New FW 450 Build

[SanCap]

Since I installed the E300 propulsion on my 550 the original red motors have had nothing to do since yesterday They will be part of my new 450 build. My friend made me some custom LED holders that fit between the arm and the motor using the original screws. I am going to put some 180 degree LEDs pointing down. I will keep you posted on my progress.

 

[OI Photography]

Nice...do you already know what LED's you'll be using?

 

[SanCap]

Nice...do you already know what LED's you'll be using?

No not yet I am open to suggestions.

 

[ElGuano]

Nice...do you already know what LED's you'll be using?

No not yet I am open to suggestions.

Beautifully machined I made something similar for my 450 and 550 LEDs, but mine are FDM so yours are going to stand up to a lot more abuse if your craft lands on an arm.

As for LEDs, if you're just going for static lights or set patterns, I'd recommend anything that runs on whatever voltage battery (3S/4S) you are flying with, as it'll save you the nuisance of a BEC. If you want to get more customized/creative with your lights, there are more options out there!

 

[SanCap]

For the beginning I just want static red and green. I believe the holes are @ 7mm. I am going to add a 5 volt bec and a couple of 12 volt dongles to the original build.

 

[OI Photography]

I had bought these a while back when trying different options on my 550. They work fine, they're just not quite as bright as some of the flat LED options I tried. Simple to wire up as you can see, and they get power from the same Rx channel you can use to turn them on/off. I bought them from Atlanta Hobby (fairly cheap if I remember) but I don't see them listed on the site anymore:

When I bought these, they were available in red, green and white, and flashing or non-flashing. In the 2nd pic you can see some of the splitters you can get with them to run more than just the 4 the leads on the controller provide, I ran 8 at once when I tested them.

 

[SanCap]

Thanks for that, they look a bit to long for my application. I would have to have the wires coming off the bulb at a 90 degree angle. I do like the way you have yours parallel to the ground.

 

[SanCap]

I am thinking something like this http://www.superbrightleds.com/search/led-products/rl8-g50-360/ but maybe not 360 degrees. I am not sure of the brightness.

 

[SanCap]

I have the inards removed from my phantom/450 build and the top and bottom plates are ready to have the esc's soldered to them. Maybe this thing will fly tonight!

 

[OI Photography]

Yeah I'd say the LED's you linked might be the better option. It's possible you may need to add whatever bit of components are under the heatshrink on the ones I have (feels like a couple of resistors), I can peel one off if you need to see.

 

[SanCap]

Thanks for the offer, I am not sure if it is necessary right now. I am going to build the copter and add on as I go. My friend who designed and cut the led mounts used them and is using a 200 ohm 1/4 watt resistor in the beginning of the series. I may want to do something that will allow me to plug into my receiver so I can turn them on and off. I probably will add a couple of these http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=53_93&products_id=996 also. I just put 1 on my 550 and it is really neat. It is bright even in mid day sunlight. I have it plugged into the receiver and it works great!

 

[SanCap]

The lower plate tinned ready for the tinned esc wires.

 

[OI Photography]

I had a package arrive from RMRC today in fact, and it would have included the white version of that strobe but they were out of stock.

On that note, if you haven't picked up a BEC yet, I did just get this one, it's even smaller than I expected...seems to be a nice tidy way to create 12v and 5v circuits on the same rig: http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index. ... ts_id=2938

Nice job on tinning those pads!

 

[ElGuano]

Nice find on the 12/5 bec. I would love to use that, but my LEDs definitely draw >1A depending on how in program them, so I'm resorting to separate 5v/12v becs. Kind of a pain when you run 6s power...

 

[SanCap]

That is a nice looking unit, I will have to order one of them. I just placed an order with RMRC this morning! The esc's are soldered in, now I have to make a power input wire.

 

[SanCap]

Power input connecter complete.

 

[SanCap]

Everything is soldered in and ready to assemble.

 

[OI Photography]

Are you mounting the ESC's on the arms? You may find it's easier to mount the arms before soldering the ESC leads, or at least feed them through the holes in the root of the arm first.

 

[ElGuano]

Are you mounting the ESC's on the arms? You may find it's easier to mount the arms before soldering the ESC leads, or at least feed them through the holes in the root of the arm first.

And if it's Aimdroix arms, it's time to unsolder

 

[SanCap]

Are you mounting the ESC's on the arms? You may find it's easier to mount the arms before soldering the ESC leads, or at least feed them through the holes in the root of the arm first.

Thanks for that but I am past that point. I am now securing the esc's to the arms with the "waxed Lacing" I talked about a couple weeks ago. Moving right along