FT VersaCopter (v2)

[kulens]

Planes are my main interest, but looking at the episodes while building quadcopters triggered my curiosity. My first experience with quadcopters was the inductrix. But it didn't took long that I converted it into the tiny whoop.

So 2 months ago, I start wondering... why not build the versacopter. So I've ordered all the parts (luckily now available in Europe too via Graupner).

My setup:

• motors: Scorpion M-2205-2350KV Brushless Outrunner
• ESC: Flycolor Raptor BLHeli-S 30A Multi-Rotor
• props: Gemfan 6030 Propellers
• Naze32 Rev6 Flight Controller
• OrangeRx R620X with s-bus
• Turnigy Graphene 2200mAh 4S 45C Lipo
• BEC (5v, 3Amp) from Graupner

I've chosen for an s-bus connection between the receiver and the naze32 FC.
The ESC's support BL-heli-s. The updates of the firmware went smooth, without any issues.


Pictures from my build:

Soldering the ESC's and the BEC:




Connecting the flight controller (Naze32) and the OrangeRX receiver via s.bus




Soldering the motors to the ESC's


Installation of the bars and mounting the motors:




Figuring out where to put each part inside the body:


Ready for a dry-run:


Ready for its maiden:

 

[Craftydan]

Kulens,

Nice build. All buttoned up and clean!

Good luck on the maiden

 

[ElectriSean]

Looks good

 

[Snarls]

Looks like a nice clean build. The 2200mAh battery should give you a decent 8-10mins of cruising I imagine.

 

[PsyBorg]

Nice build mate. Seems you did a nice job as it looks clean.

I do have a question / observation though. In your list you say you will use 6030 props? is that a type-o? The Versa is a heavy quad. I will have to look but I believe that my Versa V1 came with 6.4.5 props. Keep an eye on heat when you fly with those as things may be working too hard to keep it in the air. That may also effect performance. I built mine when they only had the original power pack E with the emax 2300kv motors and 12 amp esc's and they came with 6x4.5 props as well.

Anyway they will surely get you in the air so GL with it just keep an eye on things for the first few flights.

 

[kulens]

In your list you say you will use 6030 props? is that a type-o? The Versa is a heavy quad. I will have to look but I believe that my Versa V1 came with 6.4.5 props.

Thanks for the advise!
No, it's not a typo. I'm using 6x3 props for the versacopter. I was doubting too for 6x4.5 props, but decided to give it a try with the 6x3.

The maiden was a big succes, it was a very nice experience! I've made a couple of flights now and I didn't feel the "lack" of power with the props. I've checked the motors and ESC's too concerning heating, but of course, with freezing temperatures it's (still) not a big worry. But maybe, when I get a bit more confident in flying (race-)multicopters, I might better change the props to 6x4.5.

 

[kulens]

This is the schema of my build. I'm wondering if this is fine, or did I create a ground loop with the ESC's and the (external) BEC?

 

[Craftydan]

There is a slight ground loop between the ESC and Flight controller, but generally it's not an issue -- what you have laid out is a common wiring scheme. The PWM control signal does provide some level of noise suppression (values are only valid between specific, fairly long widths, and transitions are filtered to clear up any bouncing due to noise), and it's not unusual for ESC manufacturers to put signal filtering on the ESC input to clean out it's own internal switching frequencies. If you moved to DSHOT, errors might be more pronounced, since many ESCs are set up to clean a PWM signal not a digital serial signal . . . but DSHOT is relatively young tech.

If you choose to break it, remove and tape back the ground lines on the ESCs -- they shouldn't be carrying much of any current so they won't be missed, whereas the FC and RX current should be routed to flow back through your BEC. I wouldn't bother with it unless you see problems, but it's your call.

 

[kulens]

There is a slight ground loop between the ESC and Flight controller, but generally it's not an issue

Thanks for your feedback! I'll leave it as such. I'm not noticing any issues during flight. But it's good to know ;-)

I started wondering about this topic after watching this interesting video concerning signal-ground:

 

[kulens]

An update on my versacopter project.
I've added the FVP gear to the quadcopter.

Setup:

• Video transmitter: ImmersionRC Tramp HV
• Camera:Foxeer Monster HS1194 (16:9)
• Antenna: AOMWAY 5.8G (3dBi), Four Lobe (RHCP)

I've connected the power for the video transmitter directly to the lipo (via the PDB). The camera gets the power (5v) from the transmitter. All seems to work, testing on the work bench went OK. Next step is field testing...

 

[PsyBorg]

Looking good.

Just a heads up though. I see your antenna placement for the FPV system. Having it that close to your receiver antennas is not the greatest place for it as you will be radiating your video feed directly into your receiver which in the past has caused people serious brown out issues and forced unnecessary fail safe crashes.

