Naze32 V-Tail Quad Setup

[jamieFL]

Hi everyone. Thank you Josh, Josh, and Dave.

I am building my second multirotor. The first was a Fortis Airframes Titan tricopter (that I found from an ad on your site) with an APM 2.6 flight controller. It flies very well and is used for aerial photography. I want to build something for fun and I like the Batbones V-Tail, so I downloaded the plans and built one. I have purchased the new rev 5 Naze32 Funfly controller and since I don't have it yet, I cannot get into the Baseflight software yet. I have been scouring the net looking for the V-Tail config for the Naze32 but can only find very old information...from 2012 or older...where people are not able to do it.

I see in the Naze32 manual that it has a Y4 setup, but don't believe that is what I am looking for. I am hoping that someone here might have some experience with this setup and can guide me along.

As stated above, this is for fun. It will be my first FPV setup. I like the look of the mini-copters and am patterning my Batbones V-Tail after them. So, what are good (short) boom lengths for the Batbones?

Hope you like the photos. Thanks in advance.

 

[cranialrectosis]

I don't believe TimeCop has a pre-built config for a V tail. I think you would set it up as a quad and create some type of custom mix to help fly. I'll bet most controllers would fly it as a quad and just compensate for the difference in thrust from the front as opposed to the rear motors.

That copter is beautiful. What does it weigh?

 

[jamieFL]

Thank you. With the FPV gear it weighs 384 grams. I believe you are right. I would have thought someone would have posted something somewhere about how they did it.

 

[bikerboy]

Actually, it does have vtail mixer, in the CLI enter: mixer vtail4
And you are done

The motor connections are like a regular quad x for the true Vtail, or, in your case, more like an Atail (I do mine the same) you have two options, either swap the rear motors between them, or enter another command in CLI: set yaw_direction=0

I have two vtails with NAZE32, you will be amazed at how good it flies.

Good luck, just ask if you encounter problems!

PS: this is assuming you are using baseflight!

 

[jamieFL]

Actually, it does have vtail mixer, in the CLI enter: mixer vtail4
And you are done

The motor connections are like a regular quad x for the true Vtail, or, in your case, more like an Atail (I do mine the same) you have two options, either swap the rear motors between them, or enter another command in CLI: set yaw_direction=0

I have two vtails with NAZE32, you will be amazed at how good it flies.

Good luck, just ask if you encounter problems!

PS: this is assuming you are using baseflight!

bikerboy...Thank You. I ordered my Naze32 two days ago. The only place I could find it in stock was DroneMatters.com, so I am expecting about a 2 week delivery. I still need the motors (which will be SunnySky) and ESCs and to choose the boom lengths. This will be strictly for fun and FPV...my first.

I will be using Baseflight, so I will have lots of questions. It is good to have found someone who is using this FC on a V Tail. I have looked all over the net for information on how to set up this combination and found nothing. I'll keep this thread updated with my progress.

 

[bikerboy]

Sure thing, let us know what happens with your build.

When mounting the board, do it in a way that allows you to access the USB plug later on for settings/PID tuning. You can rotate the board and offset the sensors in software, I have mine mounted with the USB plug to the right side of the copter.

What version did you get, acro or full?

 

[jamieFL]

I bought the full. My current tricopter has an APM 2.6 and I like the selection of flight modes. I have no plans to install a GPS, but for the future, it is available.

 

[Tieman]

Another V-tail and another mistake (Why David did not mention it) . If you mount rear motors on frame like yours , quad will be drifting forward, and it is hard to trim that.

 

[Craftydan]

Another V-tail and another mistake (Why David did not mention it) . If you mount rear motors on frame like yours , quad will be drifting forward, and it is hard to trim that.

yeah, it'll drift forward when flat, but it's not that hard to trim it -- If you always stay in SL mode, a few clicks back on pitch in the radio will fix it, or if not, a few points of back trim in the Naze's ACC trim should cut the drift out and not affect acro. KK2 ACC trim is complicated, multiwii/Naze isn't.

 

[bikerboy]

Jamie, you should plan to install a GPS too if you want FPV. Not for the position hold, but for the RTL and for the info you get on the OSD like home position, speed, etc.

Also, plan ahead to have maximum separation between power wiring and the board, the onboard mag is really sensitive to that.

 

[jamieFL]

I bought one of these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/T-Plug-Powe...Control_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1e8d885373
and my GPS has a compass:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ublox-Neo-6...Control_Parts_Accessories&hash=item56651f0940

I was planning on mounting the power distribution board on the bottom plate and then the FC above the level of the top plate so that I have access to the USB port. I was also going to mount the PDB at a 45 degree angle to facilitate running the power wires to the ESCs. I glued aluminum foil to the bottom of the top cover to shield the GPS, which will be mounted on top of the plate.

