Inav on 49" FPV Flying Wing

[Derek]

I hear ya. My whole summer was that way. In my off days, it was windy or raining. On my work days....sunny and calm.

So, with winter here....im just hoping to get out a few times on some "not too cold" days.

[Derek]

Hey guys! Curious question...I have my Omnibus installed in my wing, no worries there. There really isn't a lot of room in the battery compartment to get my usb cable to the fc. I can get the cable to the fc but it's a tight fit. I'm just wondering if there is a short usb extension that I can buy so that I can simply connect it to the fc and just leave it connected to the fc but then when I need to connect my usb cable to the fc, just connect to the short extension.

I've never had it happen but I'm just afraid that I might lift the usb port from the fc while trying to connect.

[DOG]

I'm not sure if this will work Derek but here you go https://www.ebay.com/p/USB-3-0-Right-An ... 3160279139

[DOG]

I'm not sure if this will work Derek but here you go https://www.ebay.com/p/USB-3-0-Right-An ... 3160279139

This is where I order most of my cables check it out https://www.mycablemart.com/

[Derek]

unfortunately, that cable suggestion is a USB to USB extension. Thanks for trying! I'm looking for a Micro USB to Micro USB extension or a USB to Micro USB extension. I'll have a look at that Cable Mart.

[Stambo]

This is what I got, now I can make adjustments without having to dismount my FC.
I did end up cutting the plastic housing off the small end and making a new one with an even tighter angle out of hot glue so it would fit.
Make sure what you get is an actual data cable, not just a charge cable.

https://www.banggood.com/search/29cm-ri ... -data.html

[Derek]

Well, if I'm not mistaking....this is exactly what I'm looking for

https://www.amazon.com/Micro-USB-Extens ... B06Y4FDVNN

...and I think it would be short enough that I could just leave it in the battery compartment. Probably put a bit of foamboard in front of the micro USB port, on the flight controller, connect the USB extension to the flight controller, then add a couple of zip ties to hold the USB cable in place. The purpose of the zipties would be to reduce strain or stress on the micro USB port on the flight controller.

[Stambo]

Looks about right to me Derek.

[Graham Lawrie]

I have one of those as well:)

[Derek]

Looks about right to me Derek.

Cool man! I think I'm going to place my order. At just under 10" long, it should be quite alright to leave this cable in the battery compartment, still connected to the flight controller. I was hoping for a shorter cable, but this is the shortest I have been able to find.

[Derek]

In regard to the micro usb cable, I did place my order for that set of two cables. They should be here Tuesday-ish. I think that's the last thing that I'll be adding to my wing, now that I've just installed an external BEC, to power the servos. We'll get into that in just a second. Something that I'm wondering, if I'm not mistaken (like that's ever happened, lol), that cable has 5 individual wires. If I do find that this cable is too long, I should be able to cut it down and then solder it back together as a shorter cable, right? My battery compartment is "somewhat" spacious but if I don't need the full length of cable in there, maybe cutting it down would be advantageous.

On to the BEC. I have used external BEC's in several of my planes. I understand their purpose and I also understand the consequences when I don't use one....magic pixie smoke on a few occasions, lol. This wing weighs in at just under 5lbs AUW. I would be super bummed if the something failed because my Align DS510m servos drew too much power from the Omnibus board and this 5lbs mass fell from the skies, possibly crashing into something disastrous (person or property). Crashing in to the ground is always acceptable, if a crash has to happen. But....if I can simply avoid all that by installing a $5 part...then so be it.

I've been talking with several people on the Inav Autopilot Facebook group and, I think, all but 1 person suggested using an external BEC to power the servos. I didn't fully understand how to wire it up, but they gave me pointers and showed me pics of their builds. So, here is a pic of my newly installed BEC.

added BEC.jpg (77.89 KiB) Viewed 5515 times

I took the servo connectors off the servo wires and split the individual wires apart. The two servo signal wires got a bit of yellow (to represent 'signal') heat shrink and then connected to the signal pin on the Omnibus PWM rail (PWM pins 3 and 4). Then I soldered together the positive wires from the two servos and the BEC, then covered that connection with a bit of heat shrink. Then I soldered the ground wires from the servos, and the BEC, to another length of black wire and added heat shrink to that connection. That gave me a single ground wire that I added a servo connector to and then connected that to the ground pin at PWM 4. It was my understanding that "any" source of "ground" would do, so I just chose that pin.

Then came the moment of truth.....connect the flight battery. I always get nervous when plugging in a fully charged pack to a newly modified setup, lol. So....let's connect the battery.....no sparks, no fire, no smoke....just some blinking led's and some beeps. Perfect! I got my DX8 and tested the elevon movement...no problems there...in fact, the servos seem to sound smoother. I dunno if, maybe, they are running better because of the direct power source....maybe...maybe not....but they are working. The fpv camera and OSD are working....OSD is showing up beautifully in my goggles. Motor spins in the proper direction. I did turn on Horizon Mode and tested that the elevens were correcting properly....no worries there.

SO....I actually think, other than the usb cable extension, this project is now complete and ready for maiden. Does anyone else get kinda bummed when a project is finished? Don't get me wrong, I'm super stoked that the project is now finished and now I should be able to take fully advantage of the Inav features and I can experience the fun that so many others (Stambo) are having, but it's also a bit of a bummer because I very much enjoyed the build, the installation, learning something new. Ok, I'm done crying about that!

On a side note, although my Dad isn't as experienced with flight controllers, GPS, and the rest of our rc world....Dad did play an important roll in helping me understand how some of these wires need to be connected, and why. I'm a much better pilot than I am electrician. So.....Dad....thanks for your role, too!!!

[Derek]

I forgot to mention that I also added a Naca Duct to the battery compartment cover.

Naca Duct.jpg (72.52 KiB) Viewed 5514 times

I've heard that these flight controllers can get rather warm and it was suggested that a Naca Duct be added to improve airflow to the flight controller. I've got some 1/16" thick ABS plastic. I cut some shapes out and then measured where the flight controller is positioned. Covered the ABS with black packing tape so that the color matched. Cut out a square hole where the flight controller is positioned and then hot glued the new Naca Duct in place. This should force plenty of air directly onto the flight controller.

[Derek]

My two little cables showed up today. Male micro usb to female micro usb. They are closer to 8 inches long. I quickly plugged one into my fc and im quite happy with the extra bit of length that is now there. I can leave this cable plugged in and just tuck the length off to the side when im not using it. Awesome!

[Stambo]

So we will see a (re)maiden flight video soon, cool.

You can probably fly it as it is and be fine but if you want some tuning tips, check this out.
https://github.com/iNavFlight/inav/wiki ... -fixedwing

[Derek]

I am itching to remaiden this wing. Its just been so cold here. Im not sure i could focus on the wing if im out there shivering. Ill pay attention to the temperatures. If i can get decent temperatures, on a day off, we'll get it done.

I will check out that link. Thanks!