Fortis TITAN Build
- Thread starter ikem
- Start date
I like the clean wire set up running the wires through the arms. Makes for a nice wire harness with very little extra weight. Also powered the yaw servo using the bec off of the esc on the rear motor and only had 2 signal wires to run up to the APM. Very nice. Enjoying this thread. This is my 4th tricopter. Started with the KK2 board (works pretty well NTM motors..never had any problems with them) second built a bigger version, too much weight with an APM 2.0 (would do strange things Like lean left and then power into the ground) Then a CC3D open pilot (had some measure of success. Ended up using rubber fuel hose on the screw downs on the motors and then zip tying over the hose, and that made a huge difference isolating vibrations at which point it works very well). Now my final iteration doing this fortis frame, with good quality motors and running a 4S lipo. Pretty happy so far. Still need to do the auto tune and verify that the flight settings all work. The yaw is a little too snappy, need to smooth that out a little. Im running Cobra motors from RCdude.com. They are scary powerful, they have some good info on them as well.
http://www.rcdude.com/servlet/the-2031/Cobra-C-dsh-2217-fdsh-20-Brushless-Motor/Detail
Hope this helps someone.
yoadrian, welcome to FliteTest.
That is a beautiful build. Got any video of it in the air?
That is a beautiful build. Got any video of it in the air?
Nothing yet, I'm still working the kinks out. I'm running a little heavy, with a 4S 4500 mah lipo. Ran it this morning and got 16:45 of run time with the big battery and an old Gopro 2. Still need to put my FPV video transmitter on it. Also want to do the apm2.6 auto tune on it, and make sure that the fail safes are set up. So it may be a week or two. I have a little time tomorrow, so I may get to some of it then. Here are a few pics. I like the servo hook up.
Cyberdactyl
Misfit Multirotor Monkey
Nice collection!
Is the one with the foam life rings for over water?
Is the one with the foam life rings for over water?
Yup, figure I can at least save some electronics in event of a crash over water. This is a video I did with my old flamewheel F550 over water. I was pretty nervous the whole time flying it. http://youtu.be/R36unFzJu4U
Something else you guys might think is cool. I was charging my gopro with a ubec connected to my lipo while flying because every time I wanted to fly the gopro would be dead. So I was poking around the web last night and found that you can power the gopro with out having the gopro battery in it. I know it works with the gopro 2, not sure about the 3. I tried it this morning with my regular water tri. I'm running a 3S 5000mah lipo and sunnysky 980kv motors with big gemfan 11x4.7 props with an open pilot cc3d controller. With gopro connected and running I got 21:00 minutes of flying time. I had to keep bringing it down to see that the battery indicator was working properly. Anyway, someone might want to try it on a gopro3. Could remove some dead weight and add some flight time.
Cyberdactyl
Misfit Multirotor Monkey
Sounds cool, but I hate experimenting with my GP3, I'll let someone else try first. 
I was even paranoid about plugging in a video-out plug for FPV because of my worry they might have wired the plug wrong. I tested it first and it works good, but magic smoke smells particularly bad coming out of a $400 component.
I was even paranoid about plugging in a video-out plug for FPV because of my worry they might have wired the plug wrong. I tested it first and it works good, but magic smoke smells particularly bad coming out of a $400 component.
ikem
Senior Member
i went out 3000ft during these flights, and i still had great video. Keeping in mind there is nothing in between me and the Titan. I really need to get a TM1000 for rssi on the APM, but for video is just goes a little static. At 3000ft away, i still had great video, so im going to push it farther. I do have minimosd in the goggles to display all the info.
I am also running omni antennas on both the craft and goggles, which I need to change to a helix on the goggles yet.
I am also running omni antennas on both the craft and goggles, which I need to change to a helix on the goggles yet.
Hey guys,
So since my last very uninformed post I've researched until my eyes bled and managed to build my own Titan. I also somehow managed to keep it solder-free. The wiring cleanliness has suffered a bit but I'm pretty happy with it, all things considered. The maiden flight was a success as well other than having a very slight bobble which I think might be due to prop balance. Has anyone had issues with the gemfans? I'm having a hell of a time getting them balanced. Oh, and for some reason when I activate self level the right stick on my dx6i goes dead. I have the aux set up to activate with the flaps switch but I must have something set wrong.
