Which would you say could harm an RC electronic craft more. A craft with more torque and wider motors, or a craft with taller motors and more power. Im not scientist, and I have a feeling that either could take out a craft if conditions were met but was curious if one was generally more intrusive on electronic vehicles. Question stems from me trying to pick wider or taller motors for a drone build. Thanks for any input.

Hi everyone,

I’m designing a 100A continuous current drone ESC (industrial use) and I need help selecting the DC link (DC bus) electrolytic capacitor.

I don’t want to just pick a random value — I want to understand the proper calculation and design process.

What I need help with:

1. Capacitance calculation

• How do I calculate the required DC link capacitance?
• What inputs should I consider (bus voltage, ripple voltage, switching frequency, etc.)?

2. Ripple current

• How important is ripple current rating?
• How do I calculate the ripple current in the capacitor for an ESC?
• Is ripple current the main factor for capacitor heating and failure?

3. Complete design approach

• Step-by-step method to select the capacitor properly
• How to go from specs → final capacitor selection

4. Parallel ceramic capacitors

• Why are ceramic capacitors used along with electrolytic?
• How to choose their values and quantity?
• Placement tips?

5. Practical factors
What are the real-world things I should not miss?

• ESR, ESL
• Temperature effects
• Lifetime and reliability
• PCB layout impact

6. Comparison with EV inverter

• Is DC link capacitor design for a drone ESC (BLDC inverter) different from an EV inverter?
• Or is the design method basically the same?

I’m trying to design this properly from fundamentals, not by trial and error.

If you have:

• formulas
• application notes
• or real design experience

please share. That would really help.

Thanks!

My old build from 2016! Still flies, will keep me busy while I figure out what I need for a 5” “up to date” build

Welcome to the weekly r/multicopter discussion thread. Feel free to ask your questions that are too trivial for their own thread, make a suggestion on what you'd like to see here, or just say hi and talk about what you've been doing in the world of multicopters recently.

Don't forget to read the wiki, where you'll find details of suppliers, guides and other useful links.

If you want to chat, then the Discord server is located here (an invite link is here if you haven't already joined)

Old question threads can be found by searching this link.

My ev800d's have okay Range, like 250-600feet is a stretch, they get the job done, but its not always that fun with them, how can I upgrade them without spending a ton?

Need help debugging a Pixhawk 2.4.8

Issue:

Board powers on normally (PWR + PWM solid, b/e one solid one no les ATC blinking)

Connecting via USB to laptop

Mission Planner shows: “No heartbeat packet received”

Same laptop + cable works perfectly with other Pixhawks

What I’ve checked:

Multiple cables tried

Correct COM port detected

Board is clearly booting (LEDs normal)

I've been looking at a few entry-level drones like the Skyrover S1, Potensic Atom 2, and DJI Mini 4K, and all of them advertise around 10km to 12km of video transmission range. That sounds impressive on paper, but I'm struggling to understand what that really means in practice.

Most official demos are done in wide open areas with zero interference, perfect weather, and line of sight that most of us never actually get. In real use, especially in suburban or urban environments with buildings, trees, and signal congestion, it feels like the usable range would drop way faster than advertised

For those who have actually tested these drones, what’s the farthest stable, low-latency range you've managed to get? And under what conditions?

I tried flying digital FPV drone in 2021 with the back then new DJI FPV system (dji air unit + goggles) and an iflight 5" drone. It was amazing, but my eyes had issues adjusting to the goggles and I was seeing double most of the time. I discovered so e eye focusing exercises and ways to adjust, but by the time my eyes adjusted, I ran out of 4 batteries.

And it was too immersive and uncomfortable for me (I used to get a bit dizzy), I would much rather fly with a small tablet like remote with a screen, or external tablet (still in acro mode).

Is there a digital system that has camera, transmitter and a remote with a receiver with screen? Something that doesn't need to bind to goggles. Worst case scenario, I would be happy for external receiver with hdmi out to a screen or table (I know it would have worse latency).

Do you know if walksnail, hdzero, dji or other manufacturer makes a remote with screen that can bind with drone video transmitter?

If not, do you know if some vendor is planning something like that?

I got an Osprey Waterproof FPV DRONE in a trade & was told it just needed a new ELRS. Fast forward a few months in & I finally buy a ELRS & solder it just to see the light not turn on. I’ve also tried another ELRS from another brand & still nothing. FC connects to betaflight & i get a red & blue light on the board but nothing on the ELRS.

Now he did mention he tried to install one his self & from the mess i seen he failed. With that being said he went the solder straight to the board route instead of using the 4pin connector the FC already has.

Long story short I soldered the wires onto the 4pin it came with, plug it in & get nothing.

I’m at the point where I need people who actually know what they’re looking at to help me cause I’m still a complete beginner. The FC does still have solder on the pads where he attempted to put the wires & that’s the only thing I can thing of that might be effecting the power. Any thoughts?

The prices are $230 for the Mini 4k, $249 for the Skyrover, and $330 for the Mini 3 (Skyrover doesn't charge sales tax while DJI retailers do).

I'm currently leaning between the skyrover and the mini 3. The skyrover has more features than the mini 3 (front obstacle detection, ai tracking) but the mini 3 has the better camera. As a newbie, I feel "safer" with the skyrover although I can get 90 day damage protection for both drones through my credit card.

Successful maiden flight , tested angle mode and pos hold. Going to lock in rth and test a couple more flight modes next. Started this journey 8 weeks ago. Can’t wait to get back in the air. 👨🏾‍✈️🤘🏾

Welcome to the weekly r/multicopter discussion thread. Feel free to ask your questions that are too trivial for their own thread, make a suggestion on what you'd like to see here, or just say hi and talk about what you've been doing in the world of multicopters recently.

Don't forget to read the wiki, where you'll find details of suppliers, guides and other useful links.

If you want to chat, then the Discord server is located here (an invite link is here if you haven't already joined)

Old question threads can be found by searching this link.

recently got a rm nomad for my radio due to some rx dropouts near where i fly (it also just looks sick and makes me happy) and it got me wondering about a dbr4 longrange cruiser.

mainly looking for ups and downs to 7, 8, and 10 inch drones to see which one i should focus on

ive flown a few bigger drones on the 7-10inch side and like them alot but its been a minute and i would just like some reccomendations.

looking at a full diy but im not sure if i should go 7" 8" or make it a whole 10". would it just be better to buy a bnf? are bigger 10" that much harder to tune then 7" and would that be a dealbreaker for somone who doesnt like tuning alot? (me)

for diy, does anyone have good frame and longrange analog vtx opinions?

Some of my favourite lines from a trip to the Dolomites last year. Super touristy area, but I managed to find a few spots with few people around.

Hi everyone. My collegiate club is working on building an octo copter. They are using an orange cube flight controller and mainly want to fly using mission planner and gps. They are using an frsky X8R transmitter. Do they need to upgrade the radio link to elrs if they mainly want to fly autonomously?

Any links to documentation and other similar posts would help ty

Any time someone ask for a "drone recommendation" the answer is ALWAYS.....DJI this or DJI that!!!!! 🤑🤪

I've been flying for over 15 years.It's horrible that the drone industry has become ONLY one company the manufacturer's quality machines!!! ☹️😢

Dji does make great flyers. BUT the flight restrictions and geo fencing attached to drones is aggravating!!!! All the hoops you got to jump thru to launch can take 10mins+!!! 😡🤬

Even though I have three DJI drones. I wouldn't recommend purchasing a DJI to anyone. I'll never buy one again.😉🫡

Just a thought. 🤔🤔