Derek's ZMR250 Build

[pvolcko]

Unless you're running full tilt for extended periods I think these will be good for ya. Still a big fan of glacier packs, myself.

[Derek]

Yeah, I don't run full tilt very much at all. Im still trying to work on my "control" vs speed. Smooth coordinated turns are still eluding me....but I did my first fpv loop yesterday....super cool!

[pvolcko]

I can do smooth turns. My problem is I climb like crazy through them. I'm still learning how to fly high speed, high bank turns in FPV. But that seems to be the ticket. Just need to be careful not to go too steep on the angle or else it will drop into the ground.

[Derek]

Yeah, I climb like crazy too on my turns. Before I know it, I'm 50+ off the ground, lol. But...I still have a good time

[Derek]

Here is a thread from the past, lol.

I remember when I first got my ZMR250 and all the troubles that I had getting the Naze32 board programmed and all set up. Gosh....that was terrible, ha ha ha!

However, this story is a bit different...ok, a lot different, lol.

My Dad has come to me and asked about getting an FPV quad setup for him with goggles and all, that way he can fly with me and the guys. After a bit of thought, I've decided to loan him my ZMR250. This way, he doesn't have to buy a whole quad right now...just in case FPV isn't for him. He did order a set of goggles and antennas, but that's another thread.

I was absolutely amazed with myself tonight because I had to pull the Spektrum satellite rx from my ZMR and connect it to a full rx so that I could get it bound to Dad's DX6i. Then solder the sat rx back to the Naze32 and go through the whole set up again....and I mean the "whole" setup. From flashing the latest firmware (because I've not updated the firmware in well over a year) to esc calibration in BLheli Suite. But the amazing part is that I was able to get the whole procedure done in less than an hour. It's a shame that it's raining right now because I'd love to be able to go hover the quad, with Dad's tx, just to know "for sure" that I did everything properly. I'm quite sure that I have done everything right because the ZMR is setup just like my Shuriken 180 and my Gravity 250.

Nonethless....again, I was just amazed that I was able to go from tab to tab, in Cleanflight, and I actually knew what I was doing, lol.

Unfortunately for me, the point of this post is not to "toot my own horn", so to speak. The point of this post is to give special thanks to you guys for always being around and lending me your time and knowledge. I don't know that I would have ever been able to get through the set up without you and I just wanted you guys to know that I appreciate you all.

Thanks again! Before too much longer, i'll be posting video of my Dad flying FPV. His goggles and antennas arrived today but, like I said above, that's another thread, lol.

[Graham Lawrie]

The bug will bite your dad:)

[Derek]

It's quite possible that the bug will bite my Dad! I remember, about two/three years ago, Dad was telling me that he'd never have his own plane....now he has two, lol. I remember him telling me that he wouldn't be flying FPV.....and now he is. Granted, it's my quad, but he's going to fly it, lol. It's only a matter of time now, ha ha ha!!!

[DOG]

That's too cool that your dad is interested in FPV. You're so right about the FPV bug. It's very contagious and I'm not sure if they have found a cure for it It's the next best thing since peanut butter

[Derek]

Mmmmmm.....peanut butter!!!

[west0618]

For me, it is a matter of spending time with my son. When I bought my first plane...Derek was flying more planes...and helicopters. I could justify the $140.00 for a Delta Ray and buying one of Derek's old transmitters but not the funds for a copter. I am more of a "realist" flier. I'm not flying any copter upside down. I've never rolled or looped my Delta Ray. LOL But it is fun to watch others. Derek flies fewer planes these days and I feel like a dino ( I am 64 today ) out there flying over them with my Delta Ray. They don't come up to play often. LOL I figured anything I did would have to be "used" gear but we found a nice, inexpensive FPV goggle...the VR-007 Pro. So, with Derek's loaner quad...I'm ready to do my best.

[DOG]

You are going to have a blast. HAPPY BIRTHDAY west0618

[DOG]

HAPPY FATHERS DAY TOO

[Derek]

Im putting my ZMR250 on a diet. I ordered a PDB with 12v and 5v outputs. Removing 50,000 zipties (sarcastically speaking lol). Removing the 2mm bullet connectors and soldering motors directly to esc's. Removing excess and unnecessary wire.

