Greetings all....

Well I am about to embark on my second build!  It will probably take a while between work and having to tear myself away from flying the one I have already got.

Picture shows the major components I intend to use.  Will not have OSD on this one as I will get battery voltage back to the radio through telemetry and that's all I really need anyway.

I will post pictures as I progress.  If anyone has any questions/comments/suggestions/advice etc.....all are welcome.

Looking Good,  Keep the build info coming 

Can't wait to see the progress!  It will be a tight build, but you'll love that frame!

Don't know what motors you are using, but an early decision will be what battery to use.  I'm using 3S Hyperion 850mah for my 1306 3100kV ( http://www.rcdude.com/product-p/hp50c0850s3.htm ).  Good size and weight for this frame.  (I mention this because it sent me down the route of XT30 connectors on mine.)

(And where's the popcorn smily when you need it?) 

PS. Use longer screws on the top plate than what came with the kit, or strap your battery around the whole thing...Biggles told me so

I'm using the DYS 1306 3100's.  850 is about what I thought as well and I'll check out the link you posted.  for the center four standoffs I am going to use aluminum screws that will extend all the way through the bottom to the top frame.  I will be spacing my PDB, FC and RX on spacer that screw down over the screws and will hopefully make it pretty sturdy.  I think I am going to try and mount the RX under the PDB (right on top of the bottom plate) and all the connections for the PDB, FC, RX, and ESC's will be independent of the top frame.  Only thing that will be up there is the video gear so hopefully I can limit it to disconnecting one connector (power from the PDB to the VTX) when I have to remove the top frame.  Not sure about the voltages yet...the camera takes from 3.3 to 5v and I'm not sure the VTX supplies that range so that may have to come from the PDB or the FC as well.  I'll sit down here before too long and draw all that out.  I'll update the thread as I progress.    Thanks Scotty!

Hi Guys....

Had an hour or so on my hands tonight so I worked a little on my new build.  I hooked all the ESC's up to the PDB.  Not real happy with a couple of the solder joints, but I'll go back and take care of them next time I work on it.  Stay tuned......

Looking really good so far, won't be too long before we see a test flight 

Thanks Biggles!  I hope you are correct sir!

What frame is that?

Got it from Force2Frames. It's their 160, Gen 2 frame. So far so good.

Worked a little more on the build this afternoon.....

Put the RX on the bottom plate under the PDB



The picture below you see four tall screws which I slipped the PDB down over and the FC will go on top of that.  My understanding from those more knowledgeable then I is that in a hard crash (of which I will have many) the battery if it is strapped to the top plate, will sometimes pull  the screws out of the standoffs.  I am running these screws through the standoffs and spacers, through the top plate and will have a nut on them to hold the whole thing together.  One thing about this is bothering me......the screws are metal.  I have continuity between all the screws because they are going through CF.  The PDB and the FC's mounting holes are lined with conductive material.  I checked each board out with a meter and I cannot find where there is continuity between any of the mounting holes and any solder pad or hole or component on either board.  In other words I think they are isolated from the rest of the components on each board.

I would appreciate any input on this before I blow the damn thing up!! 

I think you'll be fine, but if you are worried, how about aluminum like these: http://www.fastener-express.com/M3x.5x27...umQty.aspx ?
Or these if you don't want quite that many: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Team-Associated-...1836324895
(4 screws in the middle will probably be more than sufficient.)

(Oh, nevermind - aluminum conducts electricity too.) FWIW, I am using aluminum screws that go through both my pdb and my FC (flip32), and don't have any problem. I am pretty sure for most FC, the corner holes are isolated. You should probably get another vote on this though.

Thanks Scotty......that's what I thought as well and I took a fair amount of time trying to prove to myself the mounting holes of the PDB and the FC were isolated from the rest of the board. Just wanted to get some confirmation....I am sure someone else will chime in as well. Thanks Scotty.

Only my personal view.. I wouldn't do it myself.  Well actually I did and worked great for a while, a huge pile drive into the ground caused some high g loads (I am guessing..but mythbusters never lies to me), which did result in death to my FC, as the metal screws got bent and somehow touched the pdb, started a mini fire by the time I got to the quad.. not nice.


Now, I use nylon spacers (threaded) and nylon standoffs  and just step up as I stack the boards. I do however use short metal screws from under the frame into the spacers.  By a box of assorted sized nylon standoffs and spacers, they will always come in handy.

But, the risk is yours.



Why does burning electrics linger for so long? even after the fire is out..stinks to high heaven.

I hear ya Biggles.  I have some long nylon screws that would do the same thing, but I would lose the strength.  The screws would be encased inside the spacers and/or standoffs and it would be unlikely that they would touch the FC or PDB even in the event of a crash.

I'll ponder this a bit more before I commit and as always, thanks you for your help.

(23-Jul-2016, 03:59 AM)BigglesFPV Wrote: Only my personal view.. I wouldn't do it myself.  Well actually I did and worked great for a while, a huge pile drive into the ground caused some high g loads (I am guessing..but mythbusters never lies to me), which did result in death to my FC, as the metal screws got bent and somehow touched the pdb, started a mini fire by the time I got to the quad.. not nice.  

(23-Jul-2016, 04:16 AM)sirdude Wrote: I hear ya Biggles.  I have some long nylon screws that would do the same thing, but I would lose the strength.  The screws would be encased inside the spacers and/or standoffs and it would be unlikely that they would touch the FC or PDB even in the event of a crash.

I'll ponder this a bit more before I commit and as always, thanks you for your help. 

I think I would pay more heed to Biggles than me - he's had a lot more experience flying (and crashing) than I have   .  In fact, I may have to reconsider my re-build and my new build.

Here are a couple of photos - one of my rebuilt 160 after it's crash that ripped off the top plate, and one of my new 130 build:

   

On the rebuilt 160, I used rubber grommets below the PDB and an 8-10mm aluminum screw going through the grommet, the pdb, and into a 6mm M-F nylon standoff.  Above that is a nylon F-F spacer with a 12mm aluminum screw through the top plate. (Note I only used a nylon nut at the rear of the FC.)  I also used 12mm aluminum screws at the front and rear of the frame (on top).  I mount the battery on the top, and I hoped 12mm screws would prevent what happened before - so far so good, but I haven't crashed it really hard.

On my new 130, I am not using any Male-female standoffs, only Female-female spacers (and nuts).  In the middle, I am using 14mm alum on the bottom, going through the frame, 3mm nut (as spacer), through the pdb, and into a F-F spacer.  On top, I am using 12mm alum going through a printed rx vtx holder, the frame, a 3mm nut (not in photo yet), through the flip32, and into the same F-F spacer.  My battery will be slung below, so the forces won't be like my previous build.  I might reconsider though, after reading Biggles post.

I wouldn't use nylon screws at stress points though - the heads can pop right off.