Hi Ferdinand,
jonathan an here with a couple questions for you. I took your advice and have been in regular communications with Tobias, who is really a nie guy and very easy to work with -- so thanks for that advice. Unfortunately, the prototype of the XXL you received was one of very few, and as such, the best arrangement I've been able to secure is a spot at the head of the line for his first production run, which will be fine and so I am happy.
On a related note, I ended up receiving the smaller frame that you referenced me initially when I posted about what I had blindly bought, and had it 99% together until running into a small hurdle that I could use your advice on how to proceed. I had the entire frame setup so that everything was folding and unfolding very smoothly -- all EXCEPT for ESCs/electronics. As my surplus supply of parts is concerned, I happened to have (still brand new and completely unused as of yet) two pretty high end ESC boards that I'd been saving for a special build: the (controversial) Aerodrive 8 board (which should be fine for simple 4S usage as Tobias has recommended to use on the version of the frame I've currently got in hand) as well as the new Mikrokopter Bl-Ctrl v3 Duo-Quadro (two 4xBl-Ctrl v3 boards back to back) which also should be great for this particular utilization. The problem I'm having is that both boards appear to be just too large in diameter to fit in the space just above the battery box, where I assume it ought to go. The issue is exactly that when placed in that location, the frame spacers that connect the battery had to the belly of the foldable mechanics cannot get a straight shot downwards to pass through the carbon plate and terminate with a nylock m3 nut!! It's driving me crazy...we're talking a matter of millimeters. The only way I can envision it working (at least, using one of these centralized ESC/PDB combo boards) would be to mount it in or underneath the battery box -- but I imagine this placement would severely limit my battery choices. Any ideas on how or where to mount one of these boards that will work and function as intended? I'm very tempted to carefully try my luck at modifying the ESC combo boards with a steady hand and a dremel bit, but at the astronomical cost of both of those solutions mentioned above, I am hesitant to do so without consulting you beforehand.
My my only other option (currently, that is -- you know, without another order from a shop -- just using spare parts I have lying around)is to use Castle ICE Lite 75's (set of 8) which I have removed from their oversized heat sink in exchange for thin wrap of heat shrink to hod the components together. The only hesitation I have going that route is that it seems like there's very little possibility to mount them in the spacing between the coaxial motor mount plates (on either side of the carbon tube arms directly under the motors) in a visually pleasing manner, though they DO fit (although very tightly) into said location if I absolutely had to go that route. If you can't tell, I'm obviously leaning towards utilizing one of the outrageously overpriced solutions (all-in-one ESC/PDB boards) I've stockpiled in my spares bin over the past year or so, but ultimately will follow your advice because you have the experience firsthand with what works. The inky other concern with mounting the ESCs under each motor is that it distributes the weight out to the ends of the arms instead of centralized as I'm accustomed to building my copters(at least historically speaking...though I'm open to change if you say the word).
In summary...will what I have work it do I need to go shopping for new components specific for this build? Either way is cool, just need to figure something out so I can get some good footage for Tobias' website promoting the awesome frame design he's come up with.
Thanks is very much, in advance, for taking the time not only to read this extremely long post, but for any and all advice you might have for me.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Lederer
