Papa's Quad Build(s).

A tempter pic or 2 for now, will post more tomorrow, with specs n stuff.....
Started building this late last year, before I saved enough for Taranis, glad I held on I can get the Q X7 now

Wires and Carbon and Nuts, Oh My!




Back soon...

good luck with the build and keep us updated

Looking good, but that 12v already has a BEC so why the extra resistor?

Q X7 is very nice, considering to also get one once I get some extra money, but for now the Taranis is doing the job.

Very neat and tidy,looking good m8y.

Hey Cujoway, long time no speaky, nice to hear from you again, love to see you in game again sometime.

Canner, the resistor came with the light-bar, at full 12v it would probably burn out, I do have an issue around the LED Bard, but I'll talk about that later.

Cheers Mucky, I do like to keep it neat, right up to the point I crash it in the first minute of flying...

So, what did I buy, well...

First I love Carbon Fibre anything, so thought right need to get me some of that in a frame, strong, light, looks good etc so that's my starting point...

So my full list of parts so far...

Frame: EMAX Nighthawk 250 Pro II Pure Carbon Red version.
Flight Controller: Naze32 Rev6c Full
Power Distibution Board: RJX Power Hub V2 5v & 12v
Motors: RadioC 2204 2300KV (Rebadged Emax basically, but cheaper)
ESCs: DYS XS20A BLHeli_S Multirotor 3-4S Tiny ESC
Battery: DRONE LAB 1500MAH 3S 30-60C
LED Front: Matek WS2812B LED Bar, addressable RGB strip of 8
LED Back: Nighthawk COB LED Light Bar, white.
Buzzer: 5v DC Piezo Buzzer 5v for Naze
XT60 Clamp: Aluminium Flat Clamp Holder
Props: DAL 6045 Bullnose
Receiver: FRSKY XSR MINI SBUS &CPPM
Thingummybob: Bluetooth Module for Naze32 MultiWii Configuration with Android (Might use, might not)


I've done various little mods along the way, to hold the LEDs, route the cables as short as possible, hold XT60 securely upwards etc, battery installed inside not above frame, will go into details when I post some more piccies, which I'll post v soon now that I've got round to posting my full~ish spec.

Laters people.

Your also gonna need a SHITLOAD of batteries...

Oh, where did you get the XT60 mount from ? I been looking for one of
those vertical ones.

Hey Mucky, cheers for the video, I like that chap from NZ, watched lots of his videos, and it seems my 30c rated battery might be a bit low too, probably best going for a 1.3 45c, or at least a bag full of em...

The XT60 I used is from here, I drilled two small holes so I could mount it vertically, so it's locked proper to the frame...
https://www.unmannedtechshop.co.uk/xt60-connector-fixed-mounting-board/

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Canner, the resistor came with the light-bar, at full 12v it would probably burn out, I do have an issue around the LED Bard, but I'll talk about that later.

I'm curious about that issue with the LED bar. 

Quote :

Your also gonna need a SHITLOAD of batteries...

Shitload is a bit much. 10 batteries is good for about 1 to 1,5 hrs of fun. Though a battery only lasts 4-5 minutes, you're also busy doing other things between flights, like crashing and having to change props and such.

Get some 4S batteries. 3S are too weak, specially at moments you need that power the most. I suddenly crashed a lot less when I started using 4S. Looks like those motors can handle 4S just fine.

Thanks Canner, that video certainly shows how much more oomph 4s batteries have, for more instantanious control more power would be desirable, cheers.

What about my 6045 props though, wouldn't they be a bit too big, perhaps step down to 50s or 40s?

Just prepping some photos for upload, meanwhile here's Boba Fett looking over proceedings.

OK, here we go with the build pics...

I knew nothing about quads before I started this, this being my first ever RC Model, so I threw myself into the deep end and decided to build one instead of buying a small fully built one first. Mainly because I can't afford to shell out on smaller training models first, but secondly I was confident I could build this and enjoy making stuff anyway, can I fly this beast though, watch this space for first balls ups... Heheh.

I took pics during the build, my aim was to make it as compact as possible, low centre of gravity by having the battery mid frame instead of on top as most do, has to be easy to remove though too...

So I bolted the frame together which looks gorgeous, I love anything Carbon Fibre, and added the motors, XT60 and Flight Controller.


I didn't like the way most builds have a loose battery connector flapping about, so I was determined to mount the XT60 in some way that enable it to be solidly mounted. I bought the flat plate mount and drilled two holes in the frame then bolted it together. The flat plate for the XT60 would be better on top, but the bolts should hold it fine, as it looks better underneath.


