As my builds have mostly been fat chunkers, I decided it was time to try the other end of things and go light. Almost got all the stuff, and it's looking like it'll land around 95ish grams with the battery on board. Don't mind the XT60. I was just out of XT30 connectors, and didn't want to wait to test things. It'll get swapped soon. The canopy is likely getting those little extra supports clipped. As my printer is down, I'm using this old reject for Mobula7 canopy replacement that wouldn't hold my cam. Should get more than an indoor test done by tomorrow! (UPS was late, so it's gonna be Monday now!)

Parts used:
Frame: DLQ 8bit Nebula
FC: Happymodel X12 Lite
Motors: T-Motor F1203 7000Kv
Props: HQ Prop T3x1.5 Bi-blade
GPS: Flywoo Goku GM10 Nano
VTX: Walksnail Avatar 1S Lite
BEC: Sparkfun BabyBuck AP63203 @3.3V
Battery: RDQ 2S 850mAh LiHV



Edit: Oh yeah, anyone know a good way to pull that heat spreader off the die? I've heard several times that it doesn't help thermal performance any and it's just adding weight for no reason.

Nice. Looking forward to the flight tests. I've got a 3S (possibly 4S) build I need to finish on the same frame.

(25-Aug-2023, 04:19 PM)drumgod Wrote: Nice. Looking forward to the flight tests. I've got a 3S (possibly 4S) build I need to finish on the same frame.

Done right, that frame could really scream. With it weighing a mere 8.5g, it's super easy to get a high power to right ratio. Currently the big question is how to mount the battery. I'm sorta thinking velcro and some rubber bands.

Alright, so I've hit one major snag. How does one make use of an enable pin if I just want an always on state? Also, is it correct to put battery ground on the regulator ground when there is only one pad?

Update: I think I might've already cooked both units. First one outputs 0.7v, and the other let out magic smoke. Definitely going to need education!

Smoke is not good, but I am surprised Sparkfun gave terrible instructions with so many words and diagrams they didn't even mention the enable pin. Typically for many enable pins, if you simple leave it open (unsoldered) it is on. The chip datasheet confirms this, you can also connected to Vin to turn it on or otherwise drive it with a MCU pin (like pinio).

A lot of these smaller BECs only have a single ground pad. Ground is typically common, even if they come with two pads. If it is a thin gauge wire just twist two wires together and solder to the pad, or otherwise if it has through holes, you can solder one wire on top and the other on the bottom.

I thank you for the proper reading of the datasheet. There's potential for the first one to be good yet, but I question it. As for the second one I tried, I wired Vin to both and plugged it in to use a meter on it. Got smoke instantly. The first I stupidly assumed it was like other regulators I plugged in and treated En as a ground. Will pull it from the copter and see if it still lives. When wired like that, I saw 0.7v on the 3v3 pin. Maybe I'm not screwed by my impatience. Killing electronics makes me terribly sad.

Update: Yeah, they're both cooked. I guess I just don't understand the correct way to wire those suckers up. As the part I was planning to use is no longer in stock and the ones I had have forcefully ejected their smoke, I'll just drop this and grab a 5V module so I can get this bird in the air.

Alright, this little guy is ready to move! It's currently night, so I can't really get any flight footage, but I'll get some tomorrow! Managed to get the heat spreader off with a razor blade and some gentle wiggling. Might adjust the stack later with some longer screws as it came out a little bit compressed at the ELRS antenna. Also added a dab of solder to the video antenna so it wouldn't pop off in a crash. Might upgrade to a LHCP antenna later. Can't wait to get it outside!









Edit: Looks like I've got no OSD. Have triple checked that the serial pins were done right, and I configured the correct port to "VTX (MSP + Displayport)" in the ports tab. Got all my elements laid down. Did Happymodel pull a fast one and do some stuff with shared pins or something on this AIO?

Edit2: I'm gonna see if changing my build options will fix this. Apparently BF 4.4 will skip HD OSD support in certain cases, so it may need to be flagged before flashing. Wish me luck!

Edit3: Had to change the OSD type in the CLI from Auto to MSP to make it work. That was certainly easier than reflashing!

That’s a cute little bugger! Looking forward to hearing how it flies.

I’ve been using a little dab of liquid electrical tape to hold the u.fl jack in place. Seems to work well, and comes off easily when needed.

i would suggest a small faom stripe between cam and board for less direct impact

(06-Sep-2023, 11:23 AM)hugnosed_bat Wrote: i would suggest a small faom stripe between cam and board for less direct impact

That's an excellent idea! Will keep me from shaving SMDs off the board if I crash it!

The VTX ufl is right next to a mounting screw, I like to put a TPU fastener on it that fixes on the screw and is held down by the nut. If you have a 3D printer it is a very quick print. I find I prefer to mount the VTX upside down as well, as the ufl is more accessible on top (otherwise if it is on the bottom, I have to take off the VTX to reach it). Added bonus the download plug is now on top and also more accessible.

(06-Sep-2023, 01:00 PM)mstc Wrote: The VTX ufl is right next to a mounting screw, I like to put a TPU fastener on it that fixes on the screw and is held down by the nut. If you have a 3D printer it is a very quick print. I find I prefer to mount the VTX upside down as well, as the ufl is more accessible on top (otherwise if it is on the bottom, I have to take off the VTX to reach it). Added bonus the download plug is now on top and also more accessible.

It'll be a bit before I print anything again. That board replacement I started awhile back keeps hitting new snags. Think I've almost got it. Really glad for all the various little tricks as they're helpful both now and later.

Looking forward to your test flight! Did you end up replacing the BEC with the same sparkfun one? It will also be interesting to see how the GPS does. I haven't tried one yet on a WS build, but heard the WS does not play nice with GPS.

(06-Sep-2023, 12:28 PM)Suros Wrote: That's an excellent idea! Will keep me from shaving SMDs off the board if I crash it!

If you crash hard enough you still may do damage, but that'll help. If you want to shave off more weight, Titanium hardware is free weight savings, and it's a huge difference for this type of build.

(06-Sep-2023, 01:28 PM)mstc Wrote: Looking forward to your test flight! Did you end up replacing the BEC with the same sparkfun one? It will also be interesting to see how the GPS does. I haven't tried one yet on a WS build, but heard the WS does not play nice with GPS.

Yeah, I do worry about the GPS performance with it right next to the board. Will find out today if the M10 design will put up with it. As for the BEC, I got a 5V 2A unit done by Skystars. I seem to have misunderstood how the Sparkfun units were meant to be wired and they released their smoke.