Bixler 2 plan

Arjan

Junior Member
Hi, I'm an newbie to the RC world, and a very newbie to this forum (actually, this is my first post:)).
I'm into RC for about a year now, started to try and build my own quad copter, which sort of worked, but I couldn't get the thing flying smoothly..
End of summer 2012 ordered myself a Bixler 2, which worked really well, and I've had a lot of fun flying!

The Bixler 2 is a great plane and a very easy plane to fly (especially for people with less experience..).
So this year I planned to start with FPV. I ordered Fatsharks Teleporter V3 system, along with cloverleaf antenna's for better range, and Turnigy's 2200kv motor with a 40A plush esc, for more (stable) flying power.

I made a wiring diagram to get a better view of the wiring and stuff:
Bixler 2 electronic scheme.png
Not stated above, but I'm using the Spektrum Dx6i TX.

My question is: What do you think of this plan? Are the components a good choice? (I already ordered them, but however..:)) and is this system going to work? Is the Bixler able to carry all the weight? (I found out that i'll have to strengthen the wing spar, but we'll see)

Thanks!
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
Welcome to the forum!

The thing that I can see is, I don't think you would need two 2200 mah batteries in parallel, unless you are looking for longer duration flights.
 

lonewolf7717

Senior Member
Very well laid out sir....visual learner here and pictures do in fact speak a thousand words. Few notes:
1. ESC is a bit oversized but when is that ever a problem?
2. you will need more than a filter if you are pulling full 12v off balance leads if your vtx is in fact 5v, voltage regulation will be required
4. i am not familiar at all with that monster BEC your using that can do 7amps on two different posts plus serve as what appears to be possibly an on/off switch for accessories.....point me in the direction of this monster BEC....really not kidding, no sarcasm intended.
 

Arjan

Junior Member
Thanks for reply!
@earthsciteach: With one battery without all the FPV gear i can get some 15-20 minutes flight time now, so with the motor upgrade an extra battery is no problem, i think. Yet i need two balance leads to power both the VTX and the cell alarm.

@lonewolf7717: 1. Didn't explain but the motor is the Turnigy 2826 2200kv motor from HK, where the specs tell me that the motor is drawing 35A max with a 5x5 prop. Where i will be using a 6x4 prop the motor will be pulling slightly more power, and is a 40A esc not really too much, i think?. But you're right, that isn't a problem..:)
2. What is stated above as a filter is the power filter that comes with the Fatshark FPV set, it has build in voltage regulation (5V i believe)
3. Where 's 3? :)
4. BEC is the "Dr. Mad Thrust series 5A HV BEC with Inbuilt Aux Controlled On/Off Switch for Accs" (copied that from HK). The 5A (bottom side) is for the 6 servo's which is slighty too much, but safer (I'm the guy which tends to play the safe way..:)). The top side is to switch and power the lights (2A is waaaaay overpowered i know, but i needed a switch so this was n easy choice). (and however, this 'monster' thing weights only 43 grams, where the 40A esc weights 79 grams..)

I should admit, that the drawing isn't really on scale, (it seems that the antenna is smaller than the receiver and BEC, which isn't of course..) but i just wanted to be need, so it is clear where all the wiring goes..
 

lonewolf7717

Senior Member
I apologize, apparently I can't count late at night. I am very familiar with RCTimer 2826 2200kv and it was hard pressed to hit anything over 30amps on a 6x4...I assumed the turnigy version was basically same motor but you are correct it is substantially different on specs. I am not a HK fan so not up to date on their product offerings but that bec is pretty cool. Aside from that you layout looks fine. At some point you may wish to incorporate osd and rtl systems so if you I would go ahead and mock up a separate accessories battery. Could run larger 3300mah main and perhaps 1000-1300mah VTx/accessory lipo. But that can wait till your comfortable with fpv.
 

lonewolf7717

Senior Member
Oh and by the way my original shorter wing span bixler could carry all that and more so I don't see any issue for your Bix 2 carrying the load. Think some guys are running 5000mahs in theirs with no problems but of course that does come with some spar and tail feather reinforcement.
 