Then I mounted the XSR Receiver underneath the top frame plate, stuck with double back sticky foam stuff, so there was a short distance for the wires to travel before they're in correct alignment above the frame.


The underneath of the XT60 mount, plus the huge, possibly pointless lightbar, which will probably nick far to much power and eventually have it on a switch on the Taranis at some point.


The underside of the main frame holds the PDB + ESCs, which will be covered by another smaller plate to offer a little protection to the gubbins slung there.


The front light bar, is one of those addressable pixel things, RGB too so I can have various indications programmed onto it from the Naze32. Made a little bracket to mount it there, from and old water pump mount off my watercooled PC pump that I' didn't use. A single bolt should be anough as it's only light, it may get knocked about though when I hit the deck...


Here's the full pic of it at this stage, I routed the wires for the motors through a convenient hole in the arms, all power wires are as short as possible. I'll add some cable ties too around arms etc just to hold wires safely in place.


So that as far as I'll go with this part of the post in case I can't have too many photos in one go or sommat, more to come for rest of build....

So next stage is to wire everything up proper, Power, ESCs etc...

XT60 Power soldered, and motor wires prepped, shortened and tinned ready for ESCs.




Two ESCs soldered and stuck down, 2 waiting to be connected.


Followed closely by the other two...


Then onto the topside to wire up the ESCs to the Naze.




And finally the bottom plate which will hopefully protect the boards, I like the way this looks, but might have to put some plastic wrap or something over the holes, or under them so grass and dew doesn't get in too much.


It's about to come back out of it's box for a flight soon, so I'll take another pic with the props and battery mounted ASAP.

So that's about it so far, now all I need is a Taranis Q X7 to fly it, and several more, possibly 4s, batteries...

I absolutely welcome any advice or criticism, I've learnt lots building this but I'm far from an expert.

The build looks neat and the soldering pretty well done.

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I absolutely welcome any advice or criticism, I've learnt lots building this but I'm far from an expert.

I'm no expert either, but I have learned a few things since I started this hobby a year ago. So here's a few tips.:

Battery inside the craft seems perfect for weight balance and handling. Also the battery is a bit safer in crashes, but certainly not indestructable. There's a reason people put the battery on top or below the quad, and not often inside. If a battery catches fire inside the quad, the whole quad goes up in flames. Also in normal situation a battery can get pretty hot during a flight, and inside it cannot lose it's heat. Which is bad for the battery and also heats up the other components.

Be careful with those ESC's near the carbonfiber, they could short out and die if the contacts touch the fiber. So put something underneath like electricaltape.

I have not done it myself, but with all that exposed electronics on the bottom you should make it waterproof by spraying some CorrosionX on it, or something else used to waterproof electronics. A bottomplate is not enough to stop dew from splashing on the contacts.

Best tip: Should get some FPV gear on that quad asap. Camera, VTX, goggles. 

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What about my 6045 props though, wouldn't they be a bit too big, perhaps step down to 50s or 40s?

Those 6045 may be a bit too much for this setup. You can try, as long as the motors and ESC's dont get too hot it is fine. But it could fry the 20Amp ESC's if you fly too hard, so checking the temps is important in the beginning. Specially if you're going to use 4S batteries. I'd go with 5040 triblades, they have good lift and make very nice sound.

I assume you solved the LED bar issue?

while you're building stuff, please making me some kinda of explosive device i can drop on these grass seed stealing shits

cujoway wrote:

while you're building stuff, please making me some kinda of explosive device i can drop on these grass seed stealing shits

Could make a job out of that, chasing away birds at farms for example. If it wasn't for the silly regulations and laws I might try that, but in my country I'd need to buy a €500 permit before I can make money legally with providing droneservice.

Maybe you can put down a bowl of seeds so they can eat from that, instead of looking for grass seeds. Or maybe it helps to spread out some manure over the grass, it's a bit smelly for a couple of days, but good chance it will keep the birds away for a while.

CANNER wrote:

The build looks neat and the soldering pretty well done.

Thanks Canner, I do try to keep things neat, I have been soldering and tinkering for years.

CANNER wrote:

If a battery catches fire inside the quad, the whole quad goes up in flames. Also in normal situation a battery can get pretty hot during a flight, and inside it cannot lose it's heat. Which is bad for the battery and also heats up the other components.

