Tarot 650 'Iron Man' Quad

[andys]

Thinking about getting this to use with the Tarot brushless gimbal.
Anyone know anything good / bad about these - any reason not to get one ?


All carbon so should be light - and quad means less motors etc and more fun to fly.

[northernmonkey]

Had a quick look at those my self!
Like the look of it, cant find any bad reports on the net.

Get one ordered and report back:thumbsup:

[andys]

I've bottled it - read few bits online that made me think again about the Tarot - apparently the RC Timer clone is better and less prone to break the arms. Also - as i'm wanting something specifically for video - i've ordered a 550 instead!

With the 550 - I know the 6 x Sunnysky 980KV motors I have will work nicely, also, the arms will be interchangeable with my 450, and lastly, i've read that the Hex config is generally more stable for video, so that sold it to me :)

[andys]

After looking at many lovely Quads - I still liked the 650 - so decided to order 1 to use with the tarot gimbal.

Might get some pancake motors for it - i've read good stuff about long flight times with 600 / 700kv motors and 11 or 12 inch props :)

[raymondkerr]

Andy I've just completed a build of my new tarot 650 complete with tarot gimbal using sunny sky 980kv motors. Hovered it indoors last night at my local buggy club, hopefully the weekend will let me get out and do some testing, I'll give you some feedback next week. Build quality was not bad, but it will no doubt break if I come down heavy, not sure that the frame is quite as strong as the flame wheel structures but it does look awesome. I'm just kinda worried that most tarot stuff has to be bought from hk, which means waiting longer than normal for spares, might have to think about stocking up on bits prior to needing them. Any tarot stuff I've found in the UK has been way too pricey.

Anyways hopefully the weather is ok at the weekend for some flying and I'll post up some pics and maybe some video.

Raymond

[andys]

Yes - Please keep me posted - would be cool to see some piccies of your 650 :)

I've just finally bought a GoPro 3 Black from Amazon - got the Lightening Deal today - only just though, thought i'd missed out. 239.99 for a Black :)

[Col]

hmmm... fancy selling your old gopro for a stupidly cheap price?

[andys]

Hi Col.

Sorry - I don't have another GoPro - the Version 2 I was using was borrowed :)

Can't believe my luck getting the Black for £239.99. The lightning deal started at 11.00 and I missed it by 5mins, when I looked they were all gone - I clicked to join the waiting list if anyone dropped out - and 45mins later I got the offer to buy one. I had a 15min window to pay - so I paid straight away :)

Happy Days....

[andys]

Tarot 650 arrived today - initial impressions - it looks nice:)

[Colinevan]

Tarot 650 arrived today - initial impressions - it looks nice:)

And knowing you, its built already ha ha.. :woot:

[andys]

And knowing you, its built already ha ha.. :woot:

I wish - not time to even have a play with the ones I have built!

[jimmy]

Bigger the better surely Andy if you want it for video? I don't understand going 100mm smaller?
Not sure how the quad looks - but my Tarot hex is very strong and vibration free. The costs of a bigger rig are exponentially higher tho :(

[Colinevan]

I wish - not time to even have a play with the ones I have built!

I know that feeling lol. I have the 2 Naza V2's that iv fitted to the 550 and also the Tbs disco and iv not had time to test either one yet. Booooo!:confused:

[jimmy]

oops - just seen you changed your mind Andy :) Is it a folding one? I am not sure what mine is called - but I upgraded it to longer arms when I got it (980mm to be exact).

[andys]

Hi Jimmy.

Not sure what you mean re the going smaller stuff Jimbob ?

I've got my 550 up and flying - going to put the Zenmuse on that when I get time.

I'm going to build the Tarot 650 Quad up with the Naza Lite and try the Tarot Gimbal on it.
When I tried the Tarot Gimbal on my 450 Quad with a KK2 controller, the video quality was very good and stable (tarot not perfect but close) so i'm hoping the 550 will be better still with the extra stability and the Naza V2.

The Tarot 650 - is just a bit of fun, I liked the look of it and i'm considering some pancake motors and bigger props if the Sunnysky Stuff I have already is not ideal.

I'm not ever looking to get a BIG camera up in the air - the GoPro is more than enough for what i want :)

[andys]

Half built the 650.
Super tidy build as I've wired the motors by running the wires inside the arms.
Also using a 4in1 hobbyking Quattro 25amp esc to keep it tidy.

[Colinevan]

Half built the 650.
Super tidy build as I've wired the motors by running the wires inside the arms.
Also using a 4in1 hobbyking Quattro 25amp esc to keep it tidy.

Yesssh!:thumbsup:

[andys]

The Tarot has flown - gains / props / motors / etc need sorting - but it flies.
Very - very quiet too - I guess the air flow around the tubular design is the reason it's so quiet compared to say a dji 450?

[Colinevan]

The Tarot has flown - gains / props / motors / etc need sorting - but it flies.
Very - very quiet too - I guess the air flow around the tubular design is the reason it's so quiet compared to say a dji 450?

Great as a spying machine then ha ha.

