Quadcopters and other tech toys?

[MannDude]

This is my current lineup.

UDI 816a (right)

Syma X1 (middle)

Custom Built 450mm (left)

Nice!

Been having fun with my quadcopter and getting used to managing it. Unfortunately I am trying to diagnose why one of the motors have stopped working. It was flying just fine, and then I started to get the low-battery beeps and brought it back. Replaced the battery and all of a sudden the back left motor decided to not want to work. Think it may have gotten shorted out or something...

I've also just ordered a SK450 frame from HobbyKing and will start piecing it together as I learn more and decide exactly what it is that I want to do with mine. I'm thinking a slow/stable build would be best, especially since I do want to eventually attach a gimble for a GoPro or similar camera.

Will try to fix mine and practice with it more, out of the box it came poorly calibrated. I think one motor is spinning slightly slower than the rest. On a fresh start it immediately jumps backwards and to the right. After adjusting the trims, it's more controllable but still wants to rotate left and not want to hover or stay put at a particular height. Seems that no level of adjustment will correct this, even indoors where there is no wind. <shrugs>

 

[MannDude]

Just came in today. Still waiting for the rest to arrive from HobbyKing, though that could be next month before it arrives. Still need a few more parts that aren't on the other order, but hopefully will have it up and running by this time next month.

 

[FLDataTeK]

Sweet.. can't wait to see it flying.

If you need any pointers or questions about what to get or how it goes together just let me know and I'll point you in the right direction.

I finally got my FTDI and USBASP programmers so yesterday I enabled CPPM on my FrSky reciever so now I only have to use one servo cable and it also enabled RSSI so I can feed it into OSD.

Then today I flashed my Turnigy 9x radio with er9x firmware and started flashing my ESC's with SimonK firmware so my FY-450 should fly a little better after I am done.

The next items is to get better motors (SunnySky 2212-11 980kV) and to order my FPV rx/tx gear and Mobius camera.

 

[MannDude]

Sweet.. can't wait to see it flying.

If you need any pointers or questions about what to get or how it goes together just let me know and I'll point you in the right direction.

I finally got my FTDI and USBASP programmers so yesterday I enabled CPPM on my FrSky reciever so now I only have to use one servo cable and it also enabled RSSI so I can feed it into OSD.

Then today I flashed my Turnigy 9x radio with er9x firmware and started flashing my ESC's with SimonK firmware so my FY-450 should fly a little better after I am done.

The next items is to get better motors (SunnySky 2212-11 980kV) and to order my FPV rx/tx gear and Mobius camera.

Sounds nice. I can't wait to get it up in the air either

Well, my package is finally in the USA now.

So, got that SK450 frame already. The rest of the build includes:

• Lower PCB main frame for the SK450
• KK2.1.5 FCB
• Multistar MT2213-935K motors with 10-4.5 props

Still need a lot of things, batteries, radio, speed controllers, etc. Was thinking of getting the Q-Brain speed controller for clean wiring but after realizing the potential for catastrophic failure (If one ESC dies, they all die) I decided I'd rather just buy 4 individual ones. Thinking I'll go with the Afro 20amp ones, seem well reviewed. I also need to get some spare parts, just to have on hand. Figure a couple spare arms, a spare motor and some props will be handy. May buy a couple meters of different colored LEDs too, just for help with visual orientation when in the air and to pimp it out, ha.

After I get it all built, calibrated and flying decently I will eventually add some FPV gear... at least that is the plan.

 

[MannDude]

Got more parts on my desk that need to be put on, but waiting on other parts that are coming tomorrow. Anyhow, it's taking shape:

 

[FLDataTeK]

Looking good so far..

I actually had a ESC fail the other day and it crashed and broke two arms. So now I am waiting on my replacement arms to get here.

I also ordered FPV gear so I am waiting on that also.

 

[MannDude]

Looking good so far..

I actually had a ESC fail the other day and it crashed and broke two arms. So now I am waiting on my replacement arms to get here.

I also ordered FPV gear so I am waiting on that also.

Yikes, that stinks about the crash.

I still need some various plugs/connectors and wires so haven't really done anything yet other than put the motors and props on to take a photo. I think I can get the rest from Amazon, at least I hope so. Tired of HobbyKing, takes too long.

 

[FLDataTeK]

Yikes, that stinks about the crash.

