(5/9) Quadcopter Building for Beginners - Connecting the main power systems

Consider supporting the channel by visiting / painless360
In this fifth video in the series we look at how to connect the PDB, ESC, 5v power and motors together.
We also cover come of the tips and tricks, where to place everything and make sure there is room for other things later on..
You can see the kit we're using here - goo.gl/u3N0Fk
Join us in the next video where we look at the options for connecting the radio receiver to the flight controller and then we're almost ready for the final video in the series where we test it all and configure the flight controller for the first flight...
Thanks for watching, please LIKE and SUBSCRIBE.
Happy flying!

[@DuaneMorrisPhotosByDuane]

I did it! I soldered the power wire, just like you told us to. I even used the exact same one your using in this video (XT60). I felt so good about the power wire, I went ahead and did all the ESC's too! Everything went like you said it would! I cleaned the surfaces with rubbing alcohol first to get rid of the oil from my fingers from playing with the PDB too much. I then used a Q-tip to spread the flux all over the contacts and dipped the ESC wires into the flux. I'm using a gas powered soldering gun/pen and it can get hot quick! Worked perfectly for these larger wires. I'm so happy you make these videos! I couldn't have done it without you! Thank you!

[@Painless360]

Nicely done! Happy flying...

[@goldfinchtackleco.9282]

Top notch videos. One of the only people that will actually explain the why as well as the what. Thanks!

[@Painless360]

You're welcome, thanks for the comment. Happy flying!

[@tonyewaribo8754]

this is making too much sense... thanks a lot really do appreciate

[@budandbean1]

This is truly the best channel for beginner info, I so enjoy watching and one day my build my own. I have four but they are all mini quads and one is a FPV quad, I just haven't taken the plunge yet but it certainly not for the lack of information. I do like this build... Thank you Lee.

[@Painless360]

+Buddy Martin glad you are enjoying the build. The reaction to this latest series has been so good that we will do a fresh build from scratch using the latest kit every 4-6 months now. Best of luck if you decide to take the plunge!

[@budandbean1]

That's understandable, thank you so much!

[@OneTwo-wt8qv]

The more I watch these the less mental tunnel vision I have, I was on the three wires coming out of the ESC and motor and I was Ahhhhh and jumped to the End : ), then I was like Daaaaaaa, yeah tape. CHEERS!

[@Painless360]

:D

[@abrahamdejo]

Thanks you genius technician 👍👍👍

[@marlez6898]

This video tutorial series is great,everything is super clear.Keep up.I dont get it how i didnt find it earlier.

[@MrNursi]

Very, very well explained. I had a feeling that this building malarkey might be a bit beyond me, not anymore!

[@Painless360]

Glad it helped! :D

[@fugar123]

thank you so much for this video. it gets so frustrating trying to find setups for beginners and you nailed it! subbed, favourited and liked!

[@Painless360]

Welcome to the channel! Lots of videos in the 'Introduction to Remote Control' series too for new builders. Happy flying!

[@sttormpt]

Good work making theses tutorials, they are very clarifying. Continue the good work.. Any problem with the sixth video in the series?

[@Painless360]

+Ricardo Santos nope, it's the way KZbin handles them when they are sceduled for release. Our main videos tend to be released on a Friday. Stay tuned !

[@bobuk5722]

This is the point where a good light and magnifying glass comes in handy folks. Go over each connection and make sure there are no wisps of solder making unwanted connections. Small ones can be carefully removed with a craft knife. For bigger blobs I suggest using a plunger operated vacuum desolder 'sucker'. These are cheap and very effective. Look for 'dry' joints, they will be dull, not shiny, and remake any found. Continuity checks with a meter are NOT a good idea, there is to much risk lf applying over voltages to delicate components (some meters us 9 volt batteries for this and may damage 5 volt circuits). Cheers. Bob UK.

[@Painless360]

+Robert Hawtin I've just made the point about a visual inspection in the series that's about to be released on the channel. That's the 6th quad build series that I've created and they all follow pretty much exactly the same process. Albeit, with much newer technology. The mark one eyeball, and some basic use of a multimeter can save your bacon before you make a big mistake and plug the battery in with a wiring issue. Just like any other electronic build!

