Hubsan H123D Drone

Hubsan H123D Drone Review

Hubsan H123D Drone Review 2020 – is the Hubsan H123D quadcopter worth the money? Review of features, pricing, flight duration, battery, camera and more.

Hubsan H123D X4 Jet Racing Drone 360°Flips Rolls FPV Racer...

$175.00
1 new from $175.00

in stock

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The Hubsan H123D is a cost-effective, racing drone that’s equipped with a brushless motor, a new HT012D transmitter, and several other features and functionalities that make it stand out from its competition. With the H123D, Hubsan intends to improve upon features that some of its previous budget-friendly drones missed out on. However, not everything is great about the H123D, which we would go over in this Hubsan H123D drone review.

Tech Specifications

Before getting to the features and discussing them in some detail, let’s get some tech specs out of the way. The H123D boasts:

• HT012D + H123D new version transmitter
• 5.8GHz video transmission
• 2.4GHz RC Control
• 720p HD camera
• 360-degree fills and rolls

Body and Design

The 5.07 inches x 4.37 inches physical dimensions make the drone quite compact and handy. It’s made using carbon fiber, which makes it quite a lightweight tool at 145 grams. Like the H122D, Hubsan designed the H123D a “fly-ready” drone so that even novice pilots would find it easy to use the drone. The lightweight carbon fiber body helps with the flight and overall performance of the drone.

The green and black color scheme gives the drone a fun vibe that kids would find eye-catching. If the drone’s color combination doesn’t look like it means serious business, the remote controller and its various buttons, sticks, and knobs would certainly make you rethink. In fact, the controller interface is so busy that it looks no less than a cockpit of an airplane. The remote control supports two hand modes: Japanese and American.

Brushless motor

The H123D comes with a brushless motor, which the H122D missed out on. The motor helps offer the quadcopter a sturdy and more powerful flight experience. It not just renders it powerful but also makes it a silent workhorse. In other words, if you’re piloting the drone in a relatively silent neighbourhood, people around you would not be able to hear the drone in action. The silent performance also means less energy exhaustion, which gives the drone longer flight time compared to the H122D.

Battery

Talking about battery, the H123D comes with a 980mAh 7.6V rechargeable Li-Po battery. For charging, you’ve got the Hubsan dedicated charger. It takes approximately 130 minutes to charge the battery from zero to 100 percent. Before every fresh flight, make sure the battery is completely charged. Do not use the battery with a partial charge, since that would hamper the flight performance and also hurt the battery in the long run.

Inserting and removing the battery from the drone is quite straightforward. Also, tere is a Velcro battery strap to ensure the battery is securely placed. For the remote control, you’ll have four AAA cells to work with. The controller battery door slides open to help insert and remove batteries.

Built-in camera

The drone is equipped with a 720p HD camera that supports 45-degree angles. With SD card support, the camera is capable of real-time video and photo transmissions, thanks to the 5.8GHz signal. This lets you see the footage through FPV goggles or on the screen that is built into the controller. The camera has been tuned quite well to capture solid images and videos irrespective of the flight’s height.

LED Lights

The drone is equipped with multiple LED lights, with each serving their unique purpose. There is an LED lamp positioned in front of the drone. The flight control connection light, which is located at the rear of the drone, goes off when the drone has lost its connection to the transmitter. It flashes slowly when a connection is lost. Once the connection has been established, it becomes solidly lit.

There are right and left rear LEDs that flash alternately denoting horizontal calibration. The LEDs stabilize when the calibration is done. Also, the lights kick in when the built-in drone camera captures a photo or video. When you take a picture or you’re done recording a video, the LEDs at the rear flash once in unison. Also, there are LED indicators that assist with night flight.

Flight

The H123D’s flight time is close to 10 minutes. If the weather conditions are not ideal, the in-air duration could come down by a minute or two. It could move at speeds that touch the 25mps (miles per second) mark. There are also stock acrobatic tricks and flips that are a true delight to watch, particularly in the high-speed mode.

When low on power, the drone’s ‘low power protection’ feature kicks in automatically to ensure the drone returns to its take-off point. Thanks to the ‘acro’ (shot for acrobatic) mode, the drone can flip and roll 360 degrees in any direction. This versatility, coupled with some serious power, renders the drone capable of both casual and professional racing.

There is a low-speed mode that beginner drone pilots should find extremely handy. It should be ideal for learning the ropes. This also makes the drone quite user-friendly for kids. If you are a more experienced pilot or you’ve practiced well and become skilful enough to fly the drone, the high-speed mode is always there to bump up to.

PROs & CONS Listing

Pros

• Quite powerful, particularly for the size and weight
• Versatile and reliable
• 25mps maximum speed
• ‘Low power protection’ mode
• Both low- and high-speed modes available
• Timely firmware upgrades and updates
• Micro USB port connectivity

Cons

• No altitude hold functionality
• Doesn’t come with a storage case
• Controller doesn’t support headphone usage
• Field of view of the camera is on the narrower side
• 100-meter maximum transmission distance
• Controller USB port doesn’t support charging functionality

Conclusion

The H123D is a versatile, powerful, yet quite a compact and affordable package that is reliable in terms of both durability and performance. For a pleasurable and safe flight, make sure you choose the right flight environment (area devoid of tall obstructions and high-rise buildings) and also indulge in some flight training or drone-piloting within monitored territory before going all out in the open. Seek professional guidance, if required. If you have necessary preparations and precautions in place, you should have very little to complain with the H123D.

Hubsan H123D X4 Jet Racing Drone 360°Flips Rolls FPV Racer...

$175.00
1 new from $175.00

in stock

Buy this item

Tyler West

Tyler West received a Bachelor Degree in computer science from The University of Texas Austin. Tyler has been working as a full-time computer programmer for the past 3 years. In his spare time, Tyler’s favorite hobby is flying drones. One of Tyler’s life goals is to become a full-time drone pilot.