Group Build 2014, DJI NAZA/F450 Quadcopter!

[RobBurn]

Well after numerous flights i feel very comfortable with the f550. Making adjustments on the battery warning lelvels in naza until i get my ext 14sg bat monitor which will really let me know where the lipo is when i cant see the led from the naza. These things are a kick to fly, not as stressful as i remember flying my scat cat 500 around pylons 25 years ago, lol its nice and slow.

The e300 propulsion setup seems to work well for me, i cant compare anything but when i land the motors are cool to the touch and the lipo has a warm touch as expected. Ive not temped the motors but feel no reason to. Also im flying in a hot localtion, from 65 in the morning to 100 in the afternoons.

Im ready to go fpv and it looks like ill the following equipment, if any of you have done fpv can chime in on the pros or cons or better slection please let me know.

dji 5.8ghz tx and rx
fatshark googles - not picked a model yet. ( Some say grt a 7inch lilliput dispay and mount to futaba.. Any one use either?)
gopro hero 3+ black - with a protective lens
dji hd-3d gimbal
zenplate to center gopro lens on f550

ive had thoughts of getting the futaba gps telemetry to see altitude and speed etc but i know dji makes something that could diplay this on my fpv googles or monitor, i cant figure why its so much as the naza w gps has all this info already but oh well.

i plan on using the stock dji 4 leg landing gear, i do like the idea of cf retractable but maybe as i build my play piggy bank. Im trading one hobby for another, rc cars, so im whole so dar but running out of dough fast lol.

I do have plans on aerial video for a couple areas, highway construction and local monuments, i plan on discreet safe flying on this craft.

Rob

 

[Rgolfer]

Hi All,

Thanks to Bart and all on this forum my build is complete and I have a successful flight or two under my belt. By coming in late I seem to have managed to avoid a lot of the pitfalls that others have encountered. My setup consists of

- Standard DJI F450 quad with stock motors, props etc.
- NAZA M V2 with GPS
- JR 9503 TX with JR R921X receiver
- EFlite 3S 2200mAh battery (had these from another quad but plan on upgrading to 4S batteries)

The machine flew perfectly the first time out and, compared to my Blade 350 QX is a real hot rod. Have not set up return to home yet.

This is a great forum for a project like this and my learning was large.

Brief movie attached (assuming I got it properly attached)

Richard

 

[xsnowb27]

Well after numerous flights i feel very comfortable with the f550. Making adjustments on the battery warning lelvels in naza until i get my ext 14sg bat monitor which will really let me know where the lipo is when i cant see the led from the naza. These things are a kick to fly, not as stressful as i remember flying my scat cat 500 around pylons 25 years ago, lol its nice and slow.

The e300 propulsion setup seems to work well for me, i cant compare anything but when i land the motors are cool to the touch and the lipo has a warm touch as expected. Ive not temped the motors but feel no reason to. Also im flying in a hot localtion, from 65 in the morning to 100 in the afternoons.

Im ready to go fpv and it looks like ill the following equipment, if any of you have done fpv can chime in on the pros or cons or better slection please let me know.

dji 5.8ghz tx and rx
fatshark googles - not picked a model yet. ( Some say grt a 7inch lilliput dispay and mount to futaba.. Any one use either?)
gopro hero 3+ black - with a protective lens
dji hd-3d gimbal
zenplate to center gopro lens on f550

ive had thoughts of getting the futaba gps telemetry to see altitude and speed etc but i know dji makes something that could diplay this on my fpv googles or monitor, i cant figure why its so much as the naza w gps has all this info already but oh well.

i plan on using the stock dji 4 leg landing gear, i do like the idea of cf retractable but maybe as i build my play piggy bank. Im trading one hobby for another, rc cars, so im whole so dar but running out of dough fast lol.

I do have plans on aerial video for a couple areas, highway construction and local monuments, i plan on discreet safe flying on this craft.

