Drone kit -ZMR 250

Preamble

I came across a cheap job lot of ZMR 250 frames, for £19.99 + £3.99 (auction), on eBay. See also my build logs, Drone kit -Building a Tarot Mini 250 (TL250A) and Drone kit -Building a ZMR 250.

Build Guides

Parts

Additional parts kits

In addition to the basic frames, the required parts are the Electronic Stability Controls (ESCs) and motors

One example setup:

EMAX MT2204-2300KV Motors with Flycolor mini 12A multirotor ESC specifications

Apply for quadcopter,hexacopter, multirotor
I.Specifications:
Continuous Current 12A
Burst Current 18A(10S)
Battery Cells 2S-3S Lipo
BEC NO
Size 37*18*5mm
Weight 9g

II. Product Features:
1.It can endure the temperature of 100 degree .
2.Delicate circuit design and strong anti-interference performance.
3.High-speed response and good linearity.
4.Simplify the function setting and the factory default values apply to most of the motors in the market.
5.Operation frequency is 450kHz, it can arrive at 600kHz when the throttle is in the 1.5( the middle point).
6.The protection function of throttle signal loss.
7.Good security performance : the motor won’t be started wherever the throttle stick put when power on.
8.It’s compatible with all the transmitter.

See Oscar Liang’s comparison of the MT2204, MT1804 and MT1806comparison of the MT2204, MT1804 and MT1806

Other required parts are:

  • Power Distribution Board. Note that these may, or may not, be included with the frame kit, and may be either the simple passive type, or include a 5V or 12V regulator (BEC). They can either be square, rectangular, or take the form of the ZMR250 body plate.
  • Battery
  • Flight Controller
  • Propellers
  • Battery Elimination Circuit (BEC)  – This may be included in the PDB (above)
  • Tramsmitter and Receiver
  • XT60 connector

Optional extras include,

  • Spacer kit
  • PDB Spacer
  • Anti Vibration mount
  • Motor Protectors
  • Landing skids
  • Flight Controller case
  • First Person View (FPV) Camera mount
  • FPV Camera
  • FPV Transmitter and Receiver
  • FPV Antenna
  • GPS
  • On screen Display (OSD)
  • LEDs
  • BlueTooth

Frame kits

Spacers

See also Drone kit – ZMR250 Spacers.

Motors

Motor Protectors

ESCs

uBEC

Antenna

Antenna
Antenna

Landing skids

Flight Controllers

See also Flight Controllers.

Flight Controllers – APM

Search

Flight Controllers – Naze32
Mini
Micro
GPS
Flight Controllers – CC3D
CC3D EVO
CC3D EVO

From How to configure a GPS for CC3D

CC3D or Atom flight controllers do not support GPS functions such as Return to base or Position Hold. The original CopterControl (CC) board does not have memory left for GPS use.

The only purpose for GPS use is telemetry using radio modems (OPLink) or GPS position send to OSD device.

NMEA is not supported anymore because is less memory efficient, this page only refers to UBlox GPS and UBX protocol.

See also Can I use a GPS with my Open Pilot CC3D?

  • Since you already have a CC3D, use it as is – there is no need to change controllers; just learn how to make what you already have work well. You don’t need the added complexity of GPS and the Revo is overkill for a 250.The new firmware also introduced cloud (shared) configs which you can select only as the last step of the vehicle setup wizard. There is one for a QAV 250 – choose it. Use attitude mode to start. Later, switch to rattitude mode which will give you more response as you feed stick input in; when you return the stick to Center, you’re back in attitude mode.
  • I just wanted to clarify the fact that both are options and it may just come down to price, which the N32 will win. You can get them from Hobbyking now and other good retailers. Timecop isn’t making them himself any more.
  • I think the problem is that CC3D. Nobody uses them anymore, especially on minis. Use a Naze32. You won’t crash as often, the CC3D may be making it harder than it needs to be to fly.
Flight Controllers – Others

Flight Controller Cases

Anti Vibe

Flight Controller Anti Vibration Mount
Flight Controller Anti Vibration Mount

A more complete Anti Vibration mount, with bolts and nuts, is the Glass Fiber Damping Plate Shock Absorber for CC3D Flight Control Quadcopter, £1.29

Anti Vibration Mount with fittings
Anti Vibration Mount with fittings

Power Distribution Boards

See also PDB and Drone kit – ZMR250 PDBs.

