Term Whitsheep Discoball. (Semi Build log) (TBS Disco Clone) (Ify quality pictures)

[Ddm5]

All pictures were taken on my 7 year old Sony Ericsson flip phone

So I thought I'd post my current build, mostly to annoy the people who dislike the Naza. Heh.
Initially I thought I'd go with the actual Team BlackSheep Discovery frame as my current 450 Quad is a work in progress, more or less. But as I noticed that the Diatone Discovery clone was coming soon I thought I'd opt for that instead and give it a try, the price versus the actual Discovery makes it a nice viable for people on a budget who want a frame that's along the lines of the Discovery for FPV on this size without having to look at the other options out there, some good, some bad. I ordered the frame from Banggood at a very respectable price of around £26, comparing that to the Discoveries £56 for just the top plate, bottom plate, spacers and a few accessories, this is without the arms. I bought the genuine DJI Flamewheel arms (Black) which came to £16, bearing in mind that I used these for my previous build if you can call it a previous one here:


The frame itself came nicely packaged in this simple but stylish black box with a clean company branding on the front. It came nicely wrapped in a good few layers of soft foam which protected it on it's journey from China.


The contents of the box were nicely packaged apart from some large scratches on some of the plastic bags but all seemed well atleast. One thing I did notice is that the clone arms seem to getting A LOT better in quality and are rivalling the genuine DJI arms that I own. The only problem with going with a clone frame or something from Diatone in general is that you may not receive some parts, and some I did not receive such as he Mobius dampening balls and that fact that the 12V and 5V PCB accessory board did not include anything which was disappointing, but for the price I can't really complain all too much.


A comparison shot between the Q450 frame and the Whitesheep, both from Diatone. I have been very happy with the Q450 and for the price I bought it (£12) I wasn't complaining at all.


Mandatory PCB tinning picture.


Having to dismantle this spaghetti.


Soldering the ESC's to the PCB, if you notice a VERY WEIRD thing about this frame is that 2 of the ESC's are flipped, but on the Q450's frame all the ESC's are the right way up.. I had to test the ESC's one by one on this frame as I was concerned that it would short and kill my Naza, GPS, ESC's themselves, motors, etc. But everything seemed fine, my only regret with this frame is that battery connector, by god. It's in the worst spot ever if you're using a Naza so I had to desolder it and then resolder it VERTICALLY.


Attaching the Naza to the frame, this frame is not Naza friendly in anyway shape or form and I am tempted to pick up a cheap Naze32 for £20 and play around with it.


I got carried away and forgot to take pictures, nearly everything installed except for the GPS and the Led strips I have for orientation.


A few completed pictures, this is temporary for the most part as I need to add my Led strips to the front and back arms like the second picture, the gains really need fixing and I have a bad motor at the moment so it isn't sounding very good. I was very tempted to move the Naza to the top plate and put the battery in center as it is very "Ass heavy" in flight which I already knew it would be, but at this current moment in time I don't own any cameras to weigh the front down. Also, I am fully aware that the ESC wires need shortening, I am waiting on my 240 piece set of black heatshrink to arrive so I can finally get around to it. I also need to order 2 large battery straps as my current ones are far too short.




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Final Specs for the curious:

Frame: Diatone WhiteSheep 480 Size with Genuine DJI arms.
Motors: SunnySky 980KV.
Props: 10.45 Carbon Graupner style.
ESC's: EMAX 30A Simon Series
FC: Naza Lite + GPS
Battery: Turnigy Nano-tech 2200 3S
Transmitter + Receiver: Flysky TH9X (Turnigy 9X OEM)

 

[jipp]

looks good. i was considering one of these style multis with them type of arms.. how durable are they? they seem to be dirt cheap ( talking about the arms, frames are pretty much either carbon or G10 it seems, and its the arms that are the stress point in a crash )

chris.

 

[Ddm5]

looks good. i was considering one of these style multis with them type of arms.. how durable are they? they seem to be dirt cheap ( talking about the arms, frames are pretty much either carbon or G10 it seems, and its the arms that are the stress point in a crash )

chris.

I've had the Q450 fall from 60 feet directly down onto grass when a prop snapped mid air, I've plowed it into the grass from 50 feet attempted front flips, etc. Though I have bent the Q450 plates ever so slightly but it's fine. Regarding the arms, if they're the same as the DJI arms in terms of quality and from what I can see they are, they're durable, I haven't had one break as of yet.

 

[Cyberdactyl]

Look good.

Is all the brass-like striping the ground plate, or is it decoration?

 

[Ddm5]

Look good.

Is all the brass-like striping the ground plate, or is it decoration?

I really don't know, most of it is for show but as far being the ground I wouldn't know.

