LibrePilot Forum
Users => Vehicles - MultiRotors => Topic started by: AeroR on June 04, 2017, 09:45:25 am
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Hi All,
New member here from Australia.
Just joined in to get some help with a new FPV mini quad build using Open Pilot boards.
After a very long break(almost 5 years) from this hobby, I'm back and ready to start over again.
I have a CC3D (used) and new Open Pilot Revolution with GPS(still in box) flight controller.
Have a few 3S 1000, 2200,3000 lipos and Gemfan 5030 props.
My intention is to build a non-racing FPV mini quad using the Impulse RC Alien 5" frame.
I did not have luck flying with the CC3D in the past and never got a chance to open the Revolution.
So, now here I am ready to start all over again and learn from this forum.
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My question is which FC to use(Revolution or CC3D?)with this FPV mini quad(Alien 5")
https://impulserc.com/collections/alien/products/alien-fpv-frame.
My budget for this initial build is around A$500 including frame.
What quality parts do I need to buy to make the return to this hobby a very enjoyable one.
Looking for your experience with motors and ESCs and FPV hardwares.
Bear in mind this will be a non-racing build.
Looking forward for experienced members input.
Many thanks again.
Aeror
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I would suggest motors 2204 size and perhaps ~2300 kV. Would be good to get ESCs with BusyBee2 basically any ESCs that flash with BLHeli_S, 4x separate ~20-24A ("opto").
For radio low budget Taranis Q7 is quite good, I flew with one it's decent, and you can use Sbus with it and Frsky has some very nice tinny receivers.
Order some nylon standoffs assortment kits, good to mount FC to the frame, unless you have these. I see no reason not to use Revo (which is better than CC3D), just put it in the not transparent case and cover baro with porous foam. If you plan on using GPS, you will need a mast that is not rotating ~12cm, if GPS is too close to motors/pdb/esc it won't work well, but you can still fly without GPS+Mag just with Complementary (Basic) and Baro.
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Hi Mateusz,
Thank you for the quick reply.
Already have a radio Tx( Hitec Aurora 9 with Optima receiver)
Here are the parts I intend to order including a few options about motor and ESCs.
Want to start initial build with Line of Sight(LOS) flying in mind first and slowly adding the FPV gears and hardwares.
My reasoning behind this process is that the quad should be built with quality components,well tuned FC and frame which should eventually result in a safe and stable quad to fly FPV.
I understand that this process will take some time as aiming to get a well tuned quad at first attempt is highly unlikely.
Here is a list of the motors and ESCs that I have in mind.Would these be compatible with 3S 2200 25C lipos? Will definitely go with OP Revolution with GPS then and keep the CC3D as a spare FC.
Motor option 1:
Emax RS 2205-2300KV https://impulserc.com/collections/motors/products/emax-rs2205-2300kv-motor-cooling-series
Motor Option 2:
TBS Mr Steele 2306 -2345KV Silk https://impulserc.com/collections/motors/products/tbs-mr-steele-2345kv-silk
ESCs Option 1
Aikon 30A ESC https://impulserc.com/collections/escs/products/aikon-2-6s-blheli-s-30-amp-esc
ESCs Option 2:
KISS ESC https://impulserc.com/collections/escs/products/kiss-24a-esc-race-edition
Props: Gemfan 5030 two bladed :https://flyduino.net/5030-Gemfan-2-bladed-Propeller-Set-orange-8-pcs-4-CW-and-4-CCW
Also was wondering what is the difference between triblade props vs two bladed props on this FPV 5"quad set up? Does using triblades over two bladed props add any real benefits in flight time?
Many thanks again for your help.
Regards,
AeroR
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Would these be compatible with 3S 2200 25C lipos?
I don't think it is a good choice of LiPo first of all 2200 mAh is too heavy, I would think 1800mAh is a bit too much. Second, 25C is way too low discharge rating, your battery is gonna puff very quick and will not deliver as much current as needed. Third, it's 3S, I wouldn't waste money on 3S batteries.
HK Graphene 65C 1500mAh 4S might be better choice. You will have more power and more pleasant flying experience.
KV Silk https://impulserc.com/collections/motors/products/tbs-mr-steele-2345kv-silk
ESCs Option 1
Aikon 30A ESC https://impulserc.com/collections/escs/products/aikon-2-6s-blheli-s-30-amp-esc
ESCs Option 2:
KISS ESC https://impulserc.com/collections/escs/products/kiss-24a-esc-race-edition
I am not really familiar with these products, I would have a look at power rating of motors given 5040 props you gonna use.
