Noob questions!

[griffinnn]

Hi all. Have been reading/lurking/researching for a while now and think im going to take the plunge on a chinese 250 kit from ebay. Specifically, this one...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131416649247?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

From what i';ve read, everything in this kit seems reasonable for a beginner but i have a couple of questions. I';m ideally looking to keep this as cheap as possible for the time being and if i enjoy it upgrade to a gps/fpv setup.

What kind of transmitter/receiver would you guys recommend for this quad? (baring in mind the budget aspect )
Do i need anything else to make this sucker fly?

Cheers
Griff.

[Revs]

It';s a good kit, I';m just on with building something similar for a mate. All the components are excellent, plus I find the CF6x3 props best. I wouldn';t be too sure about that battery but they';re only a few quid at Hobbyking. 1300-1500mAh 3s, 35c minimum. Nano-tech';s are good.

You';ll need a transmitter, 6ch minimum, and a receiver to match. A battery charger and a few more batteries, they only last 7-8 mins. Wouldn';t bother with GPS on a 250 personally but FPV; hell yeah The CC3D is easy to set up, too.

For FPV you just need a camera, video transmitter and some goggles or something.

Welcome to the forum

[Revs]

Something like this should be fine to get you going, once they get stock http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/__66392__Turnigy_TGY_i6_AFHDS_Transmitter_and_6CH_Receiver_Mode_2_UK_Warehouse_.html

[quadfather]

Consider this
EMAX Nighthawk 250 Carbon Fiber Frame Combo CC3D MT2204 Motor 12A ESC £95.15
and suddenly the eBay deal isn';t that great anymore.

A couple of guys here have this radio and for the price they say it';s great.
FlySky FS-i6 2.4G 6CH AFHDS RC Transmitter With FS-iA6 Receiver £37.38

At the very least you will need a charger for the battery, and I';d suggest a couple more LiPos.  And props, loads of props!
SKYRC iMAX B6AC V2 Professional Balance Charger £28 + shipping
ZIPPY Compact 1500mAh 3S 35C Lipo Pack £9.22 + shipping

HQ Props are good. 5030, 5040, 6030 will go nice on this frame and work well with these motors.

The flight controller doesn';t support GPS with the default software.  There is an alternative software that you can install, called Cleanflight, but the GPS capabilities are rudimentary at best.

For FPV there are loads of options from dirt cheap to very expensive.  As with most things a matter of you-get-what-you-pay-for.  Most systems available will fit on that frame and you don';t have to worry about it just yet.

[Kellarly]

http://www.banggood.com/Eachine-700TVL-13-Cmos-FPV-110-Degree-Camera-w32CH-Transmission-p-965760.html

That';s a decent little start for FPV, you';ll need a receiver and goggles/screen to get the image.

[griffinnn]

Hey guys,

Really appreciate the replys to my questions. The GPS would be for curiosity more than anything as the autonomy aspect fascinates me. That controller looks perfect so thank you for posting that.

With regard to the kit from banggood, i';m a really impatient bugger and i';d like to get going asap, not keen on waiting on postage from china.  Is it so much better that it would be worth waiting for?

Anyone flying around the Glasgow area?

Cheers
Griff.

[Mr Finch]

What worries me about bang good is being stung for import and VaT. UK stores are selling the same eMax nighthawk style setup for around £120. Have a look at quadcopters.co.uk, Phil at makeitbuildit.co.uk or 4props for the same kit from the UK.

[Mr Finch]

This is the kit (out of stock) at makeitbuildit that I am going to order:

http://makeitbuildit.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=30&product_id=359&sort=p.price&order=DESC

You';ll need tx, rc and batteries as well as sundries to go with it.

HTH!

[quadfather]

I';m ideally looking to keep this as cheap as possible for the time being and if i enjoy it upgrade to a gps/fpv setup.

With regard to the kit from banggood, i';m a really impatient bugger and i';d like to get going asap, not keen on waiting on postage from china.  Is it so much better that it would be worth waiting for?

The kit is identical.  You wanted to keep it as cheap as possible which is why I suggested Banggood.

Since you';re impatient and happy to fork out £40 extra for that there are other UK suppliers that offer great deals.  My first port of call would be Phil at www.makeitbuildit.co.uk who offers the same kit for £125.  He';s active on this forum as Philtrum.

The product pic on that eBay ad says "we have effing clue what we';re doing".  That alone would put me off buying from them.   

[Dino]

With regard to the kit from banggood, i';m a really impatient bugger and i';d like to get going asap, not keen on waiting on postage from china.  Is it so much better that it would be worth waiting for?

