This article shows the hardware installation process of T-Motor Mini Racer F7 and F45 Mini ESC: first check the appearance of the flight control interface, storage and ESC, and then complete the welding and insulation/protective coating; plan the UART, video, 5V and ground wires of the receiver, camera and VTX; pre-tin the solder pads and use the multiple 5V pads partitioned on the board to organize the wiring. The video also admits that full curing and formal fixing were omitted for continuous shooting, and the article clearly does not recommend copying these shortcuts.
Check the hardware and drawings before installation
The author first observed the USB-C interface, board and memory chip of the F7 flight controller, and paired it with the T-Motor F45 Mini ESC. Appearance and interface convenience cannot replace electrical verification; before welding, you should download the corresponding version of the wiring diagram to confirm the flight control orientation, power supply voltage, UART, Camera, Video Out, 5V, GND and current detection pad.
Place the receiver, camera and VTX on the rack to preview the wiring. First determine the wire length and routing path, then cut and tin. The specific pad selections in the video are for this set of hardware, other revisions may change the layout even if they have similar names.
Welding, protection and curing
The video points out that one side of the board already has a protective coating, and the other side will be refinished after welding is completed. In addition to protecting against moisture, the protective coating also reduces the risk of short circuits caused by conductive debris, but the coating cannot cover USB, buttons, barometer openings, sockets, or locations that require heat dissipation and re-soldering.
After coating is completed, it should be fully cured in a ventilated, dust-free location before being loaded into the rack. The author admits to taking shortcuts in order to complete the shoot on the same day and reminds viewers not to imitate. For formal installation, appropriate screws, soft glue posts or insulating pads must be used to fix the flight control. You cannot just temporarily place the board in the rack.
Receiver, camera and VTX wiring
The main peripherals of this aircraft are the receiver, camera and VTX. When the receiver uses UART, the signals should be cross-connected according to the drawing: peripheral TX is connected to the flight control RX, peripheral RX is connected to the flight control TX, and the logic voltage is confirmed. The camera signal enters Camera/Video In, and the flight controller’s Video Out is connected to VTX; the power supply and ground wire must use voltages supported by the hardware.
Pre-tin the pads and wires before soldering to reduce long-term heating. The wire should not be stretched, stretched across the gyroscope, or pressed against sharp carbon plate edges. After each module is soldered, check whether the solder joints, polarity and adjacent pads are bridged. Do not wait until everything is completed.
Optimize routing with zoned power pads
The author compliments the board for providing 5V pads in multiple areas, as the receiver, camera, and some VTX peripherals may all require 5V. Drawing power nearby can reduce wiring harness crossovers, keep signal lines separate from high-current paths, make wiring neater, and help reduce interference.
"There are a lot of 5V pads" does not mean that all peripherals should be connected to 5V. The allowable voltage of the camera, VTX and receiver and the total current of the flight control regulator must be checked one by one. Before powering on for the first time, use a multimeter to check whether the positive and negative poles of the main power supply are short-circuited, and use a current-limiting power supply or a Smoke Stopper. After confirming that there are no abnormalities, connect the USB, configure the firmware, and finally enter the propellerless motor test.
Operation steps
- Check flight control revision and wiring diagram
Confirm USB, orientation, UART, video, power supply and ground pads, and then plan the location of peripherals.
- Repair protection after completing welding
Apply insulating protective layer only to suitable areas, avoiding interfaces, buttons, sensor openings and pads to be soldered.
- Waiting for full curing and formal fixation
Don’t copy the rush job in the video; allow the coating to cure according to product instructions, then secure the flight controls with the appropriate hardware.
- Cross-connect UART signal
According to the drawing, connect the receiver TX to the flight control RX, the receiver RX to the flight control TX, and confirm the power supply voltage.
- Connect camera to VTX video link
Pre-tin the pad, press Camera In, Video Out and the corresponding power ground wire to complete the connection.
- Check the wiring and power on with current limit
Check bridging, polarity and harness friction, measure power shorts and first power up with Smoke Stopper.
FAQ
Can the protective coating cover the entire flight control?
No. Interfaces, buttons, sensor openings, sockets, heat dissipation components and locations requiring future soldering should be avoided according to product instructions.
Why do the TX and RX of UART cross?
The data sent by one device needs to enter the receiving end of another device, so it is usually TX connected to RX and RX connected to TX; the specific hardware drawings should still prevail.
Can multiple 5V pads be used casually?
No. First confirm that the peripherals allow 5V, and check the total current and pad usage of the flight control regulator.
Can the battery be connected directly after welding?
Not recommended. Check for shorts and polarity with a multimeter before first applying power via a current-limited power supply or Smoke Stopper.
Can I temporarily hold up the flight control without installing screws like in the video?
It shouldn’t be. The author made it clear that this was a shortcut to rush work on a shoot; for formal use it must be reliably fixed and insulated.
Full timeline transcript
Transcripts are arranged according to video time, making it easy to quickly locate the explanation content. Transcript language: Simplified Chinese.
Hello everyone, I am Poyin. In my channel, I have never installed an airplane. Today we are going to install an airplane. By the way, I will show you my usual process of assembling an airplane and setting it up. I hope it can help my novice friends who are just starting to mold. Today I am using the T-Motor, its new F7 flight control. This flight control seems to be of very good quality, especially this one.
The black circuit board design on the back, I am not a hardware person, I feel it is a very advanced design, and the USB interface uses the latest USB-C, which is much more reliable than MicroUSB. You don’t have to worry about the interface being dented and broken. And the Flash is the Windows Flash, and many laptops and UEFI firmware are stored in this thing.
So there should be no need to worry about reliability and performance. What about this power strip? I use T-Model, this F45 mini, this power strip. It uses this small MOS tube. I am not particularly confident. But after installing it, we will wait and see for a while to see how the reliability is. OK, without further ado, let’s start installing the machine.
This side with more electronic equipment has been treated with a waterproof layer, but the other side has not been treated. We will do a layer of waterproof treatment after the Han level is completed. OK, now that the sweat is gone, let's do some waterproofing on it. This can prevent some conductive metal fragments from falling on it and causing a short circuit, because the waterproof layer is remote and causes a certain remote effect.
After the insulation layer, let it dry in an open place. Today, in order to synthesize it in one breath, I just copied a few steps. Don’t imitate me, I’m a little tight. Then we can just put it on without screws. How do you see how this line is so cool? It’s very simple for me. I just have a receiver, a camera and then a VTX receiver. Let’s connect it directly to the TX2.
On the receiver, I'm not sure which one is TX and which one is RX. I hope this line is fixed and light. Now it's the video signal line. The second one is this. What is Wufu? This line is a little longer. Then we will connect the receiver to the receiver. I may need to swap the TX and RX. First, help one go up. Then we will see how to practice drawing. On the Video side, give it some Pretting with the Pads.
The face line is basically done. Timo has this design, especially the 5V angle flow. It is very, very user-friendly because almost every place needs 5V, and then it divides it into four areas. Another advantage of dividing these four areas is that your wiring is a little denser like mine.
If students who do better can make this wiring without interfering with each other, then the interference of the previous electronics will be much less, and it still feels quite clean. One line after another, let's set up the software after pasting this.