[@damitdavid]

Thanks for this series! I'm actually following along at home as I've purchased this same quad (Dubai 210). I've run into problems since I'm now further along but I hope you will address in this series: - Frame is so narrow that wires off the PDB are exposed to the props - Where to put the receiver (Flysky ia6 currently tucked under the PDB raised by 10mm standoff) - ia6 seems to only handle PWM so more wires needed/exposed - Powering the SPF3 via the 8 pin JST the darn wires are so small/thin they broke off the PDB and when re-soldered have now pulled out of the JST connector - I went back and turned the SPF3 -90 deg so I could access the USB but leaves the receiver wires out the side between props (yes, I updated in BetaFlight to account for -90 deg yaw) - I crashed it from only 3 feet up due to a death spin (not sure why it happened) and now I've got an ESC that may be burning out (gets hot to touch and makes a buzzing sound) or worse killed the motor... I'm bummed out but hopeful your videos will illustrate what I've done wrong - Here's hoping this encourages you that at least one person is actually following along and enjoying this series!

[@Painless360]

Keep watching ;) Best of luck with the build..

[@DashzRight]

Thanks for the series, no excuse to build a quadcopter by yourself nowadays

[@weberromankoko]

thank u man, i really apreciate this series. i build my first quad and thi help me a lot. thanks

[@ahmedtayeb1448]

Thank you for the detailed explanation ... waiting for the coming videos

[@Painless360]

Check out the playlist - the series is all there waiting to be published on the channel.. Best of luck!

[@MiguelSanchez-yw1nz]

desde Madrid, España eres el mejor, you are THE BEST

[@Painless360]

Gracias por sus amables palabras de Reino Unido a Madrid! : D

[@bobuk5722]

Hi. Is fusing ever used? I can see reasons why not - almost any fuse blow on a quad would bring it down and it might be better to leave the power on even if things are smoking. An over current alarm back to the hand held controller would be nice though! How about on a hexacopter? There it might well still fly with one motor or ESC out. I'm working my way through this really brilliant series. Thank you so much for putting it together. Bob UK.

[@Painless360]

+Robert Hawtin it's not normal to have a fuse in a model like this. If you size the components correctly, and you've installed them properly then you should never get into a situation where you have a problem and the Magic smoke comes out. If it does happen then the answer in the Hobby is to just replace the component that got a little cooked. The most common things that get burnt out or escs and that's either due to a problem with the motor that causes it to pull more than the current You're Expecting or in the event of a crash and motor trying to turn while it's pressed against a hard surface that causes excess current again. The biggest danger point of the first time you plug in the main battery. You'll notice that a lot of people or use multimeter to check that there isn't a dead short across the power supply comma and the use of something called of smoke stopper is very common now too. That limits the current so if you do accidentally plug it battery into a model where you have made lawful mistake then the current is limited to a level that won't cause any problems.. hope that helps.

[@AhnafSaminAkterDASA]

Hi, ur videos have been a life saver to me. So when I connect the battery to the pdb, the esc's make a sound but does not power the flight controller. I've resoldered the esc's to the pcb of the frame, but still the same result, even checked the polarity as well. Where is the actual problem here? The flight controller we're using is ardupilot 2.8.

[@Painless360]

+Ahnaf Samin Akter see our APM series in the channel where we cover this. Best of luck!

[@AhnafSaminAkterDASA]

Thx for the help!

[@PritamPrasadSah28]

What is the price of ardupilot 3.8

[@fugit185]

LIPO battery wires soldered to PDB pads are very close to each other! You don't put any insulation between them?

[@Painless360]

Not normally. Happy flying

[@richardcerni9996]

Why does the 5V lead from the PDB that's plugged into power the flight board override the 12V coming from the lipo that's used to power the motors without blowing the flight board. Is the PDB just specifically designed that way? Isn't the PDB also sending 12V of power to control the motors via the esc, but it doesn't blow the flight board?

[@harshverma4042]

I have a PDB and Simonk 30A ESCs with BEC (not sure switching or linear). Please advise on how to carry out the connections. Need help.

