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v929

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WLToys v949 New Color Canopy

My buddy had his v949 in my lab so I can put on the better performing GWS EP5443 props. Like I mentioned in my earlier blog post, these props are a performance upgrade for Blade mQX, v929, v949 type quadcopters.

I took the opportunity to paint him up a canopy in his favorite color, green.

I choose a pearl green. Looks nice.

Here’s the front view:

And this is what it looks like at night:

Categories: mQX, v929
12 Comments on WLToys v949 New Color Canopy

Syma X1 Flight Controller

Just received my Syma X1 flight controller. Ordered from Banggood on November 26th and it just got here. If you need things right away, either pay for express shipping or find an alternative source. But Banggood’s price is usually pretty good on stuff you don’t need right away.

Syma X1 board on the left and the WLToys v929 board on the right.

Weight between the two board…

Categories: Quadcopters, v929
5 Comments on Syma X1 Flight Controller

How to use v929 Motor with Blade mQX

Many of you know that the Blade mQX motors are pricey at $15 a pop. For the same price, you can buy four v929 and v949 motor and solder to use with the mQX. It’s a direct fit because the use the same pinion.

Here’s the direct link for two clockwise v929 motors for $7.50.

Here’s two counter-clockwise v929 motors for the same price.

However, for those of you who don’t want to solder, you can easily do the following…

Take the old plug off the bad mQX motor. Remove the shrink wrap. And use that plug as an adapter to connect the new v929 motor to your mQX female connector that runs back to the flight controller board.

Hope that makes sense. Even if you don’t have a bad motor right now. Just order it from Banggood now. So when you do need it, you don’t have to wait the month for it to arrive from overseas.

Categories: mQX, v929
4 Comments on How to use v929 Motor with Blade mQX

v929 New Canopy

Here’s a peek at what I’ve been working on. A v929 canopy made from clear PETG. That way, I can paint from underneath like one commonly does to lexan bodies for R/C cars. This prevents the paint from getting scuffed up during crashes. I tried my best to balance weight and durability with this canopy. Too thick the material and you add unnecessary weight. Too thin and the canopy loses durability. This custom canopy fits the Blade mQX too.

I also made some decals for the motor mount and motor cover. It took a lot of trial and errors but the completed decal fits perfectly! Look how complex the motor cover decal is.

I found that painting took too much work because you gotta sand, prime and then paint multiple layers. Otherwise, the paint chips off very easily. The decals gives a perfect glossy finish, but doesn’t chip off like paint does. Another negative about paint is that the multiple primer and paint layer builds up, adding weight and making it very difficult and tight fitting for the bearings.

One of the challenge was to make it so I can repeatedly and accurately put on the decals. The solution I found made it possible to get these decals lined up properly. Luckily these decals can be peeled off, returning the item back to it’s original form. Or simply to fix any mistake in putting it on. ;)

Here is a front view of the motor mount with the decal on. Decals allow you to paint motor mount any color you want, and then contrast it with a decal. Here, I painted the motor mount white and put on red decals to match the canopy.

And here is a decal applied to a motor cover.

Let me know what you think.

Categories: v929
1 Comment on v929 New Canopy

New WL Toys v949 (v929 with LED)

Looks like the latest revision of the v929 with the LED light stripe and transmitter that can turn on/off those lights are available for preorder over at BangGood. They are calling it the v949 to distinguish it from the v929. It looks like you get a new type of canopy also. Estimated date of arrival is 9/15/2012.

Categories: v929
7 Comments on New WL Toys v949 (v929 with LED)

v929 RX with LED Connectors Available

I know many have been awaiting the “rev3” v929 that has the LED and ability to switch it on/off from the TX. Aaron from BangGood just leaked that that revision will be available next month.

In the mean time, that version’s RX board with the LED connectors is already available.

You can purchase it here:

WLtoys V929 Beetle 4-Axis UFO Spare Parts Upgraded Recieving Board V929-06

Many of us are hoping that the ability to turn on/off the LED from the TX means that the RX has 5channels. Which may possibly mean we can use that 5th channel for other purpose. A 5channel micro quad flight controller for $13 is awesome.

 

Categories: v929
3 Comments on v929 RX with LED Connectors Available

Magnet Wire Tips and Tricks

In almost all aspect of life, having the right tool makes the job much easier. When flying micro helicopters and quads, everything has to be micro sized in order to avoid adding unneeded weight that may robs the motor of it’s performance.

For wires, magnet wires, also known as enamel wires, are a must have in your tool kit. The bigger brand names such as Horizon Hobby with their Blade lineup of heli, uses magnet wires for their antennas and for the tail motor. Nine Eagles is another manufacturer that uses magnet wires to extend to the tail motor.

I find that a good gauge for these wires are about 30-32 AWG, measuring about 0.0085in or 0.02mm. You can find magnet wires if you search for them online. Locally, my Fry’s Electronics and Radio Shack have them in spools that will last you a long time.

