Anycopter Quad 370 Kit newbie help

arsenalj

Member
Hi,

I am new to the forum and am excited to be here. I love what Flite test has done and am just as enthusiasitc as they are. I have been doing some research and I just can't find any material on how to setup the quad 370 with the electronics. I have ordered the items as listed in the product page from HK and am trying to find info on actually installing said items. I am new to the multi rotor scene, so any info is good info as far as I am concerned. I was hoping Flite test put out an article or show addressing this, but I haven't been able to locate any. I have also searched the forum to no avail. Maybe I am just incompotent but I am just trying to get some knowledge on said issue. Thank you to all who respond I really appreciate it. Till next time
 

cranialrectosis

Faster than a speeding face plant!
Mentor
Welcome to FT.

One of the beauties of multirotors is their mechanical simplicity.

The Quad is the simplest of them all.

Once your frame arrives from FT, assemble it following the instructions in the build video on the page you ordered it from. After that:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Basic+Quadcopter+Tutorial+-+Chapter

Sorry, I did not know Google would be this condescending. I did not intend such.

Start with chapter 1 and go. Not everything will pertain to you but lots will. Learn the KK2 separately as well as binding your transmitter.

When you get stuck ask a question.
 
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arsenalj

Member
Thank you cranialrectosis for your help truly appreciate it. Real quick to answer RoyBro question I ordered the KK2.1 board.
Again thanks for the help Cran, I don't know why I couldn't find that on you tube. I guess I should ask now then the KK2.1 board how different is it and do I need to worry? From the description on HK I figured it was basically the same but a better version.
 

RoyBro

Senior Member
Mentor
I guess I should ask now then the KK2.1 board how different is it and do I need to worry? From the description on HK I figured it was basically the same but a better version.

I just ordered a KK2.1 myself. If I'm lucky it will get here by Christmas. I think your assumption is a safe one. Until there is more solid information out there, don't try upgrading the firmware from stock. There are good tutorials on Flite Test on setting up the KK2 boards, and they should be adequate for a start.
Good luck with the build. If you like, you can keep a blog about your building experience on the forum, and share it with us along the way.
 

arsenalj

Member
I think I will have to do that so I can get pointers and tips along the way as I build. I probably will throw a few vids in it as well just cause i hate typing for the most part. till next time
 

arsenalj

Member
So just a quick update. I have been waiting for the parts to my multirotor to come in the mail. Well as you know HK can take a minute. So with that being said I did receive the bulk of my order yesterday. Here is a pic of what came in the mail,
MR parts.jpg

I went with the parts Flite test suggested due to my inexperience with Multirotor aircraft. I have the 4 motors ( Turnigy Park 300's), The 4 Esc's ( Turnigy Multistar 15A), Reciever ( DRX Orange TX), The KK2.1 Flight control board, And 4 sets of Yellow props. The only thing I am waiting on is the 2 sets of black props, I am going to be using Hk's Power wire bundle to plug in all the Esc's to Battery, and of course the Anycopter 370 from Flite test. It should all be here this week I hope. I am really excited to put it together and fly with it. My end goal is to start doing FPV with it later on.

So one question I will get out there now. The Turnigy Park 300 motors are out-runners and there facing the wrong way I think. It looks as if you can reverse the shaft but before I go and do this I would like some confirmation on the subject. Here are some pics for clarification.
photo 2(1).JPG photo 1.JPG

I was thinking I could try and under sling the motors, but with out the any copter I have to wait. Or I could just order the other option motors from Lazer Toys. I think I watched some one pressing the shaft through to the other side, but I am not sure if I should do that due to strength of product. Basically I'm afraid I'll break the motor or shaft. Either way bad news, so I was hoping someone could shed some light on this for me.

Thanks for all the advise and comments, till next time.
 

arsenalj

Member
Well in looking and paying attention, to Flite test video stills. I found the solution with the motors and I was correct in my assumption to under sling the motors. The only thing is that I won't be using the the x Adapter to secure it. I will just secure the motor directly to the mount on the anycopter.
 

strangefamilia

Junior Member
Hi arsenalj,

I m basically building similar Quadcopter as you do. How is the build going, any surpises so far ? Also, i'm looking at what type of transmitter i should buy, ultimatly iwould like to be able to hook a camera gimbal to the quad. So i guess more channels ! What was your choice of transmitter ?
 

strangefamilia

Junior Member
Anycopter Quad buying list and noob mistakes !

HI, everybody, so as stated earlier, i'm also building a quad from the anycopter frame. I've decided to go with an Aurora 9 from Hitec as transmitter. It comes with a Optima 7ch receiver that includes basic telemetry. Being a NOOB, i'm pretty sure the telemetry option will help me not going to far on my battery and burning the thing in the air !And the 7 Ch hopefully will give me the option to had a brushless gimbal in the futur ! (pan, tilt ...)


I've ordered the frame and the TX/RX, so now i'm looking at what else to buy, and since i'm starting from scratch, lot of things have to be wrapped around my head, so maybe you can have a look and tell me if i'm forgetting anything major, you will realize that i try to stay close to the recommendations from the flite test crew :


Now i'm still not sure about battery stuff,

I was looking at this one, but it maybe too powerfull for this system ?