 

[jhitesma]

Not to be rude...but looks like a flyaway waiting to happen. FlySky RX with no failsafe and Naza with the laundry list of ways they can decide to fly back home.

I'd really strongly suggest getting an RX with failsafe. And not even considering setting up RTH as a failsafe.

 

[Ddm5]

Not to be rude...but looks like a flyaway waiting to happen. FlySky RX with no failsafe and Naza with the laundry list of ways they can decide to fly back home.

I'd really strongly suggest getting an RX with failsafe. And not even considering setting up RTH as a failsafe.

I have already considered these things long ago, for the most part my Flysky / Turnigy based Transmitter has been reliable and I only fly line of sight, 100-200m. I have yet to order the Frsky Module and Receiver I want as I don't have the cash for it at the moment.

 

[jhitesma]

I still use my FlySky TX...but I make my own RX's now using arduino pro mini's and A7105 modules with code from midelic on RCGroups. It's only 6 wires and supports PPM (so it's much easier to wire up) and failsafe so it's much safer to fly with. I'm only using the cheap modules which don't have the greatest range...but they're more than adequate for LOS flying. The arduinos are only about $2.50 and the A7105's can be found on ebay for about the same price (though you may have to buy 2-3 at once)

If you can handle soldering some wires and flashing an arduino then it's a nice inexpensive alternative.

 

[Ddm5]

I still use my FlySky TX...but I make my own RX's now using arduino pro mini's and A7105 modules with code from midelic on RCGroups. It's only 6 wires and supports PPM (so it's much easier to wire up) and failsafe so it's much safer to fly with. I'm only using the cheap modules which don't have the greatest range...but they're more than adequate for LOS flying. The arduinos are only about $2.50 and the A7105's can be found on ebay for about the same price (though you may have to buy 2-3 at once)

If you can handle soldering some wires and flashing an arduino then it's a nice inexpensive alternative.

That could be a viable options but I would prefer the Frsky option, but we'll see anyway.

 

[jhitesma]

Yeah, FrSky is nicer if you can afford it. I'm just cheap and already had some arduino mini's and A7105's laying around from other experiments One of these days I want to upgrade to FrSky but it probably won't happen until I can save up for a full Taranis.

 

[Ddm5]

Yeah, FrSky is nicer if you can afford it. I'm just cheap and already had some arduino mini's and A7105's laying around from other experiments One of these days I want to upgrade to FrSky but it probably won't happen until I can save up for a full Taranis.

Quite. The Module and Receiver are my next priorities when I have the money for them and after I sort my motors and other stuff out.

 

[Ddm5]

Update time.

So recently I've taken the Discoball apart a few times and moved things around, I can't quite seem to get the right setup for myself, but I've added the LED's to the frame and shortened the ESC's, though they need sorting.




I shortened the ESC's but I'm unsure about what to do, should I cover them or not?


I also found out that the spare posts included are the exact distance apart (The Naza stand offs) for the GPS for the Naza, so if you're using a Naza you positioning it closer to the center.

 

[jipp]

Hi, yeah i would cover them.. just to be safe. even if you just put a piece of black tape over each one.. ( i think i would try that tape that likes glues to it self and becomes one piece.. sorta like heat shrink but you can remove it if you need too.. and you do not have to worry about the tape coming unravel at the end over time )

looks good. i was only able to get 3 LED on the front and back of my frame.
its pretty crazy how bright LED can be tho.

chris.

 

[Ddm5]

Hi, yeah i would cover them.. just to be safe. even if you just put a piece of black tape over each one.. ( i think i would try that tape that likes glues to it self and becomes one piece.. sorta like heat shrink but you can remove it if you need too.. and you do not have to worry about the tape coming unravel at the end over time )

looks good. i was only able to get 3 LED on the front and back of my frame.
its pretty crazy how bright LED can be tho.

chris.

I'm honestly thinking of overhauling the entire build once more. Just from an aesthetic side. Hobbyking seems to stock some pink silicone wiring and wire mesh which I would really like to add to my build, covering all the wires, redoing the heat shrink for the ESC's and god knows what else, changing all the red positive cables to pink and covering all the other wires I can't change, etc. Regarding the LED's, which frame are you using anyway?, my frame also has LED's on the bottom, which I find to be semi useless.

