Flying the Iconic X FPV

Fun flight with this quadcopter. I haven´t worked on the jello issue yet as I haven´t had many free time lately. This quad is light, fast and powerful!

One of the screws holding the GoPro platform was a bit loose and I lost it, so the platform rotated and the camera has hit with the propeller. Now the camera is not sending video live!! I´ll reset it with the factory settings and hopefully it will work again.

For better view DO NOT put full screen ;)



Setup:

Frame Iconic X FPV Foldable
BL-2830/11 1000kv motors
20A SK ESC
10x4.5 Plastic HK propellers
KK2 controller board
FrSKY V8FR-II receiver
Turnigy 9XR transmitter

Iconic X FPV foldable maiden flight

This is the maiden flight with the frame Iconix X FPV foldable. I have only placed the basics (no FPV equipment yet) to test it.

The camera is placed on the front of the frame, directly over it with no anti-vibration dampeners (only the ones that come with the frame to isolate the top plate). The results, as you can see, are dreadful!! I guess this is because the old motors, whose holders are a bit bended and  produce this horrible vibrations :)

The total weight of this equipment is 1.9kg, and I have had the following flight times:

• 14 minutes with a Turnigy 3S 4000 mAh 
• 17 minutes with a Turnigy 3S 5000 mAh 

There´s something funny about two of the motors. If I attach them with more than 1 screw out of 4, the motors don't work!!! So those two motors are attached to the frame with just one screw each!

Setup:

Frame Iconic X FPV Foldable
BL-2830/11 1000kv motors
20A SK ESC
10x4.5 Plastic HK propellers
KK2 controller board
FrSKY V8FR-II receiver
Turnigy 9XR transmitter

Build of the Iconic X FPV foldable

Yesterday I worked on the Iconic X FPV I bought on September. It took me some hours for this basic setup, as I have reused the motors I had before, same propellers, ESCs, the KK2 and the FrSky receiver with the Turnigy 9XR. Ready to fly!

The objective is having a better setup and probably a gimbal as well. But so far I will just see how it flyes. I need the FPV equipment also!

Setup:

Frame Iconic X FPV Foldable
BL-2830/11 1000kv motors
20A SK ESC
10x4.5 Plastic HK propellers
KK2 controller board
FrSKY V8FR-II receiver
Turnigy 9XR transmitter

Iconic X FPV Power distribution board

Iconic X FPV with KK2 control board

Iconic X FPV with KK2 control board

Iconic X FPV with FrSky receiver

20A ESC

Iconic X FPV with 1000kv motors

Iconic X FPV foldable

Iconic X FPV foldable

Iconic X FPV foldable

Iconic X FPV foldable

Replacing KK2 board with NAZA M Lite with GPS

I've been thinking for long to get a flight control board with GPS, in order of improving safety when flying, and another nice features.

There are several boards available, but I've decided to buy the DJI NAZA M Lite with GPS. It's not the most advanced model, but it has the features I want and it's affordable.

For entry-level enthusiasts, DJI now brings out the most cost-effective solution, the NAZA-M Lite flight control system. As the simplified version of NAZA-M, it inherits the high reliability and stability of NAZA-M. The innovative All-in-one design simplifies installation and saves space and weight. It contains inner damping, controllers, 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis accelerometer and barometer in its light and small Main Controller. It can measure flying altitude, attitude and therefore can be used for autopilot/automatic control.

 

 

It offers three types of control modes:

• GPS Atti. Mode (with GPS module): when you release the sticks, it locks the current position.
• Atti. Mode: when you release the sticks, the attitude is stabilized.
• Manual Mode.

