Hey there, fellow FPV enthusiasts! I'm a long-time drone pilot who's been tearing through the skies since the early days of quadcopters. Back when I started in the mid-2000s, FPV (First Person View) flying felt like stepping into a sci-fi movie—strapping on goggles and zipping around like a bird. But man, the jargon hit me like a brick wall. Terms like "ESC," "PID," and "VTX" were everywhere, and I spent hours scratching my head trying to figure them out. If you're just dipping your toes into the world of FPV drones, trust me, you're not alone. That's why I'm putting together this ultimate beginner's guide to FPV drone terms and acronyms. As someone who's built, crashed, and rebuilt countless rigs, I'll break it down in plain English, sharing tips from my own flights along the way.
At NZFPV, we've been fueling this passion since 2006. Born from a love for flight, our mission is to hook up FPV pilots—whether you're a newbie or a pro—with high-quality drone accessories straight from the source. We're a crew of engineers, designers, and hardcore pilots obsessed with innovation and top-notch gear. Think reliable batteries, smooth ESCs, and crystal-clear VTXs that won't let you down mid-flight. If you're gearing up for your first build, we've got your back. Now, let's dive into the lingo that'll make you sound like a pro at your next FPV meetup. I've organized this into sections for easier reading, and within each, I'll list out the terms one by one with clear explanations—no more clumping them together. Each term gets its own spotlight for quick scanning.
Wireless Frequencies: Getting Your Signal Straight
Starting with the basics of radio signals—crucial for controlling your drone without it going rogue. Here's the breakdown:
- 2.4GHz, 900MHz: These are common radio frequency bands (Hz = Hertz). In my experience, 2.4GHz is killer for tight, speedy races in small spaces because it's responsive and less prone to interference. For long-range cruising, go with 915MHz (often just called 900MHz)—it punches through obstacles better.
- MHz: Mega Hertz (millions of cycles per second).
- GHz: Giga Hertz (billions of cycles per second).
Picking the right band can make or break your flight, especially if you're dodging trees like I do on my weekend adventures.
Battery Basics: Powering Your Beast
Batteries are the heart of your drone. Let's list 'em out clearly:
- 1S, 2S, 3S, 4S, 5S, 6S: Refers to the number of cells in a battery (S = number of cells). More cells mean higher nominal voltage—I've fried a few motors pushing 6S on undersized props, so match your setup wisely.
- mAh: Milli-amp per hour, a unit for battery capacity (how much juice it holds).
- S: Cells in series (stacked for higher voltage, e.g., 4S is 4 cells at about 14.8V).
- P: Cells in parallel (for boosting capacity, e.g., 4S2P is two 4S packs paralleled).
- LiPo: Lithium Polymer Battery—king of RC due to high energy density and discharge rates.
- AUW: All Up Weight—the total weight of your drone with battery, camera, props, etc. Too heavy, and it flies like a brick.
- Dry Weight: Weight without the battery.
- TOW: Take Off Weight (similar to AUW, including everything ready for flight).
Always check your AUW—I've learned the hard way that balancing power and weight is key to agile flights.
Propellers and Frames: Sizing Up Your Ride
Props and frames define your drone's personality. Here's each term unpacked:
- 2", 2.5", 3", 4", 5", 6", 7": Propeller sizes in inches; often indicates the drone's overall size too. A 5" quad is my go-to for freestyle flips.
- 65mm, 85mm: Common wheelbases for micro drones like Tiny Whoops—perfect for indoor chaos without smashing furniture.
- CW / CCW: Clockwise / Counter-Clockwise—describes motor or prop rotation direction. Get it wrong, and your drone won't lift off straight.
- SF: Slow Fly—a type of prop designed for geared-down motors to run efficiently at lower speeds.
- DD: Direct Drive—props designed to mount directly on the motor shaft without gearing.
- Thrust: The force produced by props and motors, measured in grams.
- RPM: Revolutions Per Minute—how many times the motor spins in 60 seconds.
- Tiny Whoop: A super-small quad with prop guards, great for beginners.
- Toothpick: A class of ultra-light micro quads.
Pro tip: Start with balanced CW/CCW props to avoid weird vibrations.
Flight Modes: From Noob-Friendly to Pro Acro
Flight modes make or break your learning curve. Let's clarify them one at a time:
- Acro: Acrobatic/Manual Mode—pure fun with full control, no auto-leveling. Where I honed my skills after countless crashes.
- Angle: Self-stabilizing mode using gyro and accelerometer—great for beginners.
- Horizon: Half-self-stabilizing mode for flips without full manual control.
- Air Mode: Keeps the PID controller active even at zero throttle, preventing drops.
