New Member, build compatibility

[Dugdog47]

This vtx has served me well:

[US$26.00 54% OFF] Eachine TX801 5.8G 72CH 0.01mW 5mW 25mW 50mW 100mW 200mW 400mW 600mW Switched AV VTX FPV Transmitter For RC Drone RC Parts from Toys Hobbies and Robot on banggood.com

Eachine TX801 5.8G 72CH 0.01MW/5MW/25MW/50MW/100MW/200MW/400MW/600MW Switchable AV VTX FPV Transmitter

m.banggood.com

With this camera:

[US$26.99 17% OFF] Caddx Turbo Micro F2 1/3\

Caddx Turbo Micro F2 1/3

m.banggood.com

PDB:

[US$9.99 17% OFF] Matek Systems PDB-XT60 W/ BEC 5V & 12V 2oz Copper for RC Drone FPV Racing Multi Rotor RC Parts from Toys Hobbies and Robot on banggood.com

Matek Systems PDB-XT60 W/ BEC 5V & 12V 2oz Copper For RC Multirotors

m.banggood.com

Single escs:

[US$20.99 19% OFF] HAKRC BLHeli_32 Bit 35A 2-5S ESC Built-in LED Support Dshot1200 Multishot for FPV RC Drone RC Parts from Toys Hobbies and Robot on banggood.com

HAKRC BLHeli_32 Bit 35A 2-5S ESC Built-in LED Support Dshot1200 Multishot for FPV RC Drone

m.banggood.com

And these motors:

[US$44.28 39% OFF] 4PCS Emax ECO Series 2306 4S 2400KV Brushless Motor for RC Drone FPV Racing RC Parts from Toys Hobbies and Robot on banggood.com

4PCS Emax ECO Series 2306 4S 2400KV Brushless Motor for RC Drone FPV Racing

m.banggood.com

 

[wafflejock]

For 4S batteries the kv range should be somewhere between 2300kv and 2600kv I think 2450kv is a pretty good middle of the road a lot of mfgs have settled on for this rough size.

If you go 4S fully charged sitting at 16.8V 6S is an extra 4.2 x 2 = 8.4V so is 25.2V fully charged. So 6S is 1.5times the voltage so if you want same rpm as 2450kv on 4S but using 6S it would be 1633kv (oddball number but what it calculated to).

TLDR
4S setup then 2000kv-2600kv is reasonable I think 2450kv (also fan of emax for motors they are solid)

6S then I think 1600kv to 1800kv but never done here and less common in general so things might be a few bucks more (advantage with 6S is minor gain in electrical efficiency less loss as heat from amps in the coils but more volts so ESC capacitors/MOSFETs probably being pushed closer to their limits voltage wise)

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For cam big fan of runcam I like the hd recording onto separated PCB (personally use a split 2 most of the time just got a 4k hybrid but PCB is 20x20 which isn't ideal for most 5" frames but can use adapter plate or 3D print to make it work). If don't want the analog cam to do HD recording (planning to use external go pro or just don't care about it) then I hear good things about caddx all the time. Don't need to break the bank on cam though if just using it for analog vid.

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ESCs I have gone separate myself for now and anything blheli32 should be pretty modern (usually 35A and just go on reviews). You can get FC+4 in 1 esc sold as a "stack" just look for "flight stack" on any of the usual suspects. This eliminates all the signal wiring, at least 4 maybe 8 wires and makes getting power to everything basically just a pair of solder connections for battery lead. So big advantage there in terms of simplifying things, if not buying a stack or FC and ESC pair that come with wire to connect them though then would say just go separate.

RDQ 3-6S 32Bit DShot1200 30A ESC

Get great power, performance, and value with the RDQ 32 Bit ESC 30a 3-6S. This DSHOT 1200 ESC took our team a whole year to prototype, test, and roll out to market.

www.racedayquads.com

Haven't used these exact ones but same specs as mine basically (these just appear bare so don't have wires to remove or shorten just have to add your own (which might be nice can do everything to length but would need to have heat shrink and other "quad builder" junk around)

 

[Dugdog47]

This is a combo I like but it's all personal taste so you'll have to decide things like:

Single escs or 4 in 1?
4s battery or 6s battery?
Micro camera or mini camera?
Vtx on the stack or ziptied you frame?

It's all up to you.

 

[wafflejock]

Also for most of the parts I used to build my 5" or equivalent ones can see here:

Quadcopter Cost Sheet

docs.google.com

 

[Jazzman]

@Dugdog47 that is one versatile (low end mW) vtx :O!! Holy moly!!

Do you notice resolution loss on 1/3 or 1/4 size cameras? Are they more difficult to mount? I imagine theyre"designed" for tiny whoops? They're literally just smaller??