[@Painless360]

If you are using a PDB that can power your flight controller then you won't connect the 5v from the ESCs and anything. Best of luck

[@OceanicOpps]

I have a question! I have continuity across my power DB, but I already have all the ESC's and motors soldiered up. I tested another motor/esc and it has continuity through it as well. I believe my continuity is across the motor, but how can I know for sure? Tips?

[@Painless360]

Not sure what you mean by 'continuity'. Across the positive and negative terminals? Why are you testing that? The motor winding is just a piece of thin wire so would appear as a dead short but that changes when the electromagnets fire up..

[@OceanicOpps]

Painless360 thank you! To clarify continuity = dead short. I made the mistake of soldiering on the fans before checking like you recommend. Thankfully I have it a shot and didn't get any blue smoke! Thanks again for your videos, I couldn't have done the build without them! (Especially the Seriously Pro FC content)

[@KoekeBeest1985]

I have a question about the ESC's . I bought those too from gearbest and they say it's all ready preflashed with BLheli and ONESHOT125. Are you having problem with the ONESHOT125 aswel? Because mine won't work on ONESHOT125 and I don't have a flasher yet.

[@Painless360]

+KoekeBeest1985 you don't need any specialised kit to update them. You can update the ESCs though the flight controller using BLHeliSuite. See the troubleshooting video in this series. It fixed ours here..

[@KoekeBeest1985]

Hm, I did not know. Let me check that video out :) Thanks.

[@Joric78]

I'm just looking at building exactly this kit, but I noticed that they've now got an upgraded version with 30A Littlebee ESCs. Prices are currently $188.61 (AUD) with the 20A ESCs, and $227.83 with the 30A ESCs. Is the upgrade good value for money? Is there any performance or reliability issues running 4S on those 20A ESCs?

[@Painless360]

+Joric78 you need the 30A ESCs to run 4s. See the early videos in the series where we cover that.. Best of luck!

[@Joric78]

Cheers! I was looking for it, but should have just watched the second video. Based on that info, it seems like a lot of the kits underspec the ESCs while claiming 4s compatibility (including "RTF" units like the JJRC P200). Great job on these video series.

[@Painless360]

Always pays to do your own homework as some of these kits are not spec'd by 'experts'. Happy flying!

[@towers3372]

Hello, Could one use a 3s LIHV instead of the traditional lipos and not fry the power system? I'm just starting and looking to get more flight time, so I figured the extra 1.5 volts might equate to 45 more seconds of flight or so...

[@Painless360]

+Gouada if you're new then I'd strongly suggest that you use the tried and tested methods and kit.. Best of luck!

[@towers3372]

Ok Thanks!

[@gravy6009]

am i able to place the flight controller on the side? so i can have the USB plug on the side so its easier to get to?

[@Painless360]

Yes, see our main video series where we cover this. Best of luck!

[@JasperTielen]

Hi, nice help for building a quad. You have any video on how to solder the pins on the FC? Just looking for tips on that.

[@Painless360]

We have a video on soldering not specifically on that. Top tips are - get a good soldering iron station with a very fine tip, use flux and a good quality lead based solder to help flow. Best of luck!

[@Eduardoramundo]

I've just spent 20mins looking through your channel for a soldering video and can't see one. It would be great if you could do one just on hobby soldering (FC etc.) many thanks

[@bobanmunja]

Hello, can you tell.me where did you get that white pins betwen power board and controler board?

[@Painless360]

those are 3mm nylon bolts and nuts.

[@envisionbreath]

Do all PDB's have a 5v out solder pad? I just checked the voltages of all my solder pads and they all showed 8.3v. If I buy a UBEC can I plug it into one of these pads ?

[@Painless360]

Sadly not, you can use a separate BEC and power it from any of the pads that are providing the battery voltage. See out power videos in the 'Introduction to Remote Control' series..

[@asohit2221]

If we have a solder bridge on two -ve solder pads then wat will happen ??! Please reply for this

[@Painless360]

Depends on how he FC is setup for those pads. If they are connected directly with the tracks in the FC then it’ll be fine.. I would always try and remove unintended solder bridges.. best of luck!