mini PDB CC3D (LED)
mini PDB CC3D (LED)
Power Distribution Board
Power Distribution Board

cc3d1.jpg

CC3D Flight Controller 5V 12V PDB Power Distribution Board PCB For QAV250 UR, £1.68

CC3D BEC.jpg

CC3D Flight Controller Power Distribution Board 5V 12V With Metal Shield Case UR, £1.95

Power Distribution Board PDB More Stable BEC Output Filter for CC3D Naze32 F3 PK, £3.36

cc3dpdb

Mini Power Distribution Board PDB 4-Layers PCB for QAV250 CC3D Quadcopter, £4.43

CC3DPDB2.jpg

ZMR250, EMAX250 CC3D, NAZE32 Spacer for mini Power Distribution Board PDB, £2.66

PDB Cover
PDB Cover
Copter shaped PDBs

From  How to build a ZMR250 racing quadcopter, there are points worthy of note:

This power distribution board fits above the bottom plate and will help make this a neat build, as it integrates the OSD and routes the signal lines for the ESCs apart from providing various options to power all the components. However, I have heard it has issues with electrical noise apart from being a weak point in the frame, so I will have to see how it holds up.

and

Attach the standoffs to the PDB. The red aluminium standoffs are screwed to the power distribution board. This isn’t a good idea as they will apply stress to the relatively fragile circuit board in case of a crash. A better way to do this would be to run a screw from the bottom carbon fiber plate, through a 4mm nylon spacer, and then through the PDB and into the standoffs. However, I went with the first method as I did not have any 4mm spacer

CC3D PDB LED Power Distribution Board Panel for QAV250 Mini FPV Quadcopter, £2.66

qav250pdb

NAZE32 CC3D PDB Power Distribution Board Professional For FPV QAV250 Quadcopter, £4.99

qavpropdb

PCB Board With LED Board For ZMR250 Quadcopter Frame Kit F17712, £3.32

BlueTooth

CRIUS MWC Multiwii SE Naza32 CC3D FC Bluetooth Parameter CRIUSs SEs CC3Ds, £4.48

cc3dbt

OSD

MiniOSD.jpg

Mini OSD Naze 32 APM Flip CC3D with KV Team MOD Module for OCDAY Quadcopter GG, £5.83

s-l1600-2

MAVLink-OSD V2.1 On-Screen Display MiniOSD Support CC3D APM2.6/2.8 FlightControl, £6.47

s-l1600 (3).jpg

LEDs

s-l1600-1

WS2812B LED & 5V Active Buzzer 6xRGB LED Indicator for NAZE32 F3 FLIP32 CC3D. £2.19

CC3D Buzzer.jpg

Camera Mount

See also the blog FPV and OSD

For FPV
For GoPro

Discussions

Which Motors

The build kit, linked to in the guide at the top, uses 2400KV motors with 5030 propellers.

From Best motor prop combo on a ZMR250 FPV!

  1. Longest battery time
  2. Best agility/speed
  3. Best compromise between both

The answer given for option 2 was:

  • 2204-2300KV with 5045 propellers, or;
  • 2206-2000KV with 6045 propellers

Cobra 2204 2300 kv with 5045 props and 4s LiPo (1300-1800 mAh) with high C rating, about 3 minutes flight time.

If you’re using 4s, I’d go with the new Cobra 2206 2000kv with 6045 props.
6045 isn’t quite as agile as 5045, but you’ll get more thrust and the motor is rated for that kind of crazy power (over 350 W)

The poster of the question went for 2300KV with 6045 propellers:

I decided on 3S 2300 6045 AUW is 556 grams.I haven’t flown yet so not sure on times? Ecalc says 1 min with 1500 mAh, but you should get 5 or 6 minutes flying time.

Another opinion was

Longest flight time: (this is probably not correct, but) low pitch props with low-mid kv motors, with a high capacity 3s lipo or make a custom 3000mah 3s or 18650 li-ion pack using high c rated cells. 2206 1800 kv with a 6030 perhaps. Aim for a motor prop combo with the most efficient hover at your prognosed weight, just make sure to stay within current ratings and above 2:1 thrust ratio, or you’ll have a bad time.

Agility: 5045 & 5045 bullnose or 5″ triblades, with a mid-large high kv motor and a small 1300-1500mah high C lipo. 4S and up ofc. Expect short flight times. Speed: 4-6s, 6045, 2208 2300kv. Expect shorter lifetime on a 6s build.