This is not best website but might give approximately idea https://www.ecalc.ch/, also check youtube for builds with similar frame.
Check weight of ESC, to be be in range 24-30A, check motor power rating, motor should have good wires (not with solid core like some cheap sunnysky which are hard to solder).
Also was wondering what is the difference between triblade props vs two bladed props on this FPV 5"quad set up? Does using triblades over two bladed props add any real benefits in flight time?
Three blade props will just work harder and produce more thrust, but will also draw more Amps = shorter flight, but more power. Pulling more Amps from your battery than it can deliver, will make it puffed very quick and it wont fly great.
I don't know how good pilot you are but IMO benefit of expensive parts is only noticeable/useful from a perspective of very top pilots. Yet copter from cheaper components can fly very very well and be competitive but costs way less than "hipster" stuff :) I wouldn't spend too much money on parts, you want to crash a lot I guess. It also very much depends how you build it, how you cut the cables to reduce weight, how low profile you make it. Of course buying cheapest motors is also not optimal as bearings might go bad, or they may fall aparat/vibrate... buy decent ones that other people use.
Maybe try T-motors for 250-280mm frame kits F-60 ones or for 200-250mm frame kits F-40 ones, don't really know whats your frame size, it might be 225mm if I am googling correctly, so F40 should be fine.
Maybe check this as reference build
https://oscarliang.com/alien-mini-quad-frame-review-build-log/
http://store.rotorriot.com/impulse-rc-alien-rr5-kit/
https://rotorbuilds.com/build/691
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2473157-ImpulseRC-Alien-FPV-Frames
I hear KISS24A are nice (friend is using) dunno about AIKON32, both are using 32bit ARM, I think that's a bit expensive, I would go with something more popular/standard using busybee2 chip and BLHeli_S. For example these https://www.banggood.com/4X-Racerstar-RS30A-V2-30A-Blheli_S-ESC-OPTO-2-4S-Support-Oneshot42-Multishot-for-FPV-Racer-p-1074733.html
At least that's what I would do.
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If those batteries are anything close to 5 years old, they are probably bad unless you stored them at storage voltage in the refrigerator.
I always try to use my cheapest boards first if there is no reason to use the expensive one. :) So do you ever want GPS in that quad? Do you want altitude hold (baro) in that quad?
For almost everything the CC3D should be the same as the Revo. The Revo does have a baro to give you altitude hold which is nice. The Revo can handle some of the new ESC signal protocols that I think maybe CC3D will never support. Of course, if you think you might want GPS, then the Revo is the way to go.
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The Revo can handle some of the new ESC signal protocols that I think maybe CC3D will never support.
As far as I know, LP implemented DShot without DMA such that it can be used also on CC3D and it should work exactly as good as on Revo.
CC3D does not have baro and can't do autonomous flight (no sensors, not enough sram).
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Hi All,
Thanks a lot for the reply.
I'm really liking this forum given the advice being provided by experienced members and speedy response.
Mateusz- Just ordered the following as per your advice:
2(Sets) X T-motors F 40 T-motors 2204/2300KV http://www.multiwiicopter.com/products/t-motor-f40-2300kv-2x-motor-set-au
4 X 30A ESCs BLHeli-S http://www.multiwiicopter.com/products/30a-blheli-s-carbonbee-opto-esc-au
HQ Props 5030 http://www.multiwiicopter.com/products/hqprop-5x3-cw-ccw-4-4-8-props
TheOtherCliff - The lipos are still in the box but haven't checked them yet if they are still in working condition- probably not, given that I did not store them in the refrigerator.
After watching some Youtube videos about the Impulse RC Alien 5" build, I have to agree with you that it might not be such a good idea to have GPS feature on this particular FPV quad build. However, I'm planning to use the OP Revolution FC without the GPS as it has a strong following here and strong ongoing support as well which makes it a no brainer for me.
I have noticed that a lot of FPV pilots using FRSky Tx. Should I get the FRSky Taranis X9DPlus and sell the Hitec Tx? I'm leaning more towards getting the Taranis as part of this build.
Would be nice to have your opinion on this.
Also do I need to flash the ESCs BLHeli-s before mounting them on the quad? If so what hardware do I need to buy. A link would be very much appreciated.
