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Vitamin J posted:Indoor season?! I live in Canada on the shoreline of lake Huron. The winds are incredibly strong in the winter once the ice builds up. So we made arrangments to get a gym for 2 hours a week and flying foamys.
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Dec 8, 2011 03:48
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helno posted:I live in Canada on the shoreline of lake Huron. The winds are incredibly strong in the winter once the ice builds up. This is the reason to build fast, heavy ships. Faster planes care less about crosswinds. :-) Heavier planes care less about turbulance. ... can you tell I have big ship envy? My Spirit 2m is on the shelf. But I need to build a new tail for it, and buy a new high start. Did you know surgical tubing turns to hard candy after a decade? So I was busy tonight. I bought $17 of balsa, $17 in paint and sandpaper... and started to build my Nano DLG.  Some Electronics... The reciever case is 7g, and will be shed. As will all the connectors that won't be needed. (a full half of them!) I will be using my e-flite batteries for this. 120mah will last until I'm done.  Yeah, I do my building on the kitchen counter. Marble is CyA proof!  The first fitting of all the parts. The tail is painted properly. I will be doing orange tips on the wings too.  With reciever, but the wings aren't sanded yet.  About 1/3 of the wings ended up as a fine balsa color powder.  Oooh, airfoils. The plane got it's first coat of laquer so I don't have a final shot for the night. But it was 55g before some post paint sanding.
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Dec 8, 2011 08:35
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I have a hotliner and an F3B glider for the windy days but flying in the winter is a pain in the rear end.
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Dec 8, 2011 13:11
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That's why I love FPV, for that video I put my receiver on the roof and flew from inside my car! I just crack the window for my RC antenna. Turn on the radio and crank up the heater. I definitely feel you on the wind, around here it really only gets bad in the fall and spring, so we're past most of it for awhile. High winds are the reason I built a wing for my main FPV plane. I also built a smaller one that I can fly in the park when it's too windy for my Cub. It just sucks flying crosswind via the camera with no pan and no rudder. 
Vitamin J fucked around with this message at 19:30 on Dec 8, 2011 |
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Dec 8, 2011 19:27
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Oh, look at that: And I even flew it tonight. Sadly it flies like a brick. Here's why:  It IS a brick. I'll bet I can really get some altitude with that much mass behind it. I modified my reciever.  I figure I can save 10g with new servos. I can save a few more grams trimming cables, and removing the metal plugs on the receiver. And i'll bet I can save 5g shaving off some more paint. Yes, I built it in two nights.
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Dec 9, 2011 08:58
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Here is a bit of video from our clubs indoor flying session last night. Nothing to exciting but the season has just begun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNfKRI3Z0_U&feature=g-upl&context=G1701bAUAAAAAAAAAA  We managed to avoid any mid air collisions till the very end and somehow ended up with three planes stuck together. Stripped my rudder servo and took a few chunks out of the fuse but nothing that cant be fixed with a hot glue gun. 
helno fucked around with this message at 17:35 on Dec 10, 2011 |
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Dec 10, 2011 17:33
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Thank pink profile cub is awesome. Is that yours?
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Dec 10, 2011 18:26
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ease posted:Thank pink profile cub is awesome. Is that yours? It is. It's a Profile Bellanca Scout designed in google sketchup. I increased the wing and control surface area to make it more suitable for indoor flying. If anyone wants the sketchup file let me know.
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Dec 10, 2011 21:54
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I would love to have that file. I've been looking for a simple plan to get started.
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Dec 11, 2011 07:27
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Its not really a traditional plan because it is meant for a CNC router but if you want to make one send an email to myusername at rocketmail.com I started work on a small OV10 bronco yesterday. Hopefully I have enough depron to actually make it.
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Dec 11, 2011 17:00
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I saw this posted on Ocean City's page. The same Tri-Copter? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SOPRPn8FC0
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Dec 14, 2011 17:50
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Untagged posted:I saw this posted on Ocean City's page. I believe that guy's using the same design as RC Explorer's tricopter, but it's not the same person.