Best compromise: hq5040 props, depending on what motors you use ofc. But for the smaller 1806 & 2204 2300kv motors they are both efficient and effective. Not as effective as 5045, and not as efficient as 5030′, but the best compromise. 1500-1800mah, 4s.

Which batteries

From LiPos for ZMR250??

  • 1300-1800 35C-40C

  • I use 1300 Nano-techs with 25-50c and 40-90c. The latter give much more punch

  • 2200mAh 20C are too heavy

  • I do have some 35c packs but when I put the mobius on, its started puffing the packs just a little at 6 min. Without the mobius, the 35Cs are just fine.

From What battery are you flying with your ZMR250 250mm FPV quad?

  • Nano-Tech 1500mah 35-70C 3S. My favorite battery so far…

  • Zippy Compact 3S 1500 40C

  • 3S-1300’s though I’ve considered trying out 1500 and 1800’s…..when I want the sound of a swarm of rabid pissed off angry wasps, I use a 4S-5100…

  • Those both look fine. I fly a few 1300 3s lipos as well as a few 1500 3s’s. Just see which is lighter. If you want to fly a little longer but slower go for mAh instead of weight. And vice versa for agility instead of flight time.

From Can you use a 2200 mAh lipo on 250 sized quads?

  • Yes mate, I run Cobra 1960 2204 and have had no problems with the extra weight. obviously flying characteristics will vary slightly.As for flight times that is purely dependent on flying style, it doesn’t really make much sense when people ask about flying time on a setup as it is vastly different per person. But with my nano tech 2250 battery i get about 12-15 mins of REALLY cruisey flying with the odd punch out. Hard punching and full throttle runs get me about 6-8 mins.Again, people will probably come on and say that is crazy me getting those flight times because they may or may not get the same, but like i said… each to there own when it comes to flight time.

  • I have the exact same motors and have had the same exact experience with a 2200 mAh battery. For what it’s worth with a 6×3 prop I used exactly 610 mAh for a 5 min hover.

  • I run 6030 to get those flight times. It depends in how pedantic you want to be with your PIDS. To an everyday fun flyer the only difference is the quad feels heavier….because it is. Those crazy professional racers will say they can feel everything is ridiculously different and it flies like shit on PIDS for a 1300-1800 mAh battery but i use mine on the same PIDS and can only slightly tell the difference from changing the batteries. It isn’t a big enough issue for me to want to have 2 different sets of PIDS. Than again if I were racing or something like that and had to use the heavier battery I would want 2 different tunes for different batteries.

  • As petiole have already mentioned, it all depends on your setup and flying style. When I first built my ZMR250 and was just flying calmly LOS without any FPV gear, I could easily do 15 minutes with a 2200, although I could feel the extra weight affecting flight and maneuverability. I’ve tried it now that I do some semi-aggressive FPV, the 2200 actually don’t seem to give me more flight time than my 1800, especially the 65-130C Nanotech. I guess the extra weight, coupled with 60%+ throttle I tend to use and all the flips and rolls when FPVing results in faster battery drain, so it lasts the same as 1800 for me.

  • Plenty of people fly with 4S 2200 mAh out here. We fly pretty hard so we don’t get too much flight time out of them. Build a light quad to begin with and you can fly with a slightly heavier battery without affecting it’s handling too much.I personally fly with 1800 4S 65C packs, typically only getting about 4 minutes of flight, but I’m 100% throttle (roughly between 70-99 amps) at least half the time, and around 70% throttle the remaining time.

