I purchased the GEPRC Crocodile 7 frame without any of the original hardware, but I was told that it normally used 25mm standoffs. I wanted to slam this quad with 15mm standoffs, but it made it very difficult to remix any of the 3D models I plan to use. Plus, it will be very tight squeeze for the Caddx Vista because it is 13mm tall. I end up going with 20mm standoff instead, so that should give me a lot a wiggle room. I assume this frame is not very popular because I am having trouble finding 3D printed parts for it. I am not sure how I want to place the ESC and FC stack yet because the frame has so much space I can either stack them on top of each other or one in front of another.

Since the Caddx Vista will sit all the way in the front of the frame, I will extend and convert the antenna from a ufl to a RP-SMA connector. I also like having the RP-SMA connector because it allows me to remove the antenna for easy of transport. Initially I purchased a 15cm extension but it is 2mm too short, so I had to by 20cm instead.

3D Prints

I have spent most of my time figuring out the 3D printed parts I plan to use for this build. I tried looking at various locations for Free STL files to print stuff for the Croc 7, but I am not liking the items found. When I remix 3d models it requires a bit of trial and error. Sometimes I would reprint the same parts repeatedly because I need to make changes to it. I have a few 3D designs that I tend repurpose on multiple builds because it works well. For example, the Slammed Squirt that Drone CO Production created, I have remixed it so it will fit on a Source One v4 7” quad. The reason why I like it so much is because the GoPro camera is more forward more so you can have a lower camera angle and not catch the props in the camera’s view. I was planning to do the same with this build too, but I wanted to try something else. Another favorite design, it the DJI HD conversion kit I purchased from BOPILOOT.

The first attempt on remixing the Floss parts to the Crocodile frame turned out well but I did not push the FPV camera forward enough. So, the HD camera might get a tiny glimpse of the props on extreme maneuvering if you have the GoPro set to SuperView. I also noticed another problem with this FPV camera mount. It did not give me enough clearance to Caddx Polar pro camera unless I use the very bottom screw hole because the top of the camera will contact the top plate. All these issues are because the camera mount needs to be pushed forward more.

This is the second version where I move the camera 7mm forward and it fixed all my problems. But the GoPro mount holes are different so now I need to adjust the mounts too. In the first version I incorporated 2 holes for the GoPro mount, so it has an adjustable camera angle. To maintain the lowest profile, it is best to have on angle for each camera mount and that is what I did for the second version.

Here is a WTF the moment for me. The shape of the arms is different between the front and rear. I am talking about the ends where you mount the motors. I used an image of the rear arm to create a vector image to extrude the shape in Fusion 360. I assumed the arm guards that I modeled would fit the front arms, but it did not. After overlaying the 2 arms shapes over each other, I think if I modeled the arm guards based off the front arms, it might work with the rear arms too. But with my luck, I happen to start with the rear arms first so that is why it would not fit the front arms.