F450 Battery

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skipper1

Member
I got some XT60's to replace on my batteries and they have 10 awg with 4mm bullets. I thought I could switch the bullets out for XT60's. How did they get 10awg wires into 4mm bullets?

I have some 4mm bullets so maybe I could make some short 14 awg cables with with bullets, plug into the batteries and use heat shrink tubing and then put XT60's on the other end. That would probably work.

How long should I make the battery lead for the quad?
 

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mailman35

Member
forget that just tin the 10gauge then solder it up it fits, worse case trim some wire before you tin.
its not worth adding another area for failure in with going bullet to xt60
i have 8-10-12 soldered up to the xt60's and all work fine.
 

Dune

Dune

Member
I chose to change to XT60 because I had an intermittent electricity problem. I was using deans, and people told me that could be the source of the problem, so I'm switching and seeing if that works.

If you use a more robust connector like XT60 with a bullet on the other end of the cable, it kind of negates using the XT60 in the first place. The chain is only as strong as the weakest link.

I don't 100% get what you're saying. Many people just have this as their wiring
Soldered leads to pcb, other end has connector
battery plugs into connector.

If not that, they have some sort of parallel Y with a key setup. I don't have my quad handy, so I can't give you a pic of that.

Why would you want to have [soldered]pcb -> [xt60][xt60] -> [bullet][bullet] -> battery
Is this what you're describing? I don't really get it. Maybe you can draw a picture. It makes sense to me to just pick wither bullet or XT60, and go with that.

The battery lead (pcb to connector) on mine is like 2.5 inches. Works great, just have to orient the battery so the leads are on the same side.
 

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skipper1

Member
These batteries must have a larger hole on one end. You just can't get a 10 awg into a 4mm connector and to me, to trim some wire off is just as precarious as using bullets to xt60.

Is there a chance you could post a picture of your connectors so I could see what you're doing?
 

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mailman35

Member
here my xt60's they are just pics finished on 2 of the 3 bats 10 gauge wire. i also have 8 gauge wire connected the exact same way with no problems, flux and a decent amount of solder do wonders .
as well as a hot iron.

View attachment 2826View attachment 2827
 

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Dune

Dune

Member
brettskermetzger said:
Dune, do you have the DJI motors? I was curious what you do about the flat spot on the motors with those props? I've been searching the forum here and can't find anything about it.
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Sorry, don't know how I missed this.

I do. I bore them out using a 4-step prop reamer (google is helpful for this). Reamers are supposed to be better than a drill press because they naturally center the hole based on the pre-existing hole to some degree. I recently bought some 4s batteries and 8, 9, and 10 inch slo flyer props from APC to test out. I like the 10's best personally for video because they seem to right off the bat have a little less vibration issue. I need to really balance them all well to be sure though.

One thing I didn't know till I actually tried it was that the 10's have a thinner (shorter) hub than the 8 and 9. When you bore them all the way through, and tighten the nut all the way down on the 10's it doesnt go far enough to keep it from slipping. I had to get some washers. Am currently trying out some nylon washers or some tooth washers, they seem to work ok but at this time I need to read more to see which one is ideal.
 

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rcmike

Member
RTRyder said:
I use 3S 5000 packs on mine and they're good for 16 to 18 minutes easily. I lowered the threshold on the voltage monitoring to see how far I could push it and got to 21 minutes with the same pack. Using a pair of 3S 5000 in parallel and 10 x 5 Graupner props I almost made it to 29 minutes before it hit LVC. Mine is the 3S only version but it can carry a pair of 3S 5000 packs no problem which is funny because the batts weigh almost as much as the F450 does but the extra weight smooths it out quite nicely. If I'm just going for a short flight with the GoPro tied on I use 3S 2650 Turnigy packs and get 10 minutes no problem. You don't need a high C rating, it doesn't drain the battery very fast to need it, even if you're doing aerobatics in manual mode.

Ken
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What LVC do you have set using your 5000 batteries? I am using the same ones and trying to decide what to set mine at.
 

