Question about starting new in Multirotors

sLpFhaWK

Junior Member
Hello everyone I have just a few questions about getting into the multi-rotor hobby. I'm not new to R/C but I've only dealt with cars, trucks, buggies etc.

I've never flown anything except those cheap helicopters found in the mall kiosks so i'm pretty inexperienced when it comes to flying. Based on other forums recommendations they said to get a mini quad something like the Syma X1 or the Hubsan X4. Those are all well and good but if I wanted to build a cheap tri or quad copter from quality parts could I still learn on that? I'm not going to lie and say money is of no object because it definitely is but if I could build one for 100-120 *not including Tx/Rx* then I think i'd rather go that route. I've always been more of a hands on learner and would rather get up there and learn rather than dealing with sims.

So what would be the best course of action for me to go with? I know Flitetest has the Batwing which can do tri, quad and V copters i'd like a V Wing myself personally, i know that kit is 40ish $$ I think, then you'd need 4 motors which are i think 11-13 a piece, then 4 ESC's which are 8 each, then the kk2 board which is another 20-30? i'm roughly estimating costs so please correct me if i'm way off base i was just going by memory by quick searches. that is like 140 est which isn't to bad get a radio and batterys and i'd be good to go? I have some LiPo batteries already but they are 2s 2 at 35c and 2 at 65c and with the amp's i don't think 2s batteries would work but im not 100% certain.

I'm sure there is many threads like this one in the community already and for that I apologize its just RCGroups is such a widespread forum its hard to get answers directly so I figured i'd come to the site that introduced me to multirotors just a short time ago.

Thank you everyone for your time and I look forward to getting into the sky!
 

Tritium

Amateur Extra Class K5TWM
Yea you can learn on a full size machine (I did) and you can put together one for around the dollar figure you indicated. The joy of the small quads is that they are so light they are hard to break even in a bad crash. The downside is most of your flying will be indoors unless you are blessed with total calmness (no wind at all) outside. The small $50 craft do not handle the mildest breeze very well.

On your first built craft it is best to "copy" the configuration of a known good flying craft to avoid the learning curve (many extra $ spent) of matching the correct components.

Thurmond
 

xuzme720

Dedicated foam bender
Mentor
You will be pushing your price limit but you're best bet would probably be a quad. They are a little more stable to begin with (IMO) and you can build the frame on the cheap and put the extra into the electronics. Check out this vid and let us know if you still have any other questions.
Welcome to the forum also!

I almost forgot, as far as batteries, you might get away with 2S for a very light multi, but it's really not worth it since all the props and motors will have to change from recommended. Best to just bite the bullet and pick up at least 1 decent C rated (30 to 45 or higher C) 3S battery, 2 if possible. I use 3000 to 3300 40C batts in my hex and quad.
 

sLpFhaWK

Junior Member
Yea you can learn on a full size machine (I did) and you can put together one for around the dollar figure you indicated. The joy of the small quads is that they are so light they are hard to break even in a bad crash. The downside is most of your flying will be indoors unless you are blessed with total calmness (no wind at all) outside. The small $50 craft do not handle the mildest breeze very well.

On your first built craft it is best to "copy" the configuration of a known good flying craft to avoid the learning curve (many extra $ spent) of matching the correct components.

Thurmond

Yeah i'd copy one of the popular builds that David has on youtube. That would be the route i'd like to go!!

Thanks for the speedy reply!

You will be pushing your price limit but you're best bet would probably be a quad. They are a little more stable to begin with (IMO) and you can build the frame on the cheap and put the extra into the electronics. Check out this vid and let us know if you still have any other questions.
Welcome to the forum also!

I almost forgot, as far as batteries, you might get away with 2S for a very light multi, but it's really not worth it since all the props and motors will have to change from recommended. Best to just bite the bullet and pick up at least 1 decent C rated (30 to 45 or higher C) 3S battery, 2 if possible. I use 3000 to 3300 40C batts in my hex and quad.

Yeah the price limit isn't the max but if it was around that dollar amount then that would be acceptable. What would be a good decent radio for a newb like myself? I don't wanna spend 400 dollars on a radio when I have just the 1 multirotor =) but maybe eventually down the road who knows. I'll check out that vid and get back to you.

As for batteries yeah i'd just bite the bullet and get the 3s batteries, my truggy can run them so it wouldn't be a total waste. Thanks for the reply I look forward to learning more!
 

Tritium

Amateur Extra Class K5TWM
Radio, Turnigy 9X or 9XR with an FrSky Transmitter module and receiver. 9XR has most of the common upgrades that most users do to the 9X (back light, programming port, open source software ER9X) done at the factory.

I have built a small quad using Hobby King 10 gram motors, 5" props, 6A Turnigy ESC's, KK2 and 2S 1000mAh battery. It cost about $110 to build with a homemade wooden frame which cost at most $2 or $3.

Thurmond
 
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xuzme720

Dedicated foam bender
Mentor
Right now some of the best bang for buck radios are the Turnigy 9X with updated firmware to ER9X. Mods for this are a google search away. Way more info out there than I can put here but a few options are a backlight and using a Frsky 2.4G module to get better signal and telemetry if you want. Mods can always be done later so it's not all out of pocket up front!

