Building an Ultralight 5" quad on a Budget (less than 1 USD per gram) - BUILD LOG

-- PLEASE READ THE DESCRIPTION: --
This is one of the (fortunately rare) cases that I end up not liking a build I had planned. I wanted to build an ultralight based on a twig-style frame for a long time. I found the clean center stack and small overall footprint very appealing. But it turns out that I would not suggest such build to anyone now - there are much better frame selections out there that are easy to build and that provide much more protection to the motors and the electronics of the quad.
So, please remember: BUILD AS YOU NEED - NOT AS I SAY!
My build logs are meant to provide you with building ideas, tips and tricks and hopefully inspire your upcoming builds - not to be followed blindly with the exact same combination of parts.
Feel free to let me know any comments or suggestions you may have. I know that higher KV motors would be a better option for such a light build but I used parts that I had lying around.
This is BEST FOR LESS: Building an Ultralight 5" quad on a Budget (less than 1 USD per gram) - Let's go!
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Thank you in advance!
Frame:
RFX 185 (Twig clone): (BG)
Spare arms for the RFX 185: (BG)
The twig frame:
Nemos Twig V2: (Nemos)
Motors:
Emax RS2205 (2300KV) (higher KV may be a better match for such a light build but I wanted to try 2300KV with the 5050 Cyclone props): (BG)
Alternative motor options:
Emax RS2205 (2600KV): (BG)
DYS Samguk Wu 2206 2700KV: (BG)
RDQ 2205 2450KV: (RaceDayQyads)
RCX H2205 2633KV (V3): (MyRCMart)
Flight controller:
FrSky XSRF3O (with built-in XSR receiver): (BG)
or: (HorusRC)
or: (Ebay)
ESC 4-in-1:
Racerstar Shot30A (with current sensor and 5V/3A BEC): (BG)
or: (Ebay)
Alternative 4-in-1 ESC option:
Racerstar REV35 (with current sensor but without BEC): (BG)
or: (Ebay)
Another lightweight option is to combine an AiO FC+ESC board:
Racerstar StarF3S (F3 version): (BG)
Racerstar StarF4S (F4 version): (BG)
with a micro receiver:
FrSky R-XSR: (BG)
or: (GB)
or: (Ebay)
Video Transmitter:
Matek VTX-HV: (BG)
or: (Ebay)
Alternative VTx options:
Eachine VTX03: (BG)
Eachine ATX03 (with audio): (BG)
FullSpeedRC FSD-TX200 (piggyback for a micro camera): (FullSpeedRC)
FPV camera:
Runcam Split (version 1): (HK)
Alternative camera options:
Runcam Split (version 2): (BG)
Runcam Micro Swift 2: (GB)
Foxeer Arrow Micro v2: (BG)
Foxeer Predator Mini: (BG)
or: (GB)
FPV antenna options:
uFL whip antenna: (BG)
uFL cloverleaf antenna: (GB)
SMA cloverleaf antenna (mini version): (Surveilzone)
SMA Pagoda antenna : (BG)
uFL Pagoda antenna: (BG)
Battery:
Tattu 4S 1550mAh 75C: (BG)
Alternative options:
Infinity 4S 1300mAh 70C: (BG)
GNB 4S 1500mAh 110C: (BG)
Propellers:
DAL Cyclone T5050C: (BG)
or: (Ebay)
or: (Surveilzone)
Aluminum standoffs:
Aluminum knurled standoffs (various sizes): (BG)
or: (Ebay)
Screws & Standoffs:
Nylon screw & standoff set: (BG)
Metallic hex screw set: (BG)
Rubber grommets:
M3 O-ring kit (neon orange): (HK)
XT60 plug with 12AWG wires: (BG)
3D printed camera mounts for standoffs: (BG)
Clear heatshrink: (BG)
or: (Ebay)
Tools:
Soldering iron: (BG)
or: (GB)
Helping hands: (BG)
or its 3-arm version: (BG)
Wire stripper: (BG)
Tweezers: (BG)
Multimeter: (BG)
or: (Ebay)
Boomstopper: (HK)
Smokestopper (DIY): (RCGroups)
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Song: "Tevo" by Vexento
Link:
Artist:
CC-by license: /
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