The other simple task that we can do on the ground is to range test the transmitter. You can do this by yourself, but it will help if you have a friend or neighbor to help you out. This is a no propeller test - so REMOVE the propellers before continuing, otherwise you might destroy your quad and injure your assistant!
Range testing is a simple procedure - find yourself a good clear area where you have a long line of sight. Do a normal start-up procedure, first powering up the transmitter, then powering up the craft, and arming the transmitter/receiver.
Stand a few feet away and increase the throttle - the motors should start spinning. Now turn them off. Now continue turning the motors on and off while walking away. As long as you can turn them on and off you are in range. You'll want to make sure that you can get at least 100 feet or more away, and it can be difficult to see if the motors are still responding at this distance, which is why you'll want to enlist the help of a friend to give you a thumbs up if it is responding.
I walked about 300-400 feet, alternating the motors on and off and still had good response on the motors before I lost my line of sight. At 400 feet the quadcopter looks tiny, so I can't see doing much recreational flying with it much farther away than that for the time being.
If you lose your signal before you are able to get a hundred feet away you should check to make sure that your antenna wire isn't wrapped around any other wires. If it's not, make sure that the batteries in your transmitter are fresh. Assuming that's not the problem you'll need to "bind" your transmitter.
To do this, plug in the binding cable (last slot on the receiver), power up the quad with the transmitter off. Next you'll press and hold the "bind/range test" button the back of the transmitter, and while still holding it turn the transmitter on. The light on the receiver should stop flashing. Let go of the button, and unplug the bind ring. To save the binding you'll need to then unplug the battery from the quad and then turn off the transmitter. Now your receiver and transmitter are bound.
Repeat the test and see how far you can get - hopefully you'll get full range this time.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
ESC Throttle Calibration
Two of the remaining tasks that are left can be easily done on the ground and are relatively quick and simple to perform. These are ESC throttle calibration and range testing the transmitter. In this post I'll go over ESC calibration. Make sure to REMOVE the propellers before doing this!
ESC Throttle Calibration
Calibrating the throttle is simple enough - all you'll need to do is the following:
ESC Throttle Calibration
Calibrating the throttle is simple enough - all you'll need to do is the following:
- Turn on the transmitter and power up the control board - do not arm the receiver!
- Move the throttle all the way up, and wait a few seconds. You should hear the ESCs beep.
- After a few more seconds move the throttle to minimum. You'll hear another beep.
- That's all!
- Unplug the battery and turn off the transmitter.
- Turn on transmitter and select correct model
- Plug in the battery
- Arm the receiver by moving both sticks down and to the right.
- Move the throttle stick up - by the time it is a quarter of the way up all four motors should be spinning
Getting Dangerously Close
So at this point we have done the following:
- Assembled the frame
- Mounted the motors and ESCs
- Connected the power distribution board
- Reassembled frame with electronics installed
- Programmed KapteinKuk v4.7 X-copter onto control board
- Connected ESCs to control board
- Connected control board to receiver
- Hooked up the battery to ensure all is getting power
- Programmed the transmitter and tested receiver functions
- Done some preliminary testing without blades
- Install a bar on the top to protect the control board in case of crash
- Calibrate the throttle range on the ESCs
- Range test the transmitter
- Mount the props
- Fly it!
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Programming the Turnigy 9x
The next step is to program up the Turnigy 9x transmitter so you can fly it without it being too unstable. I had to do a lot of looking around on the internet to find the proper set-up, and there are a few different configurations that I am going to try... I'm not sure which one will work best and I have seen people advocating both of them. You can hold several different setups in the memory, so I put these in slots #1 and #2.
You'll need to read the manual to learn how to navigate through the menus and to set the buttons, but here are the setups that I went with:
Setup #1
Model Name: Quad-H
Model Type: Heli
Type Select: Heli-2
Modulation: PPM
Stick Setup: Mode 2
Then in function settings you'll go with the following:
Reverses: Aileron = Normal; Elevator = Reverse; Throttle = Reverse; Rudder = Normal
Throttle Curve = Linear 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%
End Points = Aileron = 50%, Elevator = 50%, Throttle = 100%, Rudder = 100%
Throttle Hold = -30%
Setup #1
Model Name: Quad-P
Model Type: Acrobat
Type Select: NA
Modulation: PPM
Stick Setup: Mode 2
Then in function settings you'll go with the following:
Reverses: Aileron = Normal; Elevator = Reverse; Throttle = Reverse; Rudder = Normal
Throttle Curve = Linear 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%
End Points = Aileron = 50%, Elevator = 50%, Throttle = 100%, Rudder = 100%
Throttle Hold = -30%
I'm going to test both of them out and see what works the best.
