/diy/ - Do It Yourself

>>861194
>make a quadcopter out of fucking food blender motors and an arduino.
I laughed.

Also yesterday I ordered pic related to get started with quadcopters. anyone any advice?
I flew alot of nitro and electric helo's before, but no real quads(only the 25 dollar ones)

As a man who made a quad copter from 4 blenders and a Arduino I disagree with your statement

And if it weren't for the grease fire/the "accident" it probably would have flown too

>>861326
I'm so glad you posted that. I'm going to buy one ASAP.

This is my first build. Finished it a few weeks ago. Still learning how to fly, though. I keep losing motor caps and the wait time on the shipping for those is ridiculous. Do regular nuts work as long as they're the right size and threaded the right way? I was thinking about picking some up.

>>861326
As far as I understand they aren't going to be anywhere near as difficult to fly as a heli. I've never flown one but have a 3d heli and I skipped quads because they look like baby tier shit. I'm building one now as a programming project.

If someone could find me a set of blades you could alter the attack angle on like with a flybar. I forget what you call the whole setup. But if someone could help me find a setup that would be suitable for a quadcopter, I'll try to make a 3d quadcopter. I'd want something that would produce a shitton of thrust if I'm going to attempt it.

>>861607
well there is the stingray 500, im assuming you want shit ton of thrust to extreme 3d right? you could try putting in a 5s lipo and some powerful motor and see if it disintegrates or not.

>>861635
I'll have to see what I can put together. I'll do some static testing to measure the amount of thrust it can make with shorter rotors and I could pair some strong motors with it.

My first step is just going to get a quad up and running. If I can program a flight computer well I was thinking of trying to program it to save itself if it ever fell and put in a few different redundant sensors for it to be failsafe, that way I could play all I want in 3d mode and not worry about smashing the thing. I wonder what kind of stunts it could do with full control of all sets of rotors.

>>861607
>I forget what you call the whole setup.
That would be a collective control. They exist, using a single motor and driveshafts/belts to power each blade. Mechanically complex but do-able. Standard RC heli collective x4 should do the trick, not sure about setting up the blades though.

See also; http://curtisyoungblood.com/V2/products/quadcopters/stingray-500

>>861644
I saw the stingray and wasn't very impressed. I think that thing is underpowered and I don't want an H frame. Plus I'm going to be programming a custom flight computer so I'd be gutting it anyways.

Heh, you know I think I might just pick up some 450 clones to do it.

>>861653
Crash a 3d copter and your going to have a great fun time....

Any aerial photographers here?
Just built this little gimbal. it works okay, im waiting on an ebay gimbal so that i can combine the two for 3 axis stabilization.

Goal is to build an octo that can carry my large gimbal (in the back of the photo)

http://www.uavforecast.com/

Very good website to check the weather conditions near you. it tells you basically everything from windspeed, solar storms, est sattelites (glonass aswell).

The more experienced people probably know about this site, i think the newbies will appreciate it

>>861585
try using loctite, just a little bit on the end of the shaft so the caps don't slip off as easily

>>861585

Convert to T-style prop mounts. I've never ever had a prop fly of or even a screw. They are way superior to the ccw cw bolt setups.

>>861194
>Share stupid
My friend and I had plans to make a retarded drone. Basically, we were going to use a 9700kv motor running at 36v attached to a model helicopter upper rotor kit mounted upside down, along with fins with muffin fans to counter rotation. The body got nicked before we could kill ourselves. I still have the parts.

>>861721
>9700kv
holy shit dude. what speed would the tips of the props be traveling at?

I have a r/c lawnmower, I would like to put a real-time camera on. It has 12 and 24vdc taps and weight isn't an issue. The transmitters / receivers I've seen require a HAM license in the USA.
http://www.getfpv.com/review/product/list/id/450/
FatShark Predator V2
Would it be easier to just use a wifi camera and separate router?
The front yard is 100x300 feet, the back is 200x300.
Any ideas?

>>861751
For this you wont need fatshark equipment, Its good and quality but costs a fortune. You could get away with a board style surveillance camera and a 200mW/600mW 5.8ghz transmitter/reciver combo from ebay. They cost like 58usd.

>>861736
I think when we ran the math it was going to be close to Mach 1, but in reality, the motor would either not have enough torque, would deliver a blade to one of our internal organs, or any other number of beautiful disasters.

>>861751
for those distances even some 20mw transmitter would work. so just get something cheap and slap in on there. the fatshark stuff costs quite a bit cause its made for aircraft and people want good reliability for their planes.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-8G-200mW-FPV-Video-Audio-8CH-AV-Transmitter-TX-5-8GHz-RX-Receiver-Set-2000M-/321626037240?hash=item4ae267dbf8
just find a cheap board camera and a screen.

I'm getting into FPV flying, and I was wondering, should I get a set of Fatshark Dominator HD glasses or a set of Skyzone V2 glasses?

I currently have a set of these: https://www.adafruit.com/products/1452
Should I even upgrade?

>>861751
dude just get your HAM license, its like 15 bucks and its a pretty neat experience.

>>861789
Would these work with >>861326

>>861807
Yeah, but the generic glasses on Adafruit will need a receiver.

>>861789
If I were you I'd save money by homebrewing the FPV system and hooking it up to your Vive/Occulus when you get one in a few months.

Actually thought about VR RC simulators recently. Would be a tenfold improvement on existing simulators and one of the most authentic VR experiences possible. What other activity merely requires you to stand still and look?

>>861807
yeah that quad has a built in 1080p camera with a transmitter for FVP

>>861812
I don't have a Occulus and I would have to buy a composite to HDMI converter to get the Occulus rift to work with the FPV anyways.

>>861811
>>861814
Nice. What sort of receiver would I need to rig up for the glasses? I've only ever really flown $50 quadcopters, trying to get into the cooler stuff.

>>861607
>>861644
hear me out on this one.
a nitrous powered quad with carbon propshafts instead of belts. and a swashplate style rotor system.
how cool and or expensive would that be?

>>861818
The receiver depends on the transmitter, so if you're transmitting on 5.8 ghz, you'll need a compatible 5.8 ghz receiver.

The glasses themselves take a composite (AV) video input.

I will warn you, the display quality is only so-so on the Adafruit glasses.
Imagine a 90's 40" crt screen from about 2 meters away.

>>861820
Sounds fucking rad, but expensive as hell.

I'm also getting into quads and FPV, so I got a Hubsan X4 to practice (http://www.amazon.com/Hubsan-Quadcopter-FPV-Camera-Toy/dp/B00GSNWB5K))

How'd I do?

Also, does anyone know more about this? >>861789

>>861821
Ah bummer. Is there a better intro FPV set out there that you'd suggest?

>>861830
I dunno, I'm getting into it myself.
I'm waiting for my Hubsan x4 to arrive, which kinda looks to be a decent into, minus the glasses.


Honestly though, the adafruit glasses are the best out there for the money, and aren't that bad.
Glasses with better displays tend to cost $300 to $800.
The Occulus or Vive would be one of the best displays you could get, but you'll have to get some pricey converters to feed the video to it. (Composite to HDMI).

