I absolutely love this idea and will be building one myself! Please continue to tinker with this platform as it could be a great intro into the hobby for many people as well as fun for veteran flyers!
Dave, Since we have a nice little 13a 6in1 stack to play with, how about a smaller sized hexa for say... 2.5in props. I can only think of a handful of frames, some no longer available. I personnaly would like to design one using the camera cage from the Armattan Bobcat or Roma F4 and a one piece mainplate.
An you are doing some great stuff for this hobby i appreciate it, for the build you are doing that battery idea is awsome i would recommend to incorporate that battery holder in the top plade that would take some weight down from carbon and trim this holder down to essentials it will definitely be the best battery changing systems. Love your videos i have been a silent viewer but today i thought i sould appreciate your work and just let my thoughts out for this quad
thank you! Yes indeed making the tray a structural part of the frame is the next step imo. If the tray/small contact area actually handles the amp draw
Great build and vid! On the battery harness question: it is 8g, but how much does the connectors and wires weigh? As you would be replacing them it wouldn't be a 8g increase but rather something like 3-4g. Not to mention less damage to the batteries if you can avoid soldering on the wires. Being able to use just about any 18650 without modifications would be ideal in a consumer sense as you wouldn't need dedicated batteries for the quad. Great video and I'm looking forward to your next project!
You’re likely aware that in the USA, the FAA has released new rules for drones over 250 grams that will make them more complex and more expensive. Thus, we need to focus more effort on lightweight drones. I LOVE your idea. There are many of us that want to cruise around not race or perform acrobatics. Please continue to improve small, light, cruisers.
I'm using 18500 and 18350 li-ions with good results. The cells in a Tesla batt would be cool to try, dielectric grease can help with battery holder amp potential. A tpu printed battery holder could be undersized so it applies pressure when stretched over a li-ion cell as well I am modelling a simple stl for that. Great project you have there.
I. Want. One. NOW - This is amazing!!! If you could put a 1st revision on thingiverse (before you make a properly revised one) that would be cool but I don't want anyone stealing any designs off you haha!
Also the idea with the bracket for the batterie is dope-that would make it possible to have a hand full of dirt cheap batteries in ur pocket,ready to pop them in one after another and fly for ages -btw have you thought about 3D printing a custom bracket?-because one technically would just need the two contacts fixed on both sides,for fixating the batterie u still could use a strap(so using like a minimalistic bracket and something like a rubber band)-I imagine that could save some weight and would also make mounting easier
I'm building a 3" Roma L3 before I seen this. But not going efficient since I'm just going to use spare parts which means either 1207 or 1206 5000 or 6000kv motors I have laying around. If going efficient I'd prob do 1303 or 1202.5 in 5000kV 4S. Just for the power and when voltage dropping its not an almost 50% loss in power
Hi🙂 great video and work looks cool. I had a similar problem with rx/vtx dropping out when u came down under 3.3v. I solved that issue by soldering a cap on the 3.3v rail.
@@DaveCFPV Of course! But I have a feeling you'll make it happen. :) And at least as you noted in the video - the flight characteristics are good. And I didn't find the footage to be bad; I don't care about HD footage/etc, I just want to experience flight. I'm very glad you "invented" this segment and gave it a catchy name - it really caught on. This is the type of flying I want to do. I don't care about racing, and I don't care about crazy freestyle tricks. I just want to fly around and enjoy that experience. But 99.9% of the quads out there are geared towards either racing and/or freestyle and are set up rather "hot." I can and do fly them but it's just not as fun as it could be. This "nanoLR" thing is great because it keeps the costs down. I don't have a ton of money to spend on the hobby. I'll never go digital for instance. I don't need it, and I have analog gear that works just fine. I do need Crossfire for long range, and I'll find a way to budget the module for my X9D. I'll be watching the Nano LR evolution for sure!
use flex cables(much thinner cables..), larger propellers mostly for hoovering... reduce skeleton... and swap to the new battery technologies.... maybe 2 battery... :P also try get mobile phone camera or laptop which are much smaller/lightweight... shift to pico pcbs if avaliable... and do not spy (:
Hello Dave, What you think about 21700 holder instead of 18650? 72g for 5000mAh/35A cell vs 46g for 2600mAh/35A cell. Almost +100% capacity and + 26g. Additional range +60-70%? :)
Hi Dave, thank you for sharing this amazing project. I would like to try to build it and I wanted to give a try with gps too... Do you know if is possible to remap something on the HGLRC Zeus5 to connect a gps too? Thanks in advance! F.
