Check out this flight controller and PDB combo: FuriousFPV Piko BLX. Not only does the FC+PDB integration makes sense. but it’s a F3 with SPI gyro in a 20×20 mounting format. Made for micro multirotor frames. And supports quad or hex configuration.
Since FuriousFPV came on the scene, I swear it feels like there’s finally a company that have looked into my lab or can read my mind. ;) Thier recently released electronics, are looking really sweet.
How it compares to the small AfroMini or CC3D Atom board I have used on my other builds. Yet it is F3 with SPI gyro, BetaFlight and RaceFlight ready…with built in PDB and transponder support. As well as LC Filter.
More and more frames are being designed around the 20mm mounting holes. Here is the rest of the dimensions in case you guys are wondering.
For those frames with 30.5mm flight controller mounting holes, you can print an adapter such as this. (Thanks to slovenian6474 for sharing)
I printed an alternate version in TPU and pulled the nubs through. So I don’t need to use screws at the 20mm holes.
My recently completed QuattroVolante Q-Carbon is the first quad I built with the Piko BLX FC. It made the wire runs so neat. And the PDB integration help to keep the weight down and build process easy. I soldered the 5v tolerant 200mw VTX directly to the 5v rails on the Piko FC and it was noise free. Perfectly clear video feed.
I am looking forward to the Kombini, their bigger, 30.5mm version with built in current sensor and PDB that can handle higher current. Their pipeline is also full with many upcoming releases that FPVer will love. However, for the smaller frames that need high amps… there is a seperate PDB that can stack with the Piko BLX.
As FPV racing matures, new rules and classes are put into place. One of the rule is the “250” size racing quads need to stick with 5″ props. To breath new life into those of use who has the popular H-style ZMR250 frame, I came had an epiphany and learn that you can configure it to have the motors in an X style configuration. Where roll and pitch are exactly the same.
Beyond that…I had a few wish list items I challenged myself with. I wanted all the weight shifted to the center of gravity as possible. Including the lipo…which is the holy grail IMHO. And one day, frame designers and engineers will take this concept more seriously. In the case of us local guys that is racing with the ZMRX…it’s a 4S 1000mAh pack. For me, I like agility for racing tight tracks…so a 3S 850-1000mAh LIHV is ideal.
I think more fun to come up with a design where others can easily follow along with their own frame. So I played with where the existing holes lined up into a perfect X. And then figured out how to cut so it’s easy for others to do. In the end, you essentially “connect the dots” for the most part.
Prototype #1.
Messed with it some more in SolidWorks…
Frame currently looks like this now. Fellow local Team WarpQuad squad is building one. Will update with final build pictures of his and mine at a future date.
Here’s a photo I took before the new antenna plate. Figured it would be easier and more robust with 3D printed antenna mounts.
Some ppl have been asking about my arm mounted ESC treatment…so here’s a closer look on how I do it now. It consist of mylar tape in the color of your choice. I like red. It’s thin, so I feel the FETs can exhaust the heat quicker through this type of covering. Follow by a CF vinyl weave. I use my Silhouette machine to cut it out. The ESC is secure mounted to the arm with Scotch Exterior Mounting Tape. Then cut a strip of Self fusing silicone tape. I wrap the wire/soldered joint and around the arm. The silicone tape only sticks to itself. Holds strongly. And I can easily remove to access the ESC for repair/maintenance.
And a couple of shots from the second ZMR X I put together…
Built with parts I have on hand. So a rev2 AfroMini 32. The new AfroMini 32 rev3 that I used on my ZMRX #1 is even easier to use.
A look at the the rear where the plugs come out of. The receiver and VTX are attached vertically to the XT60 on the 10mm standoffs. The XT60 mounting board can be purchased at BangGood for $1. Or $1.99 with the XT60 soldered. I like the bare plate and solder on my own black, XT60.
