Another UK-er (run for cover!)

[gringers]

Hi All,
After a year or so of lurking here, it’s finally time to say hello! o/

I’ve been messing around for a few years with micro helis and then the Blade MQX and Phoenix Sim. I figured that was a good way to learn the basics – I really enjoyed those MQX’s but I have to confess to being on number three now after the first couple unsuccessfully picked fights with trees, water and high winds….

Anyway in a complete rush of blood to the head and having decided 2014 is my year, I’ve just picked up a DJI F550 combo pack to build my first ‘proper’ multirotor.

It looked like a good deal (presumably because of the new DJI products) but hopefully that isn’t going to be the first of many mistakes I’m about to make!

Like I said, it was definitely a case of rush of blood to the head and although I’m quite practical and reasonably tecchy, this is without doubt going to be a challenge!

I’m going to start another thread in the main DJI forum later today for my build and initial questions which I hope you kind people will help me with!

Hopefully I won’t ask the same questions that have been asked a million times before but sometimes, I reckon I’m just going to need some help confirming my assumptions from other threads are actually correct! In the meantime, my excitement at finally having placed my order led me back here to say hello!

Anyway, tia for having me and if anyone’s local to me (Chester, UK) and wants to meet/fly with a n00b (enticing prospect hey?) then give me a shout

Cheers!
Paul

 

[COMike93yj]

Hi Paul!!!

You can ask away!!!! There is NEVER a question that is too simple for anyone here! I am new to the Multirotor field as well but there is an outstanding group of folks that can help you out!

There are a few folks that are in the UK.......someone will bop on and assist you locally. If not let us know and we can try to hook you up with a person in the UK......multirotors have a sound following there!

Cheers,

Mike

 

[Jimbodiddly]

Hiya Paul, I am up in Morecambe not a million miles away. How far have you got building your 550 ?

Cheers Jim

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

 

[gringers]

Thanks for the welcome!

Unfortunately, I haven’t got very far with the build! The problem with having hobbies is that the wife’s not very keen on me disappearing to my workshop for entire weekends instead of involving myself in family life!

So anyway, today is the first morning I’ve had a chance to unbox all the gear and well, ….wow….I didn’t really expect to be confronted with so many cables!!

Spent a couple of hours laying everything out to see what I’m still missing and it’s caused a bit of head scratching and forum searching. If you can help me decide/confirm some best practices, that would be great - I'm just about to start a build/question thread in the main DJI forum!

 

[gringers]

Ok turns out I wasn't even sure whether to post this in the main DJI forum or the self build forum....so instead, I'll just post here!

I apologise in advance for the length of this post as well but when I get underway, I promise to post some pics/vids to give something back!


What I have
F550 frame, stock motors, escs and props (thinking of using the 10” dji 1038 props)
NAZA-M V2
iOSD Mini
H3-2D Gimbal and soon to arrive GoPro Hero 3+
Zenmuse H3-2D GCU V1
CAN HUB
PMU V2
Remote LED Unit
DJI 2.4g data link module - LK24-BT
AVL58 Videolink

What I’m unsure of already!

1. On the DJI website, this diagram http://www.dji.com/when-naza-m-is-used-with-other-dji-products/ shows the BTU which came with the 2.4G data link module as being attached to the CAN Hub. However, I’m led to believe that it actually connects to the 2.4G datalink ground end? Is that correct? I presume that it’s used to receive data/commands from the Ground Station software on iPad --> Datalink ground end --> Datalink air end --> FC?

2.1 The iOSD mini has to connect to both the Zenmuse GCU and the AVL58 transmitter using the 4 wire connector – correct?
2.2 How should I connect the bare wires from the iOSD mini to the Zenmuse GCU? Simply solder together or use some kind of connector? (a connector sounds better for access/replacement?)
2.3 How should I connect the bare wires from the iOSD mini to the AVL58 transmitter? The cable that came with the AVL58 has been split to provide power with a preinstalled Deans connector on and it also a male jack which I presume would normally connect straight to the GCU if you weren’t using an iOSD mini?
Do I need to cut the male jack off to expose the wires to connect to the iOSD mini wires or am I barking up the wrong tree? If that’s what needs to happen then again, what type of connector to use?

