Introduction: 3d Printed Picolongrange FPV Drone

By www.youtube.com/unboxingexperien

Hi guys,

after Nanolongrange comes Picolongrange! This is my take on a tiny FPV drone with good range. It is based on a 3d printed 70mm frame and small 1.6" propellers. It features

  • 45g AUW
  • 500m range
  • 2km distance
  • GPS

Moreover, it is a rather simple build with only the GPS required to be soldered. However, you will need some basic knowledge on FPV drones/ Betaflight to complete this Instructable successfully.

Supplies

.stl file on Thingiverse

BOM

1s AIO flight controller - go for one with integrated ELRS RX and VTX

go for one with integrated ELRS RX and VTX

Motors

0802 brushless

Props

Gemfan 1610

Camera

Caddx Ant lite

Alternatively, you can buy a plug and play Tinywhoop 

GPS

NLRC tiny GPS

Remote Controller

Jumper T-pro ELRS

FPV goggles

Fatshark HDO 2

Step 1: 3d Printing the Frame

  • Download the .stl files from Thingiverse.
  • My slicer settings are 0.2 resolution and 20% infill.
  • I strongly recommend using ABS or ABS+ to get a rigid and temperature proof frame.

Step 2: Build

  • Mount all 4 motors on the frame using M1.4 3mm screws. One side of the frame has countersunk holes where the screw head is supposed to fit in.
  • Use M2 10mm screws to mount the AIO flight controller. The back screw needs to go top down to hold the GPS mount.
  • Solder the GPS to the flight controller. Use a free UART and solder RX to TX and vice versa.
  • Mount the canopy on the frame. Use a M2 plastic screw in the front and a rubber band on the side screws. The rubber band will also hold the battery.

Step 3: GPS &vTX Setup

  • Connect to Betaflight and make sure the board is correctly aligned, the RC link set up and motors spin in correct direction. If you are a novice you will find plenty of information on the internet. Joshua Bardwells tutorials on Youtube might be very helpful.
  • For best longrange experience set the VTX to the highest output level. However, make sure to comply with your local regulations.
  • Enable GPS on the UART used. For me, in Config NMEA works.

Step 4:

I went 500m but I' m sure with a newer AIO board featuring a 400mW VTX 1km range should be no problem. Stay tuned!