I think the contact resistance of those battery holders will far outweigh any benefits in convenience. I've had nothing but misery with goggle battery box. Not the fatshark, but another one. I tried setting it up for in-box charging with a separate, dedicated balance lead for charging, and none of my chargers cant manage the percieved internal resistance of the cell, once the contact resistance is in the equation. i suspect you will experience the reciprocal under higher current discharge. Also, What kind of 18650 are those? I have been searching through all of the discarded power tool batteries I can find, and I find it's really not worth flying them unless my ISDT shows an internal resistance under 20mOhm or below under charge. I have packs that are between 50-80 mOhm per cell, but the sag under load is pretty rough. I need to go zero throttle from time to tie to look at the voltage after it's recovered to assess the state of the pack. Also, What is that frame?. Did you shrink the 4 inch flywoo style deadcat frame down more? is it for sale? I kind of want to build one of these and try it out.
will magnets instead of battery tray be a lighter solution? Idk if they would have any affect on FC but it seems logical to me to just strap a battery on and then stick magnets to each end go fly
I've been working on one of these as well! I'm trying the matek "1s to 5v" converter. Didnt realize the old happymodel fc I would power up, but the escs are 2s minimum. I plugged in 2s to test and killed my bec. Still looking for the right guts. I'd love to be able to use a 5v unify and GPS. I'll be following this one! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiments!
Search on aliexpress for multifunction mini boost module step up board. They are not even 3 bucks for ten. They are light and can provide 5v/8v/9v or 10V at 1.5Amp max with an input as low as 2.5v. I am using one to power my vtx and gps. Under 3V it struggles to deliver the power needed for the gps and vtx at 500mw, but 250mw on the vtx is no problem.
Amazing, love to see where this goes! But 1S does seem to bring some issues, how about making it 2S? i guess it should be able to carry 2 18650's with the right motor Kv/size (thining something like 1303/1204 6000kv? or maybe just staying with 1202.5 but lower kv), and that way you could even slap on a 3S lipo to have great power. 2 18650's could go as low as 4.4v when being safe, but i think the electronics are fine with that?
Look for Kenji Lin channel on YT. He shows how to figure out problem with heavy gps antenna 🙂. Hello from Kazakhstan. Is there some Aio FC with working on 1S and 2S simultaneously on the market? With 2S you can use more efficient vtx (look for Kenji Lin project) and do not use step-up booster. Dcdc convertors loose some energy to conversation.
Hello Dave, again a very good video from you. But tell me, where is your long range video what you in Germany / Bayern recorded with the DJI FPV Goggles? I can no longer find it on your TH-cam channel. many Greetings Mike
Do you think adding 2 small super capacitors in series might help? Probably could try 2 2.7v6f in series charge them to 4.2v before flying. I think it might boost the power output and those super capacitors shouldn’t weigh more than a few grams.
Hello, new-ish to drones. I have a drone and skyzone 02c. How realistic is it for me to be able to enjoy a drone like this for cruising in my neighborhood with all the wifi signals n all?
@@DutchCommando You should look at vape batteries. I just bought a pair of 21700 4000mah 30amp samsung 40T batteries. There are a bunch of very strong vape batteries. In 18650 size too. Either way though. Awesome vid.
Would a higher KV be more suitable for li-ion 1S voltages? Could provide more usable throttle range. Battery tray is a great idea to swap li-ion cells quickly! Could the battery tray be integrated into the carbon fiber frame? Save weight and make the tray structural to add strength.
Dave ive been thinking they need to intigrate gps on fc (like cell phones). Would be good for this class. I put an 18650 on a savagebee, it got super fat 11 min cruise times at 10+ amps on ph2.0 10k motors, bout all ive got in this. Needs higher kv motors I believe. I personally just want an 18650 craft. Idc about going range.
If amp draw is below 5A, wouldn`t it be better to use 3450mAh 18650 like samsung 35e? Weight is about the same, but the it has more capacity (And even longer flight times). It provides max 8amps but it would be enough?...
Has anybody tried reverse-engineering DJI batteries? My Mini 2 uses a lipo and flies for over 20 minutes. It's not doing any acro but that's still pretty good.
awesome! loving all the lr stuff man!! your designs got me back into long (mid) range so thank you! also this is something you should totally pursue i want one already.
Well I'm messing around with 1s babytooths too. Here are some ideas: -I'm using no prop screws and it's fine (flywoo robo 1202.5) -There is no need for a top plate, 3d printed parts cold hold the battery. -You could save weight by using the Caddy Ant lite (1.5g). -Did you try the Gaoneng 1s 3000maH Lipo? -Try the Happymodel CrazybeeX with integrated 200mW VTX. On 1s you won't need a capacitor either. -There needs to be some kind of higher quality video recording which is for me the main selling point of mid/long range. Naked insta360go? Runcam split 3 lite? Thanks for being creative and innovative! BTW, I'm using your Sanchez lite design on my babytooth :-)
I am starting a build to, and opted for a dvr vtx. The fpv cam feed is recorded before it enters the fc. The caddx ant gives pretty good footage straight from the cam, although not HD, it is good quality.
May be this could help getting HD cam on board?- Insta 360 Go naked (just 6-7 grams) th-cam.com/video/MRIJbOpMeEo/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=Unboxingexperience7
I’m super stoked about this one,I’d love to y one in the future-please continue your great work and hopefully bring it to the market/teach us how to build our own ones-keep it up!
I am extremely interested in suh a drone for some automated cruising. I would like to develop an automatic landing on a pad where I could charge the battery with a custom NFC wireless charger. This would need of course an additional chip/PCB on the quad but should not be more than some grams.
