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joe944 posted:So I've put together a rough draft of what my first build will be based off of recommendations here and what I've found online. http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/..._Version_3.html These are better speed controllers for your purposes. Unless you want to reflash the blue series. That battery is pretty large. I use 1300 mah 4s packs in mine and it gets around 5-8 mins flight time depending on how hard you are pushing. It would fly with an 1800mah pack no problem but it is larger to fit on the quad and you will use more power at hover. That said it has more juice so it may well balance out.
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Dec 4, 2014 18:46
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Ah, I didn't see that one since it wasn't in stock. I was planning to reflash the blue series with an arduino but maybe I'll just wait until that comes back in stock. Some of these parts seem to be quite hard to find, that motor in particular never seems to be in stock. Perhaps I'll grab two different battery sizes and experiment. So everything else looks good then? I think I'm going to pull the trigger today or tomorrow, I'm equally as stoked to begin building the quad as I am looking forward to flying it.
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Dec 4, 2014 18:59
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joe944 posted:Some of these parts seem to be quite hard to find, that motor in particular never seems to be in stock. If you're in the US you're probably better off ordering from http://www.multirotorsuperstore.com/ because he typically ships out orders same-day or next day. Just make sure you grab stuff while it's in stock.
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Dec 4, 2014 19:07
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Other motors that work well are the T-motor 2204 and 2206 (but they are pricey for not much better performance), and the Sunnysky 2204's. BuddyRC now has the Sunnysky's for sale with free ESC's: http://www.buddyrc.com/sunnysky-x2204s-kv2300-brushless-motor.html I have ordered from BuddyRC many times in the past and they are great to work with. I have these motors and ESC's on my mini quad and they are great. I also find that HQ or GemFan 5x4 props are better than the 5x3's. The aircraft is more stable at speed, has more power, and is quieter.
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Dec 4, 2014 19:12
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ESCs on the arms or sandwiched at the bottom of the frame (next to a pdb)? I left the motor wires long enough to do either, though im worried about heat dissipation.
moron izzard fucked around with this message at 20:23 on Dec 4, 2014 |
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Dec 4, 2014 19:24
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CrazyLittle posted:If you're in the US you're probably better off ordering from http://www.multirotorsuperstore.com/ because he typically ships out orders same-day or next day. Just make sure you grab stuff while it's in stock. Awesome. Seems to have everything I need there except for the frame and batteries.
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Dec 4, 2014 19:27
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Are you planning on doing los first then adding fpv down the road? You still need a camera, VTX + antenna and power regulation for fpv. One option for power regulation that is pretty neat is this from RMRC. It outputs 5v and 12v from a 4s source. Or you could get an immersion rc 5.8 vtx that has a built in 5v regulator for the camera. Obviously you would need to get a 5v camera then unless you use a small step up regulator for it. http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2938
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Dec 4, 2014 19:55
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I'll keep researching the FPV stuff for now and add it on later. I have a lot of skills to develop so I'd like to master one thing at a time. Ordered the CF QAV250 frame but I'm still pricing out the other stuff. That motor/ESC combo deal looked amazing, but they are out of stock on the ESC's.
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Dec 4, 2014 20:49
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I ordered a Nano QX but screwed up and got the BNF version. My options are to send it back and get the RTF version or get a transmitter and receiver cheap enough to pass the Wife Acceptance Factor. Are there some cheap transmitter+receiver pairs recommended for someone just starting out in the hobby that would work with a Nano?
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Dec 4, 2014 20:54
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subx posted:Wow, so many amazing overstatements in that thing. She thinks civilians are flying the same sort of drones that are used in the military, wow. Yeah she's just as clueless about drones as she is guns, shocking. I wonder if she knows anything about anything.
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Dec 4, 2014 21:03
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ryde posted:I ordered a Nano QX but screwed up and got the BNF version. My options are to send it back and get the RTF version or get a transmitter and receiver cheap enough to pass the Wife Acceptance Factor. Are there some cheap transmitter+receiver pairs recommended for someone just starting out in the hobby that would work with a Nano? You can find the proper transmitters for $20 on ebay.
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Dec 4, 2014 21:39
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Specifically, the part number that comes with the Nano QX RTF package is MLP4DSM. You can also go for a DX6i if you think you might want to fly other things from Horizon in the future like helis or planes.
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Dec 4, 2014 21:54
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Ordered everything but the FPV gear and the battery. CF QAV250 5x Cobra 2204 1960kv 5x MS 12amp ESC (SimonK RapidESC) Acro Naze32 A bunch of 5030 and 5040 props to test out Before I order the battery, is there any additional hardware/wires/connectors that I need for the build that I may have overlooked?