3.1 Onboard, only the PMU V2, Zenmuse GCU and AVL58 transmitter seem to require power – correct?
3.2 Can these three components above then all be connected to the main flight Lipo? I have both 3S and 4S but was planning on using the 4S (Overlander Supersport 14.8V 5000mAh 30C). I thought I read somewhere that the AVL58 tx shouldn’t be run off a 4S but I can’t find where I read that now?!
3.3 If they can all be run off the main 4S flight lipo, how should they be connected? Should I be adding Deans connectors like on the AVL58 tx to the Zenmuse GCU and PMU v2? Then I presume I’ll have to make some kind of power harness to connect back to the power terminals on the F550 Board? What kind of gauge silicone wire would I need to use for the power harness – 14awg?
3.4 Is it ok to put deans on the Overlander Lipos or should I be using different connectors for the battery connection? The silicone wires that came with the F550 for connecting the Lipo to the power terminals on the board seem very weedy (14awg?)compared to the wires coming out of the Lipo itself (10awg?)!

4.1 I now see that mounting the H3-2D gimbal doesn’t come with any kind of mounting plate for the F550. It looks from a quick look around that it’s easier on the F450 but hey ho. Has anyone got any recommendations for an additional mounting plate or landing gear/gimbal mount combo that works well in this kind of setup?

Think that’s everything that’s come to light this morning – I appreciate any pointers you can give!

Thanks
Paul

 

[gringers]

Also forgot to ask where in the Front Range are you Mike?

I lived in Steamboat Springs for about 5 years until moving back to the UK in 2010 - man I miss that place Especially now with all that fluffy pow!

 

[coreyperez]

As far as how to mount the gimbal on the 550, look at post #222 on the group build.

I'd also caution you, look DEEP into the FPV/video and transmitter/RX interference issues. I'm not schooled up enough to know if what you have will cause issues, but I'm FREAKED OUT about these darn Naza-M "Fly-aways" that seem to happen all too often. I'm currently developing a recovery system. It doesn't seem like "IF" but "When" it happens with these Naza units.

Best of luck on your build. I've gotten as far as soldering on my ESCs and building my landing gear/gimbal. Still awaiting parts to arrive from the US.

Corey

 

[gringers]

Ok, well I guess the lack of replies could be to do with me posting in an inappropriate place but in case anyone's interested - I managed to dedicate some more time in the last few days to R&D ;-) so I went ahead today and started the build officially \o/

The basis on which I'm proceeding in relation to my own questions are answered below but so far so good

I decided to build the rig incrementally (not least because I don't have everything yet - like mounting plate for H3-2D gimbal) so to start with, it's just going to be the bare bones - naza and gps. Once I'm satisfied that all is as it should be, I'll add the gimbal and camera and then finally, the AVL58, iOSD, Datalink and bluetooth.

This afternoon went pretty well and I actually managed to get more done than I expected:
-Built the frame to lower platelevel, installed motors, soldered ESC's, power cable and PMU to the board.
-Connected the naza, motor cables, radio rx and installed firmware through the PC
-Corrected motor directions (can you believe all of them were going the wrong way to start!)
-Programmed my T8J Tx ( reversing FLP, setting up one of the 3 postion switches in preparation for attitude/gps/manual, adjusting endpoint settings and setting up failesafe and setting the other 3 way switch in prep for homelock and courselock)
-Configured naza through the assistant, calibrated and tested my 3 way switches, adjusted gains).
-Tested it all in my workshop without props and seemed to work as expected including failsafe (hurrah)

All said, pretty happy with a first afternoon and depending on the WWK (weather, wife and kids!), I'm hoping to find a few hours over the weekend checking and rechecking everything and then perhaps even a first flight!

Cheers!

What I’m unsure of already!

1. On the DJI website, this diagram http://www.dji.com/when-naza-m-is-used-with-other-dji-products/ shows the BTU which came with the 2.4G data link module as being attached to the CAN Hub. However, I’m led to believe that it actually connects to the 2.4G datalink ground end? Is that correct? I presume that it’s used to receive data/commands from the Ground Station software on iPad --> Datalink ground end --> Datalink air end --> FC?
Correct as far as I can tell!