Craftydan

Hostage Taker of Quads
Staff member
Moderator
Mentor
Arjan,

First off, to scale or not, it conveighs the connections well, which is what you want from a good block diagram -- nicely done.

Second, while I don't see an issue powering the FPV rig (assuming a 3S input) off a single balance port, your voltage monitor can only see 1/2 the cells and the overall voltage. If you put a new pack on the monitor side and an older one on the FPV side, you could still have a cell go low and get cooked on the older pack and have little warning.

Might I suggest either a splitter for the balance lead, or solder in a power connection onto your main battery feeds for the FPV? A bit more soldering work and an extra voltage monitor, but it would be kinder to your batteries.
 

Arjan

Junior Member
@lonewolf7717: Ok, I can separate the FPV side from the rest of the plane by using a smaller and bigger battery..

@Craftydan: Thanks for the idea splitting the balance-cable, and fly on just one battery! But when I use the scheme above, the power is evenly pulled out of both batteries, and I always balance-charge my batteries, so I guess one voltage monitor will give the alarm in time..?
(Partly) solution would be powering everything on one battery, so I would need to split the balance cable. However, I searched for a 1x female to 2x male cable. Only found the 1x male to 2x female cables (used for parallel charging). So if I want to do that I should solder my own cable? And what do you mean by this?:

or solder in a power connection onto your main battery feeds for the FPV? A bit more soldering work and an extra voltage monitor, but it would be kinder to your batteries.

Thanks!
 

Craftydan

Hostage Taker of Quads
Staff member
Moderator
Mentor
"Evenly pulled" assumes the batteries are equal in capacity and "resistance" . . . and I've found even shipped and charged together, that's not always true. The newer they are the less of an issue it is, but it will get worse over time. not saying it won't work or your plane will burst into flames, but you might eventually find the un-monitored pack has some excessivley low cells after landing.

You can take that balance charging cable (or a dead 3S pack, if you've got one) and harvest the male balance connector off of it to plug into the Fatshark. to install in the harness:

- pull the pins on the middle two leds on the balance plug
- determine (voltmeter on the battery? color?) which pins are supposed to be + and -
- desolder the battery connector from the airframe power leads
- solder the balance leads to the airframe power leads (red-to-red, black-to-black)
- slip a piece of shrink tube over each pair, and re-attach the battery plug, and shrink the tubing.

If you don't want to wire this plug perminantly into the airframe, you can make a jumper like this using a male and female plug and a inch or two of silicone wire.
 

Arjan

Junior Member
Thanks, now I understand.. So I definitely have to split a balance cable in order to power both the FPV TX and voltage monitor? Isn't there an other solution? (not that i'm afraid of soldering, but however..) Guess I'm not the only guy with this sort of 'problem'?
 

Craftydan

Hostage Taker of Quads
Staff member
Moderator
Mentor
I thought I'd seen splitters for balance plugs in past, (as opposed to the charge adaptors) but I don't see any listings.

I'm afraid you'll be stuck making your own cabling on this one, or making do with something less. If you do happen on a source for the balance port spliter, don't hesitate to post it here!
 

Arjan

Junior Member
When I finish building my setup, of if I find some splitter or another solution, sure I'll post it here! Thanks for your help!
 

xuzme720

Dedicated foam bender
Mentor
For just power take-off, one of these could work. Even gives you a spare PTO, but will not provide individual cell monitoring on your alarm. That could be easily fixed by adding 2 additional wires from the 2 empty center pins on the male to one of the female plugs. I'm not sure these have the sockets in them so you might need to harvest some from an old, defunct lipo. That would mean you only need to solder 2 points.

sku_235590_1.jpg
 

Arjan

Junior Member
I've got another issue here...

The canopy from the Bixler 2 is secured with some magnets, which aren't very strong. So I put some extra neodymium magnets on the vertical part of the canopy and the plane (which holds the canopy in place very well). See the picture:

View attachment 19894

Recently I bought Fatshark's Teleporter V3 FPV system, which I planned to build on the Bixler. The camera is gonna be on top of the nose, and the transmitter on the vertical part of the canopy. My question is: The magnets are very strong; is it a problem if the VTX is placed right on top of them? (affecting transmitting power/bad video quality or something like that?)

View attachment 19895

Thanks!