DIY S500 Quadcopter with APM2.8 Flight Controller 7M and HP2212 920KV Brushless Motor + Simonk 30A ESC

I wouldn’t call this a kit. It’s really the S500 airframe with the rest of the parts needed to build a working quadcopter thrown in the S500 box. I added up the cost of buying the parts separately and they came to over $200 so this is a good buy. The quadcopter also doesn’t come with a transmitter, receiver or battery. I’ve been using a 2200mah 50C battery and get about 10 minutes of flying time. I found that the landing gear plastic tee is the weak structural link. A hard landing or crash will crack the tee. There’s a sheet of instructions for the airframe but nothing for the rest of the copter. I would recommend watching an online video showing the entire quadcopter build. Pay particular attention to the compass connector of the combined GPS/compass module connectors. The compass connector plugs into the I2C bus. Also, when you attach cables to the Arducopter module the grounds (black wires) are all to the outside of the module. Be aware that some minimal soldering is required. Also, the motors with the black nuts turn CW and the motors with the silver nuts turn CCW. Make sure you follow the motor placement in Mission Planner documentation. You’ll also need to download the firmware for the Arducopter module from Mission Planner. Use the wizard to set up and calibrate the Arducopter software. Then follow the instructions in the Mission Planner for the correct direction of motor spin determined with the propellers off. If a motor is turning in the wrong direction switch any two of the three wires from ESC. When you install the propellers think of them as a wing and you’ll quickly determine which way they should spin. They install so that their spin direction is opposite the nut tightening direction. Make sure you use a wrench to tighten the nuts. Hand tight is not good enough. If you’re a quadcopter noobie like me you’ll likely break a propeller or two so you should get some spares. These propellers are DJI compatible 10X4.5 with two flat sides in the mounting hole. Standard propellers won't work.

Is a good starting kit. But the FC is not supported by Arducopter any more, so I wasn't able to flash the lastest firmware. Doens't have a good instructions manual, so I needed to check many videos and articles on internet to assemble it. But I can not complain about that because is part of the fun of DIY. Came with a bad ESC so I guess I need to wait a little to finish it and test it (fly). Also one of the motors have a different sound, but can not test it until I get the ESC and have all ready to fly.

First, mine flew successfully, and so far as I can tell, everything works. This is not for the novice, you need to do research and have some experience with quads. Overall though, I'm pretty happy so far. There were a few challenges. First, the only assembly instructions are for the frame itself. Not a show-stopper, but I did have some questions on where to mount things. The flight controller mount screw holes do not line up with the third screw on each of the arms, but I just used the double sided foam tape and it seems to work. Depending on your props, you may need a prop reamer. No instructions for which motor goes where, but I put the silver ones (clockwise tight screws) on the front right and left rear (as viewed from above). That turns out to be the right way. On startup, forward right and left rear motors should spin counter clockwise. I'm a helo guy, so I put blue threadlock on all metal to metal screws. The only thing that really frustrated me was the GPS antenna mount. The carbon fiber arm doesn't secure well, I had to use epoxy to get it to stay in the base mount and the top. Not a huge deal, just make sure you've got some. Props are Gemfan 10x4.5. Added photos. Recommendation: DO NOT mount XT60 like I did on the top - I had to run wires from the bottom to another XT60 after I realize this was awkward. If I had to do it again, I'd mount it in the same spot, just on the bottom of the plate instead of top as shown. I tried mounting my receiver between the two main frame plates, but moved it to the front so I could use the satellite connector and maximize the antenna exposure. The way I secure the antennas and keep them at 90 degree angle is bush league, but it works. Those are coffee stirrers tied to the rails with dental floss.

With the aid of on-line videos I was able to assemble and test the quadcopter kit. I provided my own transmitter, receiver, and battery. One of the electric motors was defective. In addition, after assembly and testing, the quadcopter would not acquire the GPS satellites. As a result, the motors will not respond to the throttle control. The website provided in the kit was no longer active and no other assistance was offered. Short of returning the entire kit, I have no way to get a replacement motor or repair what appears to be a defect in the GPS receiver system.