Rob

I'm not an expert with FPV but with my current setup, I have a Tarot T2D gimbal with a 7in screen and not thinking about goggles just for the fact that I get a little disoriented while flying directly from the screen. The gimbal keeps it so stable which to me makes me confuse myself with my inputs. I like the screen attached to the Futaba since I can still keep a direct eye on my quad if I absolutely need to but that's just my personal opinion.

 

[RobBurn]

I'm not an expert with FPV but with my current setup, I have a Tarot T2D gimbal with a 7in screen and not thinking about goggles just for the fact that I get a little disoriented while flying directly from the screen. The gimbal keeps it so stable which to me makes me confuse myself with my inputs. I like the screen attached to the Futaba since I can still keep a direct eye on my quad if I absolutely need to but that's just my personal opinion.

what display are you using? I want to use the dji 5.8ghz with the iosd mark II and a front facing fpv camera (ideas on a basic camera?). Then on the ground i need a display to plug the dji 5.8 into. Im thinking this will give me fpv and at a later date i can add the dji 3d gimbal and gopro and also connect it to iosd apso i can switch between the front facing camera and the gopro as needed.

can someone that has went down this road recommend a fpv camera as well as a display to connect to the dji 5.8 receiver. I want to use a bracket to mount the display to my 14sg

Rob

 

[xsnowb27]

what display are you using? I want to use the dji 5.8ghz with the iosd mark II and a front facing fpv camera (ideas on a basic camera?). Then on the ground i need a display to plug the dji 5.8 into. Im thinking this will give me fpv and at a later date i can add the dji 3d gimbal and gopro and also connect it to iosd apso i can switch between the front facing camera and the gopro as needed.

can someone that has went down this road recommend a fpv camera as well as a display to connect to the dji 5.8 receiver. I want to use a bracket to mount the display to my 14sg

Rob

I started off with a kit from readymaderc.com so it's their "brand" screen. This part I don't know so much as well but I think as long as you get a screen that doesn't give you the "blue screen" when it loses signal you should be good.

 

[Kratos]

This is my first post on this board. I had been away from flying R/C for about 15yrs but went into a local hobby shop to kill some time and started looking inti quads, later I found this site and thread on the DFI F450 build, after reading for a couple of days I went back to the shop and picked up an F450 kit and a DX8 radio. One of the guys at the shop got me hooked up with a guy who used to work for DFI, he checked out my build and programming and cleared me for my first flight. I have been running at least 2 packs a day through it and just wanted to say thanks.
Larry

and a price of ths beautiful quadricopter ? I want something like this

 

[CaptainJustice]

what display are you using? I want to use the dji 5.8ghz with the iosd mark II and a front facing fpv camera (ideas on a basic camera?). Then on the ground i need a display to plug the dji 5.8 into. Im thinking this will give me fpv and at a later date i can add the dji 3d gimbal and gopro and also connect it to iosd apso i can switch between the front facing camera and the gopro as needed.

can someone that has went down this road recommend a fpv camera as well as a display to connect to the dji 5.8 receiver. I want to use a bracket to mount the display to my 14sg

Rob

Readymaderc.com has every one of the items you need including the switch to toggle between fpv camera & GoPro.

 

[RobBurn]

Readymaderc.com has every one of the items you need including the switch to toggle between fpv camera & GoPro.

The switch to toggle between ftv vpcam and gopro will be via my futaba per iosd. I looked at the website as it was mentioned in an earlier post. Im not familiar with them yet, im trying to be careful on where i order and support. Back to the web site, yes they have camera and displays but are out of many and im looking for recommendations based in use not just click and hope it works well, dang i wish i spent more time reading or another $50 bucks. it took me a couple weeks to head to the dji zenmuse 3d , dji 5.8 and iosd based on my searchings and reading of many many posts (did i say many). Now im on the fpv cam and display search that would mount on futaba and work well in heavy sunlight for my area.

Thanks

 

[boba7523]

Hi everyone!

Can someone please tell me the F450 build that provides for the max flight time? Looking to do long distance FPV, not so much acrobatics.

It's too much to read through all these pages. FWIW, I was going with Tarot 680 and read through all the pages in the many threads, but now have decided to go with F450 instead and really don't want to spend another couple of days reading this thread.