Many thanks again and really appreciate your time.
Regards,
AeroR
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I have a Tarot TL150H1 that I plan to put GPS. It was to get a fully autonomous quad under the USA FAA weight limit. I am using it for exploring, not racing. With the current USA government, give the government a month or two and they will give the FAA the real right to regulate RC and the FAA number will be required again...
If your HiTec works, use it. :) (It is 2.4ghz, right? Else the RC Rx antenna length is a problem.)
One nice thing about the Taranis is the all the aftermarket receivers you can buy. Cheap, tiny, feather light, long range, telemetry... I have a sack full for all my imagined builds.
Here is a link for BLHeli flashing that I found.
http://dronehitech.com/en/blheli-passthrough-easy-esc-flashing/
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Also do I need to flash the ESCs BLHeli-s before mounting them on the quad? If so what hardware do I need to buy. A link would be very much appreciated.
Many thanks again and really appreciate your time.
There is a code which I used already with Revo Nano and Sparky 2 boards for flashing ESCs via flight controlle though you would need to compile LibrePilot yourself and pull specific branch, I am not sure if it's merged yet and I don't know why its not :) But I also have that programming stick
http://www.multiwiicopter.com/products/carbonbee-program-stick
It's the link for the website from which you ordered your ESCs, it says in ESCs description and I got exactly the same one from other website :)
I agree with Cliff, no need for Taranis if you have radio already, and especially I would recommend not to buy another radio, until you know/figure out at least couple of features that you really need from that other radio :) Anything should work, other radio is more like a luxurious item, nice to have but not must, some people may hate it, some love it :)
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Did I see that the "BLHeli pass through" (flash and settings changes to all ESCs at once while still connected to the FC) got merged into next recently?
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Did I see that the "BLHeli pass through" (flash and settings changes to all ESCs at once while still connected to the FC) got merged into next recently?
There is code for doing that here https://bitbucket.org/mindnever/librepilot/branch/soft_serial4 works just fine, I could flash 4 ESC at once and configure them with BLHeliSuite.
But probably needs some testing before merge, last time I tried it, it worked :)
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Hi All,
Here is a few pics of my old mini quad from 5 years ago.
It is a 210 Bambucopter clear polycarbonate size frame with 12A Turnigy Plush ESCs and 1800Kv motors with 3S 1000 mAh lipos.
Believe it or not I was struggling to fly this safely with OP CC3D 5 years ago.
Now that I found this and it seems to be still working( I can hear the Escs still beeping when connected to a 3S lipo, I thought to myself why not get the CC3D to life and try to revive it and get some help form forum members here.
Just to get things rolling I thought to give this mini quad another chance in life while still waiting a few more days for my FPV Alien 5"parts to arrive.
I would be very grateful if someone can help me out set up the tx.
Regards,
Aeror
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Here are a few more photos of the OP FC
AeroR
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I am not that experienced to say if this would fly good. Some things would worry me
- Type of material too flexible
- Props not mounted firmly
- FC must also be mounted firmly to the frame
From my experience my first build 450mm plastic flame wheel f450 was flying like drunk because either props were unbalanced or FC not mounted firmly. Balancing props of 5" is not important but stiffness of frame, props might matter. You don't want vibrations. Did you tune PIDs yourself ? We have Autotune now with Revo but I am afraid shaking Autotune does could break this frame it looks fragile. I would clean up, shorten cables as well. What motors/brand are these ? Do they spin (without props) smoothly ? You could try bigger Tau accel/gyro for vibrations filtering but not too big, each part of GCS should have tooltip if you hover mouse and wait few sec.
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If it has a good setup and tuning and was flying before, you might consider installing the old OP version that matches and starting out flying it as it is to prove that it works and familiarize yourself a little with what you used to know.
Either that, or assume it is a new quad and install LP on it and run the setup wizard to get to a default flying quad. You will probably need to update the bootloader, before you update the firmware.
https://librepilot.atlassian.net/wiki/display/LPDOC/Firmware+Tab
Do:
Update bootloader - Rescue method
Then:
Update firmware - Manual method
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Hi Mateusz,
The frame is extremely flexible as it is made out of polycarbonate.
One of the motor/ESC is not getting any current when connected to the 3S lipo whereas the other three are fine just by the beeping sound of the ESCs.
I might have to get rid the frame and motors and keep the ESCs and LEDS.