So, It really depends on how many nuyen you have to spend, omae.

Whats a good kit to get to start building?

>>861856
no. u find parts and build it urself.
see rcmodelreviews on youtube for more info.

>>861856
This is probably a good base to work from.

>>861878
Forgot link:
http://www.helipal.com/walkera-runner-250-fpv-racer-diy-kit.html

>>861644
Dicks

Hi,

what do you think of my LOS Quadcopter?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVg83CPZZag

Love the RC Threads on DIY

>>861585
The best thing you can do is using Selflocking nuts.

>>862276
Thats one fast fucker

>>861607
Quads are easy to fly because they are computer controlled. If a human had to fly a quad by manually adjusting 4 throttles, it would be near impossible.

>>861653
is that a full copter for $50?

>>862327
Yeah its not to bad. Your machine looks sexy af.

>>862459
Just the frame

when getting helis, get the BIGGEST you can afford to crash, i barely touch my mini helis after getting a 550 sized

also who /fleet/ here?

what should i do with some multirotor parts? i have 3 DT750 motors and 4 very cheap esc's with the motors. what should i make?

>>862477
tricopter

>>862479
How do you like this tricopter? It always felt a bit heavy for me

>>862480
mines a bit underpowered but i guess its a bit of fun

>>862479
that thread pic is my tri. tbh i have a feeling it will shake itself apart. the props arent even balanced.

>>862483
the actual frame is crazy strong, as long as you use loctite it will be fine

>>861194
I want to build a quad copter that has an 8 hour battery with a range of everywhere that can charge the batter via solar and deliver weed in tokyo so I can make mad dosh. Thoughts?

>>862492
That sounds to easy, why not try something more challenging?

>>862492
What budget?

also why a quadcopter and not a pentacopter?

>>862496
sure why not. I don't have any money. I don't have knowledge on these copters, It was just a random idea I had.

>>862492
I saw a tutorial a while ago but it was for a heroin delivering quadcopter. Just google it and you'll find it first result. I'm sure it could be modified for weed.

>>862461
Thanks, Im wondering if i should add 4 more motors on the underside to make an x8 multicopter

>>862559
That thing looks like a workhorse. Whats the purpose of the machine?

I personally don't like X8 that much because they are not as efficent

>>862574
My first drone ;) But its aimed to be a small platform video drone (666mm) But as of now im using a gopro.

Im planning to build a octocopter in the future for my large gimbal.

>>862579
Why not use bigger Props? On the picture it looks like there is alot of space between the props, I like to use the biggest Propeller possible

>>862583
Also my QuadCopter

>>862583
These were only the 9 inch props. i Have 13 inch props aswell. But sadly no photos of the 13 inch props on my quad.

Nice quad, looks speedy. is it fpv?

>>862583
http://i.imgur.com/zY01AvK.jpg

>>862586
No I only fly it LOS to keep a good Weight to thrust ratio, around 10:1

It looks a bit messy because it took 70mph hits directly into the ground

>>862588
Daamn, it survived that? with just the cables beeing pushed a little?

>>862589
It broke all 4 Props, but that is normal.
Its quite forgiving mainly because of the low weight (350Gramms) and because of that it has low energy.
Its very nice for learning acrobatic flight.

>>862591
what do you do with your broken props?

>>862623
I just throw them away

>>862631

Lol that was anticlimactic

I am in the process of building a 160 mm sized quadcopter. This is what I got so far. Any features I should add?
I plan on using 1306 3100kv motors on 4s with 4045 props.

I'm new to building quads, and I've figured out most all of it, but how do I tell if a control module is compatible with a rx module?

Like, if I have a Devo7 controller and rx module, how would I know if it was compatible with a Eagle Tree flight controller?

>>862639
bolt on tiers, you'd be dumb to think you can fit every thing on that

>>862722
It looks like I can fit everything on it. I modeled the pcb and flight controller, and it fits in between the props. I can mount the ESCs on top the arms. I can't post a picture right now. I will post a picture of the Frame+flight controller later today.

>>862639
36mm by 36mm pattern for FC mount

>>862878
yeah I know, and the holes on the FC are 30.5 mm from each other.

I have some carbon fiber parts I laid up.

I want to "clean" the edges. The only way I can think of is with a Dremel or a hand file since the part that needs to be "cleaned" is made in such a way that I cannot saw it.

I plan on wetting the carbon fiber before dremelling or filing it, and doing it outside.


Is this a good idea, or is there a better way?

>>862882
oops, yeah I got that wrong

>>862893
Just use some very fine Sandpaper

>>862639
>>862722
>>862878
Here it is with a fc and pdb mounted on it.

>>862911
more pics

>>862914

>>862911
Cool, im guessing this is goign to be a pure LOS quad then? or would it have enough power to have a little board camera underneath it?

That's a tight fit though. Def post here if you do decide on building this

>>862923
probably going pure LOS. If I can fit a cam and vtx on it I will, and it will have plenty of power for it. So it is only a matter of finding room for it to fit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5xLc6RZZ24

me dicking around in my Twinstar II FPV, camera movement is done with a Headtracker

>>862492
>>862550
If you could stop getting my hobby that has been fine for half a century banned, that'd be nice.

>>863107
The landscape looks German.

>>863107
FPV from a plane looks so cool. What monitor/goggles do you use?

>>863118
It's a good thing I was being facetious.

The guy is asking for impossible goals. 8 hour battery life, cross national borders, carry a heavy payload. Yeah, right.

>>863107
How smooth is the headtracking system?

>>863122
I use the Fatshark Attitude V2 with the trinity Headtracking. FPV from a Plane is alot different then using quads, I think I prefer FPV with planes

>>863119
Thats because it is in Germany

>>863128
The headtracking is really smooth, I like it alot. It really helps with flying turns and between trees.

If I wanted to make something like a walking robot to program and dick around with, what kind of parts should I buy to construct it?
Is one kind of servo better than another?
What kind of microcontrollers should I get? what kind of sensors would be helpful?

>>863124
well even If I couldn't get many hours. I can let it take a break and charge. And marijuana is very light.

>>863368
Just get a spider leg system from ebay and build from that

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xrobotic.TRS0&_nkw=robotics&_sacat=0

>>863368
http://hackaday.com/2014/07/06/project-sentinel-a-bipedal-walking-robot/

Only bipedal robot I've seen, but I only dabble in this stuff.

>>862587
>>862583
Nice warpquad you got there.
What motors are that? Tmotor 1806 something?

>>863657
wait that is not a warpquad. Oops

>>863657
no its a minicp from flyduino ;) but its very similiar, a bit lighter

Im using Tiger MN2206 2000kv

>>861751
>I have a r/c lawnmower,
Hey that's pretty cool! Did you make it from plans or all your design? I can see the interest/benefit but what if it (without a fence) goes outside your property and you lose control? An invisible fence would be cool if it was possible to program the mower to shut off if it trips the fence.