Hoping the wizards who have been following this thread closely can offer some quick insight for me.

Thanks guys and happy flying!!!

 

[coreyperez]

Hi everyone!

Can someone please tell me the F450 build that provides for the max flight time? Looking to do long distance FPV, not so much acrobatics.

It's too much to read through all these pages. FWIW, I was going with Tarot 680 and read through all the pages in the many threads, but now have decided to go with F450 instead and really don't want to spend another couple of days reading this thread.

Hoping the wizards who have been following this thread closely can offer some quick insight for me.

Thanks guys and happy flying!!!

Boba,

There isn't really a "one solution" answer. Too many variables in this entire arena. Take even just the simple considerations of weight. Everything weighs differently. Are you going for distance (check out your favorite hunting spot) without recording (less weight) or are you hoping to loiter for long distances and record? Are you having to fly a distance to get there or just watch your launch spot? All these difference make for different answers. Different motors, propellers, batteries, FPV equipment, etc. Even if you have that all nailed down, where are you flying? Florida? (0' PA) or Salt Lake City (5000' PA w/7500 DA). So somebody's solution in New York hovering won't satisfy your needs flying a distance in SLC.

I know it kind of sucks, but sometimes you really have to do the leg work. I'd recommend reading other people's build logs and see what they are getting, etc. Or see if anybody is flying locally and what they are getting. I've seen a video on Youtube of a guy getting nearly an hour of hover time with a "RV" series battery. It was huge, and I'm sure that was about all his total weight capacity with just that battery, but there are numerous differences and changes you can get into to achieve different and sometimes the same solution.

I myself have ditched the F550 in lieu of the 680Pro. Significant limitations of the 550 compared to the 680. But like so many other things, if you want to play with the big(er) boys, you have to pay the bigger boys price. Not as cheap, but many more features and advances.

Sorry, I know its not a simple:
F450 w/ this motor, that ESC, This propeller and a "X" sized cell batter will net you 24minutes.

You have to decide what you want to do and then run down a solution. Many times you will end up with numerous different aircraft to get it done. I myself "ONLY" have 5 Multi-rotors for my tasks and just jumped into the Flying wing platform for true long range & endurance flights.

Corey

 

[RobBurn]

Boba,

There isn't really a "one solution" answer. Too many variables in this entire arena. Take even just the simple considerations of weight. Everything weighs differently. Are you going for distance (check out your favorite hunting spot) without recording (less weight) or are you hoping to loiter for long distances and record? Are you having to fly a distance to get there or just watch your launch spot? All these difference make for different answers. Different motors, propellers, batteries, FPV equipment, etc. Even if you have that all nailed down, where are you flying? Florida? (0' PA) or Salt Lake City (5000' PA w/7500 DA). So somebody's solution in New York hovering won't satisfy your needs flying a distance in SLC.

I know it kind of sucks, but sometimes you really have to do the leg work. I'd recommend reading other people's build logs and see what they are getting, etc. Or see if anybody is flying locally and what they are getting. I've seen a video on Youtube of a guy getting nearly an hour of hover time with a "RV" series battery. It was huge, and I'm sure that was about all his total weight capacity with just that battery, but there are numerous differences and changes you can get into to achieve different and sometimes the same solution.

I myself have ditched the F550 in lieu of the 680Pro. Significant limitations of the 550 compared to the 680. But like so many other things, if you want to play with the big(er) boys, you have to pay the bigger boys price. Not as cheap, but many more features and advances.

Sorry, I know its not a simple:
F450 w/ this motor, that ESC, This propeller and a "X" sized cell batter will net you 24minutes.

You have to decide what you want to do and then run down a solution. Many times you will end up with numerous different aircraft to get it done. I myself "ONLY" have 5 Multi-rotors for my tasks and just jumped into the Flying wing platform for true long range & endurance flights.