[@schokokeks9634]

Thanks for the video! But i have one question. Is it necessary to connect the ground wires from each esc to the fc? Because i saw it from a website that connecting only the signal wires should be enough, that would keep the fc much smaller :)

[@Painless360]

It should be fine without them but at the first sign of problems with the ESCs I'd add then back on.. Best of luck!

[@amitaggarwal2472]

can you please tell me from where we can get that groung and 5v wire servo i have been finding one but not able to find one or we have to make one

[@Painless360]

+Amit Aggarwal you can use any old servo cable. I simply used an old one, snipped off one end and removed the signal wire then soldered it to the PDB. Best of luck!

[@JT-jy2sy]

I normally just connect the esc signal to fc not both ground and signal wires. Is there any different? i have heard just connecting signal wire is more prone to noise. I do not know.

[@Painless360]

I'm old school and like there to be a common reference between the ESC and PWM output of the FC.. ;)

[@loichervier7206]

Hi, thanks for your videos it's very instructive ! I had the same question than jack so I'm happy to have your answer, but to go further, doesnt the ESC already have the ground by the alimentation connection to the PDB ? Or maybe it could be a slightly "different" ground between the battery ground and the "5v ground" after passing through the BEC and those two "grounds" are on separated circuits inside the ESC ?

[@bobanmunja]

Ok, thanks, I want to ask for advice if you can answer me. Ordered alredy frame qua 250 carbon fiber, and dys mottors 2204, because they were cheap, 4 motors for 26 euros. In future i would need power board, flying control board, esc. I just want to make quad for long time flying, dont need speed, because i want drone for aerial recording with some good full hd camera or 4k yi. Also would like long range , for about 7 km. Im totaly new in this hobby, already have xk x251, with no camera, and im sattisfied, bought for learning skills. what would you suggest,

[@Painless360]

If you want longer flight times then I'd have gone for larger props/lower KV motors. See the efficiency comparison/testing in the video where we tested that in the 'Introduction to Remote Control' series.. Best of luck!

[@BrianHollingerSHTF]

My ESC's only have 3 wires. Red, Black, and Yellow. Will it still work?

[@Painless360]

same as any ESC. They connect to the motor and and order they connect dictates the rotation of the motor. Most of the ESCs in the early days had coloured wires.. Best of luck!

[@Farrukh.R]

So nearly there. Using SPRacing F3 (cloned). Done the Cleanflight, wiring (with correct polarity), EMAX SimonK esc 12A Linear. Plugged in battery, A single bleep is heard, none of the motors are spinning. Then 15 seconds later the esc starts with audible bleeps, and ONLY motor 3 starts to spin. In Cleanflight, I can increase and decrease the spin ONLY for motor 3. Thank you so much.

[@Painless360]

+Farrukh Riaz see the rest of the series for how I set up this quadcopter. Missing out or skipping steps will make the build a lot harder. Best of luck

[@Farrukh.R]

Resolved. In Cleanflight disabled Oneshot125, by setting it to PWM. And tested all fours motors spinning. You deserve a Knighthood. Thank you :o)

[@Painless360]

Glad you got it sorted, there are lots of options for the way to talk to the ESC and not all work with all ESCs.. Happy flying!

[@qcsupport2594]

A caution for newbies using a voltmeter to check your PDB ( 12:50 ): the pads are very close together, and if your meter probes accidentally touch each other while you're in contact with the pads, poof! I made this exact mistake last week. Luckily it only fried one pad on my PDB, and there are redundant ones.

[@Painless360]

+QC Support yep, shorting contacts with anything is bad. Happy flying!

[@brayen783]

Hello i am going to do a same Ur step with my quad 450 but I have simonk ESC which has bec 5v 4 of them so I would ask should I take 5v from pdb to FC and then I discounect the red wire positive from bec and leave the single and ground wire or no need to take 5v from pdb to FC and just connect the bec 3wire to FC and if that correct should I connect the 4 bec with 3 wire positive and signal and ground or just connect one bec 5v but the 3 other only signal and ground

[@Painless360]

Depends if they are linear or switched BECs. See my video all about it..