The Batbones kit is supplied with 10 inch booms is it not? Are all the boom lengths the same and is 10 inch a good length for FPV? Mine currently are longer and need to be trimmed.

Another choice I have yet to make is motor size. On my Titan Tricopter I am using the SunnySky 2212 980kv with 10x5 props and powered by 2200mah 4S battery. I am very happy with its performance. I built a wood version of David's original tricopter for a friend of mine. It is really light and I powered it with the SunnySky 2212 1400kv with 8x5 props and 3S battery. With that setup is really screams. I'm going to stick with the 2200mah 4S batteries and I already have 2 extra 980kv motors, but when I started this project, I was patterning it after the Blackout Mini Quads and was hoping for similar performance.

SunnySky X2212-980KV


SunnySky X2212-1400KV

 

[jamieFL]

I think that I am leaning for 8" booms with the SunnySky X2212-1400kv with 8x5 props on 4s. Should have plenty of power and speed. I would probably be happy on 3S, but I already have the batteries.

I also think that I will build wedges to place under the rear motors to correct the alignment. Thankyou guys for bringing that to my attention.

 

[jamieFL]

I installed my power distribution board. See pix...



I have to say that I am happy with the way this thing is going together. I do have a question about the wire length for the ESCs. I was thinking of mounting the front ESCs under the base plate next to the power distribution board and the rear ESCs under the motors. I guess that overall the wire lengths will be the same between PDB and motors.

 

[jamieFL]

I shortened the rear booms to 9" and fixed the engine agle problem so that the copter will be able to hover while level. Front booms are now 8". I think this will be a good to start.

 

[bikerboy]

It's coming along nicely!
Just keep in mind that NAZE32 is meant for flying (hard and fast) not hovering

 

[jamieFL]

Yes. This is my first try at FPV. My intention is to build this as crashworthy as possible while also building it light. The video transmitter I have in the photos is 500mw like this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FPV-5-8G-50...Control_Parts_Accessories&hash=item58b03fa18e

I also have a 200mw like this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FPV-TS5823-...Control_Parts_Accessories&hash=item19eeabe298

I am using these antennas until I can afford some better ones:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-8GHz-Circ...Control_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c78f7a2f5

I decided on the 500mw transmitter because I want to fly it like I've seen in many videos of people flying around houses and trees and back again.

I've got almost everything now except motors, ESCs, and an ODS module. I just purchased a bunch of 20g wire and various sizes of servo connectors and pins. I think, in this case, neat will also be light and crashworthy.

 

[Pathfynder]

Very cool looking vtail. I did the same thing with the rear mounts to keep it from drifting forward.

I found this post b/c I was changing out my Kk2 board w/a Naze32 and was wondering about vtail mixing. It's dark here now, but I can't wait until morning to strap props on it and give it a shot.

Good luck with yours man!

 

[jamieFL]

Most of the soldering and looming is finished. I have not permanently mounted everything yet as I don't have my OSD, so pix show things stuffed and wire tied. The telemetry wires of the transmitter are bare as I don't know exactly where they will be plugged in.

I soldered the pins to the Naze32 under the board and vertical. It looks very clean and the plugs are well protected. I'm going to use a couple small pieces of blue fuel tubing between the board, screw, and mount to isolate vibration.

One of the hardest things I did (and most satisfying) was disassemble the video transmitter so that I could move the control board above the baseplate. This allowed me to mount the fan and heatsink directly to the landing gear plate and trim about 3/8" from the spacers between the lower plate and landing gear plate. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo from underneath to show.

I don't know what to do with the receiver antenna wires. I am thinking of bringing them forward and fastening them to the frame that is in front of the front booms. They will be 90 degrees to each other, but neither would be vertical. Opinions???

Unfortunately, I just noticed that one of the ends of my front booms is 1/8" lower than the other. I hope it is the holes I drilled in the boom and not a twist in the frame. I'm currently contemplating the best way to fix this.

Lastly I need to order my ESCs and motors. This will have to wait till next month.

 

[ModulusX]

I didn't see it mentioned, so I wanted to say, when I set yaw_direction to 0, I had absolutely no rudder authority. I had to set yaw_direction to -1 for my v-tail, which is really the A-tail configuration, as it's the flitetest vtail quad build.

So the settings I used:
mixer vtail4
set yaw_direction = -1
feature PPM
feature telemetry
feature vbat
feature MOTOR_STOP

I'm using FrSky with the Taranis, so I wanted battery voltage, and I've got it connected with cppm.

 

[jamieFL]

ModulusX,

Thanks for those settings. I am still waiting to order my motors and ESCs, so I have not powered anything up yet. Hopefully, next month I will be able to finish and fly this thing.