Alien 5" RR Build

commander_dan

Junior Member
Hey Guys, bit the bullet and went the fully KISS'd Alien RR5 kit. Gotta say I'm very happy with the kit and the support from the Rotor Riot guys, answered any questions I had very promptly, and Chads build vid is invaluable to a multirotor newbie! Specs:

RR5 Alien kit
Lumenier 2350kv motors
KISS FC (RC26, waiting on impending new fw)
KISS 24A ESC's
HS-1177
IRC 25mw vtx
Spironet SMA
LemonRX DSMX rx (currently using a DX6i tx)
Cheap 5x4x3 props to start with, then HQ5x4x3's


Here's the kit as it came :)

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And the build:

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Pretty self explanatory :) I didn't have any problems with the build, it came together over 2 x 4 hour sessions. I wired it up for telemetry despite not being able to use it with the spektrum gear, with the thought that I might one day upgrade to a taranis.

I was in the air once the firmware was flashed onto the FC. I decided to go with 3S 1300's to begin with (I bought 3 packs) as this was my first venture into FPV. Flew some LoS to start with to make sure things were in order and then went to FPV. The first couple of packs took some getting used to, but I found my feet and was starting to get a feel for the alien. The quad flies so smooth and predictable, doing absolutely everything I tell it to! So much Fun! I had been simulating on fpv freerider like mad in the lead-up to this build so as to not end up with a broken quad. So my first impressions were great.

After 30 packs though, I have had 4 dead duck events occur, where I am flying normally, and all of a sudden the quad just stops responding and falls out of the sky. In each case, at differing ranges, varying from 40-100m away. Fortunately in each of these events I was flying over grass and at low altitudes so didn't take too much damage. But it's definitely a problem which cannot go on! I have heard from multiple sources that it could be due to the Spektrum rx / tx.

So I bit the second bullet and bought a taranis and an x4r, in the hope that I will see the end of these problems. I also plan to update to the next kiss firmware edition that's coming out in the next couple of days, and skip RC27G. Will keep this thread updated on the progress as time goes on. Until then, it's time to start ascending the learning curve of the taranis..
 

Darkback2

New member
First off, congratulations and awesome looking build!

Dead duck...

Unfortunately this could be caused by a number of things, and may have nothing to do with your receiver.

Do you have failsafe setup? If so is the quad fail safeing when it crashes?

Do you still have video during the crash?

Can you hear the quad? what does it sound like during a "dead duck" event?

I would be much more concerned with a bad solder joint causing a sudden/intermittent loss of power.
Heck...a few days ago I crashed because a prop nut was loose.

I hope you get things figured out.

DB
 

LitterBug

Techno Nut
Moderator
Do you have Blackbox logging enabled? How far down are the batteries when the dead duck happens?

Cheers!
LitterBug

EDIT: KISS FC so no blackbox, but do these controllers have the ability to do telemetry logging so you can review what happened during the flight?
 
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Snarls

Gravity Tester
Mentor
Nice build! Was not expecting to see the whole build in one post. Usually these build logs drag on for weeks (or at least mine do...). Congrats on getting Taranis. You're going to really like it.

The dead duck is currently a known and unfortunate issue with the KISS FC. I thought I kept getting it on some flights a few days ago, but it turned out to be a loose power lead to the FC. So check your connections. Otherwise sit tight and wait for the next release :/
 

jipp

Senior Member
congrats. seems that new show chad has started has help bring lots of new blood into the hobby..
 

commander_dan

Junior Member
Do you have failsafe setup? If so is the quad fail safeing when it crashes?

Do you still have video during the crash?

Can you hear the quad? what does it sound like during a "dead duck" event?

I would be much more concerned with a bad solder joint causing a sudden/intermittent loss of power.
DB

I will have to investigate on whether or not I have failsafe setup, I don't consciously remember doing so at any stage so probably not unless it's active by default on the kiss fw.

I still have vid feed during the dead duck. Interestingly a couple of times although I lost all control, the quad felt like it kind of floated/fell at a slightly slower speed than a normal gravity-induced fall. Or that could just be my perception of it, I'm not sure.

On 3 of the events I could hear the quad, and only on 1 of the events did I hear the yaw spin of death sound that I've seen vids of.

I'm currently away and will get back to playing with the quad next week.
 

commander_dan

Junior Member
Do you have Blackbox logging enabled? How far down are the batteries when the dead duck happens?

