Good day! If you're new to the channel, welcome! I'm TMac and I help Pilots like you start and
continue their Journey to Better FPV Fun through the Fast Track FPV Course, videos like this one,
and my site at TMacFPV.com. I also design frames for, build, and fly Micro FPV Drones, those that
spin 4" props or less. By now you may have heard about the FAA's new rule concerning Remote ID.
If not, no worries, today I'm gonna give you a very quick graphical summary that you
can download and print out yourself from a link in the video description below,
of how Remote ID may affect both the building and operation of micro FPV quadcopters, one
type of RC model aircraft the FAA calls unmanned aircraft, and most of the general population calls
drones. Once we know how this new Remote ID rule affects Pilots who want to start
(or continue) flying Micro FPV drones, I'll show you something I've been working on to make it as
easy as possible for you to have fun flying FPV, and do so legally without Remote ID if you want,
even after the Remote ID compliance date. Today, I'm gonna introduce you to something on my TMacFPV
site which will walk you through, step-by-step, everything you need to know to easily make
your own home-built recreational Micro FPV drone weighing in at 0.55 pounds or less,
like this one that can fly over 17 minutes without carrying a GoPro or even over 13 minutes carrying
a GoPro and STILL comes in under that 0.55 pound limit! I think you're gonna like this! So,
make sure to give this video a "thumbs up" below, share it with your friends, and subscribe to your
TMac FPV channel – your home for your Journey to Better FPV fun, flights, and racing stuff!
All right, the new FAA Rule on Remote ID 14 CFR part 89 differentiates between
unmanned aircraft weighing over 0.55 pounds all-up-weight and those 0.55 pounds or less.
Where all-up-weight includes everything onboard or otherwise attached to the unmanned aircraft.
So, that’s the first question we have to ask ourselves. Is (or will) our all-up-weight be
equal to or less than 0.55 pounds? If the answer is YES, then we’ve passed the first hurdle and
can go on to the next step. If the answer is NO, regardless if you’re flying commercially or not,
you’ll need to register your unmanned aircraft and Remote ID will be required. Let’s continue
with our plan for a home-built Micro FPV drone that weighs less than 250 grams. Then our next
question is, will we be flying “Recreationally” or “Commercially?” If we’re flying recreationally,
then we don’t even have to register our unmanned aircraft AND remote ID is NOT required
which makes us very happy! Remember you can grab this chart if you like
to help you remember the Remote ID requirements through a link in the video description below.
Now, let’s figure out how we plan our build of a recreational micro FPV drone weighing
0.55 pounds or less. To do that, we go to TMacFPV.COM and we see the different menu items we
can use to jump to any of the Pages on the site, to include this button here which takes you to the
Fast Track FPV Course Site where you can take a look at the curriculum if you're interested.
Today, we want to go to "Build Your own Micro FPV Drone." This first section of the page is where
I talk about building your own Micro FPV Drone is actually easier than you might think it is.
Really, the most difficult part is planning ahead and choosing the right components for your build
based on how you want to fly it, for what purpose, and keeping your build weight within
any established weight limits you may have, such as 0.55 pounds or under 250 grams. Since planning
ahead and choosing the right components is such a key aspect of building a Micro FPV Drone that can
be exempt from Remote ID, I've organized this Page into sections of all the components you'll need
to make your home-built Micro FPV drone - in the order of which I'd recommend you choosing them,
starting with Frames. Before clicking on any of these components, what I recommend as a
"best practice" for planning purposes is going to the All-Up-Weight Calculator Page
(which you can either access through this link or scroll down and click on its image
down here). Then download the all-up-weight calculator so you can fill it out as you
choose your components from each of the individual Components' Pages.
So, we'll jump to our All-Up-Weight Calculator Page and up top here I describe what it is, how to
get it, and how to use it for planning purposes. Let me quickly demonstrate. This is what the AUW
Calculator looks like. It's got all of your major components listed over here on the left that are
associated with each of the components' pages of the site. It even gets down to the battery
strap level! Let's go ahead and download it by clicking on the image. It will bring up the Google
Sheets file in "View Only" mode. If you have a Google Drive account, just go over here to File,
Make a Copy and save that copy somewhere on your computer. When you open the copied file,
choose to "Enable Editing" and you'll then be able to input component weights into the green fields.
The way this works is you input the weight of the component into the green fields over here
and it automatically copies it over into the 2nd column with the exception of motors
and props. For those components you enter only the weight for one motor
or prop, which is what you'll actually see on their product pages. When you do that,
the AUW Calculator multiples that number by 4 and places the resulting value in the second column
highlighted in purple. The number in the blue box at the bottom is a running total of your builds
AUW as you enter each component. So by the time you've selected all of your components, you'll
have a very good estimate of your Micro FPV drone build's weight, BEFORE you even start building it!
That's a lot better than finding out AFTER you buy components and complete your build that it weighs
a few grams too much! If that number in the blue box reaches 250 grams or above, by referring to
your Remote ID Summary Chart, you recall if you complete the build at that weight, you will be
required to register it and have Remote ID. If this isn't something you want to do, perhaps you
should pick another component with less weight so your Micro FPV drone build falls under that
0.55 pound limit. All right, let's go back to your "Build Your Own Micro FPV Drone" Page.