Love the idea! Few ideas while watching: (1) could you shorten the top plate at the front and print PLA standoffs that you could attach the camera directly to instead of separate TPU mounts? (2) Instead of a battery holder, could you print (PLA again maybe?) two end pieces that can be attached to the top plate (maybe using slots cut in the plate?) with contacts for the battery? (3) if you do mount the battery a simple switch might save weight for wires to the FC as well as for the connectors?
1. Press-fitting those props is more than enough to keep them in place 2. Crazybee f4 lite actually has 350mw vtx (at power level 2), however it still shuts down at 2.7v (ESCs started rebooting during my tests). I will try to modify 5v step-up circuit there to accept lower voltages, but don't know when... 3. You should try 4" props on those 1202.5 motors. You may say it's a lot for them, but hear me out: once I've seen 1102 10k kv motors flying on 5045 props, and they were handling well! So I think that will be enough 4. Try making simple dipole for GPS, it should be enough Overall: once again, very interesting video exploring new unknown territories
Dipole gps is possible and has been used on ultra light quads before, example: th-cam.com/video/Y3W4kHxwa6I/w-d-xo.html He even made a 'tutorial ' on how to make a 2g gps module th-cam.com/video/vG7qsOne8Mc/w-d-xo.html As long as the drone has a camera on it can't be classified as a toy by the new EU rules. Toys is only for quads sub 250 without a camera.
@@FilipRadelic about 2-Xs ESCs: they're using linear voltage regulators, that have (most of the time) about 0.5v minimum dropout, and FORTIOR mosfet drivers that shut down at about 4.7-5v at their input. So, at 5.5v on the battery you have about 5v at mosfet drivers input, and they're shutting down. 1-Xs boards don't have that issue, because they're driving mosfets directly from ESC MCU, but MCUs themselves have lov voltage watchdog, that resets if the voltage drops too low
Many years ago I had designed a microscopic low pass filter for FPV micro quads that is few grams, it never became a product. If you're interested I still should have the file at OSHpark and you should be able to order it and solder it.
Maybe you could make a unibody with a top mounted battery. You could use a toothpick style stack in the front, with the camera on top of it, and have the battery sit behind it in the frame. This would eliminate the weight from the screws, standoffs and top plate.
Awesome. I did some 18650 flights with that same cell on a 1S Baby Tooth. After a bunch of flights I was getting a consistent 9-10min of actual no holding back FPV flight. I could get another 3-5min of hovering around but not enough power to have any fun with. The new 1S FC we've made has a min operating voltage of ~2.3-2.5v with the hopes that something like this would be closer to possible. I found 1103 motors to be more efficient. I can't totally explain why and the performance definitely suffers a bit but it was definitely more efficient. My best guess is the voltage better saturates the stator and the taller magnets give it the ability to maintain more rpm with less power. A couple years back, Chad Nowak did some calculations and came up with the ideal weight on a 3" prop at 90g. Pretty intesting that were around that weight and the overall performance even on just 1s really is quite surprising. Disk loading is proving more valuable than I thought. Those battery holders unfortunately don't conduct amps as well as a solder. Similarly, it's a bit sketchy but covering the battery ends really limits the cooling potential of the cell. The ends of the cell cool it better than around the body. The amp draw is high for the single cell so the cooler the better. I considered trying to squeeze more performance out of such a thing but ultimately gave up on it because of the lack of watts to do much with. Also, I didn't test this because I only use xt30 but moving to an xt30 alone could give you more flight time and performance. In my testing I found the gnb27 to be just a tiny bit better than the BT2. Both are way overshadowed by the unfortunately much heavier xt30 and I've found these things in even 1s benefit from that.
Awesome, thanks for the inputs, Bob! It's really quite surprising how well these 1S platforms can perform. I probably wouldn't have believed it if someone told me that you can properly run a quadcopter with only 2.5V on the power supply. The lack of power further down the voltage range is less of a concern for something geared towards being a mid-range cruiser. The tray thing might indeed be too inefficient but it's worth a try. I have one with large gold plated contacts that look promising. The convenience of just popping a cheap and widely available 18650 in and get 15min flight time is just too appealing.
For the battery holder, you don’t need all the plastic in between the contacts. Just the ends that could possibly snap into the top plate. I would say skip the gps unless you figure a way to lose some more of the weight and keep it working. I would fly it
All of the outer "casing" of the battery is "ground", so you don't have to run the full metal bar from the other side, you can just open up the protective shrink wrap by the positive pole, and solder them kinda next to each other!
it would be awesome to see a 1s 18650 but using one of those "battery holders" like we had on toy rc cars or in our remotes.. im sure current draw is an issue for those but it would be pretty awesome to have a box of 18650s raw and just pop them in and out and not have to solder leads to them! i think it would help the people who are warry of 18650 soldering!
@@DaveCFPV isn't there a workaround possible? Maybe designing a totally new fc. Those hglrc guys have huge resources. Or maybe a different processor? It would be a big deal in the hobby , especially being the first to pull this off. Just thinking out loud, but i love your little projects, and i hope the future of drones brings us more use of visual processors , 5G , openCV, companion computers, high modulus carbon.......something like the Tello but with brushless motors and carbon fiber . In the meantime i keep a close watch on your channel.
