Posts: 16 Threads: 2 Likes Received: 4 in 3 posts Likes Given: 4 Joined: Jan 2018 Reputation: 0 02-Jan-2018, 09:30 PM (This post was last modified: 03-Jan-2018, 04:57 PM by lukeocartwright.) Hi, I'm new to the forum. I've been flying a basic quad which is only just a step up from a toy with a ton of sensors and auto level. I'm interested in building my own quad for a bit of acrobatics and maybe some basic racing in the future (but will most likely upgrade before then). I'm into electronics and don't mind soldering and would like to put together my own quad. I've done some research and watched loads of reviews and I've put together my list of parts for this build. I've got a few things that I'm not sure about highlighted in red that I am still unsure about in the attached Spreadsheet. Just wondering if someone with a bit more experience could take a look and see if there's anything missing or if I'm making any rookie errors. The spreadsheet contains all the pricing some specs which i think are right and links to where I'm currently proposing to buy them from. Let me know if there's anything missing. And I do have, I think, all the tools and things required extra such as: heat gun, soldering iron, spare heat shrink, cable ties ect. Thanks a lot in advance! (for anyone that cant get to the spreadsheet here's a list of parts below Turnigy Evolution controler+reciever Emax RS2205 motors Quanum Cyclops V2 Goggles Infinity 4S Graphene LiPo*2 RunCam Swift 2 Camera CL Racing F4S FC Martian 220 FuriBee BLHeli - 32 30A Imax B4AC 50W 2-4S charger Gemfan 5x3 Propeller *5 sets Eachine TS5823S Video Trans. 5Pcs RJX Battery Straps Ps. Don't worry about Orange bits, They're on Order! • Posts: 12,099 Threads: 125 Likes Received: 3,739 in 2,836 posts Likes Given: 99 Joined: Feb 2017 Reputation: 388 02-Jan-2018, 10:34 PM (This post was last modified: 02-Jan-2018, 10:45 PM by voodoo614.) Lipo is too heavy. 1300mah to 1800mah. 1300mah - 1500mah being the sweet spot. High C rate, 70C or more. I would go F4 AIO and lose the PDB. Racing CL F4S or Joshua Bardwell FC. Frame, Martian II You will need more than two sets of props. Posts: 16 Threads: 2 Likes Received: 4 in 3 posts Likes Given: 4 Joined: Jan 2018 Reputation: 0 (02-Jan-2018, 10:34 PM)voodoo614 Wrote: Lipo is too heavy. 1300mah to 1800mah. 1300mah - 1500mah being the sweet spot. High C rate, 70C or more. I would go F4 AIO and loose the PDB. Racing CL F4S or Joshua Bardwell FC. Frame, Martian II You will need more than two sets of props. Thanks really appreciate it! I'll change those bits out you mentioned and yeah i think the props was a bit of an underestimate.Thanks again! • Posts: 1,504 Threads: 83 Likes Received: 944 in 654 posts Likes Given: 2,142 Joined: Sep 2016 Reputation: 24 Hey Luke, welcome to the forum man. Just a heads up... I have never used them but the ZOP batteries from BG are often called Zero Output Power. If the budget allows I would suggest going for the Tattu R-line 95C ($35.99) or 75c ($28.79) Poor quality batteries are simply not worth the money. Another thing about the charger... That charsoon only has 25W output power so really will only charge 1 battery at a time, if you want to get more batteries in future I would recommend getting a 'para' board (parallel charging board) and a slightly higher wattage charger, like the iMax B6-AC (50W). Anymore questions, just shout mate! Windless fields and smokeless builds Posts: 16 Threads: 2 Likes Received: 4 in 3 posts Likes Given: 4 Joined: Jan 2018 Reputation: 0 (03-Jan-2018, 04:15 PM)Tom BD Bad Wrote: Hey Luke, welcome to the forum man. Just a heads up... I have never used them but the ZOP batteries from BG are often called Zero Output Power. If the budget allows I would suggest going for the Tattu R-line 95C ($35.99) or 75c ($28.79) Poor quality batteries are simply not worth the money. Another thing about the charger... That charsoon only has 25W output power so really will only charge 1 battery at a time, if you want to get more batteries in future I would recommend getting a 'para' board (parallel charging board) and a slightly higher wattage charger, like the iMax B6-AC (50W). Anymore questions, just shout mate! Thanks for the heads up on the battery i was wondering why it was so much cheaper than all the others. Ill also have a look around for another charger and see if there's anything at a decent price • Posts: 321 Threads: 51 Likes Received: 123 in 88 posts Likes Given: 164 Joined: Nov 2017 Reputation: 6 I got a whole bunch of ZOP batteries from Banggood, and they are actually pretty good quality batteries. They do the job well for a cheap price. If you want to get a lighter ideo transmitter, consider the Eachine VTx03. Even though it has a dipole antenna, it is cheap, light, and easy to install. Your build list looks very good. If cost is your number one option here, go for the ZOPs, but if you are willing to pay a bit more