Epic parts list...I think I'll opt for those eco motors for sure, theyre inbetween the KV rating I was*thinking* about and are probably gonna be more versatile with battaries... I dont know what I'll run tbh... Probably just 4s but ill probs test 5 and i imagine prefer the punchiness.... might get a 6 and downpitch the props or just be careful i don tblow an ESC/FET tryna draw too many amps xD
Nice PDB, matek is pretty much the way to go huh? I THINK I'll stick with the stack for now tbh... I know how to solder... and there's already some to do hahaha... I'll go pdb+individual ones (probably just, like, 40-50A) when I wanna run a rig for REAL experimenting/switching out motor/pitch combos etc... But ty for all the suggestions and reasons!! Thats the knowledge I need ^_^

@wafflejock ty very much for battery>Kv relationship input. I wouldn't run 6s untill I build a 6 or 7"
Thost parts are niceeee, butjust a little expensive, I wanted to spend about that much with battery/charger and ideally goggles as well
Epic. Defs gonna get those motors then
Nice ESC's!!!|
Do explain this seperate pcb for HD recording with Runcam though? I dont think I understand It sounds like I'd love it tbh? 4k!? epic!? Better than DVR lol!!

Thankyou so much guys!!!

 

[Dugdog47]

That camera I linked you is made for 3-5 inch builds. I've noticed some of the 5" frames are now designed for micro cameras.

 

[wafflejock]

Yah regarding the camera if you have a 3D printer or access (friends/family, library/school, makerspace etc) it can be really helpful for little bits and bobs here or there (not worth getting just for this probably but a fun hobby itself). In particular camera mounts/shims to make them fit are good options for printing out of TPU since it can take some abuse and stretches instead of cracking when put under pressure.

You can always just make do with enough tape/glue and zip ties to make things work but just saying if you have access then worth searching around for mounts on thingiverse or prusaprinters or other sites where you can get CAD files (or use CAD tools to design your own or make shims etc.)

I think you only get 700 or so lines of "vertical resolution" in an analog transmission and receiver so having a super high def cam on board only matters if you are also recording on board (and won't give you much if any better picture in the goggles). Things to look for are other reviews really regarding using cams flying since the main issues are you don't want it to get washed out by the sun or other bright lights too easily and you don't want it to go completely black unless you are actually flying in complete darkness (not recommended, pretty sure not legal). Essentially is the color pretty good, is the handling of bright and dark situations such that you won't go blind while flying and does it adjust quickly to changes in lighting or is it slow to adjust. Depending on the frame and cam mounting is something you have to deal with but generally hasn't been a major issue for me I either shim things with washers etc. or 3d print little parts either making a new mount or just cleaner looking shims

 

[Jazzman]

That camera I linked you is made for 3-5 inch builds. I've noticed some of the 5" frames are now designed for micro cameras.

Yep. But it's also a 1/3 scale of a full size camera... Where it says in the title "1/3"?

 

[Jazzman]

Yah regarding the camera if you have a 3D printer or access (friends/family, library/school, makerspace etc) it can be really helpful for little bits and bobs here or there (not worth getting just for this probably but a fun hobby itself). In particular camera mounts/shims to make them fit are good options for printing out of TPU since it can take some abuse and stretches instead of cracking when put under pressure.

You can always just make do with enough tape/glue and zip ties to make things work but just saying if you have access then worth searching around for mounts on thingiverse or prusaprinters or other sites where you can get CAD files (or use CAD tools to design your own or make shims etc.)

I think you only get 700 or so lines of "vertical resolution" in an analog transmission and receiver so having a super high def cam on board only matters if you are also recording on board (and won't give you much if any better picture in the goggles). Things to look for are other reviews really regarding using cams flying since the main issues are you don't want it to get washed out by the sun or other bright lights too easily and you don't want it to go completely black unless you are actually flying in complete darkness (not recommended, pretty sure not legal). Essentially is the color pretty good, is the handling of bright and dark situations such that you won't go blind while flying and does it adjust quickly to changes in lighting or is it slow to adjust. Depending on the frame and cam mounting is something you have to deal with but generally hasn't been a major issue for me I either shim things with washers etc. or 3d print little parts either making a new mount or just cleaner looking shims

Legendary!!!!!! I don't think I'll get a 3d printer for my FIRST build and tbh I dont think the makerspace is very big down here in Melbourne :/ I'd not heard of one of those sites though, so I'll maybe check them out... No libraries down here have them, or friends, etc etc etc... It would be fun and handy to get into, but I think for the forseeable future I'll just be ziptying things xD

 

[Jazzman]

Legendary!!!!!! I don't think I'll get a 3d printer for my FIRST build and tbh I dont think the makerspace is very big down here in Melbourne :/ I'd not heard of one of those sites though, so I'll maybe check them out... No libraries down here have them, or friends, etc etc etc... It would be fun and handy to get into, but I think for the forseeable future I'll just be ziptying things xD

Also interesting about the cameras... I don't think I'll expect decent flight cideo quality till I mount a gopro
But good to know I'll only get like 700tvl transmitted anyway..... I thought MORE if you just boost the antenna? Or is thst for range? I thought both? Why do goggles etc even go to 1200tvl, coz they're not digital?

 

[wafflejock]

Yah regarding amplification level it just effects penetration through trees etc. and a bit with range too, better to run lower if you can and puts less heat on the VTX and surrounding components. The extra vertical lines you might be able to get transmitted if your analog transmitter and receiver supports it but yah otherwise it's just some digital upsampling pretty sure. The HDO are nice for the black levels but I doubt I'm getting full advantage of the screen res but it's good enough (beats the heck out of my first box goggles nothing wrong with starting there or just line of sight really to get basic feel for the sticks and throttle control.