Alright guys, I am officially in shopping mode for parts for my first build. Depending on if I order chineese stuff or not I am targeting either an early or late may completion.

I have several questions to ask and rather than setting up multiple threads over a coarse of several days I figured I'd collect a few of them up and ask all at once. Most importantly what I want is opinions. I can read for supposed facts, but I'd love to hear what my experienced friends "think" about these topics. Facts are welcome too though (especially on the 3rd question)

So here we go... 

For my first build, would it be better to build something cheap so that mistakes or ruined components are inexpensive as a learning process keeping the quad as the "loaner" or should I dive right in and build myself something for a few hundred bucks that could possibly rival the Diatone GT2 that's on it's way to me?

All in one ESCs: They seem to make things easier but I've read from some post or another that someone didn't like em. Should I be avoiding these or would I pretty much be OK either way as long as I get something that's good quality with the amperage that I need?

Capacitors for VTX: Is this something that is always needed or only for certain VTX /ESC setups? I've seen littlebees mentioned associated with this topic... or do I build it, see if I have issues, then come back to fix it later?

I'll start with those 3 questions for now.. I have a bunch of shopping and reading and youtube videos to watch, but any help that you all can give would be great!

I´ll add a dime on the ESC question:
- Regardless the setup 1x4 or 4x4, ensure you do the right "capacity planning" before purchasing it.
- The problem I heard about one for all motors is that if something goes wrong your quad will fall from the sky like a rock. I´m sure more experienced guys here will add different (and more important) points to this topic.

Regarding your setup decision, is up to you and your wallet :-)
Yes, if you are willing to spend $400 plus, you will get a better quad, higher quality, more power and so on. But is that what you need ? You have to think about, there is no right or wrong answer.

I´m not sure if that is the kind of answer you were expecting but is as far as I can go with my little knowledge and expertise on this!

Thanks

bad ass all "name" brand.... bad ass clone...bad ass china made.. or a basher..????

you got a what coming???? fly that why build....YOU SEE i build because i like "THE BUILD", the challenge of getting things as clean, hidden and as good looking as possible. to me building isnt building the bad ass thing with all the fastest yada yada parts.. BUT dont get me wrong..i use the NEWEST and hopefully the "BETTER"of the stuff i could waste my 500 on...but i like to build not to fly it but TO BUILD IT...I HAVE NEVER BOUGHT A RTF. my first build cost $250 everything but goggles..
the last one was 500 easy... 
im cutting my own stand offs to get ONE OFF stances..
i make wireing harnesses that you can only see the 3 wires going to the motors and NO PDB..just CF frame..go to emax 30 amp bullet esc thread here..i have a build there...
but the bottom line is...your not going to build a FASTER BETTER quad then one you can buy RTF...you can make improvements..but even your own build will be improving as you fly and wreck...building is an "art thing" i feel......and it would SUCK ASS to some people...building isnt what u think it is...or it isnt what i think it is..lol..its kinda mind racking at times

BUT if you want to build you first quad,,, TAKE the one you have or are going to get....look at all the parts...size and kv of the motors, esc amps...wire size, now, go buy that same size stuff, but, what you think you want, brand wise..that will save you the hassle of esc and amp matching on motors..might take 2 weeks of web school..now go get a frame that is with in one size up or down of that said quad,
so now you got
motor
esc 
frame
some wire
half way there
get all your goodies...im not goin through that list..youll learn.
FC will be tough because all of them out there..and  because ull have to decide want you are going for..me, i dont give two shits bout nothing but...ARCO/BEEPER/F3 OR F4 AND FULL VOLTAGE INPUT..just saves on wires running to and from..and a must is TX failsafe...some mini TXs dont have a lose sig. failsafe..
OH SHIT its a GT2...a mini.....nnnnaaaaa forget every thing i said.....you cant build a mini ur first try...if you do....ill bow...alittle 

but go one line, find a size 215 250 RTF. spec all the parts... get that one in bit and pieces, add your own "better"stuff. but keep the esc and motors the same sizes.and build your first quad...have a blast bro..

oh and bout ur..?? i think you ment capacitor..thats been a huge subject for me lately.and its all where you put things...and what can take it..i use them all the time now..



