Building gremlin for the first time.

Adam_K

New member
I want to build a gremlin and I looked at the video they have on YouTube. Since I would use the Flite Test Power Pack G V2 would I follow the same steps. Won’t the soldering be different? This would be my first build and I don’t want to screw up and destroy the components.
 

FDS

Elite member
The V2 uses a 4:1 esc, where the old one had 4 separate ones. The motors just go to labelled tags on the ESC board, it clearly tells you which pads to fix to, the actual motor wire hookup order is not that important, as you will set the motor direction in Betaflight.
The FC then sits on top, joined by a plugged jumper cable.
It’s actually simpler since you just need to solder the connections for the VTX to the FC board, the rest is plug in.
You will only mess up components if you apply power incorrectly or over solder the pads, shorting the board. Take your time, don’t apply too much heat and if possible practice first if you are not up to speed in soldering pads on circuit boards. It’s not too hard to do.
 

Adam_K

New member
The V2 uses a 4:1 esc, where the old one had 4 separate ones. The motors just go to labelled tags on the ESC board, it clearly tells you which pads to fix to, the actual motor wire hookup order is not that important, as you will set the motor direction in Betaflight.
The FC then sits on top, joined by a plugged jumper cable.
It’s actually simpler since you just need to solder the connections for the VTX to the FC board, the rest is plug in.
You will only mess up components if you apply power incorrectly or over solder the pads, shorting the board. Take your time, don’t apply too much heat and if possible practice first if you are not up to speed in soldering pads on circuit boards. It’s not too hard to do.
Thank you for the explanation. What would you recommend to practice on?
 

Adam_K

New member
The V2 uses a 4:1 esc, where the old one had 4 separate ones. The motors just go to labelled tags on the ESC board, it clearly tells you which pads to fix to, the actual motor wire hookup order is not that important, as you will set the motor direction in Betaflight.
The FC then sits on top, joined by a plugged jumper cable.
It’s actually simpler since you just need to solder the connections for the VTX to the FC board, the rest is plug in.
You will only mess up components if you apply power incorrectly or over solder the pads, shorting the board. Take your time, don’t apply too much heat and if possible practice first if you are not up to speed in soldering pads on circuit boards. It’s not too hard to do.
Do I still need the Spektrum RC DSMX Quad Race Receiver w/Diversity? And would I need to solder the
FX FX805 5.8Ghz 25mW 40CH Camera & Video Transmitter
w/Dipole Antenna to anything.
 

FDS

Elite member
Copper clad prototyping board is cheap. Something like this
View attachment 126242

What radio do you have? If you have Spektrum already then the Lemon RX satellite receiver or OrangeR617xl satellite receivers are both cheaper than the Spektrum one. The Lemon one is better IMO.

The VTX/camera lead will need to be soldered to the FC board, the pads are marked. There’s several diagrams for that board.
 
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Adam_K

New member
Copper clad prototyping board is cheap. Something like this
View attachment 126242

What radio do you have? If you have Spektrum already then the Lemon RX satellite receiver or OrangeR617xl satellite receivers are both cheaper than the Spektrum one. The Lemon one is better IMO.

The VTX/camera lead will need to be soldered to the FC board, the pads are marked. There’s several diagrams for that board.
I have a spektrum dx 6. For the camera I would cut the end with the plug off and solder the two wires to the board in the correct spots? For the receiver I would solder it to the board.
 

FDS

Elite member
The Lemon RX satellite receiver will bind great with a DX6, my Orange one has bound with my dsmx TX but not had a chance to test it yet, some people report faults with the Orange receivers, mine works fine on the bench. Lemon are really good, they are my go to receiver for DSMX.
The camera and VTX is all in one, so you would want the red lead to go to the 5v regulated out on the OSD part of the board, then the black to ground. Pads are shown in the below diagram.
https://des.gbtcdn.com/uploads/pdm-desc-pic/Electronic/image/2017/11/10/15103063697219.jpg
 
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Adam_K

New member
The Lemon RX satellite receiver will bind great with a DX6, my Orange one has bound with my dsmx TX but not had a chance to test it yet, some people report faults with the Orange receivers, mine works fine on the bench. Lemon are really good, they are my go to receiver for DSMX.
The camera and VTX is all in one, so you would want the red lead to go to the 3.3v or 5v regulated out, then the black to ground. Pads are shown in the below diagram.
https://des.gbtcdn.com/uploads/pdm-desc-pic/Electronic/image/2017/11/10/15103063697219.jpg
Thanks for all the help . It’s much appreciated. Can’t wait to get my parts!!
 

FDS

Elite member
Hope it works out for you! Patience and care are your friends when building. Check out Psyborgs series on building gremlins etc.
 

Adam_K

New member
Hope it works out for you! Patience and care are your friends when building. Check out Psyborgs series on building gremlins etc.
Do you know if there are any videos of someone building the gremlin using power pack g v2. Or diagrams that would be helpful.
 

FDS

Elite member
I linked the only wiring diagram I could find. The ESC is the larger square tags, the motor wires go on those. The rest is labelled, the diagram labels have the inside layer of pins on the left of the label and the ones nearest the edge to the right.
You have 3 RX wires, two camera and the 4 sets ofmotor wires to do. I couldn’t find a video of the V2 kit, you should contact FT customer services about that. You could buy another stack and motors, there’s a few F4 mini stacks around that are a little more advanced than that one. Check the usual suspects for builds or reviews.
If you use the reply box at the bottom of the screen not the blue button marked [“reply] you can reply without quoting the previous post.
 

Adam_K

New member
Does it matter what motor wire goes to which pad? Is there a certain order? And how would you flash the board or what ever they were talking about in the old flitetest gremlin build video.
 

FDS

Elite member
Look at the orientation on the wiring diagram. The big blue arrow points to the front, so that will dictate which motor goes to which pad.
The connector between FC and ESC will always be at the front end of the FC.
There aren’t many detailed photos of the esc, check it’s orientation when it arrives. The board is a Full Speed RC Baby Flight Tower, keep digging with that in search.
 

dshaw

Member
Look at the orientation on the wiring diagram. The big blue arrow points to the front, so that will dictate which motor goes to which pad.
The connector between FC and ESC will always be at the front end of the FC.
There aren’t many detailed photos of the esc, check it’s orientation when it arrives. The board is a Full Speed RC Baby Flight Tower, keep digging with that in search.
The pinout you linked to is not the one that comes with the power pack g v2. From what I could find this is the name of the FC "
FSD306S 2S 6A Baby Flight Tower" do you have the pinout for this one? http://www.fullspeedrc.com/u_file/1712/photo/e493812fa4.jpg
This one http://www.fullspeedrc.com/u_file/1712/photo/8ccf7445a4.jpg Looks identical to mine but says its the F1S Mine shows F2S. I assume min is just a newer version?
 
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