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front wing flexing posted:I bought that extra DJI clone, is that okay? Stick with the stock frame first since it's ready to go. Once you break an arm, switch to the DJI clone frame. Once you break one of those arms (they're pretty crappy too*) then switch all the clone arms out for real DJI arms. The copter should be setup to go out of the box, but you'll want to read the manuals on how to use the radio controller and how to tune the KK2.0 board. Make sure you lookup how to turn the auto-level functions on and off. It's not going to fly the copter for you, but it can help avoid some early fat-finger crashes. Turn down your rates, take it easy and slow. Copters will crash... a lot. If you lose control only 6-12" off the ground you're less likely to break something than falling from 50' up. The prop size depends on your battery or payload. If you're carrying extra stuff then use the bigger props. If you're using a regular 2200mah battery then you're probably good to go with only the 8" props... At least that's what their specs say. You're going to have to learn by doing. If you try it out and aren't comfortable learning on a copter that big (nearly 1' across) you can get a micro quad that has blade protectors or even one that has a whole cage around it and learn copter-flight on that. CrazyLittle fucked around with this message at 03:44 on Mar 8, 2014 |
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Mar 8, 2014 03:40
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CrazyLittle posted:Stick with the stock frame first since it's ready to go. Thanks for the info, that actually helps a lot. Smaller probably better for learners but I figured you couldn't go wrong for the price. Thanks again. I'll let you guys know how it flies and I'll try to get some youtube videos up too.
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Mar 8, 2014 03:43
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front wing flexing posted:Thanks for the info, that actually helps a lot. Yeah, I actually have one of timecop's boards on the crappy v2 HK frame and I've broken a bunch of the arms. Once these break I'm switching over to something stronger... if I don't end up cutting my own frame design first. CrazyLittle posted:Once you break one of those arms (they're pretty crappy too*) then switch all the clone arms out for real DJI arms. * Looks like the v3 frame has improved arms. If you ever get toward breaking them, let me know how it went. The same frame from the US store was the "v2" version where the arms had a very obvious weak point right at the motor mount. Compare the v3 frame's arms:  to the v2's arms, and spot the flaw: 
CrazyLittle fucked around with this message at 04:00 on Mar 8, 2014 |
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Mar 8, 2014 03:45
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front wing flexing posted:Thanks for the info, that actually helps a lot. With regular RC helicopters, larger is usually easier to learn on, as they're lot less twitchy...but they're also much more complicated and expensive to repair (Which you will have to do). I ignored that and learned on a micro :P. (I blame Mashed)
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Mar 8, 2014 04:27
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I think the SK450 frame is better than the Q450. Yeah, integrated power PCB, but the SK450 is super sturdy, and I think the separate motor mount plates is a better design. I've broken a couple of those plates, but only one arm. EDIT: To bear clear, I'm saying that the plates act as a sacrificial part in a hard crash before an arm breaks or a motor bearing is damaged. They're a lot quicker to replace than an arm, too.
Slanderer fucked around with this message at 05:31 on Mar 8, 2014 |
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Mar 8, 2014 05:18
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ImplicitAssembler posted:With regular RC helicopters, larger is usually easier to learn on, as they're lot less twitchy...but they're also much more complicated and expensive to repair (Which you will have to do). This is so true for forward flight and acrobatics, though orientation and hover practice are nice on micro/nano scale because they're much more resistant to crash damage and cheaper to repair when you're starting out. My MCPX bogs down too much to do most acrobatics, and can barely get inverted without falling out of the sky or losing tail authority. However, when I just want to practice hovering and basics it's just right. CrazyLittle posted:... Since you already have a Spektrum DX6i radio, I would suggest that you get a 5-6 channel spektrum receiver and ditch the packaged one the RTF quad comes with. But that's all personal preference really. You're more than welcome to try flying with the cheap pre-packaged radio. Even if you ditch the hobbyking radio, hold onto the it and receiver because you can always make a disposable foamy plane with it later on and give it to a friend. I just purchased the same RTF quad and spare frame, and will be doing this first thing out of the box. I've been playing with quads in Phoenix, and with my NanoQX, but I'm having difficulty keeping my orientation even with the different color props, so most of the time I'm just sliding around tail-in. Ultimately I'll probably fly it mostly with FPV gear, but I'm thinking about making a false tail out of some CF rod and a foam ball so I can keep buffing my line of sight skills. Any other tips or suggestions about quads and/or orientation training would be great.