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Dec 14, 2011 18:50
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Welcome to the Specter, purpose built FPV plane designed by FPVer IBCrazy. Specs: Laminated EPP, coroplast tail, fiberglass booms Wingspan 48" Length 42" Weight w/ batt ready to fly: 1002 grams Full 4 channel control Electronics: Blue 3530 1700kv brushless with 7x6 prop Castle Creations 36amp ESC HK metal gear servos for ail and elev, 9g for rudder 2200mah 35C lipo Corona 72mhz receiver FPV: 5.8ghz vtx Readymade RC 480 OSD camera HK Simple OSD Skew Planar Wheel on the vtx, 5 turn Helical on vrx FPV Maiden flight (cooler visuals like flying over shadow) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1qaFmS9o9Y Second flight (smoother and lower and 2km trip to the ridge) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTPcXpOOQNs    Kits may be for sale in the spring...for cheap! Vitamin J fucked around with this message at 01:09 on Dec 15, 2011 |
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Dec 14, 2011 19:52
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How hard is it to align the twin booms and keep everything true? Aren't the CP antennae more effective pointed toward the ground? I'm planning on using 900mhz gear, so the cloverleaf is a good 6" across and I'm wonderign if I should even bother trying to mount it downwards or not.
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Dec 14, 2011 20:15
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It wasn't that hard, just used a square ruler and lots of double checking. The antenna would be marginally better pointed towards the ground, but that poses landing problems. The nulls are above and below it pretty much identically so the only benefit pointing it down would be to clear the freshnel zone better but it clears that just fine on this plane. Foam and coro don't hamper the RF enough to worry. 900mhz is used by cell towers and you may have serious problems with interference. Almost no FPVers use it except for guys out in the boonies. If I don't have problems with 5.8 then you certainly won't at the lower freqs. I've seen it both ways.
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Dec 14, 2011 20:34
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well... gently caress. Guess I need to see if it'll work where I fly, or else try to flip the 900mhz stuff. I'm not going to be flying over city/neighborhoods proper, but there's plenty of cellular coverage out there.
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Dec 14, 2011 20:43
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So I'm taking another shot at building my Nano DLG under 50g. The last one met a terrible death while trying to imitate a javelin. It's in four parts now... So here's the build process...       Shaping the wings should bring their weight down from 22g down to 11g. Which gives me something like 25 grams for radio gear. 3.7 grams for the receiver.
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Dec 14, 2011 22:28
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CrazyLittle posted:well... gently caress. Guess I need to see if it'll work where I fly, or else try to flip the 900mhz stuff. I'm not going to be flying over city/neighborhoods proper, but there's plenty of cellular coverage out there. 900Mhz is only used by old analog cell phones now, so I'd give it a try. I've deployed a 900mhz radio system for something else in a city before and was able to handle any cell tower based interference.
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Dec 15, 2011 01:26
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Trabisnikof posted:900Mhz is only used by old analog cell phones now, so I'd give it a try. I've deployed a 900mhz radio system for something else in a city before and was able to handle any cell tower based interference. This isn't right, but they do use a pretty narrow band, so the chances of interference are pretty low.
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Dec 15, 2011 01:42
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Your results may vary, I've just heard from many FPVers, local and far away, that they don't have good results with 900 in an urban/semi-urban environment. Most guys use either 1.3 or 2.4 for long range. I've heard stories of interference so bad they couldn't even get 50 meters before the picture was too terrible to fly.
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Dec 15, 2011 03:07
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Well AT&T's 3G band is 850mhz and 1800mhz, but gsm in general can be 850, 900, 1800 or 1900 bands. So there's a good chance the antennas in the area will interfere. I will just have to find out.
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Dec 15, 2011 04:51
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I have a motor, battery, and a 2 meter glider. Even better I have a reciever. .... what's the cheapest way to get FPV going? And.. I want my darned servos.