I still need some various plugs/connectors and wires so haven't really done anything yet other than put the motors and props on to take a photo. I think I can get the rest from Amazon, at least I hope so. Tired of HobbyKing, takes too long.

HobbyKing also has a US warehouse you can buy from. Its a little bit more but you can get items in as fast as 2-3 days.

Here are the two spots you can change to the US warehouse.

 

[MannDude]

Yep, I know. I order from the US warehouse but it still usually takes a day or two for them to actually ship the item, then another 2-3 (business days) for it to arrive from Washington.

I'm a tad confused now as what is left that I need to get a proper setup. I have most the hardware, minus some needed wires, plugs and connectors. I'll post a hardware list later, and try to narrow down what else I need. Been a bit busy lately so haven't looked into it fully just yet, but I haven't started soldering things to the power distribution board yet so I'm not beyond the point of no return yet. Still need soldering paste and a third arm would probably be beneficial too.

For your build, did you use bullet connectors or solder the ESCs direct to to the motor and power distribution board? Seems to be a personal preference from what I've read, as some claim they only do bullet connectors to make it easy to swap items out while others say it poses a risk of having them come disconnected due to vibration (even with shrink wrapping) and that desoldering doesn't take that long anyway... I'm leaning towards bullet connectors myself simply because it's my first build and it seems that I'd prefer to be able to easily swap an item out if/when I break it but haven't decided yet.

It's also interesting just how many items I've received with absolutely zero documentation. Flight control board? No documentation. LIPo battery, no documentation or safety information (which is alarming considering how dangerous they can be). Power distribution board... no documentation... I mean, all of this information is available online but it's just interesting to note anyway. If you're not watching YouTube videos or browsing specific forums to build one of these you'd be lost or would damage parts.

 

[FLDataTeK]

My frame had the power distro built into the lower board so I soldered the power leads to the ESC's directly to the board. Then on the side that goes to the motors I did use bullet connectors so that I could remove the motors easily.

You will most likely need to get things like servo cables to go from the RX to the flight controller. I used 10cm servo cables so anything longer gets messy quick when you have a bunch of them.  You will need at least 4 of them (one for each channel) I'd suggest getting a 10 pack so you have enough for 8 channels and two spares.

This is where I got my servo cables from.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10pcs-10CM-Male-to-Male-Servo-Lead-quadcopter-tricopter-kk-multiwii-naze32-rbw/221444149422?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222006%26algo%3DSIC.FITP%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D23309%26meid%3D7277421741020580819%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D9834%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D10%26sd%3D221420394221

 

[MannDude]

Well, I got her all put together about 5 hours ago. Haven't taken it out for a flight yet as it's too wet and I still need to adjust the settings on the FCB based on some suggestions I found online and tweak it. Though, a function test without the props on shows that everything works as intended. All the motors start-up at the same time and respond as they should.

Maiden flight will probably be next weekend since the weather is looking grim this week and due to my work/sleep schedule since I am pretty much busy or asleep during daylight hours.



Not the prettiest job in the world, but it works.



I cleaned up the ESC wiring after this, as well as attached a low voltage alarm to an arm.  (http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/catalog/22749.jpg )



Luckily, my father had some spare bulllet connectors and heat shrink. I took this over to his place to assemble.



I also have another battery strap that I'll use for the other direction as well, though just the one worked fine during initial power up and function testing.



The kk2.1.5 flight control board. Still need to update the firmware and do some adjustments based on recommended values for this size quad that was listed elsewhere on the web.



Bullet connectors on everything... these are hard to detach. Unsure why some folks are against using them claiming that vibration from the motors will cause them to disconnect. I had to detach and reconnect two inputs for two different motors to get them to spin the proper way and it was difficult pulling them apart. I don't think motor vibration will cause them to separate... (At least I hope not!)

.

Not the prettiest soldering job, but it works. Foolishly though I added a male connector to the power distribution board instead of a female one. So any new battery I buy I'll have to use a male-to-female adapter because we goofed.



Since I didn't have my radio and receiver yet, yanked this from a quad he's working on for the initial testing. It does what it is supposed to do.

 

[FLDataTeK]

Looks pretty good..

I'd probably put some heat shrink on those bullets on the main board just in case one lets loose a little and touches that metal strip below the bullet connector.

