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Armattan Chameleon Build Log
#1
I thought you might like to see my latest build. I call it "The Purple Nurple". Big Grin

Here's the parts list:

Frame: Armattan Chameleon - Suki Limited Edition
Motors: DYS Fire 2206 2300kv
ESCs: RacerStar RS30A V2 BLHeli_S
Propellers: Dalprop 5040 triblades
Flight controller: BrainFPV RE1
Power Distribution: BrainFPV mPB
Flight Camera: RunCam Eagle 16:9
Video Transmitter: TBS Unify Pro
Receiver: FrSky XSR
Battery: Turnigy Graphene 4S 1300mA/h
All Up Weight: 545g 

I liked the sound of the BrainFPV RE1. It's a high quality F4 based flight controller with matching PDB and regulator board that can run both dRonin and Betaflight. Here's the first layer of the build:

[Image: IMG_20170226_131342_zpsbt5xyvus.jpg]

I added some extra electrolytic capacitors to the RacerStar ESCs for the sake of the rest of the electronics and then covered the ESCs with some glue lined heatshrink. The glue lined stuff is great for making your ESCs immune to the dew on the grass if you're going to be out flying in the early morning.

The Armattan camera mount is designed for the Foxeer XAT600M camera and my Runcam is looking a little unprotected.

[Image: IMG_20170211_185505_zpsaziutf49.jpg]

I guess I'll have to make some further modifications to get the camera moved back a little so that the aluminium cage protects the lens properly.

Then it was on to getting the flight controller added to the stack and connected to everything:

[Image: IMG_20170226_185054_zps8r9g1uxo.jpg]

Thankfully, there's plenty of room in the Chameleon and it ended up being a very painless build.

Mounting the pigtail from the Unify Pro VTX was a little more tricky, but cutting off the top of the antenna connector bracket:

[Image: IMG_20170228_103642_zps3wqdcs2d.jpg]

and using an o-ring on the other side to prevent it falling back into the frame when the VTX antenna is removed, sorted that problem out in short order.

[Image: IMG_20170228_103656_zpsnuagxi8w.jpg]

Then it was just a matter of adding the battery strap, putting some zip ties on for the XSR antennas and screwing on the top plates.

[Image: IMG_20170304_132348_zpsx1zsizlc.jpg]

Although the RE1 can run Betaflight, I decided to give dRonin a try to see what it was like.

I was very pleasantly surprised with dRonin! After running through the setup wizard (which took me instantly back to the old OpenPilot days), I was ready for a maiden flight and an auto tune. After taking off and verifying that everything worked as intended, I put the craft in a hover a few metres up and enabled auto tune. While the auto tune is running, the craft kind of wobbles as the firmware collects data about the craft's handling characteristics. Once that stopped, I landed and disarmed. This saves the data and then you need to connect to the dRonin GCS so that it can download the data and analyse it.

So I retreated to the nearby pub for some warmth and refreshment and completed the auto tune. Suitably fortified, I returned to the field and took to the air in level mode. Everything seemed immediately much tighter and responsive, so I landed, switched to horizon mode and took off at full throttle!

Not only is this build incredibly fast and powerful, the tune that dRonin had worked out was absolutely spot on. The Chameleon flew like it was on rails and no matter how hard I pushed it with flips, rolls, punch outs, last second catches from dropping straight down and turns as sharp as I could manage, nothing would provoke any kind of questionable handling. So despite the fact that my fingers were starting to turn blue in the just over freezing temperatures, I can promise you I had a huge smile on my face.

For the time being, I'll be leaving the dRonin firmware on the RE1. It was much better than I thought it would be and the auto tune feature worked perfectly for this build. The Armattan Chameleon frame is excellent, as you'd expect of an Armattan frame. The low slung battery keeps the weight central and close to the plane of the propellers giving excellent handling. I think the frame looks stunning and of course, it comes with the unique Armattan lifetime warranty.

I can see this build becoming one of my all time favourites.
[-] The following 4 users Like unseen's post:
  • JimmyLe813, fftunes, tozes, sloscotty
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#2
The chameleon is such a nice frame! Do you know how much space you have between the top and bottom plate? is the AUW weight you mentioned as on the last picture?
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#3
(10-Mar-2017, 12:02 PM)oyvinla Wrote: The chameleon is such a nice frame! Do you know how much space you have between the top and bottom plate? is the AUW weight you mentioned as on the last picture?

Yes, that's the all up weight with the Graphene battery. Dry weight is 382g.

The space between the plates is... [reaches for calipers] ... 20mm, so there's plenty of room.
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#4
Here's a sideways view.

