F450 retail space.

[Dreamweaver]

Hey has anyone installed another lower plate via spacing studs to gain retail space for FPV/Datalink mounting?

Seems to me this second lower plate would not only add space but also provide protection (skidplate) and provide 4 new power point sources is you looped in the powder from the other lower.

Legs extensions would be a must but i have that covered already via TPpacks.

It's either this of a TBS plate kit.

~Mike

 

[hjls3]

I have not done it, but I want too now. Interested to hear peoples thoughts on the matter.

 

[plingboot]

I designed a couple of replacement top plates to hold fpv gear…

This solution worked fine, but i've now switched to a TBS disco set-up.

View attachment 5831

 

[Dreamweaver]

Well i finished my FPV install without using a second lower and i think i might have over done it.

Added 250g (the 2 lower levels of gray channel) the channel only weighs 10g per inch btw.

Total weight without bat is now 1,450g with bat 1,700g and it seems to be struggling even with the Tigers.

Think i need to put it on a diet.....maybe a TBS one.

The heatsink and fan seemed like a good idea as the 1000mw LM gets so hot with air temps of 100+ here in AZ.

~Mike

 

[kloner]

that receiver already has a heatsink that works more than enough in teh desert. you use prop wash to cool it, you got four big fans already on it. They do get hot, but that's what they do. The lower the swr on your antennas the cooler it'll run/longer it'll last.

What is all the metal with double sided tape? what are the two antennas all about? your in limbo plane, not horizontal or vertical

i'd take it all out and tape it all to the bottom of the plate except the vtx i'd put on one of them dog ears you got on the frame, straight over the camera is best.

this was my first quad, didn't know what i wanted, but once the fpv gear worked mounted like this, it was obviously the path i wanted to charge down
http://rchelicollective.com/zen/kloner/DJIf450quad/page/2/

 

[Dreamweaver]

Thanks for the thoughts kloner... i went back to the drawing board this morning.

Here's Rev. 2 however all the old clutter was 'only' 150g...i guess when you approach the thrust limit of the 450 every gram counts.

Still feels sluggish but is better...will increase the gains to see if i can perk it up some.

~Mike

 

[Dreamweaver]

what are the two antennas all about? your in limbo plane, not horizontal or vertical

One is the 900 datalink the other is the 1.2 FPV.

Don't know much about transmission will they work better vertically?

Also which high dB antennas are best bang for the buck?

~Mike

 

[kloner]

alot better. flip that lawmate vtx over so the heat sinks are in the air. thats the "hot" side. More important than weight comes aerodynamics. They get to be like a kite if you get too much hanging down off em. not that it's bad, just not the best for traveling

Is that all the dji downlink stuff?

does it carry a gopro or slr?

 

[Dreamweaver]

On the bench the side with holes was the hotter...also thought it would be better for it to breathe this way.

In the remaining channel there is the DJI data TX.

How do you stop the antennas vibrating down from vertical?...would one up one down work best?

Got the new JVC action cam...but dont think its gonna take the weight...another 126g.

 

[kloner]

we cross posted

With antennas like rubber duck, whip, things like that are called horizontal or vertical plane. idea being if the transmitter has an antenna sticking up, you want the receivers to do the same, and if it's horizontal, make em both horizontal. most important is to match the angles of them through a flight, which is what makes em not so good for multi rotors or helis for that matter cause we tilt to move. In uhf radio control your holding the transmitter and as you get further out moving the antennas angle around increases rssi signal strentgth when the angle match up, falls off alot when there not.

When you get bad signal underway, try moving the ground stations antennas around to match the craft. on mine got diversity with one antenna straight up hovering, one 45 degrees back so it is straight up and down underway.

On my video am using circular polarized antennas and they don't have those multipathing issues like you have there for the fact the angle the antenna is doesn't matter because the waves are coming off it in a circular pattern instead of a horizontal or vertical pattern.

So the real lawmate antennas are suppose to have a crazy high swr out of the box, but the plane thing negates the good of that. You want something like a bluebeam 3 lobe with a mast to get it up and away from the craft so get the right plug that makes that happen, as of now you'd want a 90 degree end with it the way it is now

on the ground station side your not gonna beat a helical. 3 turn is plenty for your goals. 4.5 would be a touch narrower and reach a little further but won't cast off to the sides as well. a crosshair is a little more convienant cause the size is small, but the don't cast off to the sides at all and behind it doesn't have much signal at all at this frequency. Strangley i've seen better sides and behind signal from the 5.8 crosshairs than the 1.2/1.3 stuff.

only downside to all this is there massive, 1.3 bluebeams are 5 inch across

if there wiggling down, need to be tighter or the antennas connector is failing


126 more grams aint bad if you stripped off 150

 

[kloner]

you want to the fans on the heatsink and the tx design will take care of the rest.

 

[Dreamweaver]

Rev. 3 with gains for RPV @ 200 and ATTI @ 110 handles nice again.

Hope the antennas don't freak each other out.....will test data with FPV tomor.

 

[kloner]

I like it. you might turn that data link one side ways and turn it sideways on the dji ground receiver. it'll keep em out of each others hair big time.

what does the little sensor on the back there do?

 

[Dreamweaver]

what does the little sensor on the back there do?

In the middle is the WKM power module...bottom GPS led.

Fitting a WKM, DL, FPV and CAM on a stock 450 frame is tough fer sure.

UPS delivered my FPV pelican last night i went with a 1400 to keep things nice and compact as i also plan on using this for a target cam when i shoot at 300-1000.

 

[sixback]

For $32.00 I bought a spare 450 airframe from Helidirect. I mounted the second top plate using vex robotics 1" aluminium standoffs above and use this as my Battery tray with the original top plate reserved for my naza placement. This puts the naza right at prop height and raises the VCG close to the naza centerline.

When I go FPV I'll mount the bottom plate in the same manner below but offset the ears 90 degrees to the original bottom plate. Just need to avoid the conduit paths when mounting.

 

[Bella7821]

You can get the Batwings and that will give you a lot more space to mount items