Blackout Mini Spider Hex Shopping list

[cosmorogers]

Hi guys
Another ';winter is coming project';.
I';d quite like a spider hex (I think), so just been pricing one up.

Below is a shopping list from getfpv.com. Does it look reasonable to you?
[attachimg=1]

Links;
http://www.getfpv.com/fxc1806-14-2300kv.html
http://www.getfpv.com/lumenier-12-amp-esc-with-simonk-firmware.html
http://www.getfpv.com/openpilot-cc3d-flight-controller.html


There are a couple of things I';m not sure about, mostly the motors. Not sure whether to get 2300kv, 2350kv or 2400kv.
I';ve also looked at Dualsky ECO Motor - 2204X 2300KV, these are heavier but potentially more efficient? (Less amps for given thrust, and higher g/W (higher is better right?))

Also possibly a long shot, but does anyone know if a pixhawk would fit on the mini spider?
I';m getting quite involved with ArduPilot now and I';d quite like to get a pixhawk (Currently running an APM2.5 on my big hex)

Both getfpv.com and readymaderc.com have the mini spider hex in stock at the moment, and have similar products in stock (motors are the only difference really), does anyone have any preference of one over the other?

Cheers
Chris

[xxpitt]

That';s going to be an awesome machine. All top quality parts there

[xeostar]

That';s a good list.

I';ve got a BO hex and if I had my time again I';d go for 2204 motors, may be the new emax ones.

Also go Naze32 rather than cc3d mine flies really well.

heres a bit of it flying last weekend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQA4JHR5iBE

[teslahed]

You can get much cheaper motors that are just as good if not slightly better now. Lumenier have the name but i don';t think the quality justifies the price. For example;

http://shop.myairbot.com/index.php/airbot-t2204-motor-2300kv.html

http://shop.myairbot.com/index.php/motor/airbot-t2204-motor-2300kv-24.html

[xeostar]

This is mine with some home brew landing feet from children';s draw protection catches




These are the feet.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161269742877?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[cosmorogers]

Cool, looks good xeostar! Did you have to get yours from the states to? I';ve not been able to source any UK suppliers

So regarding the 2204 motors, any suggestions for uk based supplier? From what you';ve said I might switch to those.

Will have to look at getting some legs to I think, rather than using a lipo as the landing legs!
What size lipo do you use on yours xeostar?
Got a feeling that my 5000mAh might be too big, and my 1000mAh might be too small...

[xeostar]

I got mine direct from Blackout in Aus, postage was a but steep but it arrived quite quickly.

For the motors I';d use Phil at MakeitBuildit. http://makeitbuildit.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=59&product_id=173  He';s normally about on the forum.

Your right about the not landing on the battery/gopro, its the one thing I';m not keen on. I use the feet to keep it off the battery but I don';t think they';d be tall enough to keep a GoPro clear. I stick my Mobius on the top instead.

As for battery size I use 3300 nano techs and I get an easy 10mins without pushing the batteries, putting around 2850/2900mAh back during a charge

[worley1]

Hi all,

I have attached the image of my Blackout spider frame and the blacksheep core - Have any of you used the new Blacksheep core ? As I don';t want to mess up the setup! 

Also I will be setting up a race on my land at some point over the coming months - I live in Kent (Uk) but I will start another group chat around that point haha.

cosmorogers - amazing machine!

xeostar - what are your PID';s? - looks cool. 

Cheers,
Jack

Just

[Ground Engineer]

Shop around you can get better prices than that.  Also I would recommend the cheap RCZ motors and esc';s, save you a fortune. I would recommend the naze32 also.

[cosmorogers]

Cheers, although possibly a bit late. My hex is currently in the back of a UPS van on it';s way back to the depot because I wasn';t in and my flat mates didn';t want to cough up the £25 import fees 
So looks like I';ll have to wait until Monday to play with my new toys 

Out of interest though were would one source these cheap RCZ motors and escs you speak of? Googling just unhelpfully brings up lots of results about a Peugeot car....


worley1- sounds good, currently I';m in mid Wales, although ';home'; is east sussex so depending on where in kent might be able to pop along next summer, if my hex lasts that long  ;D

Cheers

[quadfather]

Out of interest though were would one source these cheap RCZ motors and escs you speak of? Googling just unhelpfully brings up lots of results about a Peugeot car...

It';s either RCX or ZMR and you can buy them here.

MyRcMart say they are the only genuine retailer and that the likes of banggood and goodluckbuy sell fakes.  Can';t find that link atm, but here';s a quote from their website:

2014-05-02: We are the only authorised dealer of RCX brand in China. RCX products should not be sold by any other sellers in China (including the bangsxxt). We also do not distribute or sell this motor to any other China sellers. We only distribute this motor to overseas sellers in EU/AU/US/CA. If you buy a similar motor with RCX logo from any seller from China, it is 100% fake.

This motor was designed and manufactured by RCX since 2013. If you buy a similar motor (look like the same no matter with/without a rcx logo) from any other sellers in China/Hong Kong, it is 100% fake. Becareful.

