Group Build 2014, DJI NAZA/F450 Quadcopter!

[makerbot_m]

I've been following this group build thread for a long time. Months really. I referenced the different takes on build style and hardware used, and all the various advice. I wanted to share what i came up with, with the group that helped so much to get me here. It's a F450 style build, built from scratch. Legit DJI arms, and Naza M Lite..everything else is parted from various manufacturers and sources. Hope you guys dig it. It has been a very fun build.

#1) Right after finishing the build.

#2)Same time period. Shows how I mounted the receiver inside the frame and upside down.

#3) Current pic. Just this week

Thank you for so much input on this build. Made all the difference in my own.

 

[FFL8N]

Well, that sucked. My quad now sits on the bottom to a reservoir. Not sure what happened. It was having a hard time saying locked onto satalights. I decided to launch it anyway. I took it up and hovered for a few minutes then brought it above the trees and it took off at an angle toward the lake. I tried to just bring it down and crash it before it hit the lake, but it didn't come down in time. I had 4 divers look for it for over an hour but they couldn't find it. Water visibility was about 2 feet (that may be a stretch. It was probably less). There goes $1000 plus. It had my gopro on it.

 

[makerbot_m]

Well, that sucked. My quad now sits on the bottom to a reservoir. Not sure what happened. It was having a hard time saying locked onto satalights. I decided to launch it anyway. I took it up and hovered for a few minutes then brought it above the trees and it took off at an angle toward the lake. I tried to just bring it down and crash it before it hit the lake, but it didn't come down in time. I had 4 divers look for it for over an hour but they couldn't find it. Water visibility was about 2 feet (that may be a stretch. It was probably less). There goes $1000 plus. It had my gopro on it.

Ouch, so sorry to hear about your loss. Best of luck for a speedy rebuild man.

 

[austinC5]

Hi guys. I have been researching FPV and quads now for about 6 weeks or so, ever since I saw a YouTube video of the DJI Phantom. I dabble in photography and thought this was cool. Anyway, I managed to find this forum and thread about a week and a half ago and have finally read all the posts. First off, thanks to Bart for getting this thread going. I know it's been said before but it hasn't been said enough. Also, thanks to all the regular contributors like Corey, CaptainJ, ComMike, Pleiades and the others (too many of you to remember) for the wealth of information, trial and error, as well as the success stories.

All that being said, I'M IN!!!

I have been training in the house with a micro quad for about 3 or for weeks and I think I am ready to go bigger. I'd like an Octo but I am going to start small and work my way up. I really want to do FPV and/or a gimbal mounted GoPro for aerial surveying of my ranch. That is the primary reason, but I can see myself using it for other stuff such as the filming the kids at the skatepark or playing basketball. And for those reasons I am going to order the DJI 550.

I may configure it as a quad first like someone else said they were gonna do but I like the idea of just adding 2 more arms if I need the extra lift given the fact that I want 2 cameras, one for FPV and the other on a gimbal.

Before I found this site I was trying to justify spending my money at Aerial Media Pros for one of their RTF packages but I cam across this thread and decided I would build instead. I have most if not all of the tools needed to get going and I can solder.

I just have one question to ask of all of you all and it is regarding radios. From everything I have read, here and on other sites, monitoring the voltage on the battery(s) is kinda of important. I got into a discussion with a friend who is into RC big time about radios and general theme was about redundancy. I was thinking Futaba 14SG cuz that is what Aerial Media Pros put in their packages and Patrick does a good job of selling the idea of telemetry. From what I can tell, most of the OSDs all have the voltage displayed. My buddy told me to stay away from Futaba and to go with a JR 9503, which I know Bart is using, but it doesn't have telemetry. I checked out the JR website and found the XG14 which has telemetry. Does anyone have any experience with it and should I bite the bullet and order it? Based on my discussion with my buddy and his reasoning for JR over Futaba was the FASST system vs DMSS system. More reliable redundancy in his words.