You'll need to read the manual to learn how to navigate through the menus and to set the buttons, but here are the setups that I went with:
Setup #1
Model Name: Quad-H
Model Type: Heli
Type Select: Heli-2
Modulation: PPM
Stick Setup: Mode 2
Then in function settings you'll go with the following:
Reverses: Aileron = Normal; Elevator = Reverse; Throttle = Reverse; Rudder = Normal
Throttle Curve = Linear 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%
End Points = Aileron = 50%, Elevator = 50%, Throttle = 100%, Rudder = 100%
Throttle Hold = -30%
Setup #1
Model Name: Quad-P
Model Type: Acrobat
Type Select: NA
Modulation: PPM
Stick Setup: Mode 2
Then in function settings you'll go with the following:
Reverses: Aileron = Normal; Elevator = Reverse; Throttle = Reverse; Rudder = Normal
Throttle Curve = Linear 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%
End Points = Aileron = 50%, Elevator = 50%, Throttle = 100%, Rudder = 100%
Throttle Hold = -30%
I'm going to test both of them out and see what works the best.
Electronics Hookup and Frame Reassembly
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| Assembled Quadcopter Top View. |
Brown cables go to the outside on the control board and to the bottom on the receiver. Aileron is Channel 1, Elevator is Channel 2, Throttle is Channel 3, and Rudder is Channel 4.
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| Assembled Quadcopter Side View. |
Putting it all back together is a little tricky as you'll need more hands than you have. I loosely screwed on each arm, and then used the second bolt to hold it all on.
What I did was the following:
Power Control Board is between the two plates on the frame and is held on upside down on the top plate by foam sticky tape. The Receiver is held on by foam tape on top of the upper plate. You then will put the control board on top of the whole thing.
Once you are done and everything is connected up it will look like this:
The frame is a tight fit for everything, and I'm already thinking about getting one that has a bit more room - over even better, building one from scratch so I can properly seat everything, screw it all down, etc. However, that will be a ways in the future - first I'm going to get this one flying!
The battery mount is done by the velcro strap was provided with the frame - you'll need to run it through the frame and then use it to hold the battery in tight. This seems a little unstable, but it also seems to be common practice.
Hobby King Control Board Programming
Last time I left you all with the motors and ESCs mounted... that leaves a lot to do. The first thing you'll need to do is decide what configuration you'll want to fly your quadcopter with. I decided to go with the classic X-quad configuration, which is shown here:
The X-quadcopter configuration seems to be more popular and is the I decided to go with. There are many different firmware versions that you can load up on your control board, but I decided to go with the X-quadcopter configuration v4.7 by KapteinKuk, which you can get from Hobby King under the link to the control board on the files tab (files seem to only be linked under the international warehouse, but you can still get them). Once you get that file you'll need to download Atmel Studio version 6.0 and upload all of the settings that are listed in the manual - it takes a while, but it's easy enough. Remember, you'll need the USB programming card to do this - this can also be purchased at Hobby King.
Once you upload the firmware you'll be ready to hook up all the electronics and assemble the frame, which I'm covering in the next post.
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| Two classic quadcopter configurations. |
The X-quadcopter configuration seems to be more popular and is the I decided to go with. There are many different firmware versions that you can load up on your control board, but I decided to go with the X-quadcopter configuration v4.7 by KapteinKuk, which you can get from Hobby King under the link to the control board on the files tab (files seem to only be linked under the international warehouse, but you can still get them). Once you get that file you'll need to download Atmel Studio version 6.0 and upload all of the settings that are listed in the manual - it takes a while, but it's easy enough. Remember, you'll need the USB programming card to do this - this can also be purchased at Hobby King.
Once you upload the firmware you'll be ready to hook up all the electronics and assemble the frame, which I'm covering in the next post.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Transmitter to Camera Setup
This week I got all of the components to run the FPV system... unfortunately I'm having a little trouble figuring out what is going on. Although everything appears to be correct, when I hook up the receiver I'm not getting a signal. I'll update this once I figure it out.
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| Transmitter, Camera, and Battery system from ReadyMadeRC.com |
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Motor and ESC Mounting
To make all the connections you'll eventually need to take the frame apart, so you might as well do it now because it will make mounting the motors and ESC easier.
