Initial Parts Order: Quadcopter

As a reminder here are my 3 goals for this project:

1. Ground up quadcopter build
2. FPV System with real-time transmission
3. UAV capabilities

When I look at these it makes logical sense to me that I should basically do them in series.  First step is to get the quadcopter built and flying.  Then I need to get the FPV system working.  The final step will be to add in UAV capabilities.  This post will focus on the parts that I need to build the quadcopter.  I'm sure it won't be complete, but I'll put in an order for as much as I need and I'll fill it in as needed.  The Quadcopter Parts List page tab at the top will contain an up-to-date running list.

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:

1. Quadcopter Frame x 1
2. Brushless Motors x 4
3. Electronic Speed Controllers (ESC) x 4
4. Quadcopter Control Board x 1
5. Power Distribution Board x 1
6. Propellers x 4 (Pusher Blades x 2, Puller Blades x 2)
7. RC Transmitter/Receiver (6 Channels or higher) x 1
8. Lithium Polymer Battery pack x 1-2

And of course you'll need some tools to put it together and a charger for the batteries.  I'll get into the chargers later, and as for tools you'll need some screwdrivers and maybe a wire-stripper and soldering iron.

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!