This is my fourth quadrocopter and third Lumenier frame (came from the QAV400 and QAV250 down to this). As with all my builds I have a great focus on aesthetics and durability. Everything is soldered on or has solid connections. Loctite whereever feasible. Liquid tape covering screws as there is danger of damaging the cables or shorts (not shown in pictures). Cables run as short as possible and each component is necessary. No OSD because a battery alarm via telemetry (Futaba system external voltage sensoring) is enough for me.
AUW: 530g
Special considerations:
– I used the thicker 4mm body plate and applied super glue around the sides to strengthen the carbon fibers and sanded afterwards
– The LiPo is secured by a rubberized strap but I also glued a rubber sheet on the top plate to prevent slippage
– The PDB is glued and screwed on the main plate as the stress is higher due to unplugging the XT60 from it
– The RC reciever got decased and the pin headers removed to make is small enough for the space available.
– The Pololu RC switch is needed to remotely shut off the VTx to prevent overheating once the quad has crashed
– I've yet to find double sided tape that behaves better than 3M VHB. Good stuff.
Photos
Part List
Show stores (14)Guides & Reviews
This guide will walk you through the process of building your first FPV quad. The goal with this design was to build a low-cost, lightweight quad, yet powerful enough to safely carry a GoPro in close proximity areas. I chose these parts to minimize the amount of soldering at no cost to the quality. A typical build requires around 30 solders while this only needs 25. It's not a huge difference, but..
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In late 2019 DJI made inroads into the FPV scene with their remarkable low-latency digital system. It gave us a 720p video feed with latency on-par with the status quo, analog video. Traditionally we've used analog video systems for low-latency video, but the video quality is far from ideal. It's a trade-off we've been willing to accept for the control. Now we've got the best of both worlds and what..
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Looks great! I think 210 is the new 250. I like the XT60 attached directly to the PDB. Does it come with the connector and do you have to solder it on?
Thanks! I purchased the PDB at BirdsEye.nu where they offer several versions ranging from the bare board to fully assembled with XT60 connector and Pololu 12V and 5V regulators, which is what I'm using here.
I also agree, my QAV250 now looks ridicusly bulky with a lot of wasted space. We have a lot smaller components nowadays which don't need that much space.
I wonder where we'll be in another year or two. I can't imagine we'll get much smaller as the prop sizes will start to take a hit, but I expect the software (camera, FPV and FC) to improve greatly.