[andys]

Think I need bigger props.. These are 10inch - I ordered some carbon 12inch ones - but i'm thinking I should have gone for around 15inch :(

Piccies of the build.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/15062770/tarot1.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/15062770/tarot2.jpg

Still to add gimbal etc.

[neallewis]

looks very cool Andy.

[raymondkerr]

Very tidy build Andy, wish i could say the same about my 650. I've yet to get good pics and post them up. Only really had a chance to fly indoors due to ghe weather recently, but i've installed my tarot gimbal, i'm running 10" gemfan props on sunnysky 980kv motors on 3s lipo, but was also considering may be upgrading to 12". It hovers ok but will have to mess about a bit with gains.

I'll see if i can get some pics posted up soon.

Raymond

[andys]

Cheers Raymond.

Yep - I have the sunny sky 980kv motors too - as they are quite high KV - that's why I thought 12 inch props would be ok / max I would want to go. I have read people running 600/700 kv motors (pancakes) with bigger props - and some people running 400kv (ish) with 4S and 15 inch props!

I have mainly 3S lipo's - so want to stick with them if I can. It flies as is - hovers etc - but with the Naza it's not fast. That's the thing with the Naza - it's hard to tell how much punch you really have as the Naza softens everything so much!

A similar setup on my 450 with a KK2 and it's a rocket - not much weight difference to the Tarot - so I can only assume the Naza is dampening it down.

[raymondkerr]

Not really had a proper chance to test fly outside yet. Just some brief indoor testing. Once I get outside I can get the gains sorted, although it seems to hover well in atti mode. Got a FrSky Taranis to install at christmas so I'll be hoping to some better weather early in the new year so that I can get outside and tune the naza lite. Some 12" props might be in order soon to replace the currently installed 10x4.5 gemfans.



http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll4/raymondkerr/Quadcopters/Tarot%20650%20Quadcopter/IMG_3815_zps75490181.jpg (http://s284.photobucket.com/user/raymondkerr/media/Quadcopters/Tarot%20650%20Quadcopter/IMG_3815_zps75490181.jpg.html)

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll4/raymondkerr/Quadcopters/Tarot%20650%20Quadcopter/IMG_3818_zps8ed20e8c.jpg (http://s284.photobucket.com/user/raymondkerr/media/Quadcopters/Tarot%20650%20Quadcopter/IMG_3818_zps8ed20e8c.jpg.html)

[andys]

Looks proper good.

Are you running 3S or 4S on it?
Also which esc's are you using?
Mine hovers / flys in Atti mode - but the hover doesn't seem as super stable as my 450 or 550 with SimonK esc's.

Cheers

[raymondkerr]

At the moment I'm running 3s 5000mah. The ESCs are from proflightuk, 30amp SimonK flashed. I think they are rebadged turnigy plush, taken from my original 450 build that I bought RTF from proflightuk. I wouldn't say that my hovering is super stable yet, kinda wants to drift to the left with slight correction required during flight, a couple of tweaks required on the naza software, once I get my taranis installed and configured I'll spend more time with the settings.

[andys]

Will be interesting to see what flight time you get Raymond.
I'll report back with mine once I get to fly it properly!

I've ordered these for it:
4 x Sunnysky V2216 800KV Outrunner Brushless Motor For RC Model (SKU074946)

They are a tad bigger than the 2212 980's and slightly less KV at 800 - so should be better for the 12 inch props. Was tempted by some pancake motors - but i'd need even bigger props then - so thought i'd go for these as they are decent value at £15 ish each as opposed to £25 / £30 for the lower KV pancakes.

[northernmonkey]

Looking fella!

[andys]

Flew my Tarot 650 properly today as the wind had dropped.
Super impressed with it - super stable.
Motors were cold after the flight.
Very tempted by a Tarot Hex now.

[raymondkerr]

Andy

How did you get on with the gains on the Tarot 650. I had my first flight this morning with the new Taranis radio - it was fairly stable in GPS mode with the naza lite - but my sticks are way too sensitive, especially elevator. I'll need to reduce the gains in the naza software.

What gains are you using just now ?

Raymond

[northernmonkey]

When you say 'sensitive' is the copter flying fine with no ocsilation etc...?
If it is i'd advise you to put some expo on you radio and maybe some reduced rates, this will calm everything down.

[raymondkerr]

Yeah it appears to hold a decent gps lock in hover without turning, but as soon as you touch rudder or elevator, the movement is way too agressive. A bit like having too much steering on a buggy. I hadnt calibrated my escs to the new radio beforehand not knowing that i should have, so done the calibration and put all my gains to 100 in the naza software. I know thoses gains are probably way too low for a 650 but it is more of an experiment just to see if it feels any different, I'll give it s try indoors at the club tomorrow night as the weather has been awful And i'vd not had a other chance to try it out.

All my endpoints for t/r e/a are all at 100 in the taranis. I used a setup file from a user on multirotorsuk, i wonder if maybe theres curve settings programmed that mightbe causing issues. I'm still learning this taranis system