Suggestions for an upgradable beginner quad.

Tench745

Master member
Suggestions for an upgradable beginner quad. (A beginner's journey into multi-rotors)

Hi all. I'm sure there have been numerous threads on this, but new times new technology, etc.
I've been flying fixed-wing models on and off for about six years and I've been wanting to try a multirotor; something I can just buzz around my back yard with when I don't feel like loading up my planes to drive to the park.
I'm looking for something at or below the $100 price point that I can repair when I crash, bind with my DX6i and can carry the weight of FPV gear if I decide to add it in the future.
I wouldn't mind building, as I think that may be the only way to get what I want, but the cheapest multi power pack FT sells is still $100 and that doesn't include the flight controller.
Any suggestion of ARFs or suggestions of parts to build would be welcome. It may be that you just can't get what I want for what I'm willing to pay. If that's the case, I'd like to hear that too.

(EDIT 9/27/15)

I've decided that this thread may be useful for others beginning their journey into the world of multi-rotors. Given that this post was my first step into a new world I thought it sensible to continue that journey in the same thread. Please, feel free to read on and contribute thoughts, advice, etc.
 
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razor02097

Rogue Drone Pilot
Man that's a very tall order... I'll do my best... Here are a few things to consider...

  • Building your own... you can try to piece together the cheapest parts you can find. However even the cheapest motors are around $8 each which is 1/3 of your total budget right there... speed controllers are same so 2/3 of the budget is blown...


If you aren't a platinum member at hobby king just click the link and stare at it for about 5 minutes. A window should pop up and ask if you want it for a "special one time deal" of $105.63

Yeah I know it is already $6 above your budget and you still need a flight controller and receiver... but the parts are somewhat decent and the frame is pretty tough (I have one). It will get you started and everything is hobby grade, therefore upgradable. It also will easily carry a mobius and FPV gear.





You will need a PPM receiver like a lemon that will bind to your Tx... Yeah I know it is $10 above the $100 mark but I also had one of these and it flies really nice right out of the box. I however wouldn't recommend it... simply because it doesn't tick the "upgradable" box. It has a lot of proprietary parts too...like the battery and props. It also has trouble carrying anything more than a mobius.
 
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Tench745

Master member
Razor, Thanks for the quick reply. I'm less concerned about a frame than electronics packages. Frames seem easy, particularly if you plan to break them regularly. (Read: beginner) Your first link looks promising. I do have a spare Orange R615X receiver that I can throw in something.
I have a hard time justifying spending $150 at the LHS on something running brushed motors through a gear drive, etc etc. Anything hobby grade is more likely to be worth the extra money.
 

razor02097

Rogue Drone Pilot
Razor, Thanks for the quick reply. I'm less concerned about a frame than electronics packages. Frames seem easy, particularly if you plan to break them regularly. (Read: beginner)

Please don't take this the wrong way but you say that now...

Breaking a frame is always a bummer...it involves pulling a bunch of stuff apart and sometimes can ruin motors or speed controllers if the wires get ripped out!

If you go cheap on the frame I would suggest a glass filled nylon. It will give you great durability without being too porky. G10 or the carbon fiber laminate frames are cool but many break pretty easily. I have crashed the hobbyking frame pretty hard and haven't broken it yet.

I just bought an HMB 235 frame so I'm pretty excited about that. Although it is a $50 frame it should hopefully be the last one I have to buy for a long time.
 

Tritium

Amateur Extra Class K5TWM
I did what you want with my first quad and after flying it 3 or 4 times I parted it out and went with a much nicer build from the parts.

Armattan Carbon Fiber Frames. Lifetime frame warranty and good pricing as well. Really though you need more than a $100 budget.
$200 to $250 will put you into a MUCH nicer craft parts wise.

Thurmond
 

Snarls

Gravity Tester
Mentor
Check out this kit. It does not come with a receiver and battery, but I assume you have those. Some people don't suggest miniquads as beginner platforms, but from my experience, you can get them very stable and docile. Plus since they are made to be crashed hard, you won't have to worry nearly as much about breaking things when learning to fly. Only bad thing is that miniquads are, well, mini so you will have to fly closer to you or keep a real good eye on it. If you are looking for something in the backyard this is perfect. You can easily upgrade to better motors and ESCs too. I would also suggest picking up a few sets of DAL 5" "indestructible" props so you don't end up spending your budget on replacing props :p
 

markyoe

Senior Member
I would also suggest picking up a few sets of DAL 5" "indestructible" props so you don't end up spending your budget on replacing props :p

Are the props just super ridged and strong or are they meant to be bent back into place? Pretty good price for getfpv.com I think. Where do you get your DAL props?
 

Snarls

Gravity Tester
Mentor
Are the props just super ridged and strong or are they meant to be bent back into place? Pretty good price for getfpv.com I think. Where do you get your DAL props?

They are the opposite, flexible and super tough. They tend to deflect when you hit something or crash and occasionally they bend at the root and can be bent back. Eventually the tips get so beat up that you consider replacing the set, but they are still flyable. Only concern is that they transfer more energy in a crash to the motor although if you are trained to cut throttle immediately in a crash you can lessen that issue. I get mine from ReadyMadeRC for the same low price found at Surveillzone, but with faster shipping from the US.
 

sphinix

intermediate quad pilot
best to fork out at about $270 you can have a good zmr build and its nearly indestructible. note: "nearly" $35 more and you can replace the frame with an arris x-speed. and it will be virtually indestructible. and look 10 times better. and subtract about $40 if you dont want fpv yet.

it really depends. if your not sure if you will like it cheap may be better. but then if you have a bad experience with cheap Chinese $%@&. no offense. then you wont get to enjoy all the fun it can offer.

on the other hand if your certain you will enjoy it. then a cheap build will just keep you wanting more, and eventually you will spend the extra money anyways.

a decent build with 2204 emax motors & esc's, naze32 and a good frame will last a really long time and serve the best fun of multirotor available. and when i say it will last a while. believe me. ive seen them bounce of asphalt from a 20 foot drop. hardly a scratch. ive crashed mine 5o times in the last month due to a new set of fpv goggles. only one repair. and it wasnt even a hard one. severed a wire.

and DAL props. holy crap thoughs things are strong. bent at 90 degree angles dozens of times. bend them back and never stop to think about it.
 