Corey

+1. Its a long frustrating road lol, the frustration is the inability to get many of the stores selling items online to respond to any simple questions. If you know exactly what you what your aok, ask simple questions on connectors for products they sell forget it. Im not trying to broad brush but ive had this happen with at least 4 vendors.

i would recommend you go with the authorized 1st tier dealers on what ever products you purchase.

good luck

Rob

 

[xsnowb27]

I second Corey on this one. There is no one real answer and the best thing to do is read anything and everything. You will see mistakes someone else made on top of good choices as well and hopefully learn from someone elses mistakes :tennis: because if you are first starting you will make plenty of your own (I have myself). I'm in Corey's shoe's and I'm looking to upgrade, actually upgrade my F450 to the Tarot 680 pro. This thread is what started my F450 build and I read each and every single post and after it I did some more research and made my purchase of my first multirotor which I am happy I started with what I started with. Research research research is your friend, my friend. If you want an idea to start with, I have an F450, stock with Turnigy nano-tech 5000mah 4s battery APC 9x4.5 props nothing but frame, motors and transmitter got me about 20 minutes of flight time. Now with same frame etc but landing gear, Tarot t2d gimbal, gopro and transmitter I get about 12 minutes of flight time and I'm looking to upgrade to a larger hex.

 

[coreyperez]

The frustrating thing with this hobby (right now) is as RobBurn stated about the retailers and getting their support. The issue is, the stuff is flying off their shelves faster than they can stock it. RMRC for example, (just using them as an example), look at all their FPV kits, "SOLD OUT" is the common answer. This is the case with nearly all retailers. As far as why we can't get support, simply.. They don't have to provide you support. If you don't buy it, somebody else will. They don't need to answer your questions, they KNOW somebody is going to buy it. Now Hobby King, they sell lots of decent stuff at great prices (before the rip-off shipping), now "WE" consumers are always trying to save/make a buck, so somebody goes out and buys ALL the current popular items and now HK is sold out, now this guy goes and doubles the price and puts them on Ebay. Annoying... Half of the reason I buy in bulk with everything I order. Not to resell, but because I'm currently stationed in Korea I deal with nearly 15days before my purchase arrives. If its an international purchase (HK or Ebay) its 30+ to 45 days for THAT to arrive. My Disco Pro (purchased from TBS) took over a month itself!

Right now, all we can do is hope for the best in our purchases. Find what is working for your needs and accept that you may not get the longest flight time but having dependable equipment that works flawless each time is what is (to me) most important vs. the endurance of my craft (flight time). In the long run, THAT is the best purchase, even if you sacrifice duration for durability.

Oh, one last note (this time), even if you did, fine the holy grail of perfect parts, the parts (batteries and motors) degrade and so will your flight time. I've just accepted that getting a decent flight time with robust and dependable components will be your saving grace in the long run.

Corey

 

[boba7523]

Thanks guys.

Here's something you guys might want to consider if you're going for Tarot 680 Pro + GoPro / DSLR + endurance flight. From the insight I've gathered, you get avg. ~10 mins AUW with everything, and I believe ~15 mins. hover. However, if you want longer than that, you will have to get lower 370 KV motor and swing bigger prop (14" or 15"). However, the thing is, you'd need to extend the arms since Tarot 680 Pro only supports max. 13" props.

Now, here's the issue with extending the arms. You will get jello and vibration from the videos, and this is something that's yet to find a fix as of today.

All this info is from Igor's thread on RCGroup. The guy managed to get 30+ mins with AUW on his 680 Pro "Hybrid" (with the extended arm to swing 15" props)

I was ready to jump the gun on 680 Pro until I saw that the jello / vibration issue was not fixable. Another issue is that the folding arms on the 680 Pro might come loose if you keep folding/unfolding it repeatedly, which is something no one wants happening when they're up in the air.

This got me back to the drawing table and I asked myself.... This is going to be my first build and I'm new to RC flying. Do I want to spend over $1,500 on 680 Pro and risk it crashing or flying away? Or should I spend it on maybe a F450 platform? (I'm flying with my Syma X1 at the moment as a trainer already).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyways, back on topic. I didn't phrase my question correctly. I was asking if there are builds within this topic that people had success with going FPV + long distance + endurance? I now remember that this is a beginner thread and most likely everyone followed the build Bart planned out, so it might be a far stretch to see many people customize the build, so I will do a Google search on F450 builds also.