Alternatively, you can find the right gauge magnet wire in small motors often used in toys. Also, fans used in computers is often another source, though I find they can sometimes be thinner than 32ga.

Perfect 32ga magnet wire for these small motors

Simply take apart the motor and unravel the wire. Taking care not to rub against the rough armature and accidentally nick the enamel coating of the wire. One motor yields a lot of wire. After taking them off, you’ll see they are wavy and kinked.

A trick I use is to simply hold a section of the wire between each hand and running them back and forth against the edge of a a cutting mat, metal rod, or any edge that will not nick the wires and will not get damage if the wire start to cut into it. This trick will quickly straighten out the wire with a couple of passes. See the photos below…

Rubbing the wires back and forth along the edge of a table, metal rod or cutting mat will straighten out the kinks of the wire

To solder these magnet wires, you have to remove the enamel that coats the copper of the wire. The enamel is to prevent the wires from shorting out while wound up in the motor. Some people may scrape the thin enamel coating off. The trick I learned is that the enamel coating can be quickly burned off and the wire tinned at the same time using solder.

I put a blob of solder on the tip of my iron and touch the end of the magnet wire to it.

Touch the end of the magnet wire to a solder blob for a second to strip the enamel and tin it at the same time

It takes but a second and you get a perfectly tinned tip, ready to be solder. Easy peasy. :)

Perfectly tinned magnet wire without any hassle

Another tip for you. If you want to lower the overall resistance and thicken up the gauge of the wires, you can twist a few strands of the magnet wires together. I do this by putting one end into the power drill and hold the opposite end. The hand held power drill will make a perfect twisted bundle of magnet wire.

Put a few strands or more of magnet wire to a power drill and it will create a perfect twist

Here, you can see that three 32ga magnet wire twisted together has more copper than the original stock wires that feeds through the v929 boom. Because each wire has the enamel coating, despite having more overall copper, the twisted bundle is equal to the thickness of the original wires with it’s insulation. Which means you can still feed a positive and negative pair through the carbon fiber boom.

Three strands of 32ga magnet wire to replace original stock v929 boom wire

I like to use the magnet wire because it’s cheap, lightweight and it’s coating looks like anodized metal.

One final trick, for aesthetics, I will use the same color for positive and negative. To keep track of the polarity, I simply mark the each ends of the negative wire with a black sharpie so I properly solder it to the negative terminal. Twisted togther, they looks like an performance “upgrade.” :D The cooler looking it is…the faster it goes. ;)

That’s all there is to it.  Hopefully this post helps you guys. Happy modding!!!

9 Comments on Magnet Wire Tips and Tricks

Faux Anodized Motor

I am pretty certain I am not the first to take a sharpie to the surface of a motor, but I’ll share this technique anyways. My wife gave me a bag of Sharpies last night and this was the first idea that came to mind.

I find that the large, wedge shaped Sharpie, stroking in one direction gives a nice even coverage. Here’s a comparison of the larger, wedge shaped Sharpie versus the standard conical shaped Sharpie on the right.

Wedge shaped/chisel Sharpie on right versus standard medium tipped Sharpie

Using the larger Sharpie, I find going in one continuous direction gives a nice even coverage.

It dries to the touch and can be handled without bleeding onto your hands once it’s dried. Unlike paint, the Sharpie allow the lustre of the metal to come through and simulates that anodized aluminum look. And because it’s such a thin layer of dye, it still allow the motor to cool off properly.

However, the drawback is that the faux anodized finish can easily be scratched or scrapped off. Luckily, it’s easy to retouch the scratched up parts. I think the results speaks for itself. It looks pretty nice when all is said and done. Very little effort and zero cost versus the bling, bling anodized CNC parts we hobbyist are always drooling over.

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v929 Canopy Redux

I made canopy prototype number two and wanted to share the result. See part one here. I am getting better and made a few refinements.

The cockpit “eyes” has been redone, modeled after a profile photo of the real TDR helicopter. Then tweak the length to fit the dimension of this canopy.

Here’s the same shot, but more direct on for an alternate perspective.

Finally, I redid the top graphics. This time, incorporating a kinda abstract, kinda repeating series of characters.

If you haven’t made it out, it’s simply the model number of this quad. V929. I wanted the font to have angles mimicing the canopy as well as not make it too obvious that’s it’s the model number.

Categories: v929
11 Comments on v929 Canopy Redux

WL Toys v929 Quad

The latest thing coming out of WL Toys, the maker of the popular v911, is the v929. It’s a Blade MQX size clone if you are familiar with that quad. The v929 is a good, fun, stable quad and I am having a blast flying it.

My only issue with it is that they model the canopy after the Walkera Ladybird. However, thanks to the work of forum member Darsh, we have a pretty cool looking canopy.

Here is his thread with a few other paper canopies that he has made and shared: Paper canopies – the revenge

Categories: v929
7 Comments on WL Toys v929 Quad