Seems interesting. I like any project that is pushed with ideas outside the box per se but I am just not sure it is really something that is going to be a winner for many. Cheers to your constant search for something different in FPV tho.
This looks like an interesting idea, I really hope you’re able to figure out all the kinks. It would be amazing if you can figure out how to just pop in an 18650. Hopefully new technologies will make this even more viable. Keep innovating and stay safe.
For your GPS antenna testing, you might look at a nanoVNA. This allows you to meausre the impedance of your antenna so you can tune it properly. You might also look into GPS fractal antenna designs. Also it would be interesting to see a breakdown by weight of all the components to see determine where removing weight would give you the best gains.
Fantastic, Love the idea. I've played around with "Nano type" LR /MR quads. I did a 2s versions off of your original 3in MLR with TinyHawk internals and had loads of fun with it. This is very cool and would love to see this come out in the REKON line someday. Big fan of all your work, thanks for sharing your FPV knowledge. Looking forward to more on this little guy, love it!
The looks are perfect. The printed frame (in PETG) is durable and nice. Unfortunately the performance isn't that great (not at all), so we use 2S 18350 cells soldered in length. It fits the frame perfectly, the performance is sooo much better, and the full capacity from the cells is available. Good LC filter, perfect FPV image, much better tune flying without jitter and vibrations. We use the Keeppower IMR18350 (1200 milli's, 10A) cells.
Yes, please pursue, I think this small long /mid range platform is awesome 👏🏻
I absolutely love this idea and will be building one myself! Please continue to tinker with this platform as it could be a great intro into the hobby for many people as well as fun for veteran flyers!
Looking forward to see where this leads!
Dave. Stop coming up wih such cool toys. Some of us as going to go bankrupt...😂
Dave,
Since we have a nice little 13a 6in1 stack to play with, how about a smaller sized hexa for say...
2.5in props.
I can only think of a handful of frames, some no longer available.
I personnaly would like to design one using the camera cage from the Armattan Bobcat or Roma F4 and a one piece mainplate.
The 3D printed version is already popping up on Facebook. Congrats.
Replace all screws & nuts including Prop screws with Nylon screws, this save weight, rotating weight and can save the prop during strikes.
An you are doing some great stuff for this hobby i appreciate it, for the build you are doing that battery idea is awsome i would recommend to incorporate that battery holder in the top plade that would take some weight down from carbon and trim this holder down to essentials it will definitely be the best battery changing systems. Love your videos i have been a silent viewer but today i thought i sould appreciate your work and just let my thoughts out for this quad
thank you! Yes indeed making the tray a structural part of the frame is the next step imo. If the tray/small contact area actually handles the amp draw
@@DaveCFPV well for the amps just bend some copper sheet and vola you have pretty robust thing to handle amps
Super cool. You talk tech so well. Thanks for sharing.
Great build and vid!
On the battery harness question: it is 8g, but how much does the connectors and wires weigh? As you would be replacing them it wouldn't be a 8g increase but rather something like 3-4g.
Not to mention less damage to the batteries if you can avoid soldering on the wires.
Being able to use just about any 18650 without modifications would be ideal in a consumer sense as you wouldn't need dedicated batteries for the quad.
Great video and I'm looking forward to your next project!
Thanks! Yes If I use the tray as structural part of the frame it could be weight neutral.
You’re likely aware that in the USA, the FAA has released new rules for drones over 250 grams that will make them more complex and more expensive. Thus, we need to focus more effort on lightweight drones. I LOVE your idea. There are many of us that want to cruise around not race or perform acrobatics. Please continue to improve small, light, cruisers.
I'm using 18500 and 18350 li-ions with good results. The cells in a Tesla batt would be cool to try, dielectric grease can help with battery holder amp potential. A tpu printed battery holder could be undersized so it applies pressure when stretched over a li-ion cell as well I am modelling a simple stl for that. Great project you have there.
Integrate the battery holder into the body of the unit. 3D print it then put your own connectors in it.
Yes don't stop looking in to it. even with the GPS if it doesn't go over 250g it will be a fantastic craft. How could you increase the stability?
what a great video and drone and yes i think u do need to keep working with this type of drone its the future for us in the fpv thank u
The gears in my head are turning - the thought of using a single 18650 in a holder is awesome!
wow that lion cell looks so cute on that lil drone
I. Want. One. NOW - This is amazing!!! If you could put a 1st revision on thingiverse (before you make a properly revised one) that would be cool but I don't want anyone stealing any designs off you haha!
Also the idea with the bracket for the batterie is dope-that would make it possible to have a hand full of dirt cheap batteries in ur pocket,ready to pop them in one after another and fly for ages -btw have you thought about 3D printing a custom bracket?-because one technically would just need the two contacts fixed on both sides,for fixating the batterie u still could use a strap(so using like a minimalistic bracket and something like a rubber band)-I imagine that could save some weight and would also make mounting easier
I'm building a 3" Roma L3 before I seen this. But not going efficient since I'm just going to use spare parts which means either 1207 or 1206 5000 or 6000kv motors I have laying around.
