Mini Quad Group Build

[Crazyflyer]

I am happy to lead a mini quad group build this fall/winter if people are interested.
I will provide a list of components to purchase with different quality levels (inexpensive prices (banggood or similar), or better quality)
We can setup soldering stations and build everything together.
Once the quads are built, we will do the settings on one quad and copy them for all to make it simple.
Ideally we will use the same flight controller for everyone so that we can copy the programming, the difference will come from which transmitter you use (I know Spectrum & FRSky).
Please note that build will cost probably $300 with cheaper basic components+ not including the googles and the transmitter.

Ideally you will get a good quad for $400 with the following breakdown:
Carbon Fiber 4mm Frame $50 (clone of a popular frame that costs at least double)
4 Motors $80
4 ESC's $60
F3 Flight controller $40
Power distribution board $10
Satellite or receiver $20 to $40
Antenna (TBS) $25 (don't cheap out)
Camera $40
Video Transmitter $40
Propellers $5 (per set)
Misc $20
Batteries $20 each (Nanotech 1300 3s or 4s are decent)
I can even do a group buy if I have enough people.

[battlestu]

i would be interested but more to update the flight controller on my quad .... not happy with the KK2.1

[Crazyflyer]

Ok Greg, there are a few new F3 Flight Controllers that just came out for about $30 US, let me ask my group which one is stable. We can then hook it up on Betaflight easily and have you flying. Spectrum is easy on some of these boards, I still have to figure out how to do the telemetry properly on my FRSky trasnmitter.

[Crazyflyer]

Greg, this F3 board has great reviews and a few people I know are very happy with it.
http://www.banggood.com/Upgrade-NAZE32-F3-Flight-Controller-Acro-6-DOF-Deluxe-10-DOF-for-Multirotor-Racing-p-1010232.html
It is out of stock but should be in very soon.
If you get it, let me know and we'll get together to program it.

Stephan

[Palkina]

Hi Stephan,

I'm interested.

Why don't we go to the F4 https://flexrc.com/product/f4-flight-controller-acro/ or
http://www.readytoflyquads.com/flip32-f4 using Betaflight 3.0 or Raceflight.

I just received one and am planning to test it on a 260 frame.

[Crazyflyer]

Hi Carlos, it is definitely an option. I just want to make sure that it is a board that doesn't have any bugs and has lots of people using it in case there is a problem or questions. If someone is setting it up on YouTube, it is the best way to learn it.
On one of my quads, I am using a Motolab Cyclone which is great but no one had instructions on setting it up, even the designer of the board never got back to me. It took quite a while and questions on the MQC board to find someone who could help me set it up. And I still have issues with telemetry.
My next board which I already purchased is the Motolab Tempest ($60+) which has a PBD and FC all in one, but again may be too complicated for some people ... including me!
Also I really like Betaflight to program the board, I noticed the one on the link needs a different program.
But let me know how it goes.

[Gil.E]

Hi Stephan,
I am about to solder a Motolab Cyclone V1.2 FC board onto a 250 quad frame I am building. It was a purchase based on a Joshua Bardwell review and recommendation.
I was hoping to Google a few YouTube setup videos and be done with it quickly, but just realized this FC board is poorly supported when I saw your post.

Do you mind sharing a link to the forum discussion you used to setup this board ?

Thanks,
Gil.
         

[Crazyflyer]

Hi Gil, attached is the pin out that you need.
The issues I had were specific to installing the FRSky XSR receiver due to the telemetry (also attached).
The thread on the MQC's Facebook page is from mid-late July, you may want to do a simple search using "Motolab Cyclone".
If you have Spectrum, installing a satellite is quite simple. Everything else is fairly straight forward.
I installed Betaflight 2.9 at the time and the PID setup was perfect. The rest of the setup on Betaflight is quite standard, similar to most other boards.
Hope this helps!

[Gil.E]

Thanks for the information Stephan!
For the receiver my first attempt would be the AC410 from KS-Servo (it's a tiny 4-CH FRSKY compatible receiver with 8-CH output on PPM), but I'll probably fall back to a full size D8R-XP since my frame has plenty of room to spare and telemetry would be nice.  I guess I have some more reading to do regarding telemetry from the FC  (Assuming there are two options: either through the receiver telemetry port, if you have one, or inserted into the video signal via the OSD ?)             

[tuck]

i would be interested but more to update the flight controller on my quad .... not happy with the KK2.1

Try OpenPilot.

[battlestu]

i would be interested but more to update the flight controller on my quad .... not happy with the KK2.1

Try OpenPilot.

ooohh didn't know this could be updated... please post any info on how to

Greg

[Crazyflyer]

Gil,
If you are using PPM, you can probably use the plugs UART1 or 3. I wanted to use sbus because it is faster.

Thanks for the information Stephan!
For the receiver my first attempt would be the AC410 from KS-Servo (it's a tiny 4-CH FRSKY compatible receiver with 8-CH output on PPM), but I'll probably fall back to a full size D8R-XP since my frame has plenty of room to spare and telemetry would be nice.  I guess I have some more reading to do regarding telemetry from the FC  (Assuming there are two options: either through the receiver telemetry port, if you have one, or inserted into the video signal via the OSD ?)