Use the Priority Direct Mail Option - costs about 3 quid, usually takes a week to arrive and you don';t get stung for VAT as it goes to the BG warehouse and is sent out to you using Royal Mail tracked.

You can also get 10% off if you download the Banggood mobile app!

[ched]

If you get the flysky i6 transmitter from radioc it comes with a better receiver ( IA6B receiver, which is both telemetry and PPM ready) that can with the addition of a £5 component transmit the quads battery voltage back to the transmitter and iit does ppm (ppm: less wires required between receiver and flight control). Voltage display is handy as you will damage lipo batteries if you take them to too low a voltage.
You will need to buy lots of spare props as they are the things that get broken very easily when you crash. Believe me you will crash, lots!!!! 

The kit also seems missing lots of little bits, like power connector, power distribution, cable ties, heat shrink tubing, ';servo tape';, servo leads between receiver and flight control, plus others that I have yet to discover  ;D

I have no idea about your flying experience but it might be worth getting a little Hubsan X4 so you can learn to fly indoors at minimal costs.

Happy flying.

[griffinnn]

Hi All,

Thank you again for all your replys, seems like a really nice community on here. So i';ll need to keep reading but the shopping list so far is as follows...

• Nighthawk kit from Phil @ Makeitbuildit
• FlySky FS-i6 Tx/Rx
• Props, loads of props :P
• Power distribution board - thanks for pointing that out, had missed that
• Batteries and charger
• Power connector - thought this would come with it (mental note, don';t assume)
• Cable ties - ordered
• Heat shrink
• Servo tape
• Servo leads - what kind and how many?

Have i missed anything guys? My flying experience...very limited - have flown RTF helicopters before but this seemed like a really cool project as well as the learning to fly it properly aspect. I';m very cautious by nature so will be taking baby steps when learning to fly as i don';t want to be rebuilding too often! Will be sure to turn this into a complete novice guide to building a 250 quad from a very basic ';recipe';.

Does anyone know of a full guide that is good at explaining everything?

Cheers
Griff.

[Mr Finch]

One or two of the things I picked up watching lots of YT videos recently:

• If you want to put FPV on in the future, add a JST (I think) power connector to the PDB now, saves dismantling to solder it on later.
• I can';t see from any of the listings if the main power to the PDB comes in the kit.  You may need 14AWG (again, I think!) wire and the appropriate battery connector for the LIPO.

[ched]

Although there are lots of posts on here plus you can sk when you get stuck, sometimes it';s difficult to get all info in 1 thread.
I have found this blog quite useful: http://blog.oscarliang.net/diy-mini-quadcopter/
Not just the page I linked to but lots of great info on the blog. While there are many opinions and many many ways to do things on quads, I feel the blog a good start.

A few things to remember are that you will crash so you need all the components securely fixed to the frame. What I mean is that you don';t want to crash into long grass and spend days searching for a battery or a camera as the components have been scattered. Imaging the impact of the quad hitting the ground from 30 ft, then imagine that at 300ft!!!!!!
So make sure everything is secure, wires can';t flex into props, battery connector to quad cant be ripped off etc. Flight Control is secure as movement on this is seen as the quad moving so FC will make adjustments! You will need some medium strength thread lock for the screws that secure the motors to the arms.

One really important thing is to check everything before power is applied!!! If anything is connected in reverse it can be bye bye to that component. So check and double/triple check things.
Good Luck

[seany1212]

Personally if you';re paying around that price for the FlySky transmitter i';d be suggesting the Turnigy 9X, or if you could stretch to it the 9XR/9XR Pro, the modding community for them is unreal so you wont be short of help and you';re getting 9 channels over 6 for when you want more 

[ched]

Must admit I was toying with 9X or i6. Went for i6 because of 2 things. 1. only needs 4 AA batteries and I have a fair few of those. 2. telemetry, just add a £5 module and you get flight battery voltage plus RSSI displayed on transmitter. That way I know what voltage flight battery is and don';t need to keep landing to check voltage.

The 9X does have a huge following and can be modded in a big way. Such as lipo battery, backlit screens and many many more plus it does have 9 channels. I think you may also be able to flash a 9X to a 9Xpro with a bit of careful soldering.

One thing to be very careful about is Hobby King postage charges. Don';t just look at the headline price factor in the p&p.
I was looking at 4 lipos as they were about £8 each, but the p&p was over £40!!!!!!! Probably a bad example as lipos are relatively heavy but check p&p.