I really really wanted this to work. It came with no instructions, the flight controller is out of date and discontinued, and using google there are some many variations that it's unhelpful. I get the thing built just to have it flip over before it can even get an inch off the ground. As much as I hate to say it, save your money and invest in a DJI drone. As much as I did enjoy the process of building it, it is not worth the price to watch your hard work just crash before it can even take flight.

It flies great! For those who are just getting started, here are some tips. -I spent the better part of a day trying to program the flight controller with the newer Mission Planner software. I don't know if it's possible to program this flight controller with it but I had nothing but problems. The solution was the download the older APM Planner 2 software. It's available on the ArduPilot website. -The control board won't allow you to arm the motors if you haven't already chosen a frame type, calibrated the sensors, and calibrated the radio, all of which can be found under the Initial Setup tab. -The APM flight controller has a built in compass but it's advised to use the pole mounted GPS/compass combo that comes with the kit. It requires you to plug both plugs into the control board (second one is hidden on the side near the first plug) and then set it up in the APM Planner software. You also need to remove the JP1 jumper from the controller. -Your default flight mode should be "Stabilize". This will allow your flight controller to utilize the accelerometer and compass to maintain a fairly level and easy to fly attitude. You can go back later and use extra switches on your radio to turn on/off other flight modes. -If you have an older radio that only offers PWM functionality then you'll need to use the four supplied radio wires to connect the control board to your receiver. (channels 1-4 connected to inputs 1-4) If your radio has PPM functionality then you can use just one radio wire between channel 1 and input 1. However, to make that work you'll also need to jump input signal pins 2 and 3 on the controller. -It appears that Mission Planner allows you to calibrate the ESC's directly through the software but I wasn't able to get that to work. I don't think APM Planner 2 offers this functionality so I had to calibrate each ESC one by one. -Once everything is calibrated you can try to arm your motors by holding the left stick down and to the right. You can disarm them by holding the left stick down and to the left.

This was my first UAV/drone build. I was a bit apprehensive about the kit at first given the price, but everything showed up nicely packaged. After a few hours of soldering and configuration, I was flying in the backyard. It was a simple kit to assemble and included everything listed in the product description. I wouldn't hesitate to order this kit or any other offered by Hobbypower. I know there is higher end stuff out there, but if you just getting into the hobby, you can't beat this kit. Edit 10/11/17: After having this for several months, I'm still enjoying it. I wasn't terribly thrilled with the props that came with it. They had a lot of flex and hindered performance. I tried a smaller 9 x 4.5 carbon fiber blades, but they made it a bit unstable. I've recently tried the self-tightening props that GoPro sells for their Karma drone. They are close to the same size as the Gemfan props that come with this kit, but stiffer. They're fairly inexpensive and you don't have to worry about the nut on top of the propeller. Just screw them on a go flying!

True, the instructions were on one side of a 8 1/2 X 11 sheet of paper...and it was drawings of how to assemble the frame...no words. That's it...Oh, and a business card size paper I almost didn't see that had a website to visit to get things rolling. Usually this would have pissed me off however I'm a technical nerd type with a soldering iron (which you will need btw) and loved figuring it all out...and if you're like me and never built a flying apparatus like this there is a lot to know. I have been building and controlling RC cars for decades and fly an occasional 20 dollar drone now and then and so, thought I wouldn't need replacement propellers any time soon...wrong. Buy lots and lots of cheap abs plastic props like what comes in the kit. They are priced cheap and they are cheap however they are perfect for training and safer for you because they aren't as ridged and dangerous. Also buy extra propeller nuts. I lost one of the left handed nuts and couldn't find one locally to save my life. Later I even bought a replacement frame. I can't rate this properly with this being my only real quad copter. The center section seems to be tough but ultimately on the brittle side. The arms are a different material and seem to be more flexible. The flight controller is outdated but still fun and it won't cost much to upgrade later. It flies surprisingly well using one of the beginner flight modes and have flown it around my back yard 20 or 30 times. I'm using a 3s 5200 mAh lipo pack and have never run out of juice. Sure you could buy a ready to fly drone buy that's not why your here...building it IS half the fun, enjoy!