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Building a drone is not difficult

Drones are now available in all shapes and sizes. Although there are undoubtedly very good models, you always have a problem: you pay (too) a lot of money, you do not know how the drone works and spare parts are difficult and / or expensive available. Building a drone yourself is not difficult! Then you can decide for yourself which characteristics he will get, you will understand the technology and if something breaks you can order a new part again.

In this building report a DJI F450 frame is used in combination with a flight controller. The report tells you how to put the drone together step by step and what you should pay attention to at every step. Hopefully you come to the same conclusion as many others: a drone is less complicated than it looks!

The drone as described in this article has already flown. He is also powerful enough to take a GoPro camera with FPV Accessories.

Look at around market accessories and transmitter (good and affordable). Do not use old transmitters with crystals, but make sure you use the 2.4Ghz signal. There is then no chance that your drone suddenly flies away because someone else is on the same signal.

Step 1 - Solder ESCs to the frame Solder the ESCs to the frame. Solder each time the red wire to the + (plus), the black wire to the - (minus). First, translate the wire from the ESC and the copper plate. Place the soldering iron in the middle of the plate and add the tin against the soldering iron tip. In this way, the tin flows from the center towards the sides of the copper plate. Make sure you have a nice bump of tin, the ESC should get stuck. If necessary, you can add extra tin to the copper plate when soldering the wire. We aim for a mountain of tin in which the end of the wire is not or barely visible. Keep the soldering iron in place for a while, you will see that the tin needs a few seconds to completely drain.

Step 2 - Mount motors Mount the motors on the ends of the arms. It is advisable to lubricate the bolts with locktide (not permanent!) To ensure that they do not vibrate while flying. For now this is not necessary, there is a chance that they still have to be released. Conduct the wires through a hole in the side so that they come out underneath.

Step 3 - Assemble the arms on the frame Then it is time to attach the arms to the frame. We start with the bottom of the frame (the side where the ESCs are soldered to). The top will come later, since we still have to be able to. You need two screws for each arm. Make sure that the two wires of the ESCs go through the gate in the arm. In this way they do not take up any unnecessary space later on. We can use that space for the LiPo battery charger. The signal cables of the ESCs may also pass through the gate and then through the hole in the top of the arm. There they eventually come together to be connected to the Flight Controller.

Step 4 - Soldering motors to ESCs To get some overview in the wiring, we will confirm the motors to the ESCs. Completely optional, but advisable, is to provide the connection of bullet connectors.

If you decide not to use bullet connectors between the ESC and the engine, wait until all other components are in place and skip this (and the next) step. The orientation of the cables is important for the direction in which the motors are running. With bullet connectors, the direction of rotation of the motors can be easily changed at any time.

Solder the bullet connectors to the cables. It is advisable to fill a bullet connector completely with tin at the place where the wiring is to come. You can use a pair of pliers to hold the bullet connector firmly. If you have a (hair) rubber band around the handle of the pliers, the pliers have enough grip on the connector. It also ensures that you have a hand free again, which is very desirable in soldering practices (one for the tin, the other for the soldering iron). If the bullet connector is filled to the brim with liquid tin you can slide it over the wire. Hold the soldering iron on the connector for another five seconds to distribute the tin well around the wire. Blow against the connector for as long as the soldering iron is removed, which speeds up the cooling process. Repeat this step for all wiring, that's a total of 12 female and 12 male connectors. 

Tip: Check before your tin in the connector stops if the cable fits properly into the connector. If it is already difficult to slide in, you can make the cable a bit smaller. With a pair of pliers and soldering iron in your hand, it is only harder to get the connector around the cable. Close this step with some insulation tape or heat shrink around each bullet connector (male and female). In this way, there can never be a short circuit between the different connections. Close this step with some insulation tape or shrink tube around each bullet connector (male and female). In this way, there can never be a short circuit between the different connections. Close this step with some insulation tape or shrink tube around each bullet connector (male and female). In this way, there can never be a short circuit between the different connections.

Step 5 - Attach the ESCs to the arms Now attach the ESCs to the arms with a tiewrap. To ensure that any vibrations are reduced you can put a piece of foam (about 4cm thick) between them. Tighten the pipe wrap firmly without damaging the ESC and then cut off the protruding part. Make sure that the wiring of the ESC to the motor is not tight when using bullet connectors. You are more likely to loose these at times when you can not use it.

Step 6 - The battery connection Cut any connections from the 4mm banana connector, so that you have two cables with the same connection as on the LiPo battery. Solder this connection cable for the battery to the frame. Use a lot of tin as with the ESC frame connection. Leave the soldering iron on the cable for a while so that all the tin is well distributed. Check that the red and black cables match those of the battery when the plugs are assembled. If this is not the case, no man is overboard, make sure that the black cable is on the + and the red on the -. If you want to do it neatly, you can turn the plug, which can be a difficult job.

Batteries usually get a cable of about 12 cm. In order to ensure that it is not under too much tension, it is advisable to also choose a length of about 10 cm for the connection cable.

Step 7 - Attaching the battery to the frame This can be done in different ways, but make sure that the battery can be removed at any time. Do not stick the battery permanently with tape or glue.

My personal favorite is Velcro (Velcro). Use double-sided foam tape to stick the velcro onto the battery and the bottom of the frame. Foam tape sticks very well, dampens vibrations and absorbs any unevennesses in the surface. Before you cover the battery, first look at the side of the connection cable (step 6) and also lay the wiring of the battery on that side. Try to cover as large a surface of the battery as possible, but do not let any pieces of velcro stick out. Please note that the center of gravity of the battery is in the middle for a good weight distribution. That in turn can make a difference.

Step 8 - Confirm the Flight Controller Stick the flight controller on the top frame with foam tape. For the exact orientation of the flight controller, always consult   the manual, the buttons should point backwards. I have chosen to move the red arms forward, according to the X layout. You can also choose the + layout, then one arm forms the front. In that case the flight controller has to be turned 45 degrees. At the back of the flight controller there are some spots here and there. With the double-sided foam tape that should not be a problem. Attach the controller as exactly as possible to the frame and press it firmly.

Step 9 - Confirm the receiver Just like the battery, the receiver can also be attached to the bottom plate with velcro. It is advisable to put the servo cables in the receiver and to provide them with a small label on the other side. At the receiver, the documentation indicates which channel has which property (for example "ELE" of elevator, or "THR" of throttle). Specify this on the cables so that they can be plugged directly into the flight controller. Also put the channel number on it, so that the cables can easily be plugged into the receiver if they have to be removed.

Because the cables are already in the receiver you can already take into account the extra space that that takes. Bend the cables over the receiver, through a hole in the top plate of the frame. Stick the velcro on the spot where the receiver comes.

Important: The antenna of the receiver should not be too close to places where there is a lot of current due to interference.

Step 10 - Attaching the top plate Now screw the top plate onto the frame. Ensure that all cables (from the ESCs and from the receiver) come up through the correct holes. Tighten the screws firmly, but do not overdo it.

Then plug the servo cables into the flight controller using the labels you have attached to them and the documentation of the flight controller.

Finish by attaching the ESCs to the flight controller. Do not do this randomly, but keep the engine layout as indicated in the flight controller documentation. In the case of  kk2.0, the engine layout is as shown in the image below. The top four contact points on the right are for the first four motors.

Step 11 - Clean up Knot all the wires together and use small tiewraps to tie them into small bundles. Keep the various types of cables preferably together and do not attach them to other wiring. In the case of maintenance, not all tiewraps need to be cut through. Check that there is nothing that can get into the propellers. If so, tie it even closer together.