It is indeed possible to mount a GoPro on a Syma X5C. It is however, not ideal, since the Syma X5C is a toy and its payload capacity is limited. But if you’re like me and you like to push the limits of your hardware, this is not going to stop you from trying, is it? 🙂
I used a GoPro Hero3+, but the process should be similar for other models.
1. Reduce the Weight
The Syma can’t pull much weight. So the key is to remove as much weight as possible.
- Remove the stock camera (and battery cover).
- Remove the propeller protector blades (if you haven’t already).
2. Tie the GoPro
I used two pieces of Blu Tack and a piece of kitchen string to tie the GoPro to the Syma. I flipped the GoPro upside down so that you get less of the propellers when recording.
After this step some people were able to achieve lift without any other modification. I couldn’t get it past hovering a few inches above ground, so I had to remove more weight.
3. Remove the GoPro Battery
The Syma and the GoPro use the same voltage (3.7V). So I decided to get rid of the GoPro battery and feed power to it directly from the LiPo battery. I opened the Syma and soldered a battery charger cable onto the Syma’s board. The cable is from the charger that comes with the Syma. I didn’t mind chopping it because I already had a better charger for the LiPo batteries. I stripped the cable to expose the wires. The green cable is (-) while white is (+).
On the board I chose these two pins to solder the wires to, which connect directly to the LiPo battery terminals.
After soldering:
Add a drop of hot glue to keep the cable from getting pulled and drill a small hole on the front of the drone to get the cable out:
As for the GoPro, I used a (JST to JST?) adapter cable that came with this product. I had to sand the end of the red plastic to get the contacts closer to the surface, then I pushed the cable straight into the GoPro.
Final result:
Lightweight enough to get a lift!
Conclusion
Even though this modification will get your Syma X5C off the ground nicely, the battery will drain fairly quickly and you will be able to get only about ~45 seconds of video before the battery voltage drops below the GoPro’s automatic shut-off threshold.
As a side note, soldering could have been avoided with the use of a simple cable splitter (but I couldn’t find any on eBay/Amazon?)
Anyway, happy flying!