Multirotor, multicopter and quadcopter discussion - The Drone thread

Good tips, yeah I'm not going to spend any more on it. Missus is already very annoyed lol

I also started with Heli's and recently spent £300 on a little V120DS02 Walkera, then got the Hubsan which led to Phantom. Heli hasn't been used since

I'll give it a while then try and build a F550, once she has calmed down lol
 
Flukester said:
I'll give it a while then try and build a F550, once she has calmed down lol
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Hehe, I know what you mean.
It's actually all the Mrs' fault. She persuaded me to buy the little Hubsan when we were in town and a guy in a model shop was flying one round the shop.

I got it home, charged it and started hovering it around the living room, utterly agog at the stability and quality of flight for the cost of the notes that were in my back pocket at the time.
 
Just ordered one of the little Hubsan X4 H107Ls. Been itching to buy a new *toy* of some form and as much as I'd love to build my own multirotor I think I'll have a go flying a little cheap one before spending a lot and then crashing it :D
 
Nice one you'll have a ton of fun.

Few tips, do a gyro calibration before take off. Place x4 on a flat surface, Hold left stick to bottom right, then waggle right stick left right left right...until lights flash on hubsan

If you have not flown RC stuff before try and keep tail towards you... As when nose in controls are inversed.

If you are going to crash power off fully, best for it to just drop rather than thrash around on floor and its super strong so hard to damage it once power is off

Once you can zoom about without crashes all orientation, switch to expert mode and the control gains go up and it's super responsive, can even do flips and rolls in large open space.

Once you can master a little x4 something like a large multi rotor is comparatively easy to fly.
 
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Thanks for the reply :)
Not flown any RC, so will be taking it really careful at start. I know how disorientating it can be from playing games when you aren't lined up with the controls, let alone an RC that changes direction this quick!

I'm guessing the basic mode just slows down the throttle response and keeps it level if you don't press anything - ideal for flying inside?
 
The hubsan naturally says level and static if gyro calibrated. What you have to learn is drift, say yawing to the left when you center right stick it will continue to drift a little with momentum. A little right stick is needed to stop it. (Don't over do it or you'll end up heading back to the right). Same with all other directions. The key to stable flight is small movements, don't over do the controls at least to begin with. Thinking about it the x4 doesn't have much momentum anyway as its so small

If on first few flights you lose tail in orientation, set it down and take off again with tail in... Nose in. And disorientation are biggest cause of crashes to begin with

Basic mode cuts down gain / responce on all the controls and makes it more docile. Also disables flips. It's still quite lively even in this mode. In expert it's a monster, and an easily get to 25mph+

I would buy some more battery's though, one just isn't enough and you'll want longer in the air. Another USB charger would be good also.


It's perfect for inside the house, but once you can handle that expert mode give the power you need to cope with wind outside (you need expert mode to battle wind)
 
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Thanks again! It's due here on Saturday, I'll give it a fly and if it seems good I'll grab some more batteries. Looks like you can grab 5 for under a tenner with no issues. The rotor protector looks kinda handy for indoor flight too.
 
If you like the Hubsan, you need some more batteries (and a few props ;))

http://www.banggood.com/5-X-Upgrade-25C-3_7V-380MAH-Battery-For-Hubsan-X4-QR-Ladybird-p-69895.html

Bit heavier than stock but worth it. Hardly changes the flight characteristics

e: I've got a 5.8GHz VTx/Rx chip combo on the way, going to try my hand at a DIY FPV setup. Got the PCB designed ready to hit the button on, just need to check everything will fit and actually works on breadboard first. Once that is working, going to be building a tricopter to sit it on

Already have a laptop LCD driver board and an old 15.4" LCD, will make a brief/flight case to house it all. Something to do over the rubbish winter :p
 
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I reckon I'll have bought batteries, spare props and a mini 720p video camera by the end of tomorrow if it's half as much fun as everyone is saying here!

Stumbled across this video yesterday:

Amazed at the quality of video you can get with a Gopro + quadrotor. :cool:
 
Very good, you really need a gimbal so you can move around without moving the camera....

Tried my first filming over the sea yesterday, was dam scary lol. Main problem was constant wind forcing quad to fly at a angle which made filming difficult.

 
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It's arrived! Thought I managed to break it on my first flight after clipping a door by mistake :s Moved the throttle up instead of down and after landing one of the props wouldn't spin up until long after the others.
Turned it off and on and it went back to normal, rest of the 10 minute maiden voyage went without a hitch! Amazed at the amount of thrust this thing has :eek: - going to really take some getting used to to even fly close to some of the other videos of them I've seen!

Do the fancier ones have locks to keep you at a certain height? Or is it just pilot control?

