Tune Your Multi-rotor - Part 1

by ycopter | October 28, 2012 | (51) Posted in Tips


This article is a comprehensive guide to designing and tuning larger Tricopters and Quadcopters for aerial video. 

It is an accumulation of the knowledge I have learned about flying multi-rotors, gathered through my own experience and from others on the internet.

If you have tips or advice that are not included in this video, please share them via a comment below so that we can all learn a bit more about multi-rotor flight.

Further information on multi-rotor reliability and safety:

Vibration free camera mount:

Safe use of 2.4ghz with FPV video:

Information on using and tuning the KK2 control board:

 

 

 





- Find this article & others like it at www.FliteTest.com -

COMMENTS

XFlyer on October 28, 2012
Perfect timing as I have just purchased my first quadcopter! Thanks great work. Loving your vids :)
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ycopter on October 29, 2012
Thanks for the feedback, good luck with your quad.
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Reinaldo Moreira on November 1, 2012
5 Stars, good quality video and nice explanation.
I'm really needing this kind of information, because I'm starting with multi-rotors.

Thank you and Congrats
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ycopter on November 4, 2012
Thanks for the positive feedback and pleased to be able to help you.
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drops88@seznam.cz on October 28, 2012
Superb article ! Great content - structured, to the point, no useless rubbish. Plain English, very easy to understand. Very nice videos too. Really, really great article. Thank you very much !!

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ycopter on October 28, 2012
No problem, pleased to be able to share some knowledge. I have learned a great deal from others so it is a pleasure to be able to put something back from my own experience.
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Jake Wells on October 29, 2012
Awesome! 5 Stars. Thanks for taking the time to do this. I'm sure this will be very useful to a lot of people in the future. I switched to APC props about a month ago and I also switched to the prop drive motors as well. The difference in performance is well worth the few extra dollars.
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ycopter on October 29, 2012
Thanks for the feedback Jake, the NTMs are certainly good value for money. Another good reason to use them is that they have really strong wires, some other motor types have weak wires that can fail.
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rckeith on November 3, 2012
Excellent video clear and lots of good information. Almost finished my tricopter and picked up some good points.
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ycopter on November 4, 2012
Thanks and good luck with your Tricopter.
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Gibbo on November 4, 2012
I cam across your videos on YouTube a couple of weeks ago and reading your articles prompted me to take the dive and purchase a 1.3ghz system from BEVRC. I did try and PM you to ask a for a few tips regarding this system but I was unable to!
Adam
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ycopter on November 4, 2012
I sent you a PM with my email address, happy to help if you need assistance.
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iLoveRC on November 4, 2012
fantastic article!
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ycopter on November 4, 2012
Pleased you found it useful and thanks for taking the time to send your feedback.
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InComing RC on October 28, 2012
Very good reference! 5 stars!
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ycopter on October 28, 2012
BusyBee, thanks for your comments, I know you have quite a bit of experience with multi-rotors so your feedback is valued.
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InComing RC on October 28, 2012
Well, I hope you don't mind if I reference my viewers to this video. I think it will answer a lot of questions for people just starting out.
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LanMark on October 28, 2012
So why does a higher voltage result in higher efficency? I have looked at all the performance charts for my T-Motors and at higher voltages for the same amount of lift the grams/Watts is less at higher voltage.

Which makes me think you do not get better efficency at higher voltage, you just seem to get lower amps due to higher volts.
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Jake Wells on October 29, 2012
Higher Voltage = less amps = little to no heat. Heat burns energy, burning energy unnecessarily = less efficient...We want everything to stay cool. Hope that helps.
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LanMark on October 29, 2012
Not sure how that factors in. Heat would indicate increased resistance which would be true under say 11.1v verses 14.8v.. but that increased resistance in theory would be factored into the effency rating of the motors for the most part.

I can't image that the increase in voltage and thus less resistance would make up the 4.3 g/W difference or 28.8W (@ 11.1v) vs 37W (@14.8v) for the same amount of thrust.

So based on the chart I have for my T-Motors (MT4008 600KV).. I don't see how the math works for better efficency at higher voltage and this isn't unique to this motor.

I would love to bump up my battery pack to higher voltage as faster spining blades would be less wind prone compared to the 14" ones I am running.. just seems like I would loose efficency based on the efficency data for the same thrust amounts.
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ycopter on October 29, 2012
Hello LanMark, I agree it does appear from the T-Motor efficiency chart that 4S is less efficient than 3S. But the lowest tested propeller on the chart is a 12x6 which is driving the motors past their efficient range. You may well find that an 11x4.7 or 10x5 will increase efficiency.
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LanMark on October 29, 2012
well I was trying to compare two similar thrusts at the two different voltages.. loaded up I am around 400g/motor... so I compared a 14"4.7 and a 11"4.7 (they have a detailed chart on their website: http://www.rctigermotor.com/show.php?contentid=149).. both are close 460g vs 430g at 50% thrust.

So I just don't get the comment that higher voltage is more efficent when I have looked at quite a few motors and all seem to have a lower g/W at higher voltage.

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ycopter on October 30, 2012
I have looked at the efficiency of the NTM motors which give a figure for torque (N.cm). This removes differences in efficiency caused by propeller size. It shows that the relative performance of the motor on 3S and 4S is very similar. This means that the NTM motors are not more efficient on 4S; however, 4S does allow higher power to be used without exceeding the capacity of the motors, ESCs, connectors and wiring. To use this extra power on 4S means that a smaller propeller must be used, unfortunately smaller propellers are less efficient and I think this is where the difference in thrust efficiency comes in with your T-Motors. In many ways a smaller diameter and lighter propeller on a multi-rotor can be a good thing as they improve stability as a result of the higher propeller speed and faster reactions from control inputs.
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1aalbes1 on October 31, 2012
to balans my props i youse a dremel , i dident balanse my moter yet thx for the tip , i agree vibritoins and camera view dont go togeter , i am working on a mount that should take the vibritions away , but its not down yet , and i now try 3 blads props on my quad , they seem smood , and have a nice sound to it ,i like your video nice and clear
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ycopter on November 4, 2012
Thanks for leaving a comment. Good luck with your camera mount.
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Zector on November 4, 2013
Awesome video! This will help me with a few video issues i have been having. What kind of flight time do you get with your tri and quad setup like that?
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ycopter on November 5, 2013
Thanks, I get between 6 and 9 minutes flight time the Tricopter and Quad.
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Tune Your Multi-rotor - Part 1