Noobie Seeking Answers---if you Please

[mcdee2005]

So this is my first post to the forum but i have read a lot of the posts here and still i have questions which i cant find the answers to so hopefully some of you might be able to Help

1. What are the biggest props that you can put on a stock Phantom 1 and what Pros and cons does this have?

2. If i were to change out the motors what is the largest size of motor i could use and would this require changing the ESC's? has anyone actually done this?

3. Does anyone know if it is possible to replace the stock phantom 1 body shell with that of the phantom 2 so as to give more room for batteries etc. is there anywhere that would make a door to suit?

4. I have read varying ideas about gain values and what others have set them at. What do they actually do and what is the best way to experiment with them?

5. I have invested in FPV gear and OSD but would like to hard wire most of it rather than take up precious space and weight with large interconnect cables, does anyone have a diagram of the upgraded phantom board or know of where i can find one, searches on google have failed to find one.

6. And this is just a thought, would it be an idea to have a section on the forum for tutorials etc so as share the wealth of knowledge that is obviously here

Regards
McDee

 

[tanasit]

So this is my first post to the forum but i have read a lot of the posts here and still i have questions which i cant find the answers to so hopefully some of you might be able to Help

1. What are the biggest props that you can put on a stock Phantom 1 and what Pros and cons does this have?
9x4 is the safe maximum for stock Phantom with heavy load.

2. If i were to change out the motors what is the largest size of motor i could use and would this require changing the ESC's? has anyone actually done this?
It is NOT the size but rather the KV rating which should be close to the stock (920KV), the lower the KV, the higher the torque but lower speed(rpm). This depends on how do you plan to use your Phantom, carry heavy load, then go for lower KV motor to spin the larger props.

3. Does anyone know if it is possible to replace the stock phantom 1 body shell with that of the phantom 2 so as to give more room for batteries etc. is there anywhere that would make a door to suit?
No idea.

4. I have read varying ideas about gain values and what others have set them at. What do they actually do and what is the best way to experiment with them?
You have a few choices to do so.
1. Set it manually, how?
First you must understand that the GAIN works this way:

The Basic GAIN (first row in the GAIN tab of BASIC section in the Assistant) controls Flight attitude which means the higher the gain, the faster your Phantom will go back to level positions.
the Attitude GAIN (second row) control stick response which means the higher the GAIN, the faster and more powerful your stick command will be.

With that in mind, you can manually set the GAIN to your liking. DJI recommend changing 10% at a time.
This means, you have to hook it up to your computer, set it, unhook and test fly and repeat the steps until you come to where you like. But if the weather changes or you add more accessories thus change weight, then you may have to change the GAIN setting again.

2. Set it remotely without the computer hookup. First in the Assistant, in the GAIN tab of BASIC section click on the INH and select X1 of "whatever" GAIN you want (most likely the whole row). Turn your TX over on the bottom right, you will see a hole and if you look down, you will see a pot which can be adjusted using a small screw driver. Turning the pot will change the GAIN so while your Phantom still connected to the computer, try that and see how the GAIN % changes. First you want to set it so that around the "mid point" of the pot, you have the number as close as the default as possible and leave the pot setting there. You may want to put the mark on the back so that you know where is the mid point.
At the field, you can try different settings and see how your Phantom reacts. Find your best pot setting and don't touch it.
Back at home, connect to your computer and look at the GAIN, write the numbers down, then INH those X1 and set the numbers to whatever you wrote down.
Now do the same for the second row (Attitude GAIN) as above.
Later on you can "fine tune" each setting using the same method but set X1 for only what you want to change.

Good luck,

Note. we are using the hidden 7th channel of the Phantom TX, designed for the gimbal movement which requires the control arm connected to the pot on the back and you use your pinky to control the angle of the gimbal.
See post: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=808&p=5485#p5485

5. I have invested in FPV gear and OSD but would like to hard wire most of it rather than take up precious space and weight with large interconnect cables, does anyone have a diagram of the upgraded phantom board or know of where i can find one, searches on google have failed to find one.
I think HK has the diagram, similar to below and most cable harnesses are readily available:

6. And this is just a thought, would it be an idea to have a section on the forum for tutorials etc so as share the wealth of knowledge that is obviously here

Regards
McDee

 

[OI Photography]

3. Does anyone know if it is possible to replace the stock phantom 1 body shell with that of the phantom 2 so as to give more room for batteries etc. is there anywhere that would make a door to suit?

Absolutely: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7017

 

[mcdee2005]

Thanks Tanasit and OI photography for the help