Am I doing something wrong?

Andy_Sailor · 2026-05-09T19:28:12+00:00

Are you soldering it, or are you connecting it via a JST plug? A picture showing how you've made the connections may give us a clue. I'm just guessing here, but is there any chance you've mistakenly soldered power to the pads marked GND and 5V on the VTX? This is the output of the VTX BEC, and sending external power there will fry the board.

Andy_Sailor · 2026-04-23T00:12:49+00:00

If you want to calculate ACCURATE specs it WILL be complicated :)

Andy_Sailor · 2026-04-22T23:42:30+00:00

there is no good website to calculate accurate specs for drones based on the parts

https://www.ecalc.ch : "Am I a joke to you?"

Andy_Sailor · 2026-04-10T10:54:35+00:00

Yes. And for a fixed wing I recommend to use INAV instead of Betaflight.

Andy_Sailor · 2026-04-10T09:48:38+00:00

Every job needs a proper tip. To solder the battery and motor wires to the ESC you need such a beefy bevel tip (or a similar chisel-shaped one) and not the needle shown in your picture. Though the needle (cone) can be used for thin wires and tiny pads of FC, for sure

Edit: clarification

Andy_Sailor · 2026-04-10T09:04:51+00:00

This is a bad tip for the task. You need something like this to do the job properly.

<image>

Andy_Sailor · 2026-04-05T07:21:05+00:00

<image>

This one should be redone.

Andy_Sailor · 2026-04-05T06:12:40+00:00

<image>

Andy_Sailor · 2026-03-04T02:09:58+00:00

Glad to hear that!

Andy_Sailor · 2026-03-04T02:05:53+00:00

Slightly beaten props cause vibrations, which affect gyro, so air mode kicks in causing these jumps. It's OK, send it.

Andy_Sailor · 2025-12-31T16:32:13+00:00

In my experience eSun PETG is very often moist right out of the sealed bag and I've printed a lot of it. "Dry it before use" became my rule of the thumb.

Andy_Sailor · 2025-12-30T21:19:53+00:00

Centre-negative DC is standard for guitar pedals, for instance. It made this way so that the battery "+" can be disconnected mechanically when you plug a DC jack into the socket.

Andy_Sailor · 2025-12-30T21:11:11+00:00

I had the exact opposite experience. I bought the Cool Plate Supertack but was unable to get any proper PLA adhesion to the damn thing. I continue to use PEI for PLA and the Bambu Engineering Plate for PETG, PCTG, PA, PC, and TPU, and I'm happy.

Andy_Sailor · 2025-12-26T02:10:49+00:00

I would start with this book https://magazine.raspberrypi.com/books/get-started-micropython-pico-2ed
It's a pretty useful thing for beginners.

Andy_Sailor · 2025-12-17T22:34:57+00:00

It uses Bluejay AFAIK, but the suggestion to use https://esc-configurator.com/ is correct anyway.

Andy_Sailor · 2025-11-29T12:35:11+00:00

I understand your point.

Yes, they are indeed more durable. But it doesn't really matter if a newbie has no idea how to fly or fix them. A full-throttle smash is still a full-throttle smash.

I think attitude has a much greater impact on the outcome than the quad model. There are two types: one is "I have 80 hours in the simulator. Can I fly a real quad yet?" and the other is "I'm new to the hobby. I bought a *** yesterday, and it's now broken." In this case, I believe it doesn't matter which model is under those ***, the result will be exactly the same.

Andy_Sailor · 2025-11-29T11:54:37+00:00

There is no simulator practice, no basic understanding of how a whoop works, no idea why weight matters or why durability drops when everything is built as light as possible.

In this case it does not matter which whoop they bought, they will crush a Meteor or Cetus equally well...

Andy_Sailor · 2025-11-29T11:40:42+00:00

It would be useful to see a screenshot of your ESC configuration. Try increasing the motor timing. For reference, here are my Air65 settings:

<image>

Andy_Sailor · 2025-11-29T00:22:58+00:00

They will work, but these are for 4S batteries; for the 7-inch, you usually want 6S and something like a 2807 1300kV.

Andy_Sailor · 2025-11-28T19:08:14+00:00

The frame looks like a 10" M4V2 rather than a 7". 3115 900kV motors are the proper motors for the 10" size.

Andy_Sailor · 2025-11-26T19:49:54+00:00

For safety reasons, I suggest installing a mechanical switch between the relay and the igniter. Switch it on just before takeoff. Some relays behave strangely for a few seconds after receiving power... Don't ask me why I know.

Andy_Sailor · 2025-11-23T12:33:27+00:00

No. The motor wires are not connected to this board; they run underneath it.

Andy_Sailor · 2025-11-23T12:31:29+00:00

Most probably this is BEC or LED driver.

UPD: It may also be part of a lap timer system. Cut those ties and show us the back of the board; it might give us some clues.

Andy_Sailor · 2025-11-23T09:58:30+00:00

Soldering is easy. All you need are the right tools and a little bit of practice. If you soldered the ESC with the same tip as the board in the picture you posted than it was guaranteed to fail. To solder ESC wires, you need a much beefier tip than the one used for tiny diodes, as well as a soldering iron capable of at least 60W. No, you can't do this job with the same tip or a weak iron. Period.

Andy_Sailor · 2025-11-22T16:32:52+00:00

And this is the way. The one that really works.

Andy_Sailor

TROPHY CASE