Building a 280mm Quadcopter out of spare parts (Frame)

This is a project that aims to build a 280mm quadcopter with racing/cruising characteristics completely from spare parts. The idea came to mind after Banggood sent me by accident a broken/used Flying3D instead of my paid order (they sent me later my brand new unit); the broken unit had burnt ESCs, the power distribution board was severely damaged, even the flight controller board was not responding. I can only assume that the previous owner (there was printed e-mail exchange between Banggood and the U.S customer inside the box) tried to mod the quadcopter unsuccessfully and then returned it to Banggood as defective. My God, what people are out there!

Mounting a RunCam2 HD on a Flying3D X6

Recently a RunCam2 HD arrived at my door. You can read a detailed review here, together with a comparison test against Mobius C2 and Xiaomi Yi. The most obvious thing to do was to mount it on my 230mm quadcopter, the Flying3D X6.

RunCam2 HD detailed review and comparison with Mobius/Xiaomi Yi

RunCam has officially launched the RunCam2 HD to the world. It is the (long) awaited successor to the great RunCam HD featuring  the following:

• An updated image processing engine capable of capturing video up to 2K@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 720p@120fps and VGA@240fps.
  
• Built-in WiFi 802.11n circuit for trouble-free and fast connection.
  
• Removable 850mAh, 37V battery.
  
• Improved 120-degree FOV lens with extra protection cap.
  
• Brand-new and user friendly Android and iOS apps.
  
• Improved (even more) RF-shielding using internal metal casing.
  
• Enhanced image stabilization capabilities utilizing a built-in G-sensor.
  
• Full FPV capabilities (powering the camera from any 5V-17V source, OSD menu).
  
• … and many more.

YiZhan/JJRC Tarantula X6 TX diversity mod

The YiZhan/JJRC Tarantula X6 quadcopter RX/TX uses the WLtoys v2x2 protocol which is known to have good range. This was the case with the original YiZhan Tarantula X6 (no longer commercially available) where the range was excellent (up to 300 meters in many cases). Unfortunately, the later/current builds do not have the great range of the original, in most cases is no more than 150 meters. To make things even worse, there are reported signal drop-outs and laggy behaviour when the quadcopter is over 60-70 meters from the transmitter.

YiZhan/JJRC Tarantula X6 v686g FPV camera mod

The YiZhan/JJRC Tarantula X6 is an affordable brushed quadcopter suitable for fun flying. The quadcopter has a camera port but the stock camera (comes in two versions, 2MP and 5MP both non-FPV capable) leaves a lot to be desired. As I already had the JJRC v686g quadcopter, the possibility to use it’s 2MP FPV camera with the Tarantula came in mind.

Flying3D X6 Firmware Update Package (v1.51)

The Flying3D X6 (FY-X6) is an affordable 230mm brushless quadcopter packing an amazing amount of features for a low price: it has a robust GPS system (uBlox Neo v6), an extremely stable and easy to use/program flight controller (BigFlyShark X6) and comes with a FlySky-derived hobby-grade TX that has OSD so that you could have full telemetry information on the ground.

MJX X101 Camera Stabilization Mod

The MJX X101 is an affordable toy-grade quadcopter primarily designed to carry a camera. The standard package includes a battery/camera mount that is attached under the center of the canopy via screws and uses damping balls to compensate vibration. Although the design is sane, the way the battery cradle is mounted makes the whole construction vibrate to the horizontal axis; the vibration is especially noticeable when yaw is applied, as shown in the following video.

MJX X101 standard camera mount (without the mod)