Check the latest revision, the Wizard Killer Mark III

This is an even cheaper followup to my original Wizard Killer build. If you catch the sales and coupons just right you can build this for $100 excluding the cost of the receiver. This will perform nearly identical to the original Eachine Wizard except it offers a handful of additional features like OSD, Dshot, and Blackbox. This is a relatively easy build and should be perfect for a first time builder.

To build this you'll need a few extras not listed below:

Blue loctite

Shrink tubing (various sizes)

16AWG silicon wire

28AWG silicon wire

Zip ties

Frame Assembly

The first thing you'll want to do is assemble the frame. It's fairly straightforward, but I've got a couple tips that may save you some trouble. Before you tighten the nuts push the long nylon screws through the middle holes and wiggle the arms so they are away from the frame. If they aren't in the maximum outward position the props may strike the top plate. Also, if you don't insert the nylon screws before tightening the arms the holes may not line up. I had to loosen all the nuts because I neglected to do this.

Once everything is tight you can attach the motors. I like to start with 2 screws each and apply the Loctite after the soldering is complete. I've found that I usually need to loosen the motors to slide shrink tube over the wires.

Next you'll want to mount the 4-in-1 ESC. Make sure the PWM connector (the white plastic bit) is pointed toward the front of the craft. Use the long nylon screws and tiny round spacers to build the stack. I used the shorter spacers below the ESCs and the slightly taller spacers above it. To hold it all in place you need to add the 35mm plate followed by nylon nuts. The flight controller will be soft mounted on this plate.

Wiring the Motors

Now for the fun part. Fortunately this 4-in-1 has wires pre-soldered, so all you need to do is attach them to the motor wires. I found it easier to cut the ESC wires close to the board while retaining most of the length of the motor wires. Don't forget to slide all your wire mesh and shrink tube over the wires before soldering. I typically use Paracord to protect the wires, but I wanted to experiment with the wire mesh. It's got more of a plastic feel to it and it doesn't feel as resilient as Paracord, but applying a single piece to all 3 wires is convenient. I used 2 1/4in pieces of wire mesh for each arm and 1/2in pieces of shrink tube to cover both ends.

Attaching the Battery Lead

This frame doesn't come with an XT60 connector, so I listed a pack of connectors in the misc parts section below. Also, the 4-in-1 ESC comes with 18AWG wire for the battery leads which isn't ideal. You'll want at least 16AWG if not 14AWG wire, so make sure you've got some nice silicon wire available. Just de-solder the battery leads, add a little solder to the pads and attach your connector. I like to leave about 2cm of wire between the connector and the board.

Powering the Flight Controller and VTX

Since this flight controller only has a 1A 5v regulator it's best to power the VTX externally, thus the 5v BEC listed below. The flight controller supports enough current to power itself, the receiver and the camera without issue. That being said you need to power both the BEC and the flight controller from the battery. You can stack two more sets of wires on top of the battery lead to power them. Refer to the flight controller pin layout to find the battery input.

Wiring the Receiver and Video

First you want to wire the receiver. This is where some 28AWG wire comes in handy. If you're using a FrSky receiver you need to solder the control wire to the RCIN pad. The description on the product page says to use RX1, but this is incorrect. Power it off the 5v/GND pads directly below RCIN. Power up your quad and bind your receiver. It's best to get this out of the way before it gets buried. Add shrink tube to the receiver and foam tape it to the base plate in front of the flight controller. Add zip ties to the front arms between the two screws and shrink tube the RX antennas to the zip ties.

Next you can wire the video components. Power the camera off the same 5v rail you used to power the receiver. Remove the audio wire from the camera as you won't be using that. Solder the video wire to the VIN pad. Likewise, power the video transmitter from the 5v BEC and solder the video wire to the VOUT pad of the flight controller. Foam tape the camera mount to the front plate and foam tape the flight controller to the mounting plate. Ensure the PWM connector is pointed forward and that it is perfectly square to the frame.

Now you're ready to add the standoffs and assemble the frame. Foam tape the 5v BEC to the bottom plate and foam tape the VTX to the top plate.

BetaFlight Configuration

This build supports all the latest features of BetaFlight, so be sure to download BetaFlight 3.2 and flash the firmware before you do anything else. From there I've created a checklist to get you started:

Use resource commands to order the motors:

resource motor 3 A02 resource motor 4 A03

Use BLHeli Configurator to set motor rotation. (Motors 1 and 4 are reversed)

Update ESCs to enable Dshot Commands. (latest BLHeli version)

Configure your Receiver and check your rxranges.

Set arm and beeper switches.

Configure OSD.

Enable dynamic filter and gravity mode.

Set your rates.

Final Thoughts

For the price this is a great starter rig, but there is certainly some room for improvement. It wasn't apparent to me from the website, but this is a Realacc frame. If you're familiar with their frames they are hit or miss. This one does fit together fairly well, but the tolerances are quite tight. I used 25mm standoffs and unless the arms are fully extended the props will brush the top plate. This is not likely an issue with 30mm or 35mm standoffs. You might want to consider the original Martian II 220mm for a slight quality upgrade.

Suggested upgrades: