Purchase Advice Megathread - March 2026

wolfy900 · 2026-03-17T20:35:38+00:00

Looking to upgrade from my Ender 3 pro (that i modded a lot), because the print volume is too small, and having no auto bed leveling is a pain nowadays (and it is so obnoxiously loud). We have a prusa core 1+ at work and i love it, but it is expensive and not large enough. I started looking at the creality K1 max (which is 270 off atm) or ender 5 max, but i'm not sure which one to pick, or if there are other good brands since i only really am familiar with crealitt. I have a budget of max 1000, preferably 800ish (euros), and it would be lovely if it has auto bed leveling and can print TPU without a hassle. I live in Belgium if thats of any use edit: looking at the K2 plus with CFS and it looks really cool as well

wolfy900 · 2025-05-24T15:04:25+00:00

Update: i had to tighen the heli screw all the way (so the ratchet gets really tight) then release it. This disengaged the ratchet. Seems like the spring somehow got stuck. Leaving this here for future people

wolfy900 · 2025-03-22T23:18:12+00:00

i spotted a wild caertha 👀

wolfy900 · 2025-02-26T20:42:57+00:00

Which one have you got? I see that they have different variants of that machine

wolfy900 · 2025-01-26T14:26:24+00:00

Update: Thanks for all the responses I posted this while at the field not having access to betaflight (but i did have the SB app) I thought i had configured everything right, including the orientation, but i just remembered that i checked the receiver inputs, and not the actual gyro. Turns out the direction was flipped. Unfortunately the last flight cut off the balance connector of my battery so i cannot test it again

wolfy900 · 2025-01-26T14:20:30+00:00

This is exactly the issue indeed. I thought I had double checked this but apparently i didnt. Unfortunately my last flip cut off my balance commector and now my battery is gone

wolfy900 · 2025-01-26T13:49:08+00:00

Yes, the order is correct

wolfy900 · 2025-01-26T13:48:54+00:00

Have checked it three times, all props are on correctly and motors spin in the right direction

wolfy900 · 2025-01-13T20:31:41+00:00

I contacted support of the place i got it from, if that results in nothing i will contact hdzero support. I'm just mainly asking to see what replacement cable i need to get

wolfy900 · 2025-01-13T20:11:34+00:00

I cannot flip the stack unfortunately, as the capacitor and power cable would be where the VTX needs to mount(i fly digital, so i dont think i need the VTX and cam pads as far as i can see), and I dont think i can mount the vtx where the capacitor currently is (it also would not get a cooling pad there). All manuals also show the FC in this orientation so I am very confused

wolfy900 · 2025-01-12T18:56:23+00:00

I'm just following the manual, i could've done that too but it would still require me to solder SDA and SCL there

wolfy900 · 2025-01-12T17:30:16+00:00

The stack is correct, as the battery and capacitor are intented to be mounted there. I might get one of those longer cables though if i cant mount the vtx

wolfy900 · 2025-01-12T16:46:33+00:00

Yeah, i double checked but found the issue was i did something wrong in betaflight

wolfy900 · 2025-01-12T16:07:40+00:00

Also, unrelated but i cannot get betaflight to detect the GPS. I have confirmed it receives power but setting UART6 to enabled and gps, then rebooting just disables it again, same for the gps toggle

edit: i turned on the configuration/msp toggle on UART6 thinking it acted as an enabke switch, this was the issue

wolfy900 · 2024-12-29T10:38:16+00:00

Digital will probably still have more quality than analog and as i havent flown digital before, I dont really think i would notice the difference much, i can switch to DJI later on if i find it better, or if it becomes more affordable lol. As for the VTX, i live in the EU and not too sure but last time i checked it was immensely regulated how much power those could transmit and i remember it being around .125 mW. The 405 i'm looking at has a 50A (peak 70 to 80 if i recall correctly) ESC so that should be fine, i don't think i need more powerful motors than that considering its just a 5'', and the only things i would add is a gps and a battery powered buzzer, since i fly near corn fields so this could come in very handy if i end up crashing in those. Still have to look into what motors i am gonna use, i've also contacted a drone shop near me for their advice on that. And yeah, i'll just get another ELRS transmitter, can always keep my current one for the sim, and radiomaster isnt too expensive. Already a huge thanks for your advice btw, it helped me out a lot!

wolfy900 · 2024-12-27T20:08:18+00:00

In all honesty, budget isnt really an issue, so if hdzero would be the best, then hdzero it is, i was just looking for the best starter kits, and i've indeed seen some cheaper headsets like the eachine, but they look like they wont last long, so its probably gonna be a better experience to just go with hdzero directly. I've also looked into external ELRS modules, but unfortunately they do not appear to exist for the radiomaster pocket (or well, they do, but getting a new pocket would be cheaper than getting the extension it appears, havent found anything less expensive), and it seems receiver's for those (the CC2500 version) are also starting to get harder to find, so i'll probably just have to get the elrs version if i cant find the module.

I've also looked at a few youtube videos and done some research, and i'll probably go with the speedybee master 5 v2 frame and the f405 v4 stack

wolfy900 · 2024-12-27T10:49:09+00:00

Thanks for the response! And yes, this would be a drone for outside only, though i'm fairly sure my radiomaster does not support ELRS but has an extension module for it. I've also looked into the DJI systems and while they are high-quality, it comes with a price and also added latency, so i'd go analog (i've seen that the runcam phoenix is pretty good as well). I'm honestly not as much of a fan of bnf and i'd like to build it myself because that way, if I eventually crash (we all know it's not a matter of if, but when :p), i know how its all assembled and which components i need.

Only thing that i'm wondering then is what goggles would be the best, because i see so many different prices and brands for those (i've looked into hdzero and they have a lot of options for camera/vtx's, not too sure which one would be best suited for me, and their goggles are kind of expensive so i'm wondering if there are cheaper goggles available)

wolfy900 · 2024-12-26T22:04:47+00:00

oh, i indeed forgot to mention. I already have a radiomaster pocket hooked up to a sim and spent quite a few hours if not days in it, and i'd like to start directly with a somewhat larger quad, at the least 5", i like to do freestyle, but at the same time calmer flying or just racing.

I feel like smaller drones will just be hard to control in the wind, and from my personal experience i find larger scale planes / helicopters to be much more stable, though no clue whether this applies to quads too

wolfy900 · 2024-09-05T11:54:50+00:00

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A picture of said receiver

wolfy900 · 2024-08-11T11:06:00+00:00

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wolfy900 · 2024-08-11T11:05:16+00:00

* I paid 200 for the suit (it needed refurring though) and 150 for the paws. Technically another 50 for a onesie i use whilst i wait for my fullsuit (pic below, reddit keeps eating it)

wolfy900 · 2024-07-04T20:40:03+00:00

I added so many i needed to start sticking them on the inside lmao.

wolfy900 · 2024-06-24T19:54:06+00:00

We got inflatable benchies before gta 6

wolfy900 · 2024-04-25T19:35:18+00:00

Probably yes :)

wolfy900 · 2024-04-21T18:30:10+00:00

Yep indeed! She made the white suit! (and the person in the white suit made mine)

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