Many mini quad frames come with built-in PDB (power distribution board) bottom plates, which saves quadcopter builders a lot of time and troubles. ESC’s, Battery connector, even your FPV system can be soldered directly on to the PDB, that keeps the use of wires to the minimal. This not only reduces weight but also makes a super clean build.

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The ZMR250 frame does not come with any PDB, so many options have been released as upgrade. In this post we will focus on 3 popular power distribution boards for the ZMR.

SimplePDB By OSO

Huge current rating: 180A! Supports MinimOSD, OSDoge and SuperSimple OSD. Nice Matte finish and great quality PDB. Available form multiple shops convenient to get.

For more detail check out my review.

cytrynka PDB

Description from developer: cytrynka is an all-in-one power distribution board (PDB) with some extra components to make your racing machine clean and light. The most important objective in the design was to create board to eliminate cables/wires as much as possible. cytrynka consists of two parts – main board (replacement for original top main plate) and conversion board to direct fit most popular FC’s (ex. NAZE32, CC3D). It fits into ZMR250, RCX250 and QAV250 (chinese version) frames.

Here is my review of the PDB.

What is on board:

• linear 5V 1.5A BEC
• video line supply LC filter
• current sensor (up to 90A)
• direct solder pads for minimOSD or our mOSD
• pads for RC receiver with RSSI PWM to analog converter
• 20 bright LED’s
• openLRS receiver (option)”

https://flyinglemon.eu/pdb/8-cytrynka-pdb.html

Here is my full review on this PDB: https://oscarliang.com/cytryna-pdb-zmr250-frame/

Diatone ZMR250 PDB

The Diatone PDB was just released last month. The price is only $6 from Banggood. It weights 35g, PCB is 1.6mm thick.

Warning (16 Jun 2015): It’s been reported that this PDB, screw holes doesn’t fit most of the ZMR250 frame on the market. So make sure you get the measurement from seller, and check on your frame before purchase.

This is a relatively simple power distribution board, compared to the other 2 in this article. But it also has integrated 5V and 12V voltage regulators, which is safe to assume this board is designed for 3S, as well as 4S LiPo setup. It enables you to convert voltage from 4S to 12V for your FPV gear. But as these are step down regulators, if you are only running 3S Lipo and your voltage drops below 12V, your 12V regulator output will always be slightly lower than your lipo voltage, any would not be 12V.

5V output can be used to power your flight controller and radio. This is useful if you are running Opto ESCs that don’t have a BEC.

It also comes with 4 LED strips, which you can solder on the PDB to help with your orientation when flying LOS.

It doesn’t have any power filter built-in, so bear in mind if you encounter any horizontal jumping lines in your FPV footage, you can put a LC filter (power filter) on this PDB.

One thing that remains unclear is how much current this PDB can handle, it’s not mentioned on the product page.

I ordered this board recently, hopefully I can write a more in-depth review once it’s here.

Overcraft PDB

The Overcraft PDB is pretty powerful and has almost everything you ever need on the PDB. It weights 35g, and PCB is 1.6mm thick. Here are some of the features that the Diatone PDB doesn’t offer.

• FPV Filter (on both 12V and 5V outputs)
• MinimOSD integration – can be soldered directly on PDB.
• Solder pads and Traces for FPV Camera, Video transmitter
• Built-in Buzzer

However it doesn’t have a 12V regulator for 4S, but there is an optional soldering pad for external voltage regulator if you need one.

This PDB is pretty cheap ($8) and extremely hard to get hold of. It’s only being made once every two months I think, sales usually announced on RCGroup.

NUCLEUS ZMR250 PDB

This board has almost identical features to the Overcraft PDB, but its price tag is way higher at $27. It weights 34g, and PCB is 1.6mm thick. The available connection locations really help keeping it wire-free and tidy.

There are some difference compared to the Overcraft though.

• Power filter on this PDB requires soldering.
• Location of the ESC solder pads
• Bigger, brighter LEDs
• LEDs are turn off by default
• Smaller / slightly quieter buzzer
• Price difference!

This board can be found here. But I personally would go for the Overcraft over this PDB due to the much lower price.