QAV500 FPV quad

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RTRyder

Merlin of Multirotors
As an alternative to the carbon fiber you can always use just plain old plastic landing gear supports, same height and all and a lot more flexible for those occasional rough landings. I was looking at some the other day in a variety of colors including some very bright neon greens and blues, I might have to get a set and try them out.

On a different note I swapped the motors on the QAV yesterday, took the Avroto 2814 and reflashed ESCs off and installed a set of the FPVManuals FM4008 40mm 620kv pancake motors with a set of HobbyKing Blue Series 30 amp ESCs set to 16kHz switching frequency. Some minor tweaks to the Naza gain settings, a little adjustment of the CoG, and back to the Graupner 10 x 5 props, first test flight showed a very big improvement in the flight characteristics vs the previous setup which confirms my suspicion that the Avrotos were really too much motor for the QAV.

I've done a few test flights up and down the street in front of the house and I see a huge improvement in the way it flys, very close to my TBS Disco now and I'm starting to like the QAV a lot more. The real test will be getting out to someplace where I can fly a couple packs through the goggles with the GoPro recording for comparison but so far it appears to be a lot more balanced machine with the new motors.

Ken
 

E

Elliott000

Member
i have 4 5000mah 4s packs from my ad6 which has been retired after a fatal crash lol.... my qav500 came today, you guys think 5000 are a little too much weight? should i score some 4000....
 

R

RTRyder

Merlin of Multirotors
Elliott000 said:
i have 4 5000mah 4s packs from my ad6 which has been retired after a fatal crash lol.... my qav500 came today, you guys think 5000 are a little too much weight? should i score some 4000....
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You'll be able to get the CG right easier with lighter batteries but it's not impossible with the 4s 5000s, it just takes a little more time to figure out the placement of things so you can get the pack far enough forward so it isn't tail heavy. I like the 5000 because of the extra flight time I get from them, if I could fit a 6000 between the frame plates I would!

The other option is to just strap the pack to the top frame plate so you can get the CG right where you want it by moving the pack to wherever it needs to be. When I first flew mine I was using 4S 8000 packs strapped underneath the "dirty" frame assembly, it flew fine but messed up the vibration isolation with that much weight on the lower frame parts and very little on the isolated section.

Ken
 


S

Silverwood

Member
Ken...I was wondering what kind of flight times your getting with the 5000s ?...Just got my qav500 together and with Nano-tec 5000s with 10" Graupners andnx 4008 620 kv motors on the first few flights I'm only getting about 7 1/2minuts.... I guess I was expecting at least 10 or more... I'm still dialing it in but it feels like a flying brick. (also looks like one) :)
 

R

RTRyder

Merlin of Multirotors
Silverwood said:
Ken...I was wondering what kind of flight times your getting with the 5000s ?...Just got my qav500 together and with Nano-tec 5000s with 10" Graupners andnx 4008 620 kv motors on the first few flights I'm only getting about 7 1/2minuts.... I guess I was expecting at least 10 or more... I'm still dialing it in but it feels like a flying brick. (also looks like one) :)
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Odd, I'm landing at 10 minutes and the packs are at roughly 70% discharge at that point, same frame, motors, props, batteries, plus the vTX, GPS, and OSD.

What flight controller are you using? If it's a Naza, are you flying in manual, atti, or GPS mode?

The other thing I found is the Nano's need a few cycles to "break in" after that they pickup some duration, or at least mine did.

Ken
 

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Elliott000

Member
I broke a shaft on my nx 4008 motor.... Im grounded as i cant find any. Also couldnt find specs on the motors, you guys think my suppos 2418/8 will do the job, they seemed fine on my htfpv frame which is in peices
 

kloner

kloner

Aerial DP
if there propped right it should. the 2814 1000kv on 4s shake the crap out of a disco with 9" just like the 2814 avroto shake this thing unless i under prop it or not push the stick all the way. 8" not so much but i'm a little shorter on power than it could be

That sucks, i hate being forced not to fly, that's why i'm gonna build 3 of em. no way all three will be down at once
 

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Elliott000

Member
Lol i would b flyin but i only have the one naza, paypals loaded ready for a cc3d, but i might grab a kk2.0 for the price just to try, thanx for the thoughts kloner
 

kloner

kloner

Aerial DP
is the thing even real? i'm gonna hold out for that next one, revo or something....i want the nav part,,,, the old man in me, hahaha
 

R

RTRyder

Merlin of Multirotors
Elliott000 said:
Lol i would b flyin but i only have the one naza, paypals loaded ready for a cc3d, but i might grab a kk2.0 for the price just to try, thanx for the thoughts kloner
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I bought one of the KK2.0 and put it on my F330 frame with a set of 1340kv motors. Thing is crazy fast in every direction and it's really stable compared to the other versions of the KK that I have, the autoleveling sort of works, nothing at all like an MK or DJI, more like the Quadrino board I have. Autolevel isn't why I bought it though so I really don't care if it works or not, I don't use it on that setup, it's mainly for trying out aerobatics FPV style and from the LOS flying I've done with it so far I think it's going to work quite well for that once I grow a pair big enough to try it... ;)

Ken

P.S. I have one of the original OP CC boards gathering dust if you're interested, I have no plans to use it anytime soon...
 
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R

RTRyder

Merlin of Multirotors
redridinghood said:
Ken any updates on the QAV500 or have you abandoned it for a discovery? I am trying to decide between the two.
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Haven't abandoned it, I still fly it though house related projects have been consuming most of my non-work time lately. That, the early sunset, and the fact that we're now into the cold weather flying season have greatly reduced my stick time lately.

Since the last update I did to it, the QAV has been a solid performer that I can rely on to fly whenever I take it off the shelf. That said I kind of liked the crazy performance it had on the Avroto motors a bit more than the somewhat more sedate flying pace it has with the 40mm pancake motors. On the other hand it's a lot easier to tune it for smooth and stable flight on the 40mm and 8 x 6 APC thin electric props. It won't hit 50 mph on the OSD anymore like it did easily with the Avrotos but it's much easier to get good video now and it will still see 40mph if you push the throttle way up.

I have two Discovery now, one with the basic stock DJI electronics and the other with higher torque motors and reflashed ESCs. My take is the QAV makes a better APV oriented FPV quad whereas the TBS is more on the fly the heck out of it side of the equation. I can get decent video from the either of the TBS but my primary use for them is putting the Fatshark goggles on and going for it with both whereas the QAV isn't the agile performer that the Discovery are, at least not with the current setup, making it a better video platform.

If your aim is to have a great FPV flyer that can get reasonably good video then go with the TBS, if you're looking more for an FPV capable quad that will produce really good GoPro video then the QAV may be more in line with what you're looking for.

One other consideration, parts that commonly need replacing after a rough landing are easier to get for the TBS since F450 parts are cheap and readlily available, the QAV parts are only available from one source and a fair bit more pricey which sort of reinforces the less radical APV use vs. using it for FPV aerobatics.

Ken
 


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