From tbs discovery immersion rc fatshark

  • 3 x 6600 mAh, 2 x 8000 mAh

From $30 mini Quad ZMR250 with 3S/2200 battery

  • Ditch the Zippy compacts and get a Nanotech or other higher-C rating battery. The Zippies are fine for light to medium loads but under high-C draws they sag like hell. Even when fully charged, when you punch out hard with a miniquad that’s got a decent set of motors and props, the low-voltage alarm will soon kick in. When you back off the throttle — the voltage comes back up.It’s been my experience that there’s actually not a hell of a lot of difference in flight times between 1300, 1400 and 1500 mAh (high-C) packs and they all outperform the Zippy compacts I used (1500 mAh and 1800 mAh). Sorry but 25C really isn’t going to cut it if you really want to hammer that miniquad (IMHO).Also… get rid of the 3-bladed props. Get some decent 6×3 or 6×4 blades for that ZMR frame — probably 6×3, since you’re running 2600 KV motors.I’m not a fan of the cable-tie method of arm retention either — a good frame won’t break anyway so putting a weak-link like a cable-tie in is just introducing an unnecessary inconvenience (replacement after every crash when the miniquad would otherwise just have bounced and still be ready to fly.Also, put those pillars back in — the only ZMR frame I’ve seen that broke clean in half only did so because, like yourself, someone removed some of the pillars. It’s not worth it for the weight-saving. If you want to save weight — get some plastic pillars instead or use a 1300 mAh 45-90C Nanotech battery instead of that Zippy Compact 2200.

  • Sorry Bruce, but I have to disagree there. Every nanotech lipo I’ve had (about 10) is total crap. They puff after 50 cycles, sometimes less. And don’t tell me I treat my batteries poorly lol. Maybe I’ve had lemons but those were bought over a year and are different sizes. I also fly F3A pattern competition involving 10S lipos and 2kW setups, and zippy lipo’s downright outperform nanotech’s. By a significant amount too. With nanotech I’ve had cases where they just sagged so much that the plane just dropped out of the sky before I could finish whatever maneuver I was doing.The funny thing is, everyone in the Dutch (B/C class at least) seems to agree that nanotech’s aren’t worth it. They either fly thunder power or some other high end brand or they fly zippy’s.Again, maybe everyone in Holland got lemons, but in my experience, zippy’s outperform nanotech’s, and they’re cheaper and lighter as an added bonus

  • Ready to fly with a mobius and 1300 35-70c 3s I’m at 600 grams using 1806 2400kv motors with 12 amp Simon K flashed. OMG. This thing has balls! Plenty of power – If I remove the Mobuis I fly with a 2200 mAh 3s 40C batts and get 9/10 min of hard core bashing

Notes: The Mobius appears to consume more power, according to the threads above.

From the assembly guide at the top, the Tattu 1300mah 3S 45C LiPo battery pack is recommended, £13.49.

LiFe, Nanotech 1500mAH LiFe Battery 9.9v TX Pack Taranis Futaba Graupner, £10.49

Turnigy nano-tech 1500mah 3S 35~70C Lipo Pack (US Warehouse), £13.00

EBay, Turnigy 2 cell Nano-Tech 2200 mAh 2S 7.4V 25-40C Lipo Battery
£16.96

Nanotech 1500mAh 3S 11.1V 30C EC3 Lipo E-flite Compatible EFLB15003S Losi Mini
£14.96

Very cheap and nasty, 1500mAh 7.4V 2S 25C Lipo Battery T Plug Fr RC Helicopter Airplane Car Truck Boat £6.33

I saw some cheap new  Turnigy 3S 1500 mAh 20 C batteries, for £9.97 but 20C could seriously be under powered – from 30 C vs 60 C battery – Will I notice a difference?

Get the high-C batteries, you will regret otherwise.

In my experience, there is a huge difference in the performance of a quad running low-C vs. high-C batteries. When I started out I purchased the cheapest batteries, 20C Turnigys. When flying easy, things were fine, but the second I wanted to punch-out or any other high throttle maneuver, the voltage would sag and my battery alarm would sound. This caused the quad to be relatively under powered – I could never unleash the full potential.

Then I switched to 45C batteries and everything changed. I could peg the throttle as much as I wanted with zero voltage sag. I never have to worry about taking it easy. Th eon caveat being the higher-C batteries will give you solid voltage till the very end of their capacity, and then suddenly die. So, if you go with high-C batteries ensure you have a good voltage alarm.

From What batteries are you using? the general concensus is that 2200mAh are too big, add too much weight and make the quadcopter ungainly in flight. INterestingly, 20C batteries are mentioned as a good starting point.

  • Generally for 250 sized quads you want either 1300mah or 2200mah depending on whether you value flight time or agility. 20c – 25c is also a good starting point. 3 cells is pretty much necessary. Also don’t buy some cheap Chinese batteries because saving $2 isn’t worth possibly screwing up your quad.

  • Your extra flight time does not = flight quality.
    Why do you want to stay in the air for longer? You mention practice…
    I have an objective in that I want to do aerial filming, so duration would be of some help. But I don’t think I am going to be attempting a 15 minute single take so, duration is not a big issue.

