Some Questions (that I cant find on the internet)

[Sam-U]

Will 2 2pin Micro JSTs fit in 1 4pin Micro JST? Im ordering, because the drone I have has 4 pins, but the camera (from another drone) only has 3 but actually has a place for 4, its just not soldered in. And I think I would use 2 pins more.

Can you make drones out of balsa? Its the only easily cuttable strong thing that can be bought at the crafts store.

 

[Hondo76251]

It depends on the spacing of the pins i suppose, probably not not an ideal solution. Id find a way to put the correct plug on it if you can.

Ive seen many drones on balsa frames, certainly can be done. Drones do tend to be fast and crash hard so not sure how well balsa can take that but if you dont plan to bonsai through "bando's" with the cool kids you'll probably be fine.

 

[tamuct01]

Many micro connectors are keyed and therefore can't mix and match pin counts. In the standard 0.1" pin headers (like servo leads) can typically mismatch very easily because they are not keyed and the ends of the connector fit within the pin spacing.

Early drones were built with all kinds of materials such as wooden dowels, CF tubes, etc. Most modern ones use CF plates for their rigidity and durability. As Hondo said, a drone built from balsa would likely not survive the first hard landing, let alone a crash into an obstacle.

 

[Sam-U]

Many micro connectors are keyed and therefore can't mix and match pin counts. In the standard 0.1" pin headers (like servo leads) can typically mismatch very easily because they are not keyed and the ends of the connector fit within the pin spacing.

Early drones were built with all kinds of materials such as wooden dowels, CF tubes, etc. Most modern ones use CF plates for their rigidity and durability. As Hondo said, a drone built from balsa would likely not survive the first hard landing, let alone a crash into an obstacle.

Idk what to make em out of... The only materials at my crafts store are foamboard (not bendy and breaks) balsa future board and paper

 

[Hondo76251]

Idk what to make em out of... The only materials at my crafts store are foamboard (not bendy and breaks) balsa future board and paper

Not saying not to do it, has been done a lot, just not as durable.

Im not one to ask, not really a quad guy, but Quad frames arent terribly expensive i dont think.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

Idk what to make em out of... The only materials at my crafts store are foamboard (not bendy and breaks) balsa future board and paper

Don't just rely on the craft shop. Look around and source materials from non traditional places. That's how the whole multirotor hobby... got off the ground.

We were buying metal towel racks for arms, and tupperware for the bodies.

Our very own Jake Wells really ran with that idea.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

 

[Merv]

...Can you make drones out of balsa?....

You can but I would not recommend it, balsa is just not durable enough. Something like pine, spruce or maple (most any other wood type) would be far more durable than balsa. Drones tend to crash hard, epically while you are learning to fly.

Better yet, check out the F450, also know as the Flame Wheal. A fiberglass frame, far cheaper than carbon, less than $15 and widely available. It's lighter and more durable than wood, when you do break it, the parts are replicable.

 

[Sam-U]

Don't just rely on the craft shop. Look around and source materials from non traditional places. That's how the whole multirotor hobby... got off the ground.

We were buying metal towel racks for arms, and tupperware for the bodies.

Our very own Jake Wells really ran with that idea.

Ok, I think I should really explain what I'm trying to do. So I have a cheap Syma X5c clone with a broken frame, and I just wanna replace its frame, not build a whole new drone.

 

[Hondo76251]

Ok, I think I should really explain what I'm trying to do. So I have a cheap Syma X5c clone with a broken frame, and I just wanna replace its frame, not build a whole new drone.

That line of thinking has led to many a project, at least for me! Lol

You can actually buy the parts for a lot of those toy grade drones if you look, and some CA glue can fix a lot of damage most of the time but if you are just feeling like doing a little project i have a few tips:

Keep it as close to the same weight and prop configuration as the original. They dont seem to do as well if they're very different since they were tuned to fly with the original frame and that cant really be changed.
Try to isolate the board from vibration as best you can. They dont seem to handle vibrations well.
Keep the motor wires secure so they dont get in the props and watch that you dont damage the wire where it goes into the motor. Kinda fragile there.

I know i used to get little lightweight frame kits for the hubsan 107s i used to mess with all the time and they suspended the board with little rubber bands which was kind of neat. Cant seem to remember where i got them but i did a quick look and found THIS.

Another way to go is to make hovercraft out of them. FT used to even have a kit for that if i recall.

 

[Sam-U]

Another question: Would a FPV camera work on a Syma x5 camera port? My clone has 4 pins. The FPV cam has 4 pins.

 

[tamuct01]

It depends on what the 4 pins are. At a minimum, an FPV camera needs 3 pins: voltage in (usually 5V), ground, and TV signal out. Newer ones use a 4th pin for programming the camera through the flight controller. If the Syma port has the same functions and you can match the pinout, then it should work.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

Another question: Would a FPV camera work on a Syma x5 camera port? My clone has 4 pins. The FPV cam has 4 pins.

Thats going to depend on voltage and amp draw.

For the camera you should have a positive, negative and video wire. The fourth wire is usually for sound if I recall correctly.

But the FPV camera may require more power than those lines supply. The stock camera was likely a small pinhole one with low power requirements.

 

[Sam-U]

The camera (I changed it, it should work by itself) I think

 

[FlamingRCAirplanes]

The camera (I changed it, it should work by itself) I think
View attachment 225222 View attachment 225223

Yup! That is a FOV camera with a receiver that plugs into a phone!

 

[WillL84]

I've been thinking of a setup like this because I have an older set of VR goggles that you slide your phone into that would work great with a setup like this

 

[Hondo76251]

Yup! That is a FOV camera with a receiver that plugs into a phone!

Yeah, just have a little app to download, they're actually pretty handy. IIRC they have a sort of spektrum analyzer feature which is cool. Nice when setting up things like the boys quads when they're all flying together.

 

[Hondo76251]

I've been thinking of a setup like this because I have an older set of VR goggles that you slide your phone into that would work great with a setup like this

My old crappy phone is a bit slow to actually use for FPV. They have a bit of a delay, but that could be more due to my phone.

 

[Sam-U]

My old crappy phone is a bit slow to actually use for FPV. They have a bit of a delay, but that could be more due to my phone.[/QUOTE
Would a Samsung gear vr's port work with the FPV antenna? Thats what I have and I dont want to end up with a useless antenna and camera

 

[Hondo76251]

@Sam-U i have no idea on the vr deal, but i suspect not.

Best way to go is a dedicated set of goggles in my opinion. The eachine ones are a good bang for the buck.