbage love my tramps though :)
That's funny as hell I quit buying the unifry too.. I switched to either the holybro ATLATL HV it stacks on top of the fc, it outputs 800mw, sports smart audio and it's above all RELIABLE!! Another great vtx is the RDQ mach 2..I had several units of the unify and each one went out inexplicably without warning..2 of said units were only a week or two old so I got replacements and.....You guessed it they too went out for no reason.. so I now use a mix of the holybro ATLATL HV and the race day quads mach 2 and I swear by them both.. the tramp is great as well..All my unify vtxs are gone now replaced with one of those...But ya I stay away from the unify because it's $50 wasted and of course is always the users fault..so id rather be an "incompetent" user of the other units that handle my improper uses.. P.s. yes they always were mounted flat onto the carbon well within airflow but they still died..
I use that same one...im on my second one...i know i dont race yet but yeah on my second one
I don't use the HV version but I have the 5 volt unify pro v2. The first one I have used for over a year and the second one failed almost immediately.
I emailed TBS, no answer. Then I found out that I can file a "ticket" on TBS homepage. That ticket was answered in a few days and after I told them I'm an electronic engineer and I always check polarity and supply voltage, they sent me a new one.
I have now been running these two vtxes for about 6 months and they work well.
The 5 volt version get really hot and the HV version must get even hotter so that's why I don't buy the HV version.
Siamect I got the non hv version, do u think there good?
Well as I wrote, they get hot but except for the one that broke, the other two work well. So mount them where they get cool air and don't keep it powered unless you fly.
Siamect thanks mate very appreciated:)
I use the Mach 2 handles up to 6s👍👍
yeah, this is interesting topic. I have unify pro 5GB which is very noisy one, and I added a capacitor to slightly improve the video quality, but noise issue was always happened when vtx gets hot. so I needed to give my quad a rest to cool down the vtx, otherwise the noise was terrifying my flight. and then I found the Race edition one which allows you to power up to 200mw, but this one doesn't have the long range to fly further, and I don't do race, so yeah, I only didn't try the HV one which could be better? anyway I was tired to keep trying the vtx series, so I simply started using immersion RC trump now. I only have 2 of them, but so far they work better
Sed move in to furious fpv stealth. I tried to get help from TBS and all i can say is goodluck.
Theres no new HV unify yet. There is a V3 out and its not HV its the 5v and the only thing that has changed is it can handle a 13v spike instead of a 6.5v spike.
Ive had issues with 3 of mine and everyone I fly with who uses them has also had issues. TBS has always fixed these free of charge excluding the shipping cost to them. Maybe you should try emailing their support, they usually get back to me within 24 hours.
I have to be honest on this one. I emailed TBS on a ESC that caught fire on me after many packs out of the blue. I simply asked if it was something normal or if I did something wrong. I have since learned quite a bit more about importance of a good tune, proper solder joint, most important to me FOD inspections after soldering. I was kind of under the assumption that once you solder any part ordered it was no longer under warranty or the manufacturer could use your work to negate replacement. After all so many variables come into play with inexperienced people. Anyway I didn't get a response from TBS and kept seeing in blogs where warranty was no longer in play once the item was installed. Under this personal understanding I never bothered to try going for warranty expecting to be shut down. I guess If you say they are receptive I will try.
I've had 4 or 5 Unify's crap out on me as well, and now I refuse to purchase any more of them and have switched exclusively to the Matek vtx, which perform awesome and don't overheat on me like the Unify's do.
Os the TBS Unify problems sorted yet ?
What VTX do you use then?
thank you.
Maybe Tbs and (un)happymodel will join up together and make us a real Turd
What about Tramp HV, AKK X2 or FX2 and Mach2 VTX ?
Olivier DUDU those are the ones I'm testing now
Man I use the eachine TX805 vtx and it's the same story I have a pile of electronic trash just like that. Im pissed too
Ouch... Dat real doe.
It's not a good vtx. It burns as you know, has terrible noise in the video. I fly with someone that uses them, but he's giving up. Stop buying them and they'll be forced to put out a better product or go bye, bye.
