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Keep motors running when idle

Spider,

Okay got a few things for you. If you use the reclose strips I told you about you should only need one strap. The strip will keep it from moving side-to-side. The one on the camera used to be the same as the one on the base but I cut it down to try to get some more angle. I still need to make a wedge.

01-Camera Mount.JPG 01-Camera Mount.JPG 02-Camera Mount.JPG 03-Camera Mount.JPG

I also use the reclose strips for my FC and TX.

07-FC Plate Mount.JPG

For the VTX I use double stick foam on the little box on the bottom of the VTX and on the 90 degree adapter and then one zip tie (not too tight) to keep it in place.

04-VTX Mount.JPG 05-VTX Mount.JPG

These are the antenna clips I was talking about. You didn't get these?

06-Antenna Clips.JPG

Put some double foam tape under each of your ESC's and put a couple of zip ties on them.

09-ESC Straps.JPG

Here's the isolators I mentioned earlier. The little ball ones like you have on your camera mount and the plate for your FC are too spongy. The barrels type ones are a bit stiffer and thicker. They work much better at keeping the FC solid yet absorb much of the vibration.

08-Isolators.JPG

It looks like you're figuring things out, I'll bet you're getting excited!

Here's a video clip from my 250B the way I have it set up now.


Jerry
 
Yeah mine was RTF so no antenna clips. So I'll figure something out. I did order that reclose strips from Amazon and it should be here next week sometime. So will use what I have currently until they arrive. I'm curious to the reasoning of putting foam tape under the ESCs, are they liable to break in a crash?
 
Spider,

I guess the foam tape keeps down vibration to the ESC's a bit but will also keep them from moving around during bumps and crashes. Some are even soft mounting the motors, Joshua Bardwell has done some testing and it does appear to make the birds run quite a bit smoother.

Make sure when you place your FC that you have it far enough forward to get the USB port forward of the XT60 connector so you can easily connect to the computer. Also, make sure your FC is square and level in the frame or your sensors will be screwed up.

Good luck!

Jerry
 
Yeah will do. Hoping to get some flying in this weekend between the shows I'm in. I'm planning on meeting up with a Mavic Pro buddy for a sunrise shoot on Saturday morning so will bring the 250B as well to fly. My goggles should be in by then. Figured I'll take it easy the first week or two by using angle mode for takeoff and landings and be conservative with my acro flying. My goal is to get more flying experience with this one, and then build the next one. So learning lots of good stuff here.

Btw, I did run into an issue with cleanflight/betaflight. Turns out the usb driver you need doesn't work on MacOS 10.12 yet. So I'm going to try to find an old laptop I have to put an older OS on it to use for that process, might take a couple days in itself since I have to find an old laptop that still works, My wife says we have a plethora of computers in the house.

Since I saw in your video you've had a couple "tree bumps", how would you say the drone handles in a crash? Is the frame pretty strong? I got 5 sets of extra props just in case, but was wondering how durable these drones are. The times I flew my friends drone, we've had to just replace props. We always flew over a grass field. The worst damage that came to his was the antenna connector got disconnected (he has a custom job on it). But he was able to fix it quickly. So basically, what tools should I have with me on flight days?
 
Spider,

Yeah, that was a mishmash of about 10 2200mah 3S batteries that day. My first time pushing around the trees. That video was also in Horizon mode, I have since been practicing in Acro and it's been a blast! I put the few crashes in to show the durability of the bird. It's a very durable bird.

I had my worst crash with it a few days ago. I was in Acro, was pretty high, going pretty fast, went to do a flip and lost my orientation. The bird slammed hard into the ground with the rear of the bird hitting first. It was like flying straight into the ground at a 45 degree angle with the rear of the bird. When I first got to the crash I thought it was smoked. The battery, FC and TX had popped out, the camera was gone, the camera strap was ripped in half, the LED was broken, the XT60 connector on the PDB was broken, the rear props were trashed. It dug into the ground so everything had mud packed everywhere. It looked horrible.

After cleanup and inspection, all components and the frame were fine. The only actual broken parts were the XT60 connector and the LED. Tore the whole thing completely apart, cleaned it up a bit, replaced the XT60 connector and LED, replaced the rear props and I was back in business!