    If you want to practice get a few 1300 or 1500’s and bring the quad in for a swap over, The quad will fly harder and faster with these cells and you will get multiple flights of quality as opposed to a single flight like a whale.

    If you wanna go 2200 then you will need motors, ESC’s and props to match that cell, so you will need to go up a class or two in mm.
    The point of the 250’s is the sheer powah to weight ratio, that you will destroy by throwing a huge cell on it.

    If you want endurance then the 250 class is not for you.
    It’s like adding an extra fuel tank on a Veyron, yes, you get an extra 2km out of it, at the expense of retarding the performance.

  • DON’T get a 2200… don’t care what anyone says, you will have a hard time to get a proper center of gravity (cg) with a large battery. I have 1800mah, and with a full fpv setup, you cannot balance, your CG will be off.

    The sweet spot is honestly 1300 – 1500mah 3s/4s. The larger batteries will only fit if you don’t fly with a mobius and can center the battery on top.

     

  • You reach a point with large batteries where you are carrying too much weight and getting a tiny bit of extra flight time. Like I said, with 1500mah 3s, I get 8 minutes and a few seconds of good flying. You will most likely get 9 minutes on a 2200, but have your quad feel bulky and slow.

  • So far i tried these ones for my 250’s.

    Turnigy Nanotech 1000mAh 25-50C
    Rhino 1350mAh 30C
    Turnigy 1300mAh 30-40C
    Turnigy Nanotech 1400mAh 40-80C (Traxxas 2823 replacement)
    + some 2200mAh
    http://imgur.com/zubPJhU

    I think the 2200 mAh ones are to heavy.
    The smaller ones all work, but the best by far are the 1400mAh.
    http://imgur.com/QYGSkRY

From Tarot TL250A product page on HobbyKing:

Product Description

Description:
Tarot Mini 250 is the only racing quadcopter which could integrate camera, FPV transmission system, battery, ESC, 5.8G wireless transmitter, antennal, GPS, etc. electronic components on the frame throught directly plugging in or soldering. It could reduce the wiring and installing time. The tarot mini 200/250/300 is also the product with highest integration degree among similar products in the market. The body adopts 2.1mm pure carbon fiber material, featuring simple structure, high durable and lower price.

Parameter:
Wheelbase: 250mm
Neat height/ Kit Height: 43mm/ 85.8mm
Neat length/ Kit length: 195mm/288mm
Neat Width/ Kit Width: 219mm/315mm
Bottom Height: 21.8mm
Neat Weight/Takeoff Weight: 15g/430g (include 2200mah battery)

Specification:
2.0 middle pure carbon board x 1  (159x33x2mm)
2.0 front pure carbon board x 1  (219x49x2mm)
2.0 backward pure carbon board x 1  (219x58x2mm)
1.0 front standing pure carbon board x 1  (159x33x2mm)
PCB board x 1  (181x106x19.5mm)
Plastic landing skid x 1  (175x108x43mm)
Front metal support bracket x 1  (73x10x8mm)
Button head socket screw x 7  (M2x4mm)
Upper metal bracket x 2  (48.5x4x8mm)
Socket screw x 6  (M2x12mm)
Dual-faced paster x 1  (35x35x1.5mm)

Package Includes:
1 x Tarot 250 Racing Airframe
1 x Assembly Manual

What you need to build a RTF Racing Drone (Not include and needs to be purchased separately):
4 x Brushless Motors (Recommend 1806 brushless motor)
4 x 12A ESC
2 x 5″ CW Propeller
2 x 5″ CCW Propeller
1 x CC3D Openpilot Flight Controller
1 x Radio Set
1 x 11.1V 2200mAh Battery
1 x Battery Charger
1 x TL300L OSD/GPS (Optional)
1 x L300N Video Transmitter (Optional)
1 x L300M Mini Camera (Optional)
1 x TL300K Antenna (Optional)

With multiple camera mount, integrated PCB, and 2.1MM main board.

Lipo battery can be directly pluged to XT60 on PCG board, reduce messy wiring. In the tail, there is 5.8G wireless antenny protecting plate and GPS socket. The ESC can be directly soldereed on corresponding PCB board.

Equipped with 450PRO plastic landing gear greatly reduce the cost.

With extreme light weight, enjoy your FPV flight with Tarot 250 FPV kit

4 thoughts on “Drone kit -ZMR 250”

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