Drone

[Szczerba]

Sweet.

Just a tip for first flight. I would definitely bench test the quad to make sure all the rx channel positions are correct. Some of the mid level/off brand quads are notorious for having wrong rx settings out of the box. Or make a simple stand to hold it above the ground for rx tests. Wouldnt want to have it take off 6' and flip over into the ground on first liftoff.

 

[Duuuuuuuude]

Xheli doesn't take PP. :evil:


Maybe I'll just compile parts and build my own.

 

[Duuuuuuuude]

Now in my valuehobby.com cart:

FS tx/rx
450 frame
Skywalker 20a esc (x4)
920kv outrunners (x4)
9" prop pairs (x5)

Easy enough so far. Questions begin here:

Value Hobby R/C Hobby Store (Addison, Illinois): NAZE 10DOF Controller

From what I've read, it's better equipped and more stable than the flight control in the H100. I'm guessing I will also need these:

Value Hobby R/C Hobby Store (Addison, Illinois): 5V 12V AdjustableVoltage BEC Output and ESC Distribution Board for FPV System

 

[hpiguy]

I hate the word drone, thanks to the media. They're toy RC aircraft is what they are, that tends to diffuse the media driven panic to an extent.

And I would never, ever hang camera and FPV gear off of a RTF anything, I don't care who makes it. I trust my building skills a lot more than the 7 year olds that build those things is all. I build at like, at least an 8 year old level. :mrgreen:

Also, you don't start out covering that kind of ground unless you have some deep pockets. You start out flying LOS and learn how to fly, then progress into FPV flight. Luckily the area you want to cover isn't very large in FPV terms.

There was a post on a FPV forum once that read something like the following;

Take $2,000 and put it into a jar. Place said jar somewhere you walk by it many, many times every day. Do this for an entire month. At the end of that month, grab the jar and get in your car. Drive to the highest point you have nearby and throw the jar off. Do not look where it went, or concern yourself with it, simply get back in your car and drive home. If you can sleep well that night, then you're ready for FPV. :lmao:

 

[Duuuuuuuude]

Yup. FPV looks awesome, and I'm sure it really is awesome, but since none of us have any appreciable stick time on anything, it wouldn't be wise to jump right into it.


I've revised my build list a bit. Couldn't decide on which frame I wanted so I got both ($12 each, can't go wrong), changed to 4s capable escs (just in case), and changed to a simpler flight controller (no external programming needed, just dip switches and pots).

Total cost (30 items :shock: ) + shipping & still less than RTF prices. "thumbsup"

 

[Szczerba]

I hate the word drone, thanks to the media. They're toy RC aircraft is what they are, that tends to diffuse the media driven panic to an extent.



And I would never, ever hang camera and FPV gear off of a RTF anything, I don't care who makes it. I trust my building skills a lot more than the 7 year olds that build those things is all. I build at like, at least an 8 year old level. :mrgreen:

;



Take $2,000 and put it into a jar. Place said jar somewhere you walk by it many, many times every day. Do this for an entire month. At the end of that month, grab the jar and get in your car. Drive to the highest point you have nearby and throw the jar off. Do not look where it went, or concern yourself with it, simply get back in your car and drive home. If you can sleep well that night, then you're ready for FPV. :lmao:

Yep, "drone" sucks.
Two, there are nice RTF's that you can FPV right out of the box. Blade350, DJI Phantom, etc
Trio, GPS return to home will fix most of the lost quad issues. Unless it's crashed. Lol

 

[hpiguy]

I don't question whether they're nice, again, I question mass produced build quality. I've owned probably 15 Blade / parkzone aircraft, out of those 4 didn't fly at all right out of the box due to QC issues, and another 4 or 5 (all helis) needed proper setup before being flown. I also had a DJI Naza flight controller go bonkers on the second flight, at about 175 feet up.

The running joke on aircraft forums is that RTF stands for ready to fail, and not ready to fly. :mrgreen: I also prefer a different flight controller than most RTF quads / multi rotors are equipped with as well since I only fly Openpilot boards. Now, there are companies that will build you an aircraft with them, but not at that price point. I also don't depend on RTH to save me, as I've seen it fail more times than I can count. I scout my fly areas before hand using google earth, do a RF scan of the area with a hand held spectrum analyzer for all the frequencies I'll be using before take off (part of my pre-flight routine) and inspect / test (including camera and FPV gear) everything on my birds prior to take off as well. I'm not trying to slam anyones gear choice, but for me personally it's a lot of money and gear at stake every time I go up, so I try to minimize the risks as much as possible. YMMV

 

[rnpnick]

I put this thread together a couple years ago. While things have changed, much of the equipment used is still relevant. The only changes I would make would be Sunnysky 2212 1400kv motors and a Naze32 flight controller. This is for a DIY kinda guy not wanting to buy into trash.

Lets Build a DIY FPV Spider Quad Together - RC Groups

 

[wings_of_fire]

The running joke on aircraft forums is that RTF stands for ready to fail, and not ready to fly.

Outcome of mass production and competition.

Its the customer that eventually lifts the burden in the form of loosing money and time.

 

[Duuuuuuuude]

I put this thread together a couple years ago. While things have changed, much of the equipment used is still relevant. The only changes I would make would be Sunnysky 2212 1400kv motors and a Naze32 flight controller. This is for a DIY kinda guy not wanting to buy into trash.

Lets Build a DIY FPV Spider Quad Together - RC Groups

Awesome. I'll definitely use that thread as a resource. Thanks. "thumbsup"


I was going to go with a similar controller, but since this is my first, I grabbed something much simpler to start with.

Value Hobby R/C Hobby Store (Addison, Illinois): GT POWER S1 Multicopter Flight Control Board

 

[rnpnick]

I have not used that board before but I did start with an original KK board to learn how to fly. Worked great and had a good feel to it. Once ready the Naze32 not Naza is a wonderful board to grow with. I also Have a Vector from eagle tree that works pretty damn good for those time you want a full featured OSD.

 

[Duuuuuuuude]

A few days, a few packs of broken blades, a lot of tweaking, and one slightly bloody ear (don't ask), and I'm giving up on this flight controller. Terribly unstable and really hard to control. I understand that there is quite a learning curve with these things, but it is more than a handful.

Going with this instead: Hobbyking KK2.1.5 Multi-rotor LCD Flight Control Board With 6050MPU And Atmel 644PA (AR Warehouse)