I plan on designing a top plate that doubles as a action cam mount for GoPro or Xiaomi Yi camera. This will put the camera at the COG, so you can record your flight without making the quad’s handling too bad.
LED light ring. Color selectable via dip switch on the board.
1st rev of the antenna mount… may add more features to it.
One without the VTX since the current build recommendation has the VTX antenna sticking straight out the rear. So it’s protected by the arms. And still give a good video feed during fast forward flight.
Update to add (2016-02-08) MultirotorMania has their Switchblade FPV quad frame design that I recommend to those who doesn’t have existing ZMR50 frame…or don’t like to mod their own frame into a X configuration. Perhaps built it with the ZMRX concept would take it to the next level.
Here’s a video of me cutting the plates in realtime to show you the amount of effort it takes so you can make a better decision to tackle this project.
The new “Favorite” FVT LittleBee 20a arrived into the HacksMods lab. So it’s time to take some clear shots of them and compare with the Flyduino KISS ESC. Which is still one of the highest performing multirotor electronic speed controller. The small size and light weight are great for putting on racing quads. Or burying inside heavier aerial photography equipped quadcopters, or “drones” as the media likes to call it.
In the USA, the Little Bee 20a are known as the MRM Zeus 20. Brian (punkindrublik on RCGroups) of MultiRotorMania help finance and brought these new ESC to market. So they secured the rights as the sole distributor in the USA. However, the ESC should soon be available from some of your favorite multi rotor online stores.
Continuing in the same small by mighty form factor that the Flyduino KISS ESC brought to market, the FVT LittleBee 20 are about the same size. 12.5mm x 23mm x 3mm. Versus the KISS (v1.1) 12mm x 24mm x 3.81mm
What makes these new FVT LittleBee the current popular ESC is that recent test are showing them to perform similar to the KISS ESC. (Here’s one by QuadMcFly) This is in part due to the use of the SilLab F330 MCU. Which has a faster clock speed than the popular ATMEL chip used on most competing ESC. Add to that dedicated FET drivers and it’s performing quite well. This is what BLHeli creator Steffen has to say about it:
Then there is a very promising little ESC, the FVT Littlebee 20A:
This ESC has a good design with fast dedicated driver chips, which gives excellent freewheeling and exceptional braking.
Initial stress testing on 4S with a Cobra 2208/2000 with 6×4.5 prop, doing repetitive immediate accelerations from low rpm to full throttle went well.
During the initial acceleration, this setup pulls about 100A, so it’s a tough test for a small ESC (and can break other small ESCs).
Hopefully this indicates that the ESC will prove to be a reliable performer.
And so far, this is the closest performer to KISS that I have seen in this size.
Very clean layout and manufacturing placement of components on the PCB. Definitely KISS quality for sure. It seems like they used higher temp lead free solder. My Metcal MX500 soldering station usually makes quick work with lead free solder. But I admit, it took a split second longer with the solder joints on these Little Bee 20. This may be to prevent overheated MOSFET from desoldering itself like what appears the DYS SN20a are doing in some of the recent batches. Also, keep in mind that having to flow the solder at a higher temp usually slows down the manufacturing process. This, along with how clean the ESC looks and components are laid out…continue to signify a high level of quality control. So kudos to Favorite and MultiRotorMania.
Weight of the FVT LittleBee 20a as it came out of the package is 6.73g.
Weight of the FVT LittleBee 20a without heatshrink and wires is 2.12g. I know some of you guys want to know things like this. I know as a hobbyist, I do. So very similar to the KISS 18a which I weighed here. And about .70 grams heavier than the ZTW Spider 18a Opto Lite.
Signal wire polarity in case someone needs this info in the future. (That’s would usually be me.)
I have a few new frames I’d like to use these LittleBee on. Can’t wait to see them fly.
