Yokto Quad - The smallest brushless FPV quad

By Tokyo_Dom on Sep 11, 2023

60  0  13

This might just be the smallest brushless FPV quad out there. Its 46mm motorpost to motorpost, so in that measurement it loses to the Jellyfish but that one has prop guards and sits very tall in comparison. If you put them side by side mine would be smaller :) I literally just picked the name Yokto, because Betafpv used Pico, and IRC Ghost uses Zepto and Atto. Yokto is the smallest in that series anyway so why not (just dont think its an 8-rotor!)
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This was just an experiment, to see how well a little stone would fly. It doesnt fly bad, but it isnt as impervious to wind as i hoped (I based my predictions on throwing a little stone - very little cross section so not much for the wind to catch). And its not particularly efficient, so I would probably just fly my mobula6 or Walksnail Whoop instead if i wanted to fly. But its cute AF and always generates conversations so in that sense, i am happy with it.
Edit: I forgot to add this, the number one question I get when people see the size of it:
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Small doesnt necessarily mean light, and it was never intended to be the lightest whoop. It uses outdated 16mm separate FC/ESC/VTX, and a 3D printed frame. I actually wanted it to be huckable outside, so If you want the lightest whoop go see Angry Don's video he made about his 14g whoop.

But and it was silly cheap to build thanks to there being a lot of unwanted parts that are perfect for it. FC is an F3, but thats fine. ESC is actually a FishPepper clone that i found selling super cheap (Racerstar Star4 4A ESC was selling at SpeedyFPV for $5). The originals cant be found anywhere, but if you have one of those that would be the best. The VTX is a 25mw vtx i pulled off the back of a smashed AIO camera (Eachine EF-02).

Its a very fiddly build though, so i wouldnt try making it if you arent comfortable with small soldering and careful wire measurements to get everything to fit. "Can i use xxxx instead?" probably not - I have 0.5mm clearance on the props as it is. It may be possible to use a different VTX, if its thin enough, or use a different ELRS receiver, but the FC sits perfectly in the grooves under the frame, and the ESC is the smallest and lightest 16x16mm ESC available. Actually, there is an F4 version of this FC out there, but I havent seen that for sale anywhere. This should fit as well if you can find it.
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Batteries are also a bit of a pain. Being this small, you want the smallest batteries available. 300mah cells stick out so far front and back its kinda silly. I fly it on 220mah Nekopunch batteries i got here in Japan, but they only give it 1:45-2 minute flights on these 26000kv motors... It does fly (suprisingly well) on this 530mAH GNB battery, but its really more battery than quad at that point. Alt Tag

Short and not particularly impressive video of it flying. More of a "Hey it flies" type proof... I think it needs tuning to handle propwash (and by extension, wind) better. But it tracks straight indoors and its "good enough" for most flying.

Photos

Discussion

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guilleto   Mar 16, 2024  

just some random cellphone batteries which can be charged to 4.45V with higher discharging voltage to get more efficiency.

Benjamin Rooster   Feb 05, 2024  

Quality work my friend.

airrage   Sep 11, 2023  

Respect! As I'm very familiar with the fiddling putting these nano's together,

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airrage   Sep 12, 2023 

Can't unfortunately as I only fly digital. Check out my smallest build. https://rotorbuilds.com/build/31511

Tokyo_Dom   Sep 12, 2023 
1

Nice work, impressive to fit a vista in that thing. I have gone with Walksnail/HDZ for digital since it keeps the doors open to using analog for these ultra micros. I have another open prop build that is also super tight on tolerances. 75mm wheelbase Flywoo Baby Nano frame with 2" props that are precariously close to the VTX. Could switch it to walksnail if i direct soldered it I guess, but its nice to throw around a sub-$100 build with less worries about crashing!

airrage   Sep 19, 2023 

The tighter the tolerances the better loll. I don't see your Baby Nano in your builds, correct ?

Madcatmike3d   Sep 14, 2023  

Hey man, you should use some nylon screws with Welders glue on the motor bases. After the glue sets up in a day or so, you can lose the screws completely. Might save a few more grams. I am also working on some very light nano builds as well! Super cool!!

Tokyo_Dom   Sep 14, 2023 

Hey Mike thanks for the comment and tips!
I run Reny or Peek screws on all my other whoop builds. They weigh less than 0.1g for 12 of them, and that represents a 0.45g savings over metal screws (i'd prefer Reny over gluing the motors as I often have to remove them to get sand/gravel out of the magnets). I'm also running two metal m2 screws holding the frame together (two are nylon), I could possibly save another 0.5g by swapping those out to nylon.
But as I explained under the pic of the scales, I dont need this to be ultra light. I have my 15 gram 65mm whoop for that. And it's always going to be at a disadvantage because it uses older, separate components. Its claim to fame is purely about the size!

wind_rapport   Sep 11, 2023  

lol SO cool - please post some dvr if you have any

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Tokyo_Dom   Sep 13, 2023 

Here ya go


nothing amazing... but it flies.

wind_rapport   Sep 14, 2023 

Respect for circling back with footage! Honestly flies great for it's size. Looping the top floor balcony was cool - also never seen someone fly on their knees lol. To each their own

Tokyo_Dom   Sep 14, 2023 

Thanks! Its a Japanese way of sitting called "Seiza" and you sort of get used to it especially indoors. I wouldnt fly like that outdoors! I'd stand or sit on something usually

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