First I am new to this multi rotor thing... A few years ago I was into planes .40-.60 glow powered planes (just easy "Sport Planes" no 3D). Then my free time went away and I could not keep up with that hobby.

I am now looking to get back into a RC hobby. I happen to notice these multi rotors a few weeks ago and they look like my thing.

I am wanting to build a Tricopter or Ycopter. I eventually would like to do the air video thing so what ever I build I would like it to be able to easily carry a small video camera (GoPro Size). I plan on building this Y using something similar to RCExplorer.se plans.

Would like recommendations on (remember this is my first Multirotor and I have not flown in a while and I want enough power and stability to attach pointnshoot camera):

Flight Control Board
Motor & Prop (I know nothing about Brushless Size/Ratings?)
Battery
ESC
Servo

With Current Gen ESCs is it still required to re-flash them?

Currently I am looking at:
Turingy 9x Radio... (I like the Idea of the ER firmware flash?)

Hobbyking i86 Multi-Rotor Control Board
https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dproduct=12974

Hobby King 20A ESC 3A UBEC
https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dproduct=15202

hexTronik DT750 Brushless Outrunner 750kv
https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...idproduct=6247

Thats a good start. I would really recommend the KK2 board, just be gentle with it and do some research on how to set it up properly. The original KK board does okay, but the self-level and LCD screen make the KK2 worth the extra $15.

The DT750's are a good motor. 20a ESC should be good with 3s and 10x4.5 or 10x4.7 props. I am using the DT750 motor with a 4s motor, but I have 30a ESC's so I don't worry so much about them. They have been doing a great job at heavy lifting. My frame is pretty heavy, with the battery it comes in over 1.5kg. And recently I have been strapping my old camcorder to it for some FPV shots.

My ESC's are the new Turnigy Plush with Silabs chipset. They are not SimonK Compatible, but they work great out of the box for multirotors. You can find vendors selling ESC's already flashed with SimonK firmware if you want some worry-free ESC's.

There are a few Tricopter builds in the Scratch-build sub-forum (including my build) and you'll learn alot reading through them. I used RC Explorers Tricopter template and building the frame was the easiest part.

Subaru4wd,

Thanks for your reply...

So you are using a 4s battery... What capacity? and what are the typical run times? How big of a difference in performance is it compared to a 3s?

Old Camcorder... how heavy/big is it?

How big is your tri-copter (center point of frame to center point of motor?)

Check out my build thread: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show....php?t=1705017

I dont have exact specifics, as far as width, weight, etc... I know its pretty heavy compared to my friends quad, but also 3x the size. The 4s batteries are 2200mah, and I also have 3s 2200mah batteries as well. The difference between the two is amazing, but its what you'd expect when you increase voltage by 4 volts.

Flight times with the camcorder are roughly 4 to 5 minutes with the camcorder on, and closer to 8-9 minutes without. I also noticed i get about a minute longer battery life with 11" props vs. 10" props.

I recommend you eCalc from http://www.ecalc.ch/xcoptercalc_e.htm?ecalc
you will understand many things with it... move numbers around and see the warnings in red so you can find a setup that fits you.

Guys... Thank you so far for your help... But I have another n00b question:

Where do you find clockwise and counter clockwise propellers at a decent price?

Originally Posted by FatN00b

Guys... Thank you so far for your help... But I have another n00b question:

Where do you find clockwise and counter clockwise propellers at a decent price?

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show....php?t=1746276

the best prop for the price

Ok... Yet more n00b questions?

What are the criteria for comparing these brushless motors for use in multi-copters?

For example which would be best for a tri :
https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...er_3800kv.html

https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...ner_Motor.html

https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...idProduct=6247

Originally Posted by FatN00b

Ok... Yet more n00b questions?

What are the criteria for comparing these brushless motors for use in multi-copters?

For example which would be best for a tri :
https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...er_3800kv.html

https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...ner_Motor.html

https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...idProduct=6247

https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...idProduct=6247

That is the motor I am using. You want something under 1000kv if you are planning on lifting some weight. That DT-750 with 11" props can do alot of lifting. I have two batteries and a camcorder strapped to my tricopter, and the motors don't even break a sweat:



If you were going to build a smaller frame and use smaller props, you would want a faster KV motor, but i think 2200 and 3600kv are WAY to fast for any multirotor.

Subaru,

Again thanks for all your help so far... So for Multi-rotors we want slightly slower speeds (sub 1000kv)...

So I am going to stick with the DT750s for my first build (seen them used a few places now).

And you suggest using a slightly "oversized" ESC... What do you think of this one:
https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dproduct=25365

30 amp is a good amperage for this motor. Those are brand new ESC's from HobbyKing made specifically for Multirotors. So i would think they would work good.

What are you thinking about as far as your frame goes?

Top/Bottom Plate Either:
Lite Ply (model airplane type stuff) or Lexan (after seeing your build)

Arms Either:
U-channel aluminum or 1/2" Popular Wood

Still have not decided how I want to do the Rear "Yaw" Control Mount

BTWL
Any thoughts on this motor?
https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dproduct=16229

How are you powering the RX and Flight Control Board (is there an abbreviation for this maybe FCB ??)

The flight controller is powered by the ESC connection. Then the flight controller sends voltage to the RX and powers it through the RX to FC connections.