Group Build 2014, DJI NAZA/F450 Quadcopter!

RobBurn

Member
Hi,
Did you get the 14SGA or 14SGH, i guess the later is for helicopter....



Rob burn,

I too have ditched the lower quality radius and finally moved to the penthouse suite (aka 14SG) and have no regrets. As far as a unit that is integrated with video, the only quality option I know if is using a transmitter tray with a screen mounted too it. Personally I'm saving towards a set if goggles, my base station ell just be for emergency recovery or others to watch as i fly.

Corey
 

Rob burn,

* * * As far as a unit that is integrated with video, the only quality option I know if is using a transmitter tray with a screen mounted too it. * * * *

Corey
That is what I have done. I have the 10" RMRC monitor mounted on the tray they offer. It's a bit unwieldy due to the added weight and there is a neck strap offset that may be a good idea to help balance it -- I did a homemade approach to that.

I like the monitor because I often fly alone and cannot depend on a spotter. I'm not really into FPV and wanted it mainly for the OSD data as well as assisting with orientation.

Current incarnation of the quad-turned-hex. Monitor/transmitter combo here also (the OSD is the DJI mini).
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Stuartambient

New Member
Hey all,

First post on MRF but found this thread today and was able to read all 563 posts. It's exactly what I was looking for since I'm a total beginner to all RC but got bit by the "bug" a few weeks ago. Still haven't flown one yet though ;). I did take flying lessons for a while so who knows that experience might prove to be helpful. I've perused the site for a few days now and other sites. I actually had a cart going over at Hobby King and this leads me to my question, is there one or two sources in U.S.A. that I can order from with reliable service and a quick turnaround on shipping. I'm reasonable but some of the stories I ready about HK didn't sit well with me. To be fair there were plenty of success stories supposedly as well. All that aside their website s....., uh leaves something to be improved on. I just think they could have better search options and also not have the weird split on warehouses. (Almost wrote whorehouses ).

And I have gathered some sites up and bookmarked them. Many seem to have limited selection. Also at this point I've decided to go after the basic components leaving out the nav, though some leds would be nice.
I was also considering a different frame then the DJI, but one that might have the PDB as well. My main thing is having a way to cover up the esc's and other wiring. Not sure since one theme I seem to have read in various sites regarding copters is start small and simple.

Ok, well thanks to all and I'm subbed and looking forward to getting started soon.
 

Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
Hey all,

First post on MRF but found this thread today and was able to read all 563 posts. It's exactly what I was looking for since I'm a total beginner to all RC but got bit by the "bug" a few weeks ago. Still haven't flown one yet though ;). I did take flying lessons for a while so who knows that experience might prove to be helpful. I've perused the site for a few days now and other sites. I actually had a cart going over at Hobby King and this leads me to my question, is there one or two sources in U.S.A. that I can order from with reliable service and a quick turnaround on shipping. I'm reasonable but some of the stories I ready about HK didn't sit well with me. To be fair there were plenty of success stories supposedly as well. All that aside their website s....., uh leaves something to be improved on. I just think they could have better search options and also not have the weird split on warehouses. (Almost wrote whorehouses ).

And I have gathered some sites up and bookmarked them. Many seem to have limited selection. Also at this point I've decided to go after the basic components leaving out the nav, though some leds would be nice.
I was also considering a different frame then the DJI, but one that might have the PDB as well. My main thing is having a way to cover up the esc's and other wiring. Not sure since one theme I seem to have read in various sites regarding copters is start small and simple.

Ok, well thanks to all and I'm subbed and looking forward to getting started soon.

Hi Stuart, have a look around the site and you'll find a few of the advertisers sell the parts used in this thread. I stand by our advertisers and highly recommend them!

Welcome to the site!
Bart
 

Stuartambient

New Member
Hi Stuart, have a look around the site and you'll find a few of the advertisers sell the parts used in this thread. I stand by our advertisers and highly recommend them!

Welcome to the site!
Bart

Appreciate that Bart! I'm assuming your speaking about both banner ads as well as the vendor forums?
 

xsnowb27

Member
is that with the stock motors? that's a good benchmark for others, 5000mah/4S pack, bare F450, stock motors, APC 9x4.5, 15+ min flight times. :)
Stock DJI motors and no landing gear. I had some more time over the weekend to play and timed to almost exactly 20 minutes before my low voltage alarm would start beeping at me. Looking for possible motor upgrades or convert to F550 now..or both :)
 


Stock DJI motors and no landing gear. I had some more time over the weekend to play and timed to almost exactly 20 minutes before my low voltage alarm would start beeping at me. Looking for possible motor upgrades or convert to F550 now..or both :)
That is consistent with my experience when my quad was stock and naked. I was using a Pulse 4s 4100mAh battery and getting 12 minutes or better with modest maneuvering.
 

RobBurn

Member
Ordered all my stuff from a dji dealer.
Decided on the f550 kit w naza-m v2, this is the kit that has the new e300 propulsion system.
2- 4S 5000mah 30C lipo's
Futaba 14sgh setup.
I'll wait for the zenmuse 3d gimbal, suppose to be available for f550 in a week and then i imagine a gopro camera.