Looks like that video came out pretty well considering the wind Flukester. :)
 
Glad it didn't break.... The v2 you have is pretty tough. Sounds like you getting hang of it

For comparison the Phantom and other DJI multi rotors have 3 modes.

GPS - when outside it will lock to satellite and stay hovering on the spot, even in strong wind. (Even in strong wind you can let go of controls and it will just sit there on the spot) When you travel in a direction centering the stick locks it again to new position and it won't drift. This also allows return home features should you have a problem, and a home lock mode which allows you to pull back on stick to come back to you whatever the orientation

ATTI - this is exactly the same as your hubsan, the gyro maintains level flight when hovering and prevents it tipping over in fast flight. When you center the stick it will level itself but continue drifting, wind also will drift you.

MANUAL - I guess no self levelling at all, allows loops and rolls... But way to scary to use and pointless on such a expensive toy :-)


Having the hubsan though is great practice, as if on something with a GPS easy mode, loss of GPS you would know how to fly still. Most people film in ATTI mode as it allows smooth drifting, and especially if you are flying FPV.

I filmed those paddle boarders in GPS as I wanted maximum safety


Using FPV with googles though take automation to a next level, controls never reverse with orientation, you don't care if you can't see it clearly. Just fly like a giant video game and let the drone keep itself in the air. Without FPV filming 200m out to sea would be really dodgy as it hard to see


Once you can fly the hubsan crash free flying a phantom for example in GPS mode would be dead easy
 
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I just pulled the trigger on a TBS Discovery, here's what's going into it...

TBS Discovery frame with core.
4x black DJI arms (+2 spares)
APM 2.5+ with GPS and telemetry module
4x Sunnysky X2212-13 980kv motors (despite the specs saying 2-3S they will run 4S fine)
4x F30A ESCs to be flashed with SimonK
9x5 carbon props
2x Zippy compact 4000mAh 4S batteries

Then the usual wires, heat shrink etc.

:D
 
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Flukester said:
Sounds awesome, make sure you post a build log :-)

What was total cost of a setup like this ?
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Definately will be doing a build log, I'm going for a black theme so it should look pretty stealthy/mean :)

I bought stuff in batches and this is what it is so far:

£90 TBS Discovery frame with core + 4x black DJI arms (+2 spares)
£135 APM 2.5+ with GPS and telemetry module + 4x F30A ESCs to be flashed with SimonK + 9x5 carbon props
£60 4x Sunnysky X2212-13 980kv motors (despite the specs saying 2-3S they will run 4S fine)
£50 2x Zippy compact 4000mAh 4S batteries

So about £335 so far, I'll have to add a Rx to that too.

I'll probably get new FPV gear for it and leave my current stuff on my 450 so that's another ~£130 for VTx, camera and skew planar antennas.
 
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Few flights in now, getting the hang already. Successfully flew down the stairs and back up without landing or crashing! Finding that turning it (yaw) is a bit tricky, as the throttle is so sensitive I usually lose or gain a lot of height. Practise will help there. Definitely seems easier to fly when you trust it to keep itself level and relax a bit.

GPS Mode on the DJI rotors sounds very cool. Can see what causes Multis like the Phantom to cost so much!
 
Col_M said:
Definately will be doing a build log, I'm going for a black theme so it should look pretty stealthy/mean :)

I bought stuff in batches and this is what it is so far:

£90 TBS Discovery frame with core + 4x black DJI arms (+2 spares)
£135 APM 2.5+ with GPS and telemetry module + 4x F30A ESCs to be flashed with SimonK + 9x5 carbon props
£60 4x Sunnysky X2212-13 980kv motors (despite the specs saying 2-3S they will run 4S fine)
£50 2x Zippy compact 4000mAh 4S batteries

So about £335 so far, I'll have to add a Rx to that too.

I'll probably get new FPV gear for it and leave my current stuff on my 450 so that's another ~£130 for VTx, camera and skew planar antennas.
Click to expand...

Let us know how you get on with the APM. I'm interested how the flight characteristics compare to the DJI Naza.
 
Awesome Iceland vid. :D Definitely want to travel around it a bit more when I go out again next year. Definitely interested in getting into FPV + recording nice camera footage like that over doing acrobatics. My reactions aren't quick enough for the latter and with it being so prone to crashing it might get frustrating!
Think I might have to look at kits, learn to solder and take it from there with a cheap camera first and then fpv in the future if I really get hooked.

In the meantime, I've taken the X4 outside properly after flying around inside and in the garden. In expert mode with lots of space it goes like stink! Plus I don't need to worry about crashing into anything hard, clipping the bbq followed by smashing into the floor has already bust one prop. (still flew, but vibrated and sounded nasty - played it safe and swapped it)

Will be ordering more props, some batteries and perhaps the prop protector for indoor flying!
 
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