Hello, I purchased a Cinestar 8 HL from Quadrocopter about a month ago as a kit to build. When I finally dove into the build I noticed that the dvd provided and the online videos/resources showed differences. (Which I think is the HL vs not perhaps?) Anyway, I could really use some pictures of the HL up close from different angels for wiring/electronics. I am certainly new to this. Thanks so much, Ryan
Hello Ryan Welcome to the forum. I bellieve the onlly differences you will see is the wiring for the new MK double quadro XL power board. All the info about that board is here http://www.mikrokopter.de/ucwiki/en/DoubleQuadro-BL-Ctrl_3
Hi Dave, Thank you...want to make sure how I install the board and everything that goes to it is correct. One more question that I forgot to ask. The motors that they shipped me came with the wiring ending with a male connector. The other end of the wiring that would run from the board to the male connector...with a female end...isn't with the kit. I am wondering if you or anyone else had to create those wires? Really appreciate you helping, Ryan
If memory serves, Andy walks through the process of creating the "pigtails" that connect the power distribution board to the motor leads in his DVD. While the original DVD's boards do not match exactly to the boards you got, they're close enough to be relevant. But if you didn't receive any silicon wire and bullet connectors, that's an omission.
Yes they would be female pigtails you would solder to the pads of the power board. I looked at the scope of the kit on Quadrocopters website and I don't see them on there so I"m not sure if they come with the kit. As Gary points out a quick call to Quadrocopter will help answer that. If they don't automatically come with the kit they can make them for you.
Hi Gary, Thanks for the reply. I did contact Quadrocopter and am only reaching out to this forum after their lack of help. In fact, the person who got back to me said; "Hello, We do not have any photos of an HL build, or any type of visual resource for the HL upgrade. We build our motor wires in house, and as far as I know, we do not provide them in kits. I will be out of the office until Monday, but if you would like to call with a couple specific questions, I could take a few minutes next week to answer them. Regards Production Manager" (I deleted the name) So I wanted to see if I could get some help on here. Thanks so much! Ryan
Hey Steve! Hope you are doing well. Appreciate the response. I will contact them again as they didn't include the wiring or pigtails in the kit they sent. Thanks so much, Ryan
Hi Ryan: The pigtails *used* to come in the boxes containing the motors -- there were three black ones in each box. It could be that, as the HL uses Tiger MN-4012 motors that they're no longer in the motor boxes. I'd therefore contact QC and ask. And you're right....the DVDs were produced before QC sold Cinestar HL's. Sorry about that... Andy.
Hey Andy, Gotcha...appreciate that. Yes, they no longer come in the motor box. I will contact Quadrocopter and get them made. Thanks, Ryan
Ryan: I had an on-line chat via QC's web site and the advice I got was that you should contact QC's shipping department. Specifically, could you either: 1. Call QC +1 (406) 897 1027 and press 3 for shipping, speak to Krista or Adam. 2 Email shipping@quadrocopter.com Explain that you're missing the pigtail wires that connect between the power distribution board and the bullet connectors. In my experience, if you're missing a part, QC is very good at replacing it. Email me at ajohnsonlaird AT me DOT com if you don't get this resolved and I'll wave my arms more vigorously in the direction of Whitefish, MT. Andy.
Hi Dave, Thanks! I have been emailing back and forth with Flori (Who I bought it from actually) and he is helping. Not sure why the other person at Quadrocopter wasn't willing to help but Flori is very good at helping and taking care of issues. He said he is going to work on getting me pictures as they do have an HL there built. Thanks again for your help, Ryan
I have the same issue as Ryan. No silicon wire or bullet connectors in the HL kit. What did you hear from QC Ryan? I was making my own simply because I wanted to keep the build going but I have a question. QC tech support says they use 14g silicon wire that mates up to a 3.5 female bullet connector. I noticed that the wire on the 4012's is 18g ...much thinner than the 16g on the 3328 motors that come with the std C8. Is there a problem using the same 18g wire to go to the Double Quadro 2xl? OR do I need to use 14g for the pigtails? Thanks
One advantage of making your own pigtails is so you can custom fit the wiring. For example, when I make pigtails, I cut the motor wire to exactly the length I need it to be so that I don't have excessive wire. I then use the extra wire I cut off the motors to use to make the female pigtails so that its the same exact wire as the motors. The downside to this is that you need to make new male connectors (in addition to female connectors). The only issue with making our own pigtails is that you need the heat shrink cut completely straight and it needs to melt on the connector completely straight or it will expose some of the conductor which could cause a short. I use an Xacto knife to cut the heat shrink tubing and then use a pair of needle nose pliers to hold the tubing in place while I heat it. So its a bit of a PITA as you have to take your time and be thorough. As you can see by this picture I ran my motor wires above the booms so they run straight up to the MOSFETS. I saved over 180 grams of wire but cutting them to fit.
Thanks Dave.. that's what I thought. No need for 14g pigtail wire when the 4012 wire is 18g right? I'm running my wires thru the booms and into the center hub. There isn't much wire left after braiding... I'm using 5" pigtails initially to assure I have enough wire to the board.
Well it can't hurt to have 14g but I think using the motor wiring is fine. IF it wasn't good enough you would have issues with the motors right? What i do is heat shrink the motor wires together and not braid them. This allows more cable and weight to be removed. I know many people braid the wires (even I did that on my first build) but if all 3 wires are shrunk together tight with no gaps then there won't be any RF potential between the wires and the wires don't have to be as long. I don't like the idea of having a lot of motor wires under the flight control board. I think there's a chance for interference especially under the center hub were the wires are seperated. In my opinion, there's a good chance for RF potential between the wires under the hub as they are not braided or shrunk together at that point because they need to be connected to the pigtails.