Getting ready to make the shift in Warwick, UK

[Fatlab]

Hi,

I'm looking to get into multi rotor flight having been into fixed wing and helis for years. I must admit my old 27mHz gear and nitro helis look positively dated now.
As I'm looking at this predominantly for photo and video and the fact that I'm a total techie, the DJI suite looks really appealing so current thinking is the F550, Naza V2 Gps and then build on that to ultimately get to FPV, iPad ground station, etc.

Regards

Dave

 

[Benjamin Kenobi]

Sounds like a good first setup! It will teach you what you need to know and you'll probably have the F550 for a long time. Have fun and welcome to the hobby!

 

[RC Flying]

The Naza V2 is brilliant. I have one and a Droidworx CX quadcopter with a Gopro 3 on a brushless gimbal and it works beautifully.

 

[Fatlab]

Well the Naza V2 & GPS is ordered and I've replaced the 35mHz TX module in my trusty Futaba FF7 with a FrSky DFT 2.4gHz module and an X8R receiver. Next stop is DJI Flame Wheel. Current thinking is an F550 run from a 4S 5200mAh 25C battery.

To that end I'd appreciate any charger/psu recommendations for shipment to or purchase within the UK.

Regards

Dave

 

[RC Flying]

Somthing like this would do for charging, I have a few but one is enough if you're not in a hurry to charge a few batteries at once.

 

[Fatlab]

The kit is starting to arrive now. Got the Naza V2 + GPS this morning, also the Imax B8+ charger and a Zippy 4S 5000 20C/30C battery both from Hobbyking. Ive now ordered the Flame Wheel F550 from Quadcopters and that should be here in the next day or so.
I've converted an old 350W ATX power supply to a bench unit with sockets for 12V, 5V & 3.3V and also ordered a 5 pack of XT60 connectors to replace the male and female bullet connectors on the battery.

My biggest concern now is how to programme the old Futaba FF4 (FP-7UPS) to be able to control both the manual/atti/GPS switching and also the IOC switching. The FF7 has plenty switch gear but it’s a bit primitive in terms of reasigning channels. I suspect I'll be better off posting a more specific question in the Radio specific forum.

Regards

Dave

 

[RC Flying]

To be honest I wouldn't risk using an old radio like that. If you can get the money you'd be better off with an 8FG, which works perfectly with the Naza. I don't think you'll be able to setup the Naza fail safe with that old radio for one thing, and you really do need a modern radio rather than risk your machine to something old and outdated, if you can get it to work.

 

[Fatlab]

I'm not using the FF7 in 35mHz mode as I've added a FrSky DFT 2.4 gHz TX module and an X8R s.bus telemetry receiver. I'm after a Taranis unit but they are in severe constraint at the moment so the DFT module is an interim solution as I'm planning on going down the FrSky telemetry route and hopefully should still allow triggering failsafe by powering the transmitter off as a last resort.

BTW just had a look at your Flying Page, nice vid clip of the castle.

Dave

 

[RC Flying]

Thanks for watching the vid. I haven't tried any of the FrSky stuff, but do know they're very popular. I'd still want to get an 8FG at least though at some point. You can seamlessly add a long range system to it later on then if you want to, plugs right into the 8FG trainer port. I've tried a few radios and for me the Futabas are the best for the money, and currently the best value are 8FG, then 14SG if you have more money. They're very reliable, which is what you need with these things. I don't believe in having any weak links in setups wherever possible. I haven't tried your setup so maybe it's fine, but I'd be a bit skeptical. The newer Futaba stuff just works without any fiddling, and the less fiddling the better for me.