Lumenier QAV250 Quadcopter

The QAV250 is a small and nimble quadcopter platform. It is made by Lumenier which is a team of engineers and pilots from around the world and is available at getfpv.com. It is very durable and has most of the same flight characteristics as the bigger quadcopters.

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Specifications

• Released: 2013-11-19
• Manufacturer: Lumenier (GetFPV, FPV Manuals)
• Type: Symmetric mini H-type quadrotor
• Airframe: G10 material - glass-reinforced epoxy laminate sheets
• Frame size: W204.78 x L218.78 x H51.00 mm
• Drivetrain voltage: 3S to 4S
• Max. current consumption: approx. 30 Amps - 3S 1806 motors [1]
  • Current per motor: 7-8 Amps
• Airframe weight: 145 grams (no equipment)
• All-up-weight: 450-550 grams
• Flight time: 5-8 min (2000kV, 1300mAh)
• Center of Gravity: Center of frame, mid-point
• Camera mount: 32 mm board camera
• HD camera support: Mobius, Key camera, GoPro possible
• Behaviors like: R/C fighter jet, R/C racing car
• Recommended flying area: small park, forest, garden, football field
• Kit contents: 1x QAV250 G10 airframe, board camera mount and screws, 1x Power distribution board, 2x LED boards (1 red, 1 white), 1x aluminum landing gear and vinyl feet, 5-inch Anti-Vibration neoprene tape, 1x Lumenier Lipo strap, 1x Hardware set
• Product pages:
  • QAV250 Mini FPV Quadcopter product page - further details, equipment
  • FPVLAB QAV250 discussuion thread - Lumenier team is active here
• Similar models:
  • Blackout Mini-H
  • Spanky Mini Quadcopter
  • DRQ250 Mini-H
  • Minion H-Quad

Revisions

• v1.0 - 2013-11-19
  • Initial release
• v2.0 - 2014-01-30
  • New motor mounting holes, more options for different bolt patterns
  • Thicker G10 material for the motor mounting plate
  • Bumpers edge on the end of the arms to protect the motor during a crash
  • Flight controller cover plate includes cutouts for SMA connectors and adapters for the video transmitter.

Equipment

Recommended gear to get a nicely balanced and capable quadcopter.

• Flight controller: OpenPilot CC3D
  1. OpenPilot CC3D Flight Controller - Lumenier Edition
  2. Naze32 Arco [2]
  3. MultiWii NanoWii Micro Flight Controller [3]
• Battery: 3S 1300-1800mAh 30C+ LiPo pack recommended
  • Size: approx H212 W35 x L72 mm, 80-120 grams
  • C rating: 30 Amps x 1000mAh = 30C (Max amp x Batt capacity)
  1. Lumenier 1300mAh 3S 35C LiPo battery - recommended by the manufacturer
  2. Thunder Power 1350mAh 3S 25C G8 Pro Lite Plus LiPo battery - light-weight, expensive
  3. Glacier 30C 1300mAh 3S LiPo battery - comes with Deans connector [4]
  4. Zippy Compact 1000mAh 4S 25C LiPo battery - 4S same flight time as 3S 1300mAh, extreme pull-out power
  5. Zippy Traxxas 1400mAh 3S 30C Lipo battery - leads exits on middle-end
  6. Zippy Compact 1300mAh 3S 35C LiPo battery - 25C also available but too low
  7. Kypom KT1300/20-3S 1300mAh LiPo battery
  8. Turnigy nano-tech 1300mah 3S 45C LiPo battery - 25C also available
• Motors: 2206 class, 2000kV, 100-150W, 20-40grams, nylon lock nut instead of spinner
  1. Lumenier FX-2206-13 2000kV - handles 3S-4S nicely on small props (5x3)
  2. SunnySky X2204 2300kV - excellent performance, perfect match for 5x3 props, great value
  3. T-Motor Navigator Series MN1806-2300kV - quality, rips but limited pull-out power [5] [6]
  4. T-Motor Navigator Series / Team Black Sheep MN2206-2000kV
  5. Cobra C-2204-32 1960kV [7]
  6. RCX 1804 2400kV micro Motor - cheap [8], magnets come loose [9]
• Propellers: 5x3-inch - 2xCW 2xCCW
  1. Gemfan 5x3 propellers - 5mm bore, black/white/yellow/green, soft but no balancing needed - get them for 1.67USD at rc-fans88.com
  2. Tiger Motor 5x3 CF propellers - for aerial photography, video, vibe-free smoothness, expensive
  3. Gemfan 5x3 Carbon Fiber propellers - stiff but most times unbalanced, jello-effect, relatively expensive
  4. HQ 5x3 Carbon/Nylon props - stiff, more pop [10]
  5. RCTimer 5x3 Carbon Fiber props - cheap, stiff
• Speed controllers: 4x 10-15A 3S LiPo Speed Controllers
  1. Lumenier 12 amp ESC with SimonK Firmware - only 2S-3S
  2. HobbyKing 12A Blue Series ESC (flash it to SimonK BS N-FET V2013-05-15) - 4S capable [11]
  3. Quadrysteria 20 Amp PRO RapidESC (SimonK) - just as small as 12A ESCs, 4S compatible [12]
  4. Afro 12A ESC - 4S compatible [13]
  5. RCX 10A G Series ESC - cheap [14]
• Receiver:
  1. FrSky D4R-II 2.4GHz 4ch receiver - small, PPM and RSSI compatible
  2. ImmersionRC EzUHF 4ch receiver - great range, transmitter module required
• Transmitter radio:
  1. FrSky 2.4GHz Taranis X9D radio - JR-type module compatible
• Pilot camera:
  1. Sony 600TVL CC1333-B IR Block Board Camera 2.8mm lens - Get it here - Setup using this guide
  2. Sony 600TVL PZ0420 IR Sensitive Board Camera 2.8mm lens - great for night flying, faded colors during daylight
• OSD:
  1. TBS CORE PNP50 - integrated OSD and 5V/12V voltage regulator
  2. Skylark Tiny OSD III
• Case:
  1. Lumenier QAV250 Professional Travel Case
  2. JR DSM Double Pro Transmitter Case JRPA710
• Accessories:
  1. Deans T-connectors - smaller than XT60
  2. Mini Deans T-connectors - only on 180x motors, smaller than XT60
  3. TBS CORE PNP50 voltage and OSD package - easy to install
  4. HPI Z682 M5 black flanged lock nut [15] - replace spinner with proper nuts
  5. Rapstrap Black 300mm cable-ties

