BetaFPV Meteor65 Pro Setup Guide: Getting Ready to Race

Are you ready to dive into the exciting world of tiny whoop racing? Today, we’re taking a hands-on look at setting up the BetaFPV Meteor65 Pro to get it prepped and primed for some competitive racing action.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through the key steps to configure the Meteor65 Pro, including updating the firmware, binding the receiver, setting up your transmitter, and dialing in your rates and modes. By the end, you’ll have your Meteor65 Pro ready to shred the track.

Why set up the Meteor65 Pro? I’m getting ready to compete in Race Gal, a tiny whoop racing event where pilots across the country set up a standardized track at home and submit their lap times online to win prizes. It’s an awesome way to get into racing and push your skills to the next level.

Alright, let’s get into it. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Your BetaFPV Meteor65 Pro
• A USB cable to connect to Betaflight
• An ExpressLRS transmitter (I’m using the Happymodel ES24TX)
• Betaflight Configurator
• ExpressLRS Configurator

Step 1: Back Up Your Stock Configuration

First things first, let’s make a backup of the stock Betaflight configuration that came on the Meteor65 Pro. This quadcopter arrived with an older Betaflight version (4.3.0 in my case), and that’s totally fine. Unless there’s a must-have feature in a newer release, I recommend sticking with the manufacturer’s config.

Plug in your Meteor65 Pro to your computer and open up Betaflight Configurator. Connect and head to the CLI tab. Type “diff all” and hit enter to see all your configuration settings. Copy the output, open a text editor, paste it all in and save the file somewhere safe. This way you always have the original configuration to refer back to if needed.

Step 2: Update ExpressLRS Firmware

Next up, we need to make sure the ExpressLRS receiver has up-to-date firmware that matches the version on our transmitter. The Meteor65 Pro uses a built-in ExpressLRS receiver with a fast flashing green LED that indicates it’s in WiFi update mode.

Connect your phone or computer to the “ExpressLRS RX” WiFi network using the password “expresslrs”. Then open a browser and go to 10.0.0.1 to access the ExpressLRS web updater.

On my Meteor65 Pro, the receiver had the older 2.x firmware while my TX was on 3.x. ExpressLRS 3.x won’t bind to 2.x, so we have to update. Here’s how:

1. Open ExpressLRS Configurator and choose 3.3.2 version
2. Select “BetaFPV 2.4GHz” for the device category
3. Choose “DIY 2400 RX” and then “ESP8285 2.4G RX” for the target
4. Hit “Build and Download”
5. Extract the .bin file from the downloaded firmware.bin.gz
6. Go back to the 10.0.0.1 web page and choose “Update Firmware”
7. Select the extracted .bin file and upload

After a reboot, the web UI will show that the receiver is now on ExpressLRS 3.3.2. Include your binding phrase during the firmware flash and your receiver will automatically bind to your TX when powered up. Super convenient!

Note: Always update receivers over USB if possible, as flashing over WiFi can occasionally be unreliable.

Step 3: Configure Betaflight

Alright, we’ve got the ExpressLRS link solid, now it’s time to configure Betaflight. The key things to set up are:

• Receiver
• Modes
• OSD
• Rates
• VTX

In the Receiver tab, make sure the RX protocol is set to “Serial-based”, and the channels are correctly mapped. You can use the channel monitor to verify everything is working.

For the modes, I like to use the JB Standard Modes preset. Go to the Modes tab, hit “Load Preset”, and choose “JB Standard Aux Config”. This will set up arming on a switch, angle mode on a switch (great for beginners), flip over after crash, and a beeper.

To get the beeper working on the Meteor65 Pro, go to the Configuration tab, search for “beacon”, and enable “Beacon tone”. This uses the motors as a beeper for if you crash in the grass.

In the OSD tab, the stock layout is a bit messy for my taste. I use a custom OSD preset that shows key info in a clean layout. Load up the “JB OSD” preset to try it out. While you’re here, change your Craft Name to something short so it shows properly on the OSD.

For rates, I use my “JB Race 533” preset which is a great baseline for racing. Punch “JB 533 Race” into the preset search to load them up. Play with the rates, see how they feel, and adjust to your liking. I’ve got a whole video on finding your perfect rates that I’ll link in the description.

Finally, let’s set up the VTX. I prefer the Raceband frequency and usually stick to R8 (5917 MHz) since it doesn’t interfere with my WiFi network. To change to R8, go to the Video Transmitter tab, select “Raceband” from the frequency dropdown, and choose R8. Leave the power at 25mW to stay legal for racing and save.

With all that done, your Meteor65 Pro is ready to rip! The final step is setting up your controller with matching rates and modes. I use the “Happymodel ES24 TX” preset in the ExpressLRS lua script, with 250Hz packet rate selected for the lowest latency. Make sure to set the init rate in the RX to 250Hz as well for the fastest binding on power up.

Go Fly!

And there you have it – your BetaFPV Meteor65 Pro is now fully set up and ready to race. All that’s left to do is charge some batteries and hit the track!

I hope this guide has been helpful in walking you through the key steps to get your tiny whoop dialed in. If you got stuck at any point or want to learn more about a specific topic, check out the links in the description for deep dives on things like choosing rates, updating ExpressLRS, and general Betaflight configuration.

Getting out and pushing yourself through the tight, technical tracks in tiny whoop racing is an incredible way to level up your FPV skills. The thrill of ripping through gates, diving obstacles, and battling for those last few tenths of a second is unmatched.

So get out there, challenge yourself, and most importantly – have fun!