2.1 The iOSD mini has to connect to both the Zenmuse GCU and the AVL58 transmitter using the 4 wire connector – correct? Yes
2.2 How should I connect the bare wires from the iOSD mini to the Zenmuse GCU? Simply solder together or use some kind of connector? (a connector sounds better for access/replacement?) If all else fails I'll solder but looking into some kind of mini molex atm
2.3 How should I connect the bare wires from the iOSD mini to the AVL58 transmitter? The cable that came with the AVL58 has been split to provide power with a preinstalled Deans connector on and it also a male jack which I presume would normally connect straight to the GCU if you weren’t using an iOSD mini?
Do I need to cut the male jack off to expose the wires to connect to the iOSD mini wires or am I barking up the wrong tree? If that’s what needs to happen then again, what type of connector to use? Can't see any other possibility so off it comes and either solder or find an appropriate connector

3.1 Onboard, only the PMU V2, Zenmuse GCU and AVL58 transmitter seem to require power – correct? Yup
3.2 Can these three components above then all be connected to the main flight Lipo? I have both 3S and 4S but was planning on using the 4S (Overlander Supersport 14.8V 5000mAh 30C). I thought I read somewhere that the AVL58 tx shouldn’t be run off a 4S but I can’t find where I read that now?! I still have doubts about using 4S for the AVL58 Tx because there seems to be a lot of conflicting info in the community. The iOSD manual has a wiring diagram within which references the AVL58 (I can't find anything else 'official') and that definitely indicates that it should be supplied only by 3S/11.2V and anything else requires balancing but I've also read more than one user claim that using 4S is fine. I'm going to test my setup with both 3S and 4S anyway so perhaps I'll end up running a 3S setup anyhow but if not, and in light of any other information, I guess I'll just risk frying everything with 4S!
3.3 If they can all be run off the main 4S flight lipo, how should they be connected? Should I be adding Deans connectors like on the AVL58 tx to the Zenmuse GCU and PMU v2? Then I presume I’ll have to make some kind of power harness to connect back to the power terminals on the F550 Board? What kind of gauge silicone wire would I need to use for the power harness – 14awg? Decided on using xt60 plugs for power and I'm pretty sure 14awg will do the business!
3.4 Is it ok to put deans on the Overlander Lipos or should I be using different connectors for the battery connection? The silicone wires that came with the F550 for connecting the Lipo to the power terminals on the board seem very weedy (14awg?)compared to the wires coming out of the Lipo itself (10awg?)! Seems that it's a bit silly these lipos coming with 10awg so I'm going to stpe down to at least 12awg to the pdb and as above, 14awg from there. XT60's appear more than capable and arguably easier to manage and solder than deans.

4.1 I now see that mounting the H3-2D gimbal doesn’t come with any kind of mounting plate for the F550. It looks from a quick look around that it’s easier on the F450 but hey ho. Has anyone got any recommendations for an additional mounting plate or landing gear/gimbal mount combo that works well in this kind of setup? Thanks for the pointer to the group build corey. Somewhat dubiously, I ended up ordering this on ebay
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PF450-F45...GoPro-QuadCopter-Extension-Leg-/171188650397?
Not convinced it will or can fit to the f550 frame without modifying/drilling it (which defeats the object) but for a tenner, it's worth a look. Plus I quite like the idea of keeping it balanced centrally even if it does mean the props are still in shot.....after all I'm not after this rig being a professional aerial photography monster and I also think it would be good to see the stock extended landing gear as a point of reference to the H3-2D's movement/stabilization (at least at first anyway).

Think that’s everything that’s come to light this morning – I appreciate any pointers you can give!

Thanks
Paul

 

[coreyperez]

As far as the lack of replies to the specific DJI questions, I'd recommend posting them in the DJI Forum. I cannot help as you are significantly farther along than I am.

I do think you have the right idea to post your own build in your own thread. I feel its more appropriate vs. cluttering the forums with non-specific "nonsense". I'm going to follow suit and do my build on my introduction as well.

Best of luck!

Corey

 

[gringers]

Well, I managed to get the basic version (No gimbal/camera, vtx, datalink, iOSD yet) completed earlier this week

had it in the air for about an hour so far to test how everything works. Amazingly, there seem to be no issues at this stage. Failsafe, control mode and IOC mapping all work as expected. First time using GPS and I was suitably impressed - the little fella flies well, very smoothly.