Damn, i post one negative comment about someones favorite vtx and they go out of their way to create fake youtube profiles in order to leave negative comments on my channel. Brand loyalty is strong with these dumbshits.
it's definitely necessary to point out those ego feeding/money-hunters of this hobby. In case that you don't know what I'm talking about there are two options: 1.you are successfully brainwashed; 2. you are on the other side.
just be aware of the fact that you don't pay with money, but with your life - the time you spend to collect that money.
I can count on my one hand those YT channels which offer HONEST product reviews and besides they make money and that's alright because they focus on TO PROVIDE A SERVICE FOR OTHERS. It's difficult to recognize them but that's not them problem. for the rest (which I mentioned above) my micro reminder - to be smart doesn't mean automatically to be wise.
Mines still working but I always heat sink mine. This may not be possible on some builds due to size. Ive smashed the nuts out of my cheap build but still vtx is working.
Baby Daddy :D
oh yeah... want to see the 30 plus crap hypetrain's I got lol... quality crap... took them off all my quads... finally had enough... I bought all mine from rotorgeeks, and they have helped document each of the let down's.... but that is for your motor video ;)
Dude! I was so going to mention you and the Hypetrains lol. I had to give up on them also, but I quit after about 6 of them. I also gave up on these crappy Unifys, after about 4 or 5 of them.
Replace hypetrains with brotherhobby And unify's with tramp And you Will ve ok😂
Might explain my prob right now I have no penetration at all on 800mw I cant even go around the corner of building 50ft
Mate bought a Unify, would work for a few minutes then the range would go to a few feet.
Dunno how they can justify the price of them.
I have to ask though, why do you and your group keep buying them when they keep failing?
He said it's because they are still the best option for the quads he is building, so it wouldn't be easy to find a suitable replacement. :)
had that problem too the pigtail would always pop off till 40 bucks burnt up
if your Unify failed within a few minutes of powering it up, you probably connected the power output of your quad to the power output of your Unify. That is the only scenario in which it can fail within a short amount of time.
So on a Unify HV if I power both the quad and Unify to the end points of Plus and Minus on the Flight Controller that will result if failure? I thought that was the way it worked. My typical build would be power to the main FC pads, Add a capacitor and Unify same pad. I vary the cam to a filter pad on FC or extend from Unify. I have several Unify that do exactly this excellent video on the ground but after 20 feet or so total loss. I am about to just drop this hobby with frustration. It is so fun to have working video but totally pisses me off when I have time to fly and my quad looses video for no apparent reason especially if it worked fine the last time. And yes I do use Tramp with much better results but our local hobby shop does not have a clue what drone parts to carry and always has Unify. My only other option is online which is fine but sometimes you just want the part so you can fly that day.
kerjs02 there is a 5V output, and a HV input. as long as you input power on the input, you'll be good. sed is complaining about a very old revision of unifies that had range issues due to voltage spikes. all transmittera had these issues in prior revisions, as the voltage spikes kept increasing on setups until they ran out of spec. this issue has been fixed for almost a year now
Must be good because bardwell said so lol
same problem =(
Same problem
I switched to tramp and it failed first flight went to pure static after a minute. 1 tramp added to my pile of unifys
radio station talk 7.49 minutes without fly the quadcopter...?? :D
If i leave my Unify vtx powered up longer than a few minutes in the summer it causes issues.
I planned to buy both foxeer cameras and TBS equipment, but now im happy i didnt buy any of them. I am glad a few take their time and tell their experience with the equipment we use, and say its crap if it is. There are so many people on youtube nowadays that dont want to tell the truth, maybe because they get products for free or maybe also get payed. Even if they know the products is crap they dont tell because they are afraid they will loose credit to the companies that put products and maybe money into their pockets. I watch a lot of youtube videos and i see many people say video after video that it is the best they have tested or flown. In a year they have many many videos that claim best this and best that. Some will claim the innovation is so rapid that in a year every company have presented several new products, yes i know that. But that does not mean every new product is better than the last one. I think many of these people get their mailbox full of new equipment to test out, that they dont get time to test the products thoroughly, maybe as little as just one time. While the consumer see this video and think i just have to get this product, its the best i can get now. Start to use the new product and find out after a couple of uses that it fails, then think i must have done something wrong. The reason is several youtube testers and companies that also make youtube videos say its a great or even the best product they have seen/tested, so it must be me as a consumer that have done something wrong or stupid. Sadly the only thing the consumer do wrong is believe the hype of a product.