Mounting the motors is easy - all you have to do is use the motor mount (you have to use it to make sure included mount plate so it can spin freely) and then screw it to the frame Then you run the wires out through the arm of the frame.
The ESC is something that you'll have to attach via alternative means. I chose to mount it on the top of the arms, using a quick strap and some electrical tape. The ESC needs some airflow so you don't want to tape the hole thing down. Many people use velcro, but when I tried it seemed a bit flimsy. Hence the cinch strap and a bit of tape.
As you can see from the top the ESC is about the same width as the quads arm so it looks nice and clean from the top except for a few wires off to the side.
From the side view you can see that the wires are a little longer than needed, so you'll have to thread them through the bottom of the arm and then to the ESC. You'll run the input wires from the ESC through the end of the arms.
From here we'll have to connect the newly soldered on ESC inputs to the power distribution bard and then we'll assemble the frame again.The control connector will then be plugged into the control board.
We will also need to consider programming the ESC, but this requires powering the system up, and we'll need some connection adapters because the battery came with HXT connections which stupidly don't connect up with the XT60 connectors on the power distribution board.
Another order has been placed, and I'll update this once I get that shipment in. I'm also still waiting on the male to male servo connectors.
Mounting the motors is easy - all you have to do is use the motor mount (you have to use it to make sure included mount plate so it can spin freely) and then screw it to the frame Then you run the wires out through the arm of the frame.
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| Top view of mounted motor and ESC. |
As you can see from the top the ESC is about the same width as the quads arm so it looks nice and clean from the top except for a few wires off to the side.
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| Side view of mounted motor and ESC. |
From here we'll have to connect the newly soldered on ESC inputs to the power distribution bard and then we'll assemble the frame again.The control connector will then be plugged into the control board.
We will also need to consider programming the ESC, but this requires powering the system up, and we'll need some connection adapters because the battery came with HXT connections which stupidly don't connect up with the XT60 connectors on the power distribution board.
Another order has been placed, and I'll update this once I get that shipment in. I'm also still waiting on the male to male servo connectors.
Parts Arrival
The parts arrived today (yesterday actually), and it was a mixture of fun and a bit of disappointment. It was fun because I got to start doing some assembly, but disappointing because not everything was as advertised.
First, the motors aren't a perfect fit for the frame - you'll only be able to screw in two of the screws, but they are long enough that they should hold the motors on without problems.
As you can see from the photos the motor has 3 wires coming from it that are yellow (ground), black (negative), and red (positive). As long as you get the ground right, it doesn't matter if you switch red and black when plugging into the ESC - it will only affect the direction the motor turns.
The connections are with 3.5mm bullet connectors, which will plug snugly into the matching bullet connectors on the ESC.
The ESC, which I was led to believe would bullet connectors on both ends only has bullet connectors on the output side that you'll connect the motor to. There are three of them labelled A-B-C. A is the ground and the other two are the power outputs. How you connect the other two will affect the spin direction of the motor.
This is important, because you'll want to have two motors spinning clockwise and two counter clockwise. When connecting the ESC to the motors connect two of them with B to black and two with B to red - then put the two wired the same on opposite sides of the quad.
Because the ESC doesn't have a connector on the input side we'll have to do some wiring to connect it to the power distribution board which has 3.5mm female bullet connectors. You will need to solder on the male connectors and then put some heat shrink wrap over them. I hadn't soldered in years, but it eventually came back to me. The inputs will then fit snugly into the PDB - make sure that you put the positive to positive (red to red) and negative to negative (black to black) when connecting it.
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| Turnigy 1000kv brushless motor. |
As you can see from the photos the motor has 3 wires coming from it that are yellow (ground), black (negative), and red (positive). As long as you get the ground right, it doesn't matter if you switch red and black when plugging into the ESC - it will only affect the direction the motor turns.
The connections are with 3.5mm bullet connectors, which will plug snugly into the matching bullet connectors on the ESC.
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| Turnigy Trust 45A ESC |
This is important, because you'll want to have two motors spinning clockwise and two counter clockwise. When connecting the ESC to the motors connect two of them with B to black and two with B to red - then put the two wired the same on opposite sides of the quad.