>>863704
Take it to the next level, With FPV ofcourse

one thing you scrubs forgot to mention is range in fpv .. i want 8 mile range not to always go that far but to have it if i need or choose to.. ive seen videos of 40 miles out and back ... how is this achievable?

>>863704
I didn't build it but bought it here:
http://www.evatech.net/
The guy that builds them is very cool. He even added 12vdc taps for my FPV and warning lights.
>>863707
That's just what I want to do, having trouble finding a legal US transmitter that doesn't need a ham license.

>>863747
1 watt transmitters and directional antennas.

Is 30% throttle for hover good?

I'm working on a quad and I calculated that it would hoer at 30% thrust.

>>863767
Yes.

>>863861
Thanks!

>>861194
Don't use blender motors! This could be bad!

When your mom comes home and tries to make her Margarita, she'll kick your ass.

>>863767
Around 50% is good. Lower than that can be bit harder to control.

>>863901
You can make a throttle curve to adjust for too much thrust (expo and move the midpoint to 30%), but you can't make up for too little thrust.

My house and the field by it are almost exactly five miles from the nearest airport. Is it still okay to fly if I'm staying below the treeline?
The local R/C airfield requires a license and model aircraft insurance to fly there. I feel like I'm in the worst place for this hobby. Anyone else in St. Louis?

bump with webm of my collective pitch quad

>>861585
use nylock nuts

>>861707
>http://www.uavforecast.com/
useful

>>862479
I love the way tricopter looks, but there's not enough space for stuff and it's not really crash-proof

>>862623
keyring

What's wrong with blenders?

>>861751
Get some Quanum V2 DIY goggles from hobbyking

>>864124
>3D Quad
>no inverted Flying

best thread on 4chin in decades

>>861585
Get some aluminum nylock nuts.

>>861721
That takes dindu mufins to another level

>>861751
I have been wanting to build something like this and control it with an APM or Pixhawk. It would follow a path using gps waypoints. Imagine the yard art you could produce with it! Something well beyond a cross hatch pattern.

Any planefags here?

I need help deciding on what to try and build/play with, I just got a Taranis and the open as fuck programming of mixes makes me want to experiment with something a little less conventional than what I've been flying up till now.

What sort of thing should I scratch build that's just cool or goofy? I was thinking like, twin wing with differential thrust or a canard glider or something.

>>864026
If you're below the treeline I don't think you'd ever run into issues, partially because anything you can fly below that limit all the time is probably small enough that nobody would care.

>>865300
one day ill gitgud

>>865832
Planefag since '91 here.
I had an idea some time ago. Google "hobbyzone delta ray" and "Kiss ESC". This delta ray thing, equipped with brushless motors and twin-direction Kiss ESCs would be da bomb. If both motors run at full throttle with one reversed, ou could do some mad spins I am quite sure. In germany just the fuselage kit is available for 40€ which is nice since I'd toss the stock electronics anyway.

>>866514
Fun until the KISS ESC catches fire!

>>866516
The KISS fire Problem is more a BF/CF Problem. With multiwii you don't have that problem.

>>866514
Where are you going to buy the frame from? I am in Europe myself, and that doesn't seem to bad.

>>866514
It already Yaws pretty good, that sounds like it might be overkill

Should I pull the trigger on this as my first quadcopter? It seems suspiciously cheap to me... Thanks!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/X525-4-Axis-QuadCopter-Foldbable-Kit-ARF-KK2-15-Flight-Controller-30A-1000KV-/251194632189

>>867201
I'm not sure about the quality of the products, but if you do decide to go for it, don't forget a radio transmitter, batteries, and extra propellers!

>>867201
Depends on what you want. Do you want to carry a gopro or do you want something fast. I would get a different frame no matter what.

>>866519
BF/CF?

>>867820
Baseflight/Cleanflight.

>>866514
I have a FB Stratos I bought at a local shop
It flew four times, after two of those I had to fix shit on it because apparently 1:1 scale glider practice isn't enough to avoid brutal crashes and after the last one I just left it in my attic
But aside from that I found it a great introduction and I think I might pick it up again since /diy/ felt so fucking amazing as to make a new general

>>867836
Fuck, I found the videos of the first (I think) two flights
How do I convert to .webm?

oops,fell into Monterrey bay

>>867845
http://pythonhackers.com/p/WebMBro/WebMConverter

>>867836
>apparently 1:1 scale glider practice isn't enough to avoid brutal crashes
My father once taught me the following: The smaler the plane the less time you have to react.

Built this yesterday, was the absolute cheapest build I could manage, £130 including transmitter, 2x batteries & charger. Liberal use of velcro & zipties so I can move things around.

Didn't really know what to do with the aerial, I couldn't think of any obvious way to mount it sticking up (especially without breaking as soon as I crash it upside down)?

>>868110
Why is the battery mounted in the back, and not the middle of the quad?

>>868121
Mainly to keep the space in front available for a camera & FPV stuff. Is it particularly important to balance the weight if the flight controller will just compensate for it anyway?

>tfw never had RC stuff as a kid
>not sure what to get into now that I'm an adult with money
time to make some fuckin' cars

>>868149

Make small, fast shit with cameras attached for good fun.

>>868144
If you're flying in angle mode it'll just push your back motors harder than your front ones, I think. If you're not planning on racing or anything it's not a big deal. It'll probably still fly smoother if the battery is in the middle though.

>>868232
I'm probably mostly going to be flying like picrelated (which is perfectly balanced), but I guess it wouldn't take much to add another strap/velcro further forward so I can move the battery depending.

Going any faster than a walking pace is probably a while away for me too... First quad & all...

>>868259
that looks fairly

2 cell :^)

>>868144
>Is it particularly important to balance the weight if the flight controller will just compensate for it anyway?
It can compensate for it on the pitch and roll axis, although what >>868232 said happens.

It sometimes can't compensate for it on the yaw axis, which is weaker than the others because it is only controlled by inertia and not thurst.
So for example if you are pitched forward, the battery sticks up. Now, for example, if you do a banked turn by rolling left and yawing left, the battery moves in the same direction as gravity. When you stop the yaw, it might continue doing that because there is not enough yaw authority to stop it. The result is called a "yaw slip", you yaw further than you want to.
If that happens depends on available power, how unbalanced the quad actually is and FC configuration like yaw PIDs or Cleanflight's yaw_jump_prevention_limit setting.

How many of you all who use actual drones or quads with cameras actually have a pilot license? Any use of drones for commercial purposes (any thing that makes money or for a business) requires a licensed pilot at the controls.

>>868333
someone i know is getting theirs, and i really wanna get one too but its expensive

anybody in here own a voodoo?

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9rV57JNzCH4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

VDQ280

https://youtu.be/9rV57JNzCH4

>>868305
Ah, thanks for the detailed explanation, it'll probably help me troubleshoot when I start flying & need to troubleshoot issues.

>>868266
I had no idea what sort of batteries to get, but I only had a few minutes left to order if I wanted the 20% discount (ebay voucher) so I just did a quick Google image search & bought 2x of these that I saw other people using on 250 frames :3

>>867866
Does that completely total everything in the quad?