Cheers!

 

[FFL8N]

OK,I've been hanging back for a while now and feel its time for me to chime in. I have ordered two f450, both with Naza 2 M and different transmitters. The 1st one is going to have all the DJI toys, iPad ground station, btu, fpv, ext.I'm building with a friend and our schedules haven't been working together very well, the second is more basic like most of these here are and I'm still waiting for all the parts. I can't wait to get it up and running and do some video. Thanks to everyone for their input on this board!

 

[RobBurn]

OK,I've been hanging back for a while now and feel its time for me to chime in. I have ordered two f450, both with Naza 2 M and different transmitters. The 1st one is going to have all the DJI toys, iPad ground station, btu, fpv, ext.I'm building with a friend and our schedules haven't been working together very well, the second is more basic like most of these here are and I'm still waiting for all the parts. I can't wait to get it up and running and do some video. Thanks to everyone for their input on this board!

Hello, something to consider. i built a f550 dji and flew it for a month or so without any camera or fpv. After i felt i understood how it performed ie. i knew flight time based on lipo. Now in my area the temp in the morning is 60-70 and afternoons it is 90-110 and flight time changes. I really only fly in the morning right now as i know the high temps are not smart to fly the electronics in.

Getting to my point, i just added the eveything to do fpv using the gopro 3+ black. So iosd mark ii ( this and not the mini as it can handle two cameras and powers them- i hate its only metric), dji 5.8 tx and rx and a zenplate to center the gopro on the new 3d gimbal. I tell you what as ive read others say that the 450 is a smaller platform and space is an issue, i dont have a 450 but i can tell you that the 550 had me scratching my head on placements of the items. It is not like living on 5 acres and all the room to place electronics. Im thinking if you had a good set of landing gear like xerocraft it would give you more room to hang things on, i went with the long dji white legs that have a spring like build that actually saved my maiden fpv run when i was a bit higher than i should have and was flying in the heat of the afternoon and the lipo fell of the curve and it did its auto descent and did a small bounce on the ground. I wanted to do some CF landing gear but i didnt want the weight at this time but the idea of having more room to place vtx transmitter and balance the gopro with the lipo is appealing. Right now i balance it all with the lipo on the top plate to make sure the cg is in the center.

If you find a 450 build that shows placement of all the items you are wanted to run that is most of the battle. I poured though the web pages for my 550 build and they all differed greatly except the naza in the middle of the plate, from there its all different and i kept thinking how close is to close in terms of interference.

ok with that im getting 14 minutes flying around 1/2 mile and about 300 feet high. The total weight is 2275 grams. Im running a single 4s 5000 zippy 30C. Im planning on trying a 8000 4s and see if i can get closer to 20 min. I can go up in bat as the basic white landing gear has kept my weight down. Something i didnt do since this is all new and really trial and error, im suprised how litttle there is on where to locate electronics, it would be nice to know based on the item what it throws off in rf interference and how far to minimize any issues. We all read about fly aways and think we will somehow escape them but until we fully understand the issue its a crap shoot.

Anyhow please think of the end game lipos and all and add up all the grams and are you below the crafts payload recommendation? I didnt do this but i am below the 2800g i believe is the f550 total weight

it is incredible the video im getting with this setup. Im working on how far i can fly using the fpv i got a 8" display i have on a tripod, right now im in the county at my home just playing with it but l plan to fly some roadway construction sites we oversee when i feel comfortable enough.

enjoy

Rob

 

[Gary Seven]

More details on my F450.

