Derek's New 250 Quad Thread

[Graham Lawrie]

No need to do that for setting up Cleanflight, only when flashing esc do you remove the wires:)

[Derek]

Ok, I have some positive results to report. "Some light at the end of the tunnel", I guess you could say.

I decided to remove the Naze32 from my crashed ECHO 290 and connect it to my new 250 quad to see if any differences were apparent. Cleanflight seems to like the original Naze32 board instead of the new one. Odd, but I'm moving forward. I've been able to see that the receiver, configuration, and mode tabs work properly. I've also been able to check the motor direction, finding that motors 2 and 4 are turning the wrong way. Gonna go get the soldering iron and swap some wires to sort that out. Once I get that done, I'll reconnect to Cleanflight and calibrate the esc's.

I've had more positive progress in the last 30 minutes than I have in the last two weeks. Quite happy!

Now, I'd like to run OneShot on this. There is a check box for Motor Stop (and this is checked) and there is a check box for OneShot enabled. Do I simply check the box for OneShot and then click "save"? I don't uncheck the Motor Stop box???

[danhampson]

Yep, box checked is on. DO NOT HAVE THE FLIGHT PACK CONNECTED WHEN CHECKING THE BOX IT WILL FRY THE ESC'S.

[Lee]

Derek,
you don't need to resolder any wires on the motors.
BLHeli software allows you to move a slider to reverse the direction

[Graham Lawrie]

+1 on what Lee said:)

[Derek]

Derek,
you don't need to resolder any wires on the motors.
BLHeli software allows you to move a slider to reverse the direction

Oh, lol....didn't know that. Already resoldered the wires.

What about the oneshot enabled...do i just check the box to enable it, just below the motor stop check box?

[danhampson]

Yep, box checked is on. DO NOT HAVE THE FLIGHT PACK CONNECTED WHEN CHECKING THE BOX IT WILL FRY THE ESC'S.

[Derek]

Thanks Dan. I must have overlooked your post above.

Yeah, the only time the battery is connected is when I calibrate or test the motors and when checking the Receiver tab. I didn't get much done last night because my lil girl woke up, screaming, and needed my attention but I made more progress last night than over the last two weeks. Im happy!

[Derek]

Ok, I'm quite happy with how this is going now. I've got my lil girl in bed for the night (I hope, lol) and I began messing around with Cleanflight and the new quad. I reset the accelerometers, enabled OneShot, got the receiver mapping set, set the looptime and something else that Stambo suggested on my last quad (set acc_lpf_factor = 100), calibrated esc, double checked motor direction (twice with props off, of course, lol), and I think I did a couple other things that I cant remember right now. Unless you guys can think of something that I need to check on, I'm going to begin adding a few zip ties to the wires to tidy things up a bit. I'll double check the video system. It worked the other day, lol. Once all that is done, I should be ready to test hover. Oh, I set the flight modes, too....Acro mode is Position 1 on my Aux switch but Horizon and Angle modes are also set up.

Now...where did I leave my lil bag of lil zip ties???

[Derek]

Here is a pic of the quad just after the setup on the Naze32 was completed. I found my bag of zip ties and began to try to tidy up the wiring.

Quad Pic No Props.jpg (42.18 KiB) Viewed 2947 times

As of right now, I have the wires a bit more tidy'd, 720p action cam mounted, battery strap added, props mounted and we're ready for test flying. I have a few pictures.

Quad from Above.jpg (39.75 KiB) Viewed 2946 times

As you can see, even with the new HQ6045 props, there is plenty of prop clearance.

Side of Quad.jpg (43.55 KiB) Viewed 2946 times

Here's a side shot that shows prop clearance, battery placement, and the action cam on the front

Front of Quad.jpg (42.13 KiB) Viewed 2946 times

Here's the front of the quad showing the action cam on top and FPV cam on the lower deck with enough clearance to tilt the FPV cam up quite a bit. The quad weighs in at 751 grams with everything on it (FPV gear, 3S 1550 battery, action cam and case, props, etc). My previous quad, the ECHO 290, weighed in at 862 grams. This new quad is lighter than the ECHO 290 but it's still well over 100 grams more than I thought it would weigh. I'm sure there will be a bit of difference with the 3S 1300 packs that I also have but it's still heavier than I thought it would be. Regardless, the new quad is ready for a maiden flight. Unfortunately, it's near 3:30 in the morning and it's quite dark and cold here now. On top of that, I have to work the next two nights so I won't be able to fly the quad until Wednesday/Thursday.

Anyway....this is now another project that I can call completed. Cool!!!

[danhampson]

Looks sweet Derek. I hope the weather cooperates for the maiden.

Good luck and I look forward to the footage of this beast.

[Derek]

Well, I've got a doubt now...maybe just a concern. When I picked up my quad last night, all loaded up, I noticed that there is some amount of twist in the frame. I'll try to fly the quad as is but I may end up purchasing another frame. Perhaps a ZMR or some other inexpensive frame. We'll just have to wait and see how mine goes.

[Stambo]

I am still flying my original RCX 250 (ZMR with a different name).
It's on 4s now and it's had more than its fair share of crashes.
The V2 is supposed to be even better although there have been PCB issues.
I'd say go for it, you won't regret it.
I think Lee has built a couple.

[Derek]

It was still rather dark after getting home from work this morning, so I have no video. However, it's probably no big deal because the test hover was horrible. This quad wobbles like a bridge in an earthquake. Scary scary. I have to work tonight. I'll try messing with the quad settings tomorrow and I'll see about setting up my other camera on a tripod so that you can see what's going on.

[Stambo]

Drop your roll and pitch P by 25 to 30 percent and try again.

[Derek]

Ok, ill try that. Im working tonight so ill mess with it tomorrow, provided I don't get mandated for overtime.

[Lee]

I think Lee has built a couple.

LOL A Couple!!!!!
More like 7 or 8

[Stambo]

As far as I am concerned, unless you are seriously in to racing, there is no reason to buy frames that are up to 5 times the price.

[Derek]

Well, it's come to this, lol. I've decided to drop the idea of this quad frame. It's just not as rigid and I would like it to be and it's not as rigid as I think it should be. No worries though. This frame was made from scrap pieces that I had laying around, so I guess you could say that this quad cost me nothing....just time.

This being said...the problem is this...I have a functioning video system but I'm not getting any FPV done. This is not acceptable, lol. I'm going to strip the electronics from this frame and just box up the quad parts for the time being. I'm going to put the 5.8ghz video system on a plane so that I can be doing some sort of FPV. Some FPV is better than no FPV. I'll come back to the quads later on when I decide on a frame.

So, once I decide on a plane FPV platform, be on the lookout for my FPV plane thread.

[Stambo]

Lol, FPV is too good to give up right.
I have had a few FPV flights with my AXN, and with our weather improving I am looking forward to more.
FPV airplanes are no where near as frantic as proximity FPV with a quad.
Where many people tend to have an issue is trying to learn too much at once.
Like learning to fly a quad and learning FPV at the same time.
I have had many people ask me how they can get in to flying like I do.
The first thing I suggest is to buy a cheap Chinese toy quad and learn to fly it well.
Then come back to me for the next step.
You are probably doing what's right for you, you can already fly a plane well and you now have some FPV experience.
Why not put the 2 together.
Good luck, we will be looking forward to the videos.
Just remember that when you decide to give quads another go we'll be right here to help.