Xhover B-Roll, 120g micro with unobstructed HD video

By pete_oz on Jul 02, 2018

51  3,449  10

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Really like this micro frame that ticks all the boxes for me : low stack even with Runcam Split mini, top mount battery and most importantly unobstructed HD footage (no props in view), it can take 2inch, 2.5inch and 3inch props.
The frame accomodates two 20x20mm mini stacks (front one for the Runcam Split mini and rear one for the FC & 4-1 ESC).

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1920x1080 video screen grab

I used mini/micro version of my favourite quad build components :
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  • CL Racing F4 mini FC
  • T-Motor F15 1106 6000kv motors
  • Spedix GS 25A 4-1 mini 32bit ESC
  • TBS Crossfire Nano Rx
  • TBS Unify 5v VTx
  • Runcam Split mini

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The frame is really small, body is about the same size as swiss army knife, and quite tiny when placed next to my Stingy quad.

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I intend to run following props and respective batteries :
Gemfan 2040-3 (CNHL 3S 350mAh)
Gemfan 2540-3 (Dinogy 3S 600mAh)
RotorX 3044-3 (Dinogy 3S 800mAh or Acehe 3S 850mAh)

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The total weight incl. the 350mAh battery is about 150g, or 120g before the battery.

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All in all a very versatile micro quad with different prop choices, from tiny whooping to fast moving bullet and with full HD 60fps recording capability.

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notes :

  • mounting holes for the two stacks are for M2 screws, this is correct size for the Runcam Split mini, however for the FC & 4-1 ESC that I used M3 mounting holes are required (simply drill out the mounting holes bigger with 3mm drill bit)
  • the CL Racing F4 mini can provide only 800mA through the 5v reg which is "borderline" current for all the 5v components (Unify Pro 5v Vtx, Crossfire Rx and the FC itself), I've therefore used dedicated 5v BEC to power the Vtx separately (it fits nicely between the 4-1 ESC and the FC) and I'm running the Runcam Split mini through the separate 9v pad on the FC
  • CL Racing F4 mini comes with 4 UARTS, 3 of which are non-inverted (UART4 --> Crossfire Rx, UART3 --> Smart Audio, UART6 --> Runcam Split Mini control)
  • the CNHL 3S 350mAh 30C batteries are not that great, I'm unable to pull more than 200mAh out of these, I'll be replacing them with either Tattu 3S 450mAh or Infinity 3S 400mAh batteries (for use with 2inch props)

Photos

Part List

Frame

B-Roll Micro HD (5 builds)
Xhover.com
$32.95

Flight Controller

CL Racing F4 Mini
Drone-fpv-racer.com
See Site

ESCs

Spedix GS25 4in1 ESC 32 Bit SPX-71061
Phaserfpv.com.au
See Site

Motors

4 x T-Motor F15 1106 6000kv Motor
Phaserfpv.com.au
See Site

Propellers

RotorX RX3044TX Hardware Free 3 Inch Tri Blade Propellers CW/CCW 1 Pack (6 Pieces) (3 builds)
Phaserfpv.com.au
See Site

Propellers

Gemfan Hulkie Durable Tri Blade 2040 3 Hole Propellers CW/CCW 1 Pack (8 Pieces)
Phaserfpv.com.au
See Site

Propellers

Gemfan Flash Durable Tri Blade 2540 Propellers CW/CCW 1 Pack (8 Pieces)
Phaserfpv.com.au
See Site

FPV Camera

RunCam Split Mini 2 FPV Camera / HD 1080P 60 FPS Recorder SPLIT-MINI2 (89 builds)
Phaserfpv.com.au
See Site

FPV Transmitter

TBS Unify Pro 5G8 VTX Video Transmitter v3 (5V Input) (SMA) (154 builds)
Phaserfpv.com.au
See Site

Antenna

TBS Unify Pro 5G8 Linear Antenna (92 builds)
Team-blacksheep.com
$6.95

Receiver

TBS Crossfire Nano RX w/ Micro Receiver Antenna (915mhz) (1484 builds)
Phaserfpv.com.au
See Site

Batteries

Dinogy 3S 600mah 65c
N4q.cz
$259.00

Batteries

3PCS CNHL MiniStar 350mAh 11.1V 3S 30C Lipo Battery (2 builds)
Chinahobbyline.com
$19.99

Misc Parts

XF-RACE ANTENNA 868MHZ (2 builds)
Drone-fpv-racer.com
See Site

Misc Parts

Matek MICRO BEC 5V / 12V ADJ mbec2A
Phaserfpv.com.au
See Site

Misc Parts

Amass XT30U XT30 2mm Battery Connector 4.5mm Male Female (Pair)
Phaserfpv.com.au
See Site

Misc Parts

Rubycon 8x11.5mm ZLH Low ESR 25V/330uF Capacitor
Phaserfpv.com.au
See Site
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Discussion

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DullerTadpole   Feb 12, 2023  

It's freakin' gorgeous! Any reason I couldn't use ExpressLRS on something like this? I've never built before, so I ask a lot of beginner questions.

Snorkl FPV   Apr 20, 2020  

Did the XF Crossfire antenna last with this mounting position?

Cheredanine   Sep 08, 2018  

dumb question i gues but since uart 3 and 4 are fully broken out but u6 only has tx i assume your description above is out and smartaudio is on u6?

pete_oz   Sep 08, 2018 

UART6 is also full on this board, the "SAT" pad is actually UART6 Rx. but really doesn't matter what UARTs you use for what, I used UART6 for Runcam control because both of those pads are the side that's near to the runcam board.

Cheredanine   Sep 09, 2018 

brilliant, thanks, good to know. do you find 1106 a bit under powered for 3 inch? what props do you prefer to fly on it?

Philo777   Sep 03, 2018  

Can you build me one like this?

sergetania   Jul 02, 2018  

A very nice looking quad! 👍

If you don't mind me asking what do you use to color the carbon edges? Looks sharp!

Quadlite   Jul 05, 2018 
1

Wow, I never even thought of that! I'll definately have to try those paint markers out! Thanks for the link. That build looks spectacular btw! It's very different from what I build but I love how it turned out.

Reviewedge   Jul 02, 2018  

Any videos? That's a nice looking build.

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