BirdsEyeProd
Member
Hey Guys,
Recently I started rebuilding our SynDrones X8HL frame into a bigger heavylift rig. I had built it once already with the A2 FC, KDE 4014-380KV motors, and KDE 55+Amp ESCs but the A2 failed and caused a crash. I decided to rebuild without using the A2 and went back to the trusted MikroKopter FC which I have been flying on our smaller Cinestar 8 frame for over 2 years without an issue.
Here are the specs for the new build:
-SynDrones X8HL Frame (best frame out there honestly)!
-Mikrokopter 2.5FC w/Navi Ctrl and GPS
-Herkules III Quadro XL (x2) ESC system
-KDE 5215-435KV motors
-T-Motor 18x6.1 CF Props
Here are some pictures from the build.
These motors are HUGE! I had to modify the motor mount slightly so the hole on the bottom would clear the screw that helps hold the shaft collar on. I don't have the large motor mounts for the frame since originally I was just using the 4014s.
Because I am using 2 of the Herkules boards I have 4 power leads coming out of them. I only am flying with 2 batteries so I merged them together so I have the each battery power both boards. To do this I used 2x 5mm bullet connectors and soldered a power lead from each board into the LONG end. Then I soldered them together with a single wire coming out from the connectors and heatshrank it all together.
I stacked the boards ontop of each other and the way they are wired to the motors the top board powers all the top motors and the bottom powers the bottom motors. With the mixer setup If I loose one board inflight I loose the top or bottom motors and not 2 motors on one boom. I think with the total weight I will be flying it should fly on 4 motors! I will be testing this soon.
**Side note, Herkules does offer a Octo XL board which has 2 quad power boards mounted to one heatsink. Because I live in Phoenix and have to fly in really hot weather I opted for 2 Quadro XL boards so I had 2 heatsinks which will keep things cooler.
Here it is completed just before the maiden. I love how clean of a setup this is with the Herkules boards!
During my initial motor tests I was getting a very strange sound coming from the motors. Here is a video to show what it was doing:
This concerned me as I had never heard this before. I sent an email to both Andreas from Herkules and Patrick from KDE to get their opinion. Andreas emailed me back first saying this was normal and was because of the "Active Freewheeling" feature of the Herkules boards. He noted that once you add the props to the motors so there is a load on them it would go away. I added the props and sure enough it sounds normal again. For those of you who are not familiar with the "Active Freewheeling" here is the description from Herkules website:
"This is a method to dramatically reduce the power loss of the power MOSFETs. Another positive is that
the ESC can decelerate the motor actively by directing current back to the battery (regenerative braking).
With AFW ON, the motor reaction time to setpoint changes is reduced and the multicopter flight control
loop gets faster and more stable."
Today I received an email from Patrick at KDE and he wasn't sure of the sound. Once I explained to him what it was he said it made sense.
By default the Herkules ESC system comes with the timing set to 18*. Because of the high-pole count of the 5215 motors I changed it to 24*. I also had to program the ESCs so they had the correct motor address that the Mikrokopter FC could understand.
After that it was time for the maiden. The first flight I did without any payload. It was just the copter and 2x 10,000mAh 6s batteries from Tattu. Ambient outside temp was 100*F and around 50% humidity. I hovered around for a few minutes to ensure how it was flying. With the initial PID settings on the MK FC (P110, I120, D10, Gyro-Comp: 55, Gyro Stability 5) the copter was flying beautifully! I flew around for 15 1/2 minutes and used 17,000mAh out of the 20,000 total. Motors weren't any warmer then what they were just sitting in the sun before the flight and the Herkules boards never went above 50*C. This was mostly hovering around with a few, almost full throttle, climbs. This thing climbs like CRAZY!
After that test I decided to load it up with more weight then I would probably be flying. I added 16.5lbs of payload and took off. Total AUW was 34lbs with the 2x 10,000mAh 6s lipos. The way the payload was strapped on made the copter unbalanced, as you can see in the picture, and wasn't supported well so it swung around a lot. Because of this I only hovered and didn't do any movements. I stayed in a hover about 10ft off the ground for 5 1/2 minutes. There was no wind and no airflow over the motors or Herkules boards. Even at this weight and with the ambient temperature now around 105*F the Herkules boards didn't go above 80*C. This was only on 2 motors since it was off balance. The rest of them were around the 65*C mark with an average for all at 68*C! This made me VERY HAPPY as I haven't been able to fly anything heavy before without risking them overheating. Total current draw was 146-150amps
I will be doing more tests in the next few days. We just had a crazy storm come through so I couldn't fly today but I will be flying tomorrow and doing more tests. Overall I am EXTREMELY happy with how the rig is performing.
I will update this thread with more info as I test.
