tl;dr: Pay $250 and leave with a fully built and tuned quad. Just bring your own transmitter, batteries and goggles. Last day to register will April 3rd.

*UPDATE 3/29/17: Added info about battery chargers.

**UPDATE 4/2/17: We are sold out. Keep an eye out for the next build event!

April 15th 11am-4ish 901FPV and the Midsouth Makers will be hosting a mini-quad Tech Day! This will mostly be for people who are wanting to get into FPV and currently don’t have a 5 inch sized quad. Though others are welcome to attend.

In the past few weeks I have seen 2 beginner-ish pilots have their quad tuned by one of our more experienced pilots. Both of them said the same thing “oh so this is how a quad is supposed to fly”. So we thought why not help get more people into the sport by helping them build, tune and get a race ready quad on day one.

Here is the plan, 901FPV is going to order all the parts ahead of time and have them for the tech day. The cost to attend is going to be $250. All you will need to do is bring your Transmitter, batteries and some sort of goggles for FPV. And we will help you build and tune everything. Why not just order a ARTF or RTF build you ask? Well in the mini-quad world you are going to break stuff and the purpose of this Tech Day is to teach you how to build your quad from the ground up so when stuff breaks (which it will) you have an idea how to repair it.

So for $250 here is what you get, a very nice race ready build that we will help you build and tune. This build will support 3s-4s batteries.

Parts List

Part Type Part Price Frame Martian II $30.99 Flight Controller Diatone D-Link v2 $30.00 ESCs Racerstar 30a v2 (x4) $52.00 Motors Racerstar 2205 2300kv (x4) $34.00 Camera Diatone HS1177 $28.00 VTX TBS Unify (Race) 200/25mw *$33.00 RX X4R-SB $30.00 Subtotal $237.99 Plus Shipping $??

What you need to bring

Transmitter and Receiver

For your transmitter I struggled with this because want to recommend something that will be affordable, but at the same time I want to recommend something that you can get a lot of help with locally or even on YouTube. So I will give you two options; cheap and what everyone else uses. The Taranis options have features like being able to tune your quad and change video channels from the transmitter.

Cheap:

Devo 7e

What we all use:

Taranis X9D with case

Another Option, but sold out currently:

Taranis Q X7 $104.99

One thing I want to mention, the VTX we are going to use has been chosen because it has Smart Audio. We should have a write up very soon about Smart Audio, but basically it allows us to change VTX channels and power levels using the Taranis. So if you want that functionality you will need to order one of the Taranis’ from above.

Goggles

With goggles you have a lot of options out there, but it basically boils down to Fatsharks and everything else. With Fatshark’s you get portability and coolness factor, but it will cost you. What you choose here is up to you but here are some options.

Fatsharks:

Dominator V3

Attitude V3 $300-350

HUD

Cyclops V2 $60.00 These are apparently pretty decent for the money. Just make sure you order in time.

Quanum V2 $60.00 These require a receiver to be purchased.

Batteries

I honestly believe you should start with 4s batteries. They have more power and so many new people start with 3s, but then you end up with batteries you won’t use. I find that wasteful.

Turnigy Graphene 1300mah

Tattu 1300mah (Local Supplier in Memphis) Daniel Napier will be attending and will have some for sale.

Charging Lipo Batteries

I forgot to mention any info on charging Lipo batteries. There are a lot of different options but currently the best chargers for the money seem to be the iSDT brand of chargers.

iSDT SC-608 This model is the cheapest option. It is a decent charger but you are limited to 8 amps output. This may not be a concern if you don’t mind spending some time charging. Personally I use a parrallel charging board and a 20 amp charger that allows me to charge up to 6 1300MAH packs at 3c.

iSDT SC-620 This is the higher priced sibling of the above charger. It outputs 20 amps and is a very nice charger.

A couple things to mention with these chargers. They are DC only so you will need an AC power source if you want to charge at home. Otherwise you can hook them up to your car battery. iSDT actually makes a power supply for these but you can also convert a PC power supply for much less money.

ISDT CP-16027

Server Power Supply (you will need to convert this yourself) HP DPS-600PB

Guide: http://www.ultimaterc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=174225

Frequently Asked Questions

If I register and I cannot make it April 15th can I cancel after April 3rd? Since we are purchasing the parts on April 3rd refunds will not be granted after that date. However if you can find a replacement for your spot you are welcome to let them go in your place. Please email us if this is the case. aleclunsford@gmail.com

Since we are purchasing the parts on April 3rd refunds will not be granted after that date. However if you can find a replacement for your spot you are welcome to let them go in your place. Please email us if this is the case. aleclunsford@gmail.com I have a broken quad, can I bring it and get help? This Tech Day is geared for new pilots who have purchased a build through us. We will have other Tech events where you can get help with your current build. Also you can always chat with us on Facebook or in our Telegram Chat.

This Tech Day is geared for new pilots who have purchased a build through us. We will have other Tech events where you can get help with your current build. Also you can always chat with us on Facebook or in our Telegram Chat. Can I just come and watch? Of course just keep in mind we will be helping people build and tune their quad. So please be courteous to that.

Of course just keep in mind we will be helping people build and tune their quad. So please be courteous to that. Will there be food? Yes Pizza.

Yes Pizza. Do I have to register even if I’m coming for informational purposes? No

Well I made the first parts order today. Twisted Quads had the VTXs we need so I went ahead and ordered them. Thanks!