The market for drones is growing quickly. With so many different makes and models of drones to consider, the shopping process can be quite overwhelming. If you’ve never owned a drone before, you might not really understand what all the fuss is about. This is a product that can be used for personal use. It takes great shots for weddings and parties. You can even race it alongside other drones for entertainment purposes. It can also be used for business. Real estate agents are using drones to get great aerial shots for their listings. Farmers are even using drones to make their farming process more efficient and streamlined.
The Diatone M540 is a First-Person-Viewing(FPV) drone that is very popular in the FPV drone racing community. This product is very promising as a beginner to intermediate Bind-and-Fly (BNF) Racing Drone. If you have been considering purchasing a BNF Racing drone in the near future, let’s take a closer look at this product from Diatone.
Diatone GT-M540 Specifications
| Model: | Diatone GT-M540 |
|---|---|
| Frame Material: | Carbon Fiber |
| Frame Size: | 6mm Thick 230mm X-Frame |
| Stock Propellers: | 5" WinDancer 5042 |
| Weight: | 345g |
| Camera: | Runcam Swift |
| Motors: | SunnySky Edge Racing 2308 1950kV |
| ESC: | Mamba F40 4IN1 / 40A 3-6S ESC Dshot600 |
| Flight Controller: | Mamba MPU6000 Six-Axis F4 Betaflight OSD; 16M Flash; 5V |
| VTX: | TBS UNIFY [Website Lists as TBD] |
Diatone GT-M540 Pros:
Many people are calling the Diatone M540 the best FPV racing drone onthe market. For under 300 dollars, you get a lot of great features. Let’s take a look at some of the pros:
- You get a product that is almost ready to use right out of the box. All that is needed to get this quadcopter into the air is to ensure the flight controller software is updated to the latest Betaflight version, to make sure the quadcopter is configured per the recommended settings by Diatone.
- The M540 provides a very smooth and easy flight. Whether you are looking to race your drone or simply take it up in the air for a bit, you’ll find this drone very responsive and maneuverable.
- Even thrill seekers and speed demons will be satisfied with this drone’s power and performance. It is a fast FPV drone.
- The frame design is unique for FPV drones at this price range and size. The body tilts up after the removal of just two screws, giving easy access to the components for repair or adjustment. It’s a sleek design that we think is quite appealing.
- The M540 is compatible with 6S batteries. With the 6S batteries installed this drone is the fastest drone we have seen in a while. Beginners and intermediate pilots have the ability to swap out the 6S batteries with 4S and 5S batteries to slow the drone down a bit and learn the ropes. This makes the drone fairly adaptable and will allow it to grow with the pilot’s skills and experience.
Diatone GT-M540 Cons:
- The Diatone M540 is power hungry. If you want to spend the entire day racing with your friends, then you may want to think about purchasing many additional batteries and having a charger on hand. This drone had one of the lowest flight times of the FPV racers we’ve looked at. It’s possible to extend the flight time a bit by using 4S or 5S batteries, but you will see a drop in performance.
- The overall design of this drone leaves the internal components quite exposed. If you’re just learning how to fly you’ll have to be quite careful since it’s a fast quadcopter that you will crash a lot. The camera on the Diatone M540 is more exposed than many of its competitors.
- This drone is typically sold as a Bind and Fly product. The Diatone M540 Bind and Fly version will not come with a transmitter, battery, charger or receiver.
Overall Rating
Bottom Line
If you are looking for an affordable product to start out your collection with, you are encouraged to take a look at the Diatone GT-M540. It is the fastest FPV drone that we have reviewed under $300 and you will definitely use this product to race. It is versatile, has a unique look and high quality brand name components that will offer good reliability. Compared to some of its competitors that are much more expensive, this product is a great value. You get a very high quality, fast drone that is under 300 dollars.
Speed and Power
When it comes to the speed and power of this Diatone product, you will be happy with the numbers you can achieve. This is a brand that is well known for providing very fast products. We evaluated the drone’s speed and power using calculated Thrust-to-Weight ratios, and reviewed top speeds from various test videos online. This drone has the capability to consistently exceed 100mph and most test flight videos we reviewed clocked it over this number. The power is provided by the Edge racing 2308 1950Kv motors. These motors are some of the biggest and heaviest motors we have seen on a 22cm quadcopter frame in a while. While the motors are relatively low in kV this does not impact the Diatone M540’s speed or power at all.
The Diatone M540 was the fastest FPV racing drone we reviewed under $300. We rate this product 10 out of 10 when it comes to its overall speed and power.
Maneuverability
When you have a very fast drone at your disposal, you want to make sure that it has the ability to maneuver easily. If you are considering using this drone for FPV racing you will need it to quickly avoid an object. This product has great maneuverability. It will react very quickly when you need it to, and it will get through obstacles with ease. We determined maneuverability of this drone by reviewing its stopping and starting power and watching other reviewers run it through racing tracks.
We give this product a 10 out of 10 when it comes to maneuverability.
Value for Money
The market is pretty vast when it comes to drone pricing. You can get a small drone for around $100. This is more of a toy, and it likely isn’t going to last very long. You have drones that can cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars. FPV racing drones are an expensive piece of equipment, and rightfully so. You need powerful motors to keep the drones running, and reliable components to withstand the stress and strain of fast flight and high speed crashes. We give this product an 8 out of 10 when it comes to value. You get a really great drone for a decent price. The Diatone M540 is made up quality name brand components that are reliable and generally well reviewed in the FPV drone racing community. For someone starting their collection out, this product is a great investment that won’t break the bank. You still get great power and features overall.
Camera and Video Quality
This product from Diatone comes with a Runcam Swift camera. This is a high quality camera that will provide you with very clear FPV images throughout a number of weather conditions and daylight conditions. The Runcam Swift is a dependable and great quality camera, but, it is not the newest model and is a little outdated.
There are usually a couple factors at play when determining the video quality of a FPV racing drone. We watched many test flight videos and aggregated the general feedback we saw from the pilots to score the drone in this category. The camera on this product has been rated by us at 7 out of 10. It is possible to get a better video experience and camera with either a more expensive drone or some other drones in the under $300 category, but that doesn’t mean this product doesn’t suffice.
Durability
We have rated the durability at 6 out of 10. The Diatone M540 has a fairly unique frame design, with thicker than normal (6mm) interchangeable arms. This unique design leaves the components and camera quite exposed to damage during crashes. The Diatone M540 survived all of its crashes in all the test flight videos we reviewed but our opinion is the chances of damage are higher with this frame design compared to its competitors.
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Conclusion
It is always a good idea to take your time, and do your research if you are thinking about investing in a FPV racing drone. A lot of people will simply grab the first drone that they see on sale. While finding a good deal is very important, it is also important that you think about all of the features that you are going to get with a specific product. You want to invest in a drone that is going to be durable, fast, has reliable components and will provide clear images during flight. The Diatone GT-M540 is one of the best FPV racing drones to invest in if you are just starting out or an intermediate pilot. It provides you with great power, and this is a drone that will provide you with many uses.
If you’re still on the fence, check out our shortlist of the Best FPV Racing Drones to buy for under $300. Our our reviews on some of the Diatone GT M540 drone’s competitors like the Emax Hawk 5, Eachine Wizard X220, Eachine Wizard X220S and the Arris X220 Pro.
We’ve also compiled a list of the Amazon Bestseller FPV Racing Drones below for you to check out.
Come back sometime and check out some more of our product reviews and best-in-class lists.