CranialRectosis' Alien Build

[cranialrectosis]

I updated the build pics and am now working with the Sparky2.

It's time to power the copter. Cross your fingers and hold your noses! Where are those safety glasses. Check on the fire extinguisher.

 

[jipp]

hey man, you need to make one of these.. mike from rc roto fame help me out. i too mention i was gonna smoke test the versacopter today which was a few days ago.. just not felt good enough yet. going on 2 days no sleep so my mind is in no shape to trouble shoot if something was to go wrong right now.. so the goal right now is to hook up the FC and light test it tomorow assuming i can get some sleep some time from then and now.. laughs..

if i have a short then you would smell blue smoke but now i save money and get a pretty old school 12v glow, sorry no LED light bulbs in a stock 70 chev front fender i introduce you to
my "1970 El Camino No Smoke-Alarm". err, or something.

the sources mike sent me..
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2327875
and here is a picture of mine.. if this will save one of us a few bucks. why not build one too.. i just used what i had laying around.. you can buy the light he used in the rc group thread for 4.00... im to cheap to even do that i had to use a old beat to hell light from a old front fender of a car i use to own. laughs.. now that is cheap, err i mean recycled. .. yeah thats it, its the green thing to do i was just being my snobby self and saving the planet.right because someone has to take on that responsibility. LAUGHS>. ok, lack of sleep is showing now.. laughs.
hopefully ill get some sleep soon.. and hopefully tomorrow i can work on the versacopter and light test it err i mean blue smoke test it.



im just gonna use the RX i have now once its configured etc and ready for the maiden ill wait for the frysky RX.. but my luck ill be dealing with a 12v light bug and will take me years to find it.

aww hell you are passed the blue smoke test.. my stupid brain is so slow.. go ahead and delete this if you think its not helpful.
chris.

 

[cranialrectosis]

I got lucky and passed the blue smoke test. The first one, anyway.

I got the board powered up and ran motor tests and did the synch. All in all it was very different from Cleanflight but also very simple.

Really, I should build one of those jipp. I think I will before I connect the copter without the Sparky2 connected via USB. I tend to fry a lot of KISS at that point too.

I am still waiting for my FPV camera and an RC filter. I have power and video signal wires running from the back of the copter to the front under the flight controller and power wires ready for the filter.

I also have some questions on RCGroups about how to connect the QOSD.

Proof of connection to a lipo!

 

[C0d3M0nk3y]

Really, I should build one of those jipp. I think I will before I connect the copter without the Sparky2 connected via USB. I tend to fry a lot of KISS at that point too.

I put a switch on mine. It comes in pretty handy for calibrating.

 

[jhitesma]

I finally built a current limiter a few weeks back before flashing the ESC's on the nighthawk with it's all in one board. I went for something a little fancier though using a bulb with two filaments so I can switch it between two limits:

One gives me a very low current limit ~0.5a which is just enough to power things for flashing. The other side gives ~2.4a limit which is enough for initial power up testing (Can just barely spin motors but that's about it almost as soon as they start to move you hit the limit.)

Once I did it I was kicking myself for putting it off so long (I've had the parts sitting on my desk for almost a year) because it went together a lot quicker and easier than I expected.


My big problem right now is staying away from the HK cyber sale page. Orange OpenLRS for $3...that's less than I can buy an empty module case or a RFM22B by itself, even if I strip it for parts I'm still money ahead even accounting for $4 S&H from China. Then this morning they put the 9x's up for $22 in the AR warehouse...I've been wanting to pickup a second TX so I can buddybox and teach my wife to fly, and just to have a spare. They already had the 9xR up for $60 in AR which was very tempting...but $22 for a 9x I couldn't pass up even if it is Mode1. I figure I have to open it up anyway to wire in a flashing port and relocate the antenna (I can do a video on how I did the antenna mod this time) so moving a spring to switch it from Mode1 to Mode2 isn't much extra work. Tossed in a LiFe pack for it and a backlight and was still <$50 with fedex shipping.

See, this is why I can never save up for big ticket hobby items

Some of those 2.4g VTX's are calling to me too....I really want to try using my LRS for control and 2.4g for video to see if it give enough penetration to fly the canyons north of here....

 

[cranialrectosis]

My biggest problem is waiting for parts. There is just no limit to the amount of trouble I can get into while waiting.

Dang I wish my FPV cam and LC Filter were here. I got the GoPro Session yesterday and I'm pretty excited.

Still, I guess today is a good day to make a current limiter and play with that OSD on a spare camera. Since I didn't get much from RCGroups, it looks like I have some experimentin' to do.

Nothing says Flite Testing like blue smoke coming from CranialRectosis' shop...


Any suggestions on a question here.

When in PPM mode, the D4R-II outputs RSSI via PWM signal on channel 2.

The OSD has 3 pins for the receiver, PWM, RSSI and ground.

