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The Controller Board

As you may know, every multirotor platform needs a controller board.  For this specific build I decided to go with the cheap and reliable HobbyKing V3 QuadCopter Controller Board.  The reason I decided to go with this board was because it is relatively easy to tune compared to the other options out there (MultiWii, Naza, Ardupilot, WKM) and because they are a lot more affordable than almost every other controller out there (starting at $15).  

When I connected my  OrangeRX Receiver to the controller board, I did not like the look of having long wires reaching all over the place, so I made a modification.  I took the the receiver out of its case and desoldered all the pins from the channels.  I then took the controller board and desoldered those respective pins as well.  I soldered short jumper wires connecting the receiver directly to the controller board and because the controller board doesn't need power from all four channels, I soldered only one set of positive and negative wires.  I then mounted the receiver on the board itself using 4mm Thick Double-Sided Foam Tape. The whole modification was relatively simple to do and it makes it very easy to move the controller and the receiver as one unit between different multirotors.  
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The Programmer

Due to the fact the stock firmware on the controller board was Quad + configuration and I wanted Quad X, I had to flash the board with new firmware.  At the time I purchased my programmer, eBay  was the place with the best price so that's where I bought it.  Unfortunately, the programmer was designed to use a 10 pin interface and the HobbyKing board uses a 6 pin interface, so I had to make a small modification to the adapter.  Using the pin layout that I got from David at RCExplorer, I was able to use 20CM Servo Leads and reconfigure the pin layout.  I took the male ends of two servo extensions, separated them out, and then used 2mm Black Heat Shrink to keep them from making contact with each other.  I then took those ends and inserted them into the adapter so that I could match the pin layout needed and then added some 5 Minute Epoxy to keep it rigid.  The result was a six pin adapter that allowed me to flash the controller board with very little effort. 

Note: HobbyKing has now come out with their own custom USB ASP Programmer that already has a built in 10 to 6 pin adapter. Their price is the same as the ones available on eBay, so it is up to you where you would like to purchase it.
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