Because the ESC doesn't have a connector on the input side we'll have to do some wiring to connect it to the power distribution board which has 3.5mm female bullet connectors. You will need to solder on the male connectors and then put some heat shrink wrap over them. I hadn't soldered in years, but it eventually came back to me. The inputs will then fit snugly into the PDB - make sure that you put the positive to positive (red to red) and negative to negative (black to black) when connecting it.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
FPV Cables & Power System
I got my recommendations for the connectors and power system that I need for the FPV system and placed my order last night. The FPV Parts List page is updated with links to the products. The default connectors that you get are for CCD systems so you'll want to get some specialized cables that are smaller, fit for purpose, and with more common connector ends.
There are four cables that you need:
Camera Cable (4 wire for cameras with audio) since I bought the RMRC-420 NTSC camera
Audio Jumper and Video Jumper cables
Transmitter Cable (Mini) which is good for the 300mW strength system
The battery system is a bit more flexible, and the battery recommended to me was the 1100mAh 3S 35C LiPo. I believe that this can be plugged straight into the FPV system, but I'm looking into getting a BEC or power filter just in case.
I think the big order I put in for the main electrical components will come in tomorrow so check back soon to see what we've picked up!
There are four cables that you need:
Camera Cable (4 wire for cameras with audio) since I bought the RMRC-420 NTSC camera
Audio Jumper and Video Jumper cables
Transmitter Cable (Mini) which is good for the 300mW strength system
The battery system is a bit more flexible, and the battery recommended to me was the 1100mAh 3S 35C LiPo. I believe that this can be plugged straight into the FPV system, but I'm looking into getting a BEC or power filter just in case.
I think the big order I put in for the main electrical components will come in tomorrow so check back soon to see what we've picked up!
Monday, January 14, 2013
Second Quad Parts Order
So, I jumped the gun by a little bit, but I realized that I had forgot to order some of the connectors that I would need to connect the KK-style control board to the receiver. To do this you need 4 male-to-male connectors. They are about $2 each from Ready Made RC, or alternatively you can get them on Ebay where a 10 pack with free shipping will only set you back about $5.
I also picked up a low-battery alarm off Ebay that emits a loud beeping sound to let you know that your battery is about to die - this is a temp solution that I am using until I start using the OSD to send me that information. For a very cheap solution see the Quad Parts List page.
I received the FPV gear that I ordered today. It looks good and durable and I can't wait to try it out... However, the stock connectors that come with it just aren't suitable to "plug and play" so I've got a help request in with Ready Made RC to get some suggestions for cables to connect the camera to the transmitter to the battery supply and for a small batter to power the FPV system independently of the Quad's power supply.
Assembly should start on Thursday or Friday, so check back soon!
I also picked up a low-battery alarm off Ebay that emits a loud beeping sound to let you know that your battery is about to die - this is a temp solution that I am using until I start using the OSD to send me that information. For a very cheap solution see the Quad Parts List page.
I received the FPV gear that I ordered today. It looks good and durable and I can't wait to try it out... However, the stock connectors that come with it just aren't suitable to "plug and play" so I've got a help request in with Ready Made RC to get some suggestions for cables to connect the camera to the transmitter to the battery supply and for a small batter to power the FPV system independently of the Quad's power supply.
Assembly should start on Thursday or Friday, so check back soon!
Saturday, January 12, 2013
The Frame: ST-450
Some parts are starting to come in. I placed orders from a bunch of different places including Value Hobby, Hobby King, Ready Made RC, Amazon, and Ebay. Surprisingly (or maybe not) everything I ordered off Ebay I received in a couple of days, then everything from Amazon, then the items from Value Hobby. Ready Made RC gear is on track to be here by the 16th of January, but the Hobby King stuff, even though I made sure everything was in stock and in the US Warehouse is going to get here last - sadly that batch is the one I need the most as it might let me know if I need to buy some more small stuff like connectors and the like.
Anyhow, the frame (ST-450 Quadcopter Frame) arrived today. I was going to post a video about it's assembly, but much to my surprise it basically came fully assembled! All I had to do was extend the landing gear feet and add a couple of screws to lock them in place. The frame has folding arms and those were loose on arrival, so I had to tighten them up. One thing I noticed was that when tightening those bolts it was important to not over-tighten them as you could locally bend the frame doing so.
One of the things that struck me was just how small this frame was relative to my expectations. When I had seen photos of it there was no scale so I couldn't tell. Then when I read the technical specs I misinterpreted the size. I thought that each arm was 450mm in length; however, it turns out that it is 450mm from tip-to-tip.