The motors are no name elcheapo brand.Bought for under $8/each at Hobby king at the time.
When comparing FC, what is your opinion on KISS FC by Flyduino?
How would you compare it to CC3D?Is it any better in terms of ease of set up and use and features?
Also my Hitec TX does not hold power for very long.Any idea if I can put a 2S lipo instead? If this can be done, what size lipo would you recommend? I mean what C rating and mAh? The current Nimh battery is rated @7.2V/1300mAh
Also, maybe this might sound a dumb question but when setting up my mini quad on the TX, under what model should I be setting it up? There are thee model selection namely: Acro, Glider and Heli.
Thank you for our reply.
Regards,
AeroR
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Hi,
I think KISS is a very good flight controller but its made for racing and runs properitary software, you can Not flash it with LP. I havent used it myself though collegue did. I am not sure if it has any navigation features or altitude hold, its mainly racing FC. Probably has better mcu than CC3D something more like Revo. I think you should try to find manual for your radio and check whst batteries. I think voltage must agree and with 2S that would be 8.4V fully charged above what your ninh batteries deliver so lipo would probably burn yoir radio but check manual. About acrimheli,glider for quadcopter its probably acro but again this seems hitec radio specific, i never used thst radio. My first radio was turnigy 9x which i immedietly moded and flashed with OpemTx (same as used by taranis) cause i couldnt stand stock firmware from turnigy. I think you are better off if you buy branded motors and frame and start with new build, previous one does not look promising.
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Hi All,
Just got all the parts today for the Alien 5'' mini FPV quad.
As I was putting all the parts together, I realised that the ESCs are all BL Helli-S 30A, none of them has a red(positive./power supply cable).
From my understanding is that at least one of the ESCs should have a positive red cable to power the CC3D FC.Is there anything that I'm missing here?
Also, should I flash the ESCs before soldering and mounting them on the quad or after soldering?
How to decide the motor direction when soldering the motors and ESCs? I know M1 rotates CW, M2 CCW, M3 CW and M4 CCW.
I have enclosed a few photos of the ESCs so that you can have an idea of what I mean by the red positive cable missing.
Also, may be this is going to haunt me later on, but have decided to start with CC3D FC on this build as I need to practice a lot before moving up to OP Revolution.
The Impulse RC Alien 5" is a very solid frame and well designed, but a pain to put together. It took me more than an hour to get it assembled.
This is my unbiased opinion only but have to mention this, Alien 5"is expensive but well worth it for its quality parts.
Thanks,
Regards,
AeroR
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Also the All up weight for the mini quad is around 550g.
The build parts:
Impulse RC - Alien 5"mini FPV frame
Motor: T-motor 2204/2300Kv
ESCs: BLHeli-S 30A
Lipo: Turnigy Graphene 1500 mAh 65C 4S
Props: HQ5030 twin blade.
Is the weight ok for this size frame /motor and lipo?
Thanks,
Regards,
AeroR
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The best way to size motors, etc is to looks at the specs of the motor. The rule of thumb is that you generally don't want to have a trust to weight ratio of less than 2/1, so, with 4 motors, you want the maximum thrust from each motor to be no less than 50% of the total weight of the quad.
The thrust depends on all the drive train parts, and you should be able to get motor specs from tables produced by the manufacturer.
It looks like this is the motor that you have: http://www.rctigermotor.com/html/2014/Navigator_0124/192.html
, and it shows those motors only supporting up to 3S. With a 5030 prop at 3S, it shows a maximum thrust of 332g. You will be pushing the motor outside of the specs with 4S, but even with 3S the motor is powerful enough for a 550g quad IMO.
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It looks like this it shows those motors only supporting up to 3S. With a 5030 prop at 3S, it shows a maximum thrust of 332g. You will be pushing the motor outside of the specs with 4S, but even with 3S the motor is powerful enough for a 550g quad IMO.
He didnt get older navigator series but newer F series. You look at wrong specs, newer F series run 4S according to specs just fine. Also you can see these are F series on his photos ;) not old silver t-motors.
About determining motor direction, i use the clamps to hang washed clothes run them to see direction, then swap wires if necessary and solder. Middle wire missing from ESC is normal, you need to provide power from regulator on pdb 5V. You dont want noisy voltage from esc or have regulator on esc that would add weight/complexity and heat. Escs with regulator are not common anymore.
About thrust to weight more than 1:2 is a good rule, the more you can reduce weight the better of course.