With DYS/RCTimer SN20a and BL20a possibly having a bad manufacturing batch. Plus, you lose about 10% thrust versus competiting ESC. One of the new ESC some of us have started buying instead are the ZTW Spider 18a Opto Lite as some retailers are calling them. Performance seems good so far. We’ll learn how their fare in crashes and general abuse as more and more people use them and report back.
The BLHeli firmware to use are BS12a or BS20a. either hex will work fine according to sskaug (Steffen), BLHeli creator.
Mine came with the SimonK bootloader. And I was able to use my USBASP to flash BLHeli bootloader on there. Here are the ISP pad locations for your reference:
Weight as they come out of the package. I took off the heatshrink and it was about .2g lighter.
Heatshrink is thin, clear and shiny. Same types they use on many battery packs.
Weight of the naked ESC.
Here’s a shot of the ZTW Spider Lite on the far right. Next to it is the new KISS 30a. And to the far left, is the KISS 18a.
Picture of the MOSFETs and a peek at the soldering. I don’t see any left over solder splashes/balls.
KISS 18a on the left. ZTW Spider 18a Lite on the right side.
Side by side with the KISS 18a v1.1. Which is simply about 1mm longer than KISS 18a v1.0. You can see that the ZTW Spider 18a is slight shorter. And also thinner.
A look at the opposite side.
Here’s the Spider 18a Lite mounted in the lower plate of the Aura 250 FPV quad.
I have a CC3D board that I hope to build a second ZMR250 with. So I can play with OpenPilot and compare to the Acro Naze 32 flight controller board running CleanFlight. I always like small, lightweight components on my mini and micro quadcopter builds. So it’s with great interest to see the mini CC3D Atom board.
I like that it comes with the protective casing. And you can choose between straight pins or right angle pins soldered on for you. Plus it also comes with cables, double-sided tape, a isolated dampening platform. As well as an Antenna mount and instructional flyer helping you to hook up a Satellite RX.
Here is a photo I took of it side by side with the AfroMini Naze board. (After I remove the case of course.)
Weight of the FC without the protective case that it came in.
I see that the one from BuddyRC uses thicker motor wires. And are generally neater wound versus the one from BangGood. The BangGood one has a thicker bell cross section, so you can’t see the magnets like you could with the original from BuddyRC. It also seem to use more glue to keep the magnets in place. I am not sure if this is in response to reports of magnets coming loose…especially those who are running these motors on 4s lipo.
The BuddyRC motor has a slight sheen to it. With crisp lines and a reflective, copper/light gold logo. While the BangGood motor has the SunnySky logo in a matte white, with a slightly different font. The motor bell is painted a more matte black. And the line noted in the picture below wasn’t as refine.
I also noticed that the BangGood motor has a shorter threaded motor shaft. This is interesting because SunnySky x2204s motors are known to already have a slightly shorter shaft than comparable motors. i.e. Cobra 2204.
At the bottom of the motors, the BangGood version has very obvious concentric rings.
Another obvious change between the motors is the use of a metal washer in the BangGood motor. Compared to the plastic one.
Another top view of the motor windings, looking into the stator/magnets.
And the same thing from the bottom of the motor.
In either case…my own opinion is the older SunnySky has a more premium look to them than the one from BangGood. On that merit alone, I would consider some of the other competing 2204 2300kv motors at the moment to ensure you don’t get a fake. Or purchase from official retailer such as BuddyRC.com.
*update June 29, 2015: I got a SunnySky x2204s 2300kv from ReadyMade RC and it looks more like my first edition. With the only updated change being the CW or CCW label on the bell, since SunnySky now produce reverse threaded prop shafts. So this gives me more reason to think the ones sold by BangGood are copies rather than the real deal. I have yet to use my BangGood version of the SS2204s.
Just gonna share photos of the acro quad I am building. Thanks to Soma for coming up with the WarpQuad. Looks the best out of all the acrobatic quads out there.
Here’s the center frames. It sandwiches the 4mm carbon fiber legs.