EDIT: KISS FC so no blackbox, but do these controllers have the ability to do telemetry logging so you can review what happened during the flight?

Hi and thanks!

I don't have black box logging enabled, or telemetry just yet. The quad is wired for telemetry but DX6i doesn't support. Will definitely set up on the Taranis when it arrives.

The batteries; I initially thought it was one of my older batteries that caused the issue, until it happened on 2 of my new batteries (1 x nanotech 1300 3s, and 1 x bolt lihv 1300 3s) and at varying levels of charge. Once it occurred with a near fully charged battery, and another time about 3 mins into the flight.
 

commander_dan

Junior Member
Nice build! Was not expecting to see the whole build in one post. Usually these build logs drag on for weeks (or at least mine do...). Congrats on getting Taranis. You're going to really like it.

The dead duck is currently a known and unfortunate issue with the KISS FC. I thought I kept getting it on some flights a few days ago, but it turned out to be a loose power lead to the FC. So check your connections. Otherwise sit tight and wait for the next release :/

Haha thanks, yeah I tend to get excited with new builds and do them pretty fast. It was a fun and easy build, hats off to the RR guys for their prompt support as well. I'm looking forward to the Taranis, have heard mixed but generally good reports.

I'll def check all my connections when I pull the quad apart to install the X4R.
 

jipp

Senior Member
is there a reason why you chose not to hard solder the xt60 to the PDB?i think yours is the first alien/martian iv seen like that. i know i bought a surface mount xt60 just to solder to the pdb. still not sure how im gonna take on that part of the build. wish i had your energy. cries. laughs
chris.
 

jipp

Senior Member
Nice build! Was not expecting to see the whole build in one post. Usually these build logs drag on for weeks (or at least mine do...). Congrats on getting Taranis. You're going to really like it.

The dead duck is currently a known and unfortunate issue with the KISS FC. I thought I kept getting it on some flights a few days ago, but it turned out to be a loose power lead to the FC. So check your connections. Otherwise sit tight and wait for the next release :/

next release as in firmware or next release in physical fc man i wonder if i got a lemon color duck in my martian collection box.
 

airhawk

Crashing Ace
the dead duck thing happens to me alot on my nighthawk. i think it my rx.Anyway congrats on the alien im getting one soon to
 

cranialrectosis

Faster than a speeding face plant!
Mentor
I have the 4" and 6" Aliens. These things are monsters in the air. You are gonna love it.

Go Taranis. The first hour blows, but once it clicks, the options are limitless. Flash to the latest FW, download the GUI and the Amber voice mod and let the radio tell your flight time or voltage or whatnot.
 

commander_dan

Junior Member
is there a reason why you chose not to hard solder the xt60 to the PDB?i think yours is the first alien/martian iv seen like that. i know i bought a surface mount xt60 just to solder to the pdb. still not sure how im gonna take on that part of the build. wish i had your energy. cries. laughs
chris.

I followed FGA's build of the RR5 special in this vid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrOJySAljwE

And the kit came exactly as in that vid. The only mod I did was to secure the XT60 to the 2 nearest frame stand-offs with a thin cable tie to help prevent battery leads from coming into contact with props.
 

commander_dan

Junior Member
next release as in firmware or next release in physical fc man i wonder if i got a lemon color duck in my martian collection box.

I'm led to believe the dead ducks are tx/rx issues, hence the switch to Frsky. FGA doesn't experience them since he swapped. I'll be upgrading to the latest KISS FC firmware as soon as it's released, there are alot of fixes apparently. See FGA's latest vid out yesterday :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOtB8Iljbbg
 
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commander_dan

Junior Member
I have the 4" and 6" Aliens. These things are monsters in the air. You are gonna love it.

Go Taranis. The first hour blows, but once it clicks, the options are limitless. Flash to the latest FW, download the GUI and the Amber voice mod and let the radio tell your flight time or voltage or whatnot.

Oh man the 5" is so quick and responsive, even on 3S. I have 1 x 1000mah nanotech 4S that I use for my radjet 800 and I put that in the quad and it was awesome! Defs gonna upgrade to 4S very soon.

Thanks for the Taranis tips, do I need to flash firmware onto the X4R as well or just the Taranis? I'm excited for the learning curve!