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Mar 8, 2014 06:17
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ickna posted:Any other tips or suggestions about quads and/or orientation training would be great. Stay close. Don't fly a far distance away from yourself. If you're even starting to second guess your orientation then you're too far away, and you're better off putting that copter into the ground. All the tail indicators, lights, color props in the world won't help you when your craft is a tiny dot on the horizon, nothing will tell you what direction it's facing.
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Mar 8, 2014 07:19
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Someone at my local hackspace just finished iterating his laser-cut quad frame. If you have access to a laser cutter (if you're in a major metro area, it's likely that facilities exist), give it a shot https://github.com/vhs/multicopters/tree/master/untitled-quad He also needs a name.    
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Mar 9, 2014 06:39
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Finally got all my orders in I needed for my FT Flyer, got it put together last night, very satisfying. Now to wait for the weather to get a bit better and I can go try flying for the first time. In my order, I got a few lipos, and one of them has a very distinct "nail polish remover" smell. The others have the same smell, but it's much more noticable. It hasn't been overcharged, it's balanced, at proper storage voltage, and the only "work" it's done is a bit of dicking around with a servo, and a bit of running up on the motor to test the ESC. Bad Lipo? Better safe than sorry, or normal occurance? Edit: Specs:Turnigy 1300mAh 25C Discharge, 3 cell 11.1V
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Mar 9, 2014 23:29
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ante posted:Someone at my local hackspace just finished iterating his laser-cut quad frame. That's quite the clever anti-vibration mount there. Although, I'd be rather worried about those motor mounts being held in that way by just the bolt head. A project I was on last year tried that, and it was the point of failure constantly, I corrected it with a washer-sized slot just above the head of the bolt, and it stopped the problem. If it were mine I would put a washer on every bolt-slot it was being assembled with, but with how beefy his design is it may not be necessary.
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Mar 10, 2014 15:54
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What's the minimum specs you would need to fly a go pro? I would like to take some aerial photographs and flybys and such, but I'm dreading the cost. I'm in Australia as well.
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Mar 10, 2014 16:07
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front wing flexing posted:Thanks for the info, that actually helps a lot. Post up when you get it, I'm interested to know how long it takes to ship from the international warehouse. And of course how it flies and all that. I'm about *this far* from pulling the trigger on the same package
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Mar 12, 2014 03:34
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Frogmanv2 posted:What's the minimum specs you would need to fly a go pro? I would like to take some aerial photographs and flybys and such, but I'm dreading the cost. I'm in Australia as well. hobbyking has 2 RTF quads that can carry a gopro. $659 or $679 if you want return to home functionality. This is just what I have seen on the site, and I cant really comment to their quality as i havent used any gopro drones yet.
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Mar 12, 2014 08:19
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Jim Silly-Balls posted:Post up when you get it, I'm interested to know how long it takes to ship from the international warehouse. The email said it could take up to 45 days. However, I've ordered stuff and got it two weeks and two months from them. But I'll let you know.
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Mar 12, 2014 18:15
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ickna posted:This is so true for forward flight and acrobatics, though orientation and hover practice are nice on micro/nano scale because they're much more resistant to crash damage and cheaper to repair when you're starting out. My MCPX bogs down too much to do most acrobatics, and can barely get inverted without falling out of the sky or losing tail authority. However, when I just want to practice hovering and basics it's just right. The only reason that the MCPX is better to learn on, is that it extremely crash resistant...it is also very twitchy and orientation is harder due to it's smaller size. Larger helicopters are much less twitchy, much easier to see the orientation of the aircraft....and much much easier to break and expensive to repair. I put a brushless (HP05) motor on my MCPX and it's now a complete monster. I've yet to get a handle on it as I've been focusing on my planes instead, but will hopefully get some more time on it when spring arrives.
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Mar 12, 2014 18:50
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ImplicitAssembler posted:The only reason that the MCPX is better to learn on, is that it extremely crash resistant...it is also very twitchy and orientation is harder due to it's smaller size. I've been thinking about buying one of their new brushless models, or converting mine over. How difficult was it to convert?