I switched out some of the hardware. Such as the aluminum washer below. And used power cables that comes attached together. For a neater run of the brushless motor wires to the center of the WarpQuad.
Another change from the standard build out. I added 1.72mm washers so I can run the 22guage motor wire underneath the top plate.
Then I modified the XT60 lipo connector so that it can be sandwiched between the frames. Filed down the connector so it can conform to the curve of the top plate.
You can see where the power distribution harness will solder to and subsequently run to each of the ESC.
Those were the early photos. These upcoming photos are where the WarpQuad build out is at now. It took forever to source red aluminum washers with the same bevel as the blue ones I had on hand. Still not perfect but very close. The aluminum TeeNut that the frame is resting on is just to temporary hold the arms in place. And make it easy to disassemble without tools. This frees up my hand to ensure the cable runs are neat and nothing is pinched.
I switch to button head screws. Red aluminum 5mm. The hex size will take the same allen wrench to be consistent with the rest of the screw head used on this quad. The four button head should be strong enough to secure the motor.
Here is a closer shot of the red washers and where I intend on placing the ESC. In the center of the quad instead of on the arms like the reference build out by Soma.
A look at the cable run and how it meets up with the brushless motor. I created a stagger cut because I didn’t want to seperate the wires to fit heatshrinks. The stagger will keep the wires from shorting. As extra precaution, I applied Liquid Electrical tape to insulate. Then follow by a larger heatshrink to cover up the area. To dress up the heatshrink…I used chrome tape and nail art tape. This brings some blink down to this end of the arms.
Additionally, I hope the chrome take will help reflect some of the LED lights up to the props once I place one there.
Here is a look at the stagger cut I mentioned before. Some folks have asked why I choose to use four motor wires when brushless motors only require three. The simple answer is for symmetry once it gets to the center of the frame and have to go to the left and right of the screw.
The quad is ready for the ESC to be soldered on. Easy to do. However, I need to figure out how I want to route the power wires and still have room to fit the Flight Controller between the frame. There’s really no room for both. :)
Lovely spring weather means I am antsy to build and fly again. I am planning on using this Hobby King HKing 10a brushless ESC in a 230mm size acro quad. Not sure if it will be able to endure SunnySky 2204 2300kv with 3s lipo but I like the physical size…so I will give it a try anyways.
Anyways, the dimensions on Hobby King is incorrect (23mm x 18mm). Here are the actual values as measured with the digital caliper. The bare ESC as pictured weighs 2.59g.
It arrived with 20guage silicone wires for the main power. And 22gauge silicone wires for the motor leads.
Missing from the photo is the electrolytic capacitor (100uf 16v). I took it off so I can use a tantalum SMD capacitor with the same values. It’s much smaller physically. Hopefully it works out. :)
What I like about this ESC is the fact that it’s BLHeli compatible. Plus, it uses all N-channel MOSFET. And it was reasonably inexpensive at $5.78. Here’s an inexpensive BLHeli programmer, and another another. You will need one of these for flashing the firmware or updating the parameters of the ESC using the BLHeli Suite software. Unless you already have an official SilLabs Toolstick. Then you can follow this guide for modding it for the same function.
I know there lots of newbies looking to do this, but wasn’t sure of the relative sizes when we talk about mQX size or Ladybird size. We use those terms because the Blade mQX is the first on the market in that type and size. And the Walkera Ladybird was the first on the market in that relative size.
The nQX is thrown in there because the topic of the thread is to use the nQX flight controller (FC) on top of the mQX, Ladybird style frame. Plus, the nQX has a unique frame. In that the motor distances sits somewhere between the LadyBird and Hubsan X4 (aka Traxxas QR-1), yet the prop guards give it a visual silhouette of a slightly larger bird. Which I find helps me in orientation once it’s a good distance from me.
Anyways, hope that helps. I took the mm size distance between prop center. Then converted it to a pixel value. So the 155mm mQX becomes a 155px on the screen. :)
