Continuing on my first build.

Chuck

Chuck

Well-Known Member
Still receiving components. Now that I have a PDB, and FCB, are there pre-assembled wiring with jacks that I can connect to the fittings that I have to solder to the boards, or do I have to solder wires directly to the fittings themselves as is the practice on toy grade FCB's? Also. As the motors that I'm using are replacements for those on a DJI Phantom 1-thru-3, what is the minimum operational voltage for them? I'd like to use an 11.1VDC lipo which seems to be miire common than the 14VDC lipo that has proprietary connections on a DJI Phantom, and are more expensive too.
 
Chuck said:
I'm using are replacements for those on a DJI Phantom 1-thru-3, what is the minimum operational voltage for them? I'd like to use an 11.1VDC lipo
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I'm assuming you have 2212 920KV motors, the only thing DJI about them is the prop shaft which has flat spots on them instead of being totally round.

DJIHub.jpg

When you buy props you'll need ones similar to these.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/16pcs-8pair...297858?hash=item2ef3c56e02:g:ryMAAOSwGtRXyAE0

As far as your motors there are many charts out there explaining recommended prop sizes and stats at various voltages.

51Ex5gTCx4L.jpg


Look at it, you'll see that the 1045 prop provides 250gr more thrust compared to the 9043. You can also compare the amp loads for each.

Add far as connectors use whatever you want, or simply direct solder only the wires.
Chuck said:
I'd like to use an 11.1VDC lipo which seems to be miire common than the 14VDC lipo that has proprietary connections on a DJI Phantom,
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Forget all this DJI stuff, simply attach a standard XT60 (the most common) to the main power coming off your main board. There are tons of LiPoS to choose from with XT60s, 2S,3S,4S etc.

Maybe this will be of some help, note he uses bullet connector of the motors, but they aren't necessary.

 
My carbon-fiber twin-blade props have arrived. Now my next task is to locate a supplier of the wiring jacks that connect to the pins on a receiver, FCB, and PDB. Preferably with short lengths of color-coded wires attached to them to make soldering easier. Does Gear Best or Bang Good carry them?
 
Do you mean the 3 servo wires. With a plug. If it is, they are just 3 pin M/FM servo cable. £7 for 20 in ebay. But bangood & gearstick will have them.
 
I find these bulky & take up valuable space. Especially in 220 or smaller builds.
Aswell as some extra weight.
I cut the pins down & direct solder, even on receivers. I used to pay for the service of soldering the pins on for me. but now, no way. They add weight aswell.
 
mozquito1 said:
I find these bulky & take up valuable space. Especially in 220 or smaller builds.
Aswell as some extra weight.
I cut the pins down & direct solder, even on receivers. I used to pay for the service of soldering the pins on for me. but now, no way. They add weight aswell.
Click to expand...
Do the pins have to be soldered to the boards, or are they press fits that will remain in place? Some of them are in rows of three, and look impossible to get to the middle row to solder. Plus I'm leery of causing heat-related damage to the boards while soldering.
 
No, they have to be solderd. To get to the middle you just solder from the bottom,
Flip it upside down. With opto esc's only 8pins is needed. Plus 2 for +-
So when you get that block of pins with the board just snip the bent ends off what your not using & pull or wiggle the rest of it out. When soldering pins try to only touch the pin, then when you apply the solder to the tip it will run off onto the pin. You can touch this virgin pin for a few seconds as it's not making any real contact with the board. But once it's solderd, especially on power/red wires you have to be quick. These are connected to sensitive stuff. The ground runs the whole quad or board. So obviously will take longer to heat up. If you ask me, I would rather have an iron that is not quite hot enough than one that is too hot.
 
