Just ordered my parts for a QAV250 build I've been planning. Pretty excited to get it all going. Never done a drone build before but have come from 450 helicopter flying so will be interesting to compare the differences.
Anyone got any general tips before I get stuck into my build?
Depends on how much building you've done before?
I'd do some reading for the flight controller you've picked. Plenty of threads dedicated to each over on RC Groups and other multi-rotor forums.
Generally though (I'm making some noobish assumptions here) ....
-Get a decent soldering Iron if you don't already have one
-Use leaded solder - anything else sucks
-You can't have enough heat-shrink or cable ties
-Sticky pads and sticky backed velcro are useful ways of fixing down controllers and other components
-Pay attention to getting the right motor directions/numbering
-Motor spin direction can be reversed by swapping any 2 wires to the ESC
-Counter clockwise aka reverse props go on clockwise motors and vice versa
-Make sure the Flight Controller firmware is flashed to latest version
-All ways props off when working on the quad in any way (don't ask how I know this)
-Make sure props and motors are reasonably well balanced. FC's (esp Naze32) are particularly susceptible to vibrations
-If it's a Carbon Fibre Frame, it's conductive so make sure no electrical contacts with frame
-A power distribution board saves a lot of ballache
-Make sure you set a sensible failsafe on the RX - mine is set to zero throttle as anything else is dangerous to my mind unless it's a GPS based FC with good alt/pos hold
-LED strips are useful for LOS orientation. 250 quads are awfully small at surprisingly short distances
-Find out what firmware is on the ESC's and consider flashing BLheli or Simonk if not. Type depends on particular ESC. At the least, see what sort of low voltage cut off it has. Ideally, you want none.
-Make sure your ESC's work with your motors. Some have sync problems with high KV pancake motors such as the sunnysky 2204 2300kv
-Buy lots of props as they break easily, possibly a few each of different spec.
- Don't fly within 50m of people or buildings not under your control or 150m of built up areas!
I suspect I've missed something, but those are all things that I have learnt (and am still learning!) over the course of 3 builds. Sorry if it some of it seems obvious, but difficult to gauge your level of experience with these things!
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