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Mar 12, 2014 19:08
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ickna posted:I've been thinking about buying one of their new brushless models, or converting mine over. How difficult was it to convert? Sort of easy. The first ESC/converter I got was so badly put together that I ended up ordering a new one elsewhere. (bad solder joints all over the place). I still ended up having to solder a fair few connections. So, not quite plug & play, but the soldering wasn't too bad (just wires only, didn't have to solder on the boards). You will also need a XL tail boom as the stock one is too short to hold the power of the brushless.
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Mar 12, 2014 19:41
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Got this today to help me learn to fly while I wait for the bigger one. It's a lot of fun to fly around 
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Mar 13, 2014 03:14
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I did mine with a less scary C05 motor with a fully plug and play kit and it was really simple. I also did a 6" solid carbon tail boom. It was well worth it no bogging compared to the stock one. I would recommend a small collective pitch heli to learn on compared to something larger. Just being able to pick it up and fly again 9 times out of 10 when you crash makes all the difference in the world.
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Mar 13, 2014 03:15
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mashed_penguin posted:I did mine with a less scary C05 motor with a fully plug and play kit and it was really simple. I also did a 6" solid carbon tail boom. It was well worth it no bogging compared to the stock one. Do you have a link or name of the kit I can google?
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Mar 13, 2014 07:38
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front wing flexing posted:Got this today to help me learn to fly while I wait for the bigger one. It's a lot of fun to fly around You will want to check these 2 links. The blades fall off at high speed and get lost easily. Laserface posted:http://bit.ly/1h83hp3 Scipio Africanus posted:I just lost three blades in the same crash
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Mar 13, 2014 08:17
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New blades for the Proto fit a lot more snugly on the shaft. It seems the crashing and flying off is what weakens them. I got some genuine blades from an LHS on eBay.
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Mar 13, 2014 08:53
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deong posted:You will want to check these 2 links. The blades fall off at high speed and get lost easily. You can also just buy spare props for it on Amazon...
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Mar 13, 2014 09:59
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Back when Scipio posted that I don't think anyone had stock, I know I couldn't find any in January. So thanks for the update. I haven't gone through the spares yet.
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Mar 13, 2014 10:45
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Even if they don't fall off, they do get banged up and unbalanced and noisy. I switched to new ones just to try and tame it a little.
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Mar 13, 2014 11:48
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ickna posted:Do you have a link or name of the kit I can google? The kit I bought doesn't seem to exist any more. It was similar to this http://www.hawk-rc.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=37_79_96&product_id=1628 With this motor http://www.hawk-rc.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=37_79_96&product_id=2284 I got it from hawk-rc. I think things have moved on a lot though in upgrade kits since I did mine. It looks like there are versions with governors available now.
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Mar 13, 2014 15:12
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Ordered a Nano CPX (and the BL conversion and some batteries). I already have an mCX2 and a Nano QX, this will be my first CP heli. I'll get it next week probably, looking forward to crashing it a billion times... :I
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Mar 13, 2014 16:14
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I've got a Nano QX and am thinking of building my first quad. So I've got a few questions. First, does this look like a reasonable recipe for a first DIY quad? http://oddcopter.com/2012/12/12/easy-diy-quadcopter-build-part-1-the-parts-list/ Are there any big changes you folks would recommend? Second, I'm thinking it'd be nice to either have a controller I can use with both the Nano QX and whatever I build, or with future copters as well. Is that feasible? If I do that, do I just need to get a compatible transmitter & receiver, or do i have to change anything with the firmware/flight controller/other junk? I'm not terribly electrically competent, so would prefer to keep this relatively simple/plug-n-play. I've got the MLP4DSM 4-channel DSMX transmitter, and am not opposed to picking up a DX5 or DX6i if it'll be more useful for future copters/quads, but if I'll need a separate transmitter for each bird I'd rather just get the super cheap transmitter mentioned in that guide. Third, is there a good way to practice soldering, and what's a good first soldering iron?
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Mar 14, 2014 00:44
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Had one of my lipos (Turnigy 1300mAh 3S) appear to go bad for no apparent reason. Was unused, new out of the box, at storage voltage, only used to test an ESC and servos. Puffed up and smelled of chemicals. Any idea what might have caused that? Random physical weakness/damage? Decided to play it safe and dispose of it. Dropped it down to 9v using my charger, then all the way down under 1v with a 12v lightbulb. Gonna hook it back up to the bulb when I get home, to get it as low as possible, then chuck it in some salt water. RIP Battery #3. Sorry you never got to fly.
