Budget 5" Quad Build - LHI 220 Quadcopter Kit

[Huffheinz]

OK...I admit it. I have a problem. I've been hit hard by the quad bug. I built my first quad, an FT Gremlin, that I maidened about a week and a half ago and have been having a ball with ever since (at least 6 packs a day when weather permits). Keeping in mind that I really want to race and capture HD freestyle, I decided that I wanted to build a 5" racer next but it had to be budget friendly.

I built up an order on the banggood US warehouse, but when I placed the order, I got a backorder notification with no indication of which part was on backorder or for how long. So I cancelled the order and turned to Amazon where I found the LHI 220 Quadcopter Kit. It had pretty much everything I had spec'ed out my budget build (220 frame, PDB, SPRacing F3, cheap 2205 2300kV motors, etc) so I pulled the trigger. Two days later (yeaterday) I happen to be home at 2pm in the afternoon when the package arrived, and I had it up for the maiden flight at 8pm.

I opted not to use the 600mW Vtx that came with the kit and ordered an AKK switchable instead. I had two of the motors on before I realized I forgot about the motor guards and under-motor LEDs so i just left those off. I'll probably put the motor guards on later though, because I don't expect these to hold up too well without some protection. I really like this frame. it's an Alien knockoff, but a good one with nice fit and finish. It comes with a good Matek PDB but doesn't require it's use for structural integrity like the banggood Martian frame.

Anyway, I just thought I would share my latest quad accomplishment with the community here. All I had time for last night was hovering and a bit of slow forward flight all LOS. I'm going to take her out before the rain hits today and try some FPV. I'll take some good pictures of her later while I'm installing a buzzer (arriving today) and get some opinions on how I mounted all the components.

 

[French]

Congrats on the new gear! Sounds like you're addicted

I went from a 280mm (slow and heavy) to a 210mm (fast and agile) now I'm waiting on my 95mm two-inch! I think you'll really enjoy the 5" size

PS - that's a Lumenier QAV-R style frame. Alien/martians are a bit different.

 

[Huffheinz]

PS - that's a Lumenier QAV-R style frame. Alien/martians are a bit different.

My mistake, I thought that the QAV-R was an Alien knock-off.

I took the LHI 220 out for a good run in the park yesterday. I'm still learning how to fly, but I was able to rip around a baseball diamond and some light poles nearby. Went through 2 battery packs without incident except for losing the top cover on the antenna. On my third pack, however, I was taking off straight up under a large oak tree, hit a limb, hit the disarm switch, and crashed back to the pavement. That little fall managed to break off the XT60 connector that I had hard mounted to the PDB.

Luckily, there wasn't much damage done to the PDB so I stopped by my local hobby shop and picked up some XT60s. I then used some 14ga silicone wire I had and soldered to some open large pads on the PDB and fished the wires up through the open holes left by the XT60 connector on the PDB. I lost a little room in the front, and it's a bit of a sharp turn for the 14ga wire, but it works.




The FPV camera that comes with the kit has small nubs on the side of the housing that fit in holes in the frame side plates. So I can set the angle wherever I want it, the problem is that there is no good way to capture the camera at any one angle. I tried hot gluing the camera swivel point in place, but that didn't hold at all. For the time being, I'm just sticking the ball of poster-tack I use for soldering under there until I figure out what angle I want. I was thinking about hot gluing a foam wedge under the camera for a more permanent solution.




Here is a good side shot showing how I mounted the VTx, RX and newly installed buzzer. The VTx is up high face up so I can access the controls through a window in the top plate. The 90-degree antenna fitting doesn't allow me to use the hole in the top plate for mounting, so I put it in the slot and hot glued it to prevent rubbing. The Rx is on the bottom with the antenna running up the rear stand-off and sticking out of the top with the zip-tie and shrink wrap method. I just hot glued the buzzer in the armpit there below the FC. It's not the prettiest, but it does work.



I took her out again today after making the battery connection repair and adding a buzzer that arrived in the mail. Thank goodness I installed the buzzer because I wiped out after a flip and lost her in the grass for a while. It's amazing how it can disappear in relatively short grass. I don't know how long it would have taken me to find it if it weren't for the buzzer.

I went through four packs and had a blast flying around light poles and under tree canopies. I'm getting better, but still nowhere near being able to hit one of those racing gates (well, technically, I think I could "hit" a gate, just not fly "through" one). I also need to work on landing with the camera so high, I can just barely see the horizon when level. Today, i was just slowing down over the grass close by and disarming when I got close to the ground.

I'll see if I can record a flight later today to share with you guys.

 

[ElectriSean]

Fly, crash, repair, repeat You're in the groove now.

 

[PsyBorg]

I KNOW I can "hit" gates.. The new dings in my props prove that hehe.. and yes you are an addict. Welcome officially to our club!.