I love the way this Deadcat iFlight Nazgul Evoque 5" (4S) quad flies.  Just not with analog video anymore.

I bought this last year from a buddy in PA who decided DJI FPV was the direction he wanted to go. This is the (now older) V1.

Oscar did a mini review of the F5X (squashed X) version of this quad:  https://oscarliang.com/iflight-nazgul-evoque-f5/

Evidently, the analog 4S version is no longer on iFlight's website, but the 6S is very similar:  https://shop.iflight.com/freestyle-quads...NF-Pro1821

It's an interesting design, with plastic side plates (that also hold the FPV camera), LED pipes along those plates and the bottom of the arms, custom TPU in the rear to accommodate XT60, SMA, etc. It's not water proof or resistant, however. Also a separate 'lower deck' in the rear to tuck the receiver (CRSF) and another custom TPU to hold the immortal T.

Amazing factory tune.  20x20 FC & ESC stack, and a reduced size 20x20 600mW VTx.  Stuff is packed in there!

Just picked up a pre-owned (but NIB) Avatar HD V1 kit so let's see if I can modify what's here and get it to fit, and fly

I have an Evoque Dead Cat V1, but the DJI Vista & FrSky variant.  4S and 2300kV (from memory and they are unmarked), but after a while I ran it 6S with no conversion changes.

I didn't much care for the motors either 4S or 6S, super powerful but IMO poor flight duration, so fitted GEPRC SPEEDX 2107.5  1960kV like my Mk5.

That Evoque version came with green TPU parts, which I 3D printed in transparent to better show the LEDs when not green themselves, I tend to use orange as it stands out better.

You should have no issues converting to Walksnail.

Yes, I really need to get a 3D printer ...

This one has 2750kV for 4S. I had scaled the throttle to 87, I believe, in order to make them feel more like a 2400kV (or 2450kV?) motor. But now, I think I'm more than ready to remove that restriction.

I've got boxes full of parts from other quads & helis and TPU kits I bought, so I'll be hacking things, initially (hopefully).

What I'm envisioning at this point is removing the side panels completely, adding some TPU camera mounts to the front two standoffs, hopefully re-using that TPU thing at the back to hold the XT60 and the two Walksnail antennas (has holes originally for diversity receiver antenna tubes in addition to the SMA mount), mounting the WS VTx with a combo of double-sided sticky foam and zip-ties (like I did on the QAV-S Mini 3"), and either keeping the CRSF or replacing it with ELRS.

This frame has 20x20 VTX mounting holes, but I'm getting a V1 which doesn't have those features of course. There appears to be some threaded brass inserts pressed into the 20x20 holes back there that don't sit flush with the bottom plate. I may have to remove those (?)

Actually, this is the quad that finally made me switch over to CRSF from FrSky. After a series of unexplained FailSafes on this and other quads, all at close range (like under 200 feet) with zero obstacles between the quads and my TX16S. This one hitting the pavement at the office was the last straw.

Baby steps!

Side panels removed and TPU camera mounts installed. I 'made' those from another Source One TPU part intended to mount in the back and hold the receiver above the VTX area. Cut these pieces off and drilled a couple of holes. We'll see how they do.

She's a few grams lighter already

Test flight seemed fine with these mounts - No Jello

LOL - side note ...

After flying with a low(er) latency system like Avatar HD, I now can tell the difference in box goggle analog latency.

Up till now I couldn't tell the difference between CobraX and FatShark Scout. Now I totally can.

I was testing the TPU camera mount on this quad with the Scouts and was like, wow, this is terrible. Tried again with CobraX and was so much better. Well, as better as one can get with analog. I think I'm finally done with the Scouts. Video/RF better with Scouts, latency definitely better with CobraX. Video from CobraX's DVR kills Gyroflow within seconds of opening the file. Ok, whatever ...

I'm so glad I switched to this forum, and became 'aware' of so much more than I ever knew via the previous forum, that shall not be named.

Ok cool.

Those tpu camera mounts work fine, and the VTx should be here tomorrow

About a half dozen more final analog flights with the quad. While the lower latency of the cobras made it feel better, the reduced resolution kept me from attempting to hit smaller gaps at higher speeds. I’m so spoiled now.

(17-Sep-2023, 05:56 PM)QuadFlyer68 Wrote: While the lower latency of the cobras made it feel better, the reduced resolution kept me from attempting to hit smaller gaps at higher speeds. I’m so spoiled now.