>>868524
when you get better, try some 1300 40c 3s packs, hobbyking is good for that

>>868333
I thought they banned commercial use for everybody unless you have a permit or something from the FAA?

What level of pilots license do you need? Commercial?

>>868894
Any liscence is permitted. At current you also are supposed to petition for an exception for some regulation untill the actual drone regulations kick in, then your only limited to +2 miles from airfields and outside of no fly zones, with an additional petition being the only requirement for inside of 2 miles from an individual airfield.

>>868916
This link gives the current regulations. https://www.faa.gov/uas/

>>868917
Oh, under Section 333 it says you need a pilot with an airman certificate. Those can't be too hard to get, right?

>>868947
Actually it says a valid state DL is acceptable instead of an airman cert

>>868761
found it while fishing, look like its been down there for a week.

The motors might be able to be cleaned up, no idea how to get salt and calcium out

but at least I have $50 worth of connectors and a CF folding frame

Stop recording fires and emergencies. Sincerely California fire victim.

>>868964
The people doing this are mostly the ones buying ready-to-fly quadcopters with lots of training wheels like GPS assistance. They don't participate in the RC community much unless they have a problem and are mostly ignorant of laws and dangers. You are on /diy/, you probably won't reach them here.

just finished this in 12hrs

hands ache, fingers hurt, head aches but its done

>>869557
Nice. I like the painted shell.

>>869557
Great job anon! She's a bute.

>>868259

hi saku :3

>>861751
>mow your neighbors lawn
>unmanned lawnmower fucker
>no one will ever know who mowed their lawn >:)

Hey /diy/, I got a cheap chink-drone the other day, and I've been having a blast with it.

I want to make my first racing drone and looking around. It seems like you guys like the walkera 250.

How does this compare to the recommended leddit build? (http://www.myrcmart.com/rcx-h250cf3k-fpv-quadcopter-barebone-frame-h1806-motor-12a-esc-5030-kk-21-p-8197.html))

A few days ago either camera or VTX died on my hubsan H107D — and now it's a glorified H107L with all the extra weight of VTX onboard.

As far as I can tell repairing this thing without a spare VTX module is not possible (correct me if I'm wrong), and a spare VTX costs about half the price of a new drone AND there is no way to be sure it will not fry just as quickly.

That being said, I'm ready to buy/build something more repairable and open to modifications.

So, does anyone has any suggestions for a good quad FPV build in the same size (i.e. below 100 grams)?

Again, I'm ok with how H107D flies, so I don't want to go larger/heavier — I just want something more repairable and mod-able.

Hi guys, thinking of building an autogyro/copter, was wondering if there's any fundamental differences between gyro blades and those on helicopter, spare the obvious, different mounting angle?

>>871828
Fugg, forgot pic

Friendly reminder if your rc copter doesn't fly autonomously its not a fucking drone.

Question, I'm seeing on sites motors requiring or asking for specific cell counts.
So long as a cell can supply the needed voltage/amperage for the needed time is this really necessary?

>>871878
>So long as a cell can supply the needed voltage
The cell count *is* the voltage.

A one cell LiPo (only used for small multis like the Cheerson CX10) supplies 3.7V on average (actually 4.2V when full and 3.0V empty). You cannot make this cell supply more more or less voltage.

If you have a motor that needs more voltage, the only thing you can do is put more cells in series. This is then called 2S = 2 in serial. This would be 2*3.7V=7.4V.
Then 3S -> 11.1V, 4S -> 14.8V, etc.

>>867866
ayy 831? Seaside here.

>>861751

You can get reasonable quality wireless video transmitters on amazon for $15 or so. But range is like, 30' and LOS based.

>>871942
A, gotcha, this makes sense.
So people would run these things under voltage commonly.

Bump

Still would appreciate an advice on what to get as a more sturdy, repairable and mod-able analog to H107D >>871611
Preferably at 140mm or less.

In the meantime I decided to have some extra fun with now-non-FPV H107D — so I removed the VTX and camera module (since it's dead anyway) and replaced it with a single extra-bright headlight LED (powered it from stock 4 LED circuits).

https://youtu.be/t5JgnMJzCtQ

I'll just leave this here.

>>872290
Now manned multicopters are drones too?

>>872305
No silly, the pilot kidnapped himself with the drone!
Therefore it's not manned.

>>861326
Quads can be flown by small children. Stability is automatically handled by the gyros and the controller.

If you can handle a helo you're already a pro.

>>862911
>>862914
>>862915
So I have almost everything for it. I am missing the ESCs and the Flight controller. I will probably get it cut next week or the week after that.

>spend the day flying
>manage to get myself to fly in rate mode

holy fuck its fun to FPV rate, flips and rolls are brilliant fun, can't wait to get MORE power, as ive got some cobra 2208's on their way.

Check out my 4s TBS Caipi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDu2r6KndtA

>>873916
That thing is pretty fast. How do you like the wing? It seems quite expensive compared to other models.

don't any of you mouth breather fly slope or DS?

>>874086
I got the Wing for free from a friend who was fed up with it. It was pretty fucked up when I got it. I just threw the spare motor I have for my miniquad on it.

I really start to like it because of its small size and ease of handling but I would not buy it as new. For my taste the standard 2S Setup is way under powerd. I don't know about the 3S Setup because I do not have 3S Batterys and I did not want to invest alot of money in it.

And it is indeed quite speedy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1xdEMclolk

>>871831
Yes it is. Drone is synonymous with UAV All rc aircraft are UAVs/drones.

>>874475
Discussing the definition is useless because the definition is currently changing.

Let's make arguments about which definition is better instead.
Historical argument: Non-autonomous R/C aircraft have been around for far longer (yes, with FPV) than the term drone has been applied to them. Since the capabilities of non-autonomous R/C aircraft didn't change, it is logical that their name doesn't change either.
Usefulness of the definition: Aircraft which are the size of a van and shooting rockets at brown people in the middle east are also called drone. Since capabilities, dangers and use case differ so radically from a 600g aicraft crashing into trees and gates, it is logical that they have a different name.
Political argument: Because drone is associated with the aforementioned military aircraft, it makes it easier to call for more regulation of hobbyists by playing on the public's fears.

Still, I believe that your side will win in the end, as I have fought and lost this battle before, about the term 'hacker'.

>>874561
The definition isn't changing. Most people still use it correctly.

You're historical argument is off. The historical argument would apply it too non autonomous craft only since its been used for them far longer. The term drone as a name for a machine was coined in the 60s because thats what the air force called the rc planes they used for target practice.
Any written definition of it just speficies unmanned or un piloted with no autonomous requirement. The only people who think drones need to be autonomous are some of the newer rc guys who are afraid of the word for some reason.

>>862623
If you're bored and like gimicky "experiments" you could find one with one still good blade, cut off all the other blade and glue on some fishing lead weights until its balanced again to have some single bladed props. Bit less thrust but more efficient.

>>862911
You got a mounting apot for the receiver or does your fc have one built in?

>>874595
>The definition isn't changing.
Then why have hobbyist RC fixed-wing and helicopters never been called drone? Find me any news article that calles them drones from before multicopters became popular.
Or alternatively: Explain how RC planes and helicopters are different from multicopters.

