Blue Thunder

By PBenko on Apr 19, 2020

5  206  0

This was my first build and it was felt pretty complicated due to how little space is available for and around the stack. I probably took more time reorganizing and planning than I did building. You will notice that the VTX is located slightly below the 4in1ESC Battery pads because it otherwise wouldn't fit. For this I had to lift the ESC a bit off the plate - simply by swapping out the standoffs provided by the stack. I could probably save some space in the back by turning the ESC 180° to have the pigtail at the front but I'm not sure if it could come out of there at the sides. Maybe through the hole covered by my GoPro mount? A lot of space could have been saved by having the capacitor on the battery connector and not on ESC side - it just felt very prone for damage there.
I'm considering printing something to protect the Kakute gyro a bit, its connector is pretty close to touching the bottom plate (and by that - the ground), which could cause some vibration transfer.
Initially I had VTX power routed directly from the battery input but it was quite noisy at higher throttle values - routing its power supply (as recommended) from the FC B+/GND pads that are near the OSD made a world of a difference - the noise is gone.

Update 1: The LED Backpack arrived and it's oh so insanely bright, very satisfying! The only issue is that it's mounted in the effectively cover plate of the drones guts which makes wiring very impractical. I'm considering hooking the connection up with a PH connector so that I can easily disconnect the cables when working on the quad. At the moment the landing skids restrict the opening angle of the bottom plate to such extent that I need to remove it completely anyway, which makes the LED cables a non-issue.

Update 2: Despite initial removal of the GPS module from the build list I decided to go ahead anyway and mounted it on the arm with an original TPU protector.

Update 3: The LED backpack is now connected via a surface-mounted PH connector that can be disconnected when opening up the belly

Dry weight: 414g
Rating: 4S, Should work with 6S

  • ESC is rated for 6S but has no BEC
    • FC: rated 42V
    • VTX: connected directly to Vbatt on FC and rated 7-36V
    • Motors: Some descriptions mis-label them as 2-4S but the official spec rates them 2-6S. You might want to tune down the throttle at 6S/2450kv tho.

      Misc info:

  • My ViFly was DOA and the LED backpack didn't arrive yet at the time of the photo shoot.
    • A buzzer will probably go either behind the camera - seems like there'd be enough space there, it's just a bit hard to fasten it there, or next to the capacitor above the VTX
    • A JHE20B is currently strapped to the hind left arm, but I am seriously unimpressed with its power. It's barely audible on 50m over some crickets
    • I was very excited to receive the AuroraRC TRACKER but it's just to big for mounting behind the camera where I wanted to have it, no matter how much I like the additional button concept
  • (I cut a GPS module from the build since I have no clue where I could put it) Edit: The GPS module found its spot on an arm
  • The 3D printed landing skids massively restrict the opening angle of the bottom plate. I'm considering designing an alternative.

Photos

Part List

Frame

Remix V2 5" Frame
Rotorriot.com
$89.99

Flight Controller

Holybro Kakute F7 V1.5 STM32F745 Flight Controller W/ OSD Barometer for RC Drone (12 builds)
Banggood.com
$45.00

ESCs

Holybro Tekko32 F3 HDV 40A Blheli_32 3-6S 4 In 1 Brushless ESC 30.5X30.5MM for RC Drone
Banggood.com
$58.26

Motors

4 x iFlight XING-E 2306 1700KV 2450KV 2750KV 2-6S Brushless Motor for RC Drone FPV Racing (3 builds)
Banggood.com
$59.32

Propellers

2 Pairs DALPROP Cyclone T5145C Pro 5 Inch Unbreakable Aggressive Propeller Compatible POPO
Banggood.com
$2.81

FPV Camera

Rotor Riot Micro Eagle Pro JB Edition (12 builds)
Rotorriot.com
$46.95

FPV Transmitter

RUSH TANK PLUS 5.8GHz 48CH Smart Audio 0/25/200/500/800mW Switchable FPV Transmitter VTX Built-in AGC Mic For RC Drone (10 builds)
Banggood.com
$33.90

Antenna

RUSHFPV Cherry 5.8GHz SMA Antenna 2 Pack -RED - (RHCP or LHCP) (19 builds)
Pyrodrone.com
$12.99

Receiver

FrSky XM+ SBUS Mini Receiver (1149 builds)
Getfpv.com
See Site

Batteries

TATTU FUNFLY 1550mAh 14.8V 100C 4S1P
Lipo.si
$28.00

Radio

FrSky ACCST Taranis Q X7 Transmitter 2.4G 16CH Weiße Schwarze Internationale Version (3 builds)
De.banggood.com
$139.99

Goggles

ORQA FPV.One OLED FPV Goggles + Free Bonus (FPV.PRO Antenna Set, FPV.Connect, FPV.Battery) (4 builds)
Getfpv.com
$649.99

3D Printed

TBS M8 GPS Holder by PBenko
Thingiverse.com
See Site

3D Printed

Reinforced Remix Ummagawd Gopro mount by ChillerFPV
Thingiverse.com
See Site

3D Printed

Ummagawd Remix lightweight landing skids by Quad_Logic
Thingiverse.com
See Site

HD Camera

GoPro Hero5 Session Waterproof 4K Video Camera (303 builds)
Phaserfpv.com.au
$197.24

Misc Parts

UmmaGawd Remix V2 RGB LED Backpack
Tinysleds.com
$9.99

Misc Parts

ViFly Finder 2 Buzzer - Lost Drone Finder/Locater/Alarm (174 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$14.99

Misc Parts

TBS M8 GPS Glonass (52 builds)
Team-blacksheep.com
$10.05

Video Receiver

ImmersionRC RapidFIRE w/ Analog PLUS Goggle FPV Receiver Diversity Module (178 builds)
Banggood.com
$149.00

Radio Module

TBS Crossfire Micro TX V2 (154 builds)
Team-blacksheep.com
$69.95

Radio Module

TBS Crossfire Diamond Antenne (3 builds)
Rctech.de
See Site

Battery Charger

STRIX Bardwell 4S Parallel Charging Board 2.0 JB Signature - RMRC (5 builds)
Readymaderc.com
$28.99

Battery Charger

ToolkitRC M6 DC 150 W 10A LCD 2-6 S Lipo Batarya Akıllı Dengesi Şarj Boşaltma Voltajı Ile Servo Checker Alıcı Sinyal Test (13 builds)
Banggood.com
$23.99

Battery Charger

ISDT Q6 Pro BattGo 300W 14A Battery Balance Charger (47 builds)
Getfpv.com
See Site

Battery Charger

Banggood (18 builds)
Banggood.com
See Site

Soldering Iron

MINI TS100 Digital OLED Programmable Interface DC5525 Soldering Iron Station Built-in STM32 Chip (265 builds)
Banggood.com
$53.99

Backpack

URUAV UR7 36L Backpack 40x55x22mm with Waterproof Transmitter Beam Port Bag DIY Room for RC Drone FPV Racing (7 builds)
Banggood.com
$48.75

Accessories

FPVEarbuds Volume Control V2 - Earbud for FPV Goggles (2 builds)
Getfpv.com
$13.99

Misc Supplies

BAT-SAFE (2 builds)
Freakware.de
See Site

Misc Supplies

Ender 3 3D Printer (3 builds)
Creality3dofficial.com
$179.00

Misc Supplies

BAT-SAFE XL (2 builds)
Freakware.de
See Site
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