VIFLY Finder Drone Buzzer: Never lose your FPV drone again

While most of the FPV drones are already equipped with an on-board buzzer, why do you need such a thing as the VIFLY Finder Drone Buzzer? Let’s discover in our review!

Compared to LoS flights, when you have permanently your eye on the drone’s position, during FPV flights, you see what the drone sees and you never know the exact location of the drone if you crash it. If you’re lucky, the main battery remains connected as it happened during my first Fly Away and the on-board buzzer will guide you to the crash point. If not (battery ejected/disconnected), you will need a lot of patience to find it. Being self-powered, the VIFLY Finder Drone Buzzer will operate and make load noise for up to 6 hours, even in case the main power is disconnected.

VIFLY Finder Drone Buzzer review

Disclosure: I received this drone buzzer as part of a product review collaboration with VIFLY. Product specs and quality may vary according to the manufacturer’s reliability, so I cannot guarantee that you will get a product that performs exactly the same as seen in my article.

Although, at the time, Vifly contacted me to review their Drone Finder Buzzer, they promised to send me 3 pieces, and I received only 2. Inside the transparent box, I found, besides the two buzzers, the following: two servo cables (3 wires), two zip ties, and a tiny instruction manual.

VIFLY Finder Drone Buzzer features & specs

• Self-powered (built-in LiPo battery);
• Integrated charging circuit;
• Easy operation (1 control button);
• Very Load, up to 105DB;
• Lightweight, only 4 grams;
• Ultra-compact, 23 x 13 x 16 mm (L x W x H).

VIFLY Finder Drone Buzzer review: At a glance

The buzzer module measures 23 x 13 x 16 millimeters and weights about 4 grams. While, in terms of size, is located between the JHE42B Finder and the FullSpeed Lucky Box, considering the weight is between the JHE42B Finder and the HellGate Buzzer.

A tiny LiPo battery is attached to the buzzer’s PCB through a double-sided tape. The whole thing is protected by a transparent shrink tube. On the front part, besides the 12mm buzzer, you can find a 3-pin connector and a tiny push button.

The button allows only the arm/disarm of the buzzer. Unfortunately, you can’t adjust the sound level or sound pattern. You can deactivate the VIFLY Drone Buzzer by either power-cycling your drone (3-6 seconds) or holding down the button (1-5 seconds). Shutting down is confirmed by a short double beep.

VIFLY Finder Drone Buzzer pin-out (color coding)

• Black – GND;
• Red – 5V DC;
• Yellow – Buzzer signal.

As you can see in the connection diagram below, you have two types of wiring with the flight controller (1: GND > Black, Buz+ > Red, Buz- > Yellow or 2: 1: GND > Black, 5V+ > Red, Buz- > Yellow).

VIFLY Drone Buzzer review: First usage

Wiring the buzzer with the flight controller is very simple, but you will need some tools like a basic soldering iron & cutting pliers. I suggest you to attach the buzzer to the drone in an easily accessible place. If you want to use the same buzzer on multiple drones (of course, not in the same time), using a Velcro tape is more convenient compared to the included zip-tie.

Powering ON the drone, the buzzer will enter automatically into an “active” state. In this state, the Vifly Finder will work like a standard beeper.

Disconnecting the main battery (powering OFF the drone), the buzzer will enter in a “pre-alarm” state. You have a time frame of 30 seconds in order to replace the battery or disarm the VIFLY Drone Finder Buzzer. In this time period, the buzzer will emit at low power. The buzzer will work at the loudest volume after the grace time (if the main battery is not connected back). On the “alarm” state, the buzzer was noticeably louder than my stock buzzer.

Pricing and availability

The VIFLY Finder Drone Buzzer is available here for 14.99 US dollars (including free shipping). If you need more, you can also opt for a 3 – $39 pack.