As you might recall, the PDB I used was a Matek Systems PDB with built-in voltage regulators for 5V and 12V. All the components I bought were 5V components, and thus I would have to fit everything onto the 5V solder pad. Something I didn't do was use the ground for the 12V, as you'll see:
In addition, I also did not use any of the ESC solder pads for the PDB, thus the only thing it was used for was the 5V pad. In hindsight, if a cheap voltage regulator existed, I might have used it because it might have provided more space to solder things onto it as well as additional mounting options, but alas that is not what I did.
The photo I have placed below is the original photo of the PDB and where I decided to mount it. As you can see, I did not actually mount it due to the lack of space, but I still put screws in because I plan to mount it to the flight controller, and just let it rest against the top of the frame. Underneath you can see the bare ESC, since I decided to remove the plastic label covering it in attempts to be able to mount it on top.
I had already put the XT60 connector onto the PDB, and tested the solder connection by testing for continuity using a multimeter. As you can see, the solder pad for the 5V and its corresponding ground is quite small, especially considering the amount of space I'm given to solder cables for the ESC. In a future build, maybe a UFO-style build or something like that, this would be a cheap option for building a hexacopter. Even if I don't build a UFO-style build, building an AP (aerial photography) hexacopter might be a cool future project.
In the photo below, you can see I've soldered on the VTx (video transmitter). I have already used a lot of space and therefore do not have a lot of space left to solder on the rest of the connections, but I will have to make do with the space I have left as well as make sure the two connections don't touch each other in order to prevent a short.
The two connections are also extremely close to each other, so I did end up adding a little bit of electrical tape in between to prevent conducting them together and causing a short. It worked alright, but there is no place to actually place the tape so it's essentially a freestanding piece of tape.
Next, I connected the FPV camera to the PDB, and that was also a 5V connection. Many cameras use 12V, so while that may have made it easier on me had it been 12V, this cheap Eachine 1000TVL CCD camera runs on 5V and only 5V, so I am left with no choice but to solder it onto the 5V connection.
As you can see, I stripped the cables for the 1000TVL camera instead of using the connector, because I would need to solder the video cable to the input cable on the video transmitter, and then solder the other two (power and ground) to the 5V pad and the ground pad on the power distribution board.
In the photo below, I've soldered everything together and added the electrical tape. You can see how sketchy of a job I've done, but it does work and a quick test for continuity (my favorite feature of multimeters, as you can tell) reveals that everything should be in working order.
As you can see, the connections are extremely close to each other and that can easily make anyone uncomfortable. However, they are making a connection nor or they touching (yet), and I was thinking even if I short it, most of the components (out of everything that I might short) are pretty cheap so it's not difficult to just buy another one. The only issue with buying another one is the fact that I don't have a lot of time left before the school year starts, and with junior year coming up, I'm not sure how much time I have left to do that.
Ciao for now,
In addition, I also did not use any of the ESC solder pads for the PDB, thus the only thing it was used for was the 5V pad. In hindsight, if a cheap voltage regulator existed, I might have used it because it might have provided more space to solder things onto it as well as additional mounting options, but alas that is not what I did.
The photo I have placed below is the original photo of the PDB and where I decided to mount it. As you can see, I did not actually mount it due to the lack of space, but I still put screws in because I plan to mount it to the flight controller, and just let it rest against the top of the frame. Underneath you can see the bare ESC, since I decided to remove the plastic label covering it in attempts to be able to mount it on top.
 |
| A photo of the PDB on top of the quadcopter. |
I had already put the XT60 connector onto the PDB, and tested the solder connection by testing for continuity using a multimeter. As you can see, the solder pad for the 5V and its corresponding ground is quite small, especially considering the amount of space I'm given to solder cables for the ESC. In a future build, maybe a UFO-style build or something like that, this would be a cheap option for building a hexacopter. Even if I don't build a UFO-style build, building an AP (aerial photography) hexacopter might be a cool future project.
In the photo below, you can see I've soldered on the VTx (video transmitter). I have already used a lot of space and therefore do not have a lot of space left to solder on the rest of the connections, but I will have to make do with the space I have left as well as make sure the two connections don't touch each other in order to prevent a short.
 |
| Eachine VTx 003 soldered onto the Matek Systems PDB. |
The two connections are also extremely close to each other, so I did end up adding a little bit of electrical tape in between to prevent conducting them together and causing a short. It worked alright, but there is no place to actually place the tape so it's essentially a freestanding piece of tape.
Next, I connected the FPV camera to the PDB, and that was also a 5V connection. Many cameras use 12V, so while that may have made it easier on me had it been 12V, this cheap Eachine 1000TVL CCD camera runs on 5V and only 5V, so I am left with no choice but to solder it onto the 5V connection.
 |
| The Eachine 1000TVL CCD camera, stripped. |
As you can see, I stripped the cables for the 1000TVL camera instead of using the connector, because I would need to solder the video cable to the input cable on the video transmitter, and then solder the other two (power and ground) to the 5V pad and the ground pad on the power distribution board.
In the photo below, I've soldered everything together and added the electrical tape. You can see how sketchy of a job I've done, but it does work and a quick test for continuity (my favorite feature of multimeters, as you can tell) reveals that everything should be in working order.
 |
| Both the camera and the video transmitter soldered to the PDB. |
As you can see, the connections are extremely close to each other and that can easily make anyone uncomfortable. However, they are making a connection nor or they touching (yet), and I was thinking even if I short it, most of the components (out of everything that I might short) are pretty cheap so it's not difficult to just buy another one. The only issue with buying another one is the fact that I don't have a lot of time left before the school year starts, and with junior year coming up, I'm not sure how much time I have left to do that.
Ciao for now,
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