Flighty's 330LF Build

[FlightyFishcake]

I started another build having got the bug for smaller quadcopters.  ;D

I bought the frame and arms for the 330LF from Andy who's on this forum. I don't know him, but he's been super helpful with all my PMs and questions. He gives lots of good advice and clearly has lots of experience with the kits he's selling. So all the sensible things I do through the build are where I've followed his advice, all the daft things are where I've used my initiative. Which is half the fun - right?

The 330LF is a CF plate kit with DJI (or clone) F330 arms to make what looks like a mini discovery.

My plan was to build it up to use with 3S or 4S and Eagletree Vector and possibly a gimbal, I've got an Xaircraft one which is really light, but still to be tested.

Looking at motors I was trying to decide between the DJI E300 kit or Tiger motors and getting separate escs. In the end the fact that I could get the DJI E300 kit with motors, props and ESCs for £91 in the UK won the day. I also quite liked the idea of the DJI easy to remove props to be able to pack the quad down as small as possible to keep it in my car. The 9443 props would need to be cut down a bit as the max prop size for the 330LF is 9".

Here's the build so far with motors and ESCs fitted and LEDs on the arms to help with orientation. I need to sort out the wiring and a loom, but it's started. Super quick to build. To get to this stage took about 45 minutes.

[FlightyFishcake]

Here's the 330LF next to the Hoverthings Flip 260. Not much difference in size. With the 6" vs 8-9" in props clearly the flip will be better with small gaps, but similar for transporting.

Next thing up is to test the DJI motor & props....

[FlightyFishcake]

Testing the DJI 920KV motor with a variety of prop sizes.

Having gone for the cheaper option with the E300 kit I wanted to know how the motors would perform, what their efficiency would be for flight times and the impact of cutting the DJI props down to size. I couldn't find any data on web of the DJI motor performance.

I use my prop / motor testing rig and a current meter and tested an 8" phantom prop, phantom 2 prop, 9443 prop, 9443 prop cut down to 8.75" and cut down to 8".

I quickly realised that apart from the colour the 9443 and Phantom 2 props were exactly the same...  :P

I'm an amateur at testing props so take the results with a pinch of salt, but I was impressed by how efficient the DJI motor was and how much thrust it developed. The full results are attached. With 4S the 8" prop at full throttle gave 980g at 12.2 amps and the cut down 9443 860g at 9.0 amps. 3S 8" prop gave 610g at 7.6 amps and the cut down 9443 522 at 5.6 amps.

The 9443 on 4S gave 1150g at 12.75 amps, but was too hot to sensibly run at that power. Though that was in my kitchen with limited air cooling.

I might have got my maths wrong, but the efficiency of the motor seemed much better than what I've seen quoted for tests on the Tiger motors (2208 1100KV) and they were the best I'd seen at this size based on data on the internet.

All the data and pic of the props tested are attached. No pic of the 9443 at 8.75" as I'd cut it down to 8" before I thought to take a photo! I'll need to cut the props carefully and balance them all, but looks like that should work fine and give plenty of power.

[FlightyFishcake]

Here's the link to Andy's 330FPV post in the manufacturer's section. (Apologies if I'm not supposed to link to that section)

http://www.fpvhub.com/index.php/topic,19855.0.html

[dani_r]

Just picked up one of these frames myself! Keen to know how you get on with it and how you mount all your FC gear etc. This one will be for my Mrs to learn to fly on, so I'll use a Naza Lite w/GPS to keep it simple.

Went for the DYS 2212 1000kv motors and 20a EMAX ESCs.

[Andy Sayle]

That's some useful prop data there, cheers for posting that!  The trimmed 9443 props work remarkably well.  The ones I've tried I trimmed to about 8.5", and they seemed to fly about the same as an old style DJI 8" prop, perhaps with a bit less noise at high throttle settings.

I like the size comparison photos too.  I have actually built up an airframe with some 2204-2300kv motors, for use with some little 6inch props.  It flew rather well!  The airframe is surprisingly about the same weight as a lot of the 250 sized kits with central "pods".  The only difference is that it has a bit more frontal area (because of the size of the arms) so top speed is a little less.

Keep the updates coming though, it's good to see the layout of equipment that everyone is using.