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Good catch on the motors. It must be these motors, then:
http://www.rctigermotor.com/html/2015/fpvmotors_1117/305.html
You can get over 1000g of thrust with those motors!
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Also, should I flash the ESCs before soldering and mounting them on the quad or after soldering?
How to decide the motor direction when soldering the motors and ESCs? I know M1 rotates CW, M2 CCW, M3 CW and M4 CCW.
I would flash the ESCs before soldering and mounting.
For Revo class only there is a test version of code that can flash all at the same time with ESCs connected to Revo.
You could carefully use wires that have insulated alligator clips at both ends to connect ESC to motor and slowly spin the motor with a servo tester connected to the ESC. I fly 330 to 500 quads. I always use bullet connectors (insulated with heat shrink tubing) between ESC and motor, so it is just a matter of unplugging two wires and switching where I plug them back in. That is 12 sets of connectors though, which is extra weight. Also there comes a small enough size that I would not use bullets.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/112347492928
Be aware that both SimonK and BLHeli have options to make them spin backwards if you would rather flash than change wires.
If you have a matched set of motors and a matched set of ESCs and the motors have different colors on the 3 wires then once you find the order for one you can know all of them.
If you get all of them backwards, there is a check box in GCS Vehicle page to reverse all motor directions. Then just swap props too and everything works.
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Hi All,
Just finished with my quad and after rewiring the ESCs everything is working in perfect order.All the motors are spinning in their respective direction.
No issues so far.
Brian - The motors are the new F40 Series designed for FPV racing. It has more than 1000g thrust I believe.That is insanely powerful.It's more than enough for a beginner to get into trouble.But I'm not racing at this stage.
TheOtherCliff- I am very keen on learning to flash the ESCs through the FC.I would prefer to go this path as it would make things a lot easier.Is this process called "Passthrough"?
Is it possible to flash the ESCs using Betaflight/Cleanflight as the Passthrough method?
Would it affect my quad in anyway afterwards when setting up through LP? I don't see this feature yet in LP. Or am I not looking in the right place?
If there are anywhere that I can use the Passthrough method of flashing my ESCs the easiest way, please provide a link or list the steps required for CC3D users who want to use this method.
I feel like getting very close to flying now and the Alien FPV is looking great.
I will post some photos later on of the weight.
Mateusz- Middle wire missing from ESC is normal, you need to provide power from regulator on pdb 5V. You dont want noisy voltage from esc or have regulator on esc that would add weight/complexity and heat. Escs with regulator are not common anymore.
I have this aluminium polymer capacitor soldered on the PDB: https://impulserc.com/collections/misc/products/aluminum-polymer-capacitor.
Is this that you were referring to? Please provide a link to what I need to solder on the PDB.
I'm using the Impulse RC PDB. https://impulserc.com/collections/pdbs/products/alien-4oz-copper-pdb-kit-black
Many thanks to all those replying to my questions.
I really appreciate it.It makes this hobby so much more fun and very interesting to learn a few things along the way.
Regards,
AeroR
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- Usually PDB has place to either connect regulator or has built-in one. Regulator reduces voltage from battery voltage to 5v.
You must check with multi meter if the output voltage is 5v before powering FC. I don't know if your pdb has built-in regulator but one can buy them separately. For example pololu one 5v 1A or some other BEC. - About flashing ESC there is a branch of developer who made passthrough but it's not merged yet. All you need flashing for is active barking and reverse direction of motor. But you should be able to fly just fine with default firmware on ESC.
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Flashing Beta/Clean Flight involves flashing a bootloader then / and firmware. Changing bootloaders from one brand to another can be a complication. If you really want to use passthrough, I suggest that you flash the LP developer testing version that has that and read the thread about it. That way you won't have to change bootloaders from one brand to another each time you do it.
https://forum.librepilot.org/index.php?topic=3510.msg24079;topicseen#msg24079
https://forum.librepilot.org/index.php?topic=1468.msg10803;topicseen#msg10803
@Mateuze has used it and could tell you more.
I can tell you that all the "large" "cheap" ESCs that I buy still have BECs built in, because they can be used for airplanes too. Maybe the new, small, more advanced quadcopter ESCs don't usually have BECs now.
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Hi All,
I am still waiting on the Pololu 5V voltage regulator to arrive.My order will be delivered by early next week.
