Derek's ZMR250 Build

[Derek]

Ok...ill get them ordered when I get home from work.

[Derek]

Ok, new 20amp Little Bee esc's ordered. They don't have a BEC, so I ordered a small regulator and some extra wire, too. I just got an email saying that my order had been shipped. I imagine the package will be here by Friday..maybe Thursday.

[KevG]

Nice Derek,

[Derek]

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My new Little Bee esc's should be here today. It's a bit after 9am now. The mail carrier usually gets here around 10am....I'm gonna get a chair and go sit outside and wait for her, lol.

[KevG]

Nice, I hate waiting for parcels I'm so impatient lol

[Derek]

My Little Bee esc's showed up today. They sure are small! They are probably 1/3 the size of my Afro esc's and probably 1/4 the weigh of my Afro esc's. It's hard to believe that these Little Bee esc's are known to be superior to the larger Afro's. I'll get them soldered up tonight onto the ZMR.

[Derek]

Ok, I've got a few hours to do some soldering and set up. Because these Little Bee's have no BEC, I bought the suggested regulator.

Here's a pic

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Now, I understand that I'll solder some red and black wires to the labeled spots on the regulator. Then, one end will get spliced into the positive and negative battery leads. Easy enough. Where do I connect the two ends that come from the regulator? Are they just connected to an empty set of pins where the motors connect to the Naze32?

Also, I'll use my volt meter to check the voltage before I connect the regulator to the Naze32 but what voltage to I set it to? Would it be a solid 5 volts?

[Stambo]

You got it Derek.
Are you using a PDB or home made harness?
Is the Naze board rev5 rev6, I believe rev6 has it's own built in voltage reg so you can power it direct from your lipo.
No need for a reg but you supply power to different place from the lipo.

Thats the exact same regulators that I use.
I get them 5 at a time from Banggood.
Being adjustable you can use them for almost anything.

[Derek]

Thanks Stambo! After looking at it (and using a bit of deductive reasoning, lol), it kinda made sense to me.

No, I'm not using a PDB. I did buy one but, apparently, I ordered the wrong one because the PDB that I ordered is much to big to be mounting on the ZMR...so, I'm just gonna use a homemade harness...as I've done before.

I have the Naze32 rev5.

I've been working on the quad and the wiring tonight (and getting a bit of laundry done, too). So far, so good. I just can't get over how small these Little Bees are. They are tiny!!!

[Stambo]

Tiny but awesome.
I was the same when I got mine, they are less than half the size of the 12a ones the replaced.

[Derek]

Stambo...I've finally got the new esc's soldered in a harness on the ZMR, along with a JST plug (for the vtx), and the regulator. It took longer than I had anticipated because I changed my mind about how to route the wires, lol. I think it's a pretty clean wiring job (especially compared to how the wiring was with the Afro's, lol). Anyway...I got my voltage meter out and checked the voltage of my battery. It showed 11.4v. Without the regulator connected to the Naze yet, I plugged in the battery and tested the "out" of the regulator. I got 11.4v. There is a small turn dial on the regulator that looks to be turned with a Philips style screw driver. However, I can't get the dial to turn in either direction. I've tried various fine tip Philips drivers. I thought I got it to turn, at one point, but I got 11.4v again when I tested the "out" on the regulator.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

***EDIT***

Ok, scratch all that. I just broke the dial on the regulator, lol. Thankfully it was only $0.99. I'm just gonna order a 5v BEC. I'm working all weekend, so I won't be able to mess with the ZMR until next week anyway.

[Graham Lawrie]

I use two step down regulators ,check out Kevs Fossil build(his first one and you will see. One for the camera and one for the Naze power:)
http://www.banggood.com/DC-DC-Converter ... 81978.html

[Stambo]

This is what I use, I get 5 at a time for $5 NZ
http://www.banggood.com/5Pcs-Mini-DC-Ad ... 52402.html

[Derek]

That's exactly what I bought. Unfortunately, while trying to get that dial to turn, I broke the dial, lol.