..and youll forget that one thing that takes 10 days to get to you, and then right when your about done youll realize you need more shit...

(21-Apr-2017, 04:39 AM)flabombarda Wrote: I´ll add a dime on the ESC question:
- Regardless the setup 1x4 or 4x4, ensure you do the right "capacity planning" before purchasing it.
- The problem I heard about one for all motors is that if something goes wrong your quad will fall from the sky like a rock. I´m sure more experienced guys here will add different (and more important) points to this topic.

Regarding your setup decision, is up to you and your wallet :-)
Yes, if you are willing to spend $400 plus, you will get a better quad, higher quality, more power and so on. But is that what you need ? You have to think about, there is no right or wrong answer.

I´m not sure if that is the kind of answer you were expecting but is as far as I can go with my little knowledge and expertise on this!

Thanks

Thanks. Both points are good feedback! On the ESCs, I will definitely consider the single-point-of-failure possibility. 

As for my wallet... admittedly I've already gotten used to spending more than I should on this hobby so I could probably afford to do both. I think my concern here is with some of the horror stories of others having trouble getting things in the air I am worried that I'll have to blow through a few things on a first build. But maybe some of those issues are caused by starting cheap and good components (and hopefully OK soldering... I am working on that part) is what I need to avoid those problems

(21-Apr-2017, 06:08 AM)nitro20% Wrote: bad ass all "name" brand.... bad ass clone...bad ass china made.. or a basher..????

you got a what coming???? fly that why build....YOU SEE i build because i like "THE BUILD", the challenge of getting things as clean, hidden and as good looking as possible. to me building isnt building the bad ass thing with all the fastest yada yada parts.. BUT dont get me wrong..i use the NEWEST and hopefully the "BETTER"of the stuff i could waste my 500 on...but i like to build not to fly it but TO BUILD IT...I HAVE NEVER BOUGHT A RTF. my first build cost $250 everything but goggles..
the last one was 500 easy... 
im cutting my own stand offs to get ONE OFF stances..
i make wireing harnesses that you can only see the 3 wires going to the motors and NO PDB..just CF frame..go to emax 30 amp bullet esc thread here..i have a build there...
but the bottom line is...your not going to build a FASTER BETTER quad then one you can buy RTF...you can make improvements..but even your own build will be improving as you fly and wreck...building is an "art thing" i feel......and it would SUCK ASS to some people...building isnt what u think it is...or it isnt what i think it is..lol..its kinda mind racking at times

BUT if you want to build you first quad,,, TAKE the one you have or are going to get....look at all the parts...size and kv of the motors, esc amps...wire size, now, go buy that same size stuff, but, what you think you want, brand wise..that will save you the hassle of esc and amp matching on motors..might take 2 weeks of web school..now go get a frame that is with in one size up or down of that said quad,
so now you got
motor
esc 
frame
some wire
half way there
get all your goodies...im not goin through that list..youll learn.
FC will be tough because all of them out there..and  because ull have to decide want you are going for..me, i dont give two shits bout nothing but...ARCO/BEEPER/F3 OR F4 AND FULL VOLTAGE INPUT..just saves on wires running to and from..and a must is TX failsafe...some mini TXs dont have a lose sig. failsafe..
OH SHIT its a GT2...a mini.....nnnnaaaaa forget every thing i said.....you cant build a mini ur first try...if you do....ill bow...alittle 

but go one line, find a size 215 250 RTF. spec all the parts... get that one in bit and pieces, add your own "better"stuff. but keep the esc and motors the same sizes.and build your first quad...have a blast bro..

oh and bout ur..?? i think you ment capacitor..thats been a huge subject for me lately.and its all where you put things...and what can take it..i use them all the time now..



..and youll forget that one thing that takes 10 days to get to you, and then right when your about done youll realize you need more shit...

So if I were to build quality it would probably be a combination of domesting and chinese name brand or good nameless stuff. I wont go for the clone stuff on a quality build, and likely would avoid on a cheap build if I knew that was what I was getting. 

As far as building something as good as the GT2 in that small of a form factor? almost certainly not. I am not fooling myself there at all. I think you've made a good point about starting with what I have on the other. 