 

[jipp]

I'm honestly thinking of overhauling the entire build once more. Just from an aesthetic side. Hobbyking seems to stock some pink silicone wiring and wire mesh which I would really like to add to my build, covering all the wires, redoing the heat shrink for the ESC's and god knows what else, changing all the red positive cables to pink and covering all the other wires I can't change, etc. Regarding the LED's, which frame are you using anyway?, my frame also has LED's on the bottom, which I find to be semi useless.

yeah, i do not think one would have a problem with up and down.. heh, but hey may as well light it up like UFO as long as its not distracting to your flying.. i plan on building a larger quad down the road after i learn to fly etc for AP stuff.. thinking 550-690 tarrot style carbon frame i think.. and i think ill light it up with over kill LEDs just for fun, but will have a switch so i can turn some off and on.. like if i added them to the bottom, be kind of nice to turn them off when you do not want to be UFO.. and just want your flying lights. as when you get in the larger frames you do not have to worry about weight as much. you just want a slow flying stable AP machine that is fun to fly.


have you consider using parachute chord too.. the 550 stuff that is what the guys on here use to tidy up there builds.

its cheap too.. and you do not have to wait for hobbykings slow shipping if its not in a US warehouse.

here a link to what im talking about.

http://www.amazon.com/Paracord-Plan...=UTF8&qid=1429017334&sr=1-3&keywords=paracord


chris.

 

[Ddm5]

yeah, i do not think one would have a problem with up and down.. heh, but hey may as well light it up like UFO as long as its not distracting to your flying.. i plan on building a larger quad down the road after i learn to fly etc for AP stuff.. thinking 550-690 tarrot style carbon frame i think.. and i think ill light it up with over kill LEDs just for fun, but will have a switch so i can turn some off and on.. like if i added them to the bottom, be kind of nice to turn them off when you do not want to be UFO.. and just want your flying lights. as when you get in the larger frames you do not have to worry about weight as much. you just want a slow flying stable AP machine that is fun to fly.


have you consider using parachute chord too.. the 550 stuff that is what the guys on here use to tidy up there builds.

its cheap too.. and you do not have to wait for hobbykings slow shipping if its not in a US warehouse.

here a link to what im talking about.

http://www.amazon.com/Paracord-Plan...=UTF8&qid=1429017334&sr=1-3&keywords=paracord


chris.

I'm actually from the U.K, I'm not too bothered about waiting as it'll be a bulk order. My only concern with Para cord is general the size for my applications, how well does it stretch, weight, etc.

 

[jipp]

I'm actually from the U.K, I'm not too bothered about waiting as it'll be a bulk order. My only concern with Para cord is general the size for my applications, how well does it stretch, weight, etc.

oh, yeah. in that case, bulk order makes sense.. how is the UK shipping from hobby king anyhow? is it slow?

and ill have to let someone else speak about the chute chord is very elastic or not as iv not used it yet. does the stuff from hobbyking stretch?

chris.

 

[Ddm5]

oh, yeah. in that case, bulk order makes sense.. how is the UK shipping from hobby king anyhow? is it slow?

and ill have to let someone else speak about the chute chord is very elastic or not as iv not used it yet. does the stuff from hobbyking stretch?

chris.

It depends, from the U.k warehouse it's next day or day after. From the Europe warehouse or the International I'm unsure. As far as the wire mesh is concerned it does stretch to 4x it's size.

 

[jipp]

It depends, from the U.k warehouse it's next day or day after. From the Europe warehouse or the International I'm unsure. As far as the wire mesh is concerned it does stretch to 4x it's size.

sounds like the UK warehouse, is similar to our US west, east.. i ordered 50.00 from them and it was here in 3 days from there US West warehouse.. however i have to admit i was a little unsure about ordering from them after all the negative things iv read.. but, i think as long as i do not expect any kind of technical service, and buy from the US warehouse when applicable ill be ok..

so the stuff sounds like the same kind of stuff we use in automotive to protect our spark plugs from heat.. i wonder if wire is the best tho.. could cause a short? in a hard crash.. dunno, odds are probably low id imagine..

my guess the parachute stuff will not stretch like that..

chris.

 

[Ddm5]

sounds like the UK warehouse, is similar to our US west, east.. i ordered 50.00 from them and it was here in 3 days from there US West warehouse.. however i have to admit i was a little unsure about ordering from them after all the negative things iv read.. but, i think as long as i do not expect any kind of technical service, and buy from the US warehouse when applicable ill be ok..

so the stuff sounds like the same kind of stuff we use in automotive to protect our spark plugs from heat.. i wonder if wire is the best tho.. could cause a short? in a hard crash.. dunno, odds are probably low id imagine..

my guess the parachute stuff will not stretch like that..

chris.

Well I'm collecting my stuff as I'm browsing, I have the pink wire mesh and the PINK 12Awg, 14awg Silicone wiring for the ESC's, battery connector, etc. The wire mesh seems to be a plastic mesh which won't cause a short by any means. It's nothing like the mesh used in cars if it's the stuff I'm thinking of.
Here: