A Simple 3″ HD Drone (DJI FPV)

February 26, 2020 @ 10:34 am

This is the tale of a newly built drone, arising from a broken arm on an actual new DJI FPV HD drone, and the fact that I had on hand an analog 3″ drone I was no longer interested in flying.

I had an iFlight Titan DC2 that I got a month back. A nice flying quad …

Which met an untimely end after colliding with a basketball backboard while indoor flying this week. It dropped 15′ to the hard floor, and …

now it’s parts.

After examining the frame – I decided to use the frame from a quad I had on hand – that I no longer liked to fly (analog FPV and jerky flight from old beat up gear and motors with too much history in em). Because the Loki-X3 frame simply had stronger arms. The Loki with analog gear …

So – I stripped the AU, CRSF Nano Rx and SX F4 AIO FC from the DC2.

And stripped all the gear off of the Loki frame. Used a Dremel to remove old glue. Looks shiny now.

And proceeded with the new build …

The new quad is so simple. There’s the main FC AIO 4in1 40A ESC board. Which has a DJI FPV conn, and an Rx cable with conn. Almost no soldering. Also a tiny TBS CRSF Nano Rx (with its big antenna) – with ant mounted like so …

All resulting in this clean small build. The only soldering was for the 12 motor wires to the FC AIO board. Gotta confess – I cheated with the Rx, just stuffing it in the back, using some black electrical tape to keep it in place – don’t want anything popping out into the props while cutting through the foliage – eh?

The motors I’d had for two years – in my drawer. Emax 1306/3300kv – and to my surprise – even though over 2 years old – they run as sweet as I could imagine. I guess motor tech hasn’t changed much these last 3 years? (Couldn’t use the new XING NANO 1404 4600KV motors from the DC2 … wrong mounting holes. Besides I know I prefer 3300KV on this frame … been flying em that way for 3 years.)

No vids yet – only ran this thing in the basement to date – no issues. Running BF4.1.3 with RPM filters. Smooth as butter, so they say.

First 5″ Drone – Radix FC

May 18, 2019 @ 10:29 pm

FPV

My first 5″ quad – flew it today. Been flying 3″ and smaller. This is a honey. BrainFPV supplied the BrainFPV Radix F4 FC, the Hobbywing 45A 4in1 ESC, the Hobbywing Xrotor 2306/2400 motors, the 5×3 Gemfan props, the TBS nano CRSF, the TBS vTx. I provided my own cam, frame and batt. I let BrainFPV source the gear cuz I’d not done 5″ before. And I’m really glad I did that. This thing flew for 8.5 min before my goggles battery ran out. Flew LOS a couple more mins. Cells were at 3.68v when I stopped. So I think it’s good for 15 min. So quiet – compared to my 3″ and smaller drones. And on a 4cell 1300 batt – it feels and flies exactly the way I like my stuff to feel and fly. Love it. BrainFPV picked out an excellent combination of gear. Almost forgot to mention the firmware … running Betaflight 4.0.2. Default PIDs.

I love closeups of this gear – so – here we go …

Motor wires soldered to the ESC (Electronic Speed Control)
The stern – a closeup.
Looking at the stack, from motor #1.
Looking at the camera and mount – in the front – my fav view. Lens still grass smeared from flying too close to the ground.

Winter in the Backyard

March 16, 2019 @ 1:24 pm

Winter fascinates. From the metallic dimpled icy plating laid over the back deck over night …

to the newly minted deer paths (more like highways – some serious hoof work) in all that vast whiteness down there …

Winter deer – tracks to trails

Leaving a weak, waning sunset, colder, to complete the day …

Author tgreen Category Nature

Pond – Late Spring, Early Summer

June 28, 2018 @ 2:18 pm

Catching up, since last fall.  The Minnows made it through the winter.  They patrol the pond, and are busy breeding under the water lilies – you see ripples coming from the edges of the lily pads.  Haven’t seen a blue gill yet – hmmmm.  Of course, there are frogs, toads, etc.  And flying birds.  And snakes.  And turtles.  And fishing birds – Herons.  The odd duck or two – they never stay.  And beauty.  So much so – I had to take some pics, and put em here.

Charlie says good bye …

Yard and Pond – Late August

August 28, 2017 @ 12:17 pm

Catching up – haven’t posted for a while.  Some pics from Jerie’s gardens and my pond.  In late August.  Been a balmy summer here.  A bit spoiled now.  We are.

The very black eye, of a Black Eyed Susan
The very black eye, of a Black Eyed Susan

Close up to Hens and Chicks
Close up to Hens and Chicks

Hens and Chicks ... AKA Audrey when in bloom.
Hens and Chicks … AKA Audrey when in bloom.

One dark red water lily blossom, reflections abound
One dark red water lily blossom, reflections abound

The dock reflected in the pond - icy clear
The dock reflected in the pond – icy clear

Phrags reflecting on the surface, dock in foreground
Phrags reflecting on the surface, dock in foreground

Jerie knows what these are .. I sure don't. But they are pic-worthy.
Jerie knows what these are .. I sure don’t. But they are pic-worthy.

The whole shebang
The whole shebang

Call these serenity shots
Call these serenity shots

An utterly gorgeous lily, from Jerie's side door garden.
An utterly gorgeous lily, from Jerie’s side door garden.

Blue Gills
Blue Gills

This ...
This …

Life Underwater – What a Minnow Sees

June 1, 2017 @ 4:28 pm

Wanted to see what the minnows breeding under the water lilies saw.  So, I stuck a GoPro onto the end of a long slender board (inside a waterproof case), started up the camera, turned on the video – and shoved it underwater.  Just to see if there was anything worth filming.  Had to shoot blind, as there was no feedback from the GoPro.  This is the result – somewhat edited.

In the first scene, there are two minnows, swimming under the lily pads.  Turns out these Fathead Minnows attach their eggs to the bottom of just about anything.  For my pond, lily pads fit the bill.  The male takes care of the egg bundles, after the female deposits them.

If you look carefully, you can see a couple other minnows as well.