Good point, very good point, to which I've made some mods (in my head at the mo, as I'm now waiting for parts to arrive, pics will follow of this modded). I plan to lower the top plate down, so it resides just above the Naze32, so what I'm going to do is this. Buy some more red aluminium spacers that are 20mm, same height as the ones underneath that I use for legs, instead of the current 35mm + 5mm post I have there at the moment. This will mean the top plate sits lower, just above the Naze, then I can safely mount the battery on top. This will have to be changed anyway, because I will now most likely be using 4s batterries which are taller, so yeh, a little swaparoo with the battery, makes more sense.

CANNER wrote:

Be careful with those ESC's near the carbonfiber

Yeh cheers I'm aware of it's ability to conduct and I have everything protected to a point, ESCs do actually have clear shrink around them in the pics, PDB doesn't at the mo, but there is enough clearance. However I do need to protect the whole bottom area with something, at some point, otherwise it will get wet far too easily too, thanks.

CANNER wrote:

Best tip: Should get some FPV gear on that quad asap. Camera, VTX, goggles.

I will be doing FPV at some point, not just yet though, future upgrade, FPV, camera for racing about, then possible 3 axis gimbal for some photography work too + FPV or course....

CANNER wrote:

I'd go with 5040 triblades, they have good lift and make very nice sound.

I checked what I bought last year, as I wasn't sure, and indeed I had bought some BullNose 5045s, so I can try them to get a feel and be on the safe side. Nice sound eh with tri-blades, hehe, sold, I bought some today, DAL 5040s...

LED issue is still there, but only when I use Cleanflight with the props off. (Remember up to now I don't have my receiver yet so I've only set things up as much as I can in there) The issue is at high/full throttle (momentarily of course) the rear LED bar dims, I reckon it's because there's no load on the motors as the props are off and they are sapping max draw on the battery, Vreg on the PDB isn't able to keep up, I'll do further tests when I get my Taranis.

Speaking of Taranisseseses, I've just ordered it half an hour ago, together with lots of other bits and bobs I probably won't use lol, but some essentials hopefully hehe. Oh plus some Tri-blades I mentioned earlier too. I can't afford stepping up to 4s yet, couple of weeks I reckon, I only have one single 3s, plus a charger only capaable of charging up to 3s. BUGGER!...

Here's a quick mobile piccy I just took with 5045s on and 3s battery in current place

cujoway wrote:

while you're building stuff, please making me some kinda of explosive device i can drop on these grass seed stealing shits

Haha, I'm sure we could come up with something, miniature Rocket launcher or something lol

Quote :

LED issue is still there, but only when I use Cleanflight with the props off. (Remember up to now I don't have my receiver yet so I've only set things up as much as I can in there) The issue is at high/full throttle (momentarily of course) the rear LED bar dims, I reckon it's because there's no load on the motors as the props are off and they are sapping max draw on the battery, Vreg on the PDB isn't able to keep up, I'll do further tests when I get my Taranis.

I'm not totally sure, cause I don't really know electronics. But my guess is that it is caused by the combination of the 12V BEC and that resistor. Either together they are filtering too much or conflicting each other. So if other tests fail, that's something to look at.

Quote :

I plan to lower the top plate down, so it resides just above the Naze32, so what I'm going to do is this. Buy some more red aluminium spacers that are 20mm, same height as the ones underneath that I use for legs, instead of the current 35mm + 5mm post I have there at the moment. This will mean the top plate sits lower, just above the Naze, then I can safely mount the battery on top.

That's a good idea and looks better too. Besides using the normal battery straps, you should stick some velcro on the quad and batteries.

Try running the LED`s direct from a 12v power source on PDB (assuming they are 12v   )
can`t think why you would need an extra resistor for LED`s to be honest,things like that are usually
on the light strip allready

CANNER wrote:

I'm not totally sure, cause I don't really know electronics. But my guess is that it is caused by the combination of the 12V BEC and that resistor. Either together they are filtering too much or conflicting each other. So if other tests fail, that's something to look at.

I reckon after looking into it a bit more, that the LED bar comes with the full kit for the Emax Nighthawk, which is a 4s setup and therefore has 16.8v kicking out of it, the resistor is there to lower the voltage to 12v so it doesn't blow the LEDs as I reckon the voltage is taken direct from the battery (not sure though). I take it through the BEC and then lower it further which will be something like 8-9v which is just on the threshold of lighting up probably. I simplly don't need the resistor in there for my setup as it's already being dropped to 12v through the BEC...

CANNER wrote:

That's a good idea and looks better too. Besides using the normal battery straps, you should stick some velcro on the quad and batteries.

Yeh defo a better idea, and indeed I can use straps and velcro much more easily.

muckyman wrote:

Try running the LED`s direct from a 12v power source on PDB (assuming they are 12v lol!  )
can`t think why you would need an extra resistor for LED`s to be honest,things like that are usually
on the light strip allready

They are indeed 12v, most led COBs should run at 12v, I think it's what I described above, but that's a good quick test too, thanks....

