How to turn your DJI F450 (or clone) into a H-Quad

In this episode we show you how to turn your F450 into an awesome H Quad.

 Inspired by Flite Test, Silly Fokker Ivor decided to turn the remains of his DJI clone F450 in to a H Quad. He had two unexplained crashes after updating to Version 3.12 on his Naza M. We are still baffled as to why it crashed and if you think you might know why please let us know.

So.... we scavenged all the parts from the crashed 450. 

We have 4 x 3536/9 910kv Aerodrive's

4 x 30A Simon K flashed ESC's from RC Timer.

1 x Integrated F450 board (ours is the HK knock off version)

And of course the Naza M and GPS unit from his original quad 

The build.....

So you will need

4 x motors (the ones we're using in this build are fine for the H Quad) 4 x ESC's, 1 x flight controller I love the KK 2.0 from Hobby King. However in this build we are using the Naza M (I am not impressed!) I would rather be using the Ardupilot 2.5 system flite test reviewed a while back but this is what Ivor had so it is what we used.

24 x bullet connectors (12 x male 12 x female) and some suitable wire for the esc extension leads.

1 x sheet of 4mm or 1/8th inch (ish) plywood large enough for the size of H Quad you're building (ours ended up 18in by 6in x 2 <--top and bottom)

1 x length of 15mm x 15mm or 5/8th x 5/8th inch x 48inch (in our case for 2 x 120cm or 24inch arms) 

and a load of zip ties in various sizes.

The arms....

Take your square rod and cut two identical lengths. We started with a 24inch arm but reduced that to 20inch then 16inch after a test flight showed we were getting too much flex. Cut yours the length you need for the size of H Quad you're building. 

As you can see above we cut two the same and marked them at the dead centre (12inches) and then marked where the center pod would line up. Ours would be a 6 inch pod so we marked it 3 inches either side of center. 

We then marked where we wanted the motors to sit and put some double sided carpet tape in place before zip tying the motors down.

 Make sure the motor wires run inside the arm so that they will run easily and cleanly into your center pod.

Next cut 2 x pod plates from the ply in the size you need for your H Quad (you will need it at least 6 inches wide if you are using the integrated PCB like we are) Once cut out mark clearly where the flight controller is going to be mounted and cut out the top plate so that you can access the board (especially important for the KK2) 

We cut the 4 x pieces of square rod for the sides However we now use the same method as flite test do in their build as it flex's less. (Link below) 

Don't worry about the edges you can sand them and tidy them later.

Next mount the flight controller and PCB board from your 450 in dead in the center of the H Quad. Make sure you leave a little gap each side so that it clears the sides.

We use double sides carpet tape and foam to mount our flight controller. As you can see in the image below we use rubber pads (furniture foot pads) to mount the PCB to the chassis.

These are brilliant (we found ours in poundland UK) but here is a link to ebay if you are not sure what to look for.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/56-RUBBER-FOAM-NON-SLIP-ANTI-SKID-STICKY-PADS-FURNITURE-/161032101520?pt=UK_Flooring&hash=item257e42de90 

Ok so you have your motors mounted to your arms and you have your FC mounted to your chassis but the esc's are not going to reach your motor wires now. Instead of cutting off all your bullets and adding wire why not just make up some extensions like we did. It means if you decide to put your kit back in a DJI 450 frame it will all be the right length still, just remove the extensions.

You can see ours in the image below.

Once you arrive at the stage above you can test fit everything and (if you are gonna use zip ties like us) you can drill your holes for your zip ties. If you are happy with how everything goes together glue in place your arms and sides (follow flite test tips for a stiff deck, link below) Use thick CA glue or hot glue for a good strong joint.

We discovered that if you do not glue the bottom deck down and use carpet tape between the top and chassis when using zip ties this happens....

So you now have your arms and sides glued down. Now is a good time to put any access holes and or accessory straps in place. 

As you can see here we made some holes for mounting the Naza GPS in the center rear of our H Quad.

 Right now it's time to fit that top deck. first line the top of the chassis with double side tape. Then place your top deck on the chassis and make sure nothing is snagging or getting crushed. Then slide through and fasten them down good and tight. 

Tighten them down firmly and the double sided tape will do the rest. Stopping the chassis flexing is essential. 

Now tidy up the zip ties....

Now all that is left to do is hook up the flight controller to the receiver and fit the props. Make sure you balance the props as this will effect the flight characteristics of the H Quad and ruin your video capabilities. 

We fitted and hot glued 1 inch slithers of pipe lagging for landing gear. This works really well and weighs nothing! 

The H Quad gives you tonnes of room to carry equipment. If you are going FPV or just carrying multiple cameras batteries etc this is a great platform and cost virtually nothing to build. 

If you got this far thank you for looking at our H Quad build video (it's our first scratch build). I hope something here has inspired you or given you a great idea of your own. The flight test H Quad build is excellent and definitely worth watching so check it out below.

Please rate this article and if you have any feedback for our future articles please leave a couple of lines below.

ATB Malc

Silly Fokker RC