In the meantime I have bought a 7805 5V voltage regulator.You can see in the picture, it is to the right of CC3D among a few capacitors.
Is this suitable to solder on the PDB to power CC3D with 5V? Or Should I wait for the real Pololu to arrive in the mail.
There are not many info on how to solder this on a PDB to power the FC. All I know is it is a 7805 voltage regulator and the shop I bought it from said it will do exactly the same job as the Pololu.Also, if this happens to be similar to the Pololu in terms of functionality, how do I wire this to the PDB ? All I can see is G on the right hand side of the regulator and the number 7805 and a few other numbers.
Also after watching a couple of YT videos about building a mini quad a lot of builders are using and recommending to use electrolytic 330UF capacitors as the Opto ESCs do not have any capacitors built-in nowadays to save on weight.
My understanding is these capacitors protect all the onboard(sometimes expensive electronics) from voltage spikes.Should I solder them next to each ESCs on the PDB pad?
Another question regarding the programmable RGB LED that I bought from Impulse RC: https://impulserc.com/collections/leds/products/alien-rgb-led-ring.
I intend to use this LED on the quad to connect to CC3D.Any advice of how to get this connected and wired as well please?
Should this be connected to the servo headers on Pin #6 as I'm going to use Pin header # 5 to power the FC from the PDB through the 5 V regulator.(Servo headers 1- 4 allocated to motors).
Thank you for reading this and any help will be very much appreciated.
Regards,
AeroR
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Hi,
Regulators can be generally of two types: switching or linear(one you got on photos LM 7805).
Pololu I belive has switching regulator(depends probably which pololu) and can reduce a lot of voltage but is noisy, i prefer switching regulator anyway since FC has linear one and caps. Linear regulators are less noisy but produce tons of heat the higher thr voltage and have couple of other drawbacks.
You must always check if you solder them correctly, always check output voltage, it may happen that if you do not solder them correctly they output your battery voltage.
About putting caps on escs you do this only on big escs and escpecially when you enabled active barking. I dont remember exactly but there should be recommendations in ESC manual. Personally i never did it, because all electronics i power, everything goes from switching regulator with filters, not directly from pdb/battery/esc circuit. Some cameras can be powered directly from same voltage as esc, i guess that would be a problem. If you want you can put an LC filter after regulator or buy PDB which has regulator and fitlering caps. I dont think this is gonna be an issue and indeed caps on each esc add weight.
What is important is that you should not exceed voltage your circuit requires. If its 5V keep it 5V. What you have to pay attention to is amperage. If your regulator gives 500mA and your electronics onboard takes only 300mA you are good. If your electronics tskes 500mA then your reg is gonna work hard, and if your circuit needs 700mA then your reg might burn out. Best is to have reg that can deliver more amps, of course that usually means bigger reg, but there are tiny pololu that can do 1A 5V. My whole on board flight gear on 280mm build uses ~600mA with very powerful video tx. I dont know how much your gear draws.
Check for matek brand pdb or some pdb on banggood some come in 30.5 hole spacing (stadnard fc 36x36mm) size and could fit neatly under fc such as cc3d or revo. If your frame kit has holes for soldering pololu, use that. My Wasp II from birdseye.nu had place for pololu. Sorry for long and verbose post ;)
Just check with multi meter whatever you do, and always check polarity.
Good luck.
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Google for:
7805 pinout
Typical 7805 circuit has some small capacitors that go with it, but I have used them without capacitors.
7805 is a linear regulator which means the way it works is to waste the power as heat. The higher the input voltage the higher the heat, so connecting it to a 2s lipo would not produce much heat. 3s would produce medium heat and need to be tested. 4s would probably produce too much heat and require a heat sink.
Standard 7805 will easily source 1 amp. For you, heat is the real issue. Test it by grabbing it after plugging the battery in with everything connected that draws power. Hold it to see how hot it gets. Uncomfortable to hold tightly but doesn't burn your finger is about as hot as you want to allow. It is OK if it is only this hot during a whole minute. If it ever gets hot enough to boil water, it is way too hot. Try to not let it get this hot and if it wants to you need a heatsink. If it is out in the breeze it will stay cooler when flying.
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Hi Mateusz and TheOtherCliff,
Thank you for the detailed explanation about the regulator.
I finally managed to find a YT video showing how to solder the 7805 Vreg to a quadcopter.
After soldering the 7805 to the PDB I keep getting the same reading of 5.02V all the time.Does this matter?
