Group Build 2014, DJI NAZA/F450 Quadcopter!

[jomk63]

Maiden Flight today!! :highly_amused:

F450, Naza v2 GPS, 4s 5000 NanoTech, DJI std opto 30A motors, DJI 8" props & Futaba T8J Tx

Had to tweak the Gains on Atti from 135 (I think) down to 105 to stop the thing shaking itself apart! Basic Gains made no difference.

So I've ended up with Gains of 140 140 100 100
105 105

I'll probably move these last two up to 115 and see if that works too - but i didnt set a switch for remote gain for them

Red and Black legs - which looks great - and DJI plastic landing gear (in white) which doesn't look so good (might upgrade to the black CF rails at some point soon

1370g weight, and flew for 11-12 mins in a moderate wind with still reasonable amount of juice in the battery [but i wasn't whizzzzing around at high speed! ]

I have the Zenmuse 2D gimbal for my GoPro sitting on my desk asking to be installed now - but a few more flights to practice first.

I was brave enough to set (and pre-test) Failsafe on a switch - and that work well. It was damn scary the first time as it rose from my practice 8ft up to about 20m!! - but it then came home and landed.

So, HUGE THANKS to Bartman, this forum and many YouTube contributors.

Loving it!!!!

PS - Have never soldered in my life and all went well until I tried to put xt60 connectors on the battery leads - i just dont know how to fit those on easily

 

[Bartman]

Cheers! Another one flies!

 

[Dezy]

Has anyone attached LED lights to theirs yet, to help with orientation?
I'd like to use my onboard 4 cell lipo to power them, if possible - I know, I may be asking for to much.......

 

[coreyperez]

Jomk63,

I'd recommend: Using wire stippers and (farther down the wire than you REALLY want, but still close enough to the end, I'd say 3/4") you strip the wire and SLOWLY slide the shielding towards the end (sliding off), BUT!!! Leave the shielding on. Basically like you are splitting the shielding (clean break), now, "tin" the wire at that point. The object is to expose the wire, keeping tension on it with the shielding (near the end), after it is tinned, remove the excess shielding and cut to length. At this point REMEMBER to slide a new piece of shrink wrap on, and put near the battery.

Now, take the XT60,upright, power connection end facing down, with little solder on the end of the soldering tip, apply it to the outside of the connector (sticking out, the wire end), as you hold it there apply solder to the inside of the contact point, once the connector gets hot enough the solder will melt. I typically (almost) fill the connector with molten solder, at this point insert the pre-tinned wire (get the correct +/-), remove heat and shrink wrap and done.


Dezy,

I've done that. Mine are only 12v and I'm using a 3 cell. Works GREAT! I put mine in the "aft V" so if I need all I have to do is YAW it until I see LEDs and immediately have regained orientation.

Sorry, I cannot get a video link to post with a software issue I'm having, but here I what mine looks like at night.

Corey

http://youtu.be/wqpGIaLaIG8

 

[Dezy]

Thanks, Corey - that looks pretty cool.
I find many LED's that are 12 volt applications, but worry that with 4 cell and 15+ volts, they would burn bright, but only for a little while.:nevreness:

 

[coreyperez]

I'll tell you what. I've got one 4 cell battery and a few lights that I don't know if I'll use, when I get home I'll try it out and let it run for a while. If it fails, it should be right away. I'm using some cheap LED strips from Amazon. I'll link them if they work.

Corey

 

[gomotomoto]

I have my 4s powering up a bunch of strips on my 550 build. They are fine (but may be draining my battery)

Actually, they may have ruined it as I was setting up on the assistant and wasn't paying attention to the voltage

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jomk63]

Thanks for that Corey! Connector was fine - but the tip about splitting the shielding and then trimming off , that should be a big help in keeping the size of the end small enough to fit nicely.

Cheers!

 

[Dezy]

I'll tell you what. I've got one 4 cell battery and a few lights that I don't know if I'll use, when I get home I'll try it out and let it run for a while. If it fails, it should be right away. I'm using some cheap LED strips from Amazon. I'll link them if they work.

Corey

Thanks, Corey. I'm going to check with some guys at work today - I'm thinking a better way to connect 12 LEDs to a 4 cell may be to place a resistor in line to knock the voltage down a little. I'll post an answer if I find it.

 

[coreyperez]

I, like gomotomoto, just tried x2 LED strips on a 4S battery. I also did a "torture test" if you will. The two strips (and voltage monitor) all connected and let it run and run.