That's not really a problem for me though. From looking at it I still think that the ESCs will fit neatly inside the arms and I'm relatively certain that the motor will bolt on without any need for an adapter. There is plenty of room in the center for the electronics.
The only concern I have about the size is the ability to mount two batteries instead of just one. However, I don't think that will be a problem as I can pretty easily adapt the battery harness with just a little bit of work. I hope so anyway.
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| ST-450 Frame with phone for scale. |
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| ST-450 Frame with phone for scale. |
That's not really a problem for me though. From looking at it I still think that the ESCs will fit neatly inside the arms and I'm relatively certain that the motor will bolt on without any need for an adapter. There is plenty of room in the center for the electronics.
The only concern I have about the size is the ability to mount two batteries instead of just one. However, I don't think that will be a problem as I can pretty easily adapt the battery harness with just a little bit of work. I hope so anyway.
Notes on Frequency
Since I'm interested in doing RC + FPV + UAV functionality I'll have to pay attention to what frequencies I'm doing things on and what is legal. I'm going to briefly mention some basics and then share some advice that I've been given and finally lay out what I hope my final system will be.
Unfortunately 2.4Ghz also seems to be a popular frequency for FPV. 5.8 Ghz is also popular. 1.2 and 1.3 Ghz frequencies are less popular. For short range any of these are fine, but if you are going to start playing around with longer range you would either need to really up the power on the 2.4 and 5.8 Ghz frequencies, and high power transmitters can get really hot and can cause interference. Obviously with 2.4Ghz it would interefere quite a bit with your RC control. Not what you want, so avoid that frequency.
For UAV functionality most people want telemetry data and most people use a 915 Mhz system for that (check out DIY Drones 3DR telemetry module). This one seems to be the creme-de-la-creme, so it's the one I'll use in the future.
Given all that here is what I am going with (at least in my head).
RC Control: Initially I'll use 2.4 Ghz, but will later switch to 433 Mhz.
FPV: 1.3 Ghz at 300mW transmitter. Can be upgraded later if more power is needed.
Telemetry: 915 Mhz at 100mW. Telemetry data can be overlain with FPV so no need for a high power or high bandwidth system.
Antennas are the secret sauce. They can make a high-frequency, low-power system outperform guys that are trying to push at over 1000mW. The wrong antenna setups will severely limit your range. I'm still researching what antenna systems to and will make new posts as I learn more. Once I decide on a FPV system I will make posts on that as well.
- The higher the frequency the more data you can transmit.
- The lower the frequency the more range you get.
- The higher wattage on the transmitter the more range you get.
- Frequencies can interfere with one another.
- Antennas are very important. Maybe the most important part.
Unfortunately 2.4Ghz also seems to be a popular frequency for FPV. 5.8 Ghz is also popular. 1.2 and 1.3 Ghz frequencies are less popular. For short range any of these are fine, but if you are going to start playing around with longer range you would either need to really up the power on the 2.4 and 5.8 Ghz frequencies, and high power transmitters can get really hot and can cause interference. Obviously with 2.4Ghz it would interefere quite a bit with your RC control. Not what you want, so avoid that frequency.
For UAV functionality most people want telemetry data and most people use a 915 Mhz system for that (check out DIY Drones 3DR telemetry module). This one seems to be the creme-de-la-creme, so it's the one I'll use in the future.
Given all that here is what I am going with (at least in my head).
RC Control: Initially I'll use 2.4 Ghz, but will later switch to 433 Mhz.
FPV: 1.3 Ghz at 300mW transmitter. Can be upgraded later if more power is needed.
Telemetry: 915 Mhz at 100mW. Telemetry data can be overlain with FPV so no need for a high power or high bandwidth system.
Antennas are the secret sauce. They can make a high-frequency, low-power system outperform guys that are trying to push at over 1000mW. The wrong antenna setups will severely limit your range. I'm still researching what antenna systems to and will make new posts as I learn more. Once I decide on a FPV system I will make posts on that as well.
Initial Parts Order: Quadcopter
As a reminder here are my 3 goals for this project:
After doing a bunch of reading on various forums and watching a load of YouTube videos from others that have built Quadcopters I've come to realize the beauty of them - very few moving parts... in fact very few parts at all!
