1s Micro Raven

By onemorepabst on Feb 28, 2020

13  963  4

This is my attempt at a 1s toothpick. I have a bunch of 1s batteries already and I wanted to have something that could use them besides my brushless whoop. Some folks may choose different parts solely to cut down on weight, but there were certain things I refused to compromise on. Based on previous experience with SPI receivers terrible range I opted to use a FRSKY XM, and an Eachine Nano VTX to have the power output to match the increased RX range. I also wanted a higher quality camera than a typical AIO cam/vtx so I chose a Caddx Turbo EOS2.

Frame: BetaFPV HX100 se
-Not much to say here, basic whoop fc mounting, made to fit 65mm props. Carbon runs lengthwise on arms, nice and strong for its size

Motors: GepRC 1102 140000kv 3 hole mount, 1.5mm prop shaft
-These were brought to my attention by RCGroups user and Youtuber Quad66. (Check him out, really great content on maximizing 1s performance) Quality is good, they are very smooth and quiet. Comes with plugs attached on the ends which I kept on. I also have some BetaFPV 1102 13500kv motors and the GepRC's are clearly better in quality. More robust build, thicker bottom mounting and none were DOA unlike the Beta's.

Flight controller: Crazybee F4 pro V2
-One of the few whoop FC's I could get my hands on that support 1s. Flashed Betaflight 4.1 and JESC with RPM filter. Only 1 pair of 5v and ground pads separate from the battery lead pads, so I had to solder 2 wires for VTX and RX 5v and ground to one pad, kinda tricky since the through hole on the pad isn't big enough to fit 2 wires through. I also attached a BetaFPV BT2.0 connector to the battery lead.

VTX: Eachine Nano
-Small size, power switchable 25, 100, 200, 400mw and also has SmartAudio. Picture quality is great for what it is. Mounted with double-sided foam tape to FC with cutout around VTX chip to help with cooling.

Camera: Caddx Turbo Eos 2
-Good camera, handles most lighting situations well, picture quality is clear. No issues yet. Yes, people may say there are better cameras in the same 14x14mm mounting pattern, but for the price and ease of finding one in stock somewhere, its hard to beat.

Reciever: Frsky XM
 -Basic and light RX. Stuck to the back of the camera with double sided tape. Flashed with RSSI output on CH8.  Wired to FC inverted RX pad, set to UART1 in Betaflight.

Batteries: Tinywhoop 333mah HV 1s BT2.0
-Made by Mylipo, these batteries are great. Compared to the 300mah BetaFPV batteries, these have less voltage sag at the start of the pack and have more consistent performance through the entire pack. Both batteries have BT2.0 connectors on them and as far as I can tell, it does make a difference compared to the typical JST/Powerwhoop connectors.

Propellers: Gemfan 65mm
-I only fly Gemfan from whoops to 3", they always performed the best for me consistently compared to HQ's.

Canopy: NomadUAV Micro Raven 14mm mount
-Great looking canopy designed by Rotorbuilds user The Van. One of my favorite designers on Rotorbuilds and can't wait to get my hands on his Micro Seagull frame he teased. Printed through Craftcloud service. Used TPU and expected it to be filament printed but ended up being Selective Laser Sintered, so the finish was slightly like suede unlike the clearly seen layers. Quality is still good, however the canopy does not exactly line up with the FC mounting screws. It still fits, but there is minor folding/creasing. Not sure if this is a design issue or a printing issue.

So overall, I am happy with the end result. Looks nice, and initial tests/tuning are ongoing. I am currently doing pid-tuning and filter changes, but until the weather gets warmer and the snow melts my testing will be limited.

Big shoutouts to : Quad66 and NomadUAV(The Van)

Photos

Discussion

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yoodog   Apr 10, 2020  

hi, what is your flight time on that set up ? with 48khz with that battery? I plan similar - same frame, prop, may be motor, but lighter cam and 550 gnb HV battery

onemorepabst   Apr 11, 2020 

This build has seen some changes since i posted it, will update with a v2 soon. Right now it has BF 4.1 and no 48k or rpm filter and getting about 3 minutes.

The Van   Mar 01, 2020  
1

Yo! Thanks for the shoutout :) great write up and the build looks awesome. I really love the look of that print in SLS - gonna take another look at the mounting holes in these pods, but I suspect it might be caused by the print process/material. I've been using some different processes lately and it seems tolerances need to be adjusted a fair amount between them. (If anyone else has fitment problems with these, please let me know!)

onemorepabst   Mar 01, 2020 

np dude, thanks for designing a great looking pod.  Im getting one FDM printing to see how that turns out.  Main issues with this one are front and back mounting locations.  I had to squeeze them inwards to fit

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