[@brayen783]

Which video ?????

[@brayen783]

How to know if the ECS has a bec linear or switched

[@Painless360]

ahmed brayhi I assume you've watched the video? This is talked about at 6:06. You need to check the spec of the ESC that you're using, if it's not mentioned it's probably linear. Best of luck..

[@BabylonFPV]

Are you not affraid, that the flightcontroler in this cheep kit let the bird, one day, drop of the sky? Or are this rebuilds a good quality and you dont need an original one? Sorry for this questions, but i am new in this drone-build-fly-hobby and i just wonder. (I just select all the parts for my first build, and i dont want to build something not flyable ;-)

[@Painless360]

+Rene Somorovsky always a risk. So far we've never had a bad FC, OEM or clone.. Best of luck!

[@tletang]

Are those nylon washers M3*6*1? Great series by the way.

[@Painless360]

Yep, I order M3 1mm nylon washers.. Best of luck!

[@brayen783]

I found that my escs is linear mode so do I have to connect the three wire (signal. Positive ground ) for the fourth escs ???? And no need to take a 5v from pdb to FC at all right ?

[@brayen783]

And one more question plz that escs linear mode it will be ok to to connect the receiver fs-ia6b in ppm mode

[@Painless360]

Covered in the video at the 6 min mark.. The BEC will not affect the modes you can use from the reciever..

[@oskarjennische2490]

painless i have been running into a problem and need some help with my pdb. i got a diatone v8.3. i need 5v to video, flight controller and camera right? i need both + and - but i only have one little square that says 5v. am i supposed to use the gnd as -? i only have 2 5v out on the pdb which is a problem. i realized that there is another 5v out at the other side but i don't know how to use it. can you please search up the diatone v8.3 and help me? thanks

[@Painless360]

+Oskar Jennische you can use the GND connection from the 12v part of the PDB. Looking at the diagram I'd use the 5v2a pin with the gnd pin by its side. Best of luck!

[@oskarjennische2490]

+Painless360 ok, that means i have 2 5v out. what about the radio reciever? is it taking power from the flight controller?

[@Painless360]

+Oskar Jennische yep - watch how we do it in the video.. Best of luck!

[@oskarjennische2490]

+Painless360 i am using 1 5v to the flight controller and 12v to the fpv equippment. the only problem i have now is the xt60 pigtail, i cant get it right on the pdb. the cables are so thick and there isn't eunough space.

[@copyandpastification]

Hi guys, i got this pdb from aliexpress PDB PCB Power Distribution Board For Naze32 CC3D QAV250 ZMR250 Quadcopter With 5V 12V BEC for my cc3d however it seems that to match the cc3d pins do not match the board layout for the cc3d but it matched the ones for the NAZE, I am new with this type of pdb...i just cant figure out how to connect the cc3d and the board came without any instructions whatsoever...any advise??

[@Painless360]

I guess from the later post you sorted this. Best of luck!

[@copyandpastification]

sorted thank you again

[@trevorgeorges]

ur videos are awesome! thanks a lot! cheers!

[@jfmetselwerken7424]

Hi, Where did you buy the nylon kit with all the standoffs, washers, bolts and screws? Thanks! Its going great with building :)

[@Painless360]

+JF Metselwerken eBay:)

[@jfmetselwerken7424]

Thanks Painless. I want to order the same nylon kit as you got, do you know a link on Ebay? Thanks

[@nowshadakhter6932]

cool as always!

[@maxkraus7063]

stupid question but where did you get this right angled pins from?

[@Painless360]

+max kraus no such thing! ;) ours came with the kit. Most unsoldered flight controllers come with both angled and straight pins. Happy flying!

[@maxkraus7063]

Nice, i ordered the same kit, if it sometimes arrives in the next 6 months ( i ordered 1 month ago...) i will see it ^^

[@Painless360]

That's the price we pay for ordering stuff from China - 3-4week lead times ;) Hope it arrives soon!