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Dec 4, 2014 22:39
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Elendil004 posted:Yeah she's just as clueless about drones as she is guns, shocking. I wonder if she knows anything about anything. If you are going to push for regulations about something, you are OK with that person having no clue what they are talking about? This isn't some random person on an internet forum, it is a person that can have a real effect on policies. And saying something along the lines of "taking down an airliner" is a pretty serious accusation, you should, at the least, make sure that's even a possibility.
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Dec 4, 2014 23:44
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joe944 posted:Ordered everything but the FPV gear and the battery. Zip ties. Soldering iron. Solder. XT60 connectors if your batteries didn't come with them. I would reccomend getting some M5 lock nuts for your props rather than the plain ones that come with it. You might need longer 2mm screws for your motors.
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Dec 4, 2014 23:49
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Think I'm good to go now, the help is much appreciated. From what I've been reading this should be a pretty zippy setup, we'll see if I can handle it. Should be fun either way!
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Dec 5, 2014 00:56
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joe944 posted:Think I'm good to go now, the help is much appreciated. From what I've been reading this should be a pretty zippy setup, we'll see if I can handle it. Should be fun either way! It will haul rear end is what it will do. If you want to tame it down you can always limit your throttle curve. You will probably have to add some pid throttle compensation as well as it will probably shake like crazy at full throttle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8coTYgb21oc&t=311s This is a punch out on mine before I finished tuning the throttle compensation. It climbs pretty quickly.
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Dec 5, 2014 02:07
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Can I power the receiver and an osd via my naze32? I've seen both this diagram  as well as descriptions where people used one of the voltage leads from their ESC to power the naze32, and was hoping I wouldn't need to go buy another stepdown or bec (I got the tiny 12v polulu one)
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Dec 5, 2014 07:15
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A Yolo Wizard posted:Can I power the receiver and an osd via my naze32? I've seen both this diagram Yeah you can run your naze off the esc bec. You could also run 5v osds and vtx's off it. The advantage of a separate regulator for those is it makes it easier to remove noise. People say you should only have one esc bec connected to the naze though I'm not sure how actually necessary that rule is. I set up mine that way anyway.
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Dec 5, 2014 07:40
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subx posted:If you are going to push for regulations about something, you are OK with that person having no clue what they are talking about? Elendil is agreeing with you, dude. She's well known as the senator who wants a federal ban on firearms that have features like barrel shrouds, thumbhole stocks and flash suppressors because of how they add to the deadliness of such machines. Hearing her claim that RC planes will soon be taking down airliners isn't much of a surprise when you're already familiar with her disregard of logic and affinity for hyperbole.
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Dec 5, 2014 10:13
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Coxswain Balls posted:Elendil is agreeing with you, dude. She's well known as the senator who wants a federal ban on firearms that have features like barrel shrouds, thumbhole stocks and flash suppressors because of how they add to the deadliness of such machines. Hearing her claim that RC planes will soon be taking down airliners isn't much of a surprise when you're already familiar with her disregard of logic and affinity for hyperbole. Well I took the "anything about anything" as a bit sarcastic, if that was not the intention I apologize. I just want to be able to fly planes/helis/quads/whatever and not have to deal with a bunch of ridiculous BS that the people that actually cause the issues won't bother following anyways. subx fucked around with this message at 14:38 on Dec 5, 2014 |
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Dec 5, 2014 14:36
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subx posted:Well I took the "anything about anything" as a bit sarcastic, if that was not the intention I apologize. I just want to be able to fly planes/helis/quads/whatever and not have to deal with a bunch of ridiculous BS that the people that actually cause the issues won't bother following anyways. No I was asking if there was any subject she actually knew about because he's pants-on-head retarded every time I read anything about her. Someone else (Matt Swindon) took a look at the UAV sightings submitted by the FAA to congress, and: Of the 190 reports of UAV activity... 93 were sightings by pilots or ATC personnel. Of the 93 sightings, UAV were in close proximity (less than a couple of hundred feet) to the reporting aircraft 48 times and only 2 reported to having alter course. UAVs were reported within 5 miles of an airport 55 times. Of the 190 reports, 48 can be ruled out as larger and / or military UAV. Of the 190 reports, 47 were reports outside of the aviation community, such as the report to LE that a UAV crashed into a tree. Elendil004 fucked around with this message at 17:35 on Dec 5, 2014 |
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Dec 5, 2014 17:33
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subx posted:I just want to be able to [do activity] and not have to deal with a bunch of ridiculous BS that the people that actually cause the issues won't bother following anyways.  