Look what the Postman brought me today.

Whoa!!!!   look at that nice shiny taranis
and some lovely tri-blades...Mmmm.

Ah yes,if it`s a repair kit for the nighthawk that would explain it but
most PDB`s have a regulated 12v pad nowadays aswell as VCC battery voltage out...anywy.

check out the price of this fucking battery at banggood,bastard amazing.

https://www.banggood.com/Giant-Power-Dinogy-1300mAh-14_8V-4S-65C-LiPo-Battery-For-RC-Airplane-Multicopters-p-1033106.html?currency=GBP&createTmp=1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=helen&utm_campaign=Cmc-dm-329-p&gclid=CMWr9Nb_wdMCFVW7Gwod5akP5A

Those are good batteries Mucky, I have 7 of them now. Also have a few cheap 4S 1500mah's from Charsoon.

Not a lot heavier, but a bit more juice, and only 2 euro more. : https://www.banggood.com/Charsoon-14_8V-1500mAh-50C-4S-Lipo-Battery-XT60-Plug-With-Strap-p-1123746.html

PapaLazarou wrote:

Look what the Postman brought me today.

Awesome stuff Papa. That Taranis looks so comfortable to hold.   


I really want one too, but still gonna wait a while.
For now I bought the Hall sensor gimbals upgrade for my Taranis x9d, should arrive next week.

canner wrote:

Those are good batteries Mucky, I have 7 of them now.

Ahh,that`s great to know m8....I will get some myself now I know they are ok.

cheers

muckyman wrote:

check out the price of this fucking battery at banggood,bastard amazing.

Thanks for the advice, n1

CANNER wrote:

Awesome stuff Papa. That Taranis looks so comfortable to hold.


I really want one too, but still gonna wait a while.
For now I bought the Hall sensor gimbals upgrade for my Taranis x9d, should arrive next week.

Thanks Canner, yes it's very comfortable to hold, good weight, and the rubber grips at the back are perfect....

Ace, Hall sensors quality stuff....

...


Batteries, thanks chaps, this is something I need to explore very soon...
Do you chaps go for 4s 1300mah. with the highest possible C value, at cheapest possible price, or do you check reviews first...?
Just wondering on how you decide which battery is the best...

Also, Mucky, this little 3d printed gadget is perfect for holding wires whilst soldering, from a place in Sheffield I've been over to to pick up some bits for my quad last year, so eager was I to get bits I drove over instead.
http://www.fast-lad.co.uk/store/quantum_soldering_helper_blue_q-acc-0053-p-36594.html
They also do lots of other little 3d printed things for various uses in RC, lots and lots on their site.

Also, anyone got a 3d printer?
I'd love one but they're expensive, although they are getting cheaper. These little beasts from Turnigy for a mere £162 from HobbyKing look pretty darn good for the money, heated bed so they can do other types of plastic like ABS...
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/fabrikator-mini-ii-blue-m100.html
Here's a quick test/review of it too, From Got[t] by the sounds of it, hehe....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syoDDbcTnSA
Also Painless360 has a test on his Youtube channel too

Lots to learn with Taranis, installed voices, sorted switches on channels, need to update OpenTx 2.2 to new Release Candidate too, but might wait for full release...
This leads me onto one more question for you guys, it seems to me it's best to have arm on the momentary switch (the one that releases back when you let go) does this make sense and is this possible, or will this not work because the software needs it to be always on to be armed? I say use this one as it can not be accidentally left on, although the Taranis would tell me anyway I guess when I power it on... Which switches/position do you use for this?

I need to do some favours for sailors or something as I'm skint, can't afford any batteries yet lol, I'll make my way to the docks tomorrow... hehe

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Which switches/position do you use for this?

I still arm the noob way. I had set up a arm switch once, but could not get used to it quick enough. I'm a bit stuck with this automatic noobie disarm when landing, I do this automatically and it is very hard to unlearn. When I had set up a arm/disarm switch, I accidentaly disarmed the old way, which made the quad spin at full throttle and it took off like a rocket, instead of disarming. Luckily I was at a few meters distance, so I did not get injured.

If I would set up a switch it would be the upper left one. But it really is personal preference, just use a switch that is easy to reach, but not likely to be switched by accident while in the air.

My taranis is also set up the old default way using the two sticks to arm / disarm
as I would hate to accidently knock a switch and have the quad sunddenly fall out
of the sky .