Pickle Mini (Toothpick inspired ripper)

By bootbox on Mar 23, 2019

15  973  4

This thing is a riot! On the maiden flight I just sat there and laughed at the speed and agility, it's unbelievable.

I'm getting about 3:30min on a GNB 300mAh 2s HV pack if I fly super aggressively. I could probably stretch it out to 4:00-5:00min if I flew slow and steady but that's not going to happen with this one.

The frame was cut by CNCMadness, highly recommended if you need a custom CF frame cut in the US. They got it to me in 5 days from the time of the first email and they were super friendly and helpful.

The motors are incredibly smooth and the motor wires are nice soft silicone. I've heard bad things about Eaglepower motors before but these motors they've made for Airblade UAV are top notch.

The 5V regulator on the flight controller didn't make it past the first flight (kind of an issue with this FC it seems) so I installed a Pololu 5V regulator per Albert Kim's YouTube video. It worked great and I'm back in business. The Pololu part is super tiny and weighs nearly nothing even with the wires. It's shown in my last picture in the album, installed with a small piece of 3M VHB tape.

I'm holding the batteries in with a Velcro 'One Wrap' wire tie that I've cut down to size, and two very small pieces of Ummagrip. Credit to Mr Shutterbug for this one. It's a great lightweight solution and it's very secure. I've crashed this pretty hard a few times and the batteries haven't slid around at all. I also like that I can run nearly any size battery, unlike 3D printed TPU battery holders which kind of lock you into one size if you want a nice secure fit, and even then they still slide around on hard crashes.

Photos

Part List

Frame

Pickle Toothpick micro fpv quadcopter frames and accessories by ledroneclub (2 builds)
Thingiverse.com
See Site

Flight Controller

Whoop Flight Controllers for - Toothick FC - RaceDayQuads (48 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$49.99

Motors

4 x AirBlade AB 1103 10000kV 2S Brushless Racing Motors (flexible wires) (11 builds)
Airbladeuav.com
$39.96

Propellers

USAQ 10 Pairs KingKong 65mm Propellers for 716 720 8520 Coreless Motor Micro FPV Drone
Amazon.com
See Site

FPV Camera

Camera/VTX Combos & AIOs for Whoops & Micros (17 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$24.99

Batteries

VELCRO Brand ONE WRAP Thin Ties | Strong & Reusable | Perfect for Fastening Wires & Organizing Cords | Black & Gray,
Amazon.com
$3.98

Batteries

Tattu 4 Packs 450mAh 7.4V 75C 2S LiPo Battery Pack with XT30 Plug - Long Size for H Frame and BETAFPV 2S Whoop (2 builds)
Amazon.com
$28.99

Batteries

2pcs GNB 300mAh 2S 80C/160C 7.6V LiPo Battery HV 2S LiHv Battery with XT30 Plug for Micro FPV Racing Drone Brushless Quadcopter
Amazon.com
$18.99

Radio

LATEST Jumper 2020 T16 PRO Type-C Charge and Folding Handle OPENTX Radio Transmitter PRIORITY US SHIPPING INCLUDED (23 builds)
Heli-nation.com
$169.99

Goggles

FPV Drone Parts for – FPV Quad Drone Shop – Drone Racing Store (135 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$11.99

Misc Parts

Pololu 5V Step-Up/Step-Down Voltage Regulator S7V7F5 (2 builds)
Amazon.com
$4.95

Radio Module

Team BlackSheep Crossfire Micro TX Module (154 builds)
Airbladeuav.com
$69.99

Battery Charger

HOBBYMATE Duo Lipo Charger Dual Charge Port, Fast Lipo Charger, AC/DC Balance Charger 12A 120-240W W/ AC Power
Amazon.com
See Site

Soldering Iron

Weller WLC100 40-Watt Soldering Station (9 builds)
Amazon.com
$39.99

Tools

Moore Ideal Products 9512 Metric Speed Tip Set (4 builds)
Amazon.com
$34.69

Backpack

DroneGuard BP 450 AW
Lowepro.com
$259.95
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Discussion

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alwaysbless   Mar 24, 2019  

That doesnt look like a pickle mini frame but nice build!

Edit: Guess there are two revisions! Ive only seen the thinner lighter weight one my bad!

bootbox   Apr 02, 2019 

Yeah this is an older version of the Pickle Mini, it was designed for moving the guts of the BetaFPV 75X over and still being able to use the motor plugs, with the plugs pointing down. I originally intended to move my 75X parts over to it but I returned the 75X and had already ordered the frame custom cut, so I just used the frame with my new DIY parts.

Nabla   Apr 02, 2019  

How do you like those motors? How have they held up?

bootbox   Apr 02, 2019 

Love them so far. They're incredibly smooth and they've held up to multiple rough crashes into concrete with no damage.

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