Remote controlled flying things-Quads, Hex, Octo or anything

[Marschy]

These look like fun

http://www.helipal.com/storm-racing-drone-rtf-type-a.html

GG

Similar to what I'm waiting for in my Xmas stocking.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Blackout-QAV250-Carbon-Fiber-Mini-250-FPV-Quadcopter-Frame-Unassembled/2004383973.html

Check out this thread on rcgroups. These guys are nuts on these things. Racing 250 class quads are HUGELY popular in the US and gaining popularity everywhere. This thread is only about the blackout mini-h clone called the ZMR250 and grows by about 10-20 replies per day. The ZMR250 is also the name by which the one I'm waiting is also sold as. The QAV250 is actually a French made mini that looks nothing like the one I'm buying. The one I am buying is identical to the mini quad in this thread (nearly 10000 replies since June 2014, amazing).

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2180331

http://youtu.be/lbgGO0489Gk
	Small | Large

[Mandrake]

I just put my DJI 2.4 Ghz Tx/Rx up on Ebay to recoup some of my expenses ( as I can't use it for the Alien .. ) -- Sat down , had lunch , then thought "D...H.... " should have put the 2.4 on my Phantom and get rid of the 5.8 -- Pulled the Ebay Ad ... removed the 5.8 receiver - fitted the 2.4 --- fired up the Tx and hey presto I have a Phantom FC40 running on a 2.4Ghz setup !!!

I think I'm slowly getting the hang of this stuff >>>>

If I can get this Alien up and running how about a competition / Race around some slalom sticks at a large open paddock somewhere Huntingdale Golf Course round the flag and back ?? LOL

Steve

[Marschy]

I just put my DJI 2.4 Ghz Tx/Rx up on Ebay to recoup some of my expenses ( as I can't use it for the Alien .. ) -- Sat down , had lunch , then thought "D...H.... " should have put the 2.4 on my Phantom and get rid of the 5.8 -- Pulled the Ebay Ad ... removed the 5.8 receiver - fitted the 2.4 --- fired up the Tx and hey presto I have a Phantom FC40 running on a 2.4Ghz setup !!!

I think I'm slowly getting the hang of this stuff >>>>

If I can get this Alien up and running how about a competition / Race around some slalom sticks at a large open paddock somewhere Huntingdale Golf Course round the flag and back ?? LOL

Steve

I think you'll find out the benefits of 5.8 FPV equipment soon enough Steve, the antenna size for a start is much smaller for circular polarised antennas.

I'm going to need a bloody big battery pack to get around the flag at the Huntingdale Golf Course from here in Adelaide, but your on.

[Mandrake]

There's a bit of empty desert halfway between us isn't there ?? Might see if I can find a campsite for next autumn -- might be cool enough then .. Could be a Myswag gathering ...

[Marschy]

Sounds like a bloody good idea.

It would be good to go where the scenery from the air would make it just as worthy for a gathering as well. I don't think that would be too hard, there is lots of beautiful scenery between Melbourne and Adelaide.

[Mandrake]

Have to get me paper maps out ... I'll get one of the mods to make it a mini-meet in Trips -" Build it and they will come "

[Marschy]

LOL, you're an ideas man Steve

[Bird]

http://www.catchoftheday.com.au/event/43700/product/dji-phantom-2-flying-drone-zenmuse-h3-3d-331275/

any good?>

[Mandrake]

Yes Excellent machine and a pretty good price

BUT -- Spare batteries are currently $170 each !!! No cheap copies yet as far as I know .

And I'm not sure how the 3D gimbal works as there's only one spare channel which is normally
used for the tilt action of the gimbal so I don't know how you can rotate the gimbal ??

Steve

[Bird]

Yes Excellent machine and a pretty good price

BUT -- Spare batteries are currently $170 each !!! No cheap copies yet as far as I know .

And I'm not sure how the 3D gimbal works as there's only one spare channel which is normally
used for the tilt action of the gimbal so I don't know how you can rotate the gimbal ??

Steve

That's ok, I don't know what a gimbal is anyway so I wont need it

[Mandrake]

Its the gizmo that holds the camera in the same position regardless of how the aircraft is tilted.

[Bird]

Its the gizmo that holds the camera in the same position regardless of how the aircraft is tilted.

Ahhh. ok.. I'd probably need that

[CBRK]

Sounds like a bloody good idea.

It would be good to go where the scenery from the air would make it just as worthy for a gathering as well. I don't think that would be too hard, there is lots of beautiful scenery between Melbourne and Adelaide.

I'd come along to something like that :-)....  Joins my two favorite hobbies!!

I'll get to the sonar on Wednesday night, last week and my weekend have been written off.  Seems if I buy a new toy the weather punishes me.....  Been out most nights after work either dealing with trees that have fallen on cars and roads or leaking roofs.....  That will be tonight's fun.....

Hate to think what the weathers going to do when i get the quad (still tossing up a 250 or a 330 - so hard to decide), damn if a sonar brings this amount of storms.......  I think I should order a bunker too.....

