New Build - Tarot 650 Sport Quad

[GlassKnees]

Well, after spending a considerable amount of time modifying and tinkering with an Elev-8 quadcopter, I finally decided I have to switch to another airframe. If you followed some of my exploits then you know that I tried different motors, added a gimbal, etc. but was sorely disappointed in my short endurance times. Adding larger batteries added weight to the aircraft, straining the motors, so I found some great new motors - T-Motor MN3520's that I found at a bargain price of $46! But they require a 6S lipo. More powerful motors mean larger batteries, which meant more weight....

In addition, the 16000 mAh lipo I bought is so big that I needed to replace the landing skids, so I mounted landing gear that I salvaged from a crashed Tarot 680 Pro hexcopter. The problem with this is that they had to be mounted to the bottom chassis plate which is plastic and bent under the strain:

So, this is is my motivation for a new build. The Tarot 650 Sport is a much stronger airframe and the chassis plates are much stronger - I've seen videos where builders have installed 6S lipos with no problem. I'm hoping to end up with a better aircraft that will provide me with longer flight endurance for video shoots.

The kit arrived today:

And I began the unboxing:

Here is the elev-8 that has the components that I will use:

Components include:

T-Motor MN3520's

30 A OPTO ESC's

AMP 2.6 Flight Controller

Ublox 7M GPS/compass

AttoPilot Voltage/Current Sense breakout module

Feiyu-Tech Mini 3 Axis Gimbal

F801 8 Channel Receiver

I plan to document the build, so stay tuned!

 

[ringolong]

Nice! Following!

 

[RENOV8R]

You'll love the 650 Sport, the landing gear is very sturdy. Just a quick tip, the 680 Pro canopy is a direct fit with no mods. Really improves the appearance of the 650.

 

[GlassKnees]

I already like the fact that I can lose the power distribution harness that was used on the Elev-8 - the PCB on the upper chassis is great. Also, I was able to mount the APM base plate on the top chassis as the holes lined up with the four holes on the chassis plate used to secure the ends of the booms. The flight controller is positioned closer to the chassis which means I can shorten the ESC control leads.

I do like the Tarot cover and will probably put one on it. But I wonder about being able to view the LEDs on the top of the F.C. that tell me when I have GPS lock ...

 

[GlassKnees]

I finished transferring the motors over and mounted the flight controller. It was a fortunate thing that the holes on the APM anti-vibration mount lined up with the holes at the end of the booms. I used the same motor mounts that I used on the Elev-8, and didn't have to disconnect the motors from the ESCs. I did discover one bad solder joint however when a female bullet connector pulled away from the wire - a simple thing to fix.

When I built the Elev-8, the flight controller was extended pretty high from the top chassis, forcing me to splice the ESC signal wires to make them longer. Now, they are too long, so I will have to cut them where I made the splice and crimp servo pins onto the leads.

Note the APM power module laying on the desk to the left, next to the screw driver. The power module will not be needed since I will be using a 6S lipo and the 22 V will be too much. Since I'm using OPTO ESC's (no BEC circuitry), I will use a 5V BEC module to supply power to the flight controller, receiver, GPS, etc. I will have to wire an AttoPilot Voltage/Current Sense board in-line with the Lipo connector in order to provide a means for the flight controller to sense voltage and current from the battery and trigger the voltage/current Failsafe, in flight if necessary.

Next up, I have to shorten the power and ground wires from the ESC's and solder the ends to the tabs on the Chassis PCB, solder the leads on the AttoPilot and install it.

 

[RENOV8R]

Looking good so far. Make sure you leave the ESC to PDB wires long enough to allow the arms to fold properly.

 

[GlassKnees]

It had been awhile since I posted a progress report, so here it is. I managed to solder the ESC power/ground leads to the solder points on the chassis as well as the leads on the voltage/current sense module. I also installed the 5V BEC that will be used to provide power to the F.C. receiver, etc.

Here is the top view, with the ESC control leads connected to the F.C. as well as the BEC and voltage/current sense leads:

The arms fold okay so now I'm ready to install the landing gear on the lower chassis. In the meantime, I'm waiting for delivery of an 8 ch receiver. Also, I just ordered today a Tarot GPS mount that will attach to one of the arms.