I'm back... and I may be diving in over my head - new 5" build

[French]

Hey FT community. I've missed you all. I haven't been flying my old Nighthawk Pro280 much, because it's super heavy, underpowered, and doesn't get me very excited anymore. I've still been building a few foamies and keeping up with the advancements. Wow! Miniquads have come a long way in the last year. I do have a whoop'd E010 that I love flying around the house, and I finally ditched the monitor to get some goggles.


All that being said, I just pulled the trigger on what appears to be a pretty stellar build:

Omnibus F4 Pro v3
Aikon 30amp 4-in-1 (dshot600)
Brother Hobby Returner V3s (2206 2300)
Swift 2 with 2.1mm
200mW 40ch
FrSky XM+
Azure Power 5x4.5x3 PC props

I'm thinking about a QAV-X style frame, but I worry how tight it's going to be. I really like the design of the Kratos, but it's hard to find.

Oh yeah, I also need a new radio... I'm dying for a Q X7

I'm planning on running betaflight and betaflight osd. I just picked up some TPU to print motor mounts and a Session mount, so that will be fun to try out in my MP Mini Select printer. I'm planning on potentially picking up some Tattu 4S 1300mah, 75C from GetFPV when they get the Q X7s in, unless someone gives me a better recommendation for batteries.

This may not be a quick build, but I'll try to keep a good log. I'm open to any thoughts or suggestions. I'm glad to be back.

 

[LitterBug]

Getting ready to build a 6" Krieger 225 and really love the AWK210 I have. The AWK210 is currently my best flying rig.

Cheers!
LitterBug


EDIT: Build thread for my AWK210 http://forum.flitetest.com/showthread.php?31011-New-Build!-Strix-AWK210-BrainFPV-RE1-dRonin&highlight=awk210

 

[French]

How much room is inside the AWK compared to the QAV-X? Also, buying the awk would make me want to buy a cricket VTX. I was really considering the 204 hellbender

 

[LitterBug]

How much room is inside the AWK compared to the QAV-X? Also, buying the awk would make me want to buy a cricket VTX. I was really considering the 204 hellbender

Not sure what you mean by space... It will depend largely on what gear you want to use. I try to keep the board count down by using combination a PDB/power monitoring board, and OSD integrated either with the camera, pdb, or on the FC. Some builds I have put longer standoffs on to allow for more gear, others I have shortened the standoffs by using and all-in-one PDB/FC like the DTFc. Not a big fan of the customized top plates that fit specific gear. The crickets are some of my best VTXs, but they do not all have the same button and mount hole locations. So if you use the cricket pro, you end up modifying the top plate or top mounting the VTX to get to the display and buttons. I have a V1 Hellbender 204 that has most recently been used for beta testing the Seppuku FC. It's my second best flyer right now even with some really cheap 2204 2300kv motors. 2nd best mostly due to less powerfull motors than I have on the Awk210, but also maybe partly due to the assymetric geometry. Have a V2 Hellbender frame waiting for a built too. I prefer the AWK210 better. Both have lifetime warranty on the main frame plate. I've replaced the V1 hellbender frame under warranty. Have not bent or broken the AWK210 yet. The V2 hellbender frame is much beefier both in thickness and reduced cutouts compared to V1. Build thread from one of my more recent Hellbender V1 rebuilds http://forum.flitetest.com/showthread.php?29789-Hellbender-warranty-frame-replace-W-DTFc-swap/page2&highlight=hellbender. Some of my most recent video from the V1 Hellbender while beta testing the Seppuku FC.

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[French]

Not sure what you mean by space... It will depend largely on what gear you want to use. I try to keep the board count down by using combination a PDB/power monitoring board, and OSD integrated either with the camera, pdb, or on the FC.
Cheers!
LitterBug

The plan is the XT60 lead to the F4 Pro FC (it monitors current), then directly from the FC to the 4-in-1. Those are the only two boards. No need for a PDB as the 4-in-1 has 12V out for the cam and VTX. I'm not planning on using the OSD on the cam. The video will run through the FC for betaflight OSD. The only other thing on the stack will be the tiny XM+ on top of the FC.

 

[LitterBug]

I'd say any of these frames would work.

Cheers!
Litterbug

 

[French]

Here's my wiring plan:

Any thoughts or comments?