If i'm correct, the motors have a Max current of 7A each, that mean 28A in total.
But such a battery could deliver from (2.2A X 25C)/4 = 13.75A to (2.2A X 50C)/4 = 27.5A per motor.
The lower number at 25C seems a bit close to My ESC limit of 15A and the Higher one at 50C will blow them.
So do you recommend changing battery or changing ESC ?
 
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Craftydan

Hostage Taker of Quads
Staff member
Moderator
Mentor
Neither, but probably the motor, but not for why you think.

The prop decides how hard the motor must work, and then the motor will draw from the battery (through the ESC) what it needs. If the motor is sized to 7A, each motor will only draw 7A as long as the ESC isn't too small. Size the prop to the motor (typically by OEM recomendations and experimenting), then size the ESC and battery for the most the motor will draw.

So! . . . the 4xESC and battery are good for 4x7A . . . but why the motor?

that motor mechanically is poorly suited for quads -- I *really* don't know why FT reccomends it. The mounting bolts are on the same side as the power shaft and the opposite side has a prop-saver adaptor.

The shaft/mount arangement makes it difficult to mount the motor to the frame, since the shaft must pass -- unobstructed -- through the frame.

The prop saver adapter *could* be used with the motor on top and the shaft trimmed or sticking through a hole, but prop savers are poor choice for multirotors -- those blades aren't just your thrust, they're your control surfaces as well. Prop adaptors always give a little and for responsiveness you want as strong of a connection between your motor and the prop.

So why not mount the motor upside down through a flat mounting plate? that will work, but when the prop passes over the boom it "thumps" the boom with it's prop wash, casuing a strong vibe. The closer the prop is to the boom the worse it is. Having a motor's width between helps tremendously.


So if not that motor what do I suggest?


. . . I've got a list around here somewhere . . . I'll have to get back to that when I get back to my home PC. I'll leave an edit here, or others may have good alternitives

Oh, and buy more props -- you'll need them. At *least* twice as many as you're getting now, and consider even more. You will break *MANY* props while learning to fly this thing. As you get better, it happens less often, but they're still consumable items on rotorcraft -- go ahead and embrace that now ;)
 
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Cyberdactyl

Misfit Multirotor Monkey
I agree Dan, those motors are an odd recommendation. What the motor gains in having a low-profile flush mount in regards to vibration, it loses in the prop saver mount and the potential rocking in plane-change. Not to mention the inefficiency of having a couple of grams of unneeded mass in the protruding shaft.

One thing I've noticed with Flight Test multirotors verses what David built when he was across the pond is the current crop is more toyish stuff, where as David's leaned a bit more towards serious DYI RC craft. However I DO understand them going with higher Kv motors and smaller props in that it reduces vibration and makes FPV and aerial photography slightly less frustrating and the desire to sell volume.
 

strangefamilia

Junior Member
Thanks a lot Craftydan and Cyberdactyl.

For what i understood the all system as it is will work fin, the only weak part will be those mediocre motors that FT recommend. They also recommend the blue wonder, and having no experience what so ever, especially in motors, i'm curious what you think about those.

I was also a bit suspicious about the park300 motors, mostly cause in different videos, the FT crew was saying that having the props to close to the frame will be bad for stability. Blue wonder being put together from the bottom with the adapter will avoid that. But are they build good enough for multirotor stuff ? For what i understood, with those 8 X 4.5 props they should take something like 7.5A per motor. Witch should be good for the rest of the system.

If you have other motors recommendations, please share. Should i go with the blue wonder ?

Thanks again for your time and enlightening words.
 

strangefamilia

Junior Member
Blue wonder option

Going with the blue wonder, i guess i should take those options to be able to mount the motor on top of the frame and also to be able to mount the props onto the shafts. I guess the multirotor for the moto itself is the option to go with ? 2712-12-24g-standard-or-multicopter.png
 

jhitesma

Some guy in the desert
Mentor
I'm running the HK 24g motors which are basically the same as the LT BW's and they work quite well. Things to watch out for:

Use loctite on the grub screws that hold the shaft to the mount! They will come loose quick if you don't (I actually learned that lesson the first time I used one of these motors on my first plane.)

Get some 5 minute epoxy and put a bit around the wires where they come out of the motor to help protect them from breaking, don't use hot glue since they can get warm enough to soften it, and don't let the glue gum up the motor, use it sparingly. Even better if you take the bell off the motor while adding the glue. I've broken wires off of 3 motors already - but since gluing them haven't broken any.
 

strangefamilia

Junior Member
Get some 5 minute epoxy and put a bit around the wires where they come out of the motor to help protect them from breaking, don't use hot glue since they can get warm enough to soften it, and don't let the glue gum up the motor, use it sparingly. Even better if you take the bell off the motor while adding the glue. I've broken wires off of 3 motors already - but since gluing them haven't broken any.

Do you have any pictures of the process of putting epoxy on those wires jhitesma ?