Now that you've got your AUW Calculator, you're ready to start selecting possible components from
each of these sections. I'm not going to got through all of the component sectional pages
today, but I will go through just a few which have tools I think you'll find useful. Let's start with
Frames. I've formatted each of these Components Pages similarly where I give you my thoughts up
front, based on my experiences and research over the past few years, about what you should look for
when deciding between different options of the component. After I provide you with my thoughts
and experiences, I will usually have some tools and resources listed for you, such as charts,
guides, checklists, and short instructional video clips on the topic. For instance, in
this Frames Component Page, I've included a short instructional video on things you should consider
when purchasing a frame, along with the Micro FPV 3" Frames Guide you can grab over here that
compares important parameters of over 60 different 3" frames you can choose from – as indicated here
on the screen with just a small portion of the Frames Guide. These Micro FPV drone build tools
and resources will normally be followed with a list of my favorites and recommendations for that
component, along with my thoughts on each item and links to where you can purchase them. Of course,
some of these links will be affiliate links which you can use at no additional cost to you
but will go a long way to support your TMac FPV channel, and I'd greatly appreciate it.
Let's look at a couple Tools I've got for you on the Motors component Page.
Here on the motors Page, you see I've followed the same format with my thoughts and experiences
up top, followed by the Tools & Resources, which are followed by my Recommendations.
The Tools & Resources I've included on the Motors Page include this short video clip on important
parameters to consider when choosing motors and the Micro FPV Motors Chart, you can grab over
here, which I just updated for its 6th Edition, comparing important parameters (including weight
and thrust-to-weight ratio) on over 85 different Micro FPV Motors ranging in size from 08xx (for
your whoop-type quads) to 16xxx motors as depicted on the screen once again in just a small portion
of the Motors Chart. Keep in mind as you choose your components to fill out the weight value
in your planned build's AUW Calculator. Let's see what I have for you on the Batteries Page. Up top,
I explain some things about LiPo batteries and that they're actually the heaviest "Component," if
you will, on your entire quadcopter so it makes sense to choose them wisely. That's what this
page is all about. I mention some LiPo battery safe-charging procedures I practice, some of which
are demonstrated in this video showing how to charge LiPo batteries. Up here., I've got my list
of favorite Micro FPV Drone batteries, but its more than just a list. When choosing my batteries,
I calculate a "Capacity-to-weight" ratio [highlight that phrase up top] or the
milliamp-hour rating divided by the batteries weight. So down here in my favorite's list chart
I've got a column with the battery's capacity which gives you an indication of how long it
will last. The higher the number tends to give you a longer flight time, dependent upon its weight,
which is in the next column. Ideally, you'd want a very lightweight, high-capacity battery. So,
this next column compares those to values in a ratio of capacity to weight. The higher
this ratio value, theoretically, the more efficient the battery should be.
There are, of course, many other considerations for Lipo batteries but for me, that's a useful
one I wanted to provide you with. Next, I want to take you to the Build Tips & supplies Page.
This Build Tips & Supplies Page, as you might imagine has both of those. It's got a list of
most of the supplies I use for my builds and I mention on the Page I don't purchase the most
expensive items I can. I go for the best-value items. A lot of this stuff is my soldering gear
and the first Tip I for you on this Page is a short demonstration on how I solder using these
supplies. The one thing I's like you to get out of this page is soldering is not some mysterious art.
I don't have any specialized soldering training, I taught myself in a couple of days. I don't aim
to have the prettiest solder joints, I just want them to be functional so I can fly. These tools,
supplies, and techniques I use have worked well for me for years.
I encourage you to give them a shot. Periodically, I'll be updating the Tips on this Page, so make
sure to come back to it every now and then. I've got one more Page I want to introduce you to,
and that's the Tune Your Build page! Once you're done with your Home-Built, recreational Micro FPV
drone, this is the Page for you. Or, even if you have some tuning issues with one of your pre-built
Bind and Fly quads, this is for you. I've got a couple tools on this page that'll help you out.
The first one is the Tuning Guide for Micro FPV Quadcopters which you can grab just by clicking on
this image or the text below it. It Tuning Guide describes the general PID Tuning process concept
graphically through flowcharts. Although initially produced for Micro FPV drones, the concept
described applies to all quadcopters that require adjustments to their PID and filter settings
from the default Betaflight values (such as Micro FPV Drones, low-authority cinewhoop-type quads,
or higher-authority quads), since the Betaflight Default Values are primarily setup for your normal
5" freestyle quadcopters. Specific step-by-step procedures to implement these graphical concepts
are also specifically detailed in the Guide. The second tool I have for you is a 3-Part Mini-Series
of video clips with quick & simple steps to tune your Micro FPV Drone and demonstrates the use of
the PID Tuning Guide. To access any of these, you just click on the images or the text below.
So, that's the newest addition to your TMacFPV.com site,
Build Your Own Micro FPV Drone. I know you'll find it useful to continue your FPV fun
with or without Remote ID! Let me know what you think in the comments below. I'm looking forward
to making continuous and helpful improvements to it for you, so if you've got some suggestions, put
those down in the comments section below too or just shoot me an email at tmac@tmacfpv.com. Hope
to hear from you soon, until then, thanks for your time. I'll see you next video. Clear skies friend!