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Mar 14, 2014 01:41
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Have systems designed to support a 5D or 10D camera been discussed yet? Only really interested in these things for doing professional TV cameraman work, so if someone could point me to any posts that would be super
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Mar 14, 2014 02:24
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Trip report on the Proto X. Easily the best 40 bucks I've ever spent. The thing is so fun. I get anywhere between 6-10 minutes of flying time with 20 minute charge times. It's super stable and maneuverable. Just don't let your kid with long hair run into the room because it will get caught. Luckily the props come off pretty easy and scissors weren't needed to free him.
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Mar 14, 2014 16:02
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Oh god. Hobbyking's international shipping prices are murderous. Other than waiting a month for parts to get in stock in their US warehouse, is there a good alternative source for their parts? Turnigy frames, engines, transmitters, etc.
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Mar 14, 2014 17:04
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Hobbyking's pretty much the only place to buy "hobbyking" stuff like Turnigy, Hextronic-branded parts. What do you need, specifically? There's lots of hobby shops in the US that sell Chinese parts under different brand names.
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Mar 14, 2014 17:13
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The parts that were on back-order from the US warehouse and I now need are: A frame (I was going with their Turnigy HAL 585 mm Frame) Regular-direction propellers A flight control board (I wanted the KK2.1 or KK2.1.5) A battery (I wanted the 4000mAh 3S 25C Lipo Pack) Also I need a charger & power supply, but those I can wait a little for.
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Mar 14, 2014 18:25
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BlitzkriegOfColour posted:Have systems designed to support a 5D or 10D camera been discussed yet? Only really interested in these things for doing professional TV cameraman work, so if someone could point me to any posts that would be super Not really in this thread few people end up building machines that can lift cameras that big. The costs go up massively and also the risk of smashing such an expensive camera. Have you flown multicopters before? It would be a really bad idea for the first thing you get to be an SLR rig if you haven't.
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Mar 14, 2014 20:06
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BlitzkriegOfColour posted:Have systems designed to support a 5D or 10D camera been discussed yet? Only really interested in these things for doing professional TV cameraman work, so if someone could point me to any posts that would be super mashed_penguin posted:Not really in this thread few people end up building machines that can lift cameras that big. The costs go up massively and also the risk of smashing such an expensive camera. Multicopters can be a risk, since even "professional" setups are not immune to having garbage software that might randomly flip-out and fail, without even logging data in any auditable form. So unless you can get the multicopter + camera insured (since the manufacturer is always gonna say it's your fault their lovely product fell out of the sky), you need to be able to absorb the cost of a crash.
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Mar 14, 2014 20:21
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Slanderer posted:Multicopters can be a risk, since even "professional" setups are not immune to having garbage software that might randomly flip-out and fail, without even logging data in any auditable form. So unless you can get the multicopter + camera insured (since the manufacturer is always gonna say it's your fault their lovely product fell out of the sky), you need to be able to absorb the cost of a crash. I really wish the video of the dude smashing a mikrokopter with slr against the side of a building in NZ was still public. It was pretty amazing. So much money destroyed in seconds.
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Mar 14, 2014 22:26
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mashed_penguin posted:I really wish the video of the dude smashing a mikrokopter with slr against the side of a building in NZ was still public. It was pretty amazing. So much money destroyed in seconds. And it's why smart people will carry insurance on that sort of thing. Full coverage for camera gear is surprisingly cheap!
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Mar 14, 2014 23:03
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Mr. Despair posted:And it's why smart people will carry insurance on that sort of thing. Full coverage for camera gear is surprisingly cheap! Insurance or no insurance its still hillarious. I wonder how much insurance for camera gear getting carried under a multicopter is compared to regular pro photo insurance. I also wonder what camera rental houses think of people strapping their gear to multis and if they charge a premium.
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Mar 14, 2014 23:35
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Mr. Despair posted:And it's why smart people will carry insurance on that sort of thing. Full coverage for camera gear is surprisingly cheap! Arcturas posted:Oh god. Hobbyking's international shipping prices are murderous. Other than waiting a month for parts to get in stock in their US warehouse, is there a good alternative source for their parts? Turnigy frames, engines, transmitters, etc.
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Mar 15, 2014 05:34
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