Multirotor, multicopter and quadcopter discussion - The Drone thread

Rilot · 23 May 2014 at 16:36

Nice one with the video switcher. I just couldn't fly FPV with a stabilised camera as there was no way to tell what the attitude of the craft was. The switcher and cheapo FPV camera sorted that for me.

I agree on the FCs Flukester. I doubt there is much difference internally between Naza, WKM and A2 although they do all seem to fly very differently. I stuck the A2 on my F550 to begin with and it was quite different to the Naza. Position hold was much more accurate.
I've still got yaw drift issues with the A2 as have many other people. Nervous to try 2.2 FW though as there are tons of reports of loss of control for no reason.

rhysduck · 23 May 2014 at 17:03

Flukester said:
Good idea, but avoid the GoPro 3 White, I had one and though ok it wasn't that great. Replaced with a Black and the difference is huge.

Already have a Black

Will try to find a nice light skeleton case for it... really don't want that falling off

Flukester · 23 May 2014 at 17:22

Rilot said:
Nice one with the video switcher. I just couldn't fly FPV with a stabilised camera as there was no way to tell what the attitude of the craft was. The switcher and cheapo FPV camera sorted that for me.

I agree on the FCs Flukester. I doubt there is much difference internally between Naza, WKM and A2 although they do all seem to fly very differently. I stuck the A2 on my F550 to begin with and it was quite different to the Naza. Position hold was much more accurate.
I've still got yaw drift issues with the A2 as have many other people. Nervous to try 2.2 FW though as there are tons of reports of loss of control for no reason.

That pretty scary, you need confidence in flight controller... totally. I wonder if most problems are pilot error / poor build. It's like all the phantom flyaway issues with Naza, but I never had one. (touch wood)

Genoma · 23 May 2014 at 19:17

My entry level kit

Cables and connectors arrive tomorrow! Look forward to getting it all setup!

rhysduck · 23 May 2014 at 19:26

What frame is that genome?

Genoma · 23 May 2014 at 19:35

FPV250 from HK (got mine on the bay).

d_brennen · 23 May 2014 at 19:47

Those RCX 1804s? Be sure to try the ziptie method of mounting, looks like a winner

Genoma · 23 May 2014 at 20:03

They are yes, I was about to dremel holes in the frame a bit to fit the screws, what is the ziptie method?

Which reminds me i've got to check what zipties I have left!

d_brennen · 23 May 2014 at 20:13

Genoma said:
They are yes, I was about to dremel holes in the frame a bit to fit the screws, what is the ziptie method?

Which reminds me i've got to check what zipties I have left!

Not mine, I am still using the 1704s

You need really fine zip ties, they slip through the bottom of the motor and through the frame mounts perfectly, no drilling. The beauty of zip ties is that they are really strong but have a degree of elasticity, more than metal screws. If (when) you stack it into the ground at 35mph, there's a better chance that the zip ties will snap, absorbing the energy of the impact instead of the motor shafts. If you are sceptical about the holding abilities of zip ties, my 1.6KG tricopter, swinging 10" props on 80g motors, is almost exclusively held together by zip ties

Genoma · 23 May 2014 at 20:22

Perfect! There is actually a lot of clearance there (Clarence..). Will be trying that!

rhysduck · 23 May 2014 at 21:05

Do you have an ebay item number please Genoma?

Is it this one?

d_brennen · 23 May 2014 at 21:15

Actually, that reminds me, where did you get those 1500mah Turnigys Genoma? FWIW, it's a good idea to try and get 40c+ packs for this kind of application. The ~25-30c packs are a bit pants in the longevity stakes

Genoma · 24 May 2014 at 00:22

rhysduck said:
Do you have an ebay item number please Genoma?

Is it this one?

no that has an additional cage, there is one here

I got the kit with motors etc from the same vendor and can recommend him.

Genoma · 24 May 2014 at 00:23

d_brennen said:
Actually, that reminds me, where did you get those 1500mah Turnigys Genoma? FWIW, it's a good idea to try and get 40c+ packs for this kind of application. The ~25-30c packs are a bit pants in the longevity stakes

I got one from ebay and the rest from HK UK, came in a couple of days.

Noted thanks!

krisboats · 24 May 2014 at 22:36

I want a quad to mount a go pro to for filming biking. Played with a hubsan q4 and got on great with it. Obviously it wont lift a gopro though, haha.

I have no idea what to get or how to guage motor size/strength to battery life etc so could do with a lot of help. Not in a massive rush so can get parts slowly if thats any easier. Been recommended a turnigy 9xr as a starter Tx but other than that... i'm open to suggestions. Looking to keep it around £2-300 total spend if i can and am fairly competant with plugging things in and setting up etc.

Cheers in advance guys.

Genoma · 25 May 2014 at 00:57

So spent all day doing lots of soldering, lots of zip-tying, a bit of researching and testing but managed to build my first quad. Thanks guys for the tips :-)

Was hugely satisfying and not much went wrong amazingly!!!

Maden flight wasn't right, she was tilting forward but the KK diagnostics showed the receiver sliders were off center. Subtrim on the Tx fixed that and I got her off the ground again in my tiny garden, remarkably stable in auto level on initial 4 minute test :-)

Some pics:

Well chuffed. Can't wait to get it on a field now! Only used 4 screws to lock the flight controller level over the case foam, the rest is all ties and velcro. Will probably be a bit heavy but I wanted everything on bullet connectors so I could replace bit as I'm very probably going to crash it so it's all modular

336g unloaded / 474g with 1500 battery.

A few more pictures here:

http://imgur.com/a/pEjPD#0

Flukester · 25 May 2014 at 05:31

That 250 looks so much fun, nice job on the build

, I gotta get me something like this

Genoma · 25 May 2014 at 15:54

Flight video after some tweaking

http://youtu.be/W-siowtwvzc

ScoobyDoo · 25 May 2014 at 16:48

Genoma said:
Flight video after some tweaking http://youtu.be/W-siowtwvzc

Looks good, im looking at building a quadcopter myself.
Any chance you could list the parts you used and an estimate of the total cost?

Thanks.

Genoma · 25 May 2014 at 18:18

Sure,

Cost depends as I ordered the kit and Radio from ebay so was a bit more dear but if you are prepared to wait it's much cheaper to buy off HobbyKing.

Frame - FPV250
Motors - 2x RCX 1804, 2 RCX 1804-r (reversed)
ESCs - 4x RCS 10A with SimonK firmware
Props - 5030 three blade props, 1 green CW, 1 green CCW, 1 black CW, 1 black CCW
Battery Strap - Turnigy Battery Strap

I got this as a kit for £117 then added:

Flight Controller - KK2 1.5 £32
Power distribution board with 3.5mm sockets (unbranded) - £10
Transmitter + Receiver - Turnigy 9x Transmitter - £70
Battery for Transmitter - Turnigy 2.200mha - £10
Battery for Quad - Turnigy 1500mha - £12
Charger + PSU - Turnigy Accucel 6 50w 6A with PSU - £38

Then you will need soldering iron, solder, 2mm bullet connectors for ESCs, 3.5 mm bullet connectors for power distribution, a XT60 connector for distro board to battery, lots of zip ties, spare props, time and research

I make this £289. A lot cheaper if you go the HK route.