RCT800 Build...First time build

[BumbleBeeTuna]

Hi Yal!

So i thought i would start my build thread. First off, I've been into RC's for over 10 years, have a basic understanding of RX, TX, ESC's, Motor's, batteries, ect. Got into flying multicopters early last year. Started with some micro's...honed down my flying skills. Then a buddy of mine picked up a Phantom...learned more off his and the flight controller, gimbal, etc... So now...i decided to go on my own adventure and build something for myself. I do intend to use this for some photography. Not looking for anything toooooooo crazy but something that will definitely get the job done.

Here are a few pic's of the build so far:

Retracts

Custom Lighting

 

[BumbleBeeTuna]

here some more of the light work i have done to it

Keep in mind, i havent really bolted everything down, just pieced together to get an idea of what everything looks like so far

and yes, i know some of the props are not going in the right direction...i just threw them on top to see what they would look like haha!

 

[BumbleBeeTuna]

Here is the list of parts so far:

RCT800
Retracts
Custom lighting
DJI Naza M V2 with folding GPS stand
Light Switch
DJI 1552 Folding Propellers
KDE Direct Triple Propeller adapters V2

Stuff thats currently on its way:
KDE Direct 55A+ ESC's
KDE Direct 4014XF -380v brushless motors
Futaba 10J remote

I plan on slapping on an 3 Axis gimbal for a Sony Nex5 and still not sure what batteries im going with. Will keep yal posted. Anxious to see this launch! Hope yal like

 

[BumbleBeeTuna]

Here is an update on my build. Pretty much got everything needed and was up and flying it this weekend!

Had to trim down all those wires!

 

[BumbleBeeTuna]

The pile I was left with!

All soldered up!

Plugging in for it's first flight!

 

[BumbleBeeTuna]

Before my first flight, I took it to a some UAV shop for a tune cause my home comp is currently being rebuilt and last time I was there, the guy seemed really nice and knew what he was doing....I don't want to bash him so I wont say the shops name. But man, when I got there, they checked out what I had, asking me questions all rude like "have you ever flown before? you know this is different than a phantom?! you have too much motor, why did you get this and that? did you build this?? like ok....basically, you can tell big time that they were bashing my build and i don't know why! This is my build, its what I wanted, and i want to enjoy it, i just need it to be programmed and tuned!!!! Sorry if i didnt buy my parts from your store! like man, im not trying to have another phantom, nor something built, i wanted to create something and this is what i came up with....i just needed little help! Even my brother asked why they were acting like a bunch of "A" holes cause he too noticed it..... Honestly, it felt as if i was brushed off cause the guy didn't really run down everything with me like i had originally asked. showed me 1 switch and said, there ya go! all set! you should be good to go! enjoy! He asked what he originally quoted me on which i told him was $35 an hour (even posted on their website)......but! he only spent 15 minutes tuning it and said just make it 40! I was like wtf (in my head). I'm not the type that would cause a scene in public, i just kept that in mind. I played nice customer, though confused, paid up, shook his hand and said cheers! I still had faith though that the tune would have been good but man, i was wrong!

When i took it out, the gains were set wayyy to0 high, the idle speed was set wayy to0 high....when i turned it on, it was already on the verge of lifting off! the battery type was STILL set for 3s when they clearly tuned it with my 6s...and they knew i was going to fly with that battery cause they said its still fully charged etc and told me i can use it.... so dont know why he didn't set that accordingly. Didn't set it to intelligent mode like I had asked so it almost dropped out the sky when trying to bring it down...well, it kinda did...it was struggle to bring it back down because the idle was set way to high and not being set to intelligent mode, holding the throttle down for 3 seconds shut off my motors so i got lucky and when it got close enough, i shut the motors off and caught it in mid flight! WOO! I got no photos of the first flight cause we were so scared of it, it was only in the air for not even a minute! .....never going back to that shop again that's for sure!

So I a buddy of mine recommended someone at a local hobby shop! The guy told me everything about my hex, super friendly, showed me what everything was set to before and agreed...it was a careless tune...it was setup to where I would have ultimately got into a big crash...uncontrollable basically. So I got it re-tuned, and man, night and day difference! Its smooth like butter! here it is the second flight

Felt safe/confident enough to pull up the retracts for the first time!

Soaring gracefully!

 

[BumbleBeeTuna]

Waiting for the sun to set. My buddy's Phantom 2 with gopro ready to capture some video!

Ready for its first night session

UFO?

My buddy chasing me with the Phantom

Night sessh was a success!

 

[BumbleBeeTuna]

Overall, I really enjoy flying it! At first, i was a bit sketchy about the frame but it seems to be holding up pretty good! no real flex in the arms (i really need to put some force on it to get a slight bend, they are stiff as heck). it handles real well! only thing i need to figure out now...the flight times! last night was the first time i ran through a fresh battery...got exactly 10 minutes out of it....Im running a Pulse 25c 6s 10,000mah...thought i would get more? Note, it was windy out, would say we had 15mph gust here and there, shook it up a bit but it was pretty much stable for most of its flight. i honestly think the low voltage setup needs to be tuned a bit on the NAZA M V2.

