Do you solder or build your own quads

4 inch pistons · Jan 19, 2023

After a very frustrating and angering bout with BETAFPV, I need some advice. Short story is that I bought a Meteor 65 that has a bad FC and will not bind with my controller. After troubleshooting the problem with 1 email per day since December 22, Anthony and Kathy with BETAFPV had the solution to mail a new FC. I told them I am a warehouse manager and not an electronic tech, but that does not matter. So I bought a soldering gun and watched a few YouTube videos, and after 2 frustrating hours I give up. The camera unit has 5 wires and the connecting points are so small, my 67 year old eyes can barely see them. I could barely get solder on the connecting points on the board. Where can I take this to get it done. BETAFPV tells me to "find a friend"---how is that for customer service? Or should I just scrap the idea and call it a $110 mistake. I live in rural Eastern NC. I have a few friends who fly drones but they --like me--use Plug and Play. No clubs within 100 miles.

slup · Jan 19, 2023

If this is a warranty case & you or someone nearby can't solder & make use of the new FC... and BetaFPV refuses to take your model back & sending a replacement... I guess you're forced into a 110$ mistake.

Kilrah · Jan 19, 2023

Most quads are very much a DIY thing and doing repairs including soldering things are part of the game, when you buy them plug and play they're merely a prebuilt assembly of more or less standard components but still going to need DIY if something happens.

Might want to look closer at the DJI things if you want something more "consumer product" that you can send in for repair.

slup · Jan 19, 2023

Kilrah said:
...Might want to look closer at the DJI things if you want something more "consumer product" that you can send in for repair.

DJI doesn't have anything equal to a 1S 65mm whoop intended mostly for indoor use with a tad outdoor in calmer conditions unfortunately.

Starz · Jan 20, 2023

Soldering is one of those tasks that takes a little practice. The proper heat range, the correct tip on the solder device, and variety of solder.
I probably built 20 to 30 “quads” as they used to be called and found that the heat range was the most important part of the puzzle. Heat transfer is the key.
Hope you get there!

EricJT · Jan 20, 2023

Starz said:
Soldering is one of those tasks that takes a little practice. The proper heat range, the correct tip on the solder device, and variety of solder.
I probably built 20 to 30 “quads” as they used to be called and found that the heat range was the most important part of the puzzle. Heat transfer is the key.
Hope you get there!

And if you are getting on in years like me, a combo magnifying bench lamp and a quality soldering iron is mandatory to make the task easier. I have built a couple of hexcopters over the years.