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M4 – What Else You Will Need

If you didn’t order a BnF (bind & fly) version of the M4 you will need some extra parts to get it airborne as a pocket copter. We recommend starting with the Ladybird reference build or a Ladybird build using the M4v2. There is also a number of clones of the Ladybird that works well, but motor quality can be varying on the clones. The original Walkera parts is recommended if you can get them.

New M4 v2 (r6) Production Boards

Red_Top   Blk_Top

Pocket Quad Options

You can purchase complete sets of frames with coreless motors, props and wires which make an easy entry into assembling the M4.
They start at ~25USD and can be purchased at various online shops like HobbyKingGoodluckbuy, Banggood, DealXtreme, Ebay or the like. Search for “Walkera QR”, “Ladybird”, “Q-Bot Micro” or “Helimax 1SQ”.
Specialized shops offer frames and parts for Nanos & Micros such as the Micro Motor Warehouse.

helimax    lb-frame1

The M4 mounting holes have a very limited safe area around them and some sort of insulated washer should be used. Anything bigger than the little bitty Ladybird screws can cause an short. So better use M2 plastic screws.


Another option is to use the PCB arms
and create a palm-sized quad based using some small motor mounts and motors.

M4-crazyfly

You can see an example on the Crazyflie style build page.

External GPS Antenna

dipole2

Read more about possible solutions for GPS antennas

Receiver Antenna

For the M4v1 (beta) you only need a short wire of 31.25mm length. Read more about the Deltang Antenna
For the M4v2 (production) you will need a wire with u.fl connector like this. Read more here

CYRF_Antenna

Optional Devices

Radio

AQ M4 v1 (beta r4 & r5) has an on-board Deltang DSM2 7 channel RC receiver
AQ M4 v2 (r6) has an on-board CYRF6936 based DSM2/DSMX 12 channel transceiver

But if you don’t want to use the internal Spektrum compatible receivers you can use any other radio supported by AutoQuad like FrSky and Graupner HoTT systems. More info on the M4 radio options page

lemonrx-dsm2-satellite

BlueTooth wireless Telemetry module

bt-module

Read more about Wireless Telemetry

Using Modules that need more than 3.3V

The M4v1 (beta board)  takes voltages up to 4.5V.  It operates best with a 1s LiPo.
The M4v2 (production board) also takes clean 5V, e.g. from a UBEC on extra pads.
If you plan to use external devices that need higher voltages than 3.3V you can use one of these cheap Polulu stepup/stepdown modules. You can either use a stepup to convert the 1s of the lipo to 5V or a stepdown if you use 2s or higher voltages and connect your M4 to the 3.3V line.

polulu

Expansion Boards

In order to use more than the internal brushed motor drivers you can connect the M4 to a variaty of expansion boards.

Find more info on Expansion Boards

Cover your Barometer/Pressure Sensor

Remove the yellow tape first. It protects the pressure sensor during transportation.
Use some open cell foam to cover the pressure sensor (U4 – located next to the motor connectors) from wind and light.

baro   

This page was created on 5-Aug-14 by kinderkram. Last modified on 31-Jan-15 by kinderkram.