by the way how did u get the wiring to look neat.
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4S would give a longer flight time on 10inch props but the motors are not really rated for the extra load they would be subjected to. The increased power could lead to excessive heating and cause the motor to fail. Usually quad motors intended for 4S on ten inch and larger props have a lower KV and will be physically larger. As an example Iām slowly building a hex which will be running on 4S. The motors Iām using are 629Kv spinning 12inch folding carbon fibre props. The motors are physically about twice the size of the 2212 size motor weāre running on our S500 frames.
Iām anally retentive 
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l
oh i am too hence why i asked lol. I love neat wiring. i have spent more time rewiring things on the drone than flying it lol.
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is it risky to do 4s as i dont wanna spend any more at the moment. u got any good recommendations for propellors for 8 inches ones?. also any good ways to attach them to motor?
As a compromise you may get away with dji self tightening 9450 props on 4s but would be better with 8".
I would use the pixhawk on the quad and the apm in the plane. Another thing to do is when doing the accelerometer calibration. Make sure the 4 motors are level front to back left to right, and use a spirit level to get it as good as you can before you start the calibration, once the upright calibration is done it doesnāt matter so much about the movement, but it does make the aircraft more stable.
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I have to echo Steveās comment above. If I had the choice between the two flight controllers and the two platforms I would use the Pixhawk on the quad and APM in a fixed wing. And to that end thatās exactly what I have done. I have an original 3DR APM 2.5 in my FPV Raptor airframe.
There are a number of reasons for this. One being that a fixed wing model has quite a bit of self stabilisation by design, a multirotor has none. The Pixhawk uses a much more sophisticated STM F4 32bit processor and so can perform much more complex and faster functions than the 8bit Atmel processor in the APM, so it stands to reason it would be more beneficial to put it into a platform that would benefit more from the technology.
Because I used a Pixhawk on my S500 build I was able to use the 3DR Iris parameter file that Mission Planner already has due to both airframes being very similar. This provided me a very good starting point with respect to the tune of the quad, only requiring the minimal amount of tweaking to tune it to my liking.
Thanks for that info
Thank again nidge. In your quad what receiver are u using ?
When it was initially built I was using a FrSky S-Bus receiver during the testing. Iāve since installed a Skydroid system that provides Long Range control/telemetry and 720p video, all on 2.4GHz. On some of my other Pixhawk builds Iām using a Jumper R8 receiver. The reason for this is that the R8 receiver can pass the Mavlink data directly to my TX16S. This means I donāt need to use a separate radio system connected to a tablet to see all the Mavlink messages and real-time telemetry, itās all presented in widget form on the screen of the TX16S. Once OpenTX 2.4 is released and the touchscreen capability of the TX16S is enabled, Iām hoping to be able to import Google Earth and create Waypoint missions directly from the radio.
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Wow I was looking for something like that to get all the data from from the drone in my tx16s. I didnāt even know those things existed lol. Thanks ur amazing. Also I have this pixhawk
Is this a good one? Or did I buy a one thatās not good?
To me that looks like a clone of a genuine Pixhawk. I have 3 and never had a problem with them, so if you can get the firmware up to date, and it works you should be OK.
Looks the same as the ones I use. There are pricier ones out there from the likes of Holybro and mRO but to date Iāve not had any issues with the ones I have.
To get the Mavlink Data to an OpenTX radio, such as the TX16S, there are two main options. One is a simple data cable, sometimes referred to as a Yaapu cable after the guy whom I think came up with the idea. The second is with the Jumper R8 receiver, theyāre cheap at around Ā£12 from Unmannedtech. They use the FrSky D16 protocol.
There is a third way and that is to wire a Pixhawk telemetry radio to one of the UARTs on the underside of the TX16S (can also be done on a Jumper 16 but requires some internal soldering. Itās still very much experimental but if you search for a YouTuber called Olli he shows how itās done.
Lastly my apologies for not uploading the screen grabs, Iāve been somewhat distracted by wives and cats today.
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@Nidge thanks for so much info. Also no problem about the screen shots thing. Secondly out of all the options you told me which one is most reliable and one that is very flexible to use. Or which one do u use usually. Also one more question I canāt seem to find a way to get my fpv camera screen into the tx16s like use the screen and connect the fpv reciever to the tx16s and see the camera video there. Is that possible if not what other options are there that are good. By the way which telemetry systems do u use. Lastly the systems u told me the receivers are there any receiver that has a ppm sum out put or stuff like that so there are not a thousand wires connecting from the rc receiver to apm or pixhawk. Is it even a good idea to use ppm sum revivers or ones where all the rc data is sent on two wires.
Thanks
Thanks
For displaying telemetry you can do the following.
Mavlink 433MHz transceivers. These are just a little bit bigger than a USB memory stick. One plugs into the Telem1 port of your Pixhawk and the other connects to either an Android device (using OTG cable) or a PC. Using Mission Planner or QGroundControl on a PC you can do all your setup stuff without having to use a USB cable. Also you can view the whole status (telemetry) of the model while it is inflight, and see its progress in real time on a map. You also have the ability to upload automated flight plans, or waypoint missions. Plus you have full access to all the available flight modes.
On Android there is really only QGroundControl but you can do all the things Iāve listed above.
The Jumper R8 receiver allows you to pass all the telemetry to your TX16S. Currently thereās no option to load waypoint missions from the TX16S but that might change. The Jumper R8 outputs both PWM and SBUS. SBUS is like PPM sum but faster and can cater for more channels.
FPV: No itās not possible to display video on the TX16S screen. Two options exist to receive FPV video, a screen or goggles. A screen with built in diversity receiver and DVR is the cheaper option. Some reasonable ones can be had for less than Ā£100. To have the same functionality in goggles youāll be looking at about Ā£350 and upward. Add to that not everyone is suited to goggles. In some it can cause motion sickness, disorientation, migraines, and other unpleasant things. I have both but I must admit I get more use out of a screen as I do a lot of building and repairing and a screen is great for testing. When flying I always use goggles but I donāt fly as much as I do building and repairing.
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@Nidge thanks so much. I was a bit busy so didnāt see your reply. By the way I will try to upgrade the apm to pixhawk.
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Did you manage to solve the vibration problem?
I have three APM builds, using similar anti-vibration mounts to yours. Iāve had no problems with APMs; theyāre well-proven and reliable.
I wonder if your problem is simply props being out of balance? They do look like theyāve had some ground strikes.
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Hi.
Havenāt had a chance to work ok the drone due to house issues been busy with those. Do u think the motors are not balanced either?
If so any idea how to balance them.
Or is it better to get better motors ?
Thanks
You can balance motors but Iāve never had the need. I would definitely check your props for balance thoughā¦ itās essential with longer props really. There are cheap prop balancers available from drone shops and eBay
When you next get the opportunity to work on your quad Iād suggest that you first load the 3DR Iris parameter file.
In Mission Planner select āConfig/Tuningā
Next select āFull Parameter Listā from the options on the left of the screen.
Next, on the right of the screen youāll see a pull down menu with a list of presets for common arducopter based drones. Select the 3DR Iris, then click āwriteā. Lastly ensure you click āSaveā otherwise the parameter file will be lost when you reboot the quad.
The reason I suggest the above is that the primary cause of excessive shaking/twitching is due to incorrect P I D values. The combination of the S500 frame and your motors is close to that of a 3DR Iris and choosing this parameter file will hopefully rule out incorrect gain settings.