If going efficient I'd prob do 1303 or 1202.5 in 5000kV 4S. Just for the power and when voltage dropping its not an almost 50% loss in power
Not considering weight, I'd say that
UART VTX control < UART GPS.
If you're using this quad for LR, you probably never need to touch the VTX settings.
Hi🙂 great video and work looks cool.
I had a similar problem with rx/vtx dropping out when u came down under 3.3v. I solved that issue by soldering a cap on the 3.3v rail.
This is a great idea! The smaller the better, and 2-3km is pretty good! RekonFPV going to produce this?
Only if it really works well. This is way to sketchy for a real product at the moment
@@DaveCFPV Of course! But I have a feeling you'll make it happen. :)
And at least as you noted in the video - the flight characteristics are good. And I didn't find the footage to be bad; I don't care about HD footage/etc, I just want to experience flight.
I'm very glad you "invented" this segment and gave it a catchy name - it really caught on. This is the type of flying I want to do. I don't care about racing, and I don't care about crazy freestyle tricks. I just want to fly around and enjoy that experience. But 99.9% of the quads out there are geared towards either racing and/or freestyle and are set up rather "hot." I can and do fly them but it's just not as fun as it could be.
This "nanoLR" thing is great because it keeps the costs down. I don't have a ton of money to spend on the hobby. I'll never go digital for instance. I don't need it, and I have analog gear that works just fine. I do need Crossfire for long range, and I'll find a way to budget the module for my X9D.
I'll be watching the Nano LR evolution for sure!
use flex cables(much thinner cables..), larger propellers mostly for hoovering... reduce skeleton... and swap to the new battery technologies.... maybe 2 battery... :P also try get mobile phone camera or laptop which are much smaller/lightweight... shift to pico pcbs if avaliable... and do not spy (:
I think the 18650 thing is so cool was thinking of it myself awesome dude
Hello Dave,
What you think about 21700 holder instead of 18650?
72g for 5000mAh/35A cell vs 46g for 2600mAh/35A cell. Almost +100% capacity and + 26g. Additional range +60-70%? :)
Hi Dave, thank you for sharing this amazing project. I would like to try to build it and I wanted to give a try with gps too... Do you know if is possible to remap something on the HGLRC Zeus5 to connect a gps too? Thanks in advance! F.
I think the contact resistance of those battery holders will far outweigh any benefits in convenience. I've had nothing but misery with goggle battery box. Not the fatshark, but another one. I tried setting it up for in-box charging with a separate, dedicated balance lead for charging, and none of my chargers cant manage the percieved internal resistance of the cell, once the contact resistance is in the equation. i suspect you will experience the reciprocal under higher current discharge. Also, What kind of 18650 are those? I have been searching through all of the discarded power tool batteries I can find, and I find it's really not worth flying them unless my ISDT shows an internal resistance under 20mOhm or below under charge. I have packs that are between 50-80 mOhm per cell, but the sag under load is pretty rough. I need to go zero throttle from time to tie to look at the voltage after it's recovered to assess the state of the pack.
Also, What is that frame?. Did you shrink the 4 inch flywoo style deadcat frame down more? is it for sale? I kind of want to build one of these and try it out.
will magnets instead of battery tray be a lighter solution? Idk if they would have any affect on FC but it seems logical to me to just strap a battery on and then stick magnets to each end go fly
Use a 5 volt step up that should help I don't know just ideal
O and you can use a lc filter for noise very small component and works well
Nickel Plated Spring Steel SMD SMT 18650 Battery Contact Clip
I'm sure its been said but you probably don't need any screws on the props. I run my under 2s stuff without prop screws
2mm props on 1.5mm shaft :-D I ordered new ones...
I've been working on one of these as well! I'm trying the matek "1s to 5v" converter. Didnt realize the old happymodel fc I would power up, but the escs are 2s minimum. I plugged in 2s to test and killed my bec. Still looking for the right guts. I'd love to be able to use a 5v unify and GPS. I'll be following this one! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiments!
Search on aliexpress for multifunction mini boost module step up board. They are not even 3 bucks for ten. They are light and can provide 5v/8v/9v or 10V at 1.5Amp max with an input as low as 2.5v. I am using one to power my vtx and gps. Under 3V it struggles to deliver the power needed for the gps and vtx at 500mw, but 250mw on the vtx is no problem.
@@DutchCommando Nice! Thanks for that! :)
Whant to see more!
Amazing, love to see where this goes!
But 1S does seem to bring some issues, how about making it 2S? i guess it should be able to carry 2 18650's with the right motor Kv/size (thining something like 1303/1204 6000kv? or maybe just staying with 1202.5 but lower kv), and that way you could even slap on a 3S lipo to have great power. 2 18650's could go as low as 4.4v when being safe, but i think the electronics are fine with that?
