IFlight iX4 Lite V3 build

Going to wait with buying a Mavic Mini till the next improved version with a better wifi and 4k camera.

Instead I bought a new 4 inch frame, mini FC stack, Caddx Ratel camera and a bunch of red LED strips.  

Still got a set of 1806 Cobra motors, which I had used once for a superlight 5 inch build.
But one of the motors overheated and died, because I had overpropped them and added a gopro to the quad. 
These motors aren't even real 4S motors, but I flew them with 4blade 5inch props, 1500mah 4S and camera.
Later I bought one motor to make the set complete again, and put them aside for a new build some day.

So now I'm finally going to re-use them on a new 4 inch build, estimated weight will be around 185 grams excluding battery.
Including 850mah 4S battery the quad will weigh about 275 grams, but with a 850mah 3S battery the weight would be just over 250.

The LEDs do add about 10 grams. Still not sure if I leave them on, going to try and see how it works first. 
The arms will have red LEDs on the front and back.

I can try using even smaller motors and remove the LEDs to make the quad as light as possible,
but I want to use this old set of motors because they are super smooth, quiet, low amp draw, but still powerful.

Wow that`s very old school looking,kinda funny that
many say the older quads fly a lot better than newer
designed ones,will be interesting to see if you find this
to be true m8.

muckyman wrote:

Wow that`s very old school looking,kinda funny that
many say the older quads fly a lot better than newer
designed ones,will be interesting to see if you find this
to be true m8.

Maybe it has to do with the single bottom plate?
Most modern quads have loose arms, they get more easily damaged and can cause vibrations if not fixed tightly.

It could also have to do with the modern FC firmware and all those fancy filters.
I remember after they introduced the first filtering in Betaflight, it became a lot more difficult to tune the PIDs.
Then came 'dynamic filtering', which made it even more tricky.

And quads have become more powerful, higher voltage, stronger motors, etc.
Maybe this also affects the experience compared to how older quads fly.

Finally the parts have arrived. Except for the Ratel camera, which I'll temporarily replace with a old Runcam, untill the Ratel has been delivered.
I put a ruler in the pictures so you can see how small all the parts are. Top and bottom of the legs will be covered in red LEDs.
Specially bought transparent heatshrink to hold the LEDs in place. Don't know yet how and if it will fly, but the quad will be shiny.

Loadza Ellie D`s...

Are those the racewire type LED`s ?

I have some similar ones but not quite the same.

muckyman wrote:

Are those the racewire type LED`s ?

Yes, the top LEDs are racewire. They are perfect because there's only very short pieces of wire left on the motors from the previous build and this way I don't have to solder on extension wires. The bottom LEDs are normal ones, those come with a seperate controller for different colors and flashing.  

Couple of pics to show the progress. The main parts are assembled and so far no smoke.
Since the motor's screw holes didn't fit the frame I had to drill, and could only use 1 screw.
1 screw should be enough, but going to use a extra tiewrap to secure the motors in place.
Next will be: finishing the bottom LEDs, install the FPV camera and DVR, and last installing the receiver.

These are only the bottom LEDs, the top ones get brighter as the throttle goes higher.  

Soldering looks very neat m8 and holy shit!
that is gonna be bright in the sky 

Wondering if one bolt in the motors can
stand the torque only one way to find out
i guess

Thanks, slowly getting the hang of making a nice solderjoint and proper use of flux.

The LEDs are awesomely bright indeed, I also like how the transparent heatshrink makes it glow extra hard.
Had I known the heatshrink glows this nicely I would have added an extra layer.

Quote :

Wondering if one bolt in the motors can
stand the torque only one way to find out
i guess

Could only use 1 screw, cause if I'd drill out the other hole, the frame becomes too thin and fragile.

I have considered that torque issue. To prevent vibrations I have fixed the motorwires tightly with a tiewrap.
Also going to put a little glue on the screws to make sure they won't come loose too easy.
The motors are securely fixed, I think it will fly fine like this.
I am a little worried how it holds after a crash, but can always repair, or buy a new frame.

Finally done and ready to fly!

I still need to flash the latest Betaflight and ESC firmware, if I want to run the latest.
But first going to test with the firmware that came installed, Betaflight 3.57.

Now waiting for some nice weather, today it's sunny, but also very high humidity, everything is wet.

Here's a few pics, last one is the nicest, as you can see the neon orange props glow from the LEDs.

SWEET !!!!!

 

As last finishing touch I put some glue on the LEDs contacts that are on the bottom of the quad.
This way the thin wires won't break too quick upon landing and it won't short when landing in the moist grass.
The bottom LEDs can produce 7 colors, flash slow and quick, and even rotate all colors animated in sequence. 
The LEDs and glowing props look awesome, too bad I can't see it myself when flying FPV.

Still not done a test flight, hopefully the weather will clear up a little soon.

I have managed to set up 3D mode on the quad and fixed the throttle on the X9D.
Was a little tricky to get it right, but it now works.

Never flown 3D before, this will be interesting

Yes it will...looking forward to the flight/crash video`s.