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RTRyder

Merlin of Multirotors
rcmike said:
What LVC do you have set using your 5000 batteries? I am using the same ones and trying to decide what to set mine at.
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I'd have to hook the F450 up to the netbook to tell you exactly, but I generally like to keep to no lower than 3.5 volts per cell. If it's an older pack I don't care that much about I'll run them down to 3.3 to get maximum flying time. 3.5 volts per cell would work out to 10.5 volts for the 3S 5000s I have but when I was trying for 30 minute flight time I had dropped it to 10 volts just to see if it could do it.

Ken
 

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rcmike

Member
Cool, that is about what I have mine set at I think. I haven't really checked to see exactly what flight time I have yet since I'm still in the testing phase and messing with the gains to get it to fly how I want it to.
 

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Copters3d

Member
Tomstoy2 said:
Hey Skip, glad to see you here! As I said, this is the hot spot for multi's. Great guys, and always available to give advise. More than happy to 'go the extra mile' to get your issues resolved. And, there are a lot of issues, this is all 'black magic', ( AI ), after all.

4s will give you the ability to turn large props at better efficiency than 3s and a smaller prop. There are always trade-off's. A large prop gives you lighter disc loading, making it more responsive, which the areobatic guys love. However, it can also cause the flight controller to overshoot causing a wobble, which us video guys dread.

So, to start with, a smaller prop would probably be best. Get the feel for it, then once you are familiar with it, try a larger prop and see how she reacts, whether it meets your tastes or not.

On batterys, I wouldn't hesitate to go with 4s and 8" props, it will give you better efficiency and flight times. Another side effect is the added weight can be a benefit, offering better stability.
The aerobatic guys want their ships to be as lite as possible and fly on the edge of control. Us video guys want as stable as possible.

So, you see, the trick here is to decide what you expect to do with your ship and design it for that purpose.

Really glad to see you doing your homework. Who would have ever thought all that harping your parents gave you about homework was really right after all?
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Good explanation on 3S vs 4S. So I am building a DJI F550 hex (with stock DJI motors) and want to got for a 4S battery. What mA and C rating should I go for?
 


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thekoff

New Member
Help on battery

Hi im from mexico and i ordered a f450 from omgfly.com but im trying to see wich battery is best and also dont know what type of plug of the quad comes with can you help me on that? and also want to know if the quad i ordered will handle the 4s ok?? also im planning on getting an fpv but im a newby and dont know if the 4s will do for fpv or if i need 3s, caus some cameras like horyzon use 5volts, does the transmitter or the servos work in 5v im very confused

WillM said:
While I strongly disagree with your transmission choice, I hope this helps. :)

I build a NAZA/F450 kit over the weekend. Bought and charged my first battery, which is 4S 3300mAh.

I get about 20 minutes. After an hour of flight time (3 charges), my impression is that the battery is a good fit. The battery (Hyperion) weighs 375 grams. I'm currently using the 8" props and haven't tried the 10" yet.

Cheers,

Will
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3space

New Member
Hey guys, I'm a noob, and this is my first visit to this forum. I bought 2 x Turnigy 3600 30-40C LiPos for my stock DJI F450, which uses 4 x 940kV motors, Naza v2 w/GPS. I'm about to assemble. The LiPos came with 10 AWG wire and 4mm bullet connectors. My F450 came with 14AWG wire to solder to PCB. I have a bunch of mating 4mm connectors, identical to those on the Turnigy LiPos. Can anybody tell me whether it's ok to go from 3600 mAh LiPos with 10AWG w/4mm bullets to 14AWG wire with bullets to PCB (direct solder)? Thank you in advance!
 


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AmsterDrone

New Member
3space said:
I answered my own question (yes), so please disregard this request.
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What did you end up doing? I have the same issue. Just got a fresh delivery of goodies for the f450 I'm planning to get started on soon, but noticed a connection issue right away and am wondering what to do.
Should I solder different connectors on the battery cable? Any advice would be much appreciated.
 

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3space

New Member
Hi, sorry for the wait. No, I'd say don't solder new connectors to the battery. The LiPos come pre-charged, and you're liable to short out the battery if you mess with the connectors. Instead, find mating connectors on eBay, and solder up some jumpers for yourself.
 

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