Amazing work! Would this be able to handle a Insta360 Go? Thank you in advance
Look for Kenji Lin channel on YT. He shows how to figure out problem with heavy gps antenna 🙂. Hello from Kazakhstan. Is there some Aio FC with working on 1S and 2S simultaneously on the market? With 2S you can use more efficient vtx (look for Kenji Lin project) and do not use step-up booster. Dcdc convertors loose some energy to conversation.
th-cam.com/video/vG7qsOne8Mc/w-d-xo.html here about 2g gps
Maybe you could build the clips for the battery into the frame? Somehow isolated and run leads to them from the fc for power?
Hello Dave,
again a very good video from you.
But tell me, where is your long range video
what you in Germany / Bayern
recorded with the DJI FPV Goggles?
I can no longer find it on your TH-cam channel.
many Greetings
Mike
Do you think adding 2 small super capacitors in series might help? Probably could try 2 2.7v6f in series charge them to 4.2v before flying. I think it might boost the power output and those super capacitors shouldn’t weigh more than a few grams.
Super cool
Hello, new-ish to drones. I have a drone and skyzone 02c. How realistic is it for me to be able to enjoy a drone like this for cruising in my neighborhood with all the wifi signals n all?
It looks like Rocketman is carrying an 18650 battery on his back.
Why are you using that specific battery? Size? Weight? I would use an 18650 or 21700 4000mah.. Or is that too heavy?
The vtc6 18650 cell is the only cell that can deliver 30Amps continuous and does not drop voltage below 3V as other 18650 cells
@@DutchCommando You should look at vape batteries. I just bought a pair of 21700 4000mah 30amp samsung 40T batteries. There are a bunch of very strong vape batteries. In 18650 size too.
Either way though. Awesome vid.
The VTC has the most interesting ratios of C-Rating vs. Weight vs. Capacity :-)
hi i love your videos! and was wondering do you know how much amp is it pulling on that 18650?
My question too
Would a higher KV be more suitable for li-ion 1S voltages? Could provide more usable throttle range.
Battery tray is a great idea to swap li-ion cells quickly! Could the battery tray be integrated into the carbon fiber frame? Save weight and make the tray structural to add strength.
What kind of gps antenna do our phones use? Those must be tiny
Hello, can i build this quad with the frame of the explorer lr? or is their another carbonframe to use with 1S 18650?
Interesting concept!
Dave ive been thinking they need to intigrate gps on fc (like cell phones). Would be good for this class. I put an 18650 on a savagebee, it got super fat 11 min cruise times at 10+ amps on ph2.0 10k motors, bout all ive got in this. Needs higher kv motors I believe. I personally just want an 18650 craft. Idc about going range.
Maybe you can use your weight with hglrc to make us some better motors or something.
we need a light 7er
Very cool class
I have a geprc phantom and was already thinking could it fly off one 18650 so there is an interest in this idea.
What's the discharge rate on the LiIon you are using? Is the frame available for purchase?
He stated it were vtc6 cells. Those are rated at 30amp continues discharge and 35amp burst. (The vtc6 are the most powerful 18650 cells at the moment)
If amp draw is below 5A, wouldn`t it be better to use 3450mAh 18650 like samsung 35e? Weight is about the same, but the it has more capacity (And even longer flight times). It provides max 8amps but it would be enough?...
LG MJ1 would also be an option. It provides 3500mAh and 10Amps, weighs about 49g like every 18650
This is awesome man
Can you Made it for me,?? i buy it one how much the price,,??
Has anybody tried reverse-engineering DJI batteries? My Mini 2 uses a lipo and flies for over 20 minutes. It's not doing any acro but that's still pretty good.
where can i buy frame carbon
Powering the VTX straight from the battery... TBS nano pro and you gain weight while ensuring 450mW output.
2s motors are more efficient no?
Nano pro needs 5v though.. 1S is 4.2V when full...and 18650 can be flown to 2.8v...
2 or 3 km is long range at that scale.
Maybe 2 * 18350 batterys? or 2 * 14500?
That is damn coool
awesome! loving all the lr stuff man!! your designs got me back into long (mid) range so thank you! also this is something you should totally pursue i want one already.
Thanks man! Loved your live stream!
you can't go far with box goggles lol #joke
Dont almost lose it in tha lake lol
Chur bro
Well I'm messing around with 1s babytooths too. Here are some ideas:
-I'm using no prop screws and it's fine (flywoo robo 1202.5)
-There is no need for a top plate, 3d printed parts cold hold the battery.
-You could save weight by using the Caddy Ant lite (1.5g).
-Did you try the Gaoneng 1s 3000maH Lipo?
-Try the Happymodel CrazybeeX with integrated 200mW VTX. On 1s you won't need a capacitor either.
-There needs to be some kind of higher quality video recording which is for me the main selling point of mid/long range. Naked insta360go? Runcam split 3 lite?
Thanks for being creative and innovative! BTW, I'm using your Sanchez lite design on my babytooth :-)
Thank you! Really great ideas. I have my doubts that HD will ever work on one of those, but who knows...
Maby a 2s 4" lr would be a nice middleground with enought power for a naked GoPro. Has to be under approx 125g to carry 2x 18650 + naked GoPro.
I am starting a build to, and opted for a dvr vtx. The fpv cam feed is recorded before it enters the fc. The caddx ant gives pretty good footage straight from the cam, although not HD, it is good quality.
