Thanks MC. On your DJI ESC's do you in fact use the bullets, or do you direct solder? Do you feel the bullets can lead to a failure, and is better to go direct?

I check to make sure the bullets are tight from time to time, but that's it. The problem lies in the solder on the male end of the bullet to the motor wire on DJI motors. Their QC seemed to be lacking for quite some time causing motor failure when it heated up and for the lucky ones it was just a slight half second glitch in the motor.

Some people have said they don't like the quality of the bullets themselves but I haven't experienced any problems and I have unplugged them almost a dozen times now.

I know you are scared now, that feeling you had has been experienced by all of us at least once. Remember even the finest car in the world will have a mechanical problem, these flying contraptions are the same. Buy the best of the best and you aren't guaranteed to have trouble free flights.

Here is my scare! I still haven't got over this and anytime I hear something weird from my hex while in the air my heart drops. Typically it's just my GPS kicking up the motors to correct for wind... but I die a little everytime

DJI F550 Naza GPS - Lost a prop midflight (2 min 0 sec)

WOW! GREAT JOB! Thank god you were able to control it. At least in your case you knew what it was right away! In mine, there is always that unknown.. was it a motor, was it the ESC, was it the FC, was it the RX? <sigh>. So, do you still use the DJI motors, or something better now?

Still using DJI motors and I am 6lbs AUW. I won't be able to use them when ambient temperatures are above 80-90F and living in Texas that is right around the corner. It's just too much weight on 4S with 10in Graupners.

Ah I see! Good point.. same deal here in Miami.. So, what motor are your going to replace with? I assume you will still keep your DJI ESC's?

I actually think I will be building and new Y6 rig from scratch for my high end camera/gimbal and make my F550 a hard mounted GoPro fun-fly machine.

I will be building a parts list soon, will probably try some SimonK ESCs because I keep hearing good things. I need to figure out if I am staying 4S or moving to 5S/6S before picking motors.

Cool! Ah, thats right the SimonK is not on the DJI ESC's.. but, I guess they must perform fine so who cares then right? Perhaps it was the fimware that caused my nasty fall.. I read that the SimonK pushes both the ESC and the motor to the limits..

Another thing I thought of in terms of what may have caused the issue... was perhaps the ESC was over amped? The T-motor website says the motors I have are 18A max... and the ESC I have are 20A. Could that do it?

Originally Posted by Tharr62

Another thing I thought of in terms of what may have caused the issue... was perhaps the ESC was over amped? The T-motor website says the motors I have are 18A max... and the ESC I have are 20A. Could that do it?

The actual current depends on your setup i.e. prop size and cell count. Ideally you want to check this (I use a Quanum telemetry system that's pretty cheap but works fine). In reality though it's very unlikely this is your problem. The 2216 motors on my hexa are pulling around 4A each in the hover (at 2.1 kg AUW).

Also the vast majority of ESCs will easily handle currents higher than their rating, short duration. I use lightweight 8A ESCs on all my 3D foamies ... most are set up to pull 10-12A on full throttle. Never had any issues.

Happy to report that this quad has been completely rebuilt.. and flys great again (for now). I replaced all ESC's, all motors, and upgraded to UHF. I rebuild using the F450 frame, and I really love it. It is MUCH better then the crappy HT-FPV frame!

Originally Posted by Tharr62

Happy to report that this quad has been completely rebuilt.. and flys great again (for now). I replaced all ESC's, all motors, and upgraded to UHF. I rebuild using the F450 frame, and I really love it. It is MUCH better then the crappy HT-FPV frame!

What UHF system are you using now?

All this talk of failing bullet connectors has me thinking, double check everything. Flying over a neighborhood with questionable solder joints is a potential tragedy waiting to happen. Sobering thought isnt it?

I just built a new F550 and had a motor start to fail after a 3 minute hover in my garage. Wonder if a solder joint may be bad on that ESC or motor lead. Sounds like it could be that.

Flying over a neighborhood is sobering WITHOUT thinking about a failure. Sh-tuff happens no matter how much maintenance you perform. Do not fly over people or property that isn't yours.

EDIT** See my video above actually. I wasn't over a neighborhood but a failure put me there. Failure is impossible to predict and will happen.

I wasn't over a neighborhood but a failure put me there.

Well, then I guess you were.. as you said, stuff can happen. Your's could have gone in the highway and caused a car accident! Even worse.

Look, I already got the point.. I don't need someone telling me this now. Especially someone with a similar video!

I have done the responsible thing and replaced everything on this quad.. in fact, I have replaced the entire thing now.. As you can see this park I fly at is very big.. even then.. a failure "could" cause it to go off course as yours did.. and guess what? Hit a house?

So the only place suitable to fly quads then.. is.. in the middle of nowhere!

What UHF system are you using now?

EzUHF

Flying over a neighborhood with questionable solder joints is a potential tragedy waiting to happen. Sobering thought isnt it?

Yes, this is why I built my own this time, and *know* the solder joints are good. I think we have ALL flown over a house or two in our travels.. and in my case 90% of my flight was over park, and near by golf course.. but, to re-enter the park I have to pass over three houses. OF COURSE thats when it will fail as you saw in the video.

AND in MCrites situation (which was worse then mine, and could have done a ton more damage to others as they highway was RIGHT NEXT TO HIM!) could have hit an on coming car! In Miami they would have gotten out and shot you dead!

We both have learned.. and need to find better flying spots.. because even if our intentions are good stuff happens..