Tricopter build - what is a reasonable flight controller to use these days?

[mikeporterinmd]

I've always loved the way a tricopter flies, and so am considering building one. When I first got started in multi-rotor, naze32 was the board to get (rev5 at the time). What is a reasonable board to use these days? All I need is basic cleanflight/betaflight support and the board needs to support tricopters. I plan to use the standard electrohub/boom tough-tilt servo setup. I will use the flitetest supplied powerpack - D, I think? Whichever one is designed for these. Perhaps carbon fiber booms, but maybe wood. Carbon fiber would allow me to hide wiring, but I would need to be careful with wire routing so as to avoid rubbing and shorting. I will likely use a FrSky D4-RII receiver or similar. I have a number of similar ones, so whatever is free at the moment. CPPM....?

Thanks,

Mike

 

[cranialrectosis]

The Naze32 is nearly EOL in Betaflight.

Cleanflight does not support triflight.

Triflight works well to handle tail pivot wobble.

David W's F3FC Racing works well for me with triflight flashed through betaflight. I love the board layout. FYI the Aikon 30A SEFM V2 ESCs are the shiznit!

Mind the STM DFU in bootloader mode though. Windows 10 USB with the new boards is a PITA sometimes.

 

[LitterBug]

I second Cranial's endorsement of David W's F3FC. That FC is the one primarily used by @Lauka for the development of triflight so everything you would want out of triflight works right out of the box without having to do any funky Betaflight resource mapping. Technically, any FC that works with BetaFlight 3.1.7 will work with the latest version of TriFlight. TF0.7 is built as a fork of BetaFlight 3.1.7. Keep us updated with your progress! I'm a Tricopter madman myself and my TriFleet is growing.

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[lrussi750]

This is an interesting topic and very timely. I was gifted a Electrohub Tri at FliteFest that needs a FC to get back in the air. I've never been too interested in multirotors but the the Electrohub Tri and Electrohub Dragonfly have a certain lure to them. I have spent the last few days going back and forth over the different FC options out there. I thought I settled on the Naze32 Rev6 board but I keep wavering. I looked at David's F3FC and thought it would be a great controller since David uses it in his Tr,i but I do not like the side solder tabs. I think I want pin headers for ease of use and ease of replacing esc's. Having to solder and unsolder seems like a PITA. I honestly think we drive ourselves crazy over some of these choices sometime! Hopefully more people chime in with some additional information.

 

[cranialrectosis]

If you haven't bought one yet, the Naze re6 is missing a diode and allows reverse power flow from the FC to the ESC through the ESC BEC power wire.

Yeah......

If you power your Naze rev 6 with an ESC BEC, you have to disconnect the power wire to the FC when connected to USB or your motors will spin without a lipo and you can't synch ESCs to the throttle through the FC.

Lastly I understand that F1 board support is being phased out in betaflight. This is important because while I can do a decent job of tuning out tail wobble without triflight, its a PITA. I've been flying tricopters since 2013 and my mini tricopter is my go to basher in the backyard. Triflight, good escs and a good servo make it much simpler.

Check out the servo on David W's site. He uses an additional wire that tells the FC the position of the servo. If you can get one, you want this.

If you don't like the F3FC Race, I would look at any F3 board or go the other way and run a KK2.

 

[LitterBug]

I'd stay away from anything less than an F3 based controller unless it is for nostalgic reasons. I never used to like the solder tabs till recently. The ones on David's F3FC, KISS, and LUX boards are done right and make connectivity a breeze. I have seen people solder pins to them for plug in options. I am looking for a good 4 pin connector to use on the tail servo for easy servo test swapping. I've also found that lately, it is becoming more difficult to desolder through holes on the +/- pins with the integrated PDB FCs. Most of what I build is pretty tight without much room for connectors.

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[cranialrectosis]

I've also found that lately, it is becoming more difficult to desolder through holes on the +/- pins with the integrated PDB FCs. Most of what I build is pretty tight without much room for connectors.

+1

 

[JimCR120]

I built the V4 Tricopter with the F3FC and followed Davids instructions with very few deviations. One difference for now is I made wooden booms out of wood from a shipping pallet. The props I chose are smaller 3 blade. I got different motors too. Ok maybe not so few. But when it came to programming the FC I stuck to the script which does run Triflight in CleanFlight, however if you read on David's site he recommends switching to BetaFlight.

All that said, I like my Tricopter but I'm tempted to try a baby try. They look very nice with all that CF. Well, at FFE'17 I bought some CF Booms (but these are round) so if this goes well I might call it good. We'll see.

I have yet to need to replace anything on my tri. I will be tweaking and modifying it more but no issues. Did I mention floats?

Looking forward to the madman journey with you.

 

[PsyBorg]

AHHHH STOP yelling at me!! You are gonna make me build one of these if you guys keep it up.

 

[cranialrectosis]

AHHHH STOP yelling at me!! You are gonna make me build one of these if you guys keep it up.

Tricopters are for madmen.

We have room for you PsyBorg. You're gonna fit in just fine.

 

[LitterBug]

AHHHH STOP yelling at me!! You are gonna make me build one of these if you guys keep it up.

BWAHH HA HA HA HA HA HAaaaaaaaaaaaaa. I have a plan.......

Cheers!
LB

 

[lrussi750]

AHHHH STOP yelling at me!! You are gonna make me build one of these if you guys keep it up.

Everybody's doing it Psy, give in to your feelings and give yourself to the darkside!

 

[lrussi750]

If you don't like the F3FC Race, I would look at any F3 board or go the other way and run a KK2.

I thought about the KK2 for nostalgic reasons and I can pick one up cheap. I'm not sure if I will continue to fly the Tri and I don't want to put too much into it. But if it's useful, I don't want to spend money twice. I just want a swooshy flying experience and the ability to record with a action cam with decent results.