Very First Build! (Comments/Critique/Insight)

P

PCMAerial

Member
Hey everyone! Excited to post my first build thread. Wouldn't be anywhere without the help of this forum, and people like (@Motopreserve) and more.

After months of scouring and researching for the most cost effective and functional rig for AP/Cinema for work I landed upon the good ole' DJI F550. I'm sure you have seen a million of these, but this is my first time. Read Many mixed opinions, reviews, and comparisons to other bigger & better rigs but this seemed to be my BEST start for the budget & beginner. I will be shooting small (Rx100/GoPro/Nex5). I know nothing about soldering and never have, so hang with me

I know this is something I can search and post separate threads for each component and tiny question, but I decided to keep all of MY questions here for everyone to see as I'm going. Let me have any comments/critique/opinions/No-No's you may know!

Pictures to go along by tomorrow. Right now everything is in a million boxes on my desk ready to work. Also I'm over budget so I'm hoping this is EVERYTHING I need (minus a charger which I'm purchasing this week). Below is my current list of parts, pictures coming along this week!


RIG ASSEMBLY PARTS:
-F550 Frame
-30A ESC's (6)
-2212 DJI Motors (6)
-DJI Landing Gear
-Naza V2 W/ GPS
-FrSky Taranis w/ X8R Receiver
-RMRC 4s 3300mAh LiPo
-HQ 1047 Slow Fly Props (6)

TOOLS:
-Weller 60w "925f" Soldering Iron
-Loctite Red 271 Threadlock
-H20-5 Water Soluble Flux Paste
-7" Wire Stripper/Cutter
-Hobby Knife
-60/40 leaded Solder

ACCESSORIES:
-XT-60 Male/Female Pair (3)
-3.5mm Bullet Connector Male/Female (6 Pairs)
-12ga Wire (Red & Black)
-Assorted Heat Shrink (1.6mm, 4.5mm, 9.5mm, 2.4mm

Thanks for looking!

Edit: The picture seems to flip upside down after uploading. Will try a rotation next time
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Toymaker

Toymaker

Crashologist
I have some cautionary thoughts....
The Weller 60W soldering Iron is extremely hot for what you will be soldering! You won't need more than 40. Even with that you may be melting some things unintentionally (ESC circuit boards, etc.). 60/40 solder melts at about 450°.
Red loctite? I wouldn't use it... I'd use blue. Blue will allow you to remove fasteners later. Red is extremely hard to take apart. It usually requires heat.
I have never used H20-5 Water Soluble Flux Paste. I hardly ever use flux at all! When I do it's because I have unclean conditions and I can't clean it. The flux sill help with that. I use La-Co flux.
The reason I don't use flux is because I use flux core solder. It has the flux built into the solder eliminating the need for any extra added flux.
Make sure you buy plenty of props of both rotations! I went through 6 in my first two days...
 


P

PCMAerial

Member
Toymaker said:
I have some cautionary thoughts....
The Weller 60W soldering Iron is extremely hot for what you will be soldering! You won't need more than 40. Even with that you may be melting some things unintentionally (ESC circuit boards, etc.). 60/40 solder melts at about 450°.
Red loctite? I wouldn't use it... I'd use blue. Blue will allow you to remove fasteners later. Red is extremely hard to take apart. It usually requires heat.
I have never used H20-5 Water Soluble Flux Paste. I hardly ever use flux at all! When I do it's because I have unclean conditions and I can't clean it. The flux sill help with that. I use La-Co flux.
The reason I don't use flux is because I use flux core solder. It has the flux built into the solder eliminating the need for any extra added flux.
Make sure you buy plenty of props of both rotations! I went through 6 in my first two days...
Click to expand...

Glad I read this! 5min before opening my soldering iron. So I should be able to take that back tomorrow and exchange for a lower watt soldering iron. Would 25w work? Or should I stick closer to 40w.

Good call on the loc-tite, it was the only one at the store I went to. But I will go out of town to a home depot tomorrow and get the normal blue type.

Should I avoid the flux all together? I've been told it helps the connection, but this brand was all I could find. Thanks alot for the info man. Just saved me a bit! I'll admit I'm definitely a noob at this
 

Toymaker

Toymaker

Crashologist
Ideally you need a 25 and a 40watt. It depends on what you are soldering. If you are soldering 3.5mm connectors use the 40 watt if you are doing any type of circuit board soldering use the 25 watt.
If you have 60/40 flux core solder (most small diameter electronics solder is) you won't need flux. You wires will be new and clean and the 3.5mm connectors are normally gold plated and clean as well.
 

P

PCMAerial

Member
Toymaker said:
Ideally you need a 25 and a 40watt. It depends on what you are soldering. If you are soldering 3.5mm connectors use the 40 watt if you are doing any type of circuit board soldering use the 25 watt.
If you have 60/40 flux core solder (most small diameter electronics solder is) you won't need flux. You wires will be new and clean and the 3.5mm connectors are normally gold plated and clean as well.
Click to expand...

Went ahead and got a 25w Weller Soldering Iron, no more 60w. Mainly soldering ESC's to the PDB. All connectors are present on ESC's and Motors. So I hope this one is enough. I've had no luck finding "flux core" solder in my area, so I've got the 60/40 rosin core solder if that works at all
 


P

PCMAerial

Member
Toymaker said:
BTW rosin/flux core is the same thing....Sorry, I should have mentioned that as well.
Click to expand...

