Mockup

Epic 229 v2 Mid Range Cruiser 5.5"

By iamspankyFPV on Apr 04, 2019

0  14  0

use the code "i love big tits" on multicopter builder's website for a small discount.

make sure to remember which ch is tx and rx on the tbs crossfire nano receiver

SUPER IMPORTANT
I had extremely bad video noise when I first wired up everything. When it comes to wiring up the camera and vtx, there is very specific way to wire everything so that you can have clean video.
Initially I wired up the cam and the vtx this way:

  • Vtx (tramp) was powered by the battery lead via the esc and the Vtx ground was on the esc ground.
  • Camera was powered by the fc using the Cam+ and the Cam- pads.
    Results: EXTREMELY BAD VIDEO. Got wavy lines everywhere and when the throttle was above 50%, sometimes the video would just disappear or roll...NOT GOOD.

Did some digging around the fb groups and they wanted me to share put both the camera and the vtx ground on the same pad so:

  • Vtx was powered by the battery lead via the esc and the vtx ground was on the esc ground.
  • Cam was being powered by the fc Cam+ pad and I moved the Cam ground to the esc ground to share with the vtx ground.
    Results: Video was cleaner. I would get slight wavy lines when the throttle was above 50% but the picture didn't roll. BUT the betaflight OSD would disappear anytime the motors would spin higher than at idle. Needed another solution...

Contacted Cheng Lin who is the creator the CL Racing F4S v1.5 I was using and at first I was skeptical of his suggestion BUT his suggestion is the one that cleaned up the video COMPLETELY. His solution was:

  • Vtx gets powered off the fc from the VTX+ pad and the vtx ground is on the VTX- pad on the fc.
  • Cam ground is soldered to the fc on the CAM- pad and the cam get's powered directly by the battery lead via the esc.
    Results: Betaflight OSD does NOT disappear and the video is extremely clear. There are very minimal and barely noticeable wavy lines when the motors spin higher than idle but not to the point where it's bothersome when flying. This solution was the best solution in terms of achieving the best video with this setup using a 5s battery.

Part List

Frame

MB Epic 229 v2 with captain seat (2 builds)
Multicopterbuilders.com
$72.00

Flight Controller

CLRacing F4S V1.6 AIO 30x30 Flight Controller (144 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$74.99

ESCs

PYRO32F3-45Amp 4in1 F3 32bit BLHELI ESC 4x45A (10 builds)
Pyrodrone.com
$49.99

Motors

4 x MBPrimo 2208 2550 kv (5 builds)
Multicopterbuilders.com
$75.96

Propellers

Gemfan 5552-3 tri props Red
Multicopterbuilders.com
$3.49

FPV Camera

Foxeer Falkor 2 Mini FPV Camera 1200TVL CMOS 16:9/4:3 PAL/NTSC (1.8 or 2.1mm) - Choose Your Color & Lens (89 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$39.90

FPV Transmitter

ImmersionRC TrampHV USA Version
Pyrodrone.com
$29.99

Antenna

TBS Triumph (2 pcs.) LHCP SMA
Pyrodrone.com
$39.95

Receiver

TBS Crossfire Nano Rx Special Edition FPV Long Range Drone Receiver (160 builds)
Pyrodrone.com
$44.95

Batteries

CNHL MiniStar 18.5V 5S 1500mAh 120C LiPo Battery - XT60 (6 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$30.59
Show stores (3)

Discussion

Sign in to comment

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