Will it fry something if I connect channel 2 output from the rx to the wrong pin (RSSI or PWM) on the OSD?

Any idea which pin I should connect to?

The guy (salesman) on RC groups answered 'connect the output to RSSI' but my confidence in the guy is pretty low as he suggested voltage monitoring would be done by connecting 5v or 12v to the OSD from the VTX to monitor voltage...

 

[cranialrectosis]

Impulse has been sold out since forever on the LED rings. Anyone know of an alternative for these?

 

[C0d3M0nk3y]

Impulse has been sold out since forever on the LED rings. Anyone know of an alternative for these?

You can get a similar effect with something like this, but it doesn't have the built in voltage regulator.

 

[cranialrectosis]

Built it.

I suspect that to use it, I connect it between the lipo and the copter when I smoketest. What happens if there is a short?


Bobbi agrees. It looks kinda like a flux capacitor.

 

[jhitesma]

If there's a short the bulb lights up. Usually there isn't enough current for the bulb to light, but if there's something wrong that allows too much current to flow (like a short) then the light comes on and you know to pull the plug ASAP...and hopefully the bulb uses enough current that it lights up instead of anything else smoking.

 

[cranialrectosis]

Gonna sidetrack my own thread a bit with a shout out to Chad winner of the F3 Expo Freestyle competition.

Thanks for the Special Sauce, Chad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91yc2UMihD8

 

[cranialrectosis]

Parts!

I love it when the mailbox is full of goodies!

I finally have parts to finish this quad.

I also noted this from Soma's page on RCgroups:
"Also on finishing carbon, take care to round the edges of the top plate where ever the lipo straps will make contact."

I wonder if the incident that prompted that (if there is one) is on video anywhere.

 

[cranialrectosis]

I opened up my Spironets today and they don't come with the RPSMA adapter like the IBCrazys do. The 10cm connector between my PRSMA transmitter and RPSMA Spironets are all SMA so you need the adapters on the ends to extend the signal.

So I have another order out and will get parts sometime next week.


I did get it re-smoke tested. No light on the new little smoke eliminator gizmo!

TAU connects without trouble and the cam is working as is the QOSD including the voltage monitor!

I could LOS this tonight. It's dark and it's cold but I am soooo tempted.

 

[cranialrectosis]

It's a bit of a rat's nest in the back with the LC filter/OSD and receiver stacked up and until I get the adapters all I can do is connect my video antenna directly to the VTX, but It is somewhat assembled and I will try to maiden it in the morning.

The OSD is an odd connection for power so I spliced into the output of the LC filter to power the camera directly. The JSTs from the filter go to the OSD.

 

[jipp]

i need to get some clear shrink tubing what size do you normally keep on hand? glad the little flux capacitor thingy worked.

today i bought a work bench got tired of working on my kitchen table, and having to clean up every day.. now maybe if i do not feel so well i will still be able to work on my projects a bit. as it will be there i do not have to get everything out first..

your build looks good.
also hey china, higher a American to make you some instructions why waste paper with whatever the hell you are calling instructions.. the ones that came with my work bench were a joke.. i ended up just putting it together using logic. lol.

chris.

 

[cranialrectosis]

I stock 1" and 1/2" heatshrink. On this one I would have preferred 3/4". With 3/4" I would have heat shrunk the boom, the ESC and then zip tied or taped the ESC to the boom. The 1/2" is too small for the 30A KISS and the 1" shrinks the ESC to the boom. It looks good for a while but more dirt and ice and snow get up inside that heat shrink than if you separately wrap the ESC.

It took some looking and a call to tech support but my Chinese instructions for the OSD are finally correct. I basically just used logic too once I knew which pin I could direct connect a lipo to.

Thank you. It will look better once I get the rest of the parts, but it is a sharp frame even if I hack on it.

 

[jhitesma]

I could LOS this tonight. It's dark and it's cold but I am soooo tempted.

Do it! I just flew barely-alpha code in the dark:

http://forum.taulabs.org/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=268&start=140#p8515

naze32 autotune with zero dropped points!

Can't wait to fly it a bit harder in the light tomorrow and see if the tune is as good as it felt

 

[jhitesma]

Oh yeah...be sure to give AcroPlus mode a try. It's a dirty ugly hack that the developers are kind of split about. But for acrobatic flying it's pretty fun. Basically it's kind of like the old MW 2.2 way of dealing with roll/pitch rate where it takes away authority from the PID controller at extreme stick movements. There's an "insanity factor" you can adjust but it's buried in the settings and you have to use the uavo browser to find it. (Hint: the new filter on the uavo browser makes it easier to find things.)

You got me to do flips on the hex before I was ready - now it's your turn to try something outside the comfort zone

 

[cranialrectosis]

I got this smoke tested without USB but have no idea how to arm the board.

Gonna have to play with it again after work when I have time to research it.

 

[Ocean]

I'm sure Raceflight would work a treat with the Sparky 2.

Sorry JHit