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Dec 5, 2014 17:41
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joe944 posted:Ordered everything but the FPV gear and the battery. I'm fighting the urge to buy something similar, and your not helping. Especially when I only need the frame, Motors, ESC, and props. I have everything else spare, including FPV gear.
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Dec 5, 2014 17:56
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Golluk posted:I'm fighting the urge to buy something similar, and your not helping. Especially when I only need the frame, Motors, ESC, and props. I have everything else spare, including FPV gear. 
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Dec 5, 2014 18:14
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Good timing too. Just broke the frame on one of the motor joints on my nano qx. Maybe some glue will fix it.
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Dec 6, 2014 00:24
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Not sure if this is a good thread for this but I need help: I am in the market to buy my 15 year old a quadcopter (prebuilt maybe?). After doing a bit of research I have a few questions for anyone that may know. Fly time: seems to be in the 10-15 minute range at best, can this be increased with a better battery? Motors: Brushed motors seem to be the norm in the $50-200 range, from reading these can die after as little as 1-5 flights (10 minutes average), and this seems like its a deal-breaker. Are there models with brush-less motors in my price range? Should I be worrying? Are there good quality brushed motors that can be recommended? Range: seems to be around 100-200 feet, and this seems ok but I don't know for sure SAFE: seems to be software stabilization, and necessary to not destroy your quadcopter immediately, allows for learning for a beginner. is this the case? Video recording: I am not married to video recording but it seems like it would be a nice feature. You tube videos tell me that I need to spend at least $500-1000 to get a reasonable HD video model.. but maybe there are mods, etc that can be done.
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Dec 6, 2014 00:44
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Has your 15-year old flown a copter or a quad before? How much interest has he/she expressed? If neither of you have any experience with RC stuff, and flying RC stuff in particular, I'd recommend getting one of the ready-to-fly (RTF) mini-quads. There are a bunch in the $50-$100 range. I think the current thread favorites are the Blade Nano QX and Hubsan X4. The X4 has a camera but I have no idea how the quality is, the Nano's pretty excellent and a little more nimble than the X4. Both get ~15-minutes worth of flying on a single battery, but spare batteries are pretty cheap so it's worth getting a few extras. (Get the RTF models - BNF is Bind-N-Fly, meaning you have to snag a transmitter-a remote control-as well. There's a few other designations for pre-built kits as well) If you want something bigger, the Parrots are great since they're super durable and so are good for new pilots. The DJI Phantoms often come with cameras but you need to be a little careful with them because they've got exposed props that break easily in crashes. I'd recommend practice before starting on that, or just spend a bunch of cash on spare props. If you want a more hands-on experience or have played with these things before, then building a quad or starting with a kit you put together is a great idea. Check my post history in this thread for a link to an easy DIY quad build - that's a good starting kit, but you'll want to get the alternative landing gear to practice with (it lowers the quad, which helps make landing easier). It's on a 550mm frame (i.e. a square roughly a foot and a half or two feet on a side) which is bigger than it sounds, and in hindsight I wish I'd gone with a smaller 450 H frame or a mini quad in the 250 range, but those smaller builds are trickier because you need to know what you're doing with the wiring going in. Plus you need to be okay at soldering. As for your other questions: 15 minutes per battery is pretty good. Look into setting up a battery voltage alarm, though that typically requires soldering. To up that most people get spare batteries and just land/swap batteries. The bigger batteries can increase flight time, but are a bit heavier. It's surprisingly hard to fly a quad for more than 15 minutes straight when you're first starting out, too. (At least for me - maybe I'm a wimp) Instead, I tend to have a bunch of shorter hops and flights, so swapping batteries isn't too hard. Brushless motors are absolutely the way to go. Depending on size and quality you can get motors that cost anywhere from $10 and up. For a starter quad expecting $20/motor is pretty reasonable. Range I don't really know much about - other people will know more, but a lot depends on the transmitter/receiver pair you got, whether you got a separate antenna, whether you go for various strange antenna technologies, etc. Every flight control board has some kind of stabilization. The better boards have better accelerometers and better stabilization. I don't know SAFE per se, but if you want a starter flight control board, the KK2.x series from Hobbyking and the Naze32 are often recommended. (KK2.x might be out of favor now - I built my quad back in February/March when that was recommended for newbies) Video - There are all sorts of video options. Are you planning on getting an FPV setup? Do you just want to attach a video camera? Do you want to have a monitor so you can see the feed live, or are you okay capturing and then checking it later?
