not smart move cutting the motors conectors.. just solder a female 3.5 mm banana plug on the long cables ESC , easy if the motor rotating wrong direction simply switch 2 of the conectors and thats is...
I know. But more connectors means more loss of connection. Also i wanted it to be permanent and weigh less, so don't worry - it is completely thought through ;-)
A couple of notes: 1. When you're soldering on the motors to the ESCs, fold the cable cores back onto themselves (like a U shape) and squish them together. This will make the wires hook onto each other and act as a strain relief when you apply the final solder (so that they can't lose their shape). Never forget the strain reliefs, solder alone is not to be considered a mechanical attachment. 2. Your cable is a nice idea, however you should improve it a little. Alligator clips are fine, those thin wires are not. Buy some alligator clips with insulation all the way to the tips and crimp those to wires coming straight out of a battery connector. For the application your cable might work (since the motors barely have any load) but I always go into "James May"-mode when I see this kind of solution. Other than that, I'm enjoying the build so far. This is a very impressive quadcopter.
Thank you for incredible feedback. Never thought about that as there's no stress on the wires at all, but i'll surely take it into consideration on the next build. Well i'd always rather be "James May" than sorry haha ;-)
Nice work! And its funny, as your video uploaded I`m also on the same point! mounting the ESC to the frame. After soldering everything together!! lol Keep the great work mate! And cheers! Ed
Haha great! Did you do approximately the same thing or? It really was a time consuming job. Had about 1,5 hour useful video material, but i think i got it down to the essentials :-)
I am watching your progress with great interest as I have been looking at that frame for a 6s setup. What flight time are you aiming for with that setup.
Is it a good idea to pain over the back of the capacitors? If you look at the metal end, it will have a cross cut into it. This is a deliberate weak point. It is made like this so that if there is a problem it will explode from that weak point. If you pain over it you would strengthen it. Who knows where it would burst out? Have you ever seen a capacitor explode? It's just a thought.
That's actually a really good point. I haven't thought of that. I can say though, that i am not changing it now, and of all the quadcopters and UAVs i have previously built i have yet to experience a capacitor explode so i can't see why that should happen now. Motors are at the moment pulling 5-6 Amps to hover and ESC's are rated at 30A. But let's see overtime. Thank you for your heads up though!
Yes. I expect that you're right. The odds of it going bang are a bit slim. I suppose there's more chance of ot if it got wet:-) I fly over water very often. I get some great video like that. There's always the little nagging in the back of my head. What if? So, I've decided to waterproof my next build. I wonder. Have you given any thought to flight controllers? I can't think how I could do it. If I seal it , I think that it will upset the barometer. Any ideas?
![H4 Alien 680mm quadcopter build and review - mounting electronics [Part 7]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/SNf-deXziW0/mqdefault.jpg)
![H4 Alien 680mm quadcopter build and review - mounting electronics [Part 7]](/img/tr.png)
not smart move cutting the motors conectors.. just solder a female 3.5 mm banana plug on the long cables ESC , easy if the motor rotating wrong direction simply switch 2 of the conectors and thats is...
I know. But more connectors means more loss of connection. Also i wanted it to be permanent and weigh less, so don't worry - it is completely thought through ;-)
true :P
Bad plastidip and braid sleeve job too !
Does mounting the Pixhawk inside the frame close to the power module cause interference with the internal compass?
A couple of notes:
1. When you're soldering on the motors to the ESCs, fold the cable cores back onto themselves (like a U shape) and squish them together. This will make the wires hook onto each other and act as a strain relief when you apply the final solder (so that they can't lose their shape). Never forget the strain reliefs, solder alone is not to be considered a mechanical attachment.
2. Your cable is a nice idea, however you should improve it a little. Alligator clips are fine, those thin wires are not. Buy some alligator clips with insulation all the way to the tips and crimp those to wires coming straight out of a battery connector. For the application your cable might work (since the motors barely have any load) but I always go into "James May"-mode when I see this kind of solution.
Other than that, I'm enjoying the build so far. This is a very impressive quadcopter.
Thank you for incredible feedback. Never thought about that as there's no stress on the wires at all, but i'll surely take it into consideration on the next build.
Well i'd always rather be "James May" than sorry haha ;-)
Nice work! And its funny, as your video uploaded I`m also on the same point! mounting the ESC to the frame. After soldering everything together!! lol Keep the great work mate! And cheers!
Ed
Haha great! Did you do approximately the same thing or? It really was a time consuming job. Had about 1,5 hour useful video material, but i think i got it down to the essentials :-)
I am watching your progress with great interest as I have been looking at that frame for a 6s setup. What flight time are you aiming for with that setup.
Aiming for a minimum of 26 minutes hover. You'll probably get longer with a 6s. :-)
Is it a good idea to pain over the back of the capacitors? If you look at the metal end, it will have a cross cut into it. This is a deliberate weak point. It is made like this so that if there is a problem it will explode from that weak point.
If you pain over it you would strengthen it. Who knows where it would burst out?
Have you ever seen a capacitor explode?
It's just a thought.
That's actually a really good point. I haven't thought of that. I can say though, that i am not changing it now, and of all the quadcopters and UAVs i have previously built i have yet to experience a capacitor explode so i can't see why that should happen now. Motors are at the moment pulling 5-6 Amps to hover and ESC's are rated at 30A. But let's see overtime. Thank you for your heads up though!
Yes. I expect that you're right. The odds of it going bang are a bit slim. I suppose there's more chance of ot if it got wet:-)
I fly over water very often. I get some great video like that. There's always the little nagging in the back of my head. What if?
So, I've decided to waterproof my next build.
I wonder. Have you given any thought to flight controllers? I can't think how I could do it. If I seal it , I think that it will upset the barometer. Any ideas?