Placement details


LED "corn light" detail
View attachment 19058

An overall pic -- this with the APC 9x4.7 props. Notice the "glowing" front leg. I only painted the outer-facing side and did not paint the rear legs although the arm ends at the motor mount/feet area each got the orange on front and green on rear. I may paint the rear ones also. That fluorescent paint really shows up and now with the lights, I KNOW which direction the craft is pointed.
View attachment 19059

Parts list -- I was asked in a PM for my parts list and thought I'd throw it out here in case anyone else was interested.
Stock DJI F450 with NAZA-M w/ GPS
The props you see in this photo are APC 9x4.7 -- I'm thinking the stock 8" are overall the best.
Batwings fore and aft from IrisAerial (http://www.irisaerial.com/products.html)
Landing legs also from irisaerial + fluorescent orange paint from the local hardware store.

All of the LED components were from HobbyKing -- caution, all from Hong Kong so some delivery delay.

Description	Quantity	Unit Price
LED Corn Light 12V 1.8W (9 LED) - White (2pcs)	1	US$2.66
LED Corn Light 12V 1.8W (9 LED) - Green (2pcs)	1	US$2.66
LED Corn Light 12V 1.8W (9 LED) - Red (2pcs)	1	US$2.66
130mm Corn Light Adapter With JST Female Connector	4	US$0.95

12V 4.5A UBEC 2-5S Lipoly (7.2-21V)	1	US$8.00
JST-XH to JST LED Power Distribution Lead (6 JST)	1	US$1.99

No special mount for the GoPro -- it's mounted directly to the bottom side of the Batwing using the standard GoPro adhesive mount.

Radio is Futaba T8FG Super (a/k/a 8FGS) with the R6208SB receiver.
Battery is Pulse 4S 4100 mAh.
Charger is a Hyperion 1420iNet3.
The F450, radio, battery, charger were all purchased from HeliDirect.

On the 8" props with a 90% charge on the battery I get 14:45 in hover and always get 10 minutes or better in "mild" flight.

I hope this helps someone. This was my first MR and my first build of anything like it.

CaptainJustice, I know I'm a super latecomer to this thread but thank you so much for this post. Lot's of info to process and dwell upon.

 

[chadwyk]

I am a complete newb and have wanted to get into this for a while. I have some cash that is burning a hole in my pocket and I want one of these! I just spent the last 4 hours reading all these posts and watching the videos. I think I may have to price out some of this stuff and place some orders tomorrow! I think the bug has bitten me!

 

[Bartman]

I am a complete newb and have wanted to get into this for a while. I have some cash that is burning a hole in my pocket and I want one of these! I just spent the last 4 hours reading all these posts and watching the videos. I think I may have to price out some of this stuff and place some orders tomorrow! I think the bug has bitten me!

welcome to the site chadwyk.....i'm glad you guys are continuing to discover this thread and put the information in it to good use.

please let me know where the gaps are in the videos and other information. i wouldn't mind adding to the video collection that is at the beginning of the thread.

good luck to those of you that are getting started, congrats to those that are completing the process with successful first flights.

With all FPV flying, please be aware of the threats to the hobby in the US and remain within line-of-sight and below 400 ft. Do not fly around accidents or emergency sites as this can create a hazard to emergency response personnel/vehicles on the ground and in the air.

Thanks!
Bart

 

[Gary Seven]

welcome to the site chadwyk.....i'm glad you guys are continuing to discover this thread and put the information in it to good use.

please let me know where the gaps are in the videos and other information. i wouldn't mind adding to the video collection that is at the beginning of the thread.

good luck to those of you that are getting started, congrats to those that are completing the process with successful first flights.
<snip>

Thanks!
Bart

Hey Bart. I do have a suggestion for filling a gap in the videos, which I'll post later. But first, a "how to do this on this website" functional question:

Is there a way to post a question while at the same time flagging a particular user here? In Google Plus, when posting or responding to a post, you can alert a user to your post by putting a "+" before his/her username. So if I want to post to this thread but am afraid Bart won't see it because there are probably 100's of various threads he peruses, I would somewhere in the post place "+bartman" and he would see said notification on his end. Right now, I'm thinking the only way to get the attentions of some of the regulars here is to post the same question (ie, new thread) in various sub-forums. IOW, x-posting.

Any thoughts on this? Thanks!