F550 project - Any advices?

[wsj1983]

Hi.
I'm starting to build a Hexa using F550 frame.
Here is all itens i'm starting to buy to make this project happen:
[I'll use it mostly carrying a 3-axis gimbal (480g) with a gopro hero3 black (73)]

- F550 frame
- DJI stock motors (2212)
- DJI stock ESCs (opto 30A)
- Graupner e-props (10x5) (with the load and the 3S battery i think it is the right prop. Am I wrong?)
- DJI WK-M controller board
- 2x parallel batteries: 3S 5000mAh 20C (20C is ok in this case right?)
- Quanum telemetry system (for what i understand, i can find a way to connect both balancer black wires together, and each cell's wire in sequency to get the readings of all 6 cells)
- Eventualy some load will be added with fpv system (just a transmitter to be used with the gopro, and a small battery)

I accept any advices you guys could give me.

 

[helloman1976]

Hi.
I'm starting to build a Hexa using F550 frame.
Here is all itens i'm starting to buy to make this project happen:
[I'll use it mostly carrying a 3-axis gimbal (480g) with a gopro hero3 black (73)]

- F550 frame
- DJI stock motors (2212)
- DJI stock ESCs (opto 30A)
- Graupner e-props (10x5) (with the load and the 3S battery i think it is the right prop. Am I wrong?)
- DJI WK-M controller board
- 2x parallel batteries: 3S 5000mAh 20C (20C is ok in this case right?)
- Quanum telemetry system (for what i understand, i can find a way to connect both balancer black wires together, and each cell's wire in sequency to get the readings of all 6 cells)
- Eventualy some load will be added with fpv system (just a transmitter to be used with the gopro, and a small battery)

I accept any advices you guys could give me.

I have the exact same Hexa and I can tell you the DJI motors MAY not be sufficient for all that weight. I don't use them and never have but have been around them for quite a while and that's what I continue to hear about them. The Graupner props are nice but expensive and I prefer the APC props that you have to balance yourself at $2 a pair. I would NOT use a 3S battery period, with the added weight of the FPV and gimble I'd plan on 4S myself, that's what I use. Zippy Compact 4S 4,000mah 25C in parallel gets me around 10-12 minutes in the air maximum. It may be worth a shot to get the NTM Turnigy 1350Kv motors that are probably a lot stronger than those stock DJI motors, get the propeller kit with them don't forget. You'll need to order 4mm to 8mm spacers also for those Graupners though if you do that, the NTM shafts are 4mm and the Graupners are 8mm. Hope that helps...

 

[wsj1983]

Tnx, helloman1976!
May I ask you... why not to use 3S battery (2x)? Or you are considering it because of your sugestion to a more powerfull motor?
I was planning to use 3S batteries because DJI recommends 3S for 10x5 props and 4S for 8x5 props.

Someone that have already used a DJI stock motor knows if it can handle that load? (I mean... I saw some videos with this setup working well... but I'm in doubt for what helloman said)

 

[olof]

I have a 450 and a 550, both flown many hours. I use the stock motors so far no problems at all.

The Naza works well, I do have an S800 with WKM an I think the Naza for the smaller Flames works very well if you only need 1 axis gimbal tilt control. I use the Zenmuse on the 800 so I have not tried the gimbal stabilization with that, I would assume it is as good if not better than the Naza. The WKM is better and has a lot more programming options, but is much more money.

I use the Graupners 10x5 and I balance them I really like them with 3s Lipos, nice sound and seems to be more efficient, longer flight times.

My setup is much heavier because of the Gimbal and it does have a separate FPV cam and a video downlink.

I personally use a NX5n with a MKTR Pro Gimbal on the 550 (sometimes just the GoProII) and I find a 6400 3s battery is just right for that setup. It is pretty heavy about 300g more than recommended, so I would not go with heavier batteries unless you go with bigger motors. I get about 6 minutes with that setup.

On the 450 I use single 4200 3s Lipos, and I get 10 minutes with a GoPro on vibe isolators. It is really agile. Graupner on that as well.

Here is a link to a video shot with it and you can see stills of the 550 in the end of the video:
https://vimeo.com/57552088

 

[helloman1976]

Any post stab on that or is that raw? Very good info, I've only ever heard that that DJI motors aren't very powerful but that's very good to know. I've been considering upgrading to a faster spinning motor, the NTM 1350KVs 310W from the NTM 750KVs 250W motors so maybe I'll go ahead and do that now then. Your shots are crisp and it looks like you have very good precision control or a whole lot of post stab lol. Thanks for bringing me up to speed as well

 

[wsj1983]

Very nice to know Olof!
I saw your videos already on my research and they are amaizing.

So... I will use WK-M thinking on a future upgrade and because I will use a 3-axis gimbal with tilt and roll stabilized by wk-m and sometimes with a 2nd receiver module to be able to have a 2nd person with a fine camera control.

On the begning I will not use a so good quality gimbal as you are using (too much investment for now). I will use this Alware gimbal witch don't seens to come with good quality servos, but have a very nice structure (like a cheaper version of photohigher's gimbal :livid: ). So I pretend to improve it by myself in the future, with better servos and bigger gears.