for higher quality batteries, then get some better ones. • Posts: 16 Threads: 2 Likes Received: 4 in 3 posts Likes Given: 4 Joined: Jan 2018 Reputation: 0 (03-Jan-2018, 09:21 PM)raspberrypi33 Wrote: I got a whole bunch of ZOP batteries from Banggood, and they are actually pretty good quality batteries. They do the job well for a cheap price. If you want to get a lighter ideo transmitter, consider the Eachine VTx03. Even though it has a dipole antenna, it is cheap, light, and easy to install. Your build list looks very good. If cost is your number one option here, go for the ZOPs, but if you are willing to pay a bit more for higher quality batteries, then get some better ones. Thanks for the info I'll do a few calculations and read a few more reviews to see if its worth the upgrade. • Posts: 1,773 Threads: 30 Likes Received: 1,199 in 755 posts Likes Given: 714 Joined: Oct 2016 Reputation: 45 You may want to step up the props to 5 X 4.5, those 5 X 3 won't give you much lift Posts: 16 Threads: 2 Likes Received: 4 in 3 posts Likes Given: 4 Joined: Jan 2018 Reputation: 0 (04-Jan-2018, 12:51 AM)RENOV8R Wrote: You may want to step up the props to 5 X 4.5, those 5 X 3 won't give you much lift Thanks I'll take another look at the motor specs and see what it says. I don't want too much lift to start with though as my current quad is really tamed down and I don't want to be trying to run before i can walk. I'll probably get a few sets of each so as soon as im used to it i cans swap out. • Posts: 3,288 Threads: 129 Likes Received: 2,740 in 1,644 posts Likes Given: 2,969 Joined: Apr 2017 Reputation: 65 Welcome Luke! This is a wonderful forum of knowledgeable and helpful folk! I have the B6 charger and love it! I parallel charge my XT30 and XT60 batteries with it all the time and it does a wonderful job. I will second (third or whatever) about resisting the urge to buy cheap batteries. I have shifted almost all of my batteries to Tattu or Lumeneir and have had zero issues since. The ZOP and XF-Power batteries are in a box...collecting dust...they really ended up not being worth the expense in wait time to order. Every gram counts in this hobby and when the battery comes close to outweighing your aircraft, it will adversely effect your flight performance. The benefit of the extra cost of premium packs is that they tend to weigh a lot less and have a more quality control applied. When I started flying, I ordered a few boxes of cheap props and thought they were great...until a vendor sent included some "expensive" ones as a freebie. The difference in smoothness is incredible! I am glad I started with the cheap ones and I cannot count how many three bladed became 1 or 2 bladed. As your skill increases, it is well worth trying out the $4 and $5 dollar sets, but for learning, KingKongs and the like are fine. Main thing, have fun flying! SoCal Kaity :D OMG, no one told me it would be this much fun! Addicted :) Posts: 16 Threads: 2 Likes Received: 4 in 3 posts Likes Given: 4 Joined: Jan 2018 Reputation: 0 Thanks to everyone for all the advice its all on order and hopefully as soon as it all gets here I'll get it together without any issues (seems unlikely but I can hope). Really appreciate all the advice! Posts: 1,504 Threads: 83 Likes Received: 944 in 654 posts Likes Given: 2,142 Joined: Sep 2016 Reputation: 24 Exciting times! Let us know when the stuff arrives and if you have any troubles with it... Windless fields and smokeless builds • Posts: 16 Threads: 2 Likes Received: 4 in 3 posts Likes Given: 4 Joined: Jan 2018 Reputation: 0 Hi all the parts have come through! Got everything together and plugged it in to configure with beta flight. When i connected the battery to my CLRacing F4S board some of the motors started to twitch. I realised this was a short circuit issue which i then resolved. It connected to Betaflight and was fine as i began setting up. However after getting to the ports page on betaflight the board red Led's went off and it disconnected from Betaflight. I am as yet to find a way to reconnect it. No LED's come on when i connect it via battery or USB but the board is definitely getting power to the esc's and they are beeping when plugged in. Anyone got any ideas would be a great help! If not it looks like I'll Have to buy another flight controller. Thanks In advance. • Posts: 2,286 Threads: 38 Likes Received: 1,527 in 995 posts Likes Given: 1,881 Joined: Apr 2016 Reputation: 72 If none of the LEDs on the flight controller light up, then it sounds like it's dead. Where was the short circuit that you had? Maybe that caused the problem. Some pictures of how you've put everything together would really help. • Posts: 16 Threads: 2 Likes Received: 4 in 3 posts Likes Given: 4 Joined: Jan 2018 Reputation: 0 The short circuit was on two ESC connectors on the FC (+ and signal) being just about connected. I will try and add some photos of the build. • |