September 3 2019

Drones!

This is mostly for keeping track of what equipment I have, and to keep notes regarding my drones, or drones in general.

A few years ago I got interested in soldering, later in electronics, later in arduinos, then 3D printing, and now a new hobby that is made possible thanks to all this.

It took a while to learn the basics, and now I finally reached a level where I can at least compose my own drones and build them from scratch.

TinyTina 90mm 3D printed drone

This whole mess started with ordering parts for: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3249126 I pretty much stuck with all the recommended parts, see https://blog.prusaprinters.org/how-to-build-a-3d-printed-micro-drone/

Flight controller + ESC board	HGLRC XJB F413 Omnibus F4 Flight Controller & 13A Blheli_S 2-3S...	url	52.71 EUR
Motors	Racerstar Racing Edition 1103 BR1103B 8000KV 10000KV 1-3S...	url	7.43 EUR
Propellers	5 Pairs Eachine 2035 50mm 4 Blade Propellers ABS For Eachine...	url	3.21 EUR
Battery	Giant Power 7.4V 300mAh 2S 35C Battery For HCP100s T-REX 150 F3P	url	5.33 EUR
Battery charger	Charsoon Lipo Charger	url	12.50 EUR
Radio Transmitter	FlySky FS-i6 2.4G 6CH AFHDS RC Radion Transmitter With FS-iA6B...	url	38.42 EUR
Flysky Receiver	FS-RX2A Pro V1 2.4G Compatible Receiver for FS-I6 FS-I6X FS-I6S...	url	7.35 EUR
Connector for battery	5 Pairs 100mm 10cm JST Male And Female Plug Connector Cable ESC...	url	1.49 EUR
Connect receiver with flight controller	Foxeer XAT600M 4Pin Servo Cable	url	1.02 EUR
Frame	3D printed		-
FPV goggles	Eachine VR D2 Pro 5 Inches 800*480 40CH 5.8G Diversity FPV...	url	66.13 EUR
FPV camera + built in transmitter	Eachine TX05 0.01/5/25/50/100/250mW Switchable w/ OSD AIO 5.8G...	url	23.22 EUR

Eachine Wizard x220 (M.I.A.)

Almost ready to fly wizard x220	Eachine Wizard X220 FPV Racing RC Drone Blheli_S F3 6DOF 2205...	url	117.06
Receiver (already had it, came with transmitter)	Flysky 2.4G 6CH FS-iA6B Receiver PPM Output With iBus Port	url	13.55 EUR
3S batteries used most	ZOP Power 3S 11.1V 1500MAH 25C Battery XT60 Plug	url	11.54 EUR
FPV Camera (upgrade)	caddx turtle v2 (special lens)	url	63.95 EUR
VTX (upgrade)	Eachine TS5828L Micro 5.8G 600mW 40CH Mini FPV Transmitter VTX...	url	8.79 EUR
Antenna (upgrade)	AOMWAY 5.8G 3dBi RP-SMA Male Four Lobe RHCP VTx/VRx FPV Antenna	url	10.75 EUR
Custom camera mount	3D designed + printed		-

Propeller upgrades

Stock propellers broke too easily, you could see the plastic get "tired" quickly. The DAL props really where indestructable compared to the stocks.

Tri blades	DAL Cyclone T5045C Propellers (4 stuks) - BLAUW	url	2.49 EUR
Bi blades	DAL 5045 Indestructible Bullnose Propellers - Groen (4 stuks)	url	1.95 EUR

Other batteries

3S	WLtoys V950 RC Helicopter Part 1500mAh 11.1V 20C 3S T Plug Lipo...	url	16.42 EUR
4S	Tattu LiPo accupack 14.8 V 1300 mAh Aantal cellen: 4 45 C Softcase XT60	url	20.49

Only flew the 4S battery once, which was when I lost the drone

Replacements

Replacement ESC (one burned probably shorted with the frame)

Aikon SEFM 20A 2-4S ESC

url

12.95 EUR

This ESC after configuring the same settings as the three remaining stock ESC's worked perfectly together, even though it's a different one. The quad flew perfectly fine.

Awesome E90 build

Frustrated with failures trying to build the TinyTina, trying different motors, different flight controller, it just didn't work well with the 3D printed frame anymore. It flew, but then it would bend and the props would hit something. So I looked for a more sturdy frame.

Frame	Awesome E90 90mm Micro Brushless Frame Kit Carbon Fiber 12g RC Drone FPV Racing Frame Multi Rotor	url	10.32 EUR
Motors	Racerstar Racing Edition 1103 BR1103B 8000KV 10000KV 1-3S Brushless Motor Black For 50-100 RC Drone FPV Racing - 8000KV	url	7.34 EUR
Flight controller	Aikon F42020 Flight Controller	url	32.95 EUR
4-in-1 ESC	AIKON AK32PIN 25A 2-6S 4-IN-1 ESC	url	53.95 EUR

The following parts are identical to the TinyTina build.

Flysky Receiver	FS-RX2A Pro V1 2.4G Compatible Receiver for FS-I6 FS-I6X FS-I6S...	url	7.35 EUR
Connector for battery	5 Pairs 100mm 10cm JST Male And Female Plug Connector Cable ESC...	url	1.49 EUR
Propellers	5 Pairs Eachine 2035 50mm 4 Blade Propellers ABS For Eachine...	url	3.21 EUR
FPV camera + built in transmitter	Eachine TX05 0.01/5/25/50/100/250mW Switchable w/ OSD AIO 5.8G...	url	23.22 EUR

Different batteries though, the battery wasn't powerful enough. Bought a few 450mAh with 20C, 45C. Turns out the 45C was the only one that was able to lift it off the ground. Now I did some redesigns and it became heavier, and now it won't come off the ground again with 45C, also not with an 80C 450mAh 2S battery. I have to troubleshoot the bottleneck now, either the props should be bigger (plenty of space, since I moved the entire stack below the frame), or the battery needs to be 3S, OR the capacitor has to go (I think it's recommended for 6S usually anyway, and maybe the soldering joints for the battery are not perfect).

Batteries tried

Conrad energy LiPo accupack 7.4 V 450 mAh Aantal cellen: 2 40 C Softcase BEC-bus	url	9.55 EUR
Gens ace LiPo accupack 7.4 V 450 mAh Aantal cellen: 2 25 C Softcase BEC	url	7.39 EUR
Conrad energy LiPo accupack 7.4 V 350 mAh Aantal cellen: 2 25 C Softcase BEC-bus	url	4.77 EUR
5Pcs Gaoneng GNB 7.4V 450mAh 2S 80/160C Lipo Battery JST Plug For Eachine Aurora 90 100 FPV Racer	url	27.88 EUR

Notes

Remapping motors

https://github.com/betaflight/betaflight/wiki/Remapping-Motors-with-Resource-Command-(3.1)

Long m2 screws

https://www.amazon.co.uk/sourcingmap-M2x30mm-Socket-Knurled-Screws/dp/B015A31EVK/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=m2+30mm&qid=1563786654&s=gateway&sr=8-7

General information

In cli

resource list

resource motor 1 a7 resource motor 2 a12 resource motor 3 a6 resource motor 4 a11 save

https://github.com/betaflight/betaflight/wiki/Remapping-Motors-with-Resource-Command-(3.1)