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Dec 15, 2011 07:25
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A 2m glider would be perfect for a starting set-up. You're going to have to do a lot of reading and research to figure out what the best video frequency is for you. Local rf usage, range goals, size, etc are all factors and only you can choose. Start reading this whole thread: http://fpvlab.com/forums/showthread.php?116-FPV-PILOT-TRAINING-CENTER-YOUR-ROAD-TO-FPV-SUCCESS (The guy in these videos is the guy who designed my Specter, innovated CP antennas for FPV, is a genius, and gives away most of his work completely free) And then keep reading that forum. I studied for 6 months before putting my first system together and I still made a ton of mistakes. FPV is kind of a black art, nothing plug-n-play yet, just geeks in the lab with a soldering iron. Here's another good thread: http://fpvlab.com/forums/showthread.php?2692-Advice-on-a-starter-setup-for-Xmas A few rules of thumb for deciding: -5.8ghz has lowest noise floor, but lowest range potential as well so tuned circularly polarized antennas are a necessity. Full 8 channels so you can fly with buddies on 5.8. -2.4ghz is what Trappy used for his New York flight and his mountain flights in the Alps, many other guys are using it as well, it is a great choice but check for local wifi interference. Works fine alongside 2.4ghz RC transmitters as long as you power the 2.4 vtx first (I mean other planes using 2.4 control, do not mix 2.4 control with 2.4 video on the same plane!). Still pretty compact antennas. -1.3ghz is great for long range, behind obstacles, etc. Only one legal channel though, 1280 and the others are used for air navigation so you really just want to stick to 1280. I think 1360 is open too but only a few vtx/vrxs reach that far. Big antennas. -900mhz has the most range potential, best object penetration but subject to interference. 900 also wreaks havok on everything else from servos to the RC rx so you need big separation between components, lots of filters and ferrite rings, and lots of testing. -Whatever freq you pick, you don't need more than 500mw, 200-400 is recommended. Anymore is just wasted battery, extra heat, and more rf interference with the rest of your plane. Going from 500mw to 1w is less beneficial that just getting a slightly higher gain antenna, inverse-square law and all that. After you pick the freq then buy a vtx/rx combo, combos are usually cheaper unless you get used or a special or something. Shop readymaderc.com, videoaerialsystems.com, and bevrc.com Then a camera, this is a great starter camera: http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_62_12&products_id=200 You can also pick up a cheaper CMOS camera, less quality but cheaper, lighter, more durable. Then you need something to fly with, a TV or goggles. TVs are cheapest, the Haier 10" is what I use and I got it for $60. Keep an eye out for 5v vs 12v cameras and transmitters. Assuming you use a 3S lipo I would buy 12v gear. Then you just need to build/buy an LC filter (batt -> ferrite ring -> capacitor -> vtx) and that will keep your video clear of ESC interference. If you get a 5v system you can use a small BEC to power everything. Stock antennas will be good enough to get you started. If you start with 5.8ghz though you may want to start with a set of CP antennas. Buy those at videoaerialsystems.com or truerc.net/canada, beware of knock-offs.
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Dec 15, 2011 18:20
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CrazyLittle posted:Well AT&T's 3G band is 850mhz and 1800mhz, but gsm in general can be 850, 900, 1800 or 1900 bands. So there's a good chance the antennas in the area will interfere. I will just have to find out. Fair enough, only T-mobile uses 900mhz GSM in the US though.
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Dec 15, 2011 20:14
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Trabisnikof posted:Fair enough, only T-mobile uses 900mhz GSM in the US though. It's also a HAM frequency so get your licence (and, most importantly, the related know-how) in order before using it.
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Dec 15, 2011 20:30
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Helldesk posted:It's also a HAM frequency so get your licence (and, most importantly, the related know-how) in order before using it.
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Dec 15, 2011 20:36
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Trabisnikof posted:That's not true, 902-928Mhz is ISM and used unlicensed in a number of ways. You are right, I just checked and saw how it is on Region 2. Over here on this side of the pond the limitations are incredibly strict though; 863 - 870 MHz is one of our ISM bands but with 25 mW ERP and 0.1% duty cycle limits (yes, one promille), or a suitable protocol. Wherever you live, dig up your local regulations and familiarize yourself with them. Then you know not to trust people on the Internet. 
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Dec 15, 2011 21:05
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Hmm... I've seen lots of the FPV aircraft that are really kinda clunky. I would imagine that my Spirit would make a very stable platform. We shall see. I have a DX6i, and I would like to stick with that. I'll need to do range testing.