I look foreward to hear about your next rant, so we dont have to throw away money on products that dont hold up quality vise.
Get eachine tx526, cheap and good
Same thing with thm all akk especially
:( I have not damaged one yet.
Has trappy contacted you yet ???
Please let me know. I run 7 quads and am switching all to the unify as the old vtx's die. If he hasn't responded I'll look again at the Tramp !!!
Some people are going to hate. Do what you do, I’ll still watch the video on it
I don't even wana talk about how many broken vtx s I have.
So what have you been using Sed?
I have not found what I'm looking for yet. I'm currently trying out 3 new VTX's. If they hold up I will do a video on them
Drew Hampton I still have Unifry's on my quads but I bought 3 different brands that I'm testing.
I bought a brand new tbs unify pro 32 hv it didn't work out of the box it gives me 4 feet of range only
I bought it considering its a best vtx but my eachine tx08 works better . Tbs has gone down in quality
Hey it actually sounds like your vtx is in Pit mode. Did you consider that?
@@sedhendo4177 yes I've tried that also in betafligt and also separately i tried to turnoff the pitmode via tbs agent via USB and also tried to turn off through the push button chart by the blinking of led it show pit mode in off status but still I get only 3 to 4 feet of range 😭
I don't know how to solve this issue
Ive got a huuug pile of vtxs too😑🤬🤯😩🤭
try out the mach 2 :)
GrumpyDude I did. I'm not happy with the form factor.
Unifry hilarious
I hate the unify, plug it in, spend a minute in the OSD, screen goes black, cuz it overheated. I have one left to get rid of then they'll all be gone and good riddance!
i just bought the v3... gonna try it when it reaches my house
What does that add to the conversation?
Hey Sed,
I've fried a few VTX's as well. I just killed 3x Furious stealth's and I've killed a many tramp HV VTX's in the past. I've had similar issue with video slowly fading and fuzzing out, as well just them literally not power on at all or powering on but with no video.
I've found that the issue seems to stem from our ESC's and voltage spikes. I've been using the cicada and spedix 4in1 without caps or a small 350UF 25V cap. Video looks great until the VTX stops working but these ESC's produce a ton of "noise" that ends up wearing down the components, particularly the VTX.
I've recently been introduced to Drone Mesh's channel here to explain some of this and started using 1000UF CAps (pirofliprc.com/PANASONIC-1000UF-35V-LOW-ESR-CAPACITOR_p_4537.html). I can't say that this is the end all solution but i think it's at at least an explanation of why this is happening.
I think there is going to be a huge push for high capacitance ESC's like the new Airbot Thyphoon 35a ( store.myairbot.com/esc/typhoon324in1v2.html ). According to these manufactures we can run these ECS's without addtional caps... Well see!
Thats for another Video.......LOL!
Ill buy all those broken ones off you? ;)
Weird I have the pro hv 32 and it works but have noticed not much difference from 25 mw to wide open
Jeremy broyles this is a old video. Are you sure you are switching to a higher mw. And how are you testing it
@@sedhendo4177 I haven't tested it but so really I don't know but I just do t see anymore range out of it any higher then 25mw
I need a tester for it
And the the vtx has noise that I just can't get rid of no matter what do
Jeremy broyles what do you mean you need a tester for it? I know that other things get in the way of range and proper operation. Change doth antennas. Change the pigtail coming off the vtx to the antenna. And if your vtx goes through your FC check your settings in the Betaflight configurator
Why is trappy ignoring this? Move on sed. I don't give companies that many chances. No one should.
sums up TBS, shitty quality. Steele Motors, 3 lasted 5 flights with bell issues with good quality build and light flying. No warranty support at all. Avoid TBS now, really poor. Also understand nothing is faultless, but still, all TBS failed whereas so many other brands have not with same exact build and use.
huh, thank you Sed I will not be getting a unify
Maybe i should have a bitchfest about akk vtxs and see if they send me free ones or do you have to be in multi GB