When i got home, i charged it up and this is how much it topped out at. Keep in mind, the charger finished like 10 seconds after i took this pic.

I'm getting 10 minutes of flight on a 6s 25c 10,000mah. (Motors are KDE XF 4014-380kv)

First low voltage warning kicks in about halfway through my flight (red led blinks for a tad bit, then goes away and back to green)

Second low voltage warning kicks in (red led blinks steady for the next 2-3minutes and until i land)

I lose power up on the throttle but I am able to bring the hex down slowly for a safe landing...exactly 10 minutes of flight

I then charged the battery and it charged up only to 4300mah so i technically had about 5700mah left on the battery before the charge.

Am i missing something? seems like im not even using half of my battery during flight.

If anyone can help iwith some input, that would be awesome! if not, then i guess i need to wait and pay a visit to the hobby shop again.

Thanks yal

 

[BumbleBeeTuna]

here some other shots from the Phantom chasing it last night...UFO?

before the sunset, hanging out, giving my hex a break as my nerves lol

 

[Acill]

Very nice! I want to put those arms on my F550 and get more or less the same build as you. I need new ESC and motors I think though. I have the E300 system on mine now. As far as times goes with a 10k 6S your not getting nearly enough flight time. I fly with a 6600 4S and get 12 minutes and am at 24% battery remaining when I land. Look in your limits on the computer. I am willing to bet they have them set very conservative. You should be getting at least 15 minutes. Try setting your Limits to 1st warning at 21.2 volts with 0.0 loss and 20.0 for your 2nd also with 0.0 loss. Hover and watch for that first warning light to kick on. Land at once and read your pack. I am willing to bet your only at 20% minimum at that point and get a good 18 minute hover. You should be putting back in about 80% of your pack. You putting in closer to 50% right now.

 

[BumbleBeeTuna]

Awesome! Thanks Acill! Will be sure to check the limits out and report back! I was expecting to get more like 15-20min flight times with this setup....so hope all works out! I was pushing hard yesterday in the wind so I hope to find better results on a calm day once adjusted. I have a battery monitor/buzzer attached to the balance cable (i have the alarm set to go off at 3.50) but never heard it go off once....but i lose power on the throttle once the second red led kicks in and when i land to check it...all cells are reading between 3.80-3.90.... :upset:

Yes, would highly suggest a motor and esc upgrade from the e300 if going with the larger arms otherwise, not only will it look off with the tiny motors but also not sure how you would benefit off the long arms if using the same e300 setup cause it's a tad bit heavier. heard pancake motors do real well on these frames and you can get super long flight times with the correct prop, esc, and battery setup. if you can afford the KDE goodies, would highly, highly suggest investing in them. Top quality equipment and their customer service is some of the best ive worked with! Chris (lead tech at KDE) has helped me along the way to find a proper setup. Chris even took the time to break it down and explain to me about how their products would work with my setup and answered all my questions with the up most professionalism. These guys really stand behind their products so kudos to them and would recommend them to everyone! Even the owner of KDE, Leslie, took the time to help me process my orders which all got to my location with quick shipping. Some of the folks around my area even said its some of the smoothest motors they've ever heard! Like they say...you get what you pay for and i didnt rush through it....3 months in and finally got it in the air...so you can only imagine how stoked i am lol :highly_amused: so worth the wait!

 

[Acill]

You lose power because Dji has it set to do that on the 2nd warning. If you have a buzzer set for 3.5 (Thats about the cell voltage I was using in my recommendations for you) I would just disable the limit. I fly with a WooKong-M in mine and 4S as i mentioned. I set mine high at first and did the hover test. On the WooKong you get a flashing yellow light on the first warning and red on the second. I just tested it over and over at a GPS lock hover and settled on 13.2 for my 2nd warning which is a crazy 3.2V per cell, but in real life my packs come off at 3.5 - 3.6V and bounce back to 3.7V when the pack is cool. I never fly to the 2nd warning and return usually before the first. I use an IOSD Mini and watch my voltage close on screen. I have my DX8 set to alarm and buzz me at 9 minutes for my queue to head home. I land at about 12 minutes usually since I try not to go much further than 600 meters out and 350 meters up. No need to for the video I like to do, but I can and do play some and push it. I just have a stock DX8 and the safe limit I hear is 2000 ft, so thats like what 650 meters or so I think?

If I do a GPS lock hover now and turn off my limit I can do 18 minutes with my pack at the bottom of what should be attempted. I have 9-10% left and that scares me, but the packs have been fine in testing to that. Most I ever returned to my 6600Mah packs is 6000Mah going that long even though.

My Gear is as follows to give an idea
F550 with E300 and stock props
532 gram 4S 6600Mah Multistar packs (only 10C packs but great so far)
Neewer FPV Landing Skids
Tarrot Gimbal with GoPro Hero 3+ Black held on with Velcro strap. (Took off the screw on thing)
Wookong-M
DJI IOSD Mini
ImersionRC 600mw transmitter
Full length on my ESC wires and servo wires (Just cleaned em up and bundled with zip ties)
Spektrum 8CH Receiver with 1 satellite attached
Deans connectors for battery and mini JST type for my FPV and Gimbal power wired directly into the Lipo lead.