[Mr Finch]

Ched - What is the full model number of the "i6"?

What rx module would y';all put with the 9 series, bearing in mind it would be used with a CC3D in this kit?  I assume you wouldn';t need a TX module as it would already be in the 9x, right?

[ched]

Ched - What is the full model number of the "i6"?

It';s my first tx since my very old 27mHz stuff I used on my ic boats about 20 years ago. So I am no expert on tx at all.

Mine says tx:  FlySky FS-i6 rx:FS-IA6B. I bought mine from RadioC but as order was less than £80 I paid £5 delivery.
This site have the i6 with the IA6B Rx and the voltage telemetry unit. I have not used then and they do charge £6 delivery. http://www.hobbyrc.co.uk/flysky

Don';t know if you know but most transmitters have ports in back and you can get a usb cable to connect tx to pc and then run a flight sim for practice with your real tx.
I am using either Heli-X6 (free version = limited quad (just phantom) and splash screen every 15 mins). It may not be a very realistic sim but gives you a bit of eye/hand co-ordination practice. It also does fpv views. Best biit no costs involved when you crash :)

[griffinnn]

Although there are lots of posts on here plus you can sk when you get stuck, sometimes it';s difficult to get all info in 1 thread.
I have found this blog quite useful: http://blog.oscarliang.net/diy-mini-quadcopter/
Not just the page I linked to but lots of great info on the blog. While there are many opinions and many many ways to do things on quads, I feel the blog a good start.

A few things to remember are that you will crash so you need all the components securely fixed to the frame. What I mean is that you don';t want to crash into long grass and spend days searching for a battery or a camera as the components have been scattered. Imaging the impact of the quad hitting the ground from 30 ft, then imagine that at 300ft!!!!!!
So make sure everything is secure, wires can';t flex into props, battery connector to quad cant be ripped off etc. Flight Control is secure as movement on this is seen as the quad moving so FC will make adjustments! You will need some medium strength thread lock for the screws that secure the motors to the arms.

One really important thing is to check everything before power is applied!!! If anything is connected in reverse it can be bye bye to that component. So check and double/triple check things.
Good Luck

Yea indeed mate, i realised after i posted that i may be becoming "that guy" who just asks loads of questions so i did some more googlin'; and came across the very same blog. It';s more along the lines of what i was looking for, has nice descriptions of components and suggestions on components.

Will look into the Turnigy 9x. And thanks for the tip about soldering on the power for FPV before assembly. WWill be ordering towards the end of this month so will have build thread up then.

[annikk.exe]

Does anyone know of a full guide that is good at explaining everything?

I can heartily recommend this guide:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jbpwqCCVbs

It';s in 5 parts, it';ll take a couple of hours to watch all of them, but it is very detailed. :>

[griffinnn]

I can heartily recommend this guide:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jbpwqCCVbs

It';s in 5 parts, it';ll take a couple of hours to watch all of them, but it is very detailed. :>

This is perfect, will give that a watch tonight, much appreciated mate.

[griffinnn]

Hey All,

Have a quick update for you guys. So i ordered a kit last night...

• ESC: Emax 12A SimonK
• Motors: DYS 1806 2300kv
• Flight controller: Acro Naze 32

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Still need to pick up a tx/rx and some batteries, but looking at ordering those today.

[Mr Finch]

Awesome. Which frame did you go for?

[griffinnn]

Oops, knew i forgot something! The frame i went for is the Emax 250 Pro Carbon, i think this is a good balance of value/quality for my first build. Started looking at Afro escs etc but costs can mount pretty quickly with those and quite frankly i just don';t trust hobbyking. Ive went to order a couple of times from there but the shipping options are hellish, and then theres returns.... Ebay UK sellers ftw! :P

Kit also comes with the following gubbins...

Power Distribution Board
2mm bullet connectors
motor mounting screws
nylon hardware for mounting FC
Battery Strap
XT60  Battery Connector and cable
heat shrink
4 sets of clear 5030 propellers

[griffinnn]

Kit arrived today, mega excited, will start a build thread in the 250 section tonight.

[ched]

Great news. Looking forward to your build thread. Cant order mine for about 4 weeks

Good Luck

[Mr Finch]

Looking forward to it, ordering mine when I get back from Spain at the weekend. :) ssssh, SWMBO Doesn';t know I am ordering yet.

[griffinnn]

Apologies for lack of build thread, was too keen in actually cracking on! Will get a thread up tonight with some pics (tried to snap some this morning to create build thread on lunch but phone was dead...typical).