About Fpvvaultlab
Why I Built This Site
Three years ago, I fried a $400 flight controller because a manufacturer's "perfect" current ratings couldn't survive a 120-degree power loop in August. The magic smoke hit my goggles before I hit the ground. That weekend I missed a local race, wasted twelve hours of build time, and realized I was gambling my quads on translated marketing specs that meant nothing in the air.
FPV forums were filled with opinions, but nobody was strapping thermocouples to MOSFETs or logging actual current spikes during aggressive punch-outs. I was tired of mystery desyncs and components that worked on the bench but failed in hard maneuvers. So I started cataloging what actually held up—real blackbox data from sustained flight loads, oscilloscope captures of voltage ripple under prop load, and tear-downs of every ESC that claimed "unbeatable performance."
Fpvvaultlab is that build log made public. If you're sick of smoke and want to know which hardware survives concrete dives and amp spikes, this is your vault.
About Tyler Marsh
I'm a competitive FPV pilot and electronics engineer, which means I solder for fun and debug circuits under race pressure. For six years I've built and battered everything from 3-inch backyard huckers to 7-inch long-range cruisers that've seen mountain ridges I'll never hike to. I race MultiGP regionals and freestyle competitions where bad hardware means zero points and a long walk to retrieve wreckage from a tree.
My day job involves designing RF circuits and power delivery systems, so when I examine a flight controller, I'm checking ground plane routing and regulator thermal efficiency, not just UART counts. I've spent nights desoldering FETs at 2 AM after 5S spikes toasted video transmitters, and I've traced gyro noise to poor PCB layout that datasheets conveniently ignored. When I recommend a motor, it's because I've measured KV consistency across temperature swings, verified shaft runout with dial indicators, and felt how it handles prop wash in a concrete dive.
Trust matters here because I fly what I review. I've got no editorial board—just my workshop, my quads, and my logs. If I tell you a LiPo holds voltage under load, it's because I've drained it at 15C during a race final and watched the cell logs sag in real-time. No rehashed press releases. Just components that survive my worst flying.
What We Cover
This site is for builders who care about milliamps and millimeters, not unboxing aesthetics. If you're trying to decide between a 25-amp and 30-amp ESC based on capacitor fit in a tight stack, or comparing camera latency specs for racing gates, you speak my language.
We torture-test:
- Flight controllers and stacks—analyzing gyro noise floors, regulator heat under 6S loads, and layout practicality for tight builds
- FPV cameras and VTX systems—measuring real-world latency, heat sag after 10-minute sessions, and transmission range through carbon obstacles
- Brushless motors—checking bearing quality, bell screw security, efficiency under prop load, and snap-resistance in crashes
- LiPo batteries and charging gear—tracking internal resistance growth cycle-by-cycle and true discharge curves under aggressive flight loads
- Frames and hardware—verifying carbon fiber weave quality, arm resonance patterns, screw tolerance, and wet-weight durability
Whether you're building a backyard freestyle ripper or a long-range rig for mountain surfing, the reviews here prioritize durability data and honest performance over marketing bullet points.
How We Test & Review
Every component hits my bench, then my quad, then my worst flying spots. A motor doesn't get recommended until it's survived at least 20 packs across temperature extremes—hot afternoons, freezing mornings, and concrete bashing sessions included. I log blackbox data on noise floors, current draws, and thermal thresholds using calibrated logging tools.
For electronics like ESCs and FCs, I verify claimed ratings against sustained aggressive loads. If a board says it handles 50A, I'm running full-send freestyle on 6S with punch-outs that spike well past that until something proves otherwise. I measure physical items with precision calipers and lab-grade scales because grams matter when you're balancing a heavy action camera on a 5-inch deadcat frame.
Fpvvaultlab participates in affiliate programs. That revenue buys new releases and keeps the soldering irons hot. However, those relationships never influence scores. I purchase most test units outright, and when manufacturers send review samples, they get identical treatment—if it desyncs, you hear about it immediately. My loyalty is to flight data, not free gear. If a product makes the recommended list, it earned its spot through logs, not invoices.
Get In Touch
Got a component you want torture-tested? Found a discrepancy in my oscilloscope captures? Or just want to debate the merits of ELRS versus Crossfire in a dive? Shoot me an email at info@fpvvaultlab.com. I read every message, though response times depend on whether I'm chasing a PID tune, replacing a smoked ESC, or actually outside enjoying the flight.
Questions? Reach us at info@fpvvaultlab.com