Home Forums Everything about the Baby Tricopter just a couple of questions.

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  • #40013
    thawk01
    Participant

    Hello, I’m kinda new to the rc hobby, built my first quad not long ago and as I progress to my second build (baby tricopter) I’m doing allot of research and learning all I can. Problem is, it’s becoming harder and harder to find exact info I am curious about on YouTube, and most of the time when I search online, I’m seeing retail stores and sites.. ain’t really helpful. So I’ve got some questions and hope I can receive some help. I’m a visual learner and photos with arrows and a small description can be very helpful to me, but I’ll do my best to follow along.

    I’m very interested in the baby tricopter. I plan to buy the entire kit from here to build it, but I plan to use the runcam split, I have an extra eachine vtx03, and now I need to pick a reciever to bind to my flysky FS-i6.

    With fpv, my question here is, where can I hook it up to 5v? Because I’m gonna bridge the 6v on the pdb for the servo. I chose the split because it records hd vids. But I don’t have osd and would like to see where my battery is, any ideas as to getting simple osd?

    Now, with the vtx, mine is pretty good. I like the kloverleaf antennas for flashy appearance but don’t think my vtx will adapt to one. So I’m willing to buy the vtx(tbs unify pro hv) in the video on building a baby tri. Is a kloverleaf antenna better than the one on my vtx03? I know I can connect my camera to the tbs unify and get power from it that way. Which vtx is better?

    Alright last question, I have a flysky FS-i6 transmitter 6ch 2.4gh. my only problem is finding compatible recievers specifically for this build and my Tx. The reciever that came with my Tx (fs-ia6b, afhds 2a)sounds acceptable besides it’s case, wouldn’t really fit nicely to this build compared to the frsky-xsr shown in the video. But I don’t think that reciever is compatible with my Tx. Any suggestions to a good reciever? Am I able to use my reciever? If so, how can I go about it? I’m guessing ppm wouldn’t work?

    #40026
    Kevin_Erik
    Moderator

    1) I’ve a Tri-Mini and am using the PPM’s “+” & “-” to supply the 5 VDC. However your real problem will be supplying 650 milli-amps the Split requires. Now so long as you have a decent FC / BEC card you should be golden. Otherwise may I suggest getting the the following two cards:

    Mateksys VTX

    Mateksys AIO (All In One) FC / BEC / Blackbox / OSD / Current Sensor

    The AIO card has both 5V and 9V @ 2 Amps… You could wire the Split to the 5V and the VTX to the 9V.

    2) Make sure you get the Runcam Split V2a and not the V1. The updated Split has a reverse current protection, a better WiFi dongle and is more robust overall.

    3) Be aware that the Split does not yet have support for OSD. Hence some form of external OSD support is needed. Beyond this, Runcam has stated that they intend to provide OSD support in the future but has not said if this will be via Firmware or a new card (V3).

    4) After a quick look the receiver that came with your FlySky FS-i6 should wire up to one of your serial USB ports. (four wires but maybe not in this order, “+”, “-“, “RX”, “TX”) That is unless the manual (if there is one) says otherwise. Now if that shouldn’t work you can try what I’m using: XM Plus Receiver

    #40027
    thawk01
    Participant

    I appreciate your feedback, only thing I’m noticing with this hobby is there are hoops at times to jump through. No biggy, when there is a will there is a way. I have a couple option. I could just go without the fpv and save that for my quad. Which I’m not even use to doing fpv. My Los is better anyways. I mostly like the split for it’s hd recording to take back home and post my flights.

    Another option is think about the new chips you are presenting and getting something new to learn and play with. Of course, it’s gonna be a bit before I feel like spending this much on the baby tri so my goal is to look more into these new items and plan. Plan be could be to use all the same things I bought for my quad if possible.

    David in the video took ppm out and I’ve never played with any other way of having the reciever communicate with the fc. Just the more motivation to learn. Thanks again

    #40030
    Kevin_Erik
    Moderator

    I’d suggest researching everything before you jump in. Specifically look for the problems others have run into and what the possible solutions are in advance of buying anything. This way you can make informed choices before you buy and not be side-swiped by unknowns.

    About FPV, I’d recommend having it as it can save your copter during times when your LOS becomes limited or when you can’t discern your orientation. Besides, FPV once mastered can be fun and allows for possibilities that are not available to LOS fliers.

    The “chips” i gave links to are very good (as i understand it) but keep in mind that I don’t have these myself. However if i were to build a “Baby” this is what I’d use. They’re small compact, proven systems that IMO will save you both time and money. Besides, I realy, really, really F’n hate pic-blade connectors. Never had one that lasted more than 1-2 flights before taking a shit. Don’t understand why they’re so popular in FPV as they are the singular greatest point of failure period!

    PPM is basically three connections: Signal, Positive and Ground. All I did is use the Positive and Ground to power the Split, while using the Tricopters “RAW” connector to power the VTX. RAW is a direct connection to the battery for FPV gear and the like. I use filtering and a mini step-down voltage regulator to balance and protect the VTX voltage from transients. Ideally you’ll want to supply maybe 0.5 VDC more than what the VTX requires. (Most VTX cards “require” +7 VDC) Reason I say this is that the Step-down regulator tries to keep within the voltage range you set but if the input voltage drops too low so can the Regulators output. Hence having a slightly higher voltage setting can help prevent you from experiencing a brown out.

    Grounds… Um, some devices work better if the Ground from each device is linked together. This provides a common voltage reference for all devices that are working together. (No floating grounds)

    Wiki: Most electrical circuits have a ground which is electrically connected to the Earth, hence the name “ground”. The ground is said to be floating when this connection does not exist. Conductors are also described as having a floating voltage if they are not connected electrically to another non-floating conductor. Without such a connection, voltages and current flows are induced by electromagnetic fields or charge accumulation within the conductor rather than being due to the usual external potential difference of a power source.

    Example: Video from the Runcam Split should have its ground wire attached to the VTX. This helps limit the amount of noise that can be seen on the FPV feed to your goggles.

    Another way of understanding this is that Ground for all intensive purposes is considered ZERO while your +5VD voltage rides above this ZERO reference. So let’s say that our Ground “floats” due to external transients and is now momentarily at +0.5VDC instead of Zero. This means that your effective Positive voltage is only 4.5VDC instead of the 5VDC you’re supposed to have. In the case of digital equipment, this could lead to a brownout or possible damage. So as you can see, keeping everything on the same ground reference is very important. Without it most of the electronics we have today just wouldn’t work or at the very least they’d be dangerous to use. Just think of the old refrigerator that shocks someone who touches it. (Bad grounding)

    Kevin

    #40086
    thawk01
    Participant

    my first build is from futureuav on youtube, and i followed his directions to the wizard 99$ build. everything is connected on 5v on the pdb, everything is the upgraded version he lists, i can gladly reply all that went into the build with a bit of info. but anyways, everything is also sharing the same ground on the pdb, except the buzzer, and also vbat. would this be the common ground or sharing ground? this hobby has so much more behind the scenes to try and grasp and understand. my fpv feed seems to be pretty stable and clear, i could try to do what you suggested with the camera and vtx though to first hand see any differences. everything works pretty fine, no noticeable issues, except for the buzzer. it goes off the whole flight 80%of the time i hook the battery up and arm it. sometimes it doesnt, i have my opinions as to why, and i think it has to do with my runcam split. in betaflight, i turned only a couple of features on for the beeper that wouldnt make it do this. but yea, would you say i built it with sharing a common ground?

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