I still keep going back to the DJI 2212-920 motors on 4s as my favourite power setup.  It is nice and nippy, with plenty of power for flips and rolls, and you get a really good duration from a 2200mAh pack :)

Cheers
Andy

[FlightyFishcake]

I've cut down the 9443 props that I got with the E300 kit to 9" and balanced them all today. I used an trick I saw somewhere on the web to use a drubro prop balancer to balance DJI props with the integrated nut. The tubing that holds the spring in place is just the right size to fit inside the nut and hold it in place.

So I have 4 props for the quad and a few spares ready to go.  :D

[FlightyFishcake]

The wiring for the escs is all sorted and the LEDs are working.

The layout of the 330 means there's plenty of space to fit everything in. More straightforward than the 260 quad I built last.

The LEDs look great, it's the first time I've used them so I'm not sure how well they stand out in daylight. I'm hoping they'll help me with orientation.

Next things to sort out are the VTX, flight controller and camera mounting...

[FlightyFishcake]

Just picked up one of these frames myself! Keen to know how you get on with it and how you mount all your FC gear etc. This one will be for my Mrs to learn to fly on, so I'll use a Naza Lite w/GPS to keep it simple.

Went for the DYS 2212 1000kv motors and 20a EMAX ESCs.

Dani_r - I hope your build goes well. This is the first time I've built a quad like this one, so I'll be learning as I go.

[Andy Sayle]

Looks a like a nice build that :)  I normally mount LED's the same way too.  They stand out really nicely in the sky.  Having them installed on a remote switch is always good for a bit of "turn the LEDs off for as long as you dare" type flying too!

That's a cracking tip about the prop balancer too.  I made myself a little shaft with the same screw fitting as a DJI motor on to balance mine, but having seen this tip, it is much simpler!

With the camera mounting, if you are using a small FPV type camera (not a gopro or mobius) I normally just cable tie mine to the front ledge on the lower plate.  Put the cable ties around the legs, and sit the camera on a bit of foam so it doesn't move around, and you are sorted.  The cable ties give a little in a (small) crash, which helps preserve the camera.

If you want the FPV camera higher up to leave the front ledge free, a small bracket made from some aluminium angle (can be bought from model shops, B&Q etc) is the answer.  That can be mounted on the upper plate, easily.

Cheers
Andy

[FlightyFishcake]

Thanks Andy. I was just getting to thinking about how to mount the camera.

Most of the electronics are fitted now so almost ready for a test flight if the next few days...

[FlightyFishcake]

I built up the quad with the flight controller on the the top plate with the aim of leaving the space in between the plates for the battery.

I discovered a couple of problems with that approach  :(;
a) it looks like a dogs breakfast   :laugh:
b) with the 9" props, the props are perilously close to the wires.  :o

So I moved the electronics under the top plate with only the GPS mounted on top. It looks a lot neater that way.

[FlightyFishcake]

All the electonics are sorted and tested. I've programmed the vector, checked motor directions etc so it's all ready to fly.

I've put the flight cam on the front step with a mobius mounted underneath it.

I got an extra top plate that I was going to use on top of the electronics on the top plate, but there wasn't room with the props. The 'spare' top plate is now being used as a battery holder under the quad. With some 3mm elastic it gives flexibility for a range of battery sizes and locations to get the CG right.

Using hobbyking legs cut down to 70mm I made some short legs to keep the battery and mobius off the ground and still keeping it all low profile.

First test flight in the back garden went great. Not much space, so just  hovering. No sign of jello on the mobius footage. Need to get it out to fly it properly now!

All up weight is 940g with a 2200MAH battery. Short flight but it was hovering at about 9A on 3S and 65% throttle.

[Andy Sayle]

That's good use of a 3rd plate there! I'm half tempted to draw up a special underslung plate for cam and batt mounting. Make it like a skeleton to save weight.   Did you say you were using elastic to hang it?

[FlightyFishcake]

That's good use of a 3rd plate there! I'm half tempted to draw up a special underslung plate for cam and batt mounting. Make it like a skeleton to save weight.   Did you say you were using elastic to hang it?

An underslung plate would be good. With the way the motors are mounted on this configuration there's more space below, away from the props.

I was going to use standoffs to secure it but then decided to try black 3mm elastic. It's called shock cord I think. I got it on eBay, a few quid for 5m. It's pretty sturdy. It also holds the battery securely in place.

On the 3rd pic you can see most easily where I've tied a knot in it then run it through the slot in the bottom plate down to the 3rd plate. It then runs across underneath and up to the other side. I've done that at the front and the back.

I've offset the 3rd plate backward as I want to try and fit a gimbal at some point. That will make space for it and will also be useful to be able to move the battery back a bit to balance it.