Make sure you check all of the screws and bolts before you head out, they can loosen up a bit every now and again. Bring the hex wrenches, a small Phillips head and flat head screwdriver, a wrench for your antenna and VTX and spare props, battery strap and Velcro or camera strap. I'm using these props, they fly very good and they're very durable. In most cases you can actually bend them back into shape and continue to fly.

Amazon.com: Rotorland 16 pack of GemFan Master Series 5045BN 3 Blade Props - CodeRed: Toys & Games

Good luck and have fun!

Jerry

Edit: and zip ties!
 
I have a nice hex wrench I've been using for the props. Will had the add my ifixit toolset to my kit since it has a lot of tools in there that is compact. Got extra straps and lots of zip ties. Will have to get a case for the drone and all the stuff, been using the box it came in for right now.

Since you mentioned you've build drones before, can you recommend a good kit to start with? I did see a X250B unassembled kit for 160 bucks I was thinking of getting, but if know any other good kits that would be good for a first build, I'd like to know. My soldering skills are ok at this point. I built a home flight simulator (you can see it in the indoor flights I've done) and I've soldered switches before. So would like to build a drone to practice and learn.
 
You don't need a kit, pick all your favorite parts off of banggood or amazon, or even getfpv if budget allows.
Well I don't really know where to start in picking out parts, since I don't have any favorites yet. Most videos I"ve seen are just how to build the drone, but haven't really found any good sites to explain all the components and help me pick which I'd like to get. I'm an engineer by trade, so I like to learn as much as I can about each part before I start building. I tend to do a lot of research before buying things. I researched my gaming PC for about 4 months before buying the parts to put it together.
 
Spider,

Actually we're in the same boat, I'm just a couple of months ahead of you. I have not done my first complete build yet, I'm just acquiring the parts to do so now. My soldering skills are rudimentary at best. I just started soldering when I got into this hobby. I've been flying P2's, P3's for a year and a half or so and got my Mavic about 4-6 weeks ago and have only put it in the air about 3 times so far. I just got immersed in the race drone stuff.

About the 250B...I also bought the unassembled one more for spare parts than anything. I love this bird and I don't think it gets the credit that it should. The frame is solid and easy to access. The competent are good and perform extremely well. It's a very durable bird and it flies like a dream, especially in Acro. It is still my favorite bird and I bought 3 others that come highly recommended by the guru's on the net.

The others are x-frames and that may be the biggest difference in flying characteristics. I really want to get more into freestyle than actual racing. They are much more compact and haven't been quite as durable as the 250B.

My suggestion, fly the heck out of this thing for a while. Get familiar with it, it's components and use it to really get into Acro flying. Then try to get some time with an x-frame and see which you like better before you make the jump into a build.

All just my opinions of course!

Jerry
 
Spider,

Actually we're in the same boat, I'm just a couple of months ahead of you. I have not done my first complete build yet, I'm just acquiring the parts to do so now. My soldering skills are rudimentary at best. I just started soldering when I got into this hobby. I've been flying P2's, P3's for a year and a half or so and got my Mavic about 4-6 weeks ago and have only put it in the air about 3 times so far. I just got immersed in the race drone stuff.

About the 250B...I also bought the unassembled one more for spare parts than anything. I love this bird and I don't think it gets the credit that it should. The frame is solid and easy to access. The competent are good and perform extremely well. It's a very durable bird and it flies like a dream, especially in Acro. It is still my favorite bird and I bought 3 others that come highly recommended by the guru's on the net.

The others are x-frames and that may be the biggest difference in flying characteristics. I really want to get more into freestyle than actual racing. They are much more compact and haven't been quite as durable as the 250B.

My suggestion, fly the heck out of this thing for a while. Get familiar with it, it's components and use it to really get into Acro flying. Then try to get some time with an x-frame and see which you like better before you make the jump into a build.

All just my opinions of course!

Jerry

It's a shame you only flew the Mavic three time. She's a great drone and tons of great features on her. I love how portable she is and there is a great group of guys in my area who own them. So we often meet and fly drones. That's how I got introduced to FPV flying...from one of them.

Will see if I can find more info. I like the ARRIS frame since it has the PDB built in and nice. I think I would like to get a FC with OSD on it for the next build. Would be nice to have an artificial horizon to be able to do some nice tricks knowing where the horizon is. So will do some research on FC's for that.
 
