First quadcopter X525 folding frame, cheap ebay 1000kv motors/18a esc's

[jamesb72]

I got 10x4.5 props on ebay in black, but I would highly recommend you get some bright orange/green props for front and run black on the back, they make a huge difference to visibility/orientation.

I got my orange props from quadcopters.co.uk (in the UK) but I am sure there are US suppliers for them.

[jamesb72]

Originally Posted by Zombee

Hi james, i made made a build log on rcg too..

Just looked and your quad looks great, putting bullets directly on the esc's and mounting to sides of legs is genius - looks really smart with power wires internal, do the legs still pivot/spring OK ?

Your led strips look really good, I especially like red/green at the tips with white in the middle, I am thinking of getting some led strips for mine, only thing I'd ask is if led's on bottom of led's is best position, I was planning on putting them on sides facing forward with green tips on front two legs, and red tips on back maybe ??

Great to see everyone getting their quads up and running though !

[richkphoto]

Anyone that bought the kit from GLB with KK 5.5 controller, do you hook up all 4 esc's to the controller board in tact or do you cut the red wires on 3 so power to the board only comes from one connector

[jamesb72]

I used a pin to pull the red pin out on 3 of the ESC leads, leaving only one providing power - I'm not sure if this is necessary or not, the risk would be if the BEC's were slightly different voltages they would 'fight' each other and potentially cause ESC's to overheat/fail.

Given I used cheap ESC's I suspect they may well differ in output voltage, and as the board draws very little current, it wouldn't be enough to overcome this.

If you use a pin to unclip the red pin (push red wire into the plug, and use a pin to hook the plastic tab which holds it in up slightly, then you can pull the red wire and pin will come out of the servo plug - you can then just push it back in later and it will click back in place if you ever move the esc to something else) and use heatshrink or electrical tape to cover it, then you can put it back in later if needed - cutting the wire is harder to back out of.

[richkphoto]

Originally Posted by jamesb72

I used a pin to pull the red pin out on 3 of the ESC leads, leaving only one providing power - I'm not sure if this is necessary or not, the risk would be if the BEC's were slightly different voltages they would 'fight' each other and potentially cause ESC's to overheat/fail.

Given I used cheap ESC's I suspect they may well differ in output voltage, and as the board draws very little current, it wouldn't be enough to overcome this.

If you use a pin to unclip the red pin (push red wire into the plug, and use a pin to hook the plastic tab which holds it in up slightly, then you can pull the red wire and pin will come out of the servo plug - you can then just push it back in later and it will click back in place if you ever move the esc to something else) and use heatshrink or electrical tape to cover it, then you can put it back in later if needed - cutting the wire is harder to back out of.

Thanx James

[Zombee]

Originally Posted by jamesb72

Just looked and your quad looks great, putting bullets directly on the esc's and mounting to sides of legs is genius - looks really smart with power wires internal, do the legs still pivot/spring OK ?

Your led strips look really good, I especially like red/green at the tips with white in the middle, I am thinking of getting some led strips for mine, only thing I'd ask is if led's on bottom of led's is best position, I was planning on putting them on sides facing forward with green tips on front two legs, and red tips on back maybe ??

Great to see everyone getting their quads up and running though !

Thanks and yes the legs pivots perfectly with no interference from wires or etc, im planning on putting on some wheel on them so the shock absorption will be enhanced(in my imagination, all for legs cant move, without digging the earth or something, so having a sliding legs will be awesome, not qualified idea yet but its a good theory)

About the led strips, im also planning on putting some LED lights on each end, a BLUE,RED,WHITE,WHITE strip or something on the side, i dont think having them on the bottom is a big problem, you really dont need orientation if the quad are bellow your head, if its above then the led will then be visible, but for insurance, i painted 2 of the booms with black sharpy permanent markers

If you want your wires inside the boom, make sure you give them some good twist, it has something to do with magnetic field and that stuff xD ive read alot of things before i started building,

I just popped 2 of my escs i decided to get 5 HK 20a Blue sieres and im gonna solder the motor wires directly on the board with no connectors or so.. this will save me weight and effort, im also getting a proper silicon wire this time, the one i used on hk20ss are those common household wires and they are kinda stiff

Im really hopping to see my quad up in the air still waiting for the 3 motors(stupid ebay ppl sent me 1 instead of 4 which will make my build 20days late), but in the mean while ill just be reading things and looking at forums

Lets put more hints and tips, and we can make the x525 the most popular frame lol hahahahah

[jamesb72]

Updated video from today below, I prefer the 10x4.5 props, so have throttle curve min10% (to keep motors spinning, so gyro's don't reset on fast descents), and max 85% (to avoid prop resonance at full throttle), it flies really nicely like this.