>>868979
That and some of the are being used by news groups.

I signed up for my first race on Saturday, but I have absolutely 0 experience with gates. Any tips?

>>874609
A lot of the time at least amongst themselves and the public.

The news isn't the arbiter of words and meanings. Just because they haven't used it as often doesn't mean no one did.

>>874612
>Any tips? Have fun.
Even most of the runs in the popular tournaments with names like BorisB or Charpu on the roster have at least one pilot crashing. Or one pilot winning because all others crashed.

>>874613
>amongst themselves
This has been not been my experience during the last 15 years in the RC community.
Well then show me forum posts instead of news articles. Or newsgroup posts if you want to go further back.
If you search for "drone" on rcgroups.com with ascending post date for example, you see all the posts in the beginning are the verb "droning on", talking about predators, etc. and the site has "only" been around since 1995.

>The news isn't the arbiter of words and meanings.
Actually I think this is very close to the truth.
-News is a mirror of popular opinion, because a) they need to use words that people understand and b) want lots of viewers/readers.
-Language is 100% subjective. There is no "correct definition" just because it's written down somewhere. This is not about "using it correctly or incorrectly". The majority wins, what they do becomes correct, so the media is a good indicator.
Lots of political groups try to change definitions all the time to frame issues in their favour, see: radical feminists and the word rape. Also see: Constructivism in general.

>>861194
Good thread.

First build here, using Ardupilot APM 2.something, got a handful of parts from a friend and was able to get this sucker in the air recently.

>>874614
Even the "pros" crash lots. If you don't crash you're not trying hard enough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG3bVH65rIw

>>874643
I'm thinking about getting a frame that has 6" ducts for the props to try and minimize damage during crashes.

Does anyone know how a ducted prop will affect efficiency or thrust?

Also, how much does a average frame weigh?
The ducted frame weighs 270g.

>>875050
So now you're gonna break the ducts which are more expensive than a prop.

>>875050
Not only you'll break the ducts, but ducted props are also bad for multirotors, because, due to the Coanda effect, they will make it harder for the drone to tilt - basically, the drone will acquire a tendency to straighten itself out, opposing any tilt in any direction, thus making movement harder.

For a better explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0stl1U9evzU

>>875070
I've thought about that, but the ducts are resin reinforced fiberglass and I don't think I'll be in too many crashes strong enough to break that.

>>875407
I'm aware of that.
I'm just making a nice quad for flying, not racing.
4 ducts means 4 different jetstreams, so the coanda effect won't slow it down too much, will it?

Besides, the frame is only $20 so it's not to big of a loss if I decide I want to migrate to a different frame.

>>874614
>>874643
Thanks for the encouragement, guys! But
>Found out you need an AMA membership to compete
>Their next race is in a different location but also requires an AMA membership to compete

Nope. Oh well!

>>875574
join up -- we're actually at a fairly important period for being in dedicated RC/drone groups -- shit's getting to the point where they're finally having to make laws about them/define how shit will go in the future (once things get set up the first time, they don't change a whole bunch). Don't let others make these decisions yo -- or put a little money behind some people who have your interests in mind.

>>875585
As an Eurofag, I became really jelly of your AMA when I read that they do stuff like this: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/09/13/drone-reports-faa-close-call-near-miss-academy-model-aeronautics-/72064388/
Meanwhile, in my country the largest model aircraft intrest group thinks that "multicopters aren't real models because they're not modeled after existing full scale aicracft" and is outright trying to prevent them from becoming more popular so they don't have to adapt but don't lose their position in the RC community either.

>>875585
I really don't want to pay money to an organization just to compete in a couple of field races. I don't really care about any of the things that the AMA offers except for being a part of my local community, and I don't like the idea of paying to do that. It's cool that they're helping to define laws on hobbyist UAV stuff, though.

I might just start a new chapter and fly in spots that don't require an AMA membership.

tfw close calls

>>875800
did you get blow back from the trees?

Is there enough thrust on these for that to happen?

>>875863
looking at the trees it seems more like a gust of wind

Would it be hard to put LEDs on them and troll everyone at night by making it look like an ayy UFO?

>>875863
>>875879
it was just dumb thumbs

Hello guys!!

I just bought my first quadcopter. A very cheap and basic one because I need it to be a little crash-safe.

However I have some questions regarding the controller.

I am pretty good with flying it already (it has gyro) but I have a hard time controller the rudder. The thing is, left thumbstick is for throttle up/down and to rudder right/left while the right thumbstick is to just control the movement of the copter.

But I have really hard difficulty like ruddering left/right without changing the throttle. Is it just that my controller is cheap or is this difficult on every controller?

It is very hard to keep the throttle at the same level and rotating left/right without slightly adjusting the throttle. It would make more sense to me if the rudder was maybe some extra triggers for your left/right index finger.

Please share your information about this I would appreciate it alot

>>861326
what is that called? night hawk pro?

>>875407
omg I'm printing a duct right now and I was wondering what shape to make the lip, I saw your video just in time.

>>875407
I 3D printed a duct and the most I'd chance the gap was 3 mm. Is this not small enough?

>>876792
bump

>>876792
yes. the turnigy 9x has little steps on the throttle so it will sort of lock in place every milimeter or so.

>>877126
turnigy 9x

Thank you, it looks like a nice remote controller. Could I use it for cars too? I might want to get one in the future and as it is 60bucks or so I wanna use it for more than just drones.

Thanks

>>877172
Yes

>>861751
http://www.banggood.com/Syma-X5C-1-X5SC-X5SW-5_8G-FPV-720P-Camera-with-Monitor-Real-Time-Transmission-p-980090.html
This is an entirely self-contained module with over 100m of range.

>>875887
No. You'll want a remote switch for the leds and return home autonmous function though otherwise someone will just follow it back to you when you land it.

I don't have much experience with DIY, is there any chance I could build a quad? Any good baby's first guides?
>Can solder but don't know much else

>>877890
I built my own without any diy experience, either. It was also my first time soldering. There's a good number of guides on Youtube for everything you need.

FAA aircraft identification chart for pilots

>>877890
Can you assemble a kit? Yes.
Can you scratchbuild with a PIC/AVR/Propeller and a 6DOF IMU chip? Probably not.

>>861194
>is fucking sick of seeing 100 rc threads
>trashes others for asking for help
>...
>makes a thread begging for plans

>>861194
stupid noob question:
why just two blades? Are'nt 3 blades much more effecient?

I recently bought one of these monsters and I'm planning on gutting it and making it remote controlled through modern tech so it's less loud and hopefully make it hook up with my computer. Are there any good DIY robot kits I could start with? I already have a bit of experience with circuitry creation and wiring motors but I've never dealt with RC or AI as a means of controlling anything.

>>878928
3 blades offer a higher idle thrust and slightly higher maximum thrust, but is actually less efficient.

Essentially, efficiency goes down the more blades you have per prop.

Now, the biggest advantages 3 blades have is that they're quieter, slightly more stable, and have more punch.

