Yes, this build is fat and ugly - but I love it :)
It's my everyday 4S copter which has to accept a lot of misuse and is held together with zip ties and epoxy.
But he's doing a good job!
I bought it as an used analog build and started modifying.
To get room for the DJI AirUnit, I used a Lipo top plate to extend the frame.
Then I changed the FC, Antennas ect...
This build is pretty heavy (AUW 678 g) but it's well balanced / tuned and flies great!
I use relatively low filters on Betaflight, the ESC is flashed with JESC firmware for RPM-filters and 48 kHz.
To kill the electrical noise, I use a lot of caps. 3x 330 µF (50 V) for battery and 2x 1000 µF (10 V) for the 5V BEC.
The motors are softmounted with o-rings. This allows me to align the props perfect, even when the frame is bent a bit.
The motor wires are connected with Amass MT30 plugs, for quick motor replacement.
In a hard chrash one arm delaminated. I fixed it with two cam braces and some epoxi resin and it's perfectly stiff again.
Perhaps you like this "different" build and gain some ideas...let me know!
Flight time is between 3:30 and 8:00 with 4S 1500 mAh.
Weight dry: 493 g
AUW with 4S 1500 mAh: 678 g
v_max: 130 km/h (straight flight, with constant altitude)
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Show stores (20)Guides & Reviews
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I have always thought that the 3 pin xt30 for a quick connect motor assembly was a great idea. You are one of only 3 people that I have seen take advantage of that PERFECT connector.
You have so many capacitors, did you add them 1 at a time until you didn't have static in your video?
What is the foam on either side of the air unit for? Is it to keep grass clippings out of the ports on the side?
I concur, these 3-pin XT30 connectors are perfect for the motor connection - they also protect your wires against being teared out of the ESC 🙈 But for super lightweight and clean builds they are to big and unstylish...
The caps are not installed because of video noise - I think digital is unproblematic in this aspect. But I bought a bunch of Panasonic FR caps with 50 V rating because I want to use them for 6S also. The downside is that they are big compared to the capacity. Why I use three of them? I just want to come somewhere round 1000 µF, that's all...
For the 5 V BEC it's another story. Here I had massive electrical noise on the gyro signal, caused by the LEDs (I think the ampdraw of the 32 LEDs is just too much for the BEC). So I experimented with caps to get rid of this noise and 2x 1000 µF worked well. To find out, I armed the copter and connected different caps until there was no noticeable influence of the blinking LEDs to the motor idle.
The ugly foam at the side of the AirUnit keeps the dirt out of the ports, but more important it reduced the wind noise of the props. So the sound recording of the AirUnit is much better!