- AH: Altitude Hold—uses BARO or ultrasound to maintain height, handy for cinematic shots.
- AL: Auto Leveling—keeps the drone level using accelerometers.
- Rate Mode: Aka Acro/Manual; changes rotation speed without stabilization.
- Rate: The speed at which your drone rotates.
Switch to Acro once you're comfy—it's addictive!
Electronics and Hardware: The Guts of Your Drone
The tech inside your bird. Breaking it down clearly:
- FC: Flight Controller—the drone's brain. I've sworn by Betaflight for years.
- F1, F3, F4, F7, H7: Different processor generations in FCs; newer ones like H7 handle more without lagging.
- ESC: Electronic Speed Controller—converts signals to motor power, turns DC to AC for brushless motors.
- DShot: Digital Shot—a fast ESC protocol for snappier response.
- Multishot: Another ESC protocol for quick motor control.
- Oneshot / Oneshot125: Older but still used ESC protocols.
- AIO: All in One—boards integrating FC, ESC, VTX, RX to save weight.
- PDB: Power Distribution Board—splits battery power safely.
- BEC: Battery Eliminator Circuit—voltage regulator (e.g., 5V or 12V) for accessories.
- BLDC: Brushless Direct Current Motor—powerful, durable motors for most quads.
- Brushless Motor: Same as BLDC; wider voltage range than brushed.
- Brushed Motor: Weaker motors for tiny drones, usually 1S powered.
- IMU: Inertial Measurement Unit—combines sensors for flight data.
- GYRO: Gyroscope—measures angular velocity on 3 axes for stable flight.
- ACC: Accelerometer—measures acceleration in specific directions.
- BARO: Barometric Altimeter—pressure sensor for height.
- MAG: Magnetometer—electronic compass for direction.
- DOF: Degrees of Freedom—indicates sensors (e.g., 6DOF: 3-axis gyro + 3-axis acc).
- PID: Proportional Integral Derivative—tunable parameters for flight performance.
- Active Braking: Aka Damped Light; BLHeli feature for better throttle response.
- Buzzer: Loud speaker for alarms like low voltage.
- Opto ESC: ESC without built-in BEC.
- SimonK: Outdated ESC firmware—avoid it now.
- DMA: Direct Memory Access—some FC pins need it for features like DShot.
- ADC: Analogue to Digital Converter—converts signals; helps with stick jitter filters.
- Kalman Filter: Algorithm blending gyro and acc data for accurate attitude.
- LPF: Low-Pass Filter—reduces high-frequency noise in signals.
- LC Filter: Inductor-Capacitor circuit to clean power and reduce video noise.
- EMI: Electromagnetic Interference—noise that can mess with your setup.
- FET: Field-Effect Transistor—controls larger signals with smaller ones.
- UART: Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter—serial comm port.
- I2C: Inter-Integrated Circuit—bus for connecting sensors.
- Curr / CRT: Current—pads for data transmission on FC/ESC.
- GND: Ground—negative side in DC circuits.
- Vcc: Positive power input.
- NC: Not Connected—unused pins.
- EEPROM: Electronically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory—for storing data like calibrations.
- Bootloader: Code for uploading user programs to microprocessors.
- DFU: Device Firmware Update—mode for flashing FC firmware.
- BF: Betaflight—popular FC firmware.
- CF: Cleanflight or Carbon Fiber (context matters!).
- BuF: Butterflight—another FC firmware.
- APM: ArduPilot Mega—older FC board.
- Arducopter: FC firmware for APM.
- CC3D: Early FC name.
- Crius: Another FC type.
- KK: Kaptein Kuk—early multi-rotor controller.
- MWC: MultiWii—software for Wii-based sensors.
- MegaPirate: Cloned Arducopter software.
- Revo: Third-gen OpenPilot controller.
Watch for heat on AIO boards—good airflow is a must.
FPV Gear: Seeing the World from Above
Vision is everything in FPV. Here's the list:
- FPV: First Person View—real-time video from drone camera via goggles or screen.
- VTX: Video Transmitter—sends video signal on channels/bands.
- VRX: Video Receiver—catches VTX signal for display.
- FOV: Field of View—camera angle (e.g., 165° for wide vision).
- OSD: On Screen Display—overlays flight data on video.
- PAL / NTSC: Video formats for cameras and displays.
- Band: Frequency groups for VTX, each with 8 channels.
- Channel: Specific frequency in a band.
- SMA / RP-SMA: Antenna connectors.
- Diversity Receiver: Uses multiple antennas for best signal.
- SA: Smart Audio—TBS protocol for VTX control.
