 My final build at 260g with everything except battery. t 2-blade gemfan 5152 props make it less floaty than the tri blades I currently run a Floss 2 5" racing rig (see series of articles here) that is powered by 2205 2450kV Returner R2 variants and a HGLRC F428 stack with vtx and camera. The F428 stack has always been fiddly - VBAT pads have broken off easily and I've burnt out 1 ESC when the external cap was knocked off. Although it is still working, I quickly realised I need a very robust (read: crash resistant) system that doesn't leave me wondering if it is going to work or not for each heat I race. I decided I wanted to replace with an all in one FC/ 4in1 esc to simplify and minimise wiring. I'm confident enough now that 4in1 escs have reached a point in reliability that I'm not worried about a failure obsoleting an entire board. For me the key benefits are:
 My choice of branded AIO FC/ESC - the Cicada F4/30A BLHeli_S from Hobbycool Because of reliability I decided to go brand name and in doing so skipped the racerstar options from Banggood. I had my eye on the Airbot Asgard and underground FPV kamikaze variant for a while but for around $100 they were fairly pricey. This is when I came across the Cicada AIO F4 30A BLHeli_s for $56 from HobbyCool - about $35 less than the other options. Both the f4 flight controller with mp6000 gyro and BLHeli_S are mature technologies and I know what to expect - solid performance that can handle the latest firmware and options (Betaflight 3.3 / Butterflight 3.4 at time of writing) but will be super reliable - in summary do the basics well day in day out. The BlHeli_32 version of the Cicada AIO had just been released but is about $20 more and at the time didn't see the advantage on what it a straight up racing. Installation was really straight forward - this AIO board has the standard 30.5mm x 30.5mm mounting pattern and paired it with a new AKK FX2 VTX. I used softmounts out of habit but in reality it's probably not necessary with the MP6000 gyro and 8k/4k gyro/pid frequency. Just a little more insurance if props or motors get donked up.  Wiring diagram for the Cicada AIO FC ESC Wiring is fairly easy after removing the shrinkwrap cover from on the AIO unit. An XMplus FRsky receiver was soldered up to the easily accesible side pads and bound and the AKK FX2 vtx was installed powered by the BEC/filter on board the FC (3A @5v which is plenty). The only thing outof the ordinary for me was wiring the 'smart audio' signal for the VTX to the TX6 on the AIO unit - it is a smaller solder pad closed to the centre of the board on top, clearly labelled. The runcam micro swift 2 camera was powered directly from the VTX as is best practice for a clean video feed.
After making sure the power up was successful I updated to the latest version of BLHeli_S via BLHeli configurator and the latest version of betaflight which was 3.2.5 OMNIBUS F4 target at the time of writing. I've included screens of my specific betaflight setup below but for the most part this will be to your liking and particular motor/prop/frame setup rather than the board in particular. The one exception is the current meter details which should act as a good starting point. This was as accurate as I could get mine using Oscar Liang's method. 3 months on from install the quad is still flying well. I've been through several sets of props, 1 arm and a camera lens but the Cicada FC/ESC nor any of the other electronics have given me no issue whatsoever. Although the HGLRC F428 may have held up similarly at a push, I would not have the confidence to try new tracks with the same gusto as this setup - a concept that is less tangible but is super important to learning and improving. PIDs are stock and since I don't have particularly agressive motors they work well for me using some of the key betaflight 3.2.5 features: dynamic filtering, PT1 filter, notch filters off, airmode etc. Dshot commands are also working well: the beeper has saved my bacon in long grass several times and turtle mode works well with my top mounted battery although I still tend to be scared of it!
So there it is. The CICADA AIO F4 FC W/ 30AX4 BLHELI_S ESC which is availble for $56 with worldwide free shipping from HobbyCool is a stable and reliable solution for simplifying your electronics.
