I am going to be changing the forward port motor on my Hornet as it burned . I was able to order another and it should be here much faster than shipping it off to have another person solder it in to the ESC. Question, is there anything I should be aware the motor is attached to the controller?

It is a CW spinning motor, so I was initially concerned about threading on the shaft. My friend told me if I use a nylon locking nut, it should not matter and if it is a concern...a touch of Loc-Tite will keep it in place. I am not worried about props as I am suing Butter Cutters and they do not have built in lock nuts.

The motor itself is a JYU branded 2204-2300kv and looks to be an OEM, so I would assume that the wiring will solder on the same way as the original. If not, I can always reverse it’s direction, so it does not really make a difference.

I am not really happy about the motor failing, but at least it did it before flight while no props were installed. It was on level ground during spin up and just let got with a small wisp of smoke. I could see on of the windings had fried, so the failure point is pretty obvious. The ESC seems to be ok.

While it is off to a slightly rocky start, I am excited to get it up into the air!

Hi Kaitylynn,

Usually if the same motor is used the wiring "should" and I stress Should, be the same. But like you say, if it isn't, just swap over 2 motor wires on the esc.
the use of nyloc nuts on the motors is always a good thing, but I do not recommend using loctite on them at all.

Also, just check that the motor screws are not touching the windings when you remount the motor, maybe a motor has been burnt out due to screws touching the windings.

(01-May-2017, 02:29 AM)BigglesFPV Wrote: .. but I do not recommend using loctite on them at all.  

So much talk of using loctite, its good to have a definitive opinion, thanks.

(01-May-2017, 02:29 AM)BigglesFPV Wrote: ... screws touching the windings.

I still haven't got any brushless motors but I hear this so often its like a mantra!

No loctite near plastic! It attacks plastic so it's not a good idea when it comes to propellers.

Thanx for the info on the loctite. Will leave it in the bottle and rely on nylon locking nuts. Have the unit apart and am surprised how simple the system is. The GPS and FC units look pretty standard, the ESC's do not. They are sort of a V shaped double boards. Considered removing the systems boards from the cheap plastic housing and attaching it all to a more open frame. Same function, but a more robust build.

I am finding all of this so fun!!!

(02-May-2017, 08:06 PM)kaitylynn Wrote: Considered removing the systems boards from the cheap plastic housing and attaching it all to a more open frame. Same function, but a more robust build.

I'd advise against that. If you did do it, you would probably change the dynamics of the craft. As far as I can see, the firmware in your Hornet is proprietary and doesn't give you any way to tune the flight controller to the changed dynamics. The flight controller might take exception to the new accommodation and develop an advanced case of the wobblies when you try to fly your Frankenquad.

It could also work just fine! I've not looked to see if other people have made successful transplants of the Hornet's innards into a different frame and it may well be that the flight controller is quite tolerant of varying weight and response from the frame that it's flying. Unless someone has made some open firmware for it, you are stuck with what you get though and adapting the behaviour of the firmware or adding new functions won't be possible.

If you want to build, (and reading between the lines, I get the impression that your fingers are itching already) the most important question to ask yourself is: "What is this craft's purpose? What do I want to do with it?" When you have decided what it will be, you've narrowed down the choice of parts from 100,000 to 10,000.

Seriously though, form follows function, physics always applies and a defined need is the mother of invention.

A true multi-function multirotor craft that can perform well in all roles does not really exist. Those that try to be a 'one size fits all' craft end up missing the mark in one role or another. If you define specific goals for a craft that you want to build, the entire process of deciding about frames and components becomes much easier.  It also helps when you need to ask for advice if you know what you want to achieve.

Be warned though, building flying machines is extremely habit forming!

Okay, sage advice on mangling the Hornet. It is staying in its stock shell. It is a camera drone, albeit a quick one and will remain purposed as such.

This brings up the true nature of such things...there needs to be another drone purposed to silliness and speed!

As with boats, drones/quads/RC seem to fit the mold. IQ is directly proportional to the number of them owned...simple formula really: (IQ)/(N=boats owned)=X or adjusted IQ

Starting to look into building a smallish (150mm to 250mm) racer, but that is another story for another thread. The stock JYU replacement motor is a few days out, so am focusing on getting the hornet back in to the air.

Success! I was able to get the JYU casing apart and clipped the old motor out. I began to clean the pads up some before realizing that the board was at an odd angle for the iron and so i decided to unclip it from the case. I found fresh clean pads on the underside of the board...perfect!

So I soldered the new motor in and found it spinning opposite of what I wanted so switched two wires. Everything checked out in preflight and so the time to send it out into the world arrived.

Flew it for about 15 minutes with no issues, recharged the battery and flew another 15. The Hornet is behaving itself and seems to enjoy being aloft. Cannot wait to get out and start taking some areal pictures.

Well done! I'm glad to hear your repairs went without issue.

Happy flying!

With the repair behind, it has been fun flying around. Am keeping it mellow and practicing the basics to get the hang of the Hornet. It is a pretty smooth system and it is easy to maneuver about as long as I maintain slower speed and concentrate. Still have not built up enough muscle memory to be able to handle some of the entertainment that comes with learning and I have managed to bend a prop here and there. For that, happy that I am not having too much difficulty keeping the craft on one piece so far.

Looking at ordering the gimbal and camera so that the platform can serve the true function it was purchased for, areal photography. There is no reason to try to make it in to anything other than that as there is a sibling soon to be born for acro flight!

Thank you everyone for the advice and encouragement. It certainly helped build the momentum towards repairing the injured wing