I ordered a deadcat frame today plus a new ESC to replace the flaky one that caused my crash last week also ordered a USB video capture cable so I can use my netbook as my screen for FPV. My video TX and RX have both arrived along with one of my camera's for FPV.

So hopefully everything will be here soon and I can get back in the air.

 

[MannDude]

Looks pretty good..

I'd probably put some heat shrink on those bullets on the main board just in case one lets loose a little and touches that metal strip below the bullet connector.

I ordered a deadcat frame today plus a new ESC to replace the flaky one that caused my crash last week also ordered a USB video capture cable so I can use my netbook as my screen for FPV. My video TX and RX have both arrived along with one of my camera's for FPV.

So hopefully everything will be here soon and I can get back in the air.

Yeah, I thought about that after it was already too late. Probably just electrical tape for now... It won't be the prettiest job in the world but it'll work.

Mind sharing your FPV setup? Would be interesting to see it. The goal with mine is to convert it to an FPV setup as well, but only after I get the hang of flying this one.

 

[vpsmt]

check out this quadcopter:

http://www.banggood.com/Syma-X5C-2_4G-4-Channel-Remote-Control-RC-Quadcopter-p-913827.html

w/2megapixel camera for less than $70.

Best deal IMO

 

[SPINIKR-RO]

Interesting thread, I may have to get back into it. I purchased one right when they started to becoem popular and it lasted all of about 3 flights until I broke it and was to lazy to fix.

Is battery life any better on these things? Mine was like 7-10 minutes if lucky.

 

[FLDataTeK]

I rebuilt my FY-450 yesterday and changed a few things around. I had forgot I had an extra set of center frame parts so I replaced the broken ones with the spares.

I also soldered the bullet connectors directly to the ESC's to get rid of the short piece of wire and clean up the arm a little. Now the motors plug directly into the ESC's. Then I reheat shrank the ESC's after they were all flashed with SimonK firmware.

I do have a deadcat frame coming and things are going to be even more cleaned up. I have some techflex coming so that will clean up the wiring alot.

The heat shrinked ESC's with the bullets attached. Also put a little bit of foam padding under the ESC for vibration. The heat sink part of the ESC will be cut out to exspose the heat sink one I move everything over to the new frame. But as is the ESC's only get luke warm anyways.

 

[FLDataTeK]

Interesting thread, I may have to get back into it. I purchased one right when they started to becoem popular and it lasted all of about 3 flights until I broke it and was to lazy to fix.

Is battery life any better on these things? Mine was like 7-10 minutes if lucky.

Depends on the weight of the quad and what voltage and size of battery your running, what motors your running.. Lots of things factor into flight times.

But as an example with my quad it weighs 1kg (2.2lbs) and runs 3S (11.1 volt) 2200mah batteries with 1000kv motors with 10x4.5 props and I get around 8-10 minutes of flight per battery.

Now if I was to only change the battery I could get 15-20 minutes of flight time by going to a 5000mah battery but that is alot more weight to carry (about 528 grams) so would fly a little more sluggish than it would with the smaller battery.

 

[FLDataTeK]

Well my FPV gear has arrived and I installed it today. I did a short flight with it and it is definatelty different. I keep wanting to look up at the quad instead of the screen.

Here is my monitor/DVR setup.

And my Quad with the cam on top and VTX on the back (antenna pointed down). I added some landing legs to get me up a little so I can mount the battery undernieth instead of on top.

 

[iWF-Jacob]

While I don't have a quadcopter, I most certainly have helicopters. My newest one is a Trex 450 Plus DFC. I love those things, I have a nice lineup of three helicopters. A Trex 450 Plus DFC (DFC basically means no flybar, direct flight control so it's all gyros) which is obviously a 450 scale. I also have a 350 and a 250 scale, though those have kind of gone by the wayside as I try to master around the world with my new 450. I got tick-tocks down pat, but around the world with this guy is pretty challenging. 

 

[MannDude]

I finally got mine flying over the weekend!



Of course, had a couple crashes too. Nothing some zipties, wooden dowels and paitence can't fix. View the complete album here: http://imgur.com/a/KtzvI

Took it out flying on my lunch break yesterday evening and it flew really well that time. I still need to tweak the settings so I can get a nice, slow and steady flight out of it. The idea is that I could walk behind it and fly it slowly if I wished to. No worries, got some spare parts coming in (Well, an entirely knew SK450 frame).