Well I don't really know where to start in picking out parts, since I don't have any favorites yet. Most videos I"ve seen are just how to build the drone, but haven't really found any good sites to explain all the components and help me pick which I'd like to get. I'm an engineer by trade, so I like to learn as much as I can about each part before I start building. I tend to do a lot of research before buying things. I researched my gaming PC for about 4 months before buying the parts to put it together.


This kit is pretty decent, and super cheap.
Realacc X210 4mm Frame w/ F3 6 DOF Racerstar BR2205 2300KV Motor RS30A V2 Blheli_S 5X4X3 Prop Sale - Banggood Mobile
 
Well I don't really know where to start in picking out parts, since I don't have any favorites yet.

Don't worry about favorites. Here is the basics

1) Pick the frame that you like.
For the first build, I strongly recommend that you select a frame that has plenty of room between the plates. Compact frames look very inviting. But you have to be very minimalistic with the build. Almost like building a ship in a bottle.

2) Pick your motors.
I'll have to admit, the motors were the tricky part for me. The frame specifications will give you several different sizes that fits / works best on the frame. But you still have to decide which one and what brand. Depending on what you want to do, race / free style, you may select something "middle-of-the -road". For me, I just pick the biggest badest one that fits. You don't have to use all the throttle.

3) Pick your props.
Once again - frame specifications. Props are cheep. Just don't go to aggressive on the pitch. You can always buy more. Just remember, you need a (set). 2 CW rotation and 2 CCW rotation.
2 blades = speed w/ poor cornering
3 blades = middle of road
4 blades = great cornering w/ less speed.

4) Pick your Flight Controller
Main thing to consider is: Will it fit the frame. Check the frame spec's to see the physical size of the board required to fit. Also, here is where the planning becomes like playing a chess game (you have to think ahead and combine moves). Things to consider are:
a) Pick you OS: Clean / BetaFlight, RaceFlight. ect.
b) How will I power the board (direct from battery or PDB)
c) Will you need OSD / filters on this board
d) Is the board compatible with your receiver.
e) LED's ?

5) Pick your PDB
a) Will It Fit (physical size)
b) Will it provide power to your FPV equipment (Camera / FPV Transmitter)
c) Will it provide power for the FC
d) OSD power / filter (if not on the FC)
e) What is the power rating of the board (for the ESC's / motors) Will it carry the load.

6) Pick your ESC's
Physical size is a big concern here too. Frame spec's will help you with dimensions. Current ratings are really a "no-brainer" for me. Bigger is better. Go 30 Amp if they fit on the quad. Other things to consider"
a) Compatibility with the OS on the FC. Clean / BetaFlight, Raceflight. (you could always flash separately)
b) You shouldn't need BEC wiring.

7) FPV Eq and Receiver
I group these last few things together. By the time you get here, you should already have a good idea about what your going to do. Main things to consider:
a) Will they fit ( Check frame recommendations for size descriptions)
b) Did you provide power and filters from FC / PDB.
c) Did you pick equipment to match the voltage that you provided.

Did I miss anything?
 
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My Current favorites:

Frame: Lumenier Skitzo
FC: KISS with Betaflight
Motors: Racerstar RS series 2300kv
ESCs: any 30A BLHeli_S
PDB/OSD: Matek HUBOSD x-type
VTX: Tramp HV
Camera: any 1/3" Sony CCD
Radio: Radiolink AT9S
Goggles: Eachine Goggles Two

Good luck!
 
Don't worry about favorites. Here is the basics

1) Pick the frame that you like.
For the first build, I strongly recommend that you select a frame that has plenty of room between the plates. Compact frames look very inviting. But you have to be very minimalistic with the build. Almost like building a ship in a bottle.

2) Pick your motors.
I'll have to admit, the motors were the tricky part for me. The frame specifications will give you several different sizes that fits / works best on the frame. But you still have to decide which one and what brand. Depending on what you want to do, race / free style, you may select something "middle-of-the -road". For me, I just pick the biggest badest one that fits. You don't have to use all the throttle.

3) Pick your props.
Once again - frame specifications. Props are cheep. Just don't go to aggressive on the pitch. You can always buy more. Just remember, you need a (set). 2 CW rotation and 2 CCW rotation.
2 blades = speed w/ poor cornering
3 blades = middle of road
4 blades = great cornering w/ less speed.