[@d7eemo270]

Someone help me. I don’t have BEC wire to power my fc and receiver! And my ESCs are all without BEC ... what can i do? Can i plug normal wires from the 5v to the fc ? - + Or am i going to fry the board this way???

[@Painless360]

All covered in the power section of the series.. Happy flying!

[@norbertperness3845]

perfect vids! thanks!!

[@luke1989173917]

Do you have a video on soldering?

[@Painless360]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y4qzfYprmKicfbs :D Let me know if you still have any questions.. Use a good quality iron and lead based solder and a spot of flux to help the joint. Make sure you pre-tin the pieces and you should be good! Best of luck!

[@luke1989173917]

Great, thanks heaps.

[@samarth1410]

what kv motors did you used in this series ?

[@Painless360]

+samarth1410 all covered in the earlier videos.. best of luck..

[@knightfox2010]

Is that a male or female jst plug on the pdb?

[@Painless360]

I tend to use a male on the PDB as you rarely attach a connector with exposed pins to the power. Happy flying!

[@QuadcopterAnalyze1980]

What voltage goes to led,s? 12 volt or 5 volts.Thanks

[@Painless360]

+SheaProdigy depends on what you buy ;) if you want the LEDs that can change colour and be controlled by the flight controller then they are 5v. See the video on it in the SP3 series. Happy flying!

[@ErvinLiao]

The pins on the fc, doesn't the black thing touch the fc

[@Painless360]

Nope, be careful when using carbon fiber frames and make sure that you use Nylon spacers to make sure no voltage carrying wires/solder touch the frame. Safe is better than sorry. Best of luck with the build!

[@ErvinLiao]

Oh my bad then

[@sonuamrith9091]

sir when the next part would be released

[@Painless360]

+sonu amrith this only went up yesterday and will not be in the channel for 3weeks! ;)

[@Digitalman271]

Oh snap, I got the same motors.

[@PritamPrasadSah28]

What is the name of this flight controller and what is its price

[@Painless360]

+3minutes talk all covered in the series earlier on. Happy flying!

[@drewhodge3820]

Why is number 6/9 in this video series listed as PRIVATE?

[@Painless360]

+andrew hodgkinson because it's due for release soon. Just the way KZbin handles sceduled videos. Stay tuned!

[@drewhodge3820]

Thank you for your prompt reply. I thought something had gone wrong with the playlist. I will wait with anticipation for the next video. Thanks again

[@____5837]

+Painless360 it still seems to be private for me!!!

[@Woodsywoodsy-sj9qy]

Hello painless, Could you please take about 70 seconds to watch a clip of mine. It's the only video I have on the tube. I swapped frames after I shorted an ESC which in turn killed the naze. As it was Un responsive in CF. The previous quad was up & flying, but since swapping over & adding a new ESC & naze32 rev6 6dof, I'm having problems now with channel, mapping. Pitch & roll respond but throttle & yaw do nothing. Also when I try to calibrate the ESC's they beep but don't spin up. Between you & RC model reviews, I got all I know & had my first quad flying pretty much with no hassle. I took 4days off this week to add the new parts & go flying. But now have spent nearly 3 days on this problem. Any advice at all would be well appreciated. Off anybody. Sorry I don't know how to link to to my videos either.

[@Painless360]

Impossible to tell from the pieces in the video. I can't see how the Rx is connected but I'd check the channel order if using PPM or the connections/wires if it's PWM. Best of luck!

[@Woodsywoodsy-sj9qy]

+Painless360 I'm using pwm rx. I have just checked all the solder joints & re doing wires for about 4th time. Will add step by step clips. If don't mind looking. Thanks for your time.

[@Woodsywoodsy-sj9qy]

+Painless360 more short clips being uploaded as a step by step. Every thing in the correct location. Thanks again.

[@Painless360]

I'd check the channel order on the radio first. The first four channels should be the main 4 flight controls - Thr, Aile, Elev and Rudd (on some order). There is usually a menu item to view the channel values as you move the sticks (see the videos we've just done in the Quad build for beginners series on the FS-I6s radio). If that checks out then it's something on the FC.. Best of luck..

