iX5 Low Black

By nomand on Jan 09, 2018

4  358  1

This is my first GoPro build, also my first bottom mount.

The goal of this build was to create a clean, easily serviceable and sturdy but lightweight GoPro 5". I went without the extra crap like LEDs and ESC protectors to save weight and avoid extra wires and build complexity.
Original hardware was replaced with shorter standoffs and titanium bolts to lower the top plate and save weight.
I had to design and print a custom camera mount because the frame doesn't accommodate smaller 21mm cameras. (you can download it here).
I switched to Fatshark HD3's, so the Arrow Mini will be replaced by Predator soon to get proper aspect ratio on my video.

The VTX was stuffed with CPU Cooler Master thermal paste to better conduct heat to the metal shielding. I don't know why nobody does this still. I was going to add an extra heatsink to it, but decided to save the vertical space in the stack in favor of packing the receiver on the glass fiber shelf DYS provided with their FC.

I accidentally destroyed an $80 AIO F3/OSD/ESC combo while building this. I wanted the single board for simplicity and weight but the mistake cost me the entire flight control stack. Never again, separate ESC is the way to go for cost of maintenance.

Weight without GoPro 322.6g. Minus 16g for the gopro mount.
Strength is a concern as the GoPro weight is being carried by just the 4 standoffs that will likely bend in a crash. I will migrate this setup to a sturdier frame in the future (that's why the motor wires were packed uncut under the tape).

Follow my drone things on instagram and subscribe to my youtube channel.

Thanks!

Photos

Discussion

Sign in to comment

Oeliboeb   Jan 09, 2018  

+1 for the nice photos

Guides & Reviews

Jun 21, 2021

AirbladeUAV has done it again and this time they've brought long range to the 5" class! Based on the popular Transformer Mini, the new Transformer 5" Ultralight adopts a lot of the same design philosophies with larger props and more payload capacity. It can fly upwards of 20 minutes on a 4 cell Li-Ion battery pack and in ideal conditions it's got a range of over 4 to 5 miles. In this guide I'll walk..

Read more
Mar 04, 2021

With the release of the DJI FPV Drone cinematic FPV has become a lot more accessible, but you certainly don't want to crash a $750 drone! The QAV-CINE Freybott is a compact, lightweight cinematic FPV drone that can take a hit and keep going. It's a lot safer to fly indoors and around people. With a naked GoPro or the SMO 4k you can capture some great stabilized footage. In this guide I'll show you..

Read more