Chameleon (TBD)

By dewke on Apr 18, 2017

5  373  0

This is the newest build. I wanted to build a Chameleon. I'm still waiting on the frame, motors and esc's.

I chose the Betaflight F3 because I wanted an OSD and with the integrated PDB it's all included. I have the PNP50 on my alien, but that would be too big for this frame and I'm not overly impressed with it. My other choice was the Brain RE1, but at 1/2 the price the BFF3 was hard to beat. The esc / motor combo was chosen because I want to run dshot and for amp draw. Other parts are because I have them in other builds and like the parts. The batteries are from my alien and I will be getting some more.

if I don't like the BFF3 / ESC combo I will probably swap for a PDB with OSD and go with all KISS again.

I will update with pictures when it's all in and when it's built. The picture is what's come in so far.

The motors and esc's have arrived. I'm still waiting on the frame so it will be at least a week until I get to build it.

So it's done, and I'm mostly happy with it. I've had a few issues which I will outline:

1) The Tattu 1300 batteries I had are not adequate for the motors and props I chose. I was getting pretty substantial sags and low voltage beeps on every punch out . I've ordered some Strix 1550's to see if it helps. Weather has not allowed me to test them out yet.

2) I would not use a Unify Pro on this frame. I accidentally fried one and had to replace it. It doesn't fit well. In hindsight I would have chosen the Tramp. I had problems with the dongle coming loose which caused me to lose the FPV feed on my maiden flight and almost lost the entire quad as a result. I ended up reseating it and using a healthy amount of hot glue. I'll probably end up with a 3rd Unify pro at some point.

3) getting the power lead working with the BFF3 has been a challenge. It didn't work well coming out the back and I was worried about prop strikes so I ended up rerouting it on the side but I'm really not thrilled with it.

Despite those issues, which are mostly related to my part choices, I think this is a great frame and would recommend it. The frame is solid and extremely well thought out. and most importantly flies great.

Update (Feb 2018):

I've now built 2 Chameleons - It is a rock solid frame. A few changes to note:

I've swapped the Emax motors for Hypetrains (2450kv) on one quad and t-motor f40 pro2 (2400kv) on the other. These are much better suited for my flying than the Emax motors. Aside from the motors both quads are identical. I resolved the Unify pro issue by using the mounting board from Whitenoise FPV and covering the ufl connector with Gardner Bender liquid electrical tape. This seems to hold the pigtail on even through some bad crashes. XT60's are both routed out the back which seems to be the best path.

Next project is a custom 7" long range chameleon.

Photos

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