A friend of mine flies the RCX 1804 and while they';re cheap and cheerful they are not the most durable.  Cable breaks inside insulation, ball bearings failure, etc.

[cosmorogers]

UPS Man turned up on time today  ::)

[attach=1]


Now just need my receiver to arrive from Hong Kong and it';ll be time to get the soldering iron out!
Need to figure out best place to put the ESC, the front two arms are quite short...

[attach=2]

Got everything from Ready Made RC in the end, using the Dualsky ECO Motors.  Phil at MakeitBuildit didn';t have enough in stock at the time unfortunately

[Jumpy07]

Looks like a cracking wee sports hex..  really like that..

[xeostar]

Sorry for the delay in replying.

These are the PIDs I use, not mine originally I found them somewhere and was going to use them as a starting point. They worked well so I left them as they were.

[Ground Engineer]

Beautiful, still the best looking spider hex out there.

[cosmorogers]

Well I';ve connected the ESCs to the flight controller, ready to break out the soldering iron tomorrow.

[attach=1]

Not sure how I';m gonna connect the ESCs to the motors yet though, the ESCs came with some mini bullet connectors, or I might just solder the wires together. Not sure to solder the ends together so have nice long tails or cut the wires so have nice short wires, but would be a pain if I mess up....

My receiver and other bits have arrived in the UK (somewhere), so hopefully they will turn up soon! Going to be hard to test motor direction without it...

[nub]

been there with my mini H with the ESC';s mounted on the arms, i ended up removing the heatshrink from my ESC';s to give me more play on the wires to go 1/2 and 1/2.

if i were to do again i';d remove the ESC wires and solder the motors straight to them.

[cosmorogers]

Well I cut open a bit of the heat shrink to expose where the wires are soldered on, doesn';t look too hard to just solder the motor wires straight on so I think I shall do that. Just hope I get most of them spinning in the right direction the first time time!

[nub]

ach only take a few secs to swap over wires

[cosmorogers]

Clearly you';ve never seen me solder 

In other news pretty leds!

[attach=1]

[cosmorogers]

So managed to get some time on the soldering iron today, so all soldered together now :)

Weight minus GoPro and battery 550g, not too bad I think (my larger hex is 2kg without battery...)
[attach=1]

Quick question to those that have a spider hex; what size battery do you use?
Looking around 2200mAh seems popular without gopro, and 3300mAh with.

Cheers

[xeostar]

I use 3300s nano Techs, with and without camera.

[cosmorogers]

Cool. Pay day soon so I';ll get a couple of them 

What sort of flight time do you get out of them?

[xeostar]

I get an easy 11mins, more if I pushed them.

If I bought again I';d maybe not buy nano techs, I think they';ve started to puff a little. I think I';d look at zippy from HK, I';ve got some 1550s for the mini quad and they';ve been great.

[xeostar]

Maybe these:-

http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__63397__ZIPPY_Compact_3300mAh_3s_40c_Lipo_Pack.html

[Tean]

I';m watching this with interest. Thanks for all the info here. My mouse is poised on the buy button for one of these, but $90 "insured" shipping or $20 "hope it turns up" shipping? Hmmmm.

[cosmorogers]

I used UPS Express Saver, turned up really quickly, turned up 3 days later 
Shipping from Read Made RC was $33, insurance was $11.
Did get stung a little when it got to the uk though, UPS wanted £26.96 in import fees/taxes/other.... 

Maiden flight planned for Sunday (forgot to order batteries....) will try and see if I can post some photos!

[Tean]

If you';re ordering from the States ask the shop to send it via the US postal service. The big couriers like UPS, Fedex etc ALWAYS charge tax and large fees for collecting it, but USPS just hand it to Royal Mail and if you get lucky it might slip through customs unmolested, especially if it';s a low value item.

I';m looking at the Blackout shop which is in Australia. Never ordered from Oz before and don';t know how strict customs are. I';ve had stuff from NZ in the past which has not had any tax applied.

I should add that I prefer to support UK shops where possible and it';s only when stuff';s not available here, like Blackout stuff, that I look abroad.

[cosmorogers]

It wasn';t in stock on the Blackout shop when I got it. I got all the props, motors, esc, etc from the same place so order was about £400, and delivery was v quick so not too fussed about shipping price and taxes (this time).

I also read their shipping information page, it says USPS parcels sometimes disappear into black holes, and usually take about a month to arrive. I have previously ordered stuff from Hobbyking (ok that isn';t states but is still aboard) and chose the cheap shipping. However I then had no idea where my stuff was until it turned up out of the blue a month later (it was some legs, I completely forgot that I ordered them!). So this time wasn';t too fussed about shipping price, especially as it turned up 3 days later and had excellent tracking information (£28 (exc import) isn';t too bad for that  )

[philtrum]

If anyones after a frame thats very similar in the uk, let me know as I';ve got a few in stock