Total weight is unknown but it feels rather light. I think its about 5 pounds loaded RTF last I weighed myself on a bathroom scale and then got on again with it.

Those motors are awesome and I want em!! I'm saving up for an S900 frame right now i think though. That thing is a work of art!

Check out these packs, but on back order currently. http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...0mAh_Multi_Rotor_Lipo_Pack_US_Warehouse_.html

 

[BumbleBeeTuna]

You lose power because Dji has it set to do that on the 2nd warning. If you have a buzzer set for 3.5 (Thats about the cell voltage I was using in my recommendations for you) I would just disable the limit. I fly with a WooKong-M in mine and 4S as i mentioned. I set mine high at first and did the hover test. On the WooKong you get a flashing yellow light on the first warning and red on the second. I just tested it over and over at a GPS lock hover and settled on 13.2 for my 2nd warning which is a crazy 3.2V per cell, but in real life my packs come off at 3.5 - 3.6V and bounce back to 3.7V when the pack is cool. I never fly to the 2nd warning and return usually before the first. I use an IOSD Mini and watch my voltage close on screen. I have my DX8 set to alarm and buzz me at 9 minutes for my queue to head home. I land at about 12 minutes usually since I try not to go much further than 600 meters out and 350 meters up. No need to for the video I like to do, but I can and do play some and push it. I just have a stock DX8 and the safe limit I hear is 2000 ft, so thats like what 650 meters or so I think?

If I do a GPS lock hover now and turn off my limit I can do 18 minutes with my pack at the bottom of what should be attempted. I have 9-10% left and that scares me, but the packs have been fine in testing to that. Most I ever returned to my 6600Mah packs is 6000Mah going that long even though.

My Gear is as follows to give an idea
F550 with E300 and stock props
532 gram 4S 6600Mah Multistar packs (only 10C packs but great so far)
Neewer FPV Landing Skids
Tarrot Gimbal with GoPro Hero 3+ Black held on with Velcro strap. (Took off the screw on thing)
Wookong-M
DJI IOSD Mini
ImersionRC 600mw transmitter
Full length on my ESC wires and servo wires (Just cleaned em up and bundled with zip ties)
Spektrum 8CH Receiver with 1 satellite attached
Deans connectors for battery and mini JST type for my FPV and Gimbal power wired directly into the Lipo lead.

Total weight is unknown but it feels rather light. I think its about 5 pounds loaded RTF last I weighed myself on a bathroom scale and then got on again with it.``

Those motors are awesome and I want em!! I'm saving up for an S900 frame right now i think though. That thing is a work of art!

Check out these packs, but on back order currently. http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...0mAh_Multi_Rotor_Lipo_Pack_US_Warehouse_.html

Wow! Seems like a sick setup! I was thinking of going with Wookong too but man, that too is also pricey :/. So far, the naza m v2 seems to be working in my favor! dropped the settings on the low voltage warning and wow! got 22min of hard flying last night! battery was barely even warm. seems like its finally coming together. I'm going to keep practicing for now before i throw any gimbal on it. was thinking of going with an arris 3 axxis cause i would like to use a nex 5 for filming.

I haven't weighed mine yet but if i were to guess, i would think its around 10-13lbs....its pretty heavy so could be more.... As soon as i can get it to a scale, i'll report back but man, super stoked with 22min compared to the last 2 flights

I just just checked out that s900 frame, looks clean! But idk about DJI and their price tags lol. If RCtimer comes out with a clone, maybe that might be an option?

Those multistar packs look good too! once they're back in stock, i'll be willing to try them out. My only fear is that its 10c with a 10second 20c peak?? Now sure how they would hold up to my power hungry system haha!

 

[BumbleBeeTuna]

here are some updated shots from over the long labor day weekend:

 

[BumbleBeeTuna]

 

[BumbleBeeTuna]

 

[Acill]

Fantastic!

 

[BumbleBeeTuna]

Gimbal and the camera came in! Stoked! This gimbal is so clean and smooth! Can't wait to get it into the air.....and learn how to actually use my camera lol

I just need to extend the legs a bit to get the gimbal up off the ground.

 

[BumbleBeeTuna]

Here are some updated photos from over the weekend. Got the ground station up and running. Soooo much fun flying with FPV on deck!

Hope yal like! Videos to come soon!

 

[BumbleBeeTuna]

Decided to try both Pulse 10,000mah lipo's in parallel for the first time!

Total flight times are as followed:

Without gimbal/camera, single Pulse 10,000mah lipo - 23 minutes flying (not hovering in 1 spot) followed by 2 minutes before low voltage cutoff

With gimbal/camera, single Pulse 10,000mah lipo - 14 minutes flying (not hovering in 1 spot) followed by 2 minutes before low voltage cutoff

With gimbal/camera, two Pulse 10,000mah lipo's running parallel 22 minutes flying (not hovering in 1 spot) followed by 2 minutes before low voltage cutoff

Honestly, I'm happy with the times running parallel....now i just gotta invest in more batteries :livid: