Hi all,

 so this is my 3rd build and I decided to go a little crazy and try all the hype things I was interested in.

Here is the list of ingredients:

Frame :       RED RD-025 TALON SVX 220 low side plates (have the tall side plates also) USD$115.00 + USD$14.00 for tall sideplates

FC:              Matek F405 AIO USD$39.99  (Matek removed due to yaw oscillations) BetaFlight F4 F405 USD$44.99

ESC:           Racerstar Tattoo_S 35A 4in1 2-4S STM32F051/ARM Blheli_32 Dshot1200 Ready Dual BEC FPV Racing ESC USD$49.25

VTX:           TBS Unify pro 5G8 V2 (SMA) USD$39.95

RC RX:       Frsky R-XSR USD$19.99 since this IS hype building, swapped for a TBS Crossfire Micro RX V2 USD$44.95

MOTORS:  EFAW 2407R 2500KV USD$26.99 x5 USD$134.95

CAM:         Runcam Split USD$76.00  Runcam Swift 2 (tried the split in the martian 3, latency was very noticeable so I benched it for now) USD$39.95
Total:          USD$483.04

Frame arrived yesterday, ESC a couple weeks ago, still waiting on everything else. Thoughts? 

If you've ordered the frame with the low side plates, how will you fit a three board stack in there?

Bingo, I decided on the split at the last moment. Tall side plates should arrive in a few weeks, but I'm going to see if there is a way to fit it all into the lower plates 1st. We shall see...

Any other thoughts on hardware choice?

I'd say that you'll have a genuine rocket once you've put it all together!

The Unify Pro needs lots of current if you turn the power all the way up and the Runcam split wants something like 650mA as well. The Matek F4 AIO is supposed to have 2A available from the 5V BEC, but as we know, what the regulator is rated for and what it can actually deliver can often be quite different.
There is a 1A linear regulator on the 4-in-1 ESC, but I wouldn't draw more than 500mA from a 1A linear regulator unless I wanted to melt the solder on the ESC.

Hopefully you'll find some way to supply all the 5V power you need without things shutting down at exactly the wrong moment.

The Talon is a great looking frame, I cant wait to see how it comes together.

My only question is that 5S batteries seem to be becoming more available, with more hardware able to utilize voltages as high as this, just wondering if you might feel a bit limited by the 4S max of the ESC's? Also just looking at the comments on the youtube review of the EFAW 2407R motors, some seem to suggest that they are better suited to for 5 and 6S...?

Wow. A 2500kv motor on 5S or even 6S?

I'm staying well away from this kind of development. I have a large stock of 4S and 3S batteries and with high kv motors, I get plenty enough speed for me on 3S. My batteries are also lighter and cheaper.

Those EFAW motors with 5x4x3 props and 4S power pull 38A at full throttle in a static thrust test, so probably around 30A in real life. I hate to imagine what they'd pull on 6S although I'd like to see the battery that can actually supply the current they're likely to pull.

Great point. I have a few buck switching regulator boards somewhere. A little overkill for the split, but small and light enough and should provide clean power. Do you have any preference on small 5v regulator boards?

Tom, I have around 20 4s r-line (?) batteries in 1300 to 1800mAh and to be honest, 4s is already more than I need, especially as a noob pilot! My 1st priority of this build is efficiency, followed by performance so my thinking was to test this idea out.

(01-Sep-2017, 11:25 AM)McDee Wrote: Great point. I have a few buck switching regulator boards somewhere. A little overkill for the split, but small and light enough and should provide clean power. Do you have any preference on small 5v regulator boards?

Not really. I've used these adjustable ones in many builds:



The same issue with real and published ratings applies to these as well. They are sold as 3A regulators, but will only deliver 1A constant if you don't want to start melting the solder on the board.

(01-Sep-2017, 11:30 AM)unseen Wrote: Not really. I've used these adjustable ones in many builds:

Unseen, where did you get yours from? 
I ordered 10 of these 3 years ago and have already run out, they worked great and I'm looking for more but the original seller has disappeared

(01-Sep-2017, 12:29 PM)Oscar Wrote: Unseen, where did you get yours from? 
I ordered 10 of these 3 years ago and have already run out, they worked great and I'm looking for more but the original seller has disappeared

From a UK ebay seller called cheap_accessories_shop. Five regulators for £5.39 plus postage!

See: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-2-5-pcs-MP15...1847500556

(01-Sep-2017, 11:25 AM)McDee Wrote: Tom, I have around 20 4s r-line (?) batteries in 1300 to 1800mAh and to be honest, 4s is already more than I need, especially as a noob pilot! My 1st priority of this build is efficiency, followed by performance so my thinking was to test this idea out.

Tattu R-lines, are they the 95C discharge rate? Regardless, well setup for running 4s with 20 of some of the best batteries money can buy!

Just a reminder, that I have no experience with brushless, just making observations from the comments on the Portuguese youtube review, and thoughts on future proofing is all...

