Ok, well I am getting back to R/C but drones only this round (well pretty much). I guess a Christmas present (Parrot AR Drone) got me started. My parrot drone was doing pretty well, until I started messing with fountains. I ended up taking a bath which has cost me $100 so far and it's still not working... I guess the cheap sonar doesn't always do well directly over fountain spray nozzles (even several feet above them). Here is a video of my last Parrot Drone flight using a GoProH2 mounted on the battery tray for video:

Parrot AR FountainHD.mov (4 min 9 sec)

I ordered a CX4 a few weeks ago, and started looking at how I could use this for some real high quality aerial photo/videography. I ordered a set of 4 motors and speed controllers from udrones and got a great deal, but as I looked at how I would make use of the speed controllers, I got yucked away from the traditional ESC, and stated looking more seriously at the BL-2.0 ESC and quad distribution board(octo capable):
http://mikrokopter.de/ucwiki/en/BL-Ctrl_2.0
The price seemed a bit high, but I started thinking I should put together 2 drones. One to test with (cheaper) and one to use when I want to do some pro quality video. I decided to take the cheaper udrones ECS & Motors and order a cheaper quad airframe which I will put those motors on. This will be good to have a fun drone and a business drone.
As far as controls, I am using Arducopter telemetry:
http://code.google.com/p/arducopter/
I ordered some new motors which are better for a mid/heavy load which is what the CX4 is for (or at least I like a bit of overkill on my models and powerful motors are part of that)... The new motors I ordered are made specifically for audio visual applications which is cool:
http://montorc.com/M2814Shaft.aspx

Well, tonight I looked at the BL 2.0 ESC's and there isn't a straightforward e-flight manual for these guys, also the Power Distrubution Board didn't contain a few little things which would be helpful, but I will kludge myself some jumper wires which will work...

I will take pictures as I work tomorrow on getting this thing together. I am just really eager to get the frame for those cheap udrones motors, as then I can start messing around without so much on the line. That CX4 is gonna be more expensive than my old composite arf, which I thought was a ton of cash! I won't fly it until it's perfectly tuned and I know way better what I am doing with these drones.

I have a Gaui500X,but that things also fully loaded with Arducopter, Xbee FPV & a ton of sensors. I have been flying that a bit, but it's actually for a client and I hate the additional pressure... The cheap frame I ordered is similar to the GAUI, just cheap and pretty:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/180775401050...ht_4949wt_1344

mk escs and tarducopter
This is going to be interesting.

Oh Yea, my Composite ARF is for sale right now:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/220934530620...#ht_500wt_1359
and
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv...803919062.html

This was my favorite plane I ever had (built 2005)! Never even landed hard. This plane flies true and predictable! I am just moving and don't want to store this (sick of seeing great toys go on storage wars and such) and don't have room to take it with me...

For the GAUI500X I am setting up for a client, I have to add a camera as well, both FPV and HD Video (Canon Powershot or something similar). I found a really nice landing gear/fixed camera mount from drones vision which I am gonna order next week. I will take shots of the GAUI also tomorrow. Here is the link to the gear/camera mount:
http://www.dronesvision.com/sto-s-50...otography-fpv/

I think for the money, this is the way to go, also, my client can't handie pan/tilt on a drone camera (way too much for him), that this will work fine.

Originally Posted by timecop

mk escs and tarducopter
This is going to be interesting.

Tarducopter, oh no

My experience is that names like that actually bless aircraft (like my Composite ARF "Impact"). I couldn't make that plane misbehave and was blessed with radio luck back in the 72mhz days of, "hits a plenty"!

Here's the Frame of the CX4 assembled.
I took the landing gear off to paint the body parts (body top pictured with landing gear).

Also for some reason there was a fittment issue (only fittment issue I had so far) with the top body and where it meets the thumb screw. The top body was about 3-4mm shy of being flush against the front thumb screw mount. I haven't picked up the washers yet (because I am so picky I want black ones). I plan to shim the front body mount with 3 washers (easy side) to bring it flush.

I purchased the unassembled MK Power Distribution Board and 4 BL2 ESCs.

I really took my time finding out exactly how I would solder them together for my specific case not using the MK Flight Control. I am using Arudcopter which I am already somewhat familiar with... This is the board 95% complete (just needing power connectors and any accessories I add).

Here are a few shots of the assembled Arducopter Electronics on a GAUI500X I built for a client to test with. I took the mini camera off it, until I get some a/v cables finalized this week. I will upload another few pictures once I get the camera mount/landing gear installed and finalize the quad. This quad flies really well on 3S, I plan to fly the CX4 mostly running 4S.

Are there any other owners of this CX4 airframe here at RCGROUPS?

Did anyone else have the similar fittment issue with the body/thumbscrew???
How did you resolve this?
Did you inform the manufacturer??

Here's a shot of the CX4 with the GoProH2 attached to the factory camera mount.

I ordered 4 AVROTO motors, but one of them didn't spin as smoothly as the other three, so I am gonna have them exchange it. This is why there are only three motors pictured. The AVROTO motors don't come with bullet connectors and I prefer them than direct solder.

I am trying to add a perceived value to the drone, and used copper to make it look truly pro. I worked in television for years, and perceived value is huge in that industry. This drone will be used for video and the look may be quite important to get the kind of money I would like to for flying it... (ahh dreams)...

I just see these drones as an amazing (even lucky for mind candy) convergence of many skills and hobbies, and love that I am able to use so many at once! It's like it's all coming together. Plus I am moving to Mexico in a few weeks and that will give me better legalities on using the drone than the US which is turning in to a police state (but that's another issue)...

Well, I used the support link to send an email to http://montorc.com/ where I purchased my AVROTO motors from. I was very pleasantly surprised to wake up to an email stating that they would send me a replacement motor today and get me some instructions for shipping back the faulty motor (doesn't spin perfectly smooth like other 3).

Thanks very much MontoRC for your stellar support!

This is a great page to reference when programming your JR radio for 6 flight modes:
http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/...6-flight-modes

So thankful not to have to reinvent the wheel!

Originally Posted by lebdog

Here's a shot of the CX4 with the GoProH2 attached to the factory camera mount.

I ordered 4 AVROTO motors, but one of them didn't spin as smoothly as the other three, so I am gonna have them exchange it. This is why there are only three motors pictured. The AVROTO motors don't come with bullet connectors and I prefer them than direct solder.

I purchased 4 avroto motors and 1 of them didn't spin as smooth as the others. Turns out ends of the wires (which were stripped, tinned and then heat shrinked together) were touching each other and that was causing the resistance. Taking off the heat shrink and making sure the wire ends were not touching solved the "perceived" issue.

Originally Posted by robvree

I purchased 4 avroto motors and 1 of them didn't spin as smooth as the others. Turns out ends of the wires (which were stripped, tinned and then heat shrinked together) were touching each other and that was causing the resistance. Taking off the heat shrink and making sure the wire ends were not touching solved the "perceived" issue.

Thanks for your reply. That would probably work in my case also, but I am just gonna wait for the new one they sent to me. I don't like fixing (even small details) new products. Massaging products in to place has it's place, and I prefer when products operate as they were intended without the massage...

I have plenty of other work to get done as I wait for the new motors, so tonights is another solder night and xbee programming...