2020-05-24                         Phantom-X                   Last Post                    My Journal       
       
Although I have assembled plug-and-play tiny whoop parts, this is my first “Real” build. 
 
The objective was to build an experimental quad to use for testing and comparing different combinations of components including buzzer, capacitor, RX receiver, and motors. A primary design consideration for me was that everything have plugs for ease of swapping out parts. Since the basic frame and FC stack are GEPRC Phantom components and this is an e(X)perimental craft, I am calling this project “Phantom-X”. 

The base is a GEPRC Phantom frame kit with Micro Alien 3” arms set up for 4” props. The motor to motor wheelbase is set at 183mm. The arms are attached using M2 bolts and a zip tie. This method allows the arms to be removed or readjusted for 5” props if desired and does not damage the base frame. The 3” Micro Alien arms are factory drilled for 11xx through 13xx motors and have two different motor mounting positions. 

The FC stack is a GEPRC Stable F411 which is the same that is used in the GEPRC Phantom. All wiring soldered onto the stack is connectors for easily swapping out parts. This methodology facilitates swapping of components; specifically motors since testing motor/prop combinations is one of the primary objectives. The RX receiver can also be easily changed to test different models and even move to long range. Also, having a little extra wire length on the buzzer and capacitor has allowed these items to be placed where they fit best (at least for me). 

The main components (basic frame, FC stack, Rx receiver) are GEPRC Phantom parts. The motors are Flywoo NIN-1103 7650 kv, the props are Gemfan 3018-2 bi-blade, the vtx antenna is an iFlight omni, the capacitor is a Panasonic 470uf 25v, the camera is a RunCam Nano 2, and the buzzer is from BetaFPV.

The first time I attempted to “fire it up”, the quad would not arm. Upon checking Betaflight, I had forgotten to set up the MODES; so no arm switch. After setting up the MODES, the quad armed fine. Being in the house, I just got it up to about 5 feet, hoovered, and did some very mild moves just to make sure everything seemed to work as expected. It felt extremely smooth.

As soon as I can, we will take it out for a real flight.

Jump to the latest post HERE
 
Parts, under-construction, and completed:

Thats a very interesting way to extend out the arms man I never seen that done before!

I am really liking FlyWoo motors. I have the 1404's on The Leaf and they are smooth. Good choice.

(24-May-2020, 04:05 PM)the.ronin Wrote: Thats a very interesting way to extend out the arms man I never seen that done before!

Yeah. I had several sets of arms waiting around for a build with a custom center plate (is still in the design phase). Then I thought, why not just add them to a Phantom build by using two motor mount holes in the Phantom frame and drilling two holes in the arms at spacing for 4" props mounts. Even though the arms are pretty solid, I added a zip tie to the back just for security. Now, at Kaitylynn's suggestion, I will also add a bolt in that area. I will let you know how this works out and holds up.

(24-May-2020, 04:46 PM)kaitylynn Wrote: I am really liking FlyWoo motors.  I have the 1404's on The Leaf and they are smooth.  Good choice.

Some time ago, I watched a Drone Mesh video where he compared the performance of various 1103 motors. The Flywoo came out on top. Plus, they look really cool.    We like the shiny gold plating. Right now the Phantom-X is sporting 3" Gemfan props. With this configuration the craft is pretty close to a factory GEPRC Phantom. After some flying, I will switch to the 4" HQ props and see how that compares.

Interesting idea with the arms. I wonder how stiff those will actually be with only 2 bolts in the middle and a cable tie on the other end. The weak point will be the 2.5mm thick arms on the Phantom frame. There may be some flex at those points with the extra length and weight of the other arms added, and they may not survive a crash, but I guess you will find out soon enough  It will also be interesting to see how much tuning you need to do on it to get it to fly reasonably well.

(24-May-2020, 08:02 PM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: Interesting idea with the arms. I wonder how stiff those will actually be with only 2 bolts in the middle and a cable tie on the other end. The weak point will be the 2.5mm thick arms on the Phantom frame. There may be some flex at those points with the extra length and weight of the other arms added, and they may not survive a crash, but I guess you will find out soon enough  It will also be interesting to see how much tuning you need to do on it to get it to fly reasonably well.

Yeah, I was wondering about that before I put it together, however, it appears to be stronger than I thought with almost no flex in the Phantom frame arms. On the other hand, I am adding a small plate and extra bolt back by the zip tie per Kaitylynn's suggestion. I had thought about making small extensions that just bolt to the motor mount, but that would put the stress point all out on the end where the motors are. Since I already had the Micro Alien arms, I decided to try them. Also, The real test will be when I get to fly it. I can't wait for this coronavirus thing to be over and my fly field opened up. Will post video.

You should fly with blackbox on and set debug to gyro_scale. This will give you your noise profile before any filtering. My main concern is the vibration where you have the zip tie.

