Source V 5" Racer with DJI Caddx Vista

By DadFPV on Nov 27, 2020

13  603  3

A couple months ago I figured it would be fun to build another 5" quad. Since I already had a freestyle quad (the primary quad I fly most often), I decided to make this one a racing quad. I noticed a few European racers fly box style frames, and thought they are an interesting concept, so decided to go that route.

Frame
I like the idea of open source designs, so decided to go with the TBS Source V. Once assembled, everything is under tension and super rigid. I used the optional upgraded brace only in the front/top location, since that seems the most susceptible to crash impact. The frame is a bit more difficult to work with compared to a standard (non-box) frame. While relatively easy to assemble with the help of a small rubber mallot, taking it apart again is more difficult. Even removing the top plate takes significant effort.

Kudos to TBS for releasing the frame as open source, and to the people who designed the nice printed parts and shared them on Thingiverse.

Motors & Props
This being my first racing quad, I chose to go with something that seemed typical & proven for this kind of quad: 2207 motors, 1700kv, 6S, with aggressive props (Gemfan 51499).

Mounting the Vista Unit
I tried a few options, but with the height of my stack the most practical solution was to add mounting holes to the frame top plate and bolt the Vista to it. It just fits, using 3 of the 4 screw locations (the 4th screw interferes with the USB port on my FC, so I just left it out).

LEDs
I used this opportunity to also get LED racewire out of my system. This is one of my favorite thing about this quad, even though I obviously can't see the lights as I'm in the goggles. Makes it very easy for others to see the quad when I'm flying in the evening. It is also a good way to get soldering practice, since it adds 24 solder joints to the build.

Weight
362g without battery

Impressions from flying it

  • It's a ton of fun to fly!
  • It feels punchy, yet very easy to maneuver and get it to go where I want. In that sense it feels significantly more precise compared to my freestyle 5" quad. It handles sharp/tight turns with ease, with dynamics that feel quite different from my 5" freestyle. I don't know how much of that is due to characteristics of the box style frame, vs. just the general motor/prop/bottom-mount battery differences.
  • Landing with a 45 degree camera angle took some practice!

Photos

Part List

Frame

TBS Source V (6 builds)
Team-blacksheep.com
$19.95

Flight Controller

iFlight SucceX-D F7 TwinG Flight Controller (HD Version)
Getfpv.com
$49.99

ESCs

Holybro Tekko32 F3 45A 4-in-1 ESC (30 builds)
Getfpv.com
$56.99

Motors

4 x EMAX ECO Series 2207 - 1700kv Brushless Motor (2 builds)
Pyrodrone.com
$47.96

Propellers

Gemfan Hurricane 51499 Propeller (Set of 4 - Choose Color) (22 builds)
Getfpv.com
$3.30

FPV Camera

Caddx Vista Digital HD System for DJI HD FPV (98 builds)
Pyrodrone.com
$164.99

Antenna

TBS Crossfire Immortal T V2 Antenna (149 builds)
Pyrodrone.com
$5.95

Receiver

TBS Crossfire Nano Rx FPV Long Range Drone Receiver (1498 builds)
Pyrodrone.com
$24.95

Batteries

Gaoneng GNB 1100mah 22.2V 6S 130c Lipo Battery - XT60 (11 builds)
Pyrodrone.com
$28.49

3D Printed

Source V Axii Mount by Sven_P
Thingiverse.com
See Site

3D Printed

TBS Source V DJI CAM Mount 45 degree by Harztec-Modellbau
Thingiverse.com
See Site

3D Printed

TBS SOURCE V 3D print parts by Hirofpv
Thingiverse.com
See Site

Misc Parts

2 x Pyro Race leds 25mm (4 Pcs.) (7 builds)
Pyrodrone.com
$13.98
Show stores (4)

Discussion

Sign in to comment

tehllama   Nov 30, 2020  
1

I really like your style - I may end up putting mine together just like this (it had a pretty major crash that hurt the frame, but I'll probably dig it out and fix it - this was the inspiration).

DadFPV   Dec 01, 2020 
1

Thanks, that is great! I just checked out a few of your builds. Especially like your detailed writeups, very informative. I'm considering building a 7 inch, and found your post on your recent SourceOne build helpful.

tehllama   Dec 01, 2020 

Glad to be of help.
I did pull the trigger on all $4 worth of parts to get my SourceV back together, so yours is more than just an inspiration. It'll have the matching LED configuration again - and the prints you're rocking are probably going to be what I run (especially since my alternative frames are Neutron-R's, which have the exact same standoff spacing).

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