Catalyst Machine Works SL4R

By Frostman on May 25, 2017

2  238  0

I was looking for a new frame design and the Catalyst Superlight series really intrigued me. So I went headlong into it and even added a couple new and interesting features I hadn't tried yet. Overall I'm very happy with the build, but I had some frustrations along the way.

First of all the frame is very well made. Quality CF and design goes along way with me. Catalyst has a PDF of instructions to help the build along that shows all the variations you can do (full size cam, micro cam, all the FC, esc, pdb variations you can use). Two top plates, all the 3D printed items, and lots of extra hardware are all included. An extra base frame and some standoffs and M3 screws and you can build a second quad with it all.

I went with the BFF3 AIO FC and after all the hassles it works well, for now. I worry about the ground wires popping off the pads. I read up on it and they use a lot of copper on the board which acts like a heat sink when soldering ground pads. Even with my hakko turned up to 899F I had issues with wires not wanting to stick. I've built a lot of quads and I've never been so frustrated by what should be a simple soldering job. All the other pads are fine, but those pesky grounds are a nightmare.

That said, the FC and all its features is amazing. The OSD when paired with a TBS Unify to take advantage of Smart Audio is fantastic. It's all super easy to set up and use. I seriously can't wait to take this thing on it's FPV maiden. The camera and VTX are soldered right to the board which makes the wiring super clean, a very important thing in such a tiny frame.

As for the rest of the components time will tell. These magnets on the motors are super strong. And the Spedix escs are nice and small while still supporting dshot.

Overall very happy with the results. Hopefully I'll continue to be!

Weight w/ props and battery: 290g
Weight w/out battery: 188g

I wasn't worried about weight, this obviously could have been much lighter without the full size cam. But I've never been a fan of the micro cams, so that was a big selling point for me with this frame. Options!

Photos

Part List

Frame

Superlight 4R (4 inch) (11 builds)
Catalystmachineworks.com
$64.99

Flight Controller

BetaflightF3 Flight Controller (134 builds)
Fpvmodel.com
$29.66

ESCs

4 x Spedix ES20 Lite 2-4S 20A ESC (42 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$35.96

Motors

4 x Brotherhobby Tornado T1 1407 3600KV (193 builds)
Getfpv.com
$63.96

Propellers

DAL J4045 FPV RACING PROPS (4", 2 BLADE) (3 builds)
Catalystmachineworks.com
$1.95

FPV Camera

Rotor Riot Special Edition RunCam Swift (144 builds)
Store.rotorriot.com
$39.99

FPV Transmitter

TBS Unify Pro 5G8 HV (SMA) (596 builds)
Getfpv.com
See Site

Antenna

Pagoda-2 Omni Antenna RHCP (15 builds)
Farvew.com
$10.49

Receiver

Lemon Rx DSMX Compatible Satellite (21 builds)
Readymaderc.com
$11.10

Batteries

BONKA POWER 850MAH 4S 75/150C lipo battery pack
Droneeclipse.com
$22.99

Misc Parts

TPU Camera Hood - SuperLight 4R (2 builds)
Catalystmachineworks.com
$7.25
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