So the parts I went with are:
kk2.1HC
afro 30A with simonk
sunnysky X2212 980kv
Turnigy 2200mah 3S
gemfan 1045 and slow fly 9047 to try
Hitec 82MG
spektrum AR610
Immersion 600mw vtx
Immersion spironets
goggles???
I'll eventually order a sony pz0420 and goggles but I think I may have reached the limit of being solder-free. From what I can tell from further eye bleeding research is that I won't be able to get power to the cam without a step up regulator after the vtx and it seems like all of them require soldering. I guess it's time to learn! Maybe then I can go back and do the wiring inside the boom like you guys did, it looks killer! Anyways, here are some pictures. Happy flying!
So since my last very uninformed post I've researched until my eyes bled and managed to build my own Titan. I also somehow managed to keep it solder-free. The wiring cleanliness has suffered a bit but I'm pretty happy with it, all things considered. The maiden flight was a success as well other than having a very slight bobble which I think might be due to prop balance. Has anyone had issues with the gemfans? I'm having a hell of a time getting them balanced. Oh, and for some reason when I activate self level the right stick on my dx6i goes dead. I have the aux set up to activate with the flaps switch but I must have something set wrong.
So the parts I went with are:
kk2.1HC
afro 30A with simonk
sunnysky X2212 980kv
Turnigy 2200mah 3S
gemfan 1045 and slow fly 9047 to try
Hitec 82MG
spektrum AR610
Immersion 600mw vtx
Immersion spironets
goggles???
I'll eventually order a sony pz0420 and goggles but I think I may have reached the limit of being solder-free. From what I can tell from further eye bleeding research is that I won't be able to get power to the cam without a step up regulator after the vtx and it seems like all of them require soldering. I guess it's time to learn! Maybe then I can go back and do the wiring inside the boom like you guys did, it looks killer! Anyways, here are some pictures. Happy flying!
Hey don't sweat the soldering, it's not hard. It's actually kind of fun to make your own stuff, and install a custom job. This is one of my favorite channels. Bruce does a lot of really cool stuff, just don't expect him to finish a particular project, but he does a great job explaining stuff. So check out this link for some soldering tutoring.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS0bEuYPJoA
I bought the Hakko solder iron that he uses, and really like it.
I have tried the gemfan DJI replacement props and I didn't like them at all. I had a giant piece of lead tape on one side and still couldn't get it to balance. Just try the carbon reinforced ones, they work pretty well.
http://www.rcdude.com/servlet/the-2289/GemFan-11x4.7-Normal-Rotation/Detail
You will still need to do a little balancing, the only props that I have ever seen balanced out of the box are the graupner e-props, but they cost $11 each. I haven't used the APC props but I've heard good things.
http://www.rcdude.com/servlet/the-Propellers-cln-APC-Multirotor-Props/Categories
Just so you know, I don't order all my stuff from RC dudes, but props and good motors are very well priced and he ships super fast.
As far as the settings on your radio go, you are going to have to fiddle with the settings and do some searching on setting up the KK2 board on your radio, there are a bunch of people using them. Good luck, I hope that helped. I will tell you that the prop being well balanced can really make a huge difference in how your copter flies. Also make sure you have mounted your KK2 board using some gyro mounting tape, that will help isolate the board from unwanted vibrations. Below is a link on rcdude. You can also find it on hobbyking, if you don't mind the 3 weeks shipping.
http://www.rcdude.com/servlet/the-2559/Next-Level-Flight-Controller/Detail
If you have a smart phone there is an app for vibration reading for a couple of bucks. If you need it let me know. Good luck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS0bEuYPJoA
I bought the Hakko solder iron that he uses, and really like it.
I have tried the gemfan DJI replacement props and I didn't like them at all. I had a giant piece of lead tape on one side and still couldn't get it to balance. Just try the carbon reinforced ones, they work pretty well.
http://www.rcdude.com/servlet/the-2289/GemFan-11x4.7-Normal-Rotation/Detail
You will still need to do a little balancing, the only props that I have ever seen balanced out of the box are the graupner e-props, but they cost $11 each. I haven't used the APC props but I've heard good things.
http://www.rcdude.com/servlet/the-Propellers-cln-APC-Multirotor-Props/Categories
Just so you know, I don't order all my stuff from RC dudes, but props and good motors are very well priced and he ships super fast.
