..: macgregor group :..: build

My 1st Scratch Built Micro Quad Copter Build Project - August 2, 2013

For more stability I used these aluminum arms from old computer parts. (dimensions - 13in x .5in x or 330.2mm x 12.7mm) I also used an old network card and removed all the integrated chips and soldered parts. Then I cut it down and applied it as a base for the aluminum arms.

Parts List:

Turnigy 1811 brushless Outrunner 2900kv
TURNIGY Plush 6A /.8bec/6g Speed Controllers
5030 Propellers (Red) - 3xCW and 3xCCW
KK2.0 Multi-rotor LCD Flight Control Board
Multi-Rotor Power Distribution Board
Turnigy 1000mAh 2S 30C Lipo Pack.

I ended up mounting the motors upward & turning the distro board in a more X configuration. During the initial build I tried a few different configurations, but found the best setup above. The esc's are attached using 3M double sided tape from Lowe's as well as the multi-rotor distribution board - no issues thus far. You could also use some small wire ties if your worried about the esc's coming off. I brought the signal wires up through the middle of the board, cut them to length and soldered the leads. I did have my first mistake when connecting power from the battery to the board...I crossed the positive wires UGH - what a dumb dumb!

After ordering new esc's and arriving a week later, I continued the build and glued (ca) four capacitors to the board. Then I glued a blank circuit board on top of the capacitors. I applied a piece of double sided tape to the circuit board to hold down the foam protector that the KK2 board was shipped in and added an electrical tape container for the battery.

I used five 1" servo leads and connected them from the KK2 to a Turnigy 9x8cv2 receiver board. Used two more capacitors and glued them to the foam and receiver board with enough clearance to still access the KK2 programming buttons. Finished up by connecting the signal leads from the esc's to the KK2 starting with 1,2,3,4. Please note that 1,3 are cw and 2,4 are ccw.

Next steps are to add some landing gear and clean up more of the initial build design.

Flight video - please subscribe

After the maiden flight and while close to the ground the copter did an erratic flip after about 3-4 minutes of flight time. I was pretty confused as to what happened so I took the copter inside and started thinking weight and possibly the kk2 board settings. I ended up taking the battery holder off and attaching the lipo to the bottom with velco. I ran a few more tests and still only 3-4 min of flight time on a fully charged battery. Thinking about weight, I started to google the flip issue and read on the forums that some folks were isolating a failing ESC. Before replacing the motor I decided to test this setup again. Reproduced the erratic flip and immediately touched all of the ESC's and motors. I felt motor #1 and it was well above the normal temp. So I decided to re-soldered the #1 motor and ESC's connections and "BAM" I was now getting 6-7 minutes of flight time without any erratic flips. Now having a good battery, ESC's, and motors I was able to then work on the kk2 board settings. I read a lot about various KK2 settings and tested many configurations. Let me know if you need help....I will try my best!

I also made some mods to the design to try and make the quad lighter - removed the foam and the battery holder for starters. Took off the capacitors and used standard nylon stand off's. I added some cheap landing gear. Picked up a pack of these at Party City - nifty idea - these are just plastic table cloth clips. They provide some cushion and are cheap and easy to replace.

First I took off the kk2 board and the foam. Then plugged in the battery alarm onto the board. After this I soldered a female jst plug onto the bottom of the kk2. Then connected to a male jst that was then soldered to the power board. I then disconnected the RX module out of its shell and starting to seal it with clear shrink wrap and hot glued the end. All I needed to do now was to mount the rx to the kk2 board with double sided stick tape.

Micro X - Quadcopter - Maiden Flight/FlightTest1

Micro X - Quadcopter - KK2 All Tuned/FlightTest2

I decided to push this little quad and try my luck mounting a GoPro to it. My goal was to get some flight video. This is what I can up with - cheap piece of dollar tree foam, wire ties, and some velcro. I did not know what to expect, but the video came out pretty good -no jello or crazy vibration.