Who's your drone mechanic? Surprise -Its you!
1) Tools you'll need:
#O Phillips head screwdriver
Dental pick
Electricians black tape
Superglue
Hemostat - small 3" or so.
Single edged razor blade or x-acto knife
VOM (volt-ohm-meter)
Finger nail clippers or small wire cutters
Soldering iron 15-30 watts*
Rosin core solder*
Heat shrink tubing - various sizes*
#O Phillips head screwdriver
Dental pick
Electricians black tape
Superglue
Hemostat - small 3" or so.
Single edged razor blade or x-acto knife
VOM (volt-ohm-meter)
Finger nail clippers or small wire cutters
Soldering iron 15-30 watts*
Rosin core solder*
Heat shrink tubing - various sizes*
Nail file
(diamond dust) Forget the sandpaper
or cut steel files. They are worthless.
* Internal repair work
or cut steel files. They are worthless.
* Internal repair work
THINGS TO DO
Cracking spars. Most small quads are made of plastic.
Some have limited use of carbon fiber or what appears to be carbon fiber parts or materials. The spars are the shafts that supports the
motor/rotor assembly. The spars are quite small, about .170" or 4.3 mm
square.
Pretty tough. But there is a small problem. The UDI design uses extremely small screws at two places to attach the spar to the chassis of the quad and to the motor assemblies.
The holes made by the self-tapping screw starts a stress point and the constant crashing and subsequent twisting of the spar can cause it to crack lengthwise starting at the screw hole. I recently replaced (2) cracked spars.
It happenned at about 15 flight hours on the quad. Now I inspect the spars on a regular basis. Every week or so. Even cracked, the spars held up okay. You can superglue the crack or use black electricians tape as a temporary reinforcement.
THINGS TO FIX
Bent rotors. If the bend is only a small amount (generally not very noticeable except for vibration), it's okay just to bend it back into the correct position.
I use the inside center of the UDI U818A's body shell as a reference point turning the rotor so that both rotor ends can be compared to the same reference point.
Hold the rotor with one hand near the center of the rotor, and bend the rotor slightly up or down with your other hand. Don't pull up on the tip. If you can see the bent area of the rotor, try to re-bend it there.
If you not sure you can do this, while at home, use a #0 phillips screwdriver to remove the rotor set screw and remove and bend the rotor off while it's off the quad. Don't loose the screw! It's really, really, REALLY - small! Rotate to the other blade (opposite side) and compare after assembly.
The should be at the same height as referenced to the body shell. Try get within a 1/16" or less. Both rotor blades should be 90 degrees to the rotor shaft. Compare to an unbent rotor. Not sure? Replace the rotor with a spare. You do have spares, right?
DRIVE GEARS BINDING
Pretty tough. But there is a small problem. The UDI design uses extremely small screws at two places to attach the spar to the chassis of the quad and to the motor assemblies.
The holes made by the self-tapping screw starts a stress point and the constant crashing and subsequent twisting of the spar can cause it to crack lengthwise starting at the screw hole. I recently replaced (2) cracked spars.
It happenned at about 15 flight hours on the quad. Now I inspect the spars on a regular basis. Every week or so. Even cracked, the spars held up okay. You can superglue the crack or use black electricians tape as a temporary reinforcement.
THINGS TO FIX
Bent rotors. If the bend is only a small amount (generally not very noticeable except for vibration), it's okay just to bend it back into the correct position.
I use the inside center of the UDI U818A's body shell as a reference point turning the rotor so that both rotor ends can be compared to the same reference point.
Hold the rotor with one hand near the center of the rotor, and bend the rotor slightly up or down with your other hand. Don't pull up on the tip. If you can see the bent area of the rotor, try to re-bend it there.
If you not sure you can do this, while at home, use a #0 phillips screwdriver to remove the rotor set screw and remove and bend the rotor off while it's off the quad. Don't loose the screw! It's really, really, REALLY - small! Rotate to the other blade (opposite side) and compare after assembly.
The should be at the same height as referenced to the body shell. Try get within a 1/16" or less. Both rotor blades should be 90 degrees to the rotor shaft. Compare to an unbent rotor. Not sure? Replace the rotor with a spare. You do have spares, right?
DRIVE GEARS BINDING
It happens. You land hard, so you
decide to test the rotors gears to see if they are damaged. The sound of the rotors is "strange".
Clicking? Buzzing? One of the rotors A) spins and then stops or B) won't spin at all or C) clicks while it spins. You suspect there is a speck of dirt on the large gear.
You look for it. You can't see anything. Hmm? You rotate the rotor the other direction and it always stops at the same place. That's where the dirt is. It's causing the two gears to bind.
You use a small magnifying glass or cheap magnifying glasses. Yes, there it is. It's soooooooo small.Using your dental pick, you clean the grooves of the large gear.
Then flip the rotor with your finger. It goes past 360 degrees - no clicking noise. Smooooth :) You put it on the ground and work the throttle - all the rotors spin normally. Congratulations - your a drone mechanic!
BATTERY EJECTS ON HARD LANDING
Clicking? Buzzing? One of the rotors A) spins and then stops or B) won't spin at all or C) clicks while it spins. You suspect there is a speck of dirt on the large gear.
You look for it. You can't see anything. Hmm? You rotate the rotor the other direction and it always stops at the same place. That's where the dirt is. It's causing the two gears to bind.
You use a small magnifying glass or cheap magnifying glasses. Yes, there it is. It's soooooooo small.Using your dental pick, you clean the grooves of the large gear.
Then flip the rotor with your finger. It goes past 360 degrees - no clicking noise. Smooooth :) You put it on the ground and work the throttle - all the rotors spin normally. Congratulations - your a drone mechanic!
BATTERY EJECTS ON HARD LANDING
Oops :) Easy fix - a couple of turn of black
electrical tape to make it fit snug.
BATTERY, AZIZ!**
Battery charging. Do it right after flying. Don't forget :)
LOG BOOKS
BATTERY, AZIZ!**
Battery charging. Do it right after flying. Don't forget :)
LOG BOOKS
Keep track of flight hour/problem/weather/etc.
Use the link here if you don't the heavy math :) Enter start and stop time of the flying session. The
calculator gives you the elapsed time. Enter it in you log book.
Use this second link to add all the page entries for a total page time. Enter in the appropriate place. Done with this page? Use the calculator to add the previous page's total to the current filled page total. Easy.
Use this second link to add all the page entries for a total page time. Enter in the appropriate place. Done with this page? Use the calculator to add the previous page's total to the current filled page total. Easy.
BATTERY CONNECTORS
Fit too tightly? Use the diamond file. File a very small amount at one time, check fit - repeat. Better to have to do several attempts at filing that to take off too much. Also useful for the fingernails :)
KEEP ON FLYING
** From "TRUE LIES" - the Movie!
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