Then, there are three options for the Intelligence Orientation Control (IOC)

• Course Lock: the forward direction is the same as a recorded nose direction (the nose direction is recorded when the battery is connected)
• Home Lock: the forward direction is the same as the direction from home point to the multi-rotor.
• Deactivated

Another useful features are

• Failsafe mode: when the communication between the main controller and the transmitter is disconnected and the GPS module is used, you can set Return To Home (RTH) so the multi-rotor will come back to the taking off position and land by itself. You can also set the failsafe for landing wherever the multi-rotor is at that moment.
• Low voltage protection: in order to prevent your multi-rotor from crashing or other harmful consequences caused by low battery voltage, the multi-rotor will descend and land if you are using GPS atti mode or atti mode.
• Gimbal stabilization: the system will adjust the gimbal and camera according to the attitude of the multi-rotor after setting the parameters the first time.

Physical set up

Versatile Unit, directly welded to the frame.

Front

Front connections 

Left

Right

Top

Back

Configuring the Futaba S8FG. I use the SBUS for connecting the the Naza main controller (MC) with the Futaba R6208SB receiver. Just one cable :). I´ve created a new model and selected the following channels:

• ch5: Remote gain control
• ch6: IOC: three positions: off, course lock, home lock
• ch7: Flight mode: three positions: manual, atti, atti GPS
• ch8 Tarot T-2D gimbal pitch control.  I preffer to connect the gimbal pitch cable directly to the receiver at this point, and being able to control its orientation using the right slider of the transmitter. If you connect it to the F2 port of the Naza MC, the gimbal  will automatically be orientated depending on the multi-rotor attitude, and as far as I know, you won´t be able to control the pitch...

Model type

Channel selection

Channel selection

The next step is reversing the channels, if needed. In my case I had to reverse the rudder and the right slider for the gimbal.

Channel reverse

I guess the settings for activating the fail safe depends on your transmitter. In my case I used the Throttle and the ch7 for activating it. I´ve tried two ways of doing it:

• When the signal is lost (either the multi-rotor is out of range or you switch the transmitter off) the fail safe is activated. 
• Sacrificing the manual flight mode position and configure it for activating the fail safe manually. If you do this, then you won´t be able to calibrate the compass from now on until you configure the manual position again. For this reason I prefer the option 1, and be able to have manual flight mode and calibrating whenever I want.

Fail safe

Fail safe

Relating the end point configuration, I have the first 4 channels and the IOC with the default values, and I have only modified the remote gain control, the flight mode to be more precise with the selection, and the gimbal pitch control.

• When the signal is lost (either the multi-rotor is out of range or you switch the transmitter off) the fail safe is activated. 
• Sacrificing the manual flight mode position and configure it for activating the fail safe manually. If you do this, then you won´t be able to calibrate the compass from now on until you configure the manual position again. For this reason I prefer the option 1, and be able to have manual flight mode and calibrating it whenever I want. 

End point

End point

The following videos have been really useful to me in order of having the quad working with the Naza. Well, I could not configure the home lock, for some reason the VU shows the red light, but I´m into it.

Naza and Futaba SBUS connection

Naza installation and setup guide (3 parts)

You should read as well the quick start guide for the Naza M Lite with GPS. You will find how to use the software and many other tips and things to have into account.

From this page of DJI, you´ll need to download the Assistant Software and the Driver installer. Follow the previous video and you won´t have any problem at all :).

And now let´s wait until it stops raining and get this thing into the air to check the behavior!!

Replacing the Turnigy 9XR by the Futaba 8FG Super

December 2013. The display of my Turnigy 9XR suddenly stopped working one or two months ago, meaning I was not able to do any additional configuration, or able to move the pitch of the Tarot T-2D brushless gimbal.

I complained to HK about this faulty display, and they sent me back another 9XR for free. However I had to pay tolls, bad luck! Anyway, I´ll keep this new radio for future video purposes.

I´ve purchased a Futaba 8FG Super. Why? Well, I can´t say for sure that I suffered a quad signal lost because of the GoPro Hero 3 WiFi. But as you are adding electronics to the multicopter you prefer to control it with a more reliable transmitter. As there´s a lot of discussions about this, at the end you choose what works for you...

It comes with the Futaba receiver R6208SB

Futaba 8FG Super features and drivers here.