The Cheerson CX-10, CX-10A , CX-10C, CX-10D, CX-10WD, CX-10WF and Related Mini-Quadcopters

There are a few variations on the Cheerson CX-10, and it can be a little confusing as to what the differences are.  Here is a quick guide.

Cheerson CX-10 The original
Cheerson CX-10A Adds headless mode
Cheerson CX-10C Adds a camera that can take video or still pictures and save them to an onboard SD card.
Cheerson CX-10D This version adds an altitude hold capability that can make it easier to fly.  This is made possible by a very sensitive barometric (air pressure) sensor.  For some reason it is mainly sold in some hideous rainbow or camouflage colors!
Cheerson CX-10W This amazing version adds first-person view capability (FPV). It has an on board camera the transmits a live image to your iOS or Android phone, which is also used as the controller.
Cheerson CX-10WD This version has the FPV capabilities of the CX-10W and adds the altitude control of the CX-10D.
Fluoreon FX-10 This is a slightly smaller version of the CX-10A (it also has headless mode)

See below for more information on all of these.

 

The Original: Cheerson CX-10

cx-10 The original basic version of the Cheerson CX-10.

Check price on Amazon. 

For those interested in hacking the CX-10, it looks like there has been at least 3 different PCB revisions. The primary reason for caring about this is if you want to pair to another transmitter such as the Walkera with DeviationTx.  These are identifiable based on the color of the PCB when you open up the CX-10.  There is the Red, Green, and Blue.  There’s a lot of discussion on the Deviation TX board and RCGroups about which firmware is needed with which board (so go there for details), but in general I think that people have been able to make it work with all three versions.

cx-10 picts
Image from RCgroups.com forum post. 

IMG_1064I believe the Red and Green PCB versions came earlier. All of the units I purchased came from Amazon after Oct. 2015, and they have all been Blue PCBs.

The Cheerson CX-10A with Headless Mode

IMG_1118 Cheerson CX-10A Mini-Quadcopter with Headless Mode

Check price on Amazon. 

This is identical to the CX-10, but with an additional flying mode called “Headless Mode.” With the CX-10 and CX-10A in normal flying mode, the side with with the blue LEDs is the front (the “head”) of the quadcopter, and the side with the red LEDs is the back.  The forward/backward, and left/right control (by default on the right joystick of the controller) are all referenced to this “head” orientation to quadcopter.

In Headless mode, the head of the quadcopter stays fixed to where it was based on how it started at takeoff of the device.  This means that even if you rotate the the quadcopter with the left joystick and the blue/red LEDs indicate that the head of the quadcopter is rotating, it will not affect how the left/right controls work. When operating in headless mode, the LEDs will blink on and off (I guess they figure it’s ok for the LEDs to go off because they no londer indicate the heading).

This headless mode can make it less confusing for beginners to fly, but it doesn’t always work that great, so in general I never use it.  However, I have noticed that in headless mode it the yaw rate seems to be reduced, and that overall can make things it slightly easier to fly.

On Amazon, the CX-10A seems to cost about $2-$3 more, but not all the listings are accurate.  I’ve ordered a CX-10A at least once and received a normal CX-10. The packaging is the easiest way to tell the difference (see photos above), plus the symbol on the top middle of the body is different.

This CX-10A is also sold as the Cheerson Q4 where it is bundled with a handly little wrench to help pull off the propellers.

The Cheerson CX-10C with a Camera

Cheerson CX-10C Mini-Quadcopter with 0.3MMP Camera.

Check price on Amazon).  

 

The difference with this one is obvious, and it’s pretty amazing.  For an extra $10, you get a video camera that can record video or take still pictures to a micro SD card. The video below tells you everything you need to know.

The Cheerson CX-10D

Cheerson CX-10D Mini-Quadcopter with altitude hold.

Check price on Amazon).  

 

This model adds the altitude hold feature the CX-10A (there is no camera). This is a nice feature for beginners, because keeping the drone at an even altitude is one of the trickier things to learn at first.  Many folks bounce their drones off the ceiling and then the floor a few times before getting the hang of it.  The altitude control feature is implemented using a barometric sensor. There is a nice review of the CX-10D here.  

The Cheerson CX-10W with FPV

Cheerson CX-10W Mini-Quadcopter with Wifi FPV

Check price on Amazon).  

 

This version adds the amazing ability to stream images from the camera on the drone to your Android or iOS phone, which enables FPV (first-person view) flying.  It is fun to play with, but admittedly, using your phone to fly this is not the best interface.  Here is a thorough review of the CX-10W.

There is a third-party version of the app that enables you to fly via a CX-10C transmitter and then stream and record to your Android phone (the default app disables the transmitter capability once it is on).

The Cheerson CX-10WD with FPV and Altitude control

Cheerson CX-10WD Mini-Quadcopter with FPV and altitude hold.

Check price on Amazon).  

 

This version adds altitude capability to the CX-10W.  This unit is thoroughly reviewed as well.  

Fluoreon FX-10

The Floureon FX-10 is even smaller than the Cheerson CX-10.

 Check price on Amazon. 

If you don’t have enough room to fly the Cheerson CX-10 then you need a bigger living space, but maybe the Floureon FX-10 can help too. It includes headless mode, and flies about as well as the CX-10. Here is nice video review.

It is also sold as the Cheerson CX-Stars, the Mota JetJat Nano, or the DHD D1.

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