I wish I had known.... F550 purchase, build and first flights..
- Thread starter mmurfitt
- Start date
Hal, I'm just a little ahead of you on the build. My 550 is flying but is still a work in progress. Your soldering iron is fine. Same one I have and worked great. Just keep the tip clean. Wire guage??? I started with 10 guage for my battery leads, but after I tinned it, it wouldn't fit into my 4mm bullet connectors. Had to file the end down. I've since gone to 12 guage and ec3 connectors. Works much better. Lipo batteries?? Google it and you'll get a whole bunch of very detailed articles and videos. Way more information then you'll want to know, but need to know. I initially went with some 3s 2600mAh and get about 5 1/2 minutes of flight time. I've got some 5000's on the way. In general, my build was a little frustrating. I felt like I was lacking a lot of information about the build and had to scour the internet looking for answers, especially programming the Naza assistant. But there is a wealth of information in these forums that should answer all your questions.
I was more thinking of videoing it on your mobile phone or something, to show what it looks like from your perspective..
I know exactly what you mean, once you plug that lipo in, the clock's running and who wants to waste any precious time!?
mmurfitt, maybe I'll do that, thanks. You mentioned you're getting OSD. You going FPV? That's my next buy, but at this point I'm a little overwhelmed by the choices.
PilotHal
Real Pilot, RC's Too
Thanks for the response and the info martyf1. I just received my F550, landing gear and WKM today! Astonishing that it came in such small boxes!
Gonna start it tonight. Will hit the hobby store tomorrow for connectors and wire for the battery lead.
My mesh wire braid arrives early next week. Then I'll continue on with the ESC's. My goal is to get it done by the end of next week.
Gonna start it tonight. Will hit the hobby store tomorrow for connectors and wire for the battery lead.
My mesh wire braid arrives early next week. Then I'll continue on with the ESC's. My goal is to get it done by the end of next week.
PilotHal
Real Pilot, RC's Too
Question on my solder pads
I received my F550 kit today and dove right in!
Can you take a look at the solder pads on my lower board? See attachment. I have the Weller 40W soldering iron set at position 3 on the dial. I properly tinned the tip. I applied the chisel point tip to the solder pads to heat them up a bit. I applied the solder and it flowed right on to the pad no problem. But some of them look dull, whilst some others look shiny like mercury.
Is this ok? Or did I do something wrong?
Thanks.
Hello mmurfitt;
I received my F550 kit today and dove right in!
Can you take a look at the solder pads on my lower board? See attachment. I have the Weller 40W soldering iron set at position 3 on the dial. I properly tinned the tip. I applied the chisel point tip to the solder pads to heat them up a bit. I applied the solder and it flowed right on to the pad no problem. But some of them look dull, whilst some others look shiny like mercury.
Is this ok? Or did I do something wrong?
Thanks.
Attachments
PilotHal
Real Pilot, RC's Too
I'll take your 2 cents! No problem!!
There is a moderate amount of solder on the pads, it's just that some of them are dull and the others are shiny. I think I held the iron too long on the pad and burned away a lot of the flux - hence the dull appearance. I'm going to get a de-soldering tool at the local Shack and try again.
There is a moderate amount of solder on the pads, it's just that some of them are dull and the others are shiny. I think I held the iron too long on the pad and burned away a lot of the flux - hence the dull appearance. I'm going to get a de-soldering tool at the local Shack and try again.
VytasandRio
New Member
If you are using tin/lead solder and your solder look dull or frosty, it may be crystallization due to insufficient heat.
mmurfitt
Member
Yeah, I'd agree, in that a lot of heat isn't a bad thing, just don't hold the iron on for too long..! My soldering iron unit thing runs up to 450C, and I normally run it at 400C, which is more than hot enough.
@Martyf1 - My OSD arrived the other day, it's the Cyclops Easy OSD, and to be honest I don't know how these companies get away with giving no instruction or manual with their products!
The bits for my OSD literally arrived in a anti-static bag, and that's it! Nothing else, no paperwork, nothing! I guess I should be thankful they came in the anti-static bag rather than a sandwich bag or crisp packet!
So, I guess I'll start trawling YouTube for some video's on how it plugs together and wires in to the what I already have...bliming heck but this learning curve is just getting steeper!
Regarding FPV, yeah, I'm kind of doing that, but kind of not
I have a 7" monitor on a tripod which I feed live AV from my GoPro. The feed has been very helpful when the hexa's out of sight (even if it is a little scary, especially when you temporarily lose the AV signal!!). You have to put a lot of trust in your gear when the hexa's out of sight. I've just bought a new aerial for the onboard AV TX as I think the one I have is a little flaky, I'm not sure if I shouldn't have bought two, one for the hexa, one for the groundstation...hmmmm
Regarding soldering the pads on the bottom plate, to be honest I didn't put half that amount of solder on, not sure if you should or not really. I got my 'instruction' from YouTube so it could well be wrong, but thus far I've not had any issues with the ESC's coming loose.
But, do what you feel comfortable with, it's your money which'll be hovering in the sky...
mmurfitt....can you post a pic of your 550? Wanna see what ya got and where... I agree on the instuction manuals, or lack thereof!! I feel like most of my build instructions has come off of youtube, and I don't think we should have to spend hours trolling the videos looking for how to do something. Got my Graupner props yesterday. Checked a couple for balance and they were right on. Checked one of my old DJI props and it was way out of balance. So maybe that affected my little wobble I mentioned in previous posts.
Back to FPV...did you go 5.8? Straight antennae or the circular? Separate battery to run video? Did I hear the GoPro video feed is a bit delayed getting back to you? I'm looking at FPV equipment now. Wish I could find an all-in-one purchase that I could just hook up and go...already have my eyes set on an Octocopter with a good video camera for the spring....can't get this one up and running fast enough.
Back to FPV...did you go 5.8? Straight antennae or the circular? Separate battery to run video? Did I hear the GoPro video feed is a bit delayed getting back to you? I'm looking at FPV equipment now. Wish I could find an all-in-one purchase that I could just hook up and go...already have my eyes set on an Octocopter with a good video camera for the spring....can't get this one up and running fast enough.
PilotHal
Real Pilot, RC's Too
What made you go with the 10x5"s? I'm getting a recommendation of using the 8x5"'s. Any issues with the 10's? Your thoughts?
Thanks.
mmurfitt
Member
Hey Marty, I'll post some photos, but it may not be till Monday as I gave a fairly hectic weekend ahead.
Regarding the props, it sounds like you found the problem, I guess the only to properly tell is to try the new props and see if the wobble's gone.
I got a straight antenna with my AV TX, but I've just bought a twirly one to see if the signal holds up a bit better, I have a feeling I should have bought two of them, we'll see...
Oh, and yea, I went with 5.8ghz, it seemed like the sensible choice for distance and resilience.
If someone comes up with a decent all-in-one kit they'd make a killing, this stuff is quite aid soon to learn for newbies!
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mmurfitt
Member
I went with the 10" props as well, they're supposed to have a greater lift capacity when coupled with a larger battery.
Not sure if this true or not, but I seem to get around 12mins flight time from my combo..
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Hal, take this for what it's worth as I'm also a newb, just a little further along than you. But from what I've read on the forums, I'm picking up that the 8 x 5's are better for more manuverability and hot-doggin. I'm looking for maximum lift for aerial photos, hence the 10's. If you have other info, I'd love to hear it.