Needless to say it's a completely different experience to the little micro quads and helis I've used before (like a 100x easier to fly with GPS/ATTI and IOC) but I am SO glad that I spent so much time with the micro stuff before arriving here - I think that's probably the main reason this seems so much easier (and to be honest I'm not sure I like IOC, it almost seems counter intuitive having spent so long without that kind of 'help')

Some very boring photos below but hey ho, it makes me kinda proud to have got to this stage!

Now it's time to take it to bits again and start adding in all the extras that formed part of the combo deal I bought....i.e. the hard part!!

 

[coreyperez]

I'm completely jealous! I just spent about an hour finding all my past purchases this month and put then in a calendar. Seems to be taking a lot longer to get things note that the holidays are over. The last absolutely required box should be here any day. With any luck I could get one of my multi rotors together! I'm on my phone and it didn't download the photos do I'll have to check then out later, regardless... CONGRATS!

Corey

 

[gringers]

Thanks Corey, yeah I'm pretty stoked it went so well up to now! Can't wait to get the gimbal and camera hooked up now!

Look forward to seeing your progress!

 

[coreyperez]

I've got a quick question,

Now that you are at the point you are at, do you have any pointers? Anything you would have done differently, any suggestions? Tips, Tricks, etc? I've looked at your wire-routing so that will be a good reference, I also like how you put your LED.

Thanks!

Corey

 

[blades]

Yeah congrats mate... You look as if you have progressed very well. I am on the brink of starting a 550 build so I will be following your further progress with great interest. :encouragement:

 

[gringers]

I've got a quick question,

Now that you are at the point you are at, do you have any pointers? Anything you would have done differently, any suggestions? Tips, Tricks, etc? I've looked at your wire-routing so that will be a good reference, I also like how you put your LED.

Thanks!

Corey

Hey Corey,
I wish I'd put wire mesh or heat shrink over the esc cables before soldering them to the board - mainly for aesthetics but the protection a mesh would provide against chaffing would probably be a good move longer term. I meant to put mesh on but just forgot in my eagerness to actually make some progress and by the time I realised, I couldn't be bothered to desolder and start again just for the mesh!

I also lost count of the number of times I soldered connectors to my batteries only to realise once I'd done it, I'd forgotten to put my heat shrink on first! So I wasted a lot of time desoldering, putting the heat shrink on and resoldering. Unlike the esc cables, that's not something you can just live with when you realise you've had a 'duh moment'!

Also wish I'd found a better way to fix the GPS saucer and mast. I have no problem using the sticky pad to fix to the top board but because I was impatient I just glued the mast into the mounting plates and realise now that was probably a bit silly! Using a grub screw would make life a lot easier when having to dismantle to repair/rebuild etc.

Definitely the most head scratching part for me was trying to figure out how to lay out all the electronics on the boards (and it still is!). I'm not sure if there's a 'best practice' layout and whilst it's not so difficult if you've just got the Naza, GPS, PMU and LED to fit (where I am now), thinking of where all the other stuff I want to add (Gimbal, GCU, CAN hub, mini iosd, datalink and FPV tx) is a proper head scratcher! To me, it seems like there's not a lot of space to fit all that on so even early on I was trying to plan where everything would eventually end up so I could make sure that the first pieces went in appropriate places.

I also had a big debate with myself as to what type of connectors to use. Ended up going xt-60 as they looked easier to solder than deans, especially on the thick battery wires and appeared more compact than bullets or EC-5. I'm pleased with the xt-60's - they weren't difficult to solder at all and I'm not a pro solderer by any stretch! Remember to put the female ends on the 'hot side' so as to reduce the likelihood of shorting your battery.

Finally (for now), if struggling with soldering connectors onto what seems like excessively large gauge battery wires (10awg), you can use your wire strippers on the next gauge (12awg) to thin it down a little before tinning - makes it much easier to get a decent joint on the connector.

Cheers
Paul

 

[coreyperez]

Paul,

All great suggestions. Luckily I had already wrapped the wires from the ESCs with the wire mesh & shrink wrap to give them a clean look. I also got a servo connector tool and numerous (bulk) lead ends. I’m hoping to possibly cut them to length and re-terminate them, keeping them clean and reduce weight.