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Dec 6, 2014 01:04
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Nerobro posted:You can find the proper transmitters for $20 on ebay. porksmash posted:Specifically, the part number that comes with the Nano QX RTF package is MLP4DSM. You can also go for a DX6i if you think you might want to fly other things from Horizon in the future like helis or planes. Thanks for the recommendations. I snagged a transmitter, and am looking forward to my first quad flight (and likely crash).
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Dec 6, 2014 01:08
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Arcturas posted:Has your 15-year old flown a copter or a quad before? How much interest has he/she expressed? If neither of you have any experience with RC stuff, and flying RC stuff in particular, I'd recommend getting one of the ready-to-fly (RTF) mini-quads. There are a bunch in the $50-$100 range. I think the current thread favorites are the Blade Nano QX and Hubsan X4. The X4 has a camera but I have no idea how the quality is, the Nano's pretty excellent and a little more nimble than the X4. Both get ~15-minutes worth of flying on a single battery, but spare batteries are pretty cheap so it's worth getting a few extras. Thank you very much for this information! This helps a lot. Neither I nor my kido has flown anything. Having said that, I am also getting him a soldering station hope to teach him about basic electronics and proper soldering. I will say this, the kid is really smart, has an ardunio and loves to hack electronics so maybe a kit would be a great idea. I don't have the ability to look at your post history so if you could link the thread you are talking about, that would be great. As far as video, it would be great to be able to record and view later, I don't need FPS most likely.
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Dec 6, 2014 03:14
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I know this was addressed earlier, but let me take a swing too.redeyes posted:Not sure if this is a good thread for this but I need help: To cut to the chase, for a first quad, you don't want FPV, you don't want a camera. You want something small, and one you can buy replacement parts for cheaply. At the micro end of things, you can more or less drive them like a bumper car, and they don't really get damaged. As they get bigger, they fall faster, and have more energy, so running into things ALWAYS means breaking a prop, and may mean breaking the frame. The Nano QX is 18 grams. It just doesn't have enough energy to hurt itself. Or you. Or you cat. Or your tv. Or your furniture. Admittedly I'm a Horizon Hobby whore, so I can't really recommend much else. I heard some of the husban stuff is good, but it's not compatible with my DSM based radio gear, so I stay away from them. The Nano QX is $90 for the ready to fly version. That includes a battery, a radio (with batteries) a charger, the Quadcopter, a spare canopy, and a spare set of blades. quote:Fly time: seems to be in the 10-15 minute range at best, can this be increased with a better battery? For example, 5 150mah 25c batteries for the Nano QX is $20 on ebay. Six batteries is more than I can fly for without wanting to sit and ponder what I've done. quote:Motors: Brushed motors seem to be the norm in the $50-200 range, from reading these can die after as little as 1-5 flights (10 minutes average), and this seems like its a deal-breaker. Are there models with brush-less motors in my price range? Should I be worrying? Are there good quality brushed motors that can be recommended? quote:Range: seems to be around 100-200 feet, and this seems ok but I don't know for sure quote:SAFE: seems to be software stabilization, and necessary to not destroy your quadcopter immediately, allows for learning for a beginner. is this the case? quote:Video recording: I am not married to video recording but it seems like it would be a nice feature. You tube videos tell me that I need to spend at least $500-1000 to get a reasonable HD video model.. but maybe there are mods, etc that can be done. Edit: Wow, three people, essentially the same answer three times. Hah. Nerobro fucked around with this message at 03:24 on Dec 6, 2014 |
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Dec 6, 2014 03:20
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I'd definitely second an X4 or Blade Nano Qx. They are great for learning some fundamental for flying skills, and short of flying it into your eye, won't harm you. Once you get the throttle to a position it hovers, you can more or less let go of the controls and it sits there. If you want video as a gimick, this unit is a larger variant of the above, and still in a ready to fly package. http://www.banggood.com/Wholesale-Hubsan-H107D-FPV-X4-RC-Quadcopter-RTF-With-5_8G-FPV-6CH-Transmitter-p-68571.html Even if you want to go beyond those, they are so cheap, I'd get one to start with anyways. They are far less stress to fly when you don't have hundreds of dollars on the line, or repairs to worry about. Going beyond those, assuming he wants this as a hobby, is decent at building, and doesn't mind some research, there is the build your own route. Keep in mind that at this point, the propellers can start to do some damage, and the batteries need to be taken care of properly. I think the going rate to get started is in the 250-400 range, which includes the cost of a battery charger, and transmitter which will work for any new models he may get. Adding video, can be as cheap as 10 dollars for a keychain camera, 80 for a mobius (cheap but comparable to a gopro), ~120 for a basic fpv system, and the skys the limit if you want DLSR cameras on stabilized gimbles with a light bridge connection. And if you have money to burn, and want something ready to go, there is this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKht76-zRBI
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Dec 6, 2014 03:23
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Had a really nice flight with my Assassin tonight. Much better than last night which involved climbing rickity old ladders 15' up onto the school roofs to retrieve a failed roll attempt. I may try to tidy of some of the wiring from the battery to esc, esc to motor, and shorten the velcro. But for now I'm happy. Total weight came in at 18.5 ounces with a 1500mah battery. I found it rather unstable without the stabilizer active, but fluttered beyond half throttle with it, even on low gains. I added another 3/4 ounce of weight under the battery, which seemed to get the flight much steadier. Tried 1.5 and flew into the ground. Tried again, but found I needed more speed than I cared for to maintain altitude. The last improvement I tried tonight, was to mix in throttle to the elevator channel. 20% weight, offset by 15, and it keeps the plane from wanted to pitch up as I go past 50% throttle. I mostly flew with the stabilizer off, pulled off rolls, loops, and half loop roll 180's. I was even getting the plane in a set bank, flying circles around me hands off. Really happy with how it turned out. Of course now I want to stick a camera on it.