As far as I can tell what you need are the following:
The first thing that I chose was the frame. I wanted something that looked sturdy and versatile and that didn't break the bank. After toying around with the idea of going to Home Depot and just buying some Aluminum bars I finally decided on the ST-450 Quadcopter Frame that I picked up for about $22 at Value Hobby. It comes with four 10x6 propellers as well, so that makes it even a better deal! Weight: 280 grams.
Next I decided to find some motors. I'm not sure if I made the best choice or not (only time will tell), but I decided to go with the Turnigy D3536/8 1000kv brushless motors. They have a maximum thrust of 1160 grams, so 4 of them should give you 4640 grams of lift. And since it's a quad you'll need 4 of them. They are $17 each. Weight 4 x 102 grams. Cumulative weight: 208g + 408g = 616 grams.
To control the motors you need and ESC for each of them, and it has to be rated at a higher amperage than the motors. I decided on the Turnigy Trust 45A brushless ESCs. Once again you'll need 4 of these and they are $18 each. Weight 4 x 31 grams. Cumulative weight: 208g + 408g + 124g = 740 grams.
You need to be able to power everything, and this is where you'll either have to solder a bunch of ESC wires together or you can buy a pre-built power distribution board. Luckily Hobby King has a pre-made Quadcopter PDB that is only $4. The headache it will save is well worth it! Weight: 27 grams. Cumulative weight: 208g + 408g + 124g + 27g = 767 grams.
Quadcopters blades need to spin at identical rates when flat, but then need to have variations in speed to move the quadcopter forward, left, right, and back. Furthermore, if it is slight tipped or off-balanced then you'll need to have the speed of the motors vary slightly to compensate. People can't do this with the controller fast enough so you need a controller. I selected the very basic Hobby King multi-rotor control board, which is a basic KK-style board that will set you back $20. Weight: 15 grams. Cumulative weight: 208g + 408g + 124g + 27g + 15g = 782 grams.
Of course you'll need your favorite RC controller-receiver combo. There are lots of options, but because I want to have the flexibility to use different frequency transmitters and to potentially use it in more complex vehicles I wanted something that gives me flexibility. I went with the Turnigy 9x 9Ch transmitter with 8ch receiver. Weight: 12 grams (receiver). Cumulative weight: 208g + 408g + 124g + 27g + 15g + 12g = 794 grams.
Then you just need to power up the system that you've just designed - what you'll need for that is a battery or two. You need to pay attention to what your motors require. Ours are looking for 2-4S batteries and you'll want a 20C or higher discharge (from what I've been told). I picked up 2 of the Turnigy 3S 3600mAh 30C batteries from Hobby King for $26 each. Weight: 321 grams. You can run either one or both simultaneously (you'll just need to wire them in parallel to extend your flight time). Single battery setup cumulative weight: 208g + 408g + 124g + 27g + 15g + 12g + 321g = 1215 grams. Parallel battery setup cumulative weight: 208g + 408g + 124g + 27g + 15g + 12g + 622g = 1536 grams.
That means we should only be using about 25% of the total thrust that we have available from the motors. I hope I'm getting that right!
So, I'm pretty sure that covers all of the real hardware. I know that I'll need some connectors and will update once I get some of the stuff and see what I actually need. Not the most efficient way to do it, but I don't want to overbuy right off the bat. Remember that I'll always keep a running tally of the parts on the tab at the top of the blog.
I've put in my orders from 3 different places making sure that everything was in stock from USA based providers (you have to watch Hobby King as they only have some things in their international warehouses and that can lead to long shipping times). I'll update this again once I get some stuff coming in!
- Ground up quadcopter build
- FPV System with real-time transmission
- UAV capabilities
After doing a bunch of reading on various forums and watching a load of YouTube videos from others that have built Quadcopters I've come to realize the beauty of them - very few moving parts... in fact very few parts at all!
As far as I can tell what you need are the following:
- Quadcopter Frame x 1
- Brushless Motors x 4
- Electronic Speed Controllers (ESC) x 4
- Quadcopter Control Board x 1
- Power Distribution Board x 1
- Propellers x 4 (Pusher Blades x 2, Puller Blades x 2)
- RC Transmitter/Receiver (6 Channels or higher) x 1
- Lithium Polymer Battery pack x 1-2
The first thing that I chose was the frame. I wanted something that looked sturdy and versatile and that didn't break the bank. After toying around with the idea of going to Home Depot and just buying some Aluminum bars I finally decided on the ST-450 Quadcopter Frame that I picked up for about $22 at Value Hobby. It comes with four 10x6 propellers as well, so that makes it even a better deal! Weight: 280 grams.
