Cerberus Trifecta - Cerb v2 newbe build

Futuramille · Feb 18, 2018

its just been crazy busy at work the last two weeks. i still have to walk by this unfinished kit though. i think i have it fingered out and just need to aply heat.
i was going to continue the build over the weekend but i felt crappy after 93 hours at the computer/ phone/ yada yada. like any IT job.. fiscal first quarter gets exiting. (new budgets)
i manage suport for 3400 grocery stores computer systems. 90% "best shore" resources. all payments/pin pad, loyalty/points/ store side marketing / supply chain..... i work from home strictly. but as good as that may sound to some, I'm on call 24/7/365 and its a constant. i have an awesome team across four countries. last week's proof is i missed a couple days flying and maybe only 7 batteries all week. it's my favorite outlet and lunch break activity (something about an adrenaline rush releases stress and helps my appetite.
i think lack of flying gave me a cold. lmao

Futuramille · Feb 18, 2018

Futuramille said:
power wires to the pdb are done and the fc is mounted. i had to make new (longer) red spacers to guarantee proper fit. ... again, the nuts on top are holding the fc while solderingView attachment 1857 but will be on top of this and the end nut, to seal the stack. View attachment 1858
now to solder in the motor signal wires, vtx, rx.
the pico blx fc is also a 10a rated pdb but running these motors on 3s required the cicada 4in1.

btw, the rx goes in that space under the vtx. it's the furious fpv mnova version. sick *** features for a micro if i can get it and the pico blx in bed together

im still here...on this build.. but i did make sure how to route the wires

Futuramille · Feb 18, 2018

I've got some interesting soldering still to do..

this is some small-ish work he he.

HighTechPauper · Feb 18, 2018

That looks nice Futura! I too was a home office 7/24/365 type for the last 20 years and yes it does have some downsides, still I miss it sometimes because it was indeed exciting to help the national data backbone and end user connections get squared away. I wish I had a good answer for your old camera issue but I just don't see anything wrong or feel I have enough experience to make a good suggestion, perhaps I need to clear my mind and revisit it. Are you still having video noise issues with the one bird?

Futuramille · Feb 18, 2018

yes, the 5" still has issues lines in vid, its charge and fly though. for that one, i need to rerun the gnd for the camera to the same for the vtx. The 5" also still doesn't have sound to my Googles so thats on the list when we crash it the first time. nsj did a grass roll with it on Thursday orbiting a tiny orange tree ... at "blowing grass into the camera view" level .. crashed easy and my lawn needed mowing at the time (cushy). he's crushing this 5"s flight dynamics and the envelope change from the 3".
so I'm being lazy i think to make changes to it. tonight we promised each other to take time tomorrow to tune the camera brightness and saturation better in the morning before a 2 to 3 (lunch time) shot to go fly this new lakeshore construction that's just to much to pass up. we drive by it daily... it needs flying on.

Futuramille · Feb 18, 2018

as far as the lines in the video, it happens with the 3" as well and only when the motors are at speed. i don't have "filtering" on. is this relevant?

Futuramille · Feb 18, 2018

good question... what all does this sad looking appendage do for filtering?

what's it for? the mini... is a bnf from flynocerous. I've done nothing but crash and clean it... lots of blades though.
what's it do..

Futuramille · Feb 18, 2018

here's the 5" vid quality when frozen...

Futuramille · Feb 19, 2018

Futuramille said:
as far as the lines in the video, it happens with the 3" as well and only when the motors are at speed. i don't have "filtering" on. is this relevant?

eg: in beta flight you can add filtering but i don't think it's for vtx ... this vid noise is coming from the motors. I'm hoping getting the gnd wires closer together helps.
thoughts?

Futuramille · Feb 19, 2018

theGreenOrange said:
I respectfully submit that this is a function of the individual performance your specific 3", 4" and 5" quads. A frame design for a 5" quad may not translate to a 3" quad.

For example, I have not flown my 5" alien in months, in favor of my 3" and 4" quads which are superior to it in every respect.

With my quads, the 160g 4" simply demolishes the 5" on the same course. Tops speed, cornering, everything.

My smallest 75g 3" is more nimble than any of my other quads for tighter spaces. The feeling of acceleration is higher than my 5" given a smaller scale course.

It just depends on the individual quad IMO.

all due respect green.. your right! is all in what keeps you grinning. all three of these drones are rather robust and heavy by new race standards, i think i like extra weight for free (acro) flight for the hang time. I'm sure all three could be built lighter but it seems these were only great for racing a few months ago when i chose them. even flynocerous doesn't tout cerbs as "go race this" now .. but these are what i have. ( ;

in the first comment in this book of a thread i said i wasn't a collector of drones.
That doesn't mean i won't upgrade them but... carbon fiber drone frames with a lifetime return/replace policy sold me on theflynoguys ... not dreams of racing, i just want to fly but i want three sizes that match in design (looks). y'all see anything like this with similar frame quality elsewhere in three sizes? I'm "bought in".. thus the cerb trifecta thread.

theGreenOrange · Feb 19, 2018

Those are some nice quads you have built and I like them all.

As far as other top notch trifectas you could try, only the 'Merica comes to mind.

VirtueViolater · Feb 19, 2018

Futuramille said:
as far as the lines in the video, it happens with the 3" as well and only when the motors are at speed. i don't have "filtering" on. is this relevant?

Are you using low ESR capacitors? I've had video issues before that was caused by a bad motor also. Running your camera and vtx directly off of lipo voltage can cause lines, especially if you aren't using low ESR capacitors

Futuramille · Feb 19, 2018

you lost me... what's an esr capacitor and how would i select one for the 5". how do you decide its needed and what are the other options.
am i wrong about there being some filters in betaflight (i thought those were for gyro/ control) but is there an f3 board that regulates it better if a betaflight "filter" is on. im confused about "filters". what i think I'm looking for is a better regulator? im learning these electronics, but im not yet sure yet

Futuramille · Feb 19, 2018

all i know right now is that if the grounds aren't close... eg grounded to opposite sides of the board than the stuff the board is doing (mm's between) can cause a pattern in the camera. i don't have enough detail on this to make a better guess.
thanks for any info y'all can share on this.

VirtueViolater · Feb 19, 2018

Its used for filtering voltage spikes, it goes across + and - where the lipo lead solders to the pdb (or anywhere else you can put it)

VirtueViolater · Feb 19, 2018

Also, isolating the halo ground on antenna works sometimes

VirtueViolater · Feb 19, 2018

Looking at the pic you posted above i see you have one at your xt60

Futuramille · Feb 19, 2018

how do you choose the right one? thats on the xt60 for the mini and came bnf that way. should i assume i need one? i think ...maybe move the ground wires and see if that's better.. then add this if not? what's the procedure to decide what is needed?