Their drawback is less flight time due to eating up your battery's power quicker.

>>878930
This would be one case where a Arduino, Propeller, or RasPi would be your best bet.

What you're doing will be highly customized, so you'll most likely have to program most of it yourself.

A Propeller or Arduino would be best if you want it mostly RC with limited autonomous functions, or a RasPi if you want it to be more AI controlled and accessible from a computer/internet.

I can't tell you too much more right now, but best of luck on your project!

>>861607
3D quad can be done easily with reversible ESCs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDlBTZwxATg

Why does everyone build quads for aerial photography/sikk nasty tricks? Surely, fixed-wings would be more efficient for flying by properties to take photos and much more impressive to watch.

>>874561
>hacker
the problem with this is that literally no one still calls themselves or anyone else a hacker. Except for maybe the errant hipster with an arduino fancying themselves a cybersteampunk techpriest revolutionary because they attached it to something in their car and didn't immediately get arrested by meter maids for hooking their pop-up lights to a light sensor instead of a button on the dash.

>>879467
This is why I said 'lost the battle'.
It's a bit more widespread than you think though, see for example the Hacker News or Slashdot communities, and a large part of the FOSS crowd in general still uses the term with the original meaning.

>>879461
Fixed wings can't stay still above the object you're trying to capture. The pictures taken while moving will also be more blurry because R/C sized ones always have a bit of yaw sway for example.
Even before multicopters, rotorcraft were used for aerial imagery, see for example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifKyI2-_U_8
A fixed wing is very useful if the runtime is more important than quality, for example if you want to catalogue the state of a forest but the individuall tree doesn't matter.

>>879013
I just bought a cheapo hobbyking 250 kit that includes 3 blade props. Is there anything specific I need to know to switch to using 2 blade props?


Also, does anyone know anything about how to start flying fpv? Is there anything specific I should be able to do, as far as flying skills go, before converting to fpv?

>>879539
You don't need to do anything to change the props. Just swap 'em.

I'm afraid I don't have any advice for fpv though.

>>879539
>Is there anything specific I should be able to do, as far as flying skills go, before converting to fpv?
I think a good minimum is:
* Flying in angle or horizon mode, even the gyro/acc-only FCs have that
* Being able to find out what direction the craft is currently facing if it is far away
so you can fly it back safely if you need to switch back to LOS (and haven't crashed yet).

Basically you give roll left/right input and see where it goes. If you can't see any change it's turned 90° or 270°, so rotate it a bit and check again if roll left now matches left, repeat.

>>879539
To be honest, I jumped into FPV pretty quick and I'm doing okay right now. I've only flown in acro mode. Once I was able to hover reasonably I started going forwards and then backwards, then left/right (Without applying yaw, quad staying in front of me). After that I started doing FPV. My vtx broke a while ago so I messed around with LOS stuff while waiting for a new one to come in and now I'm able to catch myself into a hover from pretty much whatever as long as the quad is facing the same direction I am. I also did my first LOS roll the other day when my goggles battery died. If it's facing any direction other than the one I'm facing though I'm pretty much fucked.

Does anyone know if KISS ESCs require BECs? From what I've found online it seems like they're optional but I haven't really found a direct answer. Specifically the 18A ones.

>>879619
They have a own power supply for their own PCB, they just don't provide 5V for anything else. This is what they mean with "no BEC".
So you would need a seperate 5V power supply if you wanted to power a Naze32 for example.

>>879727
Oh, huh. How would one go about powering their Naze then?

Also, what do you mean when you say they have their own power supply? You still plug them into your power distribution board/harness, right? Thanks!

>>879815
>You still plug them into your power distribution board/harness, right?
Yes.
ESCs are little computers, they have their own CPU, which needs 3.3V or 5V power, not battery voltage. But they supply it with the correct voltage on their own, even if they don't supply 5V to anything else.

>Oh, huh. How would one go about powering their Naze then?
With this for example: https://www.pololu.com/product/2107
Many RC shops carry this brand, e.g. GetFPV: http://www.getfpv.com/5v-step-down-voltage-regulator.html
ImmersionRC video transmitters also supply 5V.

Some FCs can down-convert power themselfs, for example the RMRC Seriously Dodo.

By the way, if you have ESCs without a BEC you need to look at what voltage your receiver needs and think about how to power that too.

i'm thinking about getting a tricopter as my first r/c flying anything ever

but i'll probably stick to a kit of some kind and use a turnigy rx9 pro + frsky module just to keep things non-complicated

how are tricopters for beginners? they seem like they'd be a big easier to fly since they make slow graceful movements

>>879969
No problems with learning to fly on them, however their third motor is mounted to a servo for yawing. Servos like to break in crashes.
Slow of fast movements is more of a configuration thing. Most flight controllers and transmitters allow you to tweak rates (how many degrees per second the copter turns along an axis when you move the stick) exponentially or linearly. This feature is often called curves.
Tricopters are more often used for filming than for acrobating flying, which is why their pilots use these settings to make them move slowly, for smooth camera pans.
The only limitation is that a heavier copter can't make very fast movements because more mass needs to be moved. But light copters can make slow movements.

>>879928
Ok, thanks! So do I need one of these step down regulators for each of the 5v devices I plan to power or just one? If I only need one, would I be able to get an immersionRC vtx, make a wire harness, and power my fpv camera, FC, and receiver with that? I'm not good at electricity yet.

>>880264
Nevermind, I can just use one going into the flight controller and then power the receiver through the flight controller. Thanks!

>>863401
>marijuana is light
A kilo of weed weighs the same as a kilo of uranium, though.

So I am in the market for a racing style quadcopter. I live on a farm, I bought a $200 one from a store last christmas and it died a quick death when my dog got to it before me.

So I have a good bit of experience with flying an X shaped quad. I want a 250 H shaped Quad. Should I get a rtf fpv one or build my own? I have never done it before but I know I am more than competant enough to do it.

I was going to do the fpv racing quad that flight test made. Is this a solid decision or what should I do? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

>>880576
I'd say you should build your own. Not only will building it yourself make it easier to make repairs but it leaves room for easy upgrades.

I'd like to build a RC drone with the capabilities of the "Syma X5C-1" (or better) for as cheap as possible. Does any know a good site with kits for sale or maybe a list of parts or something?

>>880640
That might be a bit difficult. Usually people build their own stuff to get top performance, rather than lower end stuff. The Syma X5C-1 is about $40 online. Even if you were buying ESCs and Motors alone you'd have to spend $5 for each to get that price, which would be difficult, and you'd be missing a camera, flight controller, receiver, battery,props, and frame. Your best bet is probably just to buy one if you're looking for something cheap.

>>868958

I'm not 100% sure this will work for you but worth a try, try cleaning it with distilled water it'll de solve the minerals and distilled water isn't conductive. I've used it to clean other electronics and it's worked if the electronics aren't already shorted. but not tried on a drone just here considering building a drone.

>>872290
What a supreme waste of time and money.

>>874475
UAV stands for unmanned aerial vehicle. It literally says 'unmanned'. If your supplying control in any way, then it is not unmanned.

