Matek F7 Martian

By Spoonman on Jan 10, 2018

16  3,013  17

I wanted to build a freestyle photography rig with full GPS capabilities, and add on a long range crossfire upgrade later. The Matek F722-STD has a barometer on board and ic2. I added a M8N GPS with a compass and flashed INAV. It flies great, INAV has air/acro modes just like Betaflight. It doesn't support d-shot yet and that's about the only drawback I see. Adding navigation to the OSD is great, latitude and longitude, direction home, distance from home, atitude, and ground speed. I run a DVR in case of crash I have exact coordinates. GPS lock mode for filming and return to home in case of panic or signal loss. A few grams of hardware brings so much to this build. Silicone conformal coating and corrosion x for the lovely Michigan weather.

Photos

Part List

Frame

Anniversary Special Edition Martian 215 215mm Carbon Fiber RC Drone FPV Racing Frame Kit 136g (51 builds)
Banggood.com
$21.99

Flight Controller

MATEKSYS FLIGHT CONTROLLER F722-STD (6 builds)
Pirofliprc.com
$38.99

ESCs

4 x Racerstar RS30A V2 30A Blheli_S ESC OPTO 2-4S Support Oneshot42 Multishot 16.5 Dshot600 (11 builds)
Banggood.com
$54.20

Motors

4X Racerstar Racing Edition 2306 BR2306S 2400KV 2-4S Brushless Motor For X210 X220 250 for RC Drone FPV Racing (9 builds)
Banggood.com
$35.49

Propellers

DALPROP CYCLONE T5040C Propeller
Pirofliprc.com
$2.99

FPV Camera

Foxeer 16:9 1200TVL Monster V2 FPV Camera Built-in OSD Audio HS1197 ***CHOOSE COLOR*** (78 builds)
Pirofliprc.com
$38.90

FPV Transmitter

FCHUB-VTX W/5.8G VIDEO TRANSMITTER US Version (3 builds)
Pirofliprc.com
$34.99

Antenna

Lumenier AXII Stubby 5.8GHz Antenna (RHCP) (232 builds)
Getfpv.com
$14.99

Receiver

XM PLUS (Mini SBUS Non-telemetry Full Range) (1149 builds)
Pirofliprc.com
$12.99

Batteries

Tattu LiPo Battery Pack 1550mAh 75C 4S 14.8V with XT60 Plug for RC Boat Heli Airplane UAV Drone FPV (42 builds)
Amazon.com
$25.99

Misc Parts

MTV Mount 1.8mm Wide Angle Lens CL1189 (3 builds)
Pirofliprc.com
$9.90

Misc Parts

TAIL LIGHT WS2812B & LOUD BUZZER, DUAL MODES (2 builds)
Pirofliprc.com
$8.99

Misc Parts

Diatone Aluminum ESC Protectors
Diatoneusa.com
$8.00

Misc Parts

Matek Loud Buzzer w/PCB
Pirofliprc.com
$3.99

Misc Parts

Rotor Riot Kwad Skidz
Store.rotorriot.com
$3.23

Misc Parts

Mini uBlox M8N GPS GLONASS W/ (35x35mm) Mounting backplane and Compass V2 (4 builds)
Readytoflyquads.com
$17.00
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Discussion

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Alpha   Apr 27, 2019  

Nice setup, I too looking for freestyle (6" inch) cinematic rig, wanted to know your rig performance, any videos ?

GiantDong   May 11, 2018  

Do you have a link for that thick foam thing for the battery i see on the top :) nice build btw

Spoonman   Jun 10, 2018 

it's made for the alien but it is cut pretty close. https://store.rotorriot.com/alien-5-lipo-pad-replacement-black/

Flying Aboo   Mar 07, 2018  

How do rate the F7 FC so far?
Have you run it on 32k/32k? If not then what loops are you running?
Does the FC run off lipo/vbat or 5v?

Also have you had any issues with the FC at all?

Spoonman   Mar 27, 2018 

Betaflight devs have been working on optimizing code for f7 processers, it's not there yet.  I run 16/8 with the gps, barometer, and accelerometer.  That setup uses 47% of the processor.  Flight controller is powered by 5v from the pdb.  A ribbon cable carries everything to the flight controller.  It's a great setup, completely protected and no worries about vibration, dampners are in place between fc and pdb.  It even carries a uart for changing video channels.  I rate the hardware a 10 of 10.  The code optimization covers all f7 processers, none of them can run 32/32 yet.  I'm sure in time the code will get better, there must be something fussy about the f7's.  I don't regret the purchase and i would recommend it so long as you can wait a bit to run 32/32.  I'm curious to see if the butterflight guys will optimize the code, they are all about high
pid loops.  I have had no issues other than waiting on firmware.

Flying Aboo   Mar 27, 2018 

Cool, I just finished my build with the Matek F722-std and I am impressed so far. Running 16k/8k with no overclock(no baro) and getting 30-40% load. Dshot1200 on the other hand I am not so impressed with, but this could just be me not setting it up right.

Joe Rogers   Feb 01, 2018  

I'm curious as to your implementation of the GPS/Compass. I myself am running into something of a conflict between the barometer and the compass, and most resolutions end in adding 1k resistors to the SCL & SDA leads out of the compass. Did you have to do this as well?

Spoonman   Feb 15, 2018 

I have it wired directly to the Ic2, betaflight and inav recognize it fine. It's led lights up blue so I think it's fine. I'm having a problem with the compass fighting the accelerometer, it drifts back to it's original orientation. I'm totally self taught from YouTube so I haven't had any help with this. I'm sure I just need to find the correct orientation, I tried all directions in the cli with no luck. I've just read that I probably need to flip it in the cli as well. I've been strapped for time lately, but I will have some time soon. I'm going to reload inav and see how it goes. Hopefully I can get advanced modes working. The GPS is working fine, I have the home direction arrow, coordinates, and distance from home in the betaflight osd. I really like the confidence that gives me when I fly new areas. I will update after I load inav again.

Geo502   Feb 15, 2018  

Curious if you have any video issues with the antenna stub being within the frame and not hanging out. Do you notice a difference?

Spoonman   Feb 15, 2018 

It works surprisingly well. I've only gone 700 meters away and it's solid that far. I tried it in the top antenna mount as well. The difference is minor at best. No more broken antennas!

JC250   Jan 16, 2018  

How tall is that stack? How short can it reasonably get? I'm building based on a 20mm standoff height (the hyperlite flowrider) and JB's vid of BF3.3 and 32k has got me looking for F7 with an ICM20602 gyro. Has the gyro given u any trouble? Sry for all the questions but this seems to be the only (and yet perfect) stack for my upcoming build. Thxs in advance

Show 1 more comment
Spoonman   Jan 19, 2018 

I forgot to mention, this is freaking amazing hardware!

JC250   Jan 20, 2018 

Thxs for the answers.So all u had to do, if u werent using the gps and was just using the stack for a freestyle build, was solder the camera and receiver to the flight controller? All the other wiring u had going to the flight controller was for the gps, buzzers, and led's?

Spoonman   Jan 20, 2018 

Yes, that ribbon cable even carries a uart for stick control of the vtx.

quadcrazed   Jan 10, 2018  

how do you like those motors so far I've been looking at them and have been wondering if they're any good

Spoonman   Jan 11, 2018 
1

So far they have been rock solid. Power is very close to the big names. Glad I watched reviews on these. I can't speak for durability but if I ruin any of them I'll post an update.

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