Chuck said:
Do the pins have to be soldered to the boards, or are they press fits that will remain in place? Some of them are in rows of three, and look impossible to get to the middle row to solder. Plus I'm leery of causing heat-related damage to the boards while soldering.
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The soldering of ALL pins to any PCB is ALWAYS done from the bottom. That way not only are they ALL easy to get to, but the connection is also much much stronger.
The pin will stick out beyond the PCB's pad just a little and the soldering iron's tip should contact BOTH the pad and the pin until solder melts when touched to any area
where the pin and pad meet (NOT the soldering iron's tip!!). Pins are only really needed when one plans to use a connector, otherwise you can simply insert the wire into
the hole where the pin would go and solder it directly. ;)

mozquito1 said:
So when you get that block of pins with the board just snip the bent ends off what your not using & pull or wiggle the rest of it out.
Click to expand...

This is, or course, to be done to the block of pins BEFORE they are on the PCB.
NEVER EVER NEVER try pulling a pin out of any PCB unless you're actually desoldering it when doing so.
Reheating the connection of the pin to the pad until the solder is molten while carefully removing it by pulling and wiggling is risky enough, but attempting to remove it cold
is just begging for ruining the PCB by ripping out the pad, and likely a good portion of it's associated trace(s) with it too.

One of the problems when trying to remove a pin from molten solder is that the action of grabbing the pin (especially with something like pliers-> use tweezers) adds
"heat sinking" to the pin which will cool it below the melting point of the solder while you're attempting to extract it unless the process is done really quickly
(BUT WITHOUT EXCESSIVE FORCE).

The preferred method is to employ the use of a "solder sucker" to remove the bulk of the solder, then following up with some "desoldering braid" to completely remove
any remaining solder to the point that the pin is completely physically free to be removed stone cold. :cool:

The safest (and easiest) thing to do is just leave those pins alone or cut them off close to their base if you're sure you won't be needing them. :)
 
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It's hardly a weight saving but but if you want plug n play with pins then it's a start on shaving the extra grams off. Who doesn't want extra flight time.
 
I'm looking at the Flysky I6 transmitter/receiver combinations available on eBay. The prices are all in a tight range of each other. Has anybody used them? If so, how well do they perform? What is the range? How easy are they to program and calibrate? Are there certain motors or ESC's that work better or poorly with them?
 
I using i6 for 2 years now. :)
Not let me down yet.
I have 2 A8S, an ia6, 2 ia6b & an ia6c
All good rx.
I want a turnigy evo, just for chuck ability in the bag.
 
I've been working on my first build in my spare time, began wondering. Is a power distribution board an absolute necessity, or can I get by with just the flight control board? I want to not only reduce weight, but simplify the wiring. I'm also trying to remove any unnecessary component, in order to leave room for future upgrades as I gain more experience with this first build. And I've noticed that "toy grade" quads tend to have only a single board internally.
 
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You could just bunch the red wires then the black & attach a lipo but you will need a step-down to 5v to power the fcb.
Oh you could use the balance lead for 5v.
I always forget that. Doing it this way you will definitely need some low ESR Capacitors. & it's very dirty for a vtx.
 
mozquito1 said:
You could just bunch the red wires then the black & attach a lipo but you will need a step-down to 5v to power the fcb.
Oh you could use the balance lead for 5v.
I always forget that. Doing it this way you will definitely need some low ESR Capacitors. & it's very dirty for a vtx.
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I have a Naze32 FCB and matching PDB that I bought. I keep seeing recommendations for using Beta Flight FCB's and PDB's, but the only ones that I find on eBay are for Naze32 and even the drone magazines are still featuring them rather than Beta Flight. Who has the Beta Flight versions, and what makes them superior to Naze32?
 
A potato is better than a naze.
Notoriously bad gyro. No blheli passthrough. Any F4 board now has the MPU6000 which is way better than the old 6050. I'm in the process of jumping all mine over to betaflight. As will get round to smart audio.
 
Perhaps I was a bit harsh, but with so many other cheap boards with the 6000 chip. Really they should send you 3 naze's for the price they still charge.
Evolution eh,
 
This guy still prefers the ancient KK2.1 and no PCB, just an old school wiring harness. The motors are held on with zip ties.


Not too shabby. :)
 
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