I have to add this picture though, I don't think I have ever seen such clean windings before!

@Tom, just the 75C ones. I bought 3-4 of many different sizes to experiment with flight times on my 4" martian 3. I figured that for the 4" 75C would be fine (1.3Ah * 75C = 97.5A) but that was before I started building the Talon. Think the 75C will be in danger when it's asked to feed up to 120A?

(04-Sep-2017, 02:46 PM)McDee Wrote: @Tom, just the 75C ones. I bought 3-4 of many different sizes to experiment with flight times on my 4" martian 3. I figured that for the 4" 75C would be fine (1.3Ah * 75C = 97.5A) but that was before I started building the Talon. Think the 75C will be in danger when it's asked to feed up to 120A?

Honestly I don't have the experience to speculate, general opinion is to 'take C ratings with a grain of salt' but you would expect R-lines to be some of the closest to delivering what they claim. Also remember that 120A is prospective 'real world' draw rather a than bench test, so it could end up damaging the packs...

If you are considering some cheap replacements....

I mentioned it elsewhere to CarlVegas, but I stumbled on this thread at RCGroups discussing indestructible quads Black Label batteries. I haven't finished reading the thread, but I got up to page 19 and have not yet found a single complaint. Page 39 now and only 1 or 2 complaints, all of which had a replacement sent, any delays in shipping get shipping refunded. There is testing of these done in Josh Bardwell's 'Group 4' battery tests and another comparison test with amp draws at 80A and 120A. The guy running the show is Ke Xu (aka maruchan1636 on RCG) he is based in New York, apparently a hobbyist himself and quit his job to work on Indestructible Quads full time. 

He seems very quick to respond to messages and having implemented a few changes over the past 
8 months or so, clearly takes suggestions seriously. He posts the tracking numbers of his bulk orders in transit from China to the thread if he runs out of stock and, as much of the dialogue between him and his clients is on the message board, he is really geared toward transparency.

Carl said he may order 1 or 2 of these so keep an ear out for the LiPo Killah's verdict..!

here are some quotes to show some of the most amazing customer service!


I had a cell randomly go dead, Ke from Indestructible Quads replaced it with FAST shipping instantly, no questions asked.

Thanks for the great batteries!


Quote:
Originally Posted by matthewd [url=https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?p=37831241#post37831241][/url]
one that had a little to much abuse , both black labels i had are now puffed , my turnigy graphene 1000mah are still holding up

Sorry about that man. It should usually hold up to abuse better than that. Unless your definition of abuse is something crazy like draining it in a minute and half every run. PM me your order number and I'll replace those for you if you think the puffing is premature for your usage.

(04-Sep-2017, 02:46 PM)McDee Wrote: @Tom, just the 75C ones. I bought 3-4 of many different sizes to experiment with flight times on my 4" martian 3. I figured that for the 4" 75C would be fine (1.3Ah * 75C = 97.5A) but that was before I started building the Talon. Think the 75C will be in danger when it's asked to feed up to 120A?

If you spend any significant time at full throttle, then a 75C battery might be at the edge. However, this quad will be so fast at full throttle that it's unlikely you'll spend much time there. I have some Tattu 4S batteries and they're rated for either 150C burst (the 75C ones) or 90C burst (the 45C ones). To my knowledge, all the Tattu batteries are rated for burst current that is twice the rated constant discharge.


Static thrust testing showed 28A at 80% throttle and 38A at 100% throttle, so it's only at absolute maximum that the current consumption increases dramatically.

Yesterday the FC, motors & VTx FINALLY arrived so instead of sleeping I finished the build, with a few changes.

Frame :       RED RD-025 TALON SVX 220 low side plates (have the tall side plates also) USD$115.00 + [b]USD$14.00 for tall sideplates[/b]
FC:              Matek F405 AIO USD$39.99
ESC:           Racerstar Tattoo_S 35A 4in1 2-4S STM32F051/ARM Blheli_32 Dshot1200 Ready Dual BEC FPV Racing ESC USD$49.25
VTX:           TBS Unify pro 5G8 V2 (SMA) USD$39.95
RC RX:       Frsky R-XSR since this IS hype building, swapped for a TBS Crossfire Micro RX V2 USD$44.95
MOTORS:  EFAW 2407R 2500KV USD$26.99 x5 USD$134.95
CAM:          Runcam Swift 2 (tried the split in the martian 3, latency was very noticeable so I benched it for now) USD$39.95
Total: USD$478.04

Sorry I was too impatient to document the build process   but here are some pics of the completed build.


Latency difference seems noticeable, or at least flying very low is much easier than it is on my Martian 3. I did also get some hall sensor gimbals for my X9D plus though so that could be contributing a tiny bit too. Only did low LOS testing and low speed fpv to make sure everything is working as intended. Full speed run tomorrow too, will let you know how it goes!