2021-01-11    Tiny-Black-85    Build # 10      Last Post             My Journal            
   
This is my first brushless "tiny" whoop build which I intend to fly both inside the house and outside. 

Although there is normally nothing special about a tiny whoop build, the frame iFlight frame is a little different than most other whoop frames that I have seen. In addition to having a carbon fiber brace plate to support the normal plastic unibody frame/ducts, the custom canopy does NOT mount on top of the flight controller mounts like most whoops and toothpicks. There are additional holes spaced at about 33x33mm. Also, ALL of the mount holes are drilled out so that you can {have to} use bolts rather than screws to mount the FC. This frame was specifically designed for the current "toothpick" FC boards rather than the less powerful Crazybee type boards.

All of the components in this build will handle 3-4S batteries. 

____________  PARTS LIST ____________ { Complete }



Frame:                      iFlight A85 TinyWhoop Carbon Fiber FPV Frame for Micro Indoor Drone
                                  {for 1204-1303 motor}

FC:                           GEPRC Stable 20A Toothpick/Whoop Stack
                                 (F4 AIO FC w/20A ESC & 200mW VTX)  2-4S
                                  also includes a dipole VTX antenna and an XT30
                                  pigtail with a 220 uf 35V capacitor.

Motors:                     GEPRC GEP-GR1202 6000Kv 3-4S 2.5-3 inch props
                   
Props:                       Gemfan  2035 4-Blade Bullnose - Clear  

Camera:                   Caddx Ant 4:3 Silver Nano FPV Camera


Rx Receiver:             XM+  {will wire as SBUS}  ( I have these in the parts bin )

Buzzer:                     Flywoo Finder V1.0 w/ LED

////////////////////////////////// This Post will be the Build Process //////////////////////////////

2021-01-11

The build went pretty much as expected. 

The GEPRC toothpick stack had the VTX was already wired and connected so that left only the Rx Receiver, the Buzzer, and the motor wires to be connected to the Flight Controller board. 

The motors came with the standard JST 1.25 3-wire connectors attached as is the practice with a lot of these small motors. Consequently, I attached the corresponding connectors to the FC board. This was fine with me as I like using connectors. 

In fact, the Buzzer is the only component that I soldered directly to the flight controller simply because I didn't see the need to add connectors because the Buzzer was not going to be an issue during the build. I used Velcro to attach the buzzer to the back of the canopy. 

I just happen to have the antenna tubes in the parts bin so I decided to use Green ones; I couldn't find any black ones, but that is ok, just a tiny splash of color. 

The dry weight came in at 70 grams. 

Being my first brushless "tiny" whoop build, I am pleased with the results.

///////////////////////////////////////    Testing and Flight Data    //////////////////////////////////////

2021-01-11

Since I intended this build to be an indoor craft, I decided to try it with a 2S 650 mAh GNB battery even though the components will handle 3S and the motors are rated at 3-4S. Yes, the 2S is lower than the motors are rated for, but what the heck, let's try it anyway.

The quad fired up and the initial take off was a success. It hovered and performed nicely in a short LOS testing in the living room so I landed it. After putting on my goggles, I took her for a little test run around the living room in FPV...very successful; I didn't even crash it   

Now, for an FPV spin outside in the yard. Lift off, take her for a spin around the house {this is pretty much a first for any quad}. WOW  Now, I am excited; something that I can fly both indoors and around the yard.    ...and all of this on a 2S 650 GNB battery. 

Stay tuned ... 

Or you can do 3S outside for the added oomph and 2S indoors for more throttle stability.

Hi Ronin,

Yeah, the next test will be with a 3S 650 mAh GNB...then I will try my default 3s 1100 mAh GNB.  

I got a little over 5 minutes on the 2s 650.

Nice build for winter. The frame and canopy looks  quite sturdy compared to Betafpv 85X frame.

71 g is on the heavy side for a  85mm whoop though with 1202.

Very nice build. I think it looks great. I really like the idea of mounting the canopy separately from the boards. I think the carbon frame reinforcement is another nice feature.

(12-Jan-2021, 10:54 AM)jasperfpv Wrote: Nice build for winter. The frame and canopy looks  quite sturdy compared to Betafpv 85X frame.

71 g is on the heavy side for a  85mm whoop though with 1202.

Hi Jasper,

Thanks. Yes, it does appear to be heavy for an 85mm and I have been thinking about that although I don't really see much where I could reduce the weight; overall it appears to be pretty minimal. 

But...here is a breakdown:

The FC {20A} with VTX {actually a separate board} is a little heavy at 17 grams,
the VTX is separate and has connectors, 
the FC already had a capacitor on the battery wire, 
I do use steel bolts {the FC bolts are M2 x 15mm} with washers and Lock Nuts,
the motors have connectors which I left on and added connectors to the FC
{this FC did not come with connectors so I attached connectors with wire leads}, 
I use connectors on the Rx,
the antenna tubes do weigh something and have additional screws for mounting,
the props ARE bolted on,
the canopy is beefy {I think it is tall enough for a Vista unit} and has separate mount screws,
some Hot Glue and heat shrink on the antenna wire,
and I wired in a Buzzer with its own battery {more weight here}.