YouTube

YouTube

[Arxangel]

Originally Posted by jamesb72

Updated video from today below, I prefer the 10x4.5 props, so have throttle curve min10% (to keep motors spinning, so gyro's don't reset on fast descents), and max 85% (to avoid prop resonance at full throttle), it flies really nicely like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx-fGFgNkws

James, your quad turned out really nice. Great job.

I can't wait to get all of my parts so I can start building.

[landshark501]

looks good!

im awaiting mine to get here so i can get airborne..got a mqx to play with till then.

so your happy with the kk board?

[omardude]

hey guys im planning on buying this quad copter, I was wondering if you guys can give me some input on the things im buying and if I need anything else. This is my first quadcopter, I have had some experience flying RC planes. I have read through this thread and a few others. I have a lipo battery charger, dx6i, and a hk orange receiver.

x525 complete kit
http://www.goodluckbuy.com/x525-v3-q...lticopter.html

4.0mm Gold Bullet Conn (20pk)
http://www.goodluckbuy.com/4-0mm-gol...-battery-.html

Sky Lipo 2200mAh 40C 11.1V 3s
http://www.hobbypartz.com/77p-sl2200-3s1p-40c-3333.html

3S Lipo Battery Low Voltage Monitor/LED/Alarm
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hobbymate-RC...#ht_762wt_1158

Battery strap
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Align-AGNHS1...#ht_1169wt_924


Thanks!!!!!

[jamesb72]

Just to update this, I was tipped off on youtube that there are now different versions of 4.7 firmware for acro/aggressive/ultimate agility ! I downloaded the kk flash tool v0.61 and installed 4.7 X copter ultimate on my spare blackboard and the flips rates were insane, I swapped to aggressive which is still very agile compared with what I originally had, I have rates between 55% and 80% (each channel seems different), to get I would guess 720deg/sec roll rate which is fine for me, and much quicker than I had before (I'd say double), and I can always go higher rates if wanted.

I'm not sure if its less stable or not, part of me thinks its just much more responsive to stick movements, but not really sure, its very windy today, so test flights were just for setting up, I need to try it again when its calmer to see how it is.

I can do double flips in all directions with new settings, so its much more agile, I also finally got round to cutting down the motor shafts (which were too long), so prop holder now butts against motor body, which has helped with resonance.

[jabu32]

do you recommend this frame of the 4050 flamewheel?

[jamesb72]

I've never seen any other frame, so can't compare, but this frame is excellent, I run the screws fairly loose so I can fold/open it easily to fly, I've crashed this 6 or 7 times and the frame just closes up so nothing breaks, also the sprung feet have speared into the ground twice, again with no damage.

[conk]

hey guys,
i`ve been following this thread & got the inspiration to finish mine.
i`ve got a problem...esc`s don`t seem like they`re initializing.
when i plug in the power the esc`s just beep. 1 beep every 3 or 4 seconds. no lights appear on the board after the first flashes.
the hk kk board i got (about 1 year ago) came in + mode as a default, i wanted x mode.
after a couple days & who knows how many hours, i got it flashed for x mode & thats where i`m at now.
i plugged everything in where it was supposed to go when i first got it together (about 5 days ago) & the motors all worked right. i don`t know if the gyros worked though, i didn`t have the props on it. i`m pretty sure it`s something i did when i was flashing it.
i programmed each esc to nimh setting & each motor works fine when plugged straight into the reciever`s throttle channnel.
thats all i can think of for now but if anyone needs any more info, i`ll be happpy to post it.
thanks,
john

[conk]

thanks for the quick reply guys

[jamesb72]

Got a video of the quad flying with v4.7 aggressive firmware, very windy day, but still flies well, I think gains could be tweaked to make it more stable, as its pretty twitchy.

YouTube

YouTube