A Few Simple Pihawk Kit Build Questions

#1

I am a first time drone builder. I have worked with a number of other RPi projects over the years though. I do have a few very basic questions about my build using the Pihawk kit components…

  1. The smoke stopper–Is it to be left inline after the initial power up, or do I just use it once to verify that I have no direct shorts and then remove it?

  2. What is the small component in the foreground of the attached photo? It has an 8 pin connector on one side which I believe I received with the attached cable splitting into (2) 4 pin connectors. The other side has a usb connection.

  3. I have 2 leftover wires (grey and brown) from the PPM to receiver connection? Are they for 2 extra unused channels, and I should just neatly wrap them up and stow them away somewhere?

  4. What is the leftover 4 pin connector coming out of the battery pack? I assume it is not relevant to the drone build?

I have a couple other more complex questions, but I think they might be better suited in their own separate threads…

Thank you very much for any assistance!

Jason

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#2

1 - Just once to ensure there are no short circuits.
Tip: Once I have finished soldering my PDB, I use hot glue to cover the conducting elements to prevent inadvertent shorts. It can always be removed if needed.
2 - Looks like this extension module - which wasn’t in my kit!
https://www.aliexpress.com/i/32781781881.html
3 - Yes, wrap.
4 - Balance cable, used when charging or can be used to check cell status.
https://fpvfc.org/beginners-guide-to-lipo-batteries

You will find as time goes on that web searching will answer a lot of questions you will have.

#3

Love the hot glue tip, @jax200

Welcome aboard, Jason!

10 points @jax200

closed #4