Starting:
TTL volt___1c____2c___3c____4c____Time
16.6_____4.16__4.16__4.16__4.16___Starting (battery 100%)
16.4_____4.11__4.13__4.10__4.11___0+15
15.7_____3.94__3.93__3.94__3.96___1+30
15.2_____3.81__3.81__3.82__3.83___2+45
15.0_____3.74__3.77__3.76__3.97___3+50 (Battery 14%), lower than I wanted

NOW! Keep in mind, this is with a cheap Hobby King voltage monitor on it. I've noticed it drops the voltage of the battery MUCH faster than I thought it would. Now that I have some base-line times, I may re-run this without the voltage monitor and check it at 4:45 (for same or better voltage) and again at 3:50 for ending voltage. This will give a better indication of the actual LED usage vs. the combined usage (LED and Voltage Monitor).

Hope this helps. I'll finish the experiment this evening if I can find 4hrs I know I can watch it.

The EXACT LEDs I used:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BQE5IKG/ref=oh_details_o05_s01_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (Used in the test)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B5OB7O8/ref=oh_details_o05_s01_i03?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (Used with a 3S on Honey Badger)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BQE5JAK/ref=oh_details_o05_s01_i04?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (Used with a 3S on F550)

Corey

 

[Dezy]

Interesting! Thanks, Corey, for taking the time and being willing to sacrifice some LEDs!

0.2 volts used to light two 30 cm strips for 15 minutes doesn't sound like much of a loss in flight time.

The price seemed pretty reasonable - my hobby shop wanted 2-3 times as much.

 

[coreyperez]

At some point, I posted about "buying bulk". You should see all the pieces I have amassed (from china, ebay bulk purchases). Hundreds of connectors, thousands of pins, pin tools to install them, bulk wire, the list goes on and on. I gave a friend a few of the 2 wire (battery connectors for his LEDs) and he offered to pay, I just said he could have them and then showed him the hundreds I had. I did point out I just saved him about 8-10$ if he had purchased it at a hobby store! (I only paid $20 for the hundreds).

(Ebay auction: 170627568344 )

Will I use them all? Probably not. But will I pay $10 for a pair again? NO WAY!

Corey

 

[jomk63]

Aaaaaaaggghhhh! Well I had my first proper crash at the weekend :upset: Was all going SOOO well.

It was about 200m away and about 15-20 m high. Just suddenly started to move left and downwards - i threw the FS switch and nothing happened and i then cut the motors when it was almost down - well, i tried to

1 broken leg ( the esc plugs all popped out of the motor connections cleanly) props all bent, and grass in the motor which came off with the broken leg.

However - i think what happened was that the GPS puck came off the round plate and a prop cut into the cable, breaking both cable (has a gash through to bare wire) and the prop - hence the downward/leftward trajectory because one prop wasnt working properly ?

So -0 has anyone else had the puck come off the double-sided sticky stuff? I should have had it cable-tied better - but i think it would still have struck a prop. (It is +5, -5, -10 on the xyz axis)

Have cut the cable ( i only need about a third of it anyway) and have taken off the white silicon at the puck-wires solder joint and will try to re-solder the little wires back on. [ or i might try to find someone with better eyes and a steadier hand! :highly_amused: ]

Lessons learnt! Think I got off lightly - and noone hurt.

Am adding a second velcro tie for my battery as well!

 

[Will]

Thanks for the tip Corey. I've been looking all over for those at the right price!

FYI, the same seller has them in a set of 50 too (although cable length is 10cm rather than 17cm) - eBay Item ID# 170748676771

 

[coreyperez]

No worries! This hobby is expensive enough, save as much as you can when you can!

Corey

 

[Will]

So true! I still bought 100 of them though

By the way, I REALLY want to say a HUGE thank you to Bart and to everyone else who's been posting advice in this thread. I have been following along at home and took a new DJI F550 on its first test flights a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to this thread (and especially to Bart for producing his videos), I'm pleased to report that despite my attempts to over-complicate things with a GoPro, gimbal, FPV tx system, custom undercarriage, a custom power-distribution system and retractable landing gear, absolutely everything worked perfectly first-time and it flies like a dream! Thank you!!! :cheerful:

 

[placoderm]

Hello everyone!
I know I am coming late to the game so to speak, but I just received my hakko and numerous tools mentioned in Barts intro videos. I ordered my F450 ARF kit and I started looking at FC and radios. And that's where I have stopped. I saw mentioned in this thread a fly away situation, and I thought sure that COULD happen. I figured it might be related to a radio issue (TX power/interference?) or some really rare problem with a FC. I then started doing some light searches about fly away's and I seem to see a heavily repeating trend, Naza. Over the past month or two of planning I had always assumed I would be getting a Naza V2, but now Naza FC is scaring the {insert uncomfortable age appropriate metaphor for you} out of me. My wife and I are best friends, I told her of my desire to start a new expensive hobby, she was supportive and wants to be involved/partake (can we say awesome?). I think that all stops if the thing fly's away...