Another big option is the Frsky Taranis. Around $180-200, it will do all that the 9X will do and more.
Both of these are available at Hobbyking.
 

sLpFhaWK

Junior Member
Thanks guys for the replies it helps alot. I watched that video on the H Copter build, i'm not really feeling that particular style. What if I used the Any copter kit they sell? the one with the circle base? I could use that for a quad, and a v tail as well with the change of a couple screws. I must of watched the build videos for the Tri Copter and V tail atleast 2-3 times each. Wish i lived in the same state as these guys they seem pretty cool to hang out with!
 

xuzme720

Dedicated foam bender
Mentor
That H-quad is just a cheap, easy way to get started, but the Anycopter is also a fine platform. I have 2 of the Anycopter kits; one set up as a quad and the other isn't built yet but I'm thinking tri for that one. That's the beauty of this hobby. The sky's the limit and whatever you can dream up is what you can build and fly. It sounds kinda hokey, but it really is do what you want and have fun!
 

sLpFhaWK

Junior Member
Ya the H-Quad is just as cheap just doesn't look cool to me lol I want it to be fancy looking somewhat ya know. Thats why I like the Batwing kit. I noticed Hobby King is out of alot of things in the US warehouse, and when I ordered something from the INT'L warehouse it took nearly 2 weeks to get here. I guess since im not in any rush should I just get everything from the international warehouse or just whatevers not in stock?
 

xuzme720

Dedicated foam bender
Mentor
If you have to get some of the stuff from Intl, I would get what you can. at least it will be cheaper than paying shipping on 2 orders...
 

sLpFhaWK

Junior Member
If you have to get some of the stuff from Intl, I would get what you can. at least it will be cheaper than paying shipping on 2 orders...

yeah i guess that makes the most sense. might as well get everything in 1 package. i just hate waiting =) lol thanks Xuzme you've been very helpful.
 

sLpFhaWK

Junior Member
so they recommend This Motor but its on backorder. Now i'm not in any rush but I know HK takes their sweet time to stock up on OOS items, so is there another motor that you could recommend?
 

Tritium

Amateur Extra Class K5TWM
Hobby King needs to upgrade their ordering system to allow the orders to be filled from where ever the parts are closest to the destination rather than make us make multiple orders if the items are not all available from one warehouse. I hope Simon reads this!!

Thurmond
 

Cyberdactyl

Misfit Multirotor Monkey
I'm close to abandoning Hobbyking. The shipping is crippling. And sites such as Dealextreme, Banggood, Rctimer, Goodluckbuy are MUCH faster and have free shipping for most, if not all of their products.

Once you factor in HKs ridiculous shipping costs, the ONLY advantage they now hold is a massive inventory.
 

sLpFhaWK

Junior Member
This guy is available in the US warehouse and gives a little more head room for bigger props in the future: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...rushless_Outrunner_1450kv_USA_Warehouse_.html

Still start with 8" props though.

Awesome. Thats a cheap motor and for being a noob i like cheap =)

Could you use these ESC's w/ SimonK firmware? I think I saw videos of people using these but i'm not 100% sure.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...rushless_Speed_Controller_USA_Warehouse_.html

I'm close to abandoning Hobbyking. The shipping is crippling. And sites such as Dealextreme, Banggood, Rctimer, Goodluckbuy are MUCH faster and have free shipping for most, if not all of their products.

Once you factor in HKs ridiculous shipping costs, the ONLY advantage they now hold is a massive inventory.

MASSIVE inventory when things are in stock =) thats my beef with the place. everything could be in stock in the intl warehouse but hardly anything good and useful is in the usa warehouse.. Ugh.
 
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sLpFhaWK

Junior Member
Also wut type of props would I need? I see RH and SF rotation.. Isn't one of the motor's of the V rotate the opposite way?
 

kah00na

Senior Member
When you are building a new multirotor for the first time, I recommend that you find a video of one on YouTube that you like real well and check if there is a parts list in the description. If there isn't, then I'd suggest you try to contact the author and see if they can add one. If you buy all the same parts, you can can expect a similar performance from the one you build... maybe not the same flying skills, but at least the same physical multirotor. :)
 

sLpFhaWK

Junior Member
When you are building a new multirotor for the first time, I recommend that you find a video of one on YouTube that you like real well and check if there is a parts list in the description. If there isn't, then I'd suggest you try to contact the author and see if they can add one. If you buy all the same parts, you can can expect a similar performance from the one you build... maybe not the same flying skills, but at least the same physical multirotor. :)

the one I want to make is on the flite test store but the stuff they recommend is on back order. that's why I posted this thread asking for similar items that can be substituted for the stuff hk doesn't have and also in the usa warehouse.
 

baddox

Senior Member
My tricopter is fairly similar to an Anycopter, so I suspect think my setup would work fairly well with the Anycopter. Here's what I'm using (all in stock on HobbyKing):

http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor..._28_26A_1200kv_250w_short_shaft_version_.html (I had to dremel the shafts because I didn't buy the short shaft version, but you can be smart!)

Make sure to buy an accessory pack for each motor: http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=16719

For ESCs, I was dumb and bought the Turnigy Plush 30A's. They perform fine, but can't be flashed with simonk as far as I know. You can buy the F-30A's which can be flashed, or the Afro ESCs which come with simonk on them. I should mention, I basically copied my configuration from someone else's build, so I'm running 4S and 30 amp ESCs. You can probably go with less than 30A.

http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__15205__Hobby_King_30A_ESC_3A_UBEC.html
http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=39708

I'm using the same 8045 props that flitetest recommends: http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=25818
 
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