When I plugged in the 4S lipo and connected the FC, I was so happy to see that the board was powered up by the voltage regulator.
Shortly after, I decided to update the FC through the GCS(16.09) and calibrated the quad and ESCs and Tx.Everything went smoothly and loaded all default setting.
But When I took it outside in the garden to see if it would fly, I was a bit disappointed that it flipped over on it's "head" and turned upside down on the very first try.
Tried couple more times until I broke two props.Then decided to stop trying and get some advice from the forum.
All up weight is 556 g.
I have yet to set up the failsafe mode and mode 2 flying.
Can anyone PLEASE advise me what could be wrong and I would like to have some basic settings to start very slowly instead of the default as it does not seem to be working as I was expecting it to work.
Many thanks again.
Regards,
Rohan
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Voltage is fine. Usually people make the following mistakes that cause quad to flip, I will make a list and you can check them one by one
- Flight controller mounted in wrong orientation, arrow must point forward motors
- ESC (servo) cables connected to wrong channels so motor 1 is 2 or so on...
- Motors not spinning in correct directions (inwards in front and back of copter)
- Propellers that are marked R for reverse mounted on props that spin in other direction. You usually have R and without R marking props.
- Adding too little throttle so quad is not lifting off but trying to stabilize and flipping.
I bet something with first points, check cables, motor directions, esc numbering. LP motor order is different than Cleanflight motor order. Check FC orientation as well.
P.S Before of anything of abovd, MUST do is to set failsafe.
Take off props for this, throttle up not to much as that is bad for motors when they run high speed without load(props) but you want it to be tested on ground. Turn off your radio, if failsafe works motors should stop. There are two failsafe usually, one on your receiver and it should be set to no-pulse and one on FC that detect no-pulse and does something. You should use default failsafe to cut motors completly. Thats safest and preferable. Dont set low throttle as depending on weight or props, battery that number might cause flying up. Safest is zero throttle on failsafe and drop on ground.
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Hi All,
I'm still struggling with CC3D set up.
I managed to clean up the wiring on my old bambucopter frame and all the ESCs and motors are still working fine.
Issues are the same after flashing and configuring the quad in the GCS.
Today decided to try again but this time it refuses to arm and I have noticed a slow blinking blue light only on the board.
This is getting a bit frustrating to say the least.I have spent countless hours just trying to make this work without any luck.
Not sure if it is a faulty board or not as I bought this board privately from RCgroups member from the US at the time.(Almost 5 years ago) To make matters worst,I can hardly identify any fault as it is recognised in the GCS and flashed correctly all the time I try.
I have this Revolution board showing a slow blinking red and blue light (steady green power light)after trying to flash version 16.09.My intent is to try the Revo board and try to identify if there are any issues with the board /or the quad itself.
Please have a look at the pics and let me know if there is anything wrong with the REvo.
Thanks,
AeroR
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I started to reply last night, but I couldn't figure out whether you have CC3D and Revo or one or the other and which problem you wanted to discuss.
Also, it is important to know whether it is a fast blink, a slow blink, or slow fade. Probably a video would be best for this?
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Hi TheOtherCliff,
Thank you for the quick response.
I finally managed to get CC3D up in the air today for a 1 minute or so with my old trusty Bambucopter.I must say that it flew really well for that short time without any oscillation.Just need to adjust the trims a little bit as it seems to be drifting to the south all the time.
Will try a proper maiden on the weekend and see how it goes.
Spec of the Bambucopter mini quad are:
230mm frame size,
Motors: Turnigy T 1811 2000 Kv
Escs: Turnigy 12A
Lipo: 3S 1000 25C
AUW: 360g
FC: OP CC3D.
The OP Revo is the FC that I flashed with16.09 version and having these blinking lights.They are fast blinking blue and red light.
Not sure if this is a bad sign or what.This FC is the original Open Pilot production release.
Also, would you say that Sparky 2.0(Taulabs) is identical to OP Revo in terms of features(cpus, sensors etc)or is one better than the other?
Thank you.
Regards,
AeroR
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On Revo, very fast blinking alternating orange and blue (so fast you can't really count it) happens for several seconds just after power up and again for a shorter time at arming (but not with INS13). It is calibrating the gyros and if you are going to fly it, it must be motionless during these calibrations. The calibration won't complete if you have it in your hand and are thus moving it.
