Ænima

By Third Eye FPV on Nov 07, 2017

32  2,629  23

Ænima

I've been into FPV for a few months now and was already thinking about my second quad half-way through the first! With this build, I wanted to spend a bit more time - and budget - into the components that I wasn't happy about in my first build - Undertow.

What's with the weird names?

Firstly, it's pronounced "ON-ima". If you're a Tool fan, you'll know exactly what's going on here - my builds are being named after Tool's albums in chronological order. When the new album drops, this will leave me with five large quads and micro-builds (Whoop Whoops etc.) will be named after EPs. I'll probably move onto favourite songs if I'm still into the hobby!

Frame

I really love the TransTEC frame - both the Whiffles and Drone Mesh builds inspired me to go with the Frog. I had my heart set on the race version but unfortunately they've stopped making it so I went with the Lite version (seperate arms). The thing in particular I like are the aluminium side brackets - there's lots of scope to add a splash of colour to suit the colour frame. In this instance, I've given the brackets a few coats of Cherry Red followed by a few coats of clear. Tip: Keep spray strokes lite and start/end the strokes away from the frame - this will help you avoid any blotches and pooling of paint

TransTEC Frog Lite

Colour Scheme

When it comes to quads, I'm definitely a style over substance kinda person - I'd much rather choose a component that matches the colour scheme build over a component that may be faster/better/cheaper (within reason of course!). Last build was purple so this time I am going red. Given the number of quad parts that are red and/or have red accents, it should be fairly easy to find components that will match nicely.

Cherry Red & Clear Satin

Drying

Motors

I really wanted the EMAX Red Bottoms for this build but couldn't justify the price. Furthermore, EMAX insist on including short wires on their motors which don't quite reach the stack in an all-in-one build. Ended up choosing the RCX SE2205 2400KV - these are a step up in power for me so looking forward to trying them out. They also come with very long wires which is gonna make things so much easier when it comes to soldering and adding the braided sleeves.

Long wires are long

RCX SE2205 2400KV

The Build

Everything that could have gone wrong with this build did! The Racerstar StarF4S AIO had a fried regulator which wouldn't power anything on the board - took me a week or so to figure this out. The clean wiring I had in mind (motor wires to pass under the AIO) had to be scrapped because it was too complex to implement with the change over of the board. I couldn't fit a capacitor because the VTX and Receiver were too large and finally, the camera sticks out a little more than I hoped due to its size.

Telemetry

The Racerstar StarF4S is a bit of a pain in the butt to get telemetry working with the FrSky XSR. Here is what you need to do:

  1. Connect SBUS to the SBUS pad
  2. Implement the SmartPort telemetry invert mod hack on the XSR
  3. Wire the telemetry wire on the XSR to the TX6 pad on the StarF4S
  4. Open BetaFlight and type this into the CLI:
    resource MOTOR 5 NONE
    resource LED_STRIP NONE
    resource resource serial_tx 11 A01

    Thanks to the dude who posted this in RCGroups.

Final Thoughts

I love the end result but damn it was a frustrating build - took me 4 months (half of which were waiting for replacement parts). In hindsight I would have chosen smaller components. Looking forward to giving it's maiden this weekend.

Update

Flies really nice but I've ditched the Avans and switched to DAL Cyclones (I get mine from Phaser FPV) as they are less fragile and give me slightly longer flight times.

Photos

Part List

Frame

TransTEC Frog Lite 218mm Carbon Fiber 4mm Arm X Frame DIY Frame Kit RC Drone FPV Racing Multi Rotor (42 builds)
Banggood.com
$29.99

Flight Controller

Racerstar StarF4S 30A Blheli_S Dshot 4 in 1 ESC AIO F4 OSD Flight Controller w/ BEC Current Sensor (19 builds)
Banggood.com
$56.99

Motors

4 x RCX SE2205 (V3) 2400KV FPV Racing Motor (Japan EZO Bearing / N52H Arc Magnet) (3 builds)
Myrcmart.com
$55.96

Propellers

EMAX Avan R Tri Blade 5 Inch Propellers (CW/CCW) 5 Packs (20 Pieces) (3 builds)
Phaserfpv.com.au
See Site

FPV Camera

Foxeer HS1177 V2 4:3 600TVL IR BLOCK CCD Camera
Phaserfpv.com.au
See Site

FPV Transmitter

Eachine TX526 5.8G 40CH 25MW/200MW/600MW Switchable AV Wireless FPV Transmitter RP-SMA Female (120 builds)
Banggood.com
$12.92

Antenna

Foxeer 5.8G 3dBi TX/RX RHCP Omni FPV Antenna RP-SMA/SMA (56 builds)
Banggood.com
$5.09

Receiver

FrSky XSR 2.4GHz 16CH ACCST Receiver Board S-Bus CPPM Output Support X9D X9E X9DP X12S X Series (480 builds)
Banggood.com
$15.99

Radio

TBS Tango 2 Pro with Folding Gimbals (915mhz) [DG]
Phaserfpv.com.au
See Site

Goggles

Fat Shark Dominator V3 FPV Goggles (63 builds)
Getfpv.com
$299.99

Misc Parts

British Paints 310g Spray Easy - Gloss Fire Truck Red
Bunnings.com.au
$8.30

Misc Parts

5 Pcs AMASS XT60+ Male Plug Connector 14AWG 10cm Power Cable Wire (10 builds)
Banggood.com
$7.13

Misc Parts

4 PCS Realacc M3*7+4.5 Flight Controller Anti-Vibration Fixed Screws for RC Drone FPV Racing (49 builds)
Banggood.com
$3.82