Next I decided to find some motors. I'm not sure if I made the best choice or not (only time will tell), but I decided to go with the Turnigy D3536/8 1000kv brushless motors. They have a maximum thrust of 1160 grams, so 4 of them should give you 4640 grams of lift. And since it's a quad you'll need 4 of them. They are $17 each. Weight 4 x 102 grams. Cumulative weight: 208g + 408g = 616 grams.
To control the motors you need and ESC for each of them, and it has to be rated at a higher amperage than the motors. I decided on the Turnigy Trust 45A brushless ESCs. Once again you'll need 4 of these and they are $18 each. Weight 4 x 31 grams. Cumulative weight: 208g + 408g + 124g = 740 grams.
You need to be able to power everything, and this is where you'll either have to solder a bunch of ESC wires together or you can buy a pre-built power distribution board. Luckily Hobby King has a pre-made Quadcopter PDB that is only $4. The headache it will save is well worth it! Weight: 27 grams. Cumulative weight: 208g + 408g + 124g + 27g = 767 grams.
Quadcopters blades need to spin at identical rates when flat, but then need to have variations in speed to move the quadcopter forward, left, right, and back. Furthermore, if it is slight tipped or off-balanced then you'll need to have the speed of the motors vary slightly to compensate. People can't do this with the controller fast enough so you need a controller. I selected the very basic Hobby King multi-rotor control board, which is a basic KK-style board that will set you back $20. Weight: 15 grams. Cumulative weight: 208g + 408g + 124g + 27g + 15g = 782 grams.
Of course you'll need your favorite RC controller-receiver combo. There are lots of options, but because I want to have the flexibility to use different frequency transmitters and to potentially use it in more complex vehicles I wanted something that gives me flexibility. I went with the Turnigy 9x 9Ch transmitter with 8ch receiver. Weight: 12 grams (receiver). Cumulative weight: 208g + 408g + 124g + 27g + 15g + 12g = 794 grams.
Then you just need to power up the system that you've just designed - what you'll need for that is a battery or two. You need to pay attention to what your motors require. Ours are looking for 2-4S batteries and you'll want a 20C or higher discharge (from what I've been told). I picked up 2 of the Turnigy 3S 3600mAh 30C batteries from Hobby King for $26 each. Weight: 321 grams. You can run either one or both simultaneously (you'll just need to wire them in parallel to extend your flight time). Single battery setup cumulative weight: 208g + 408g + 124g + 27g + 15g + 12g + 321g = 1215 grams. Parallel battery setup cumulative weight: 208g + 408g + 124g + 27g + 15g + 12g + 622g = 1536 grams.
That means we should only be using about 25% of the total thrust that we have available from the motors. I hope I'm getting that right!
So, I'm pretty sure that covers all of the real hardware. I know that I'll need some connectors and will update once I get some of the stuff and see what I actually need. Not the most efficient way to do it, but I don't want to overbuy right off the bat. Remember that I'll always keep a running tally of the parts on the tab at the top of the blog.
I've put in my orders from 3 different places making sure that everything was in stock from USA based providers (you have to watch Hobby King as they only have some things in their international warehouses and that can lead to long shipping times). I'll update this again once I get some stuff coming in!
Project Details & Outline
So aside from my experience with the little $20 RC Helicopter that I just got and what I remember from a RC Car I had about 20 years ago I pretty much know nothing about either RC or flying vehicles. However, when I do something I want to do it right and that involved some homework that I'm going to share with you.
In the world of RC vehicles Google is your friend. There are loads of sites out there that have some very dedicated RC hobbyists that are more than happy to answer questions from basic to quite complex. One of the first that I visited was DIY Drones. They are the place to go for projects that involve autonomous flight and using FPV (first person video). There are loads of other sites and forums.
I read a ton of information on what people were doing and I decided that I wanted to do the following:
Basically I want to build a UAV (i.e., drone) with FPV capabilities. Sounds cool, huh?
Plane, Heli, or Multicopter? The plane looks to be the easiest as there are many available kits and there seems to be the largest community. However, it also seems to be the one that requires the most open space to operate and test. A bigger helicopter was my next thought, but the support community doesn't seem that big and I've read that many inexperienced pilots had crashed many, many times. Also, you basically just build a kit and there is very little customization for someone who is new to the game. Then I stumbled on a forum post about multicopters - and a quad in particular. The poster made the case that multicopters were easy to build, fly, and customize and were relatively durable compared to other serious vehicles. They also give good lifting power. He recommended me to start with a quad because it has the least number of propellers, motors, etc.