Me too. I can hit gaps and fly in areas with digital that I can’t even see on analog.

too much resolution makes me less focused xD tiny leafs does panic me on 720p ;-) same spot went dangerous on 720p xD

the active element of the immortal t antenna does end directly on the carbon.
the antenna should be as faraway from esc, motors, carbon, other antennas... as possible.
i would mount that antenna different, while it seems to work ok, it will work better with distance to the carbon.

Yeah, I have to question iFlight's antenna layout / designs, on the older quads anyway.  Not only the immortal T, but on my other Nazgul the diversity antenna tubes (along with the antenna wires inside) that mount in the rear TPU get chopped the first time you punch the throttle and the props cone-up slightly.  Whaaa? C’mon guys !!!

I've also got a HappyModel EP1 TCXO Receiver on the way, to swap, so those elements will be much shorter.  The deadcat frame doesn’t help either since the rear arms are closer together than the X or squished X frames.

********

Yes!  Look what arrived in less than one week

This one's going to be a bit of a challenge.

Looks like the rear TPU part will hold the two WalkSnail antennas - that's really nice.

Some interesting one-piece gummies that hold both ESC and FC. Good thing there's slots in the FC to get them out.

Hoping to do this without having to remove the motors - those fancy adhesive plastic wire races are glued super well and will probably be damaged if I have to remove them. Not much vertical movement of the stack with the screws removed since the motor wires are held captive by those plastic races.

The damn MIPI cable exits right where the battery wires and capacitor are.  Looks like I can spread the battery wires and route the MIPI up between them, then over and under the FC. The MIPI doesn't exit in the center of the VTx either, so a little sand in the Vaseline there.

Lots of connectors on this FC - the one I need for the VTX is up front, and it's a 9-pin.  Luckily, the connector kit from RDQ has a 9-pin that will replace one of the 4-pin connectors on the WalkSnail power/data cable. Good thing I downloaded all of the PDFs from iFlight last year; they seem to be a bit difficult to locate online these days.

Looks like the standoffs will keep the VTX from sliding forward/back.  Some zip-ties will secure it from sideways movement.  It will be interesting placing those zip-ties with the lower deck CRSF TPU mount.  

I can't get rid of the brass inserts since the lower-deck TPU is held in place by two screws into those inserts.  And the rear part of the lower-deck TPU keeps the two carbon fiber plates from bending when tightening those rear standoff screws. GEEZ. The VTX sits up rather nicely on those inserts, actually, and allows room underneath to run the power/data cable.

I'll have to trim some of that rear TPU part around the rear standoffs as it won't slide down all the way now with the VTX sitting there - crap.

Not a fan of the odd length HEX standoffs, and the recessed hex cutouts in the carbon fiber. This quad suffers from just a touch of too much custom design.

Hopefully I'll be able to get those antenna wires out, at inward angles, in-between the two rear standoffs ...

Still some more brainstorming to do, have to stare at things for an hour or two more, but I think I have everything I need to do this ... probably without any soldering. Unless that ELRS receiver gets here soon and I swap that in.

(17-Sep-2023, 05:56 PM)QuadFlyer68 Wrote: Ok cool.

Those tpu camera mounts work fine, and the VTx should be here tomorrow

About a half dozen more final analog flights with the quad. While the lower latency of the cobras made it feel better, the reduced resolution kept me from attempting to hit smaller gaps at higher speeds. I’m so spoiled now.

Last low key analog flight of the day before rain:

Very nice 68! Smooth as mate.

Okay, easy night tonight.  Only had enough time to get the Walksnail power/data cable ready.

This is one of the best things I've purchased from RDQ:

https://www.racedayquads.com/products/sh...f668&_ss=r

The Walksnail pinouts for the JST-SH 9-pin F7 connector are basically the same for the Vista. How convenient !

Used an Xacto to gently release the pins from one of the 4-pin connectors - works great.

Used the analog VTx and camera cable harness as reference. Analog VTx used 5V; WS uses BAT. Both are available at this 9-pin connector.

Having an UltraWide monitor helps display multiple wiring diagrams nicely

Next will be getting rid of the extra connector & cable attached to the CRSF - shorten that rats nest up a bit.

Yay, progress!

Those little connector kits are incredibly handy. I think I’ve burned through a couple bags so far.

Okay, had to do some soldering tonight. Once again that bag of connectors and pre-crimped wires came in handy.

I lengthened the CRSF wires just a bit in order to eliminate the extension cable that the factory installed.

Now there's one less set of contacts in-between the FC and CRSF. Much neater too.