The Bannilite was a collaborative effort between Luke Bannister, AKA BanniUK and Falcon Multirotors. The Bannilite features ample camera protection, easy arm replacements and weighs in at only 72g. It even includes a spare arm and camera mount. It's an excellent choice for FPV racing and doesn't break the bank. The goal of this build was to feature a number of modern FPV luxuries including easy prop removal and OSD VTX control.
While the primary components are listed below you'll need a number of tools and supplies to streamline the build process. It's generally a good idea to buy quality tools, so a nice bench iron like the Hakko FX-888D is an excellent choice. I use MIP hex drivers and a Vantage 24"x18" cutting mat. A ruler is handy as you'll be dealing with quite a variety of screw lengths.
There are quite a number of bags and screws, so get your ruler ready. The frame is fairly simple to assemble, but choosing the right screws can be a challenge. Since these are countersunk screws you'll need to measure them in their entirety from the top of the head to the tip. They won't measure to the exact length and generally tend to be .5mm shorter than the indicated length.
If you're using the VTX listed below you'll want to use taller standoffs on one side of the stack. I found that mounting it receiver-up allows for a shorter stack. It may also help keep the VTX cooler during flight. Since the flight controller (FC) USB is opposite the power tab you'll want to rotate it 90 degrees to maintain access to the USB port.
It's best to leave the 30mm aluminum standoffs off for now. It'll give you more space to work as you solder the motor wires.
While it's entirely optional I like to sleeve my motor wires with Paracord for protection, but you'll need either a 7/32" cord like BattleCord or a 1/4" cord like Paracord Para-Max. I used Para-Max "Acid Purple" on this particular build.
Now you can add your receiver. It's always a good idea to get this out of the way early so you can bind and tuck it under your flight controller.
Before you can bind you need to power your board. The key here is to solder your wire to the XT60 connector before you solder it to the tab. It's a lot more challenging to add the XT60 after the wires are on the board. You should be able to get away with about 2.5cm of 14awg wire. The FC comes with 16awg wire, but 14awg is preferred. Optionally you can use a longer power lead and zip-tie it to the frame to reduce stress on the power tab in the event of a bettery ejection.
Be sure to test your main power leads for continuity with a multimeter before powering up for the first time. Now you can bind your receiver. A little trick is to hold the bind button with tweezers and a rubber band to maintain pressure. This frees up a hand to plug the battery in.
It's generally a good idea to add a capacitor. This helps filter electrical noise and helps eliminate any random twitches during flight. Just snip the capacitor legs down to about 5mm and solder a couple cm of 28awg wire to them covering the joints with your smallest shrink tube. The wires should be just long enough to ensure a good fit for your VTX. Make sure you've got the polarity correct! While you're at it you can also add wires to power and control your VTX. Solder a wire to the TX6 pad to grant your FC control over the VTX.
The pads differ on either side of the VTX, so you'll need to solder wires to both sides. Since we're mounting it upside down I'll refer to the top as the side with the RF shield.
If you've got an external monitor you can adjust your camera settings first without wiring the camera to your build. You'll just have to get creative with the connector. Mainly all you need to do is disable the camera OSD. To access the OSD menu hold up on the control pad from the main menu. I prefer this method because it allows me to remove the ground and menu wires from the camera.
Now it's time to button it up! I 3D printed the Bannilite AXII mount in TPU, but if you don't have access to a printer you may be able to use the "AXII Antenna 3D Printed Mount" listed below. Worst case you can zip-tie the antenna to the top plate.
If you don't already have them, you'll need to download Betaflight Configurator [Download] and BLHeliSuite32 [Download]. Unfortunately BLHeliSuite32 is only available for Windows, so Mac users will need to download VirtualBox [Download] and run a Windows Virtual Machine from Microsoft [Download].
resource MOTOR 1 B01
resource MOTOR 2 A02
resource MOTOR 3 B00
resource MOTOR 4 A03
save
To complete the remaining steps you'll need to apply lipo power to your build:
And that's it! The default Failsafe settings are generally fine, but make sure they work by arming your quad, applying a small amount of throttle and turning off your transmitter. It should shut down after 4 seconds.
Is the 3D printed bannlight AXII mount by falconmultirotors needed for the build or can it be made without it?
What would be the best FPV goggles to pair with this and what btteries should i buy for the best flight time and performance. thanks great guide by the way
So u mounted the Lipo under your Bottom Plate or on top? Don't get it. Sry for this question but I'm new to the hobby and still learning.
so you add a cap go get rid of noise and yaw twitches, but you places it on the fc? doesnt seem like the best idea, it will vibrate a ton on the fc :)
AirbladeUAV has done it again and this time they've brought long range to the 5" class! Based on the popular Transformer Mini, the new Transformer 5" Ultralight adopts a lot of the same design philosophies with larger props and more payload capacity. It can fly upwards of 20 minutes on a 4 cell Li-Ion battery pack and in ideal conditions it's got a range of over 4 to 5 miles. In this guide I'll walk..
Read moreWith the release of the DJI FPV Drone cinematic FPV has become a lot more accessible, but you certainly don't want to crash a $750 drone! The QAV-CINE Freybott is a compact, lightweight cinematic FPV drone that can take a hit and keep going. It's a lot safer to fly indoors and around people. With a naked GoPro or the SMO 4k you can capture some great stabilized footage. In this guide I'll show you..
Read more
Never seen this before, is it common to connect the VTX directly to the battery/XT60 connector?
10/10 build page :D
It depends on the VTX. Some can take a higher voltage than others.
It takes power straight from the battery though, wouldn't it effect the other parts being connected that way?
The main concern is power spikes from the ESCs making their way to the VTX, but a well designed VTX should be able to handle them.
Thanks for clearing that out, I got a lot more to learn in this hobby :D