Tench745

Master member
Snarls, that miniquad kit looks like a good deal. I'll consider it ZoomNBoom's link to a $15 quad is very enticing too even if it's not really what I'm looking for. Time to decide... am I doing to love multis? :)
 

Tench745

Master member
I want to thank everyone for their input here. I ended up buying myself the Eachine H8 Mini quad from Banggood. It's a hoot to hover around the living room and I'm still getting the hang of keeping orientation. I colored the rear props to make orientation easier. The only things I'd change on it so far if I could are: 1)Make it bind to my spectrum tx. 2)Longer battery life. Additional batteries are available.
 

Tritium

Amateur Extra Class K5TWM
I want to thank everyone for their input here. I ended up buying myself the Eachine H8 Mini quad from Banggood. It's a hoot to hover around the living room and I'm still getting the hang of keeping orientation. I colored the rear props to make orientation easier. The only things I'd change on it so far if I could are: 1)Make it bind to my spectrum tx. 2)Longer battery life. Additional batteries are available.

So far I have purchased 6 of the H8 Mini's (the last 2 for $11 bucks each). They make great gifts.
Grab yourself the 5 pack of batteries from BG too. It comes with a little 5 port USB charger.

Thurmond
 

Tench745

Master member
Well, I loved the H8 Mini enough that I sprung for the 250 kit Snarls suggested. I'm $100 poorer, but one quad richer. Package arrived Monday, maiden hover was this afternoon. I took it out again after tweaking PIDs to remove an oscillation, but somehow the gyros calibrated wrong and it mashed itself into the picnic table. DAL 5040 props are on order. Looks like I've got another thing to obsess over.
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Snarls

Gravity Tester
Mentor
Looks good! You should have a lot of fun with that setup, especially with the DALs removing the frustration of going through props. I like the wire covering you used and how you wrapped the ESC leads around the standoffs, it really cleans up the wiring.
 

Tench745

Master member
I'm thinking I might turn this thread into a "new to quads" sort of thread and follow my journey.
In that vein, my H8 Mini died this morning. The power switch on the transmitter broke into it's component parts. I de-soldered it from the board, re assembled, soldered the switch's casing together for extra strength, and reinstalled it into the board. This seems to have solved a problem I had with it turning itself off intermittently.
A pair of additional batteries are on order for the H8 mini.
 

Tench745

Master member
I'm one of those people who never really stops thinking about a project. I got the ZMR 250 put together, decided I didn't like how I mounted things and switched it up.
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The RX is now where the Mobius mount goes since I don't have a Mobius and don't plan to buy one anytime soon. The battery is now under-slung for stability. All power wires are sleeved in paracord, as are the wires from the rx to the CC3D. The CC3D came in a case which I have zip-tied on atop the PDB. I'm thinking I might want to remove that case and mount both the PDB and CC3D on standoffs, but that will only happen if I have problems with the current setup. I have also bought a set of green, and a set of black DAL 5040 props to aid in orientation and robustness in my learning stages.
Monday I took the 250 out into the back yard for a spin. It's much more stable, though seemingly less responsive with the under-slung battery. I imagine PID tuning could remove any perceived differences when I'm to that point in my flying. One decent crash into the railing of the deck from 8ft up produced no damage. A second crash into a pine tree also left the aircraft seemingly unscathed. I flew paths back and forth across the yard for another minute or two before bringing it in. That is when I noticed one of my spinners was missing.
The DAL props fit so snugly on my motor shafts the quad continued to fly even without the spinner. Fifteen minutes or more of searching found it under the pine I'd impacted earlier. Loc-Tite will help secure these from now on.

Last night I got it in my head that it would be cool to have a canopy on the body of the 250 at some point. I banged this together out of DTFB with the paper removed.
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I intend to use this shape as a male mold to lay up a canopy in fiberglass.
As a little side experiment I applied some 3/4oz glass onto paperless DTFB using Future floor wax. I have a theory that this will be as strong as WBPU and cheaper. Future costs about 30 cents an ounce whereas WBPU costs 60-90 cents per ounce. I'll update on my findings as I go.
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Tench745

Master member
DSCF2382.JPG
Just a quick update on my quad canopy. I laid up one layer of 6oz glass over my foamboard form, sanded, then added another two layers of .75oz cloth.
DSCF2383.JPG
I had hoped to be able to remove the glass and keep the mold intact, but my wax apparently didn't do its job; the two were stuck fast. So, Using lacquer thinner I melted the foam out instead.
DSCF2384.JPG
The resulting fiberglass shell weighs 39grams, the sides are a bit flimsy but the top is quite solid.
I'm thinking it may be better to make another male mold from my fiberglass shell to pull plastic versions instead of fiberglass. For now though, I'm happy with the progress I've made.
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ZoomNBoom

Senior Member
You should have angled it. Its got a wing foil shape, which should generate some lift in forward flight, but the way you made it, it will be at a negative AoA at speed. I would also have kept it just in foam. Lighter and if you do have a bad inverted crash, let it deform to take the brunt of the impact. If you want to restore the shape later, if need be, just soak it in hot water.