>>880814
I don't think that's true. "unmanned" doesn't mean nobody is supplying control, it means nobody is physically in the vehicle. RC vehicles are "unmanned" as long as nobody is in them.

I'm not going to make any arguments about what is or isn't a "Drone". I don't know about all that.

If I run an esc with more cells than its rated for (under max rated wattage) will it explode or something?

>>880864
Yes.
The limit on circuits like these is usually the power filtering capacitors. If you over volt a capacitor it explodes.

>>880876
really? fuck that sucks

do you know of any good 8s escs that dont cost a fortune?

>>862492
Its not getting to tokyo in 8 hours

>>880885
not really. because they need to increase the amp rating accordingly for the higher voltage cells. the only reason to use such a massive battery is because you're also scaling up the RC vehicle to be much larger.

this is only rated for 20A and it's <30$
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__42549__Afro_HV_20A_MultiRotor_ESC_High_Voltage_3_8s.html

there are many differences, all the components get more expensive and there needs to be heat disipation if you go above this. ~30V at 20A is still about 600W continuous power which is almost an entire horsepower. you plan to pull your RC car with the power of a horse?

Beginner here trying to build a mini-quadcopter. Any recommendations for a cheap RC transmitter?

>>880905
Not a car

But yeah something pretty close to 1400w

>>881233
So almost 2hp

>>861194
I used an arduino to drive my ESCs and it worked very well.
The motors were not food blenders tho, obviously.

My drone before the GPS upgrade
>>861699
>>862327

Now im running the APM 2.7 With loads of sensors, compasses and telemetry.

I have to say this is by far the most stable drone (Yes its a drone it can fly autonomously) iv ever flown, And i tried out the Inspire on Monday...

Video of it hovering in Loiter mode
https://youtu.be/U9TdgwW8Q1Y

>>880924
If you're doing a straight DIY build with your own electronics, you can scrap a $10 RC car and either use the existing channels and transmitter or scrap both and use the channels to bitbang data over the air in binary.

can you use a 3rd party radio to control an Inspire?

>>881823
No. They have their own way of communicating.

>>881869
Argh. I wish there were another turnkey that let me use interchangeable lenses in m4/3...

>>880819
I'd say shit like programmable flight plans and return to home features are what make something a drone versus an rc aircraft...like can you put down the controls and it take care of itself.

But I have no real knowledge about such things.

>>879461
I've seen a tilt rotar design that's a quad for vtol/hovering/slow movements but can go fixed wing too to save energy getting to station and when faster forward speed is needed.

>>881875
http://www.krossblade.com/#skyprowler-section

What is the longest distance you guys went with fpv?

I did 7km on 5.8GHz Video and 2.4GHz Radio

>>881873
That extra stuff juat means you have an autonomous drone instead of just a drone.
The early drones we originally get the term from were literally just RC planes.

>>882131
I'm pretty sure that even the earliest "drones" had some level of automation. Otherwise the word doesn't really make sense.

So I got myself a 180qx after screwing around with a nano for a while.

Is it normal to find acro mode more easy to handle than the self-correcting modes? Like when I do crash, it's a harder crash, but I can actually keep the thing in a good hover, move it about in any orientation, and I crash far less often...

I want to build one, I need to know what parts I absolutely need.

Obviously motors, what do I look for in buying or finding these? Like I can get broken power tools pretty easily, would those motors be suitable? I've seen some people talk about servo motors.

And motor controllers?

A flight controller(need help on picking this one)

Does the flight controller then need a separate unit to transfer radio signals so I can control it from the ground? If so, what should I get for that?

Frame and propellers(I believe 2 normal and 2 reverse?)

Batteries, I would assume lightest with most mahs for what I'm willing to spend.


I'm no stranger to soldering, I've been doing auto electrical for like 8 years, been working on guitar effects and other small things for a little bit longer. Once I figure out how something works I can figure it out, I just don't know where to get started.

I've found a lot of instructables, including buy lists, but that takes the fun out of it for me.

I don't want to spend a lot, 1 I'll hardly have time for it, 2 I'm buying a house in about 2 months that needs a bathroom remodel so I have to bank cash for that.

Any advice you can give to a noob I'd appreciate.

>>882344
I didn't realize this was the rc general, I want to build a quadcopter

>>882344
If you don't have a lot of time, I'd honestly just point you to something like a $30 nano to screw around with, then when you've more time to devote, build your own.

>>882203
Nope. Just an rc plane the air force used as target practice in the 60s.

Autonomous functions for drones are a relatively recent development.

>>882344
Standard rc aircraft parts do everything you'll want. Small brushless out runners are good cheap motors. You can get cheap ones for like 7 bucks each that will suit a small 200-300mm quad. The manufacturers details will tell you what props you can use. Generally 5-6 inches though.

You'll need a separate reciever to pass the radio signals too the flight controller. Standard hobby aircradt transmitters and recievers will do. You need at least 4 channels. Normal rc lithium polymer batters are what you want. At the 200-300 size you'll want too look at 2s or 3s (2 or 3 cells) of 1000-2000 mah capacity m.

Realistically you'll need at least $250 to build your own.

If you want to spend much less you're better sticking too the cheaper "toy" quads.

>>879969
dont, im in the boat as you, im now going to buy an extra motor and esc and find a quad frame.

>>882423
Drones have had automation since the 50's. Please git gud at history.

>>882369
The thing is spare time for me is unpredictable. Between work, odd jobs, and what social life I manage to maintain in spite of the first 2 I rarely have a free day, but then sometimes I end up having days to myself. I like to get the stuff for these kind of projects to knock out during those days because not working on something drives me nuts.

>>882428
It's not more money than I can spend, but more than I may be willing to right now. At the same time I haven't done any "irresponsible" spending in about 8 months, and I think it's something I'll enjoy. I've wanted an rc plane for over 20 years, and even if I don't enjoy it, I think it'll make an awesome Christmas gift for my cousin who's getting to his late teens. So you think $250 for a decent set up? At this point I start thinking of it as an investment, say I wanted to dump an extra $100 into it, what part should get that cash? I would assume motors or flight controller. I've been looking at hobbyking, are there any better sites? Or are some sites better for some parts? I'm in USA, detroit to be specific.

>>882810
Hobbyking is good. Some of their really cheap stuff is cheap for a reason. But it's still fine as long as you're not ubusing it or expecting amazing performance.

Getting started for $100 is feasible if you're happy to start with planes and get into quadcopters down the track. The turnigy tgy i6 transmitter is a good 6 channels system that comes with a reciever for $50 (from hobby king) after that you can get a basic motor (and props, get multiple cheap ones. Props are probably the most frequently broken thing and are generally considered a consumable) an esc and some cheap 9gram servos, plus a few lipo packs (batteries) and a charger and you'll be fine too start flying.

Flitetest.com has a bunch of free plans for foamboard planes and have a lot of good info for beginners there and on their youtube channel.

Guys, what the fuck happened here?

