Complete 250mm FPV Quad
By tastelessbagel on Aug 10, 2015
$260 250mm FPV quad, with everything you need to fly. Get into the hobby with a very low investment.
UPDATE:
I have fpv working fine, but im having issues with the motors/escs. One turns very slowly and wont change speed, one only sometimes acts like that, and heats up a ton, and one changes sound and speed distinctly at random times.
My hope is that its just my soldering joints (which are pretty bad). I would take apart the motors, but they all sound and feel identical when I spin them with my fingers, and un mounting them from the frame will be identical. If its not soldering, i will move around the escs and see if the problems move aswell. If none of that works, I try for a refund :/
Everything else is working great though! My cheap charger was lost in transit, and after a ton of negative feedback on that decision from people, I sprung for a $50 venom charger. It can charge 4s aswell, so I can upgrade when I like.
UPDATE:
Well shit. It looks like I have to get new ESCs as well. My new motors arrived yesterday, I wired them up, and low and behold, I had 3 working perfectly! Better than two at least. The overheating issue I had with one of my motors from the last set is gone, as well as the slow turning problem. However, following one ESC, is a strange grinding sound and an annoying stutter effect at high speeds. I checked all my solder joints, and used the bad ESC with two motors, and I get the effect on all of them. Also, the motors all work fine, just not with that ESC. A real bummer that I need more parts, I'm ready to fly! At least I got a refund on the old motors. The new ESCs should be here tomorrow, I bough a set of four from Amazon, as only one wasn't eligible for prim shipping, plus it costs nearly half as much as a set of four. Anyways I figure its good to have replacement. I'm now about $70 deeper than I had planned... Maybe this whole ONLY $260 thing is more theoretical.
UPDATE:
Man this is way harder than it looks. Just when everything was going so well, I powered up for maiden flight, and discovered something: my quad flips on takeoff. Of course it does. Anyways, here's some stuff I've tried:
-Calibrating ESCs
-Double triple quadruple checking the motor and prop directions
-ACC Calibration to +-1
-Changing kk2.1.5 settings according to this video
-Messing with TX subtrims
Possible problems I see:
-Just now I realized that the video I got my settings from conflicted with other ones I'm watching now, could that be the issue? Also, the like/dislike ratio is not great...
-Another possibility that has been revealed to me by various rcgroups threads, is that the default firmware on this board has serious issues. However, it would appear that those issues are due to HK trying to write their own firmware to avoid paying royalties. The only reason I havent ordered a programming cable yet, is that I'm slightly confused about the firmware pre-installed on my board, as I bought it from AliExpress, not HK. Any insight on my current firmware would be greatly appreciated.
-Another thing I just now remembered, is that one of my ESCs is not the same as the other three, for reasons explained above. The odd one is from here: http://goo.gl/T6JCh0, and the other three are as listed above.
-My motors do not spin up at the exact same time. The one linked to the odd ESC is normally a split second behind the rest, which are all just barely out of sync.
EDIT: Were done! For now...
This was way harder than expected. Problems at every turn. Still having some issues with trimming and PID settings, but I had my first FPV flight today, and it worked fairly well. No LEDs for now, tried a setup, and they didn't work very well. I might try and install them another time.
Photos
Part List
Frame |
RCX H250CF-3K FPV Quadcopter (3K Carbon Fiber / Barebone Frame)
(5 builds)
Myrcmart.com
|
$34.99 |
ESCs |
4X Emax 12A Speed Controller ESC with SimonK Firmware For FPV QAV250 Quadcopter
(2 builds)
Aliexpress.com
|
$15.39 |
Motors |
1804 2400KV (CW/CCW)X-power Micro Size Integration Outrunner Brushless Motor For 240 250 Multicopter
Aliexpress.com
|
$21.99 |
Propellers |
4 x Gemfan 5x3 Inch Plastic 5030 Propeller CW/CCW For 240 250 Frame
Banggood.com
|
$8.76 |
Batteries |
2 x Turnigy 2200mAh 3S 20C Lipo Pack
(2 builds)
Hobbyking.com
|
$15.98 |
Batteries |
Turnigy 1000mAh 3S 20C Lipo Pack
Hobbyking.com
|
$6.29 |
Power Distribution |
Hobby King Quadcopter Power Distribution Board
(6 builds)
Hobbyking.com
|
$5.87 |
Goggles |
Quanum DIY FPV Goggle Set with Monitor (KIT)
(2 builds)
Hobbyking.com
|
$9.99 |
HD Camera |
New RC Camera HD 700TVL 1/3" CMOS 3.6mm MTV Lens Board Mini RC Metal CCTV Security Video FPV Camera (PAL / NTSC)
Aliexpress.com
|
$7.99 |
Is that grass tangled in your wires =D Looks like your wires could use a little tidying. Don't be shy with the zip ties, but don't make them so tight you might accidentally cut the wires when you remove them later.
Update! Anybody have some advice or input for me?
Yikes. Just when all was going so well. It randomly started flipping today. BUT this time I went slower and realized that all that was happening was the motor with the mismatched ESC was spinning faster, causing it to flip backwards, as that is how the weight is distributed. I'm going to try to get away with only replacing the ESC opposite it, and then compensating for the spin created with trim. Either way, it was incredibly fulfilling to see it fly the other day.
Once I learn to fly a little better, I'll probably buy a mobius or somethin and make some videos for youtube, for sure! Page view chart is slick, btw :)
Sorry to hear about your part woes! That's certainly something to expect with these uber-cheap parts. I've been pretty lucky so far, but I have noticed some quirks here and there. BTW, if you want your updates to get noticed on the activity feed post them down here in the comments. Anybody following you will see them.
I would have used some shrink tubing on those ESC to motor joints. This is very inexpensive and extremely handy, 150pcs Assortment Polyolefin 2:1 Heat Shrink Tubing Sleeving Wrap Kit 8Size
It's really nice to have a variety of sizes. I like to pick a size that's fairly snug on the wire as it'll shrink up nice and tight. The real trick is to get a nice straight solder between the wires without any bulges or angles. Watch this video at around the 12m mark to see how to make nice solder joints:
How's your rig coming together?
Wow, that's an amazing price for a complete FPV rig. One thing I'd consider changing is the frame. I'd probably go for the Banggood fiberglass ZMR250 frame. Also, that charger might do more harm than good in the long run. I'd probably opt for a decent charger. Great job pricing it all out though!
Have you ordered all the parts yet? I'd love to see the finished product.
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A couple of tips -
:)
Thanks for the tips! I'm currently in the process of moving everything onto a full carbon h250 frame, so I cant actually do a lot of this right now! I always wondered how people routed the antenna on to the top of the quad... could you link me a good pigtail? preferably on amazon prime.