I dont know how much lighter the quad will be but im sure it will be lighter and cleaner. AUW before the diet was 480 grams with no battery and no fpv antenna.

We'll see what happens. Unfortunately, im out of solder so....gotta head to the store.

[DOG]

Hey there Derek. Have you tried using the Jenny Craig diet first, I've heard it works

[Derek]

I just got done with the rebuild on my ZMR250. I removed 50,000 zipties, miles of unnecessary wire, and the 2mm bullet connectors that I had from the motors to the esc's. I installed a PDB with a 12v and two 5v outputs. Soldered the motors directly to the esc's and made the wiring much cleaner. Satisfied with the end result, I took it out for a test hover.

Here's a pop quiz for you guys....

what happens when accidentally put esc 1 into port 2 and esc 2 into port 1?

answer:

your quad does the chicken dance and then body slams itself on the pavement, lol.
No serious damage, just chipped props. I have to admit that I laughed. I've got the esc's in the right ports now and now the quad is flying very well once again.

[Derek]

I just weighed my ZMR...again, without a battery, antenna, nor Mobius, the new weight of the ZMR250 is 423g. So, after removing unnecessary wire, bullet connectors, zipties and only adding a PDB, the quad is nearly 60grams lighter than before. I'd say the diet/rebuild was a success!!!

Yes, it's still my heaviest quad....but it's lighter than before. It's amazing how much I've learned over the last year. Building my Fossil's Gravity 250 was a real learning lesson for me, as far as cleanliness and tidy. I was able to really do a nice and clean rebuild on this quad and I'm happy.

[Derek]

Just got done removing my old faithful Naze32 rev5 and installing an Omnibus F4 v2 with integrated OSD. I've never had OSD on a mini quad before. My ZMR250 has Sunnysky 2207-2100kv motors, Little Bee 20amp esc's. I usually run this quad with DAL 5045 Bullnose props but its been suggested that I try 6" props and run a 5S pack for some long range cruising. I'm looking forward to this. Just gotta tidy up some wires.

20180225_093340.jpg (2.62 MiB) Viewed 4376 times

[Derek]

I finally got back to this project. I don't know what I had wired up wrong, on the previous install, but the Omnibus F4 V2 went up in smoke when I powered it up. Disappointing.

I decided to install a new Omnibus in the ZMR250 tonight. I took my time and paid very close attention to my solder joints....trying to use as little solder as possible (to avoid flowing onto another pad or something) but still use enough solder to hold a solid contact. I'm quite happy with what I did. Before I began to proceed too far with the reassembly, I took the quad into the garage to power it up and make sure the Magic Pixie Smoke stayed inside the electronics. No problems at all...no smoke. Awesome! I brought the quad back inside and went through the entire Betaflight Gui Tabs, including the esc calibration and OSD setup (minimal OSD selections). I took the quad back into the garage and powered up the entire quad and vtx...checked my goggles and the OSD is showing perfectly. Awesome again!

I put some props on and spun up the throttle, while holding onto the quad firmly from the bottom plate with my hand.....slight problem....motors 1 and 4 were spinning backwards. After a quick change in the BLHeli Configurator, retest the motors and all four motors are spinning in the proper direction.....once more, Awesome!

I brought the quad back inside and added 3 new zip ties to tidy up some of the wires. Wire tidiness still isn't one of my strong points, lol, but the wires are tucked away so that they aren't in any danger of getting hit by a prop.

So...I've upgraded from 20amp little bee esc's to 30amp little bee esc's. Upgraded the esc's to v14.9. Upgraded from DAL 5045 props to DAL 6040 props. Now I'm gonna order some 6S 1500mah packs and I'm gonna have some new fun with this new monster.

ZMR250 Upgraded.jpg (96.11 KiB) Viewed 4253 times

Once I get more familiar with my new Taranis X9D, I'll remove the DSMX satellite rx and I'll add a new TBS Crossfire Micro rx.

[Graham Lawrie]

Great stuff Derek:)

[DOG]

Very nice. That 250 has some size to it I can't imagine what the fossil 280 would look like that i would like to get