I realize most people don't put this type of buzzer on a tiny whoop, but there is enough brush around our house that I have almost lost larger open prop quads because you can't SEE the darn things if they go down in that stuff. This buzzer also has a very bright beacon LED. 

Yeah, I guess it is built more like a toothpick than a tiny whoop.
On the other hand, it flew pretty good and flies nice for my style; I don't race and don't do acro maneuvers, so the weight is less of an issue for me.

(12-Jan-2021, 02:24 PM)Sphere Wrote: Very nice build.  I think it looks great.  I really like the idea of mounting the canopy separately from the boards. I think the carbon frame reinforcement is another nice feature.

Hi Sphere,

Thanks. 

Yes, this is the first tiny whoop style frame with separate mounting bolts for the canopy that I have seen. 
So, I just had to get one for the build. The canopy has a lot of space inside and I think it might hold a Vista unit. 

Actually, the most challenging thing about the build was mounting the Rx antenna tubes. I ended up using Fabric 8mm wide adhesive tape {from EMAX} and a couple of metal screws with O-ring washers. I was actually surprised at how well this worked. 

After I do some more testing and get some video, I will make a flight video to share and post it.

Stay tuned...

I can see why it's on the heavy side now ( heavier AIO, Buzzer and thicker frame +canopy )  

Yeah, build to your  need and flying style.  That buzzer could save you some frustration and lost time looking for it.

Have fun with it.

Very clean build man, nicely done. However, I would suggest the following to shave off massive weight:
Remove xt30 capacitor
Don't use buzzer thing
Make wires shorter and use electrical tape very sparingly
Solder a custom dipole vtx antenna-don't really need a shielded one for indoor flying
Direct solder motor wires-no connectors
Remove receiver antenna tubes
Use lighter frame-no carbon fiber base plate
Smaller camera canopy
whoop cam
XM+ connector removed-direct solder
Prop nuts (consider removing and use press fit..although screws are very useful for props)
Just my thoughts, hope you're having fun flying!

Hi Raspberry,

Thanks.  

I appreciate your thoughts and may use some of them in the future especially if I want to trim the weight as much as possible.
In fact, I am considering directly soldering the components in my Quest250-LR build  since weight is of primary consideration.

Thing is, the actual weight was not really a consideration for this build. I don't race or fly acro; I just wanted a nice little "whooped" quad that I could fly around the house and be able to fly outside in our yard.

Although it might be a little heavy for a whoop, Tiny-Black-85 is only 2 grams heavier than my GEPRC Phantom which is all stock except for the added ViFly buzzer. Other than the frame "style", they are pretty comparable. As I get more Fly Time on this one, I will see how the flight characteristics compare.

For me, a buzzer is not optional, but a dire necessity for flying outdoors. I have lost two quads which I would have been able to find if only they had a buzzer. Where I live, even around our yard, the brush is so thick and rough, that anything going down into it is a nightmare to find. One time, my wife was watching and saw about where my EMAX Tinyhawk Freestyle went down and it still took us about 30 minutes to find it. The brush just eats up quads. Those "magnetic" trees are pretty bad as well.

Ah yes, connectors. Although I have and will {occasionally} directly solder the components, I like using connectors even at the expense of a few grams here and there. For me, the advantages are 1) it is quick and easy to change motor direction, 2) it facilitates swapping and reusing components, and 3) it often helps in the build process when a component's location need to be changed and the wire re-threaded around an through things.

Regarding bolting on the props, I do it every time. I quit using the "push on" method a long time ago. 

My Journal chronicles my journey through FPV, includes a list of all of my builds, has some flight videos, and contains thoughts and information that doesn't fit in a build log or that spans multiple builds.

I also maintain a downloadable Parts Guide which comes in handy.

Again, Thank You very much.    

Nice job iFly! It looks a close relative to my last week build:



I’m using several betafpv components, but it’s very similar.
I will test the gemfan this weekend, atm I have the avant 2 installed and are not bad: I get at least 4:30 min flight time on a 3s 550mAh.

Hi Andreab,

Nice looking build.      

Yes, it looks very similar. The canopies look almost the same. Does that canopy have separate mounting holes so you don't have to mount it to the FC bolts ? 

Is that an 85mm or 95mm frame?  Are you running 2 inch or 2.5 inch props?

What Flight Controller are you using ?  Is that the USB connector ?

My goal is probably different: my sister in law is getting married in Sept in Italy and she'd like to have some "different" aerial footages.
I was looking for something stable, not very powerful, easy to manoeuvre among people, with a decent flight time.

Yes, the canopy has different holes so it doesn't have to be attached on top of the FC. It has even 25x25 holes to hold the camera dvr (a split 3 lite in my case).

Not sure what's the real purpose of that lateral connector because without a 9v bec I can't connect a Vista:


Here's the components list:
- betafpv 85x frame with bottom carbon plate
- betafpv 1105 5000Kv
- AVAN Blur 2 Inch Props
- betafpv large canopy
- betafpv F405 2-4S AIO 20A V3 FC
- tbs crossfire nano receiver
- tbs unify pro32 nano vtx
- sigma u.fl lhcp antenna
- RunCam split 3 lite
- tattu 3s 550mAh

All works good, the fpv feed is not that great but I can't find any other lightweight camera that worth the price.