Am I over searching/focusing on this? Is it just as common with other FC's? There are also so many good comments/successes with the Naza on this thread too.

I am hoping you all can calm my nerves a bit. I know nothing is full proof, but there seem to be so many stories/videos on the subject I just need to ask.

 

[coreyperez]

Placoderm,

Welcome to the forum and hopefully with some well (pointed) research you can put your mind at ease. As far as the flyaway issue, from what I’ve seen it does appear to be more “Naza” oriented. I cannot guarantee that this wouldn’t be able to happen to other Flight Controllers (FCs) but all the ones that come to mind currently are Naza issues. That being said…

It may not exactly be DJI’s fault/issue. We had a good discussion going regarding the actual lack of knowledge most end user’s have regarding the failsafe configuration of their radio. Plus, different radios (TX) and the receiver's (RX) seem to all have different fail safe methods and processes. I initially used a Turnigy 9xr but moved up (WAY UP!!!) to a Futaba 14SG and completely botched up my failsafe. Just thinking I knew what I was doing. I'm sure many others have suffered the same fate. Complicate this with the abundance of 2.4ghz radios being used (I live near an “apartment”, think of all the 2.4ghz wireless routers!). So, playing it safe, ensure that you have your failsafe configured properly, ensure your FC is configured properly, have a good GPS lock (your failsafe’s will typically depend on it unless you configure to “land” vs. “Return to Home (RTH) and land”. Another seemingly VERY important issue, is do not, under any circumstance, use the GoPro WiFi (If you get one). Don’t fly near wires, don’t try and get a GPS lock on concrete (Rebar and compass errors). Also, take other FCs into consideration as well. XAircraft (SuperX) is an amazing piece of equipment as well. I wanted to get one long ago, but I decided to get an “all in one” package with a gimbal. I just wanted to know that “It will work” all together. Knowing what I know now, I’ve seen so much more in the way of options. Don’t get me wrong, I almost purchased another Naza-M v2 a couple weeks ago! Just know there are other options. (I’m currently flying a Naza-M V2, KK2.1 and “trained” on a Lady Bird micro quad).

( think DJI leaves out quite a few other things that I've touched on, but here is a decent video: http://youtu.be/2bxjL7wFyb8 )

Really we could go on and on. This may seem like a lot of “issues” to work around, but it is quite simple really. Take your time, learn your machine and the inner workings and proper programming. Consider it part of the hobby. Not just the “flying” part. You have to enjoy it all or else it will become too much work, too much money and an overall unenjoyable experience.

I understand your concern, but make everything you can part of the overall experience. You will enjoy the hobby much more if you have the solid foundation that researching and asking questions will provide.

Congrats on your wife being so understanding. After you get it up and flying, give her a chance at the sticks. You will see that with the Naza it can really be very easy. She would also probably be excited to be able to be part of it.

If you have other questions or pointed one, ask away. Many of us have cut our teeth here and are very eager to give back to this wonderful community!

Corey

 

[CaptainJustice]

@Placoderm
What @Corey said.
Come on in and have fun.

 

[Bartman]

Hello everyone!
I know I am coming late to the game so to speak, but I just received my hakko and numerous tools mentioned in Barts intro videos. I ordered my F450 ARF kit and I started looking at FC and radios. And that's where I have stopped. I saw mentioned in this thread a fly away situation, and I thought sure that COULD happen. I figured it might be related to a radio issue (TX power/interference?) or some really rare problem with a FC. I then started doing some light searches about fly away's and I seem to see a heavily repeating trend, Naza. Over the past month or two of planning I had always assumed I would be getting a Naza V2, but now Naza FC is scaring the {insert uncomfortable age appropriate metaphor for you} out of me. My wife and I are best friends, I told her of my desire to start a new expensive hobby, she was supportive and wants to be involved/partake (can we say awesome?). I think that all stops if the thing fly's away...

Am I over searching/focusing on this? Is it just as common with other FC's? There are also so many good comments/successes with the Naza on this thread too.

I am hoping you all can calm my nerves a bit. I know nothing is full proof, but there seem to be so many stories/videos on the subject I just need to ask.

Placoderm,

Before you decide against the NAZA V2, read the product review I posted, especially the part about fly-aways. I think a big part of the NAZA's reputation is undeserved.

Welcome to the site and good luck with whatever you decide to do!
Bart