I ended up getting the GPS holder from RMRC the other day. I’m sure it won’t be here by the time I’m ready to assemble, but I believe it will be easy enough to go back and redo that. With the battery connectors, I too was undecided. I’ve got numerous of all the major brands. I’m not sure what I’ll end up using as my Turnigy 5000’s all have the red bullet version, my 2200’s use the xt60’s. So I’m at least able to make each MR work with their own specific battery and will have the ends to terminate as required. Luckily I can just work from the battery forward (by using the existing terminal ends) and not confuse the male/female.

I’ll have to keep reviewing photos to see how everybody gets all their equipment placed on their MRs. I’m just getting interested in FPV so that has opened up an entire new world to me as well. I’m waiting on a “Honey Badger” to make its way to Korea from the US Mainland. That will probably be my focused task once it arrives… That little thing looks… AWESOME!

Thanks for the response and awesome work!

Corey

 

[gringers]

Had a busy few days so not managed any flying time since the last update

I did however manage to get a new landing gear installed (cheap and nasty) and figure out a way to use it's components to attach the gimbal (even cheaper and nastier!). Mental note to self: next time do a bit more research on how to attach your required gimbal to your intended copter!

Also got the Can Hub and GCU installed and tested (after a little reconfiguration in the Assistant software). Ended up just soldering the GCU power leads to the board instead of figuring out a potentially better solution (still have the Vtx to install and power). Even though I couldn't fly, loved just rocking the copter around and watching the gimbal stabilize......I know, I know.....

Finally 'for laughs', had a play around with a new FrSky Taranis Tx and X8R Rx which I (seemingly luckily), managed to bag from the last T9HobbySport shipment. I'd heard a lot of great things about it but it was still a kinda impulsive buy when I saw it available! Then I got a bit nervous.....! Reading around, it seemed it might have been a bit beyond my current capabilities but actually I'm pleased to say that it turned out to be quite intuitive!
Or maybe I should say, that when looking at the assistant, it seems to be set up right! 3 way control mode switch for Manual/Atti/GPS looks good and failsafe can be activated either by powering off the Tx or by flipping one of the two way switches I designated. 3 way IOC switch seems to function correctly (might still use this channel for gain adjustment rather than IOC though, especially to begin with until everything's dialed in - it's either one or other I think). Finally, I mapped the gimbal control to the RS slider which is a really neat/useful addition over the T8J.

Will try and post some photos of the new setup tomorrow and if anyone's interested, go into a bit more detail on how I got the T8J and Taranis tx's set up.

 

[coreyperez]

Post away! Post away!

I love following along with your build.

I'm finally making progress with mine. I'm currently fighting my way through a 9XR/Naza issue...

Corey

 

[soler]

Hi Paul, If you need any help let me know, I am also in Chester.

Hi All,
After a year or so of lurking here, it’s finally time to say hello! o/

I’ve been messing around for a few years with micro helis and then the Blade MQX and Phoenix Sim. I figured that was a good way to learn the basics – I really enjoyed those MQX’s but I have to confess to being on number three now after the first couple unsuccessfully picked fights with trees, water and high winds….

Anyway in a complete rush of blood to the head and having decided 2014 is my year, I’ve just picked up a DJI F550 combo pack to build my first ‘proper’ multirotor.

It looked like a good deal (presumably because of the new DJI products) but hopefully that isn’t going to be the first of many mistakes I’m about to make!

Like I said, it was definitely a case of rush of blood to the head and although I’m quite practical and reasonably tecchy, this is without doubt going to be a challenge!

I’m going to start another thread in the main DJI forum later today for my build and initial questions which I hope you kind people will help me with!

Hopefully I won’t ask the same questions that have been asked a million times before but sometimes, I reckon I’m just going to need some help confirming my assumptions from other threads are actually correct! In the meantime, my excitement at finally having placed my order led me back here to say hello!

Anyway, tia for having me and if anyone’s local to me (Chester, UK) and wants to meet/fly with a n00b (enticing prospect hey?) then give me a shout

Cheers!
Paul

 

[gringers]

Hi Paul, If you need any help let me know, I am also in Chester.

Wow, small world ey!

You might live to regret that offer though hehe