Awesome! Thanks for the info. Looks like I'll just return that paste flux and use this solder since it's rosin core. My last item to find is a tiny hex drill bit to drill these arms in. I have a hex key but this will take forever with no bit. Haven't found one around yet. Pictures of my first solder coming next!!

Then I have to switch my battery port from a deans to XT-60. Guessing I snip one wire at a time right below the deans connector
 

Toymaker

Toymaker

Crashologist
Yes snip them one at a time. to be extra safe tape one up to insulate it. No direct shorts that way. You could also leave one end attached to the deans until you finish to first wire. Use the shrink tube and make sure you get the polarity correct!!!
The polarity should be marked on the side of the connector molded in the plastic.
 

P

PCMAerial

Member
Toymaker said:
Yes snip them one at a time. to be extra safe tape one up to insulate it. No direct shorts that way. You could also leave one end attached to the deans until you finish to first wire. Use the shrink tube and make sure you get the polarity correct!!!
The polarity should be marked on the side of the connector molded in the plastic.
Click to expand...


So I just began to tin my terminals, and solder my ESC's...one of my ESC's cord was shorter than the others, I tried to trim a bit of wire. DID I RUIN MY ESC??? Pics attached. Is this functional? I only see a red marked wire, and the rest of the "black" is meshed around the positive. Is this normal or did I ruin my esc wire?

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I may be a super noob and just looks scarier than it is. Anyone know this simple answer?
 

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Bartman

Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
PCMAerial said:
Glad I read this! 5min before opening my soldering iron. So I should be able to take that back tomorrow and exchange for a lower watt soldering iron. Would 25w work? Or should I stick closer to 40w.

Good call on the loc-tite, it was the only one at the store I went to. But I will go out of town to a home depot tomorrow and get the normal blue type.

Should I avoid the flux all together? I've been told it helps the connection, but this brand was all I could find. Thanks alot for the info man. Just saved me a bit! I'll admit I'm definitely a noob at this
Click to expand...


fwiw,

the wattage of the soldering iron doesn't determine how hot it is, the temperature setting does. higher wattage irons will stay closer to the temperature setting when doing heavier tasks as they will have more power to keep the soldering tip hot.

i've been using the Weller WES51 soldering station from the very beginning and recommend it to anyone getting started in the hobby. I use 700 degrees for general soldering tasks.

Bart
 

P

PCMAerial

Member
Bartman said:
fwiw,

the wattage of the soldering iron doesn't determine how hot it is, the temperature setting does. higher wattage irons will stay closer to the temperature setting when doing heavier tasks as they will have more power to keep the soldering tip hot.

i've been using the Weller WES51 soldering station from the very beginning and recommend it to anyone getting started in the hobby. I use 700 degrees for general soldering tasks.

Bart
Click to expand...

Thanks Bart!

Mine seems to work after around 15 sec startup time. We'll see how it goes.

How does this solder look to anyone??? First time ever so I can definitely re-do. But I'm confused on these positive/negative wires coming from my ESC. The ESC's are also longer than my hex frame arms. So im wondering if i need to trim back the entire cord completely. Is this "wire mesh" actually my black(negative) wire?

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Are my ESC wires correct?
 

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P

PCMAerial

Member
Bartman said:
where are those wires coming from? i've never seen ESC wires that were braided like that.

have you seen the video in the group build where I demonstrated some small soldering tasks?

http://www.multirotorforums.com/showthread.php?14280-Group-Build-DJI-NAZA-F450-Quadcopter!

it's the sixth video down in the first post, or vid 4 of the group build project
Click to expand...

ESC came from Aerial Media Pros. The Opto E300 and says www.Dji.com on the esc. And im logging onto the soldering videos now! Thanks man
 

Toymaker

Toymaker

Crashologist
Looks fine to me, although I'm surprised they don't provide any strain relief for the wires so they don't pull the solder pads off the board. If there's anyway to provide wire support so that it's not pulling right on the circuit board as you go through the build process it should be done..
 

Motopreserve

Motopreserve

Drone Enthusiast
Bartman said:
where are those wires coming from? i've never seen ESC wires that were braided like that.

have you seen the video in the group build where I demonstrated some small soldering tasks?

http://www.multirotorforums.com/showthread.php?14280-Group-Build-DJI-NAZA-F450-Quadcopter!

it's the sixth video down in the first post, or vid 4 of the group build project
Click to expand...

ive definitely never seen anything like this either except in home wiring and a few audio cables. That's why I suggested he ask. Every photo on the web shows the DJI having 2 separate wires.
 

Toymaker

Toymaker

Crashologist
Laptop computer power supplies use this type of wire for the DC feed to the computer. It's kind of a PITA to work with, and you have to be careful not tho nick the braid otherwise you loose conductor size.
 

H

haha49

Member
you might want a 6000 battery instead of a 3000 unless you put 2 of the 3000 together... Then it's the same amount of flight time 1 is just not enough.
 

P

PCMAerial

Member
So my ESC wires were too long (longer than my frame arms) and I cut them back shorter. Then twisted the mesh (negative) wire, below is a picture. Does this look safe to solder and hold a connection to anyone??

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