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Dec 6, 2014 04:19
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Golluk posted:Had a really nice flight with my Assassin tonight. Much better than last night which involved climbing rickity old ladders 15' up onto the school roofs to retrieve a failed roll attempt. Then of course you should. Looks like a fun little wing.
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Dec 6, 2014 04:38
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I've got 5x Hubsan batteries coming in the mail, and I'm most definitely going to build my own quad in the future. If I was to buy one battery charger/discharger/balancer, what would it be? And where would I buy them? (EDIT: I'm not American, so international websites would be appreciated!) I'm only just getting into this hobby, so I don't really understand a lot of things. Odette fucked around with this message at 05:32 on Dec 6, 2014 |
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Dec 6, 2014 05:30
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Get a Turnigy Accucel 6 from HobbyKing if you buy only one charger. It's great. Also, buy a battery checker for the field. Also, since you are new to the hobby, it's important to know that you'll need charging adaptors for your batteries. The Accucel 6 will come with a lead for XT60, which is the most common type, but there are a million kinds of batteries. I bought a Charging Harness that has a ton of different oddball leads. If you have those Hubsan batteries, there are boards that will allow you to charge 6 of them at once using an Accucel or other charger on the left fucked around with this message at 06:09 on Dec 6, 2014 |
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Dec 6, 2014 06:04
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on the left posted:Get a Turnigy Accucel 6 from HobbyKing if you buy only one charger. It's great. Also, buy a battery checker for the field. That is pretty sweet. I'm guessing I also need a power supply for the Accucel. Do I need to buy any additional adapters or cables for the Hubsan batteries? EDIT: I see you've updated your post. Where are these boards? Also, do I just need one charging harness or one for each battery? Odette fucked around with this message at 06:49 on Dec 6, 2014 |
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Dec 6, 2014 06:31
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There is a variant that has a power supply built in. So you can plug it in to the wall or a car battery. This is what I've been using and have been happy with. http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=30917 http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__74024__HobbyKing_8482_Lipo_Voltage_Checker_2_8S.html Has also been handy for checking cell voltages, and the alarm is easily heard when in my plane.
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Dec 6, 2014 07:42
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Odette posted:That is pretty sweet. I'm guessing I also need a power supply for the Accucel. I looked for a hubsan adaptor but couldn't find one. I have seen them before though. They charge 5-6 batteries at once since chargers can typically charge 6S batts, and each hubsan battery is 1S. As for power supply, you can buy one or use an old laptop power supply (or hack an old computer/server PSU). I am a big fan of seperate power supplies for chargers because you can upgrade the power supply, or replace it if/when it fails. Golluk posted:http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__74024__HobbyKing_8482_Lipo_Voltage_Checker_2_8S.html Yes, also definitely get one of the in-flight battery alarms. Great for avoiding damage to batteries.
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Dec 6, 2014 08:19
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on the left posted:I looked for a hubsan adaptor but couldn't find one. I have seen them before though. They charge 5-6 batteries at once since chargers can typically charge 6S batts, and each hubsan battery is 1S. Yeah, I've had a few power supplies fail on me. Much easier to replace the power supply as an entire unit. Is it possible to use one of these to parallel charge a bunch of 1S batteries? Odette fucked around with this message at 10:12 on Dec 6, 2014 |
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Dec 6, 2014 10:07
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