Rakon Q500 Build

[R G]

Purchased a new Rakon frame kit during Rakon's 30% off Black Friday sale and it arrived today. This is going to be a fun winter project. A coworker found a Q500 that crashed on his property in Wisconsin and he donated it to me. I checked out the electronics in the GUI app and all is well. The completed project will look similar to the Rakon promo pic. Going to use an ST16 that has been programmed with an additional Stability, blue LED, flight mode. The Stability flight mode has rates similar to GPS off, however GPS and RTH are still functional and altitude hold is turned off.

RG

 

[R G]

Did some soldering today, or "slobbering" as I like to call it.













RG

 

[Jagerbomb52]

I built one a few years ago. Soldering the ESC is the hardest part. Looks like your doing a nice neat job. Hopefully they include the new compass mount as the original mounting spot caused all kinds of problems with not enough shielding. If not I strongly recommend picking one of these up.

https://www.rakonheli.com/products/cnc-delrin-compass-sensor-mount-yuneec-q500?variant=19883091787830

 

[R G]

I built one a few years ago. Soldering the ESC is the hardest part. Looks like your doing a nice neat job. Hopefully they include the new compass mount as the original mounting spot caused all kinds of problems with not enough shielding. If not I strongly recommend picking one of these up.

https://www.rakonheli.com/products/cnc-delrin-compass-sensor-mount-yuneec-q500?variant=19883091787830

Thanks for the heads up, this kit does have the updated compass mount. Reminds me of when Yuneec moved the compass from the landing gear to inside the nose of the airframe. I bought a Q500 that had the compass in the nose and it would fly like a drunken sailor with the camera mounted, however with the camera removed it would fly quite true. I performed countless compass calibrations with the camera on and off and gave up. I'm very curious if the new compass location on the Rakon will be an improvement.

RG

 

[R G]

I'll be ready to maiden when the Aeronaut props and a new battery arrives. These winter projects used to take longer!





















RG

 

[R G]

The Aeronaut props arrived for the Q500 and my Chroma. Had no problem fitting the Aeronaut props to the Chroma, however the Q500 props bottom out before the hub of the prop makes contact with the o-ring on the motor shaft. That can't be right and is going to require some rework.





RG

 

[R G]

My battery arrived, took a chance on an aftermarket Cameron Sino battery. Didn't have a good experience using 6300mAh GiFi batteries with my original Q500, bought two and one puffed during the first flight. The 6300mAh rated capacity of the Cameron Sino appears legit. Discharged the battery to 3.7V per cell and charged it, my charger returned 5178mAh to the battery. Will flight test after I rework the Aeronaut props to fit.





RG

 

[R G]

Had my first flight with the new Rakon and all is well!







RG

 

[tEaM]

I love this Rakon frame.
Q500 takes on a new life with this frame.

 

[Lubeck]

Had my first flight with the new Rakon and all is well!

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RG

Did your kit come with all the screws and would someone with no build experience be able to do this please? As I crashed my Q500 and can't get a replacement airframe anywhere?

 

[Jagerbomb52]

If you have no experience with soldering I would suggest letting a hobby shop install the ESC's and the motors as that's the hardest part. Everything else is just like putting together a airplane model. And yes with my kit all the screws where there.

 

[R G]

Did your kit come with all the screws and would someone with no build experience be able to do this please? As I crashed my Q500 and can't get a replacement airframe anywhere?

Hardware is included, however some donor hardware is required from your Q500. You will have to unsolder and resolder the power leads on the ESCs in order to feed the wires through the tubes that connect the motors to the frame. You can save yourself some soldering if you cut up your Q500 frame to liberate the motors and ESCs in one piece. I have attached the instruction sheet so that you can decide if you are up to it. On a positive note, the Rakon frame has way less screws to hold it together than a stock Q500 frame!









RG

 

[Calvin]

Hi, this looks to be a fun build, good instructions too.

The new kits look to have the RKH logo in too many places, I don't mind them on the body but putting it on all four arms is a bit much.
If I do go for one, I think I'll go with the black kit.

I read in the reviews that they have a balance issue and need to be balanced, were your's?

 

[R G]

A plethora of stickers are included with the kit, to the delight of my three year old granddaughter...

Mine ended up just a tad front heavy with the Cameron Sino battery, however I don't recall if the stock frame has perfect balance. In general, it flies just like a Q500 that whistles a different tune.

RG

 

[Calvin]

RG, that make's it a little more inviting.

I've been tossing it back & forth as to whether I step up for one of these kits, Carolina states "Sold Out" and the only other source is direct from RKH,,,,,,,,
From what I've read in a few posts that's a three or more week wait,

Had a member contact me a week ago about a stock airframe/body, I said yes to his asking price but then silence.
Think I'm about the only person looking for one,

Another member mentioned that he had on sitting on a shelf in his closet, maybe he'd sell it.

I haven't been a member long enough to post in the classified's, might get a quicker response if I could.

 

[R G]

I've been tossing it back & forth as to whether I step up for one of these kits, Carolina states "Sold Out" and the only other source is direct from RKH,,,,,,,,
From what I've read in a few posts that's a three or more week wait,

I ordered my kit direct from Rakon and the package arrived at my door in just five days.

RG

 

[Calvin]

Are you keeping your stock airframe?

 

[R G]

Yes, I'm keeping it for posterity



RG

 

[Calvin]

My, there's a very large hole in the top of it,,,,,,,,

Was this a form of punishment for some evil deed?

 

[R G]

I have no knowledge of it's previous life, except that it came to a catastrophic end. A coworker, who knew about my hobby, said he had found a wrecked drone on his property and offered it to me. I was expecting to receive a toy drone and to my surprise it was a Q500. I had previously owned a Q500 4K and gifted it to my daughter's boyfriend when I purchased a Typhoon H. This Q500 was resurrected in a new Rakon frame and married to the CGO3 and ST10 from my Blade Chroma. It was a fun winter project and I'm very pleased with the outcome. I don't think you'll be disappointed if you decide to pursue the same route.

RG