Also, regarding fly aways with the NAZA, has anyone tried using one of the gps pet locators on the frame to track it in the event of a loss? I just got an email from my vet offering the service for out pets and I thought why not on the airframe?


Once again thanks for all the trial and error for us newbies and congratulations on all of your successes.

austinC5

 

[austinC5]

I ordered my Tx and FW550 kit today. I got the new FW550 kit DJI is putting out with the E300 motors and ESC's and the Naza V2 with GPS. I just need to get some batteries and I should be good to go to assemble and test. I got the JR XG14 for the Tx. I will post some pics later after it all arrives and I have it put together.

 

[Gary Seven]

Hi everyone,

I'd like to propose a group build. We'll start with the process of selecting components, we'll purchase what we need, and then go step by step through the assembly and flight testing. To the maximum extent possible we'll stick with one list of pieces but there will also be room for people to customize things.

[snip]

Here are the videos that are posted in the thread covering different aspects of the build process

Another DJI demo video

Can someone tell me what the guy is testing for (with his multimeter) starting at 3:15 in this video? Is it continuity? Anyone?

 

[papamike44]

yes it is continuity.

 

[JoeBob]

Also, regarding fly aways with the NAZA, has anyone tried using one of the gps pet locators on the frame to track it in the event of a loss? I just got an email from my vet offering the service for out pets and I thought why not on the airframe?

austinC5

I've got a Marco Polo pet tracker on mine. It worked the one time that I've had to use it..........
Radio based, no monthly fees.

 

[austinC5]

I've got a Marco Polo pet tracker on mine. It worked the one time that I've had to use it..........
Radio based, no monthly fees.

I found their website a couple of weeks ago and it looks like the perfect solution. I bit pricey but it will definitely pay for itself the first time you have to use it.

AND on another note, I received my kit and the Tx. I ordered a pair of Turnigy nano-tech 4S 5000mAh batteries from Hobby King and also my battery charger. I am ready to get started but I just don't have time with all the work I have plus I am on-call this week and have to ready to go to work when and if I get called in. I will probably start assembly this weekend and I will post pics.

 

[RobBurn]

I believe in the telemetry for voltage. I bought the voltage accessory for my futaba 14sg and it is very accurate whereas ive had the mark II give me higher readings. Sometimes the mark II voltage stays at some level and does not change, if i land and reset bat then its good. This has happened 2x over the last 6 minths of many flights, but the futaba is spot on and i trust it over the over the osd. My 2 cents

 

[RobBurn]

An update. Been getting alot flights on my f550, see sig. Ive been using my gopro3 for fpv and it works ok but i find that i cant get close up personal to things im shooting video on. An example is yesterday i was flying on a project where a new bridge is being built and i would have liked to fly between things that were from 10' to 50' wide. I was probably at a range of 1000 feet and the gopro which i have on medium fov is not good enough to judge my distance. I think a dedicated fpv cam will solve this problem and since i have the mark II i can power and connect easily and already have the tx programmed to switch between two cameras it as sinple as buying the best one for what i described. Any advice or experience as id like to be able to switch to a true fpv and have confidence on the distance to my surrounding objects??

also for fun i was at a 5000 acre ranch i have access to and went 800m so a bit over a 1/2 mile and the fpv video was great. Next trip ill shoot for more as the land is in a valley and basically flat and no houses etc just cows and wildlife. I noticed if i dropped below some trees that video would break up a bit so i stayed up so it was clear shoot for vtx.

 

[SDB777]

Did I, or better yet, have I missed a video somewhere on the 'computer' NAZA Assistant?


I waiting on a replacement DJI USB cable to get here and wanted to get the 'lowdown' on what I was getting into. Everything is inside the cover, GoPro is mounted, but she ain't going outside until I know for certain it isn't going to just wander off with no way to bring it back(and no, brown paper sacks full of expensive parts is part "A")....






Scott (watchin' and waitin') B

 

[RobBurn]

Did I, or better yet, have I missed a video somewhere on the 'computer' NAZA Assistant?


