Introduction: Less Than 250 Grams FPV Drone Modifications

By www.youtube.com/RCLoversan
About: I studied Electrical Engineering and a lot of other things. I'm always driven by my passions. Please visit also my Youtube channel.

Believe me or not, with the recent laws introduced about drones, we won't be able to fly the original Xinxun X30 (toy grade quadcopter) anymore, unless it's registered! In fact, the original drone weighs 360 grams (with the FPV camera). Such arguable law deserved an immediate action.

I've stripped off every unnecessary component, to keep this drone below the 250 grams (weight that forces you to register your "UAV", even if it's a TOY!!!)

Step 1: Remove the Foam Protector

To strip off any not necessary component, while you are keeping on eye on the weight, I would recommend to use/buy a digital scale.

https://www.banggood.com/500g-0_1g-LCD-Electronic-...

The initial weight of the XinXun X30 was around 360 grams (including the FPV Camera), so first thing first, I've removed the foam protector, saving more than 70 grams.

I kept only the plastic outer shell/canopy, that I've painted black, mainly for 2 reasons:

the drone looks cool (rather than using the cylindric shape), and the canopy is absolutely perfect to hold the support for the FPV camera.

Step 2: Version 1, Less Than 250 Grams... Flying Time 14 Minutes!!!

Having trimmed dramatically the weight of the drone, allow me to use a battery with a larger capacity (62 grams, which means I can fly for almost 14 minutes, keeping always the drone below the 250 grams!

https://www.banggood.com/XF-Power-7_4V-1200mah-2S-...

I've been able to fit also a powerful strobe light for the orientation...

https://www.banggood.com/Xenon-Night-Strobe-Flash-...

To fit the strobe light I've added a 5V voltage regulator, that I've attached to the LED connector of the pcb.

Step 3: Version 2, Less Than 250 Grams With FPV Camera

I wasn't fully happy with version 1, because I wanted to record the videos while I'm flying the drone, therefore I've decided to buy a smaller battery...

https://www.banggood.com/ZOP-Power-7_4V-750mAh-2S-...

that weighs just 42.3 grams!

The FPV camera weighs only 21 grams and has already fitted a 3.7V Lipo battery.

https://www.banggood.com/Syma-X5C-1-X5SC-X5SW-5_8G...

With this configuration the drone weighs 248.7 grams, which means I do not have to register it (at least in the U.K.).

Although this drone is a toy, now it looks very cool!!!