May be this could help getting HD cam on board?- Insta 360 Go naked (just 6-7 grams)
th-cam.com/video/MRIJbOpMeEo/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=Unboxingexperience7
Why not 21700 5000mAh/35A instead of 2600mAh/35A? +26g and + 100% capacity.
You should try 20700 and 21700 cells. Those are rated at 15-50A range. :)
I’m super stoked about this one,I’d love to y one in the future-please continue your great work and hopefully bring it to the market/teach us how to build our own ones-keep it up!
Hey dude. Have you thought of making it with 21700 battery ? maybe give it 30a rated cell @4000mah ?
The whole body of Li-ion is minus (ground) . You don't need long wire
I know :-) But honestly I wasn't motivated to apply heat to parts if the 18650 that aren't supposed to.
I am extremely interested in suh a drone for some automated cruising. I would like to develop an automatic landing on a pad where I could charge the battery with a custom NFC wireless charger.
This would need of course an additional chip/PCB on the quad but should not be more than some grams.
Love the idea! Few ideas while watching: (1) could you shorten the top plate at the front and print PLA standoffs that you could attach the camera directly to instead of separate TPU mounts? (2) Instead of a battery holder, could you print (PLA again maybe?) two end pieces that can be attached to the top plate (maybe using slots cut in the plate?) with contacts for the battery? (3) if you do mount the battery a simple switch might save weight for wires to the FC as well as for the connectors?
Yeah, stiff mounting end brackets for the 18650 cell, but then you actually don't need connectors or switches, you just take the battery out. 😁👍
@@Anzyclos LOL - yeah, just take the battery out. I just like having a switch :)
1. Press-fitting those props is more than enough to keep them in place
2. Crazybee f4 lite actually has 350mw vtx (at power level 2), however it still shuts down at 2.7v (ESCs started rebooting during my tests). I will try to modify 5v step-up circuit there to accept lower voltages, but don't know when...
3. You should try 4" props on those 1202.5 motors. You may say it's a lot for them, but hear me out: once I've seen 1102 10k kv motors flying on 5045 props, and they were handling well! So I think that will be enough
4. Try making simple dipole for GPS, it should be enough
Overall: once again, very interesting video exploring new unknown territories
Dipole gps is possible and has been used on ultra light quads before, example: th-cam.com/video/Y3W4kHxwa6I/w-d-xo.html
He even made a 'tutorial ' on how to make a 2g gps module th-cam.com/video/vG7qsOne8Mc/w-d-xo.html
As long as the drone has a camera on it can't be classified as a toy by the new EU rules. Toys is only for quads sub 250 without a camera.
Yes!!! Thank you! Thats is what I have been looking for
I am brazilian I wanted to know how you took this battery or battery I don't know the name, I want to buy it and make it for 2s
i'm absolutely loving this one ! if you get to sort out all the electrical issues i think it would be a very interesting product ! keep it up Dave
2s should be optimal like the DJI mini 2s with 30 min flight time :)
You need 9v right . or more than 4.35v ...
@@K_Nasty no, it's specced to 7V+ but I've ran it down to ~5.2-5.3v.
DJI FPV runs fine on 2s
@@FilipRadelic about 2-Xs ESCs: they're using linear voltage regulators, that have (most of the time) about 0.5v minimum dropout, and FORTIOR mosfet drivers that shut down at about 4.7-5v at their input. So, at 5.5v on the battery you have about 5v at mosfet drivers input, and they're shutting down. 1-Xs boards don't have that issue, because they're driving mosfets directly from ESC MCU, but MCUs themselves have lov voltage watchdog, that resets if the voltage drops too low
@@remainsmemories626 the board I am using is 1-2s. It just doesn’t have enough power to fly at that voltage.
Maybe integrate the battery holder into the top plate by 3d printing the whole top plate plus battery holder together minimal thickness.
Yes. Unibody is the way to go. But that seems to be less off-the-shelf than he’s aiming for.
Many years ago I had designed a microscopic low pass filter for FPV micro quads that is few grams, it never became a product.
If you're interested I still should have the file at OSHpark and you should be able to order it and solder it.
Maybe you could make a unibody with a top mounted battery. You could use a toothpick style stack in the front, with the camera on top of it, and have the battery sit behind it in the frame. This would eliminate the weight from the screws, standoffs and top plate.
VERY interested, as I love cruising around and having something smaller I can take with me when out and about would rock.
Awesome. I did some 18650 flights with that same cell on a 1S Baby Tooth. After a bunch of flights I was getting a consistent 9-10min of actual no holding back FPV flight. I could get another 3-5min of hovering around but not enough power to have any fun with. The new 1S FC we've made has a min operating voltage of ~2.3-2.5v with the hopes that something like this would be closer to possible. I found 1103 motors to be more efficient. I can't totally explain why and the performance definitely suffers a bit but it was definitely more efficient. My best guess is the voltage better saturates the stator and the taller magnets give it the ability to maintain more rpm with less power.