I waiting on a replacement DJI USB cable to get here and wanted to get the 'lowdown' on what I was getting into. Everything is inside the cover, GoPro is mounted, but she ain't going outside until I know for certain it isn't going to just wander off with no way to bring it back(and no, brown paper sacks full of expensive parts is part "A")....






Scott (watchin' and waitin') B

get a gps tracker. Ive pondered it but like everything else there is alot of confusion on what works best. You need to identify the risk and decide if you can live with it before you fly.

 

[SDB777]

RobBurn,

It's on the short list of 'things to get', along with about 6-8 more batteries.






Scott (hate waiting on stuff though) B

 

[Kiwiman]

Is there a full parts list and price total?

 

[austinC5]

Is there a full parts list and price total?

Check out the 3rd paragraph of the first post. That should get you started as far as a parts list. Some people are changing a few parts here and there. As far as price, as far as I can tell anything DJI is going to cost the same anywhere you get it. I did go to one site that was higher than the others but I can't remember which site. Any other part that isn't DJI you'll have to shop around for the best price.

If you get anything from HobbyKing.com make sure you have the correct warehouse. If you are in the US, there are 2 warehouses, east and west. If you aren't in the US then you will be using the global warehouse.

austinC5

 

[austinC5]

Well Phase 1 is complete. :nevreness: I got all my parts in for the initial configuration. FW550 with landing gear, E300 motor and ESC upgrade, Naza M V2 w/GPS. I bought a JR XG14 Tx w/ X731 Rx. I got the Naza SW going and after a bit of issues with the firmware, I am now on the latest version and have run the configuration software and got all my controls configured. Just for grins I fired her up in the house in manual mode just to play with it on the floor and to get my trims configured. Tomorrow is her maiden flight. It did rain here this afternoon so I will probably have to wait until the moisture evaporates before I get started. I will try to post some pics and/or video when I am done.

austinC5

 

[masterbeatty]

Just got my 450 in today! I got two of the esc on because I got home late. But tomorrow I will finish up. I ordered the esc e300 and 920 motors. Next I decided to get the naza m v2. I'm still researching on the tx/Rx radio controllers. I was thinking since I'm a novice at multi rotors and flight in general to get the dji controller, what's everyone partake on that? I'm not looking to spend more than $400 usd on a radio.

 

[darwin-t]

I want to build a 550. I can't come up with the entire amount for a kit at once, so I am going to buy parts as I can over a period of months.

The first decision I will face is the choice of motors and ESCs. I plan on using a gimbal with a GoPro, so I assume I will need something a little bigger than the ones that come with their kit. I want to get motors with the right and left hand threads for the props. Other than that, I have no idea what to get.

Cost is a factor, as I live on a fixed income.

Thanks

 

[Gary Seven]

Just got my 450 in today! I got two of the esc on because I got home late. But tomorrow I will finish up. I ordered the esc e300 and 920 motors. Next I decided to get the naza m v2. I'm still researching on the tx/Rx radio controllers. I was thinking since I'm a novice at multi rotors and flight in general to get the dji controller, what's everyone partake on that? I'm not looking to spend more than $400 usd on a radio.

Without a doubt you should consider the FrSky Taranis. I completed a DJI F450 two months ago (with the E300 power system) just like you. Because I spent months researching all this and because of this forum, I was convinced to buy the Taranis radio. It's arguably the best Tx you can buy for the money, although it does have a bit of a learning curve. I know there are better/more powerful radios out there but they will cost you 2-3X as much.

Yes, I get that if you go with the DJI controller (I mean TX in this case) you probably won't have to do any Tx programming, but with Taranis you will be able to use it with anything you fly. I use it in conjunction with the FrSky X8R receiver and am extremely happy with the two up to this point (have only logged about 8-10 hours on my F450 so far).

Maybe @Motopreserve; will jump in and give his $0.02 cents worth.