Most of your questions are going to be related to budget and personal choice ...
As a general rule you want to avoid F3, CCD32 or Naze32 based flight controllers as Betaflight no longer supports them and their use indicates a kit that cuts cost in all the wrong places.
DO NOT buy any parts until you are set on your size, motors etc as you will waste money.
Thank you so much for the tips and the information and the recommendations. What to do and what to avoid ! That's so important as things like specific brand or type of frame can actually provide a different flight experience !
Also if possible get some sim time in once you get a TX. I would buy something like a QX7 TX or second hand Taranis then fly sim for a while whilst you save for the quad and goggles. Sim works and is cheaper to crash in. I had to learn without it and it’s much harder
What's the sim time ? I actually didn't get that. Do you mean simulation ? but where, on real time with the drone tied to something to avoid breaking it or simulation with PC serial debugger ?
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First you must decide what you want to do with your quad.
Then piloting skills come in to play. Experienced pilot go mid to high end gear. New pilot go mid level gear on the smaller size range. Lighter is better to reduce damage.
OK, then I should choose something that is mid in price and reasonable price.
Goggles are bottom of the list but still an important long term choice.
OK, I just need to leave that later. Or buy one if I have left money.
Things I have learned... cheap frames = cheap carbon= more harmonic vibrations to deal with.
Fc's are all pretty stable at f4 or newer. Look more for features you want then brand names.
For now I have no idea what that supposed to mean, but I should discover that later
Motors and esc's get matched to what you want to do with your quad.
I'm not sure exactly what should I get, but I think like:
1. ESC: should be something like 20A to get mid performance and not to draw all the battery power.
2. Motors: I think 2300kv to 2700kv, but I think that number should match the battery size and then flight time. Higher number = higher power .. I guess !
Again I suggest getting decent parts and not going the cheap route. Many will argue but fact is you will spend more time flying then repairing and replacing. Saves far more money down the road then early savings on the build.
OK, got that.
Your radio is your most important item. DONT skimp unless you want to upgrade several times in your flight career.
Which one to get ? there are different ones on Aliexpress but I don't know what to get. FLYSKY seem to be a popular one among the kits they offer. I thought it's like is just enough to do the job.
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I will recommend going with the 210-230mm frame size. These will allow you to fly 5 inch props, which are the most common size. You’ll have many more options to fly with and try out, and WHEN you break props, they’re a LOT easier to find online and at local hobby shops than the 3 inch props you might need for the smaller frame.
Thanks for the tip
As for the rest of the parts, try to buy name brands. Look at companies like Rotor Riot and GetFPV. Rotor Riot just announced a new warranty policy that if you screw up the equipment through bad soldering, they’ll replace it. It might be a little more expensive, but that sort of customer service is awesome.
That's nice ...
The important thing in this point is very important, but I don't know what brands on Aliexpress !
The second thing, is that I live in Saudi Arabia, so buying something for me should be one time.
The things I remember I returned to their sellers were things that are expensive + $300 and the return costed me like $50 for each unit. After that lesson I learned to buy only one time
OK guys here are my rough selections, I really did this selection as I'm going to work.
But before getting into the parts, maybe Aliexpress isn't the source to buy from. So it's my first try:
1. Frame:
Chameleon-FPV-Frame-220-220mm $30
This one has a high price, so I thought it's a good one, also regarding that with this price is should be a good quality that may reduce the "harmonic vibrations". Also it has a good base for the camera.
2. Motors:
2018-New-Arrival-4X-Racerstar-Racing-Edition-2306-BR2306S-2400KV $28
4PCS-Racerstar-Racing-Edition-2205-BR2205-2300KV $25
I think all these motors are in the mid range and performance, I've put EMAX motors but I removed them because they are $60.
3. ESCs:
Best-Deal-4PCS-lot-Racerstar-RS30A-Lite-30A $27 - I think these are clone of the original
4PCS-Original-Racerstar-RS30A-V2-30A $42 - I think these are the original
I picked these randomly.
4. Flight controller:
Holybro-Kakute-F4-V2-STM32F405-Flight-Controller $30 - the dude in the youtube video mentioned the F4 FC so I thought they are cool
5. Radio controller:
Flysky-FS-T6-6CH-2-4G-LCD-Transmitter-R6B-Receiver-Digital-Radio-System-for-RC-Helicopter $36 - I think this one for helicopters. It won't work with a quad, right?
Flysky-FS-i6-FS-I6-2-4G-6CH-AFHDS-RC-Transmitter-Controller $36-47
Radio controllers are a bit tricky to me, I don't have much experience about them.
6. Propeller:
10pair-lot-KINGKONG-5040-5045-5050-3-blades-Propellers-For-QAV250 $7.50
I think these are good, they are 5045, 20pcs
7. Battery:
For batteries, I don't know what to choose, 1500, 1300 or 1800 mAh. This dude has a lot of batteries and the ones he actually recommending are the Infinity 550mAh. These are infinity:
Infinity-850mAh-40C-85C-3S-4S-11-1V-14-8V-LiPo-Battery - 3s is $7.90, 4s is $13.20 so I don't know what's the difference between 3s and 4s. + $4.86 shipping.
There are other versions, 4200, 450, 550, 1500. So what to choose?
8. Camera:
Foxeer-Falkor-1200TVL-Mini-Full-Size-Camera $34
I found this on a youtube video, so I thought it's a good one.
.......... so that all could cost me like $210. That's maybe a pretty high number for my starting, but if it's worth it to save me of buying things again or finding that certain parts need an improvement or not working pretty well.
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I'm following budget builds on YouTube:
1.
This video is about $99 seriously fast drone!
But that's without the radio controller, I guess I would find one with a decent price .. like $30 - 40.
2.
How to Build a budget FPV Drone Racing Quadcopter + Giveaway // Racerstar StarF3S, XT210
This dude is using the StarF3S all in one FC & ESC.