So that was it - I decided to build a quadcopter. Now all I have to do is figure out what the hell I need to buy to make this happen. A review of what I ordered will come in the next post, and I'll have a tab linking to everything I've ordered and used.
In the world of RC vehicles Google is your friend. There are loads of sites out there that have some very dedicated RC hobbyists that are more than happy to answer questions from basic to quite complex. One of the first that I visited was DIY Drones. They are the place to go for projects that involve autonomous flight and using FPV (first person video). There are loads of other sites and forums.
I read a ton of information on what people were doing and I decided that I wanted to do the following:
- Build a vehicle from the ground up.
- Record and watch FPV from the vehicle.
- Have the ability to do autonomous flight.
Basically I want to build a UAV (i.e., drone) with FPV capabilities. Sounds cool, huh?
Plane, Heli, or Multicopter? The plane looks to be the easiest as there are many available kits and there seems to be the largest community. However, it also seems to be the one that requires the most open space to operate and test. A bigger helicopter was my next thought, but the support community doesn't seem that big and I've read that many inexperienced pilots had crashed many, many times. Also, you basically just build a kit and there is very little customization for someone who is new to the game. Then I stumbled on a forum post about multicopters - and a quad in particular. The poster made the case that multicopters were easy to build, fly, and customize and were relatively durable compared to other serious vehicles. They also give good lifting power. He recommended me to start with a quad because it has the least number of propellers, motors, etc.
So that was it - I decided to build a quadcopter. Now all I have to do is figure out what the hell I need to buy to make this happen. A review of what I ordered will come in the next post, and I'll have a tab linking to everything I've ordered and used.
Picking a Project
Hello There! I've been looking for a project for a while, but I've been struggling to come up with something. I batted around a number of ideas that have ranged from everything from programming up some back-end databases to building an electric car to learning to fly.
My previous projects have mainly been on the software side. I developed a football ranking and score prediction algorithms, which can be found at CSSportsRank and CSSportsRank: Predictions. I also developed a tool for doing performance reviews called TinyEval. However, I've been looking for something that is on the hardware side, but that I could still use my programming knowledge for. I also want it to be something that will challenge me, but won't break my budget or suck up every minute of my free time.
What to do, what to do? I had looked at building a car or electric car, and I love a company called Factory Five. They make some awesome ground up kit cars, but at the end of the day that would probably have been a $40-50k project - and it would have required a lot of garage space, which is something that I don't have. The electric car conversion is something I probably could have done for under $10k, but once again I needed space that I didn't have.
Then Christmas came around. I'm 34 years old and much to my surprise my parents gave me a Syma 107G RC helicopter. You can pick one of these up at a mall kiosk or at Amazon for about $20. I can't stress enough how insanely fun these little things are. They are also relatively durable as I crash it about 3 times every flight and flights are only about 6 minutes long. I'd definitely advise you to get one. Either way, this little baby (video below) gave me the idea for what I wanted to do as my next project. I wanted to build something bigger.
So, with that I decided to do something RC related.
My previous projects have mainly been on the software side. I developed a football ranking and score prediction algorithms, which can be found at CSSportsRank and CSSportsRank: Predictions. I also developed a tool for doing performance reviews called TinyEval. However, I've been looking for something that is on the hardware side, but that I could still use my programming knowledge for. I also want it to be something that will challenge me, but won't break my budget or suck up every minute of my free time.
What to do, what to do? I had looked at building a car or electric car, and I love a company called Factory Five. They make some awesome ground up kit cars, but at the end of the day that would probably have been a $40-50k project - and it would have required a lot of garage space, which is something that I don't have. The electric car conversion is something I probably could have done for under $10k, but once again I needed space that I didn't have.
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| Syma 107G with phone for scale |
Then Christmas came around. I'm 34 years old and much to my surprise my parents gave me a Syma 107G RC helicopter. You can pick one of these up at a mall kiosk or at Amazon for about $20. I can't stress enough how insanely fun these little things are. They are also relatively durable as I crash it about 3 times every flight and flights are only about 6 minutes long. I'd definitely advise you to get one. Either way, this little baby (video below) gave me the idea for what I wanted to do as my next project. I wanted to build something bigger.
So, with that I decided to do something RC related.
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