4) Pick your Flight Controller
Main thing to consider is: Will it fit the frame. Check the frame spec's to see the physical size of the board required to fit. Also, here is where the planning becomes like playing a chess game (you have to think ahead and combine moves). Things to consider are:
a) Pick you OS: Clean / BetaFlight, RaceFlight. ect.
b) How will I power the board (direct from battery or PDB)
c) Will you need OSD / filters on this board
d) Is the board compatible with your receiver.
e) LED's ?

5) Pick your PDB
a) Will It Fit (physical size)
b) Will it provide power to your FPV equipment (Camera / FPV Transmitter)
c) Will it provide power for the FC
d) OSD power / filter (if not on the FC)
e) What is the power rating of the board (for the ESC's / motors) Will it carry the load.

6) Pick your ESC's
Physical size is a big concern here too. Frame spec's will help you with dimensions. Current ratings are really a "no-brainer" for me. Bigger is better. Go 30 Amp if they fit on the quad. Other things to consider"
a) Compatibility with the OS on the FC. Clean / BetaFlight, Raceflight. (you could always flash separately)
b) You shouldn't need BEC wiring.

7) FPV Eq and Receiver
I group these last few things together. By the time you get here, you should already have a good idea about what your going to do. Main things to consider:
a) Will they fit ( Check frame recommendations for size descriptions)
b) Did you provide power and filters from FC / PDB.
c) Did you pick equipment to match the voltage that you provided.

Did I miss anything?

Execellent info. I'll start looking at different frames first.
 
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Spider (and others),

I've been working on my acro flying. Flew all of my birds in acro only the last few days. Thought you might get a kick out of some noobie acro flying with the 250B!

Jerry

 
Spider (and others),

I've been working on my acro flying. Flew all of my birds in acro only the last few days. Thought you might get a kick out of some noobie acro flying with the 250B!

Jerry


Thats not bad. Although I always prefer a few more flips and rolls. If you haven't checked it out yet, I would recommend the simulator the drone racing league has. It's free and all you need is a 13 dollar cable to hook up your controller to USB:
Amazon.com: Hooshion USB Flight Simulator FMS Cable for RC Helicopter Airplane Remote Controller: Computers & Accessories

I've used it to practice my acro flying to improve my skills. You can check out a recent video I did with it at:
The audio is a bit bad when I'm flying...but you'll see how it works.

Now I've only flown acro with my friend Tony's drone so far. I've done four flights. The first was LOS and wasn't that good. Ended with four broken props. I spent a week on the simulator getting better and flight 2-3 were much better...even able to do some tricks. Flight 4 was amazing after practicing some more on the simulator. Its the reason I wanted to mount a gopro on my drone because for all the amazing flight I had, I can't relive it.

You can see a bit of me flying flight 2 on this video at the end (around 7:50 mark):

Got one pair of goggles today (my cheap backup eachine 007). They work and if my better ones don't arrive before Saturday I'll use these or my friends fat sharks. I'll probably take it slow on the first batter, but kick it up a notch if things go well after that.
 
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Spider,

Well it finally happened. Have been flying the heck out of the 250B, got startled and clipped a solid tree branch. Didn't look that bad initially but front motors wouldn't fire up. Investigated it this morning and it looks like I took out the PDB. It hit on one of the front frame pillars and must have had enough force to buckle the PDB. I'll look at repairing it when the weather craps back out.

Jerry

IMG_5131.JPG IMG_5135.JPGIMG_5128.JPGIMG_5136.JPG
 
Spider,

Well it finally happened. Have been flying the heck out of the 250B, got startled and clipped a solid tree branch. Didn't look that bad initially but front motors wouldn't fire up. Investigated it this morning and it looks like I took out the PDB. It hit on one of the front frame pillars and must have had enough force to buckle the PDB. I'll look at repairing it when the weather craps back out.

Jerry

View attachment 366 View attachment 367View attachment 365View attachment 368

Sorry to hear that. Would it be better to get a new Arris frame? The current one could be repaired, but it might have some cracks you don't see and could cause later damage. Don't think the frames are that expensive.

Getting ready for a flight tomorrow morning. Will be working in the simulator today to get ready.
 
Spider,

The PDB isn't repairable and I can't find any of the type I have available. Fortunately, I bought an unassembled kit as well so I can either pull the PDB from it or just build the complete kit and I'll have a bunch of spare parts!

Good luck tomorrow!

Jerry
 

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