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Dec 15, 2011 21:18
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Yeah, not a lot of innovative or unique FPV planes really, just Easystars or Skywalkers and boring crap like that. Wings have found a new home with FPV though, seems like everyone's building one these days. I started with a DX6i too. I pushed it to 1km a couple times but felt really scared. You don't get glitching like with PPM, you just go from full control to total lock-out, can take up to 5 seconds to regain signal if you're lucky and that feels like an eternity. On top of that it gets disrupted enough to lock-out once you start flying out of line-of-sight. This happened to me about 500ft from where I was standing. Just dipped below the rocks a bit and had a lock out. 72mhz PPM and I would have just raised my TX above my head and climbed to safety. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2PZGsV4If4 Bought an old Futaba for $40 and got a Corona rx for $22 and haven't looked back. Been 2.5 miles on stock antennas. btw, just to show you how awesome the FPV community is, check out how I ended up finding my downed plane: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3JbWsFulBk Vitamin J fucked around with this message at 00:06 on Dec 16, 2011 |
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Dec 16, 2011 00:03
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CrazyLittle posted:Here's my plane of choice: I just wanted to thank you for this post, I'm pretty much just going to go for it and get exactly everything you listed sometime in the near future. Any other updates or edits you'd suggest before I place the order? For only $60-70 more than the cheaper ready to fly option, I figured why not. At some point I thought it might be cool to hook up an arduino if that makes any difference.
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Dec 16, 2011 02:44
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hayden. posted:I just wanted to thank you for this post, I'm pretty much just going to go for it and get exactly everything you listed sometime in the near future. Any other updates or edits you'd suggest before I place the order? For only $60-70 more than the cheaper ready to fly option, I figured why not. Depending on what you had in mind for the arduino, and what your long term plans were for R/C, I would skip getting the CT6B radio/receiver combo and get something better from the start. The CT6B is a good starter radio because it's REALLY REALLY CHEAP and it's computer programmable so you can use it for planes and helicopters as long as you save the config on your computer/laptop. If you're confident that you'll be in it longer then you should get a radio that has multi-model memory (switch profiles on the fly) because while you may -try- to setup the plane/heli as perfect as possible, you'll have to compensate for error by adjusting the controller. Multi-model radios let you store the profile for each plane you make so that you can just swap between models quickly. I'm using a Turnigy 9x with a custom firmware-flashing board, and a firmware called ER9x. This particular radio starts at ~$90, and the add-on board is like another $50. Receivers for this radio are $10-20 each, and you can use receivers from the CT6B as well. If you want longer range or more robust signal scrambling you can get a "JR-style" plug in module from FrSky that's ~$50, with receivers $20-30 each, and it'll be almost as good as top of the line Futaba stuff that costs 10x's as much. Spektrum radios are more expensive than Turnigy, but not as expensive as Futaba. You can also get cheap <$10 receivers that mimick Spektrum standard DSM2 code, and are perfectly fine for not-super-long-ranges. If you didn't want to tweak or hack your own radio I'd say that Spektrum is a good way to go with a DX8 or DX6i. You should be able to find a used Spektrum for less than retail. CrazyLittle fucked around with this message at 03:24 on Dec 16, 2011 |
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Dec 16, 2011 03:21
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I thought about this, but then I read an Nuts and Volts article about a guy that does this with a kite and a sophisticated suspension system attached to the kite line. He just used a standard SLR camera with a remote shutter trigger. I guess he knows from experience how to get decent pictures.
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Dec 19, 2011 08:47
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CrazyLittle posted:If you want longer range or more robust signal scrambling you can get a "JR-style" plug in module from FrSky that's ~$50, with receivers $20-30 each, and it'll be almost as good as top of the line Futaba stuff that costs 10x's as much. Spektrum has JR style plugs, I have a DX7 I love but would also like to get more distance out of it. Could you link the specific product?
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Dec 19, 2011 13:32
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Carbon is just so sexy. I was expecting it to be a lot harder to apply. With some care it goes on quite flat and with a very even width. The plans for the plan recomended using a plastic shopping bag to smooth out the carbon tow. I wrapped packing tape around my finger, and that worked out well.  I made a little table so I could make the airfoil even. I didn't do that last time.  Now it just needs radio gear.  Watson always thinks he can help. Fur and CA aren't a good combination. If you look closely you can see the elevator is sprung up. Since there's no radio gear there's no tension to hold it down. If I am really lucky I'll get a package from china today.  I also bought a new toy this weekend. The MSR in the middle is the new one. It came with that fancy 4 port charger. Port 2 on the charger has now blown up two batteries for me. Eflite is gonna pay for that. :-) 
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Dec 19, 2011 16:01
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ease posted:Spektrum has JR style plugs, I have a DX7 I love but would also like to get more distance out of it. Could you link the specific product? With simple 8-channel rx: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__14349__FrSky_DJT_2_4Ghz_Combo_Pack_for_JR_w_Telemetry_Module_V8FR_RX.html With 8 channel + telemetry rx: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__14355__FrSky_DF_2_4Ghz_Combo_Pack_for_JR_w_Module_RX_V2_.html The whole point of course, is to get a transmitter module with spread spectrum frequency hopping 2.4ghz, and receivers for cheap. FrSky is less than half the price of Spektrum's DSMX gear.