9 Comments
Henry
14/6/2018 05:09:56 am
You gave me some top advice about how to swap out the x215 camera (which unfortunately I have veered away from for now but I will definitely try it at some point in future!), and now you've also led me to this AIO board (I was looking for something else and stumbled on your RCgroups post which led me here and onto further research of the Cicada AIO). I actually just purchased this thanks to you giving the heads up. It's exactly what I need. I am creating a backup quad to keep me flying when my x215 is out of action. I do really like my x215 but first I had camera issues and next a bent bell on my motor. So anyway, I wanted a cheapy reliable setup that I can go out and really learn on. I think this Cicada might be the key. I just hope I get a good board. Most people have goodies for this but I have seen the usual occasional unhappy customer on this one. Thanks again for the pointer. Got my fingers crossed mine performs as well as yours in terms of being bomb proof!
QuadifyRC
14/6/2018 10:12:50 am
Hi again Henry
Henry
15/6/2018 09:33:27 am
Damn. I'm not sure why I missed the AKK FX2. I was sure I had looked for it before and it was v expensive. Now I look again and it's only 12£/16$ direct from AKK. Well it's one I will remember especially as it has smart audio. I actually opted for Eachine TX526 from banggood which I've heard is a good budget VTX. The new frame I am using is super cheap (Frog Lite on deal in app was only 18£/24$) but highly rated. I love the fact it has replacable arms, is made of top notch carbon/aluminium and one of the main features other than price to quality ratio is that it can mount a battery on top or bottom. It's quite well balanced as either a racer or freestyle frame. I think your frame is superior for racing but the Frog Lite is a true budget frame that supposedly can take a real beating. My total costs look like:
Henry
15/6/2018 09:35:25 am
I might add.. The AKK FX2 will go into my furibee should I develop problems with the vtx which I hate. It's top of my wishlist of items!
QuadifyRC
15/6/2018 02:16:07 pm
Yeah can't recommend the AKK vtxs enough, crazy for the price. Just get the standard rather than ultimate version that does 1200mW - will likely create more issues than it solves with that much power (multipating and the like).
Henry
16/6/2018 09:36:30 am
Well I think VTX I would change in hindsight for sure but it's still a good VTX... just not quite as crazy good as the AKK one. Motors... I may well trial out those Dys Wu 2700kv motors I mentioned.. keeping the x215 replacement motors for the x215. Depends which setup I prefer. Why not try both! Re approach to premium vs budget parts... You nailed it. I think quite honestly at the rate I am crashing and breaking parts as a beginner I instantly recognise the lets learn to be a good pilot first with a few cheap fix drones to start (and maybe I'll only keep to cheap parts unless I start actually competing). This is only for my own enjoyment right now. My main priority is to make sure I can stay airborne with minimal downtime. Even these "cheap" setups are an absolute blast. Oh and quite terrifying for a new pilot. The power from a 100£ setup is insane! Insane and dangerous when you don't know what you're doing but a hell of a lot of fun.
Henry
16/6/2018 10:20:45 am
I suddenly just wondered - What motors would you consider for on a super budget build? Keeping in mind that there is no point getting budget motors that are known to die fast or offer poor performance. It's hard for someone like me to know if I should be pumping more money into the motors than I am currently or where the cutoff should be. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
QuadifyRC
20/6/2018 03:59:15 pm
Oh sorry I missed this one. Budget motors? The lowest price ones I'd recommend are probably the DYS series like you got. For better durability on a light build I bought the RDQ badass 2205. But for a super good bargain on a premium high power motor I'd definitely recommend these - genuine brother hobby returner 2207: http://hobbycool.com/brotherhobby-returner-r3-2207-2550kv-fpv-racing-brushless-motor-for-rc-drone-fpv-racing/?afmc=1x
Henry
25/6/2018 09:49:20 am
Thanks for this! I have added them to wishlist. I actually really like hobbycool the website. I received my Cicada from them recently. Waiting on the rest of stuff to arrive but I am v happy with hobbycool. So getting more stuff from them I am totally happy with and that price is amazing! Always wanted Brotherhobby stuff! Really appreciate sharing this. Leave a Reply. |