I look forward to building this setup. Again i say thanks to this forum in this endeavor.
 



quarta

Member
Okay guys here's my first bit of edited video (and I haven't edited video in many years, lol), built the quad following this thread mostly... Have only had a few dozen flights since the weather hasn't been cooperating :chargrined: ...still think the gains could use some tweaking...The video was made using clips from my last flight, with OSD picture in picture... GoPro is bolted directly to the frame and jello is almost non-existent (now that the props have been balanced, huge huge difference)... can't wait to get some vibe isolating mounts though! Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks guys.... more to come (hopefully in some more interesting locations... good weather this weekend!?)


Quarta
 
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RobBurn

Member
Hi Corey, will the naza or the futaba come with the cable to connect using the sbus? or will i need to get a cable?
my stuff is on the way, probably have everything 1st week of june.
Thanks
 


quarta

Member
i like it. very cool. Do you have picts of your setup? Also what did you use to balance props?
I posted a few pictures of my rig a few pages back, post number 506 I think, although it has changed since then, no more DJI landing gear, and changed the camera mount a bit so I could swap it onto my Easy Star and back easier. I used the Top Flite magnetic balancer, which needed to the balanced itself if you want to get really precise... Magnets provide such little resistance, I found that once the blades were balanced I was lost for a while until I realized I had to balance the balancer.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
 

RobBurn

Member
I posted a few pictures of my rig a few pages back, post number 506 I think, although it has changed since then, no more DJI landing gear, and changed the camera mount a bit so I could swap it onto my Easy Star and back easier. I used the Top Flite magnetic balancer, which needed to the balanced itself if you want to get really precise... Magnets provide such little resistance, I found that once the blades were balanced I was lost for a while until I realized I had to balance the balancer.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Ok i figured you posted earlier, i looked back. On the led placment you mentioned something about camera and leds. Do you notice the lights in the video or is this only with night flights? Ive been looking over leds and placement and still need a plan lol.
I guess you felt the need for the two braces on front and back between the legs for sturdyness? Also ill look on prop balancing and i guess balancing of the balancer. Thanks
 

quarta

Member
Ok i figured you posted earlier, i looked back. On the led placment you mentioned something about camera and leds. Do you notice the lights in the video or is this only with night flights? Ive been looking over leds and placement and still need a plan lol.
I guess you felt the need for the two braces on front and back between the legs for sturdyness? Also ill look on prop balancing and i guess balancing of the balancer. Thanks

Led placement-- I only run them at night. I'm also upgrading my fpv camera because the fatshark pilot HD does horribly in low light... And that seems to be the only good time to fly lately. I would recommend using less LEDs, maybe only a few at the end of each arm, pointing down... The amount of light coming off mine is insane, and that much light is not needed for simple orientation at night, looks cool though, and I get people coming to check out 'what that thing was' from blocks away when I takeoff at night. Those two braces are for a different purpose, to mount the camera's onto (camera's out of prop view) and the back one so I can move the battery back far enough to balance the cg. The front one is gone now, smaller and modified to swap between models easily, it bolts to the lower plate now, I'll take a few more pics and post after my morning flight. ...right now I use electrical tape on the strip of leds closest to the camera to prevent issues because I have been too lazy to solve the problem properly. I'll also post a picture of my fpv DVR. That's an old RCA Lyra AV jukebox that has been sitting in a drawer for many years. This allows me to record my on screen display, which has my latitude and longitude, which could greatly increase the chances of getting my rig back should the worst happen... It also displays while it's recording so it can be used as a second monitor for spectators, I'm sure they could be found for dirt cheap now that they are this old.... anyway my batteries are ready to go and it's gorgeous outside! Will post pictures later today.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
 

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genesc

Member
Bart, you stated in your Group Build you were going to use 2 batteries instead of one.

Question What 2 batteries did you use and please give me the brand, size and specifications. I am trying to duplicate your build with exception of the motors.

Thank you

Gene
 

So I have been trying to do my own build here based on the idea of this thread.

I ended up putting together the following

DJI F450 Flamewheel ARF kit (w/ e300 propulsion kit, naza m v2)
Futaba 14sg (overkill for a noob but I make money so I can spend it :D)
Using a 2700mah Lectron Pro (3S)
LED module
Bluetooth module (haven't hooked up to use yet)

Got everything together and got a couple of flights in, loving it, got 13:25 out of my second full battery flight.

So I went and ordered a Tarot 2d Gimbal Hero3 (plus gyro), and a new set of legs/rails to try to mount everything to (via Amazon) Fpv Anti-vibration Multifunction Landing Skid Kit F450 F550 Quad Hexa Copter. I used a GoPro Hero3 Black, as I didn't want to risk my Hero3+ Black with a new setup like this.

That hasn't gone so well. I got it all together on Saturday, took it outside and promptly flipped it over breaking my first prop (I knew that was going to happen eventually). Put two new props on it, and can't seem to get it to fly right. I ended up getting it about 5' off the ground, but it doesn't have the control it did before, and wouldn't go any higher. Ended up flipping it over again and crashing. Put it on the workbench and haven't touched it since Saturday.

Couple of questions:

1) Should the F450 + e300 system be able to handle the weight of that setup?
2) If "yes" to #1, I had a thought while typing this up. I soldered the power leads for the gimbal to the +/- for one of ESCs on the bottom board. Should the Gimbal have it's own power source, or can I splice into the ESC power like that? Is that possibly my problem?

Hoping I just have something mis-configured, as opposed to it already being time to upgrade ESC and Motors.

Any help would be appreciated,

Chris
 

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