If I were to take the vortex and build similar myself I'd probably go with

• Lumenier 30A 32bit Silk ESC OPTO Dshot600 & Lumenier RX2206-11 2350Kv Motor ($160 getfpv)
  
• Maybe a martian frame ($30 bangood) (I need the space for the first build, for sure)
  
• One of the runcam swifts ($35-40 getfpv)
  
• ImmersionRC Raceband 5.8GHz 200mW AV Transmitter Module for FatShark($15 bangood)
  
• F3 EVO and flash it with Betaflight ($25 bangood)
  
• Reasonably priced PDB ($10-15 bangood or somewhere in US)
  
• X4rSB Reciever ($25 getfpv)
  
• Other crap I didn't think of ($25-100 who knows?)
  

So that puts me in the neighborhood of $300... That's probably about double what I'd spend if I were going to build a beater just to build a beater. At that point I should probably add at least a hundred extra for upgrades that I didn't factor when putting this list together, Probably most of that would go into better motors and ESCs. And to be honest, the list above it just about what I would build if I hadn't come to ask for advice on this forum, with the exception that I probably would have went with all-in-one ESCs if I hadn't found the combo pack from Luminer.

Interestingly enough though Nitro I think the advice that you're giving leads me to the cheapo beater side of things. You're right I probably cant build something faster than the GT2 on my first go, or something tougher than the vortex... So I should just build to build. I'll put it in the air after, of course, but it might be better to get the whole thing under $200 and wait on the shipments and just build it cheaply.

Still interested in other opinions though.

Have a look at my UAVFutures USD99 build thread. I basically decided to use his formula to build my first true FPV Quad (3rd build) and it's likely to come out for just on USD250 for everything!

By all accounts it'll be a fast, capable setup that will be a learning experience for me without blowing a heap of money - who am I kidding AUD330ish is a crapload of money but I'm a bit of a junkie

(21-Apr-2017, 11:39 AM)Aaron Wrote: Have a look at my UAVFutures USD99 build thread.  I basically decided to use his formula to build my first true FPV Quad (3rd build) and it's likely to come out for just on USD250 for everything!

By all accounts it'll be a fast, capable setup that will be a learning experience for me without blowing a heap of money - who am I kidding AUD330ish is a crapload of money but I'm a bit of a junkie

I watched that video the other night and it was what got me thinking "my first build doesn't have to be expensive if it's all about learning"... I like watching his channel even if he does seem to like everything too much. It's also what got me thinking about all-in-one ESCs. I hadn't considered them before watching that one, I just assumed that individual ESCs were better until I saw how simple it was to hook up. My brain goes to a reduced possible points of failure.

Carl, here's my five cents:

If your budget is restricted choose wisely. There are plenty of components available on Banggood which offer perfectly acceptable performance and reliability at a low price. Turning to eBay or Aliexpress for low priced multirotor parts is much more risky when it comes to ending up with parts that aren't even worth what you paid for them.
If you budget is a little more flexible, buy the best parts you can afford. Don't skimp on your FPV camera especially.

All in one ESCs are useful if mounting individual ESCs is an issue with the frame you choose. There are two drawbacks with having all the ESCs on one board. First, if one ESC fails, you have to replace the entire board. Secondly, being placed in the main electronics stack means poorer cooling and also brings the main source of electrical interference closer to your flight controller and other sensitive electronics.

"Transformers for VTX"??? Sorry, but I don't know what you mean.

These are my initial thoughts after reading your OP: I feel like you are in the exact place I was in just before my first build. I too was worried about the "horror story experience" as most aspects of my life seem to revolve around good ole fashioned bad luck and chaos theories
Now with that said, most of those horror stories stem from not enough homework, impulse buys, and generally just jumping in without giving things much thought. You seem, to me, a very intelligent dude you're doing the homework and asking the right questions.
Shoot for parts you can afford to replace, should the worst happen, and double check that everything will integrate and work together as a whole (FC that can invert frsky sbus for "plug-n-play" so to speak versus oh wait it doesnt fly because blah blah blah or "why did my 12A ESC explode? I'm using these 220"HUGE" 26,000kv motors blah blah blah" ) Make sure all equipment is powered correctly (ie. 5v, 12v, vbat ect) and everything can handle the currents your build will ask for. Use a smoke stopper, multimeter and magnification to double and triple check for shorts and bad connections. You know the rest
So to sum it all up. Imho your ready, just settle in on your parts, practice your soldering while it all ships and before long you will be patting yourself on the back, wanting to immediately build another, thinking "why was I so worried"  just as I did myself (this is not to say nothing will go wrong lol)