FPV gear

• Mobius HD action camera - excellent ligth weight 1080P 30FPS footage
  • Download EU (50Hz) SYSCFG.TXT - no date code, 1080P, 720P modes, 50Hz no flicker
  • Download EU (60Hz) SYSCFG.TXT - no date code, 1080P, 720P modes, 60Hz no flicker
  • Check the Mobius manual on how to upload the new config
• GoPro HD 3/3+ action camera - a bit bulky but amazing footage
  • Resolution 1080P 60FPS, medium viewing angle
• Sony 600TVL CCD 32mm board camera - Securitycamera2000 CMQ-1993 with IR filter - great value, good quality image
• ImmersionRC 5.8GHz 600mW video transmitter - small and powerful, works fine with 2.4GHz R/C transmitter
• ImmersionRC 5.8GHz Circular Polarized SpiroNet Antenna set - small and good antennas, protecting casing
• Fat Shark Attitude V2 FPV goggles - integrated video receiver, good quality, no wires

Tips and Tricks

• Use double-sided adheasive foam to secure the ESC to the power-distribution-board - prevents the wires from breaking
• Mount the flight controller with velcro or dampening foam to reduce vibrations/noise from disturbing the controller
• Add a small drop of blue/purple thread-lock to keep all the frame screws and posts in place
• Sand down the edges of the board camera mount to make it slide in easier
• Feed the battery connectors inside and out the top to minimize the chance of the propeller touching
• For a peppier ride, change to 4S batteries and 4S compatible speed controllers
• Replace the motor spinners for M5 locking screws - reduces probability of unscrewing and vibrations
• Use PPM to reduce the number of wires going from the receiver to the flight controller
• Set failsafe on the receiver to be zero or low throttle to minimize damage
• Get some nice video transitions for the editing, search for "film burn transitions" or get them here [16]
• Use 16AWG for the main battery leads, 20AWG for the ESCs and regulators, 24-26AWG for all signal and other low current wires [17]
• For fast forwad flight (FFF), position the battery as as close to center or on the top plate to make the platform tilt/front heavy [18] [19]

Settings

Tweak the PID settings for the flight controller and set the transmitter to have 40 to 60% expo on the aileron and elevator stick inputs to give a smooth flight. For maximum flexibility and acrobatics, use rate mode.

• Official QAV250 information page - settings at the end
• timnilson CC3D settings - initial settings
• juz CopterControl settings - for older version of the Openpilot controller
• rudygon NAZA settings - works well on NAZA with GPS
• Travis Harris NAZA settings - smooth flight
• Andy CC3D settings - tweaked version of juz' settings - recommended!
• Travis Harris radio dual rate and exponential settings - great settings for landing, cruising and fast forward flight
• juz expo and GCS range - move dual rate from radio to GCS
• Travis Harris throttle curve - for more stable mid-stick flight

Demos

juz:

karlosvontrapp:

xhover:

Video branding

To add nice looking logos to your video, use the official ones below.

• Lumeniere video logo art

Or download these:

Stores

• getfpv.com - main store
• himodel.com - propellers
• rc-fans88.com - cheap gemfan propellers ($1.67/4pcs)
• surveilzone.com - great board cameras