Atom83 V1

By Rudygon on Aug 12, 2018

9  351  6

This project began as my first 20x20 fc build.
I knew it would be a challenge working so small for the first time but never thought i would be spending so much time on this build. It really became a challenge once i realized i could make a canopy for this frame just like i had done for my first AtomV1 build.
I started by packaging the components in a tighter configuration to give myself the smallest shape to build around. Wrapped the build tightly with electrical tape and took measurements to bring into sketchup. While this was going on, i was contacted by AirbladeUAV and asked if i wanted to design a canopy. I was on it already so sure. I did some quick sketch ideas and ended up going with a design based on the AtomV2. Like a baby AtomV2 i thought.
Modeling takes time, but what takes longest is waiting for test prints from Shapeways. It takes like two weeks to get a test print and then only to realize you have already made changes and want to order another to test. Eventually after more weeks of ordering and testing im happy and say enough is enough, and then a new camera comes out (runcam micro) and you wanna package that instead so make more changes and order another test part and so on.
The canopy is 1mm thick, weighs 3grams and provides a good deal of protection to the components during a crash. Also keeps out grass and other debris.
Openings on the sides provide some ventilation and quick access to the usb plug. Works great with the Gemfan 2035 but now i use the tougher ROTORX 1940, awesome prop!
Build in the pics includes eachine f3 and esc from eachine cube. but can use almost any 20x20 stack
frsky XM+ or similar size Rx
the esc, fc stack needs to be built as low as possible (6-maybe 8mm high) to acomodate camera and mount. If you stack higher, you might have to depin the camera to make room.
Note: the USB plug might not line up with the openings. I got mine to line up after some time spent standoff trimming to achive a desired height. In any case, I mostly make adjustments thru the the osd now so less need to access the plug on the field.
Build is 61-63grams depending how big a capacitor you go with if any.
i fly 350mah 3s leasure flights are about 4min
can also use 500mah 3s or 2s
[

]

Photos

Part List

Frame

RotorX Atom Mini 83 (16 builds)
Airbladeuav.com
$19.99

Flight Controller

LDARC/Kingkong 20x20mm KK20 Flytower 20A BL_S ESC & Omnibus F4 Flight Controller w/ OSD for 200GT Racing Drone (5 builds)
Banggood.com
$45.90

Flight Controller

FrSky RXSRF3OM F3 Flight Controller w/ Built-in R-XSR Receiver
Getfpv.com
$39.99

ESCs

Cicada 4-in-1 6A BusyBee2 Tiny BLHeli_S DShot ESC
Airbladeuav.com
$24.99

Motors

4 x RotorX RX 1105B 6500kV V2.0 Beast Mode (4 builds)
Airbladeuav.com
$59.96

Propellers

RotorX RX1940SB - Smoke Black (6xCW + 6xCCW) (5 builds)
Getfpv.com
$3.74

FPV Camera

RunCam Micro Swift 2 600TVL CCD FPV Camera (2.1mm or 2.3mm) - Orange (282 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$22.95

FPV Camera

RunCam Nano FPV Camera
Getfpv.com
$19.99

FPV Transmitter

RunCam TX200U Video Transmitter with BFCMS Control (19 builds)
Getfpv.com
$17.99

Receiver

FrSky R-XSR Ultra SBUS/CPPM D16 16CH Mini Redundancy Receiver 1.5g for RC Multirotor FPV Racing Drone (936 builds)
Banggood.com
$24.29

Receiver

FrSky XM+ SBUS Mini ReceiverDefault Title (1149 builds)
Airbladeuav.com
$12.99

Batteries

AirBlade Premium 500mAh 2S 7.4V 75C XT30 by Bonka (3 builds)
Airbladeuav.com
$10.99

Batteries

NewBeeDrone Nitro Nectar 350mAh 3S 60c Lipo Battery (4 builds)
Getfpv.com
$10.99

Misc Parts

Atom83 Mount for Runcam Micro 35degrees (beta) by Dojieldienve on Shapeways (4 builds)
Shapeways.com
$3.50

Misc Parts

Atom83 Canopy for Runcam Swift Micro by Dojieldienve on Shapeways (4 builds)
Shapeways.com
$10.50
Show stores (5)

Discussion

Sign in to comment

attackthedefault   Jan 07, 2019  

really nice build I really like your canopy and am jealous of your piloting skills 😋

Rudygon   Jan 08, 2019 

haha, glad you like and, i know the feeling

DPJ   Aug 13, 2018  

Blimey that thing is tiny!! Looks great though :D

Rudygon   Aug 19, 2018 
1

2" prop is what i fly mostly now.
still amazed how well these tiny drones fly these days

UnderDawg   Aug 12, 2018  

Great job with the canopy... and I know those Shapeway canopies super tough.

Rudygon   Aug 19, 2018 

it is really tough. and especially at this tiny scale

Guides & Reviews

Jun 21, 2021

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 more
Mar 04, 2021

With 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