No worries. I bought a 5v bec. It should be here Monday or Tuesday. Its a bec that Im very familiar with and its mostly "idiot-proof"....which is good for me lol.

[Derek]

OK, so my 5v BEC showed up. I ordered it from the closest Hobby King warehouse, here in the states. 3 days later, it's here. I got the new Little Bee 20amp esc's soldered up, along with a JST plug for my FPV camera. Soldered in the BEC. The lead on the BEC that goes to the motor rail got shortened and hooked up. Calibrated the esc's in Cleanflight. Synched the esc's in BLHeli Suite. Dampened Light enabled. Added my 5x4 props (I think they are Gemfam props). Hover test time. I thought I had my Mobius camera on Video Mode. It must have not been in Video Mode because I have no video recorded of a very VERY successful hover test. I can't believe that I've not used my Mobius in so long that I've forgotten how to get the Video Mode "on", lol.

Anyway...my ZMR250 came to life and hovered really well. I can hear the props spinning very smoothly and evenly. Now, do you guys remember the problems that I was having before when I would give hard throttle for Punchouts? The quad would yaw to the right very hard. Well, during my hover test, I gave hard throttle and the quad climbs out very nicely...smoothly....and straight. It was such a delight, and relief, to see. It was awesome!!!

I'm using the same Cleanflight PID settings that I had set when I was trying to use the Afro esc's. I've changed nothing in the Naze32 programming and this quad is very close to being "spot on." It does want to drift rearwards a bit but I can sort that out pretty easily. I'm just super stoked that the quad is alive and flying very well.

I also remember, when using the Afro esc's, the quad would lift off and hover "only" with the 6x4 HQ props. With the 5x4 props, it had no "power".....no "punch". The ZMR, with these Little Bee esc's seems to have plenty of "punch", even with the 5x4 props that I used today. Today's test was with my 3S 1550mah packs. I'm just stoked!!!

I am off work til Monday, so I'll try to get some adjustments made to the rearward drifting and I'll try to relearn the Mobius camera, lol. Maybe we'll be back in the air this weekend.

Kev....thanks for all your continuous help and suggestions! Stambo...thanks for suggesting the Little Bee esc's!

Now...where did I put that manual for the Mobius camera? lol

[KevG]

Nice one mate, calibrate accelerometer on a very flat surface that should cure it,

but its a great feeling getting it sorted isn't it,

[Derek]

I'll see if I can find a square scrap piece of thin plywood (or something similar) that I can put a bolt into each corner to act as adjustable legs. I'll put a couple of small levels on two of the sides so that I can use the bolts to level out the plywood. Then I'll put the quad on it and calibrate the accelerometers. I'm also thinking that my CG is a bit off. I have the video antenna, vtx, and 5v BEC all aft of the CG, and there's not many components forward of the CG. Perhaps moving the BEC to the front will help sort that out.

...and yes, it is a great feeling to get it sorted. I'm just bummed that I spent all that time and money on those Afro ESC's and got less than adequate results. Oh well...moving on!

[Stambo]

Getting it to fly level is so much easier then that Derek.
You can trim the quad with stick commands.
I assume you are using angle or horizon mode.
Disarm
Full throttle
Left stick in the direction of correction required. You can either hold it there and watch the LEDs flash on the Naze a few times or flick it up 5 times then test again.

[Derek]

Thanks Stambo! My hover testing was in Acro Mode, although I do have horizon and angle mode set on my 3 position switch.

I forgot about that adjustment procedure that you mentioned. You told me about it before. What mode should I be in to make those adjustments?

Also, I did move the bec to the front of the cog, instead of the rear. This should help with the balance.

[Stambo]

Those adjustments are only for self level modes. (Angle or Horizon)
Acro is far smoother for pretty much anything once you come to grips with it.
None of them will have you just hover in the one place, you will always be making micro adjustments just like a heli.

Good to hear it is finally flying well, I rate those littlebee ESCs for sure.