When I rebuilt mine for 4s I set the receiver antennas in the center of the quad one vericle and the other 90 degrees out the side. You can see then in the yellow shrink tubing. giving great separation. I NEVER had a control or range problem other then when I broke off the side antenna because I did not shrink wrap the ends properly and had one fail safe when I turned away from myself.

 

[kulens]

When I rebuilt mine for 4s I set the receiver antennas in the center of the quad one vericle and the other 90 degrees out the side.

Thanks for the feedback. I had the idea that the 5.8GHz transmitter from the video will not interfere with the 2.4GHz receiver. So maybe it's indeed a better idea to put the receiver antenna's in the middle.
Because of the weather I only had one test-flight with the FPV yet, and that worked fine. But of course, all is fine, till the moment it you crash

 

[kulens]

A dump of my setup (with Cleanflight): View attachment versacopter.txt

 

[VersaMan]

Bullet connectors for ESC's

Hey guys,

I have just bought a Versa copter kit from flite test as my first quad. Though I'm fine with everything, I have one major question. If I have a 30 amp esc, is it safe to put a 2mm bullet connector on the thing? I checked the flite test store and saw that the 30 amp luminier esc's have 2 mm bullet connectors pre-soldered onto them although when i check online 20 amps is the max for a 2mm bullet. What should I do? Is it safe to go ahead with the build?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[dayve]

To answer your first question, it depends on what motor you're using. The ESC is capable of putting out 30A continuously, but it won't unless the motor actually tries to draw that much. That depends on the motor, prop, and how hard you're pushing it.

The question about the 2mm bullet connectors is a bit tougher. When dealing with how many amps something can handle (its "ampacity"), it's not really black and white. The one number that is stated (e.g. 20A for a 2mm bullet) is for continuous operation at a specific ambient temperature. We'll leave the temperature out of it for the rest of the discussion since we're usually out flying on a nice day, so we're in a fairly narrow temperature range. If a connector or wire is rated for 20A, it won't fail the instant you go past 20A. There is some curve for how far past 20A you go vs. how soon it will fail. Also, consider that when those bullet connectors hit even 20A, you'll be pulling 80A through that XT60 (60A rated) connector and the associated 10-14AWG wiring(20-40A rated). That's where the hand-waiving comes in. We get away with a lot in the RC hobby, mostly because of the relatively short flight times and the willingness to let things get a bit warm.

Let's use the wires coming from your battery pack as an example (since I can actually find some data for that). A good quality 4S pack will probably have 12AWG wire. As you can see from that table, that's only rated for 25-30A. I regularly see 5" race quads pull ~100A when they punch out, though. To see how they manage to do this, you have to look to the right in that table to find the fusing current columns. This is the current that it would take to melt the wire in half. 12AWG wire can take 235A for about 10 seconds before it actually melts. If the burst was only for a second, that same wire could take >1000A! Since our typical flight times are 3-10 minutes, and there's almost always a whole bunch of air rushing over those parts to cool them, we can typically get away with exceeding the continuous current ratings of things like wires and connectors. They can get REALLY hot before they actually stop working.

Even electronics follow this rule to a degree. Note that the 30A speed controller says that it can handle 40A for <5 seconds. If you're out flying in sub-zero temps and have your ESC mounted externally, it could likely handle well over 30A for a few minutes.

I think I sort of answered your question somewhere in there. I would have chosen 3.5mm connectors if I was installing all of them, but the 2mm will *probably* work just fine.

 

[PsyBorg]

I live by Bills law and if I used bullets on anything they would surely short or separate. I direct solder everything. Besides Its just neater with less tangle and weight then extra long wires and metal connectors.

 

[VersaMan]

2 mm Bullet connector

Thanks ! I will try flying with the 2mm bullet connectors on my maiden. If they get unreasonably hot, ill just switch them out for 3.5mm bullets.

 

[VersaMan]

Hey, guys

So I've completed my build and have been testing it for a while now. My only problem, the motor mounts keep moving out of place. I have to keep realigning them ever few flights. Does anyone have a solution to this? I have tightened the screws as much as possible. So thats out of the question. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[PsyBorg]

I intentionally leave mine "Loose". they are tight enough they are not easily moved by hand but loose enough to move on a ground strike or any other objects. Kind of like a shock absorber. If you find they are moving in flight try reversing the "C" parts of the mount to face the opposite direction. That determines how easy they will rotate in one direction.

For mine I have the open part of the "C" facing forward in the front booms and rearward on the back booms so they intentionally rotate easier to fold up and in on a crash making damage less likely on a boom strike. Yes it kills props but it saves motors and booms.

Also if they will not tighten to where it is hard to move by hand look for hairline cracks on all three pieces of the mount. I failed to catch one on a preflight and this is what happened mid flight.