 

[French]

my frame and VTX arrived. I'm pretty impressed with the carbon on this QAV-X clone. The M3 screws were way too short, but luckily I had plenty of 10mm's laying around. With the 8 TPU motor mounts I printed, its barely 90g.

This rig may be just under 300g without a battery and close to 5,000g of thrust.

My Q X7 is also ordered along with a handful of 4S 1300s. This is getting a little out of hand

 

[French]

Most of my electronics will be here next week. The 4-in-1 esc wasn't delivered to the vendor until yesterday.

I've started mocking up the stack by using some spare pdbs to represent the 4-in-1 and FC (I won't have a PDB). My plan is to have nylon screws with a 3mm thick nut on the bottom, then the esc, then 4mm of vacuum hose for vibration dampening, then the FC, then more hose. My question relates to the space under the escs. I'm running a battery strap under there and with one nylon nut on the bottom, the esc is going to rest on the Velcro. Am I risking overheating the esc?

 

[PsyBorg]

I would give it more air personally. It may not be necessary but it surely can not hurt. The more cool you can keep things the better off you will be. I would also take the time and round all the edges on that frame with a file. Specially any parts where wires or straps will cross. Them edges can be like razor blades. If you do the file work make sure you do it under water either running or in a container. That dust is not healthy.

 

[French]

Well she's done. Honestly, the hardest part was getting the Swift 2 to fit well (needed one washer inside and one outside of the mount).

LED and buzzer wires

Tinned 4-in-1 and mounting the motors

I printed TPU softmounts for the top and bottom

Motor wires trimmed to length

The beginning of the stack

Hinged design

Wired the buzzer and LEDs

Motor signal wires

XSR mounted (the vendor forgot that I switched my order out for an XM+)

No smoke!

Everything works like a champ

Sub 300g 5" with ~5kg of thrust!!!! Running Dshot600 too

 

[cranialrectosis]

I LOVE the little clip on the XT-60. Did that come with the copter?

Beautiful little screamer there, French. Very clean. Can't wait to see the maiden on this one!

I didn't see a link to your frame. Got one?

 

[French]

That XT60 came with the frame kit. I like it too. Looks like they can be a bit pricy if purchased separately - https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1280185-REG/venom_group_17016_uni_2_0_plug_xt60.html

 

[LitterBug]

Lookin Good French! Nice detail in the pictures.

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[French]

It was a fun build and everything went together well after a bit of planning. You all may be surprised to hear it, but this is my first scratch built quad. I'm excited to maiden it.

 

[French]

I didn't see a link to your frame. Got one?

It's a QAV-X clone
https://www.amazon.com/LHI-Quadcopt...?ie=UTF8&qid=1490100432&sr=8-2&keywords=Qav-x

 

[French]

I finished up the FPV system tonight. Had to hinge it open, solder the Cam and VTX power leads to the 12V on the 4-in-1 esc and the video through the FC for BF OSD. I also had to solder in extra ground lines to the FC.





All up with GoPro.

It hovers at about 40-45% throttle on a 4S with the V1Ss that are on it now.


I currently have my antennas in tubes on each of the rear arms. Do you guys think that hurts the signal?

 

[French]

I have some osceolation issues. Sounds like low frequency, and the motors are coming down warm. Anyone any good with black box logs?

 

[PsyBorg]

Dont need to use black box really. Either P gains are too low or D gains are too high. Those are usually the reasons for hot running motors.

If you want a quick and dirty way to tune and what to look for watch this. You will be able to dial it in 90% in a very short time. That should resolve your heat issues.

 

[French]

I had a great time this weekend really flying acro for the first time. Found a wide open space with plenty of room to make mistakes. I feel so much more confident with the power available in this quad. The tune isn't great yet. I'm getting comfortable with the responsiveness, but I think I need to bump up the D. I can't tell if the GoPro jello is from the tune or the TPU mount not being secured enough. I really hoped that the soft mounted motors and FC would lead to a fairly noise free quad, but I think the thick wirining to the hardmounted 4-in-1 may be negating the softmount.

I've actually forwarded this video and my blackbox log to Josh Bardwell to see if he has time to give me any suggestions.

PS - im still working on landings with uptilt.