3" Hornet HD - 3S build with de-cased Vista & 1303 motors

By DadFPV on Sep 06, 2020

5 660 15

This is a cool frame by TorqueFPV out of Louisiana. Furadi has some great videos on it, but basically it's one the smallest DJI Vista compatible, top-mount-battery frames readily available.

I opted to use lighter 1303 motors, and de-cased the Vista unit in order to help bring the AUW down a tad. (I built an overpowered 3" quad of similar total weight with 1404 motors, so thought I'd go for something a bit different here.)

Weight: 95g without battery, 136g with GNB 3S 520mah

Notes & Observations:

I fully de-cased the Vista, and mounted the two PCBs using a custom designed holder (available on Thingiverse). The main advantage of the holder is that helps secure the video antenna in place. I added one picture that shows the holder -- the other pictures were taken earlier before I installed it.
Fun fact: I was surprised the XING 1303 motors have 14 magnets (9N14P configuration); other motors in this size usually have 12.
HAKRC AIO board: I've decided to try this lower-cost FC/ESC AIO board. I don't know about longer term reliability yet, but build quality seems great. Was able to flash JESC & get bidirectional DSHOT working no problem.

I've been flying it for a few weeks now, and I've been enjoying it. As expected, it's a bit less powerful than my other setups, but still capable of acro, and perfect for proximity flying in & out of trees. It's very quiet.

Photos

Part List

Frame	Hornet HD 3" DJI Caddix Vista Frame (3 builds) Torquefpv.com	$23.99
Flight Controller	HAKRC F4126 BLHELI_S 20A WHOOP AIO FC (19 builds) Pyrodrone.com	$55.99
Motors	4 x iFlight XING 1303 5000KV FPV Micro Motor (8 builds) Pyrodrone.com	$61.96
Propellers	HQ Prop T3x1.8x3 Tiny Prop（2CW+2CCW) (5 builds) Pyrodrone.com	$2.29
FPV Transmitter	Caddx Vista Digital HD System for DJI HD FPV (98 builds) Pyrodrone.com	$164.99
Antenna	TBS Minimortal V2 T Antenna 915MHz for TBS Crossfire Nano Rx Receiver (15 builds) Pyrodrone.com	$3.99
Antenna	TrueRC SINGULARITY 5.8 U.FL LHCP (8 builds) Pyrodrone.com	$19.99
Receiver	TBS Crossfire Nano Rx FPV Long Range Drone Receiver (1500 builds) Pyrodrone.com	$29.95
Batteries	Gaoneng GNB 3S 11.4V HV 520mah LiPo Battery 80C XT30 LiHV (13 builds) Pyrodrone.com	$11.49
3D Printed	De-cased Caddx Vista Holder for Hornet HD frame by dadfpv Thingiverse.com	See Site

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Discussion

avellas May 04, 2021

Hi,

Thank you for this build info. Looks great!

I'm in the process of building a 4" using the same HAKRC F4126 MPU6000 F411 Flight Controller BLHELI_ S 20A ESC on thr TBS Podracer 4" frame, a Cadxx Vista HD System and the TBS Crossfire rx nano receiver.

Would you be able to share your wiring diagram?

Also have you flashed the board to a newer version of BetaFlight like 4.2.8? If so, were you able to set the softserial as it is delivered with the delivered 4.1.0 version? can you share the CLI Diff file?

Thank you,
Sam

Show 2 more comments

DadFPV May 11, 2021

If you still have 4.1 on it with the factory config, you can dump the resource map via the CLI command "resource". The rows you're interested in for SoftSerial have the index 11, most likely mapped to B03, which I believe corresponds to the pad labeled RT6. After you flash 4.2.9, you'd need to enable SoftSerial on the config page (if it isn't already enabled by default), and then apply the same resource mapping, again via the CLI. I don't personally use SoftSerial, so can't comment beyond just getting it enabled and the resource mapping in place. Out of curiosity, what do you plan to connect via SoftSerial?

Edit: I just found the backup I made of the config before I flashed BF 4.2. These are the mappings you need to apply via CLI:

resource MOTOR 5 NONE
resource SERIAL_TX 11 B03
resource SERIAL_RX 11 B03

The MOTOR 5 NONE line is important as it disables use of that resource for motor output so you can use it for soft serial.

avellas May 11, 2021

Thank you very much for this great advice. Will give it a try this week.

Cheers,
Sam

avellas May 11, 2021

Forgot to answer your question. I hadn't planned on using the SoftSerial at this time and just want to have it available if i decide to use it for installing a GPS. later

Thanks

Wrongway Feldman Apr 16, 2021

Hi there,
I just wanted to say thanks for posting this. Some friends and I used your build as inspiration for our build. We made a few different design choices, mostly because parts have evolved, but it sounds like our results were pretty similar. I posted our build here on rotorbuilds too, so others can continue to build great quads and enjoy this awesome hobby.

DadFPV Apr 16, 2021

Thanks for the comment -- glad to hear my post has been helpful. I enjoyed reading the write-up of your build, looks like it turned out great! I think the FPVcycle 1304 motors with the press-fit props are a great choice for this (it's also what I would use today). Your comment may inspire me to give this little quad some air time this weekend, as it's been a while since I've flown it.

JTR1 Nov 12, 2020

nice... What is your flight time??? What do you think of the motors? I'm looking

DadFPV Nov 14, 2020

I get about 5 minutes. I like the motors, very smooth and quiet. But as I mentioned in my write-up, it is not a performance oriented build (for that I think you'd want 1404 motors and bigger batteries, similar to one of my other 3" builds). For similar performance with the 1303s, you'd probably need to shave off another 15g or so, which is not practical with this frame. FPVCycle has some 1303s that use press-fit props, which would save some weight vs. T-mount, but I don't have first hand experience with them.

JTR1 Nov 28, 2020

ok thank you. I have made a custom HD version of a Gnarly Primo 3. https://rotorbuilds.com/build/24785.
I don't want it to be a ripper but a fun to fly machine. Less noisy than my 3 inches ripper with 1505 motors...
I have order 1303 FPV cycle. Will see if they make it more smoother and efficient.

DadFPV Nov 29, 2020

Very cool! I think 1303s will probably be a good fit for your Primo 3. Let me know how you like the FPVCycle motors.

Knockout3DFPV Sep 08, 2020

Sick little build! How does the vista hold up without the heatsinks? Do you get any overheating issues?

DadFPV Sep 10, 2020

Thanks! I haven't had any overheating issues on my other build with the fully decased Vista. Only slight negative so far has been that in a hard crash, the ribbon cable connecting the two boards can get knocked a bit loose (normally these are held in place by the case). Could likely be addressed with a dab of hot glue.

Knockout3DFPV Sep 11, 2020

Great to know, thanks for the tip :)

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