Requesting Help - FC and VTX replacement

GiantAntCowboy

GiantAntCowboy

Member
Hey Guys, I'm new to FPV Race Style Drones and recently picked up one I found in the classifieds to learn with.

I've started to get the hang of flying and haven't had any real crashes, but unfortunately I already have some critical repairs and need guidance.

Issues: See Included Picture showing current Setup and Issue details.

Issue #1 - FC Shorted Out) Today i landed my drone in some grass after which it became unresponsive/no signal... after review it looks like grass could have shorted the controller chip on the FC..? (See Pic) If so that's lame and i definitely need to get some conformal coating or something going forward.

Looking for advice on a replacement board. My current drone setup is: AfroFlight 32 FC, Matek v3.1 Power Hub, 3060 OSD Circuit Board, and FatShark 250mW VTX. (See Attached Pic) The receiver is Turnigy.

I'm in Norway and my immediate selection is limited, i can of course order outside the country but cost and shipping times add up. Here's a link to the locally available FCs: https://www.elefun.no/p/kat.aspx?k=1182

Q: Can a new FC remove the need for separate OSD and Power Hub boards?

Issue #2 - VTX Lost Antenna) Again landed in grass and the antenna bent up ripping the pads off the circuit board... seems like this antenna connection should be flexible. My attempt to repair seems unsuccessful as the video signal drops pretty quickly on test flight. (See Pic)

Here's a link to the locally available VTXs: https://www.elefun.no/p/kat.aspx?k=1185

Potential Options: These are the options that look good to me are, but want some feedback if i'm missing something...
FC: https://www.elefun.no/p/prod.aspx?v=44643
VTX: https://www.elefun.no/p/prod.aspx?v=50753

If the links or website are not helpful let me know; Thanks in advance for your help, excited to get back in the air!

IMG_8897.jpg
 
Welcome, Giant. Sorry to hear you're needing repairs.
Short answer. I would remove the power board & ESCs, and just buy the ESC/FC F405 stack.
As long as the motors are okay, you'll just need a way to extend their wires to ESC.
The video Tx you linked is fine, but the tx400 is 30x30 as well as 20x20 holes & would mount nicely on the F405 stack.
You won't need the OSD board anymore since it's built into the FC & set up in betaflight.
Here's an example https://rotorbuilds.com/build/21257
 
Awesome, thanks for the feedback. Here’s what I ended up ordering this morning. I actually went with a FC that works with individual ESCs for now.

Current Options:

FC: Mateksys F405-CTR Flight Controller,(https://www.elefun.no/p/prod.aspx?v=41018)
- It has a BMP280 Barometer
- IRC Tramp Supported

VTX: Mateksys 5.8G VTX-mini 40ch 25-800mW(https://www.elefun.no/p/prod.aspx?v=45650)
- Great power range, power switchable via PINIO
- IRC Tramp Supported

Do you see any issues, or should this be a good setup?

Thanks again
 
Great thanks. Huge improvement over what I had for sure...

The ESCs is “12A Etech Simon Series” which appear to be branded as EMAX; here’s a link with some specs.

VERTICAL Hobby

www.verticalhobby.com www.verticalhobby.com

Thanks for tuning in, any insight is very much appreciated. Parts should arrive tomorrow, then the real “brain scratching” fun begins. It looks pretty straightforward, but I’m sure they’ll be some complications.
 
Older tech than the 4 years I've been building.
Some others around here may be able to help more, but I'll be checking in.
 
Yea, turns out much of this drone is quite dated, but that’s the result of purchasing inexpensive used items.

Got me started in the hobby though, and everything will be upgraded eventually anyway.
 
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