[Image: IMG_20170310_125028_zpsmihdrovl.jpg]
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#5
Have you tried Betaflight with this build yet? Also, hows the RE1 been treating you?
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#6
(23-Mar-2017, 10:16 AM)infinitje Wrote: Have you tried Betaflight with this build yet? Also, hows the RE1 been treating you?

I have not tried Betaflight on this build. dRonin gave me such a good tune that I've kept dRonin for the moment.

The RE1 works very well. It's a very nicely made flight controller and the mPB is very good too.
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#7
Very very nice! That frame looks bulletproof lol Big Grin
The Obsession IS Real!
My Youtube and Instagram links
[-] The following 1 user Likes Drone0fPrey's post:
  • unseen
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#8
I have a question: one of the reviews I watched on YouTube remarked that the RunCam Swift RR Edition doesn't fit the molded rubber bits that hold the camera angle, because the back of the camera isn't "long" enough to seat completely into the molded notch, so the camera has room to wiggle around. Have you found that also to be the case with the Eagle? I've got a Chameleon on the way, and the Eagle would be my first choice, but I think I read somewhere that the Chameleon was actually designed with the Foxeer Monster or Arrow in mind?
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#9
The moulded rubber dimes that Armattan use to hold the camera on their designs are specifically designed to fit the HS1177 cameras in the standard Foxeer style case.

I can probably get my Eagle to sit further back by some careful adjustment of the rubber with a sharp knife so that I can use the second hole (closest to the lens) in the case to fix the camera to the rubber part. In the photos, I'm using the rearmost hole and it doesn't sit far enough back to get the camera completely inside the cage.

It doesn't really wiggle around if you have the screws nice and tight, but it's not optimal at the moment for protecting the camera in a head first crash. The Chameleon is not designed for the Monster or the Arrow and I think you will be very hard pressed to find a way to mount either of those cameras.

If you do go for the Eagle, be extra careful to remove the rear cover and make sure that the screws you use to mount it don't end up screwing into the camera's PCB or components.
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#10
I'm surprised that the Swift doesn't fit properly. The mounting points look identical to the XAT600M.
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#11
i just got one of these frames. i can't wait to get your thoughts on how it flies.
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#12
(05-Apr-2017, 12:35 AM)JimmyLe813 Wrote: i just got one of these frames. i can't wait to get your thoughts on how it flies.

It flies beautifully!

The low rider mounting for the battery keeps the weight in the same plane as the props and makes for very tight and responsive handling. It corners like it's on rails, is perfectly balanced in the air and is ridiculously fast with the 2206 motors and triblade props.

If you have any questions about the build, feel free to post them here and I'll try to help. What will you be using for motors/ESCs/flight controller/VTX etc?
[-] The following 1 user Likes unseen's post:
  • Drone0fPrey
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#13
(05-Apr-2017, 06:23 AM)unseen Wrote: It flies beautifully!

The low rider mounting for the battery keeps the weight in the same plane as the props and makes for very tight and responsive handling. It corners like it's on rails, is perfectly balanced in the air and is ridiculously fast with the 2206 motors and triblade props.

If you have any questions about the build, feel free to post them here and I'll try to help. What will you be using for motors/ESCs/flight controller/VTX etc?

[Image: iZ3XR96l.jpg]
i'm going to be going with TBS 25A Bulletproof ESCs with DShot.
Tiger F60 Pro 2500KV Motors
and what is in the picture.
[-] The following 2 users Like JimmyLe813's post:
  • unseen, RENOV8R
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#14
Geez, now you've got me thinking. I tried the RE1 last winter and when I tried autotune, the quad shook for a couple seconds like it should then just dropped out of the sky. Flashed it with BF and still wouldn't fly so I tossed it aside. After spending most of the winter trying many different things, I finally resolved the issue last weekend. (and it had nothing to do with the flight controller) I've just got a Dodo installed right now, so I think I'll reflash the RE1 with dRonin and give it another shot.
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#15
(05-Apr-2017, 03:52 PM)RENOV8R Wrote: Geez, now you've got me thinking.  I tried the RE1 last winter and when I tried autotune, the quad shook for a couple seconds like it should then just dropped out of the sky.  Flashed it with BF and still wouldn't fly so I tossed it aside.  After spending most of the winter trying many different things, I finally resolved the issue last weekend. (and it had nothing to do with the flight controller)  I've just got a Dodo installed right now, so I think I'll reflash the RE1 with dRonin and give it another shot.

It's well worth a second try. It's a very competent flight controller, and while the auto-tune won't work perfectly on all quads, when it does work, it works very well indeed.
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