PS: I personally stayed away from 4in1 ESCs fearing that bad luck/chaos theory I mentioned above just my personal thoughts.

Your feet are wet bro, jump on in!

Great feedback guys. Unseen and DoP you make great points about digging in. I think I might make some changes to the components above, go with some better motors and just stick with orders from China. As for ebay, I rarely order anything from ebay anyway so I am good.

(21-Apr-2017, 06:08 AM)nitro20% Wrote: oh and bout ur..?? i think you ment capacitor..

(21-Apr-2017, 12:11 PM)unseen Wrote: "Transformers for VTX"??? Sorry, but I don't know what you mean.

I have no idea why my head caused my fingers to type "transformer" when I had been reading for like 2 hours on capacitors and ESC noise. I wasn't even looking at anything related to transformers as components or even the robots in disguise! It was pretty late and I had racked my brain a bit doing research. (Post edited, evidence of word-swap buried.)

In summary, based on the feedback above I think I am going to go for a build that is "whatever I want my quad to have" but work to keep costs down by buying from bangood for the most part, and maybe aliexpress if I absolutely have to.

The way I have to look at it is the same way I went out for my first flight. I already had practiced a bunch and true I didn't land a single battery (I crashed each time, at least once)... but it was because I went for the challenge.

Making this solved, but I am interested still if others have opinions. I think I've decided but am open to having my mind changed over the next couple of days as I put my shopping list together. And while I wait for it to make its way over the pacific I have a solder practice kit that'll help me get started. So a weekend of flying and soldering ahead... sounds like an awesome time! I wonder when I'll ever manage to get any housework done... maybe next week :p

My house is a wreck at the moment also, due to this obsession. it is raining today... Yeah better get some chores done so the Sugar Momma is at least not shaking her head at me already when the parts for my micro arrive

Robots in disguise! we might be on to something if we could disguise our abundant quads as small household appliances. "Alexa.... Transform!"

(21-Apr-2017, 04:02 PM)Drone0fPrey Wrote: My house is a wreck at the moment also, due to this obsession. it is raining today... Yeah better get some chores done so the Sugar Momma is at least not shaking her head at me already when the parts for my micro arrive

Robots in disguise! we might be on to something if we could disguise our abundant quads as small household appliances. "Alexa.... Transform!"

hmmm... maybe a bumblebee theme... Yellow is my favorite color and always goes well with black. plus... buzz buzz

Banggood portion of the order placed 

(21-Apr-2017, 10:45 PM)Carl.Vegas Wrote: Banggood portion of the order placed 

so many combos....so many answers to ur question....but the final would be...for sure...just get some 30a ESCs rated 2-6s..and u could run prolly any motor out today....on the 180 to 250 builds...
please correct me if i am full of it..??

i saw some one put 52 amp burst to a 20a...i think luminier 4-1 esc..??? ssssoooo??? leaves a huge gap there..

(21-Apr-2017, 01:00 PM)DoP Wrote: PS: I personally stayed away from 4in1 ESCs fearing that bad luck/chaos theory I mentioned above just my personal thoughts.

Your feet are wet bro, jump on in!

YEPPERS.....i know 4-1s are good..but just in case...buy individual 
.
to bad 4-1s dint come apart from one another...solder joint or something...

(21-Apr-2017, 10:59 PM)nitro20% Wrote: YEPPERS.....i know 4-1s are good..but just in case...buy individual 
.
to bad 4-1s dint come apart from one another...solder joint or something...

I do remember seeing one that could replace individual ESCs like you are thinking. Ill have to see if I can remember what it was.

Edit: Xracer Quadrant ESCs from FPVModel