FinalFrag's ZII adventure

[FinalFrag]

Hey guys,

My name is Massimo, I'm 23 year old and live in Belgium. I've been flying RC for about 1,5 years now. I started out helicopters and still enjoy flying them. However, I got started with FPV about 6 months ago with an EZ*2 and a basic 1.3GHz video system. I feel I'm ready for the next step, a decent Zephyr II build.

I have a lot of gear in the EZ*2 including an 8ch ezuhf rx, an ezosd and the video system. However, I would like that plane intact for now and in the future maybe move that gear over to a tri- or quadcopter. So I'll have to buy a lot of stuff again.

I'm going on vacation in the USA in 2 weeks. I figured this is my chance to buy all that nice US-made gear without paying the high shipping costs + import taxes to europe. For example, 3M90 is nowhere to be found in europe, neither is gorilla glue. 2 of the many components that are needed for the ZII build. I would like to order the stuff as soon as possible so that I can bring it home after my vacation. The people I'm staying with are ok with me ordering stuff and having it delivered at their house in the coming weeks. That way I don't risk ordering stuff that doesn't make it to their house in the 2 weeks I'm there. But it also means I have to get ordering asap

I have done a lot of searching and reading about different components that I will have to get, but I wanted to make this thread for the many questions I will have about certain things.

I hope some people will be interested enough in my adventure that they will follow this thread and help me through this. I will try to take a lot of photo's during the build so it's more enjoyable for you guys

Currently I'm at work but when I get home tonight I will post my to-buy list that I have made over the weekend.

Off the top of my head, I already have some questions, so here goes. I've read in the official ZII thread (scanned through it) that the stock motor and esc package from ritewing is a pretty solid setup. I also read that it balanced/perfoms best with 2x 4s 3300mah batteries. Is that correct? I am planning on adding my gopro to it once I can fly it decently. In the meantime I will just add some lead as a gopro-weight to the front.

As for the ESC. Is it ok to use the SBEC that is in the ESC or should I look for a separate BEC?

As for the motor. I seem to remember that a 10x6 folding prop is the best option. Can someone guestimate how much flight time I will get from that just cruising around? Will it be able to do some steep climbs (maybe vertical?)? I've had some serious thrust issues with my EZ*2 and I really want a plane/setup that is able to do some serious climbing. For example, I currently can't add my gopro to the EZ*, because it will weight so much I can only climb at full throttle at about a 10 degree angle. Flying like that is no fun, so I need a more powerful setup.

That's all I can remember from the top of my head. Have to get back to work now

Thank you in advance for all the comments and help. Appreciate it greatly!

[FinalFrag]

Did a lot more researching and comparing yesterday.

I found that it isn't a very good idea to use the embedded BEC from the ESC. On 3s, the answer is "maybe", but on 4s it's a nono. So I added a Castle BEC to my list.

I also started adding prices to my shopping list... bummer... I will have to drop some stuff. First of all because of the total price, but also because I don't want the people that check my luggage when I return home to get suspicious. I will probably stick to my 1.3GHz video setup I have now and just focus on the ZII and the Fatshark Dominators.

Also, a lot of the CP antenna's are out of stock on RMRC. I'll either have to source some materials to make my own or look for another website. Or I might send an e-mail to Tim to see if he can make/order some...

I have a lot more research work to do, that's for sure. And I'm leaving for the USA in just 2 weeks... gotta hurry

If anyone wants to comment on the power of the stock ritewing motor, I'd appreciate it. Or just any comment

[ajhaggerty]

Posted here: http://fpvlab.com/forums/showthread....l=1#post103804

[tony]

To add to the discussion on why you disable the embedded BEC and go to separate BEC if using more than 3 cells, it's because the embedded bec is (usually) a linear circuit which doesn't handle higher voltages (more cells) well because it drops the voltage by heat dissipation, whereas the separate BEC (typically) uses a switching circuit which controls voltage in a manner that doesn't required heat dissipation.

Check out this article on the topic: http://rcadvisor.com/model-aircraft-bec-guide