Stealth Switchy

By FrenchB on Jun 23, 2018

23  1,455  12

I preordered my RotorX Switchback the moment I heard about it on the FPV Show Ep. 59. Three months later, and its complete. So far, I have every reason to believe it will just be the quiet, HD, long range fun flyer I hoped it would be. This 3"er was designed right.

Many pilots will build the Switchback with a Zues and Split Mini stack. Instead, I opted for the less-talked-about CL Racing Mini. I've always loved the layout of CL boards and this one was no different. Additionally, it offers a spare UART, current sensing, and M2 brass nuts housed in its gummies.

I decided to pair it with the Spedix 20A 4-in-1 esc. I trust Spedix on all of my builds where I'm pushing distance.

I'm running FrSky's brand new R9Mini RX. As of posting this, that RX is the only disappiontment in the build. FrSky's initail firmware was missing a few key features like RSSI over s.bus and an uninverted s.port diagram, but I hope some of those issues can be resolved in the future.

I picked the super efficient RX 1404 motors after hearing the insane flight times @BensonK42 was getting on his long range Switchback prototype. Unfortunately, I did have some issues with the motor leads on the 1404s pulling loose, which gave me a great excuse to pickup the just-released RX 1404 v2s. They are stronger, more powerful, AND more efficient. The only downside to these new motors is the larger C-clips, which require some manipulation of the Switchback frame to fit. I opted for drilling out the middle motor mount holes with a step bit, then using a file to connect the screw slots. Of course, you always want to work with carbon under water to avoid inhaling the horrid dust.

In addition to that modification, I trimmed and melted out the RotorX top plate for the Split Mini backpack to allow my wires to run on the inside of the frame. I also 3D printed the amazing "helmet" canopy with GPS bay created by @MrAnderson.

I found this build was a great opportunity to use my Stop Gap racewire minis and two 4S Tiny Sleds (white) under the rear, lifted arms.

This Switchback has a dry weight of 127g and an all up weight of 232g with a Tattu 850mah 4S 75C. Its not the most nimbal quad out there, but its designed for distance, not speed.

Thank you to RotorX for putting together such an innovative frame.

UPDATE - July 15th
I decided to switch out the R9Mini for a TBS Crossfire with immortal T.

Photos

Part List

Frame

RotorX SwitchBack 3" Prop Offset Arm Ultra-Light Carbon Fiber Frame Kit
Rc-drones.com
$36.00

Flight Controller

CLRacing MINI 20x20 Flight Controller - CLF4SDefault Title (25 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$46.50

ESCs

Spedix IS20A 20A 2-4S 20x20 M2 4in1 ESC - Replacement for IS100 Stack (43 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$20.99

Motors

4 x RotorX RX1404 - 3600KV HIGH PERFORMANCE MICRO MOTOR - Heli-Nation
Heli-nation.com
$63.96

Propellers

RotorX Triblade RX 3044TX Props (3CW, 3CCW)
Airbladeuav-usa.com
$1.50

FPV Camera

RunCam Split Mini 2 Micro FPV Camera / HD DVR 1080P 60 FPS Recorder (M8 or M12 Lens) - Orange (89 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$69.99

FPV Transmitter

TBS Unify Pro 5G8 V3 SMA Video Transmitter VTX (7 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$39.99

Antenna

Lumenier AXII 5.8GHz U.FL FPV Antenna - RHCP or LHCP (18 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$14.99

Receiver

FrSky R9 Mini 900MHz Long Range Receiver (57 builds)
Getfpv.com
$19.99

Batteries

Tattu 850mAh 14.8V 75C 4S1P Lipo Battery Pack (XT30) (35 builds)
Getfpv.com
$18.86

Batteries

Tattu 11.1V 3S 850mAh 75C LiPo FPV Battery - XT60 (12 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$14.50

Power Distribution

XT30 Current Meter Module by Diatone
Hobbytown.com
$2.99

Radio

FrSky Taranis QX7 ACCESS 2.4GHz RC Transmitter - Choose Your Color (263 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$129.99

Goggles

FatShark Dominator HDO FPV GogglesRechargeable 1800mah Pack (136 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$424.99

HD Camera

Insta360 ONE X Action Camera 360 Degree 5.7K 18MP Stabilization Real Time WiFi Transfer Sports Video Construction Documentation (2 builds)
Amazon.com
$665.00

HD Camera

GoPro HERO 7 Black
Amazon.com
$309.93

HD Camera

GoPro Hero5 Session Waterproof 4K Video Camera (303 builds)
Phaserfpv.com.au
$214.00

Misc Parts

stopGAP (set of 6) • The FPV Show Shop • Tictail (3 builds)
Tictail.com
$9.00

Misc Parts

3-6s Tiny LEDs (13 builds)
Tinysleds.com
$2.00

Misc Parts

Micro uBlox M8N GPS GLONASS W/ (18x18mm) (39 builds)
Readytoflyquads.com
$13.99

Radio Module

TBS Crossfire Micro TX V2 (154 builds)
Team-blacksheep.com
$69.95
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Discussion

Sign in to comment

SoloFpv   Jul 28, 2018  

Hey could you please post a link for that 3d print, or where you purchased it? I cant seem to find it anywhere.

q-ratz   Oct 02, 2018 

the helmet design is not in the drive folder fo rotorx patreons. are you sure it should be there?

q-ratz   Aug 24, 2018  

have you tried these motors on the switchback frame with 4s? i have almost the same setup but my motors run incredibly hot... burned 2 of them hovering.

turbo   Aug 15, 2018  

What is the stopGAP thing you've got the motors soldered to?

FrenchB   Aug 15, 2018 
bensonk   Apr 25, 2018  

Crossfire?

FrenchB   Jul 17, 2018 
1

It does NOW!!! (as of 7/15)

Tramol   Jul 08, 2018  

How's it fly with the 3s pack?

jdmkramer   Jul 05, 2018  

Nice! Just fyi frsky release fw today for the slim+ and mini that are supposed to have the missing rssi on ch16.

QuadX   Jun 23, 2018  

Flight time?

FrenchB   Jun 23, 2018 

I haven't had an opportunity yet to really push it to its limits. I'll have numbers this week. I know bensonk is getting crazy times on high mah, low C batteries - https://www.instagram.com/p/BhXyCxHFblP/

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