Misc Parts

60mm Low Loss Antenna Extension Cord Wire Fixed Base for Antenna SMA RP-SMA RC Drone (5 builds)
Banggood.com
$2.09

Misc Parts

Dulux Duramax 325g Semi Gloss Clear Spray Paint
Bunnings.com.au
$11.80

Misc Parts

4 PCS Silicone Anti-vibration Pad in for 22XX Series Motor (6 builds)
Banggood.com
$1.87
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Discussion

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deadmoo   Jan 01, 2018  

Good write up. I think there is one minor mistake though. I was trying to follow how you got telemetry to work. I did all the CLI commands the same, but I had to solder telemetry to LED pad, not TX6 pad.

Show 4 more comments
dadepini   Apr 26, 2020 

Hi there, when i give the second and last command the cli says:NOTE: A01 already assigned to MOTOR 5.
Resource is set to A01
and no new port appears in the port section.
What am I doing wrong?

dadepini   Apr 26, 2020 

Allright, i did it just had to save, but instead of uart 11 in the port section it appears as SOFTSERIAL 1, is that right?

dadepini   Apr 26, 2020 

Allright, i did it just had to save, but instead of uart 11 in the port section it appears as SOFTSERIAL 1, is that right?

VekCal   Mar 25, 2019  

Is your VTX working pretty good with that board? I have bought the exact same combo, but was worried about the VTX being underpowered.

Third Eye FPV   Mar 27, 2019 

This is a pretty old build so I can't remember. The Operating Voltage is 7-24V so you should probably go straight into VBAT. Capacitor definitely reccommended.

TheLastPhoenix   Aug 12, 2018  

how did you mount the realacc bobbins on the frog frame. i cant get them low enough

Third Eye FPV   Aug 14, 2018 

sorry what are bobbins?!

ratpunter   Feb 20, 2018  

How much did it weigh with everything on it?

Third Eye FPV   Feb 20, 2018 

Dunno - I don't bother weighing my builds!

brybell   Jan 12, 2018  
1

Paint job looks great.

deadmoo   Jan 03, 2018  
1

Another tip I have is to order the Droneracingparts or Pyrodrone version of this FC if you are in US. DRP if east coast. Pyrodrone if west coast. Then that is one less part you need to wait on Banggood shipping for.

I don't know who cloned who, or if they all just use the same manufacturer or something. I don't care. I just care about fast US shipping.

These actually have Blheli_32 ESC, so they are more like the slightly more expensive Tattoo version of the Racerstar FC :

https://www.droneracingparts.com/collections/flight-controllers/products/drp-edition-fire-f4-aio-flight-controller <-- this one seems to be backordered

http://pirofliprc.com/Sunrise-Siskin-30A-BLHeli-32Bit-4in1-Dshot1200-ESC-F4-AIO_p_4354.html

chilly   Dec 18, 2017  

Looks great. I just ordered this frame and am concerned about VTX antenna routing. Yours looks good but I can't figure out how you did it... can you explain or post a closeup? Thanks!

Third Eye FPV   Dec 20, 2017 

Thanks for the feedback! I can't post a photo at the moment coz the quad is being repaired but in regards to the VTX antenna, I simply double zip tied the VTX to the top plate - one zip tie around a VTX itself (make sure you heat shrink it) and the other zip tie around the neck of the gold connector. This holds the antenna securely in place. The frame also comes with 2x carbon end/back pieces that affix to the aluminium. This is where the antenna can rest on for extra support. I didn't use this back piece because my FC battery pads were at the back and there was no room. I hope that helps!

Whiffles   Nov 10, 2017  
1

Great work! And nice photography. I know what you mean about the long wires. I chose the DYS Storms for a recent build because of the wire length. How does it fly? I used the StarF3S and it's given me nothing but trouble. I had to add a capacitor to reduce the gyro noise and now it seems to have gone all wonky on me. I need to replace it.

BTW, I started with the Race Frog and it broke on a fairly light crash. I since switched to the "Lite" version and it's held up incredibly well. I think they discontinued it for a good reason. This has been my goto rig for quite some time. I just love this frame.

Third Eye FPV   Nov 12, 2017 

Thanks dude!

So far no major issues except for the VTX feed - it's a bit discoloured and jagged. I'm not sure if it's
a) bad wire solder
b) the regulator that the VTX power run through or
c) the fact that I might need to add a capacitor on the battery pads

It flew ok but I really need to change the props - the Avans looks sexy AF in photos but despite giving lots of grip, bend and break too easily.

Whiffles   Nov 12, 2017 

Are you on the right video channel? Sometimes being slightly off will cause discoloration.

slodsm   Nov 12, 2017  
1

Epic looking build man. I just finished a really clean Mach 1 using a StarF3S as well and T40's and it cooked one side on start up making me tear the prettiest build I've ever put together back apart to replace it.

Third Eye FPV   Nov 12, 2017 

Yeah I've heard bad things about the F3 :(

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