Context:
Wanted to build a 7s battery pack, so got a shitload of single cells and a 8cell charger (eco8, guessing the charger shit the bed, don't buy that shit)
Before building the pack i figure out testing the cells might be a good idea, as some dude has received faulty ones.
So i wire up the cells 2 at a time to both my chargers; an old eco6 and a new eco8.
The eco6 gives me a pristine 4.20 pack, the eco8 poops out this 4.44 monstrosity on the first try.
As insult to injury the bloody thing refuses to discharge them, stating OVERVOLTAGE!
and yes, the charger was just running the regular lipo program, multimeter is fine, both cells measure the same.

And here's the strangest thing; these two lipos don't seem to mind at all, both are flat as a pancake and cool to the touch.

Hey

>>882734
what's so bad about tri's?

>>882895
flite test planes are universally good stuff.

i really want to make their mini guinea at some point, fuckin love twinprop cargo platforms

>>861194
I'm hooking up a greenseeker reader on a quadcopter because my old man can't really walk around anymore and I got a full time job and I can't help him as much as I'd like to with his crops.

I am planning on using this brushless rotor
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__18225__Turnigy_D3530_14_1100KV_Brushless_Outrunner_Motor.html

and I have no idea of what prop/battery size is the adequate one to keep it hovering for at least 30 minutes or cover at least 1 acre of land...

I have access to a CNC and can machine the frame outta wood or plastic, and the trigger mechanism (planning on using a servo to trigger it and somehow rig it into the kk2 chip to activate the sensor) but other than that, I'm clueless about what I need to do

Thanks for any advice guys!
Pic related: The frame I'm planning to use. (after a few modifications, I don't like the looks of the landing struts)

>>883183
For motors usually the props you can use will be given in the specs. Googling the motors name and slecs with test data or prop test or something will get you more specifics. Doing that I found detailed data with an 11x4.5 prop.
http://owenduffy.net/rc/aircraft/X450-01/index.htm
Max thrust is 1100g per motor, generally with these you want at least a 2:1 thrust too weight ratio to guve you plenty of leeway for manouvering. So with this motors you're looking at an all up weight limit of 2200g for it payload included.
Flight time we can only estimate and long flight times like 30 minutes can be difficult. A slow gentle cruise isn't probably going to use much more power than hovering.

At a hover each motor will be using about 65w which at the 11v of the batteries (3 cell lipos where used in the test data so we'll work woth that) so that means 6 amps, 24A total. If we want too fly at that power for 40 minutes (leaving some room for error) we need 16 Ah of battery which is a lot, about 1300g or so. Plus the 500g of motors and electronics won't leave you much weight capacity for the frame and the reader.


It may be feasible too look at a slow flying plane or maybe a tethered quad that trails a cable too so it doesn't have too lift its power source. Depending on how much range you need.

>>880388
>tfw anon wants to build this(probably $1500 in batteries and charging hardware) quadcopter to sell dimebags
>tfw you get the clever pot head who instead of reaching for the bag just disconnects the battery and takes the weed and copter home

Also, you may be able to set it down to charge somewhere, but not in the Pacific ocean

>>861194
>im fucking sick of all these faggots making 100 threads about how they want to make a quadcopter out of fucking food blender motors and an arduino.

sorry guys i had no idea

anyway, can someone help me out with my question?

>>884020
Yes you can. There are arduino based flight controllers on the market.

More specifically rc gear uses pulse width modulation at about 40hz, pulse lengths from 1ms too 2ms is your two ends of movement/throttel at 3-5 volts. If you can output that you can control rc servos/escs.

just buy a 20 dollar X11 drone, and start practicing before u dip 500 dollars in this hobby and wreck it maiden flight.

And buy normal parts instead of arduinoing, you can make one with it but good luck keeping it steady, and configuring it with the motors rotors etc.

You can have a decent Kit for 150 bucks without lipos and controller.

And the most money goes in to the ESC (building it is more expensive) and the motors anyway.

So do the math and start this great hobby with a syma x11.

>>884020
>>884068
so far all I've been able to do is get the arming light to blink on an off by setting the angle to 90 and 180.

I'm sure different brands are calibrated differently but I've tried multiple angles and I can't do anything but arm this thing.

>>885714
Go talk to the guys at helifreak.com.

There's a lot of guys there who know their shit.

Youre a faggot. faggot

cock

>>883567
well you can just drop the bag from ~5-10m hight

Just fucking spent half my savings on a quad, I have no previous soldering experience or any RC experience in general. I just wanna up my knowledge in drones since I am studying control theory. Was this a mistake?

>>886914
Which one did you get?

Personally I would have started with one of those cheap tiny indoors ones too start learning too fly with. As for learning to solder, it's not hard just get a bunch of components or even bits of wire and practice soldering them together. A general noob tip is less is more you don't usually need much solder for a joint.

>>887030
Zmr250
Yeah, I will practice soldering through youtube tutorials. My main goal so far is to optimize/change the controls. Sort of make it control like in a videogame, very noob friendly, but I wonder if thats even possible.

>>887258
If you put enough work into understanding it you can definitely make it happen. Good luck man!

Is it possible to start with fpv stuff, and rig it up to where you can get transmissions from a weather balloon?

>>887461
Yeah sure. You'll want too look at higher power long range systems and directional antennas so you can keep signal even when it gets really high.

I've never made a drone before but I have a lot of electrical and programming experience. I want to build a drone for aerial photography, what's a good starter build?

>>887945
For ariel photography you'll want too go on the bigger side. The rcexplorer.se tricopter is a good low budget large multicopter. If you need to lift even more or want redundancy you can easily make it into a Y6 hexcopter.

Personally I'd suggest starting off with something small and cheap too learn too fly with before investing in an AP setup. If you can't fly you'll just crash and break all your expensive equipment.

>>887945
If you live in the us, and plan on making YouTube videos or selling photos, you better have a pilot license. Faa regulations Say that until the new regulations go through, only pilots can fly uavs for a business.

>>864026
STLFag here.

I'm one of the managers at a local hobby shop. Been bringing in more and more DIY quad and multi stuff for locals.

FAA meeting at Creve Coeur Airport says you're supposed to phone in to airport control towers every time you fly. Almost all of StL is covered by a 5 mile radius of some airport, with Lambert, CC, Smart, Spirits, etc.

I've never called, and I've never cared. 4.3 miles out from Lambert.

You either have already or probably will run into me at the hobby shop. Hoping we can swing as many of you towards buying locally as possible.

>>887981
That feel when there is a airfield within eyesight of my front door (literly 2 miles to the end of the runway) and I have planes flying over my house during the day. I'd NEVER get away with not following the regulations.

Serious question:

How could I make money with a quadcopter? I've heard real estate photography is pretty good, but I don't have a car (though I do have a bike and legs) so it would be a bit difficult.

>>888316
That's pretty much it.


The racing scene is still emerging and is still a hobby thing.


Besides that in a lot of countries you need extra (and expensive) licensing to make money off drones. So check that too.

>tfw qt neighbor reports your quadcopter to the police

>>888486
Well if you're going to do stupid shit what do you expect. A camera taped too a stick would be far more effective for stuff like that. Easier too to hide too.