Josh
Recently I started rebuilding our SynDrones X8HL frame into a bigger heavylift rig. I had built it once already with the A2 FC, KDE 4014-380KV motors, and KDE 55+Amp ESCs but the A2 failed and caused a crash. I decided to rebuild without using the A2 and went back to the trusted MikroKopter FC which I have been flying on our smaller Cinestar 8 frame for over 2 years without an issue.
Here are the specs for the new build:
-SynDrones X8HL Frame (best frame out there honestly)!
-Mikrokopter 2.5FC w/Navi Ctrl and GPS
-Herkules III Quadro XL (x2) ESC system
-KDE 5215-435KV motors
-T-Motor 18x6.1 CF Props
Here are some pictures from the build.
These motors are HUGE! I had to modify the motor mount slightly so the hole on the bottom would clear the screw that helps hold the shaft collar on. I don't have the large motor mounts for the frame since originally I was just using the 4014s.
Because I am using 2 of the Herkules boards I have 4 power leads coming out of them. I only am flying with 2 batteries so I merged them together so I have the each battery power both boards. To do this I used 2x 5mm bullet connectors and soldered a power lead from each board into the LONG end. Then I soldered them together with a single wire coming out from the connectors and heatshrank it all together.
I stacked the boards ontop of each other and the way they are wired to the motors the top board powers all the top motors and the bottom powers the bottom motors. With the mixer setup If I loose one board inflight I loose the top or bottom motors and not 2 motors on one boom. I think with the total weight I will be flying it should fly on 4 motors! I will be testing this soon.
**Side note, Herkules does offer a Octo XL board which has 2 quad power boards mounted to one heatsink. Because I live in Phoenix and have to fly in really hot weather I opted for 2 Quadro XL boards so I had 2 heatsinks which will keep things cooler.
Here it is completed just before the maiden. I love how clean of a setup this is with the Herkules boards!
During my initial motor tests I was getting a very strange sound coming from the motors. Here is a video to show what it was doing:
This concerned me as I had never heard this before. I sent an email to both Andreas from Herkules and Patrick from KDE to get their opinion. Andreas emailed me back first saying this was normal and was because of the "Active Freewheeling" feature of the Herkules boards. He noted that once you add the props to the motors so there is a load on them it would go away. I added the props and sure enough it sounds normal again. For those of you who are not familiar with the "Active Freewheeling" here is the description from Herkules website:
"This is a method to dramatically reduce the power loss of the power MOSFETs. Another positive is that
the ESC can decelerate the motor actively by directing current back to the battery (regenerative braking).
With AFW ON, the motor reaction time to setpoint changes is reduced and the multicopter flight control
loop gets faster and more stable."
Today I received an email from Patrick at KDE and he wasn't sure of the sound. Once I explained to him what it was he said it made sense.
By default the Herkules ESC system comes with the timing set to 18*. Because of the high-pole count of the 5215 motors I changed it to 24*. I also had to program the ESCs so they had the correct motor address that the Mikrokopter FC could understand.
After that it was time for the maiden. The first flight I did without any payload. It was just the copter and 2x 10,000mAh 6s batteries from Tattu. Ambient outside temp was 100*F and around 50% humidity. I hovered around for a few minutes to ensure how it was flying. With the initial PID settings on the MK FC (P110, I120, D10, Gyro-Comp: 55, Gyro Stability 5) the copter was flying beautifully! I flew around for 15 1/2 minutes and used 17,000mAh out of the 20,000 total. Motors weren't any warmer then what they were just sitting in the sun before the flight and the Herkules boards never went above 50*C. This was mostly hovering around with a few, almost full throttle, climbs. This thing climbs like CRAZY!
After that test I decided to load it up with more weight then I would probably be flying. I added 16.5lbs of payload and took off. Total AUW was 34lbs with the 2x 10,000mAh 6s lipos. The way the payload was strapped on made the copter unbalanced, as you can see in the picture, and wasn't supported well so it swung around a lot. Because of this I only hovered and didn't do any movements. I stayed in a hover about 10ft off the ground for 5 1/2 minutes. There was no wind and no airflow over the motors or Herkules boards. Even at this weight and with the ambient temperature now around 105*F the Herkules boards didn't go above 80*C. This was only on 2 motors since it was off balance. The rest of them were around the 65*C mark with an average for all at 68*C! This made me VERY HAPPY as I haven't been able to fly anything heavy before without risking them overheating. Total current draw was 146-150amps
I will be doing more tests in the next few days. We just had a crazy storm come through so I couldn't fly today but I will be flying tomorrow and doing more tests. Overall I am EXTREMELY happy with how the rig is performing.
I will update this thread with more info as I test.
Josh
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