- IRC Tramp: FatShark VTX protocol.
- Jello: High-frequency vibration in footage—fix with filters or mounts.
Wider FOV helps spot obstacles, but can distort edges.
Safety and Advanced Features
Stay safe out there. Key terms:
- Failsafe: Mechanism to minimize damage on signal loss.
- RTH / RTL: Return to Home/Launch—GPS-guided auto-return. Saved my drone countless times.
- GPS: Global Positioning System—for location data.
- Telemetry: Real-time data from drone to transmitter.
- RSSI: Received Signal Strength Indication—signal quality measure.
- LQ: Link Quality—another connection strength metric.
- Buzzer: For low-voltage or lost-model alerts.
- Flow: Smooth, fast flying style.
- Locked In: Drone flying straight and stable.
- Ground Effect: Air turbulence from props near ground.
- WOT: Wide Open Throttle—full 100% power.
- LOS: Line of Sight—visual flying without FPV.
Always set a solid failsafe—crashes happen!
Drone Types and Builds
Variety in the air:
- Quad: Quadcopter—four motors.
- TRI: Tricopter—three motors + yaw servo.
- HEXA: Hexacopter—six motors.
- OCTO: Octocopter—eight motors.
- X8: Eight-motor X-shaped coax (four top, four bottom).
- Y4: Four-motor setup with coaxial tails, no servo.
- V-tail: Four motors with V-shaped tail.
- Drone / UAV: General terms for unmanned aircraft.
- AP: Aerial Photography—using drones for shots.
- VTOL: Vertical Take Off and Landing.
Quads are most common for FPV fun.
Radio and Control Terms
Controlling your rig:
- RX: Radio Receiver or UART RX pin.
- TX: Transmitter or UART TX pin.
- Bind: Pairing transmitter and receiver.
- BNF: Bind and Fly—kit with receiver, match your protocol.
- PNP: Plug and Play—no receiver, you add one.
- RTF: Ready to Fly—full kit including transmitter.
- ARTF / ARF: Almost Ready to Fly—pre-built minus radio.
- AUX: Auxiliary Channels—for switches, knobs beyond sticks.
- AIL: Ailerons (roll channel, 'A' in TAER1234).
- ELEV: Elevator (pitch, 'E').
- RUD: Rudder (yaw, 'R').
- Throttle: Throttle ('T' in TAER1234).
- TAER1234: Channel mapping: Throttle 1, Aileron 2, Elevator 3, Rudder 4.
- SBus: Serial protocol supporting 16 channels on one wire.
- PPM SUM / CPPM: Pulse Position Modulation—multi-signal on one line.
- DSM / DSM2 / DSMX: Spectrum's proprietary radio tech.
- DSSS: Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum—modulation for DSM.
- RF: Radio Frequency (e.g., 2.4GHz, 900MHz, 433MHz).
- Gimbal: Stick assembly in transmitter or camera stabilizer.
Bind carefully—mismatched protocols mean no flight.
Connectors and Misc
Little things that connect it all:
- JST: Low-power battery plug for micros.
- JST-SH: Small connector for signals.
- XT30 / XT60 / XT90: Power plugs for higher currents.
- AWG: American Wire Gauge—wire thickness (higher number = thinner).
- AC: Alternating Current (e.g., household 220V).
- DC: Direct Current—from batteries.
- UBEC: Universal BEC—DC voltage regulator.
- LED: Light Emitting Diode—efficient lights.
- TVL: TV Lines—measure of camera resolution.
- COG / CG: Center of Gravity—balance point.
- ALT: Altitude—vertical distance from ground.
- Payload: What the drone carries, like cameras.
- CLI: Command Line Interface—for Betaflight commands.
- GCS: Ground Control Station—software for monitoring FC.
- GIT: Version control for software devs.
- FW: Firmware—software for hardware.
- IntoFPV / RCG / HK: Forums and suppliers like RCGroups, IntoFPV, HobbyKing.
- FAA: Federal Aviation Administration—regulates drones.
Use the right AWG to avoid voltage drops.
Wrapping It Up: Gear Up and Fly Safe
There you have it—a crash course (pun intended) in FPV drone terms from a pilot who's been through the highs and lows. By listing each term on its own line like this, it's way easier to scan and absorb—no more walls of text! Mastering this stuff turned my hobby into an obsession, and it'll do the same for you. If you're ready to build your first quad or upgrade your setup, swing by NZFPV for accessories that perform. We've got everything from LiPos to VTXs, all tested by pilots like me. Got questions? Hit the comments or our forum—let's keep the FPV community buzzing. Safe flights, and remember: Practice in a sim before going WOT!