(25-May-2020, 12:15 AM)the.ronin Wrote: You should fly with blackbox on and set debug to gyro_scale.  This will give you your noise profile before any filtering.  My main concern is the vibration where you have the zip tie.

Good idea.   I have not yet used Black box , but need to learn how to use it. Is there a good YouTube video that you would recommend? How do I do what  you suggested?

Although the arm feels solid and secure, I am going to add a small brace and bolt in a hole right next to the zip tie before taking  her out.

Thanks

Check out UAV Tech's "PID Tuning Guide" series of videos on Youtube. The first few videos talk about black box although you can skip around cos he has a tendency to get into the weeds.

Great videos. He has always struck me as someone that not only genuinely knows his stuff (engineer prolly) but also does it for love of hobby and not love of affiliate links.

Interesting build man. I am a little skeptical about how the arms will hold up and am looking forward to some flight footage. It is definitely a clean build and i like the idea of plug and play test quad. Sounds like a fun way to test out different components. Nice one man!

(25-May-2020, 05:13 AM)wllmlutz Wrote: Interesting build man. I am a little skeptical about how the arms will hold up and am looking forward to some flight footage. It is definitely a clean build and i like the idea of plug and play test quad. Sounds like a fun way to test out different components. Nice one man!

Thanks. I wanted something to test various configurations without having to unsolder/solder components. With this setup, I can quickly change motors for efficiency comparison. I started with 1103 motors so the first iteration would be close to the original GEPRC Phantom since I have a lot of fly time on that and know how it flies and fly times. On the other hand, I really want to try 1202 motors and maybe 1303 motors. At some point, I will experiment with different Rx receivers including R9 for long range. 

Although I will likely not change the capacitor or buzzer, you just never know. 

I had originally thought about motor mount extensions like the ones pictured below, but I already had the arms which meant I wouldn't have to fabricate anything. The arms were just not wide enough to actually use all four holes to mount to the frame, however, I was really surprised by how sturdy the setup was with just two bolts and no zip ties (which I now think are pretty useless). Anyway, I have removed the zip ties and am adding an additional bolt and small brace to the back end of the arm. Although I could use larger bolts, I will start with M2 in the smaller hole and a flat brace on the bottom. 

As soon as they open my fly field, we will go out and FLY...and video of course. 

(25-May-2020, 04:13 AM)the.ronin Wrote: Check out UAV Tech's "PID Tuning Guide" series of videos on Youtube.  The first few videos talk about black box although you can skip around cos he has a tendency to get into the weeds.

Great videos.  He has always struck me as someone that not only genuinely knows his stuff (engineer prolly) but also does it for love of hobby and not love of affiliate links.

Thanks ronin, will get right on it. 

Well ronin, perhaps I am wrong, but I do NOT think that Blackbox will be an option for me.  

I have watched (or at least started) some Blackbox Youtube videos including UAV Tech, Joshua Bardwell, and Propwashed... BUT... I can't seem to get past the "Logging Device" where the Blackbox log files will be stored. The only option that I have shows "Serial Port". And in the section below that, the text indicates "You can log to an external logging device" which I don't think I have. 

In Joshua Bardwell's video, he mentions Serial Port logging and having to buy a recording device, wire it in, configure it, etc... AND... he does not suggest using it as it is too slow. 

Propwashed also mentioned something called "OpenLog" that can be wired onto some flight controllers, but he glossed over that as something he doesn't do. 

UPDATE:  I just checked that "OpenLog" thing and don't think that it will be an option for me. 

Upon checking all of my quads, the Flywoo XBot 3 is the only one with onboard storage device.

So, I might have to just fly by the seat of my pants. 

(25-May-2020, 11:46 AM)iFly4rotors Wrote: Thanks. I wanted something to test various configurations without having to unsolder/solder components. With this setup, I can quickly change motors for efficiency comparison. I started with 1103 motors so the first iteration would be close to the original GEPRC Phantom since I have a lot of fly time on that and know how it flies and fly times. On the other hand, I really want to try 1202 motors and maybe 1303 motors. At some point, I will experiment with different Rx receivers including R9 for long range. 

Although I will likely not change the capacitor or buzzer, you just never know. 

I had originally thought about motor mount extensions like the ones pictured below, but I already had the arms which meant I wouldn't have to fabricate anything. The arms were just not wide enough to actually use all four holes to mount to the frame, however, I was really surprised by how sturdy the setup was with just two screws and no zip ties (which I now think are pretty useless). Anyway, I have removed the zip ties and am adding an additional bolt and small brace to the back end of the arm. Although I could use larger bolts, I will start with M2 in the smaller hole and a flat brace on the bottom. 

As soon as they open my fly field, we will go out and FLY...and video of course. 

Glad to hear that you removed the zip ties. In my 5" i have a zip tie holding my power wires away from the props and in a crash the wires broke the zip tie without damaging the wires(this was a skinny zip tie). They work good for holding small components but I wouldnt trust them for anything structural. Can't wait to see this thing fly man!