[@Woodsywoodsy-sj9qy]

+Painless360 thanks for the reply painless. But I sussed it out. I had typed the RX_PWM in cli, as - RX then saved. Not realised that the minus sign takes it away & applies default ppm setting. 3 days. Then when I finally got out there is an unused golf course close to were I live but overgrown. With being a noob I thought the long grass be a bit of a cushion for some crashes. It was but we live on the windy wirral. & it dived into what I though was a load of nettles, anyway 3 hours later I was still searching. Well I had a battery buzzer set up. But with it being tangled & upside down it wasn't arming so I decides to wait it out for the sound. Was about to give up when I see the lights @ about 11:20pm.oh the joy but it was about 12 foot from where I was searching flattening nettles in shorts & trainers. So lesson learned again. Next is a lost buzzer for sure.

[@brumkid100]

How come tutorial 6 - 7 is private?

[@Painless360]

+David Duce video 6 is out on Friday. Thanks for using the playlists, you are seeing the videos before they are public. Happy flying!

[@brumkid100]

+Painless360 ahh apologies, I didn't realise they were being updated in currently time! most tutorials are old and all the content it out :)! I'm subscribed! keep up the amazing tutorial, really enjoying it, the level of detail is perfect!

[@Painless360]

+David Duce no problem. We're planning on creating a new build for beginners every 2 to 3 months so we're using the latest kits and tech. I've already shared details of the next build with the Patreons of the channel. Best of luck with your build!

[@anthonywitham2305]

Hi Painless, I use these: www.banggood.com/20pcs-2p-Quick-Connector-cable-clamp-Terminal-Block-Spring-Connector-Wire-LED-Strip-Light-Wire-Connecting-p-1001440.html. To connect the esc and motor to check the rotation direction, saves having to solder then resolder if direction is wrong. Of course if they were Blheli esc's you could change the direction by the software.

[@Painless360]

+Anthony Witham thanks for the links. The idea with this series is that even if you're not using the same kit the same basic processes will work. We do end up looking at BLHeliSuite later in the series as part of the troubleshooting video ;)

[@WealthMagnetMindset]

Hello, I'm building my own drone atm. I'm following every single step of this video with a couple of changes (like soldering the wire to the board itself instead of using the pins) but I ran into a major issue. I can't seem to get my SP Racing F3 flight controller to work on battery power alone. It does work on USB, but when I'm only using the battery it's not working. Please check the video that I've uploaded on my channel in which I explain what the issue is. Hopefully you, or someone else that reads this can help me. I've been trying for days now but with no success. I greatly appreciate ANYONE that takes the time and effort to help me fly as soon as possible, so that I can enjoy this hobby as much as you guys do!

[@Painless360]

Where does the flight controller get the 5v from on your model?

[@WealthMagnetMindset]

Thank you for your reply. The 5v is coming from the 5v pad on the PDB. It goes from the PBD onto the + on row 6 of my FC. The ground goes from GND on the PBD to the - on row 6 of my FC.

[@WealthMagnetMindset]

A little update: I've just found out that the PDB does not give power to the 5v, gnd, 12v and gnd pad. I'm thinking that I need to replace it for a new one due to my horrible soldering. The battery gives +-15V (4S battery) and the battery connector (lower side, on which I solder the EDC) gives the same amount. Thoughts?

[@Painless360]

+EnterTheVlogosphere sounds very possible. You could always add a little micro bec to provide the 5 volts that the system needs as well. See my quadcopter building for beginners other videos for ideas. Best of luck

[@WealthMagnetMindset]

I'll check out your video, thanks for the advice.

[@daytonpyro]

I like these videos. I do. but.... I spent 60 min watching 1, 2, 3, and 4 talking and explain stuff. which I like. then, when you finaly get to installing stuff, and soldering stuff you omit it.. ha ha... but I like so far...

[@Painless360]

+daytonpyro I have a video on soldering if you need one. Best of luck

[@daytonpyro]

www.amazon.com/dp/B01KY05VHC/ref=nav_timeline_asin?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1is this ok to use? I guess I want something that I can add various models. or what's your opinion on all the different radios?