QuadCopter Drone Inventory Check

At Last, my Quadcopter kit has arrived!!!

I'll zoom into the pictures later to
show the actual detail.

Still to arrive is the Battery, a decent battery charger and of course a LiPo fire proof bag!!!

Eventually, I'll need to break out my video camera and show some technical details, like soldering wiring of PDB board, ESC, Motors, etc.

So ordering all of the kit on the cheap from Ebay or Amazon, means that most of the kit came from China... So let's run through the kit and see where I messed up and review the quality of components.

Quadcopter Carbon Fibre Chassis Kit

The kit is Carbon fibre, and very good quality. However, the landing legs would not fit to the quad arms, where the motor will be housed. I'll get to that problem later, I might even invent a new under carriage system later...

PDB with NAZE 32

A PDB is a Power Distribution Board, they come in many shapes and sizes and provide a neat way to distribute power from the battery. They are not essential, as we could use wiring to directly interface each component. However, as the wires must be capable of high current loads and are heavier gauge, the PCB effectively reduces weight and makes the QuadCopter much neater and nicer to look at.

I messed up with the Naze 32 though, as I ordered it with all pins installed, which is fine if you have a traditional PDB. However, this custom Naze PDB actually allows the Naze to be fitteded into the core of the PDB... So I need to remove all soldered connectors on the NAZE and start again.
I'll video this Naze modification later in another blog with high definition pictures and video to help others with the same problem...

Remote Controller

I ordered a FlySky 6 channel remote controller, which comes with the Quadcopter receiver unit ready to go. I keep reading that 9 channel R/C is better, but £40 quid versus £90 quid swayed me a little and as I am on a budget a 6 channel R/C should be fine for now.

I suppose that time will tell...

ESC, Motor and Props

This where I need to do some research, but for now I ordered 2400KV motors, two clockwise and two counterclockwise, which is a mandactory for a quadcopter. I also ordered SimonK 12Amp ESC, as they were paired with the motors. However, looking at the pitcure, looks like I have 1 CW and 3 CCW, we will see when I wire these up:(

I have heard that the ESC and motor combination is the ultimate match for peformance, time will tell on this decision, again my budget was to fly for under £200 UK Sterling with a remote controller, I did well, but will be looking in more detail at motors and ESC to get maximum performance from the frame, once we are flying...

How Much Did it Cost?

The full kit cost £145.00 UK sterling. However, this does not include FPV equipment. This equipment just allows line of site control of the quadcopter, phase one if you.like.
We will add the FPV kit later, it's been ordered at about £60 UK sterling with camera, transmitter and reception equipment incliuding full face goggles, I can't waith for this phase 2 step!!!

Sounds too cheap, let's see if it's OK for beginners...Tiger Shark's are the ultimate gear, but at £200+ just for googles, it's a bit out of my range fro now,,,

Make it Cheaper

I could have saved money on the PDB going for a simpler design and I could have saved £15 by using the CC3D or Andoer or KK Mini flight controllers. However, with full Naze 32, we can modify the operating system software and add functionality, which is my main goal here.

Make it Easier

If anyone is interested in acquiring this kit as is without being built, leave a comment, I can set up a paypal link. If you need it soldered, built and tested I can also try to work this out for you, just leave a comment, I'll update this BLOG later...

Help is at hand

If you need help with your kit, just ask. Ask away, drones are a great hobby, we should all help each other for free!

Get in Touch

If you would like high quality images, just email me for these, I can send direct to you.

Bob Pickles
rgpickles@googlemail.com