A couple years back, Chad Nowak did some calculations and came up with the ideal weight on a 3" prop at 90g. Pretty intesting that were around that weight and the overall performance even on just 1s really is quite surprising. Disk loading is proving more valuable than I thought.
Those battery holders unfortunately don't conduct amps as well as a solder. Similarly, it's a bit sketchy but covering the battery ends really limits the cooling potential of the cell. The ends of the cell cool it better than around the body. The amp draw is high for the single cell so the cooler the better.
I considered trying to squeeze more performance out of such a thing but ultimately gave up on it because of the lack of watts to do much with.
Also, I didn't test this because I only use xt30 but moving to an xt30 alone could give you more flight time and performance. In my testing I found the gnb27 to be just a tiny bit better than the BT2. Both are way overshadowed by the unfortunately much heavier xt30 and I've found these things in even 1s benefit from that.
Awesome, thanks for the inputs, Bob! It's really quite surprising how well these 1S platforms can perform. I probably wouldn't have believed it if someone told me that you can properly run a quadcopter with only 2.5V on the power supply. The lack of power further down the voltage range is less of a concern for something geared towards being a mid-range cruiser. The tray thing might indeed be too inefficient but it's worth a try. I have one with large gold plated contacts that look promising. The convenience of just popping a cheap and widely available 18650 in and get 15min flight time is just too appealing.
@@DaveCFPV I like to say that tv remotes run on more voltage 😅
@@DaveCFPV Can I print some and make the prints available at fpvcycle.com?
For the battery holder, you don’t need all the plastic in between the contacts. Just the ends that could possibly snap into the top plate. I would say skip the gps unless you figure a way to lose some more of the weight and keep it working. I would fly it
All of the outer "casing" of the battery is "ground", so you don't have to run the full metal bar from the other side, you can just open up the protective shrink wrap by the positive pole, and solder them kinda next to each other!
Take my money Dave. If you can make it work, I will buy it!
Can it fly with naked gp and more lightest batery ?
it would be awesome to see a 1s 18650 but using one of those "battery holders" like we had on toy rc cars or in our remotes.. im sure current draw is an issue for those but it would be pretty awesome to have a box of 18650s raw and just pop them in and out and not have to solder leads to them! i think it would help the people who are warry of 18650 soldering!
lmao i said this during the first few minutes and then i see you had the same idea!!!! yay!
use smartphone components maybe
I looked into it. There are smaller GPS units but the logic runs on 3.3V which is a problem
@@DaveCFPV isn't there a workaround possible? Maybe designing a totally new fc. Those hglrc guys have huge resources. Or maybe a different processor? It would be a big deal in the hobby , especially being the first to pull this off. Just thinking out loud, but i love your little projects, and i hope the future of drones brings us more use of visual processors , 5G , openCV, companion computers, high modulus carbon.......something like the Tello but with brushless motors and carbon fiber . In the meantime i keep a close watch on your channel.
@@DaveCFPV you can use the spectrum receiver v pad which is 3.3v if it has one.
Where can I purchase nylon screws from? Sorry I'm a noob
Seems interesting. I like any project that is pushed with ideas outside the box per se but I am just not sure it is really something that is going to be a winner for many. Cheers to your constant search for something different in FPV tho.
I'd love to buy something like this to match your other 4in micro lr.
15Minutes and a snap on 18650 would be great for this stealth quad! Use the battery box as a frame, 👍
Great idea and perfect engineering.
Well explained!!
That looks like it would be a great way to get people into LR, with everything being so cheap on it ! Now I want one, thank you!! haha
This looks like an interesting idea, I really hope you’re able to figure out all the kinks. It would be amazing if you can figure out how to just pop in an 18650. Hopefully new technologies will make this even more viable. Keep innovating and stay safe.
Meh, waiting for #PicoLongRange 😋
First 😁👍 I’ve got my fingers and toes crossed for you Dave 😉
Well isn't that a convenient channel name these days 😅👌
@@Kabab I use the same name on Instagram Bob 😁 instagram.com/p/CKmQhP9AtdS/?igshid=5w1evdatmp0a
This is something I really want to build, looks rather easy and cheap to do!
Has a lot of potencial and fun factor too.
What frame are you using? Thanks
For your GPS antenna testing, you might look at a nanoVNA. This allows you to meausre the impedance of your antenna so you can tune it properly. You might also look into GPS fractal antenna designs. Also it would be interesting to see a breakdown by weight of all the components to see determine where removing weight would give you the best gains.
Fantastic, Love the idea. I've played around with "Nano type" LR /MR quads. I did a 2s versions off of your original 3in MLR with TinyHawk internals and had loads of fun with it. This is very cool and would love to see this come out in the REKON line someday. Big fan of all your work, thanks for sharing your FPV knowledge. Looking forward to more on this little guy, love it!
The looks are perfect. The printed frame (in PETG) is durable and nice. Unfortunately the performance isn't that great (not at all), so we use 2S 18350 cells soldered in length. It fits the frame perfectly, the performance is sooo much better, and the full capacity from the cells is available. Good LC filter, perfect FPV image, much better tune flying without jitter and vibrations.
We use the Keeppower IMR18350 (1200 milli's, 10A) cells.