Multirotor, multicopter and quadcopter discussion - The Drone thread
- Thread starter RomanNose
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Went out again and had the antenna resting against the phone (as close to 90 I could get), and had no issues. Only downside is I'm afraid to take the Phantom higher and further away. The highest its been is about 130 feet
any reason why you aren't considering the APM?
I went from a KK2.0 and after loads of researching the APM came top, it has since had firmware and PC software updates which make it fantastic.
edit:
I was busy earlier, I'll fill this out a bit.
The APM is ideal for playing about with GPS modes, it has more than any other FC I can think of.
In the past it suffered from a semi-technical setup that scared people off to the NAZA, since the new software is out it has a wizard that walks you through it step by step and it's trivially easy. On the other hand if you delve into the depths of the software you can customise almost all aspects.
It will self tune itself for perfect gains, on the first flight you just flick a switch to activate autotune, arm and take off then it jerks back and forward for 5-10 mins, you land it and disarm, after that it's perfectly tuned and feels so locked in it's crazy.
If you get the version from RCTimer you get the board, GPS and mavlink telemetry so you can control it from your laptop for £83.
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Went out again and had the antenna resting against the phone (as close to 90 I could get), and had no issues. Only downside is I'm afraid to take the Phantom higher and further away. The highest its been is about 130 feet
I've not flown my phantom 2 above 200 metres or so yet...
Just trying to figure out how I can get my new SecurityCamera2000 camera set up - it's 12V so I think I'll have to solder some power connections on to the board inside... Rilot, any chance of confirming?
There is a set of 4 wires that are hanging out of one of the grommets near the legs. One of those is 12V and another is ground. You can use those. The other two are video out and video ground for the output from the Zenmuse gimbal which I'm guessing you don't have.
Aha, I replaced that with a ready made cable for my fatshark vTx. I'll just splice into that.
any reason why you aren't considering the APM?
I went from a KK2.0 and after loads of researching the APM came top, it has since had firmware and PC software updates which make it fantastic.
edit:
I was busy earlier, I'll fill this out a bit.
The APM is ideal for playing about with GPS modes, it has more than any other FC I can think of.
In the past it suffered from a semi-technical setup that scared people off to the NAZA, since the new software is out it has a wizard that walks you through it step by step and it's trivially easy. On the other hand if you delve into the depths of the software you can customise almost all aspects.
It will self tune itself for perfect gains, on the first flight you just flick a switch to activate autotune, arm and take off then it jerks back and forward for 5-10 mins, you land it and disarm, after that it's perfectly tuned and feels so locked in it's crazy.
If you get the version from RCTimer you get the board, GPS and mavlink telemetry so you can control it from your laptop for £83.
Just looking at the APM at the moment, and just have two questions -
1. what is the link for 433Mhz
2. one feature that the DJI has is course lock, can the APM do this ?
1. the link is to send data to the FC from your computer and back, it allows you to upload waypoints, flight paths in real time, tune parameters on the fly, see the copter location on a map, attitude, height, heading, speed etc on the computer, make the copter follow the laptop... Basically everything you can do with it plugged into your computer bar flashing the firmware
2. Yeah, that's called super simple mode, whatever direction the copter is pointing you pull the stick towards you and it comes back.
Here's a list of the flight modes - http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/flight-modes/
That link if you browse around will give you all the info you need to know
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It boils down to legality, 433Mhz is the legal frequancy for telemetry in the UK.
At the moment the APM and Pixhawk firmware is essentially identical in terms of features. I really want a Pixhawk but I think I'll wait a little while, just in case there are any hardware issues and I'm not really going to miss to much in terms of features at least for the time being.
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It's a lottery but many people get away without grtting hit from RCTimer, mine from RCTimer didn't get tagged.
If you're ordering from there make sure you get the case for it too
Should do, from what I understand the GPS will work as is, the mavlink telemetry will require a different cable
It's a lottery but many people get away without grtting hit from RCTimer, mine from RCTimer didn't get tagged.
If you're ordering from there make sure you get the case for it too
Just placed the order, lets see how good it is
Soldato
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So... I guess we established Russinating isn't certified for commercial flying?
....someone had to mention it!
Sorry, been away in Dubai since the 14th and only just got back!
No, not yet. We've only had the Phantom for 2 months and only up and running 'properly' for literally a week before that photo which was taken for a friend. The guidelines are really vague - for example even the CAA don't mention any of the qualifications that Rilot does.
All I can find is that for commercial use you can apply for a blanket operating permission via an operations manual, and their own template is just a glorified risk assessment and doesn't mention any formal qualifications at all. And for the Phantom, what is an out the box GPS-assisted ****-easy drone to fly it does seem a bit OTT, similar to how it was illegal to record TV to VHS.
Of course common sense always applies which I guess can't be said for most operators. We never fly in anything but a light breeze, I always wear hi-viz and have a spotter, never go out of direct sight or need to go over ~100ft etc.
Also seems like cheeky money-grabbing to allow it for personal use but not commercial. If anything commercial is much safer because it's conducted in a more professional environment, every shot is considered and smooth rather than flying around like a lunatic and there'll always be more than just the pilot. But hey ho!
Like I said it's only really been up and running for a week or so so interested to get some advice and guidance!
Be very careful. The CAA are really cracking down on this and have been fining people. The main issue is that you are uninsured if you hurt someone or damage someone's property. Your hobbyist insurance won't cover you if you fly commercially and you need the CAA permission and qualification in order to get the commercial liabilities insurance.
You can fly as safely as you like, but without that CAA permission (which you won't get without one of those certs) you are breaking the law and if the CAA find out you will get slapped with a hefty fine. Although the CAA don't mention those certifications specifically, they do require proof of flying ability, regulations knowledge (which you clearly don't have), and the ops manual. There may be another way to get CAA permission but currently the easiest way is to take and pass one of those certs.
Do it right and get the certs / write your ops manual. It's not very expensive (about £1500 end to end + about £800 / year for liabilities insurance). The rest of us wannabe commercial UAV people are having to do it.
Yes, it's annoying. Yes it's a ball-ache. Yes it's the CAA just trying to keep control. But it's the way things are.