Mission: To Build a Cheap Mini Quadcopter

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Finally I was ready to move on with building the quad copter. Having never built a quad before I wasn't sure how the parts would go together. First I started to build the frame, after opening the packet I thought some parts were missing! I soon realized that the lower section of the cage is in two parts, in all the photos I had seen it looks like one part. The frame seems quite configurable, you can either use the cage on the top or have it hung down on the bottom side, alternatively you can not bother fitting the cage at all and just use the small plastic cover to go over the controller board. I had chosen to mount the cage on the top side so I could hang a mini FPV camera from the underside and have space for an HD camera within the cage.

 

With the frame completed I moved onto the next problem, attaching the motors. Looking on Google images people seemed to of come up with lots of different ideas. I decided to zip tie each motor into place, this seemed to gave a nice firm fit. Next the most important part, adding the KK controller. At first I could not see how to fix it in place, I knew people had glued it in, or used double sided tape but I wanted to be able to remove it easily, so after looking at the frame carefully I noticed 4 small slits in the plastic that are there for you to tap some screws into. So I put a small peace of foam padding on the back of each corner and then screwed the board into place. Now I needed to add the ESC,s which was fairly easy. I just zip tied each one tidily onto each one of the arms, job done!

 

Now, I was not sure how to power up the KK controller and each one of the four ESC,s. I turned to YouTube to find out what I needed to do. After going off track and watching a whole load of stuff I had worked out how I was going to make my power wiring loom (pictured here). After an hour and a half of chopping and soldering I was finished. Unfortunately it didn't turn out like I originally planned, but it did test fine so I temporarily attached all the ESC power leads. Finally the last part to add was the Orange RX620 receiver which was temporarily zip tied onto the top of the frame. The basic quad was now complete, the only thing left was to setup the KK board. I've found this useful video "KK2.0 initial setup" which was a great help to a newbie like me. With the initial build finished I took the quad on its maiden test flight. See the videos below.

Diatone FPV250 Quad Copter (First Test Flight)

 

FPV250 Quad Copter (First Test with Camera On-board!)

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Category: How to

Last Updated: 27 November 2014

Mission: To Build a Cheap Quadcopter.

Like a DJI Flame Wheel F450!

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Welcome to Matts guide on how to build a quadcopter. Have you ever wondered "How do you build a quadcopter" .... over the next few pages I will guide you through the necessary steps to make your very own quad.

I'm going to make a copy of a multirotor which is much loved by ariel photographers, the DJI flame wheel F450. It's 450cm in size and capable of carrying a GoPro camera mounted using a gimbal.

 

DJI F450 Quad copter - available in kit form.

Back last year I started a quadcopter project to build a cheap Mini Quad, so if you want to know how to build a smaller mini quad see this article here. These smaller quads tend to be used for racing, FPV or acrobatics.

So this is Matts guide on how to build a quad. I will try and explain the process I went through, but if you've got any questions please don't hesitate - just send me over an email to "[email protected]" or add a comment at the bottom of the page, I will try answer the best I can...

Right, what do you need and what do you need to buy? The parts list.

If you don't already own a transmitter (hand controller)  you will need to purchase one or borrow one. Other items you will need access too are; solder and a soldering iron,suitable wire, some XT60 connectors, heat shrink, insulation/electrical tape.

This Quad copter is made up from the following parts.

• A Frame, the Diatone Q450 v3(similar to DJI flamewheel F450- its a cheap copy)
• Flight controller, the thing that controls all the motors.
• 4x Multi-rotor Brushless Speed controllers , they supply the power to the motors.
• Wire, XT60 Connectors.
• Motors.
• Receiver (to receive the signals from the transmitter)
• Zip ties
• Bullet connectors
• Some male to male 10cm servo leads
• 4x Props (mine were included with the motors)

Now with this part list I opened up my web browser and went shopping, aiming to purchased each part as cheaply as possible using eBay or Hobbyking.

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Below is a guide on what each part is and its cost.

• Diatone frame Q450v3 (eBay £9.85)
• Naze32 flight controller (Hobbyking £11.96)
• Afro 20Amp Brushless ESC (ebay, I paid £30 for six, some were used)
• 1m Wire, Nylon XT60 Connectors Male/Female (5 pairs)(eBay £0.98p,£2.42)
• 4x Turnigy Multistar Multi-rotor Brushless ESC Motors (Hobbyking £38.96)
• Orange 620 RX receiver (ebay £14.98) 
• Zip ties (Cheap £1 shop)
• 2mm Gold Bullet Connectors 10 Pairs - Male Female Plug Socket with heat shrink (eBay, China ;) £3.88)
• Male to male 10cm servo leads (eBay UK £3.06)
• 5030 Props CW/CCW  (Included with the motors.. £FREE)

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Once ordered, I sat back and waited for the parts to arrive...

How to build a Quadcopter - Intro Video!

I've actually gone over my stated budget in the video of £80. The total cost here is = £117.09, but I didn't really spent this because I had the connectors,wire,bullet connectors,zip ties and a FrySky receiver.

 

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This is the end but its not finished! I will be adding the rest soon!

 

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Category: How to

Last Updated: 26 November 2022