doing some research to make mods on a phantom 3

[feliminerva]

hi guys, i'm new to this forum and i'm doing some research to decide wheather i'll buy a phantom 3a and mod it to be better(like changing it's motors, or adding some sensors, or even making the phavic conversion kit) or buy the 3pro/4 and just change it to phavic(for those who don't know what the phavic is) heres a link to a thread of it: Phantom 3 to Mavic conversion - unboxing and pics.
so i'd need some help to get photos of the diferent models motherboards, and i'll try to see if the diference between them is of software and not of hardware, meaning that the 3a may not have the sensors but it may have the connectors for them.
then if you are able to, could you send me a picture of your phantom motherboard by both sides and write the model with the picture
thank you
the new guy

 

[3rdof5]

Im not sure how much you can really mod on a P3. The motors are specific to the mainboard and there are 2 variants, im not aware of any significant difference except maybe the newer style motors are a bit quieter IMO. I've read alot on the Phanvic conversion. Main issues are, out of the box its alot heavier with less flight time and it tends to overheat, particularly the gimbal board as it receives no airflow from the props inside the phanvic shell. Some users have improved both weight and heat issues by drilling many holes in the phanvic shell. But IMO it's alot of work for no real improvement.

 

[krodshat2020]

You can change motors I’ve changed mine to dji 2212/920kv motors and love them they spin up faster fly longer and are way quieter. You just got to do your homework and research the specs of the factory ones and stay in those specs

 

[krodshat2020]

 

[giorgimonk]

If you like modifying drones I would just stay away from DJI, just build one

 

[quaddamage]

I think it's the opposite, at least if you have no issues tinkering with the software.

Modding Phantoms isn't easy, but it's generally a good idea. And as a community, we should support that - it will give us more knowledge about these products.

For the photos - you've probably already seen our usual source of those:
o-gs wiki: DJI Hardware

Replacing ESCs may be quite some work - each has its own uC, and besides the standard PWM channel, communicates with FC using binary packets over UART. So using the original Ph3 FC with other ESCs would require understanding that protocol, and implementing it on some chip. Unless there is a switch somewhere for non-DJI ESCs - after all they base all FCs on the same code, so there must be a support of this buried somewhere.

If you want to leave the standard ESCs - I guess it's a matter of trial and error on whether they will accept a specific motor. I suspect all motors of that size have similar parameters, so they should work. For larger motors, you will need the extra work on replacing ESCs.

Internals from Ph4 may be easier to work with in this part - they have ESCs on separate boards (though still each board has 2 ESCs).