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Dec 20, 2011 04:53
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Well hey.. Eflite did something really nice yesterday. The charger I just bought has a bad port. They're shipping me a new charger, and as soon as they're in stock, they're sending me two new batteries.
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Dec 20, 2011 16:18
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I've been doing some research on the possibility of making a UAV-type RC plane, but according to the rabble on other forums it's actually apparently illegal for civilians. Does anyone know the exact circumstances that make it illegal? I think I read some people saying that it had to remain within your line of sight, but then does that mean FPV flyers are technically breaking the law? edit: maybe it was only if you're doing it for commercial purposes, feel free to chime in if anyone knows better edit2: apparently you can get crazy long ranges using ham frequencies, I'm totally gonna ham one of these up:  put in a giant fuel tank (some estimates online said it could hold 20 pounds of fuel, so about 2.5 gallons), and make it do 100 mile round trip flights. hayden. fucked around with this message at 00:12 on Dec 22, 2011 |
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Dec 21, 2011 23:21
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hayden. posted:I've been doing some research on the possibility of making a UAV-type RC plane I recommend checking out DIY Drones or at the very least their FAQ. I do wonder what the rules actually mean for free-flying gliders like paper planes though. Are you a terrorist if you throw one out the window of a skyscraper or on the tarmac at an airport? Paint an ad on it to make it commercial too.  FPV is a bit of a grey area. You can do it in a way where nobody has any room for complaints (line of sight, buddy box system with the "student" doing the video flying and the "teacher" at the ready to take over in case of technical trouble), or you can go all out and fly beyond visual range with no hope of recovery if the technology lets you down for just a moment - or anything in between. So far there have been no incidents that would have attracted regulatory attention to smack down on civilians, but with its growing popularity, who knows. Edit: A "model" airplane can go a long long way... Maynard L. Hill built one that crossed the Atlantic in 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3145577.stm Helldesk fucked around with this message at 00:20 on Dec 22, 2011 |
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Dec 22, 2011 00:14
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Great, thanks for the link. I guess if nothing else I could have someone in a chase vehicle and a remote control to keep it in line of sight. I'd have to be in the middle of nowhere with flat land, though.
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Dec 22, 2011 00:20
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Flying a plane for hobby reasons is almost entirely unregulated. The only laws that apply are local state and county rules and mostly apply to parks an recreation areas. Some city's also have ordinances against RCs of any sort, some just have regulations again "powered" RC planes. You can skirt around these issues from standing on the side of the road or on private land and flying over the restricted areas, because the laws only apply to where the pilot is standing  The only laws that apply to the FPV gear are the FCC rules. A HAM license is recommended for the video transmitter, but doesn't make you totally legal as these devices aren't approved for use in the US. When someone tells you that you can't fly out of LOS or above 400 feet they are referring to the AMA guidelines published by the FAA as the AC 91-57. The AC stands for "Advisory Circular" and that means it's not a law but a recommendation for safe flight. This all applies to UAVs for hobby use, for commercial it is outlawed right now. You need to get an experimental certificate for scheduled test flights from the FAA and they aren't giving very many out. There are many UAV professional photography companies, but they generally get shut down by the FAA once they get too big. I've also heard of a Search & Rescue team getting shut down by the FAA literally right as they were about to launch to find a missing pregnant lady. They were operating as a non-profit at the time which should have been allowed. There is a lot of lobbying right now on behalf of the military/law enforcement UAV developers and manned photography companies to stop UAVs from being used. It won't last, though. e: I'm not sure that a totally autonomous UAV is outlawed, either, here is a link to a contest which has them compete: http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10435
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Dec 22, 2011 00:24
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