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rc:2s-quadcopter
This plan has been discarded. It could be viable but would be too close in size with the 3S 8" prop quadcopter I already have. The micro quadcopter has replaced this one and could probably also use that mentioned 1300 mAh 2S battery.

2S Quadcopter

This is a planning page for a quadcopter using 2S batteries, more exactly 1300 mAh. The reason is that I already have plenty of such for MS Composit Swift II and wouldn't want to get yet another different size only for one device. Something ultrasmall or even mini isn't the target. More likely something using 8" props resulting in around 30-40 cm motor to motor distance. The target flight time is around 6 minutes.

Motor options

Starting with the assumption that using a 8" prop would be the best option, the motor would need to have a KV of around 1400-1600 if the usualy KV for a 3S build is between 900-1100 for the same prop size. One possible problem can be that motors of this size use integrated prop holder that might not be stiff enough.

motor weight (g) size (mm) rpm/v current shaft (mm) prop battery note
E-Power GC GT2203 16 28x12? 1560 max 6.8A PH 8x4.3 2S http://www.flybrushless.com/motor/view/593
Turnigy 2204-14T 19 28x12 1450 max 7.5A PH 8x4/7x3.5 2-3S
Keda KD2203/41 19 27x20 1500 max 8A PH 8x4.3 2S http://www.giantcod.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=1610
C2404 21 30x10 1900 9.4A PH 9x5 2S that prop suggestion sounds wrong...
E-Power GC GT2205 23 1660 max 8A (12A) 3 mm 8x4.3 2S (3S)
Blue Wonder 1300kv 25 1300 max 8A 3 mm 8x3.8 3S 2S quadcopter mentioned in Giantcod comments, 460g/7.5A hover
Blue Wonder 1500kv 25? 1500 max 7-9A 3 mm 8x3.8 3S max current somewhat unclear

Turnigy and Keda seem to be the best options so far.

Blue Wonder test data: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1732731

Weight calculation

These are really only rought approximations.

item weight (g) note
4 x motor @ ~20 g 80 Turnigy 2204-14T has a prop shaft of 5.3 mm
4 x 1x1x15 cm aluminium square tube @ ~15 g 60
4 x 8" prop @ 5 g 20 how about 3-blade prop? flyduino 8" props have a hole of 4.65 mm
4 x ESC @ 10 g 40 10A, 6A could save a little weight
MiniWii 8 availability unknown, alternatives much heavier
FrSky TFR4 7 ppm is a must
Turnigy 1300mAh 2S 90
Baseplates 42 would plywood be lighter? could be smaller than 10 x 10 cm
Wires and screws 20 just a guess
= 367 seems a little bit heavy...

Since I'm not going to change the battery, the most obvious places to save weight would be the baseplates (maybe too sturdy for a light weight quad), the aluminium arms (shorter with 3-blade props?) and the motors (are there suitable alternatives?). It would be nice to have the weight closer to 300 grams. Smaller props might result in smaller current needed during hover with the cost of climb speed but a benefit of longer flight times.

xcopterCalc suggests that using a 7x4 props would provide better efficiency instead of using 8x4 props. The hover time would still be about the same. However, the hover throttle jumps 45% to 62%. The motor to motor distance could also be smaller with 7" props resulting in less weight from the motor arms and a more portable size.

Flight time guestimation

The comments section of Hobbyking for Turnigy 2204-14T motor mentions the following thrust/current values (to be tested myself) with GWS 8x4.3:

3.5oz (100g) 1.50A/8.0v
5.3oz (150g) 2.35A/7.9v
7.0oz (200g) 3.40A/7.6v
9.0oz (250g) 4.70A/7.3v

This video seems to suggest that the table above might not be totally correct: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlEejY43wsQ
However, another video gives similar result as in that table: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAItgbTUi9M

With the planned weight, the quadcopter should be able to hover with about 100 g thrust from each motor (4 x 100 g = 400 g). As a result, we should be able to assume 4 x 1.5A = 6A as total current required for hovering.

capacity calculation time
1.3A 1.3A / (6A / 60min.) 13 min.
1.0A 1.0A / (6A / 60min.) 10 min.
0.8A 0.8A / (6A / 60min.) 8 min.

If the battery isn't totally drained (like it shouldn't), a 1300 mAh battery can be expected to have something between 800-1000 mAh of usable capacity. That gives a hovering time between 8-10 minutes making a flight time of around 6 minutes realistic.

The GAUI 330X is reported to have a flight time of about 12 minutes with a 2200 mAh 2S battery and a weight of around 500 g.

rc/2s-quadcopter.txt · Last modified: 08.05.2012 21:31 by vergo