As far as the settings on your radio go, you are going to have to fiddle with the settings and do some searching on setting up the KK2 board on your radio, there are a bunch of people using them. Good luck, I hope that helped. I will tell you that the prop being well balanced can really make a huge difference in how your copter flies. Also make sure you have mounted your KK2 board using some gyro mounting tape, that will help isolate the board from unwanted vibrations. Below is a link on rcdude. You can also find it on hobbyking, if you don't mind the 3 weeks shipping.
http://www.rcdude.com/servlet/the-2559/Next-Level-Flight-Controller/Detail
If you have a smart phone there is an app for vibration reading for a couple of bucks. If you need it let me know. Good luck.
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Thanks for the info yoadrian, i'll definitely check out RC dudes. I've seen Bruce's videos before but not that one, thanks for the link. I'm not sure if the gemfans I have are the carbon reinforced or not but I've had to put large amounts of hot glue on the hub to get them balanced. The blade themselves seem ok. I'll grab some of the reinforced and the mounting pads as well. I used some regular picture frame adhesive pads to mount my FC so that might be a source of vibration.
A couple more newb questions, if you guys were to buy goggles right now what would you buy and why? Also, what kind of setup are you using to power your fpv gear on the tri?
Thanks again for the info!
A couple more newb questions, if you guys were to buy goggles right now what would you buy and why? Also, what kind of setup are you using to power your fpv gear on the tri?
Thanks again for the info!
A couple more newb questions, if you guys were to buy goggles right now what would you buy and why? Also, what kind of setup are you using to power your fpv gear on the tri?
I use the immersion rc stuff. It's an easy system to set up, and you can get it from hobbyking and readymade and it works on 3S and 4S voltages. The readymade sight has some nice packages already set up to take the guess work out. I have a tracking antenna set up on 433mhz but always end up using the 5.8ghz set up because its portable when you get the built in video Rx right on your fat sharks.
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_318&products_id=781
I use the immersion rc stuff. It's an easy system to set up, and you can get it from hobbyking and readymade and it works on 3S and 4S voltages. The readymade sight has some nice packages already set up to take the guess work out. I have a tracking antenna set up on 433mhz but always end up using the 5.8ghz set up because its portable when you get the built in video Rx right on your fat sharks.
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_318&products_id=781
Cyberdactyl
Misfit Multirotor Monkey
I use a securitycam2000 PZ0420 card-cam (or GoPro Black when I don't fly over the woods, don't want to risk losing it). Fatshark Attitude V2 googles. A Fatshark 200mw or a 600mw Immersion video transmitter. And Immersion spironet antennas.
All work good. I get about 300 feet through heavy tree foliage, and about ~1600 feet unobstructed line of sight with the 200mw. I haven't tested the full range of the 600mw Vtx yet as I just got it.
I will say, I had to put a heatsink on the Fatshark 200mw Vtx because the main inductor gets crazy hot without one.
All work good. I get about 300 feet through heavy tree foliage, and about ~1600 feet unobstructed line of sight with the 200mw. I haven't tested the full range of the 600mw Vtx yet as I just got it.
I will say, I had to put a heatsink on the Fatshark 200mw Vtx because the main inductor gets crazy hot without one.
FinalGlideAus
terrorizing squirrels
The PZ0420 is a really great all round cam. You can get it in a case or a lighter bare bones board cam version which is used by most mini quad pilots. A new cam to use is the Runcam which is half the size of the PZ0420 but comparable in quality so is good for confined spaces. It comes in an aluminum case and is 18g versus 14g for the bare bones PZ0420.
ImmersionRC gear is more expensive but worth the extra cost if using fatshark gear IMHO.
ImmersionRC gear is more expensive but worth the extra cost if using fatshark gear IMHO.
Thanks for the replies and information guys! I went out today for some LOS flying and broke my first prop. The booms folded like they're supposed to and nothing else was damaged, yay. Really enjoying this frame. I balanced a few more of my gemfans to prepare for next time and got some comical balancing results. Check out the photo, either I got a really bad batch or I'm doing something wrong. I followed CPO's balancing instructions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2OwSc35Ozc
ikem
Senior Member
yep gemfans usually go like that.
also in lieu of the new laws. I used some gaff tape to color the front booms.