Medium alternating blue orange is something else, and the length of the color means something.
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Hi All,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped me with my CC3D set up and answer all my questions.
Unfortunately I haven't been so lucky to make the most out of the CC3D FC for various reasons. Now I have decided to move on with a new FC that I have been reading about lately and it seems it has a lot of following and support on the RCgroups.
Yes, I have decided to get myself the Flyduino KISS FC and ESCs and will be mounting those on the Alien 5'' FPV quad.Have already ordered the parts, just waiting for them to arrive in the mail.The reason for choosing this particular flight controller is: 1.It is an F3 board with minimal fuss to set up for newbies. 2. Strong support on the RCgroups forum.
Again, I would like to thank you all for your generous time in answering all my questions.
I wish Librepilot team all the best and hopefully if there are any new FC realease with F4 or better and GPS in the future, I might be back again.
Thank you.
Regards,
AeroR
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Hi AeroR,
I am glad if we could help! Pity you couldn't solve your problems. Having said that, I am pretty sure that you know, but to clarify if needed, KISS FC is indeed a really nice flight-controller, but as far as I know it's not an autopilot. It is a racing board as it does have neither of hardware of firmware to perform autonomous flight. Depending on chip but average F3 is has the same Cortex-M4 core as F4, but a bit less SRAM and additional programmable inverter which F4 does not. It's something meant to fill the gap between F1 and F4 and mostly used on racing flight-controllers. Also KISS FC firmware is closed source. It's more like changing from GNU/Linux to Apple's MacOS. It should be possible to install BetaFight firmware on KISS FC, but again it's an another racing oriented firmware. If you look for racing board probably any F3 board with BetaFlight would do as good as KISS FC I think. Also LibrePilot runs fine on SPRacingF3Evo and derivative boards and PicoBLX using next, with more F3 targets to come, supporting built-in OSD and SDcard logging.
I don't find anything difficult with LP to setup racing board, wizard, autotune, 3 banks which can be switched in flight, telemetry but maybe other firmware is easier for you and suits you better, try it and enjoy flying ! :)
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Hi Mateusz,
Thank you for your response.
Advice taken on board. Have decided to give a final shot at CC3D. Waiting on couple of frames and parts to try the board.
Have ordered a micro 130 mm(3")Japalura FPV frame to see if this can work.
Will keep you posted of my progress.
Just to let you know that I have no technical background which makes things a little bit challenging at first. But with the help of members like you and others, hopefully I can get this thing flying again soon.
I'm very happy with the support here.
Many thanks again.
Regards,
AeroR
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I know it sounds strange, but never adjust your transmitter trims. They must remain where they were when you ran the transmitter wizard. If you really don't remember where they were, you can either hover in Rate mode and adjust trims with Rate to re-center the trims using Rate, or set trims to factory default and run just the transmitter wizard again.
The reason for this is that the trims (Attitude mode) don't really stay trimmed. You wind up needing more and more trim, and then the next flight you suddenly have too much trim.
Hovering (simple hover only) in Rate mode is not that hard. If you can hover a whole battery in Attitude, you can hover in Rate.
Once you have the transmitter trims matching what they were when you ran the wizard, if it drifts during hover in Attitude mode (Stabilized1), then you must use Attitude -> Settings -> RotateVirtual to fix the drift.
- if it is drifting forward you subtract from pitch
- if it is drifting left you subtract from roll
Once you get all this correct, you might want to adjust the PIDs and if you are flying long distances in Attitude, like for FPV, eventually move to using Rate mode.
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For the LEDs status. If you want more detailed info these youtube movies might help, but yeah video like Cliff said, would help us to tell.
- CC3D LED https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7lO53JRBQ
- Revolution LED https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muV5oJBMum8
Also someone made a table like this http://opwiki.readthedocs.io/en/latest/user_manual/revo/leds.html
So as you can see, the problem is when there is only red led on. Otherwise it's just a notification of something happening, like "zeroing gyros aka dont touch me now".
P.S If you are referring to CC3D that's racing board, the board you show on pictures is not CC3D, it is Revolution board see https://librepilot.atlassian.net/wiki/display/LPDOC/Supported+Hardware
CC3D = CopterControl 3D it is a different hardware than Revolution.
Unfortunately, Chinese started putting on market Revolution chained up with other names, to get more google hits, so you might end up with name Revolution Sparky2 etc.. when they really mean Revolution.