I have started building my first quad and I think that it'd be nice for me to share my progress.

This was a relatively low cost quad as I expect one of two futures for it 1. I destroy it in an epic crash explosion or 2. I lose interest and get into a different hobby instead. I love building stuff, so if I stick with this, I will be making quite a few build logs as time goes on.

First up is the frame...
I bought a Realacc X210 frame with 4mm bottom plate. Although it wasn't really rough, I smoothed the edges a bit with some diamond files and painted the edges with nail polish.

It is pretty subtle in this picture but it is much more noticeable when the whole frame is together, especially next to the 3d parts that I printed.



Next I installed  the motors, Racerstar 2300kv  2205s. I used small 3d printed TPU softmounts and motor guards printed in PET-G.





Next, ESCs. These are racerstar 30amps.

I housed them inside some PET-G armour and ziptied it down.

 



And my last step for now was installing the PDB. Since there has to be a space underneath for the battery strap, I also routed the front ESC signal wires under the PDB so that I can connect them all from one side and make taking things apart later much easier.

But I didn't like the PDB that I ordered because it had space for an onboard XT60.  I want to use a pigtail and I don't like the space that this extra piece takes up. So I turned to one of my trusty tools and chopped it 




Of course, I filed this smooth and checked it for anything dangerous afterwards...

And it installed:



And this is where my log ends for today

Looking good Mmcc.

Nice build
By the way, what's that blue mat

(12-May-2017, 08:07 AM)Ahmad Ilyas Wrote: Nice build
By the way, what's that blue mat

It's a heat resistant silicone mat from Banggood. I've got one as well and they are great for protecting your work bench from the heat of your soldering iron or hot air gun. The various pockets around the outside are also perfect for keeping screws and small parts on your bench instead of on the floor!

Banggood - Silicone mat

The mat does generate quite a lot of static, so I use mine on top of a larger anti-static mat which is properly grounded to bleed away any static charge.

Looking great mate, keep us updated. Hope you don't have weird issues with your first build like I did.

Build is looking good so far!

I had a similar "I wonder if I will or wont" question at first... except mine started with the Taranis... by the time I was buying a set of $500 goggles I had pretty much convinced myself ... there is no turning back! you're trapped now

(12-May-2017, 09:02 AM)unseen Wrote: Banggood - Silicone mat

Oooh! purchased.

Looks good...check the side of the PDB where you cut of the extra part for exposed power lines...maybe you should cover them with something...

(12-May-2017, 09:02 AM)unseen Wrote: It's a heat resistant silicone mat from Banggood. I've got one as well and they are great for protecting your work bench from the heat of your soldering iron or hot air gun. The various pockets around the outside are also perfect for keeping screws and small parts on your bench instead of on the floor!

Banggood - Silicone mat

The mat does generate quite a lot of static, so I use mine on top of a larger anti-static mat which is properly grounded to bleed away any static charge.

I got mine from amazon but I think it's identical... I always intended to get an anti-static mat but keep forgetting about it, thanks for the reminder! 

(12-May-2017, 12:16 PM)Carl.Vegas Wrote: Build is looking good so far!  

I had a similar "I wonder if I will or wont" question at first... except mine started with the Taranis... by the time I was buying a set of $500 goggles I had pretty much convinced myself ... there is no turning back! you're trapped now



Oooh! purchased.

I know that if I stick with it, I will soon be building another, so I don't really feel bad about keeping the budget relatively low here.

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(12-May-2017, 12:24 PM)Kleinerbug_FPV Wrote: Looks good...check the side of the PDB where you cut of the extra part for exposed power lines...maybe you should cover them with something...

Of course, I already thought about this before I cut it off. I decided that it doesn't matter as the contact is tiny and I think that there is much more chance that something comes in contact with the soldered connections on the top of the board. Small risk but I am going to accept it.

(12-May-2017, 03:50 PM)mmcc Wrote: I know that if I stick with it, I will soon be building another, so I don't really feel bad about keeping the budget relatively low here.

yes... building the first does make you start thinking about the second one for sure!