Looks like I'm out of work (IT contractor) after Christmas so I'll have lots of time as I plan to take 8-10 weeks off.  So I should be able to catch up on my flying (and order and build the quad).  Was two months earlier than I had hoped but not the end of the world....

Chris

[Mandrake]

Just got a 30% off offer for the Radiolink Tx/Rx combo - Now AU$140 -- Yeah had too !! LOL
http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/6397266588.html
I'm gunna get killed ...

[Marschy]

Just got a 30% off offer for the Radiolink Tx/Rx combo - Now AU$140 -- Yeah had too !! LOL
http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/6397266588.html
I'm gunna get killed ...

I find if I put items on my wish list on Aliexpress, within a day or two I get a notification that the item is now cheaper. I wish they would stop doing that, I keep sucked in to buying things.

So is this on top of the Devo 7 radio? I must say, the Radiolink is a nice looking radio though. Very new on the market, so little information available as yet, but the only negative (if you can call it that) is that they only work with their own receiver.

Speaking of getting killed.

I just unsoldered the motor leads from all four of my ESC's for my mini quad. they are Emax 12A SimonK flashed controllers. I did this because to save weight on the mini quads this is pretty well standard practice to solder the motor leads directly to the ESC's after removing the ESC motor leads.

The problem is that each of the three leads are soldered between a pair of FET's on the board and there is nothing consistent between one ESC and the next as to the pins that the motor leads are connected to on the FET's. I even took photographs of the ESC's before I unsoldered them so I could see which pins on the FET's the leads were soldered to because of the inconsistancies.

So after disconnecting the leads that came with the ESC's, when I soldered the one of the motors directly to the ESC and connected it up to my servo tester and battery, I burnt the motor out in 2 seconds flat once I turned on the servo tester. Now I have no confidence that I will be able to resolder any of the remaining 3 motors to the ESC's without the same result. Not happy. 4 ESC's in the bin and one motor.

I've just ordered some replacement ESC's from Hobbyking this time. Some Blue Series 12A ESC's that get good reviews and can be reflashed, but I've read that the stock firmware is pretty good on multicopters, so I'm going to leave them as they are. I've also ordered a replacement motor.

I reckon my magic smoke list must be getting pretty close to 10 items if not more now.

[Marschy]

LOL, just put the Radiolink transmitter on my wish list and got an pay less alert straight away. 

Not going to push my luck though. I've already got 2 radio's. The Frsky 6 channel I haven't even used yet.

[CBRK]

Just got a 30% off offer for the Radiolink Tx/Rx combo - Now AU$140 -- Yeah had too !! LOL
http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/6397266588.html
I'm gunna get killed ...

Hi,

I had a look but doesnt seem to have ppm output...... Only pwm.

New player, not a lot of info about them, tx is not open source either so no tinkering, maybe thats a good thing ?.

Chris

[Marschy]

Good price for a telemetry radio though.

[allan.kidd]

Well I have "bitten the bullet" and placed an order for
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__58351__Walkera_QR_X350_PRO_FPV_GPS_RC_Quadcopter_DEVO_7_Mode_2_Ready_to_Fly_.html

Now I have to learn how to fly it without destroying it.

I have found an Android app - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Creativeworld.QuadcopterFX&hl=en - which is giving me an introduction to the controls.

I have found a simulator which plugs into the transmitter - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Creativeworld.QuadcopterFX&hl=en
Is the best way of learning before using the real thing?

Any suggestions?

[Marschy]

I have found a simulator which plugs into the transmitter - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Creativeworld.QuadcopterFX&hl=en
Is the best way of learning before using the real thing?

They help, but they are no substitute for flying, crashing, swearing, repairing.

[Mandrake]

Like driving a car - read as much as you like but experience behind the wheel means everything ... GPS mode on and failsafe  on and you should have a lot of fun .. First few flights are best in wide open paddock .... They are comparitively easy to fly in GPS mode - manual mode is a whole different ballgame !!

[Marschy]

Agree with that, an nice open field is the go. With nothing that will cause you to make rash decisions if you come too close to an obstacle. Flat as possible is also the best place to start learning, landing on a slope when learning will make you go through more propellers than you will landing on a flat surface.

Set your failsafe to "Return to Launch".

[Mandrake]

Postman turned up before with my S-OSD Remzibi for Naza - plugged it in and it seems to be OK - No camera yet so can't see anything on screen --
But I am fast running out of space to put boards and YARDS and YARDS of bloody cables !! This is the most difficult bit isn't it - keeping it neat but workable !!!
I am having fun ... Ommm -- repeat several times in lotus position !! Mandrake

[Marschy]

Crimping tool is my best friend. Great for shortening your leads and tidying everything up.

You can get new sockets for the servo leads from Jaycar http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=HP1260, but they are much cheaper online. These Jayco ones are suitable for shortening you servo leads.

That and Hobbyking spiral wrap http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__23568__Spiral_wrap_tube_ID_3mm_OD_4mm_Black_2_Metre_.html. I find 3mm and 5mm uselful for 99% of the wiring I need to do.

I'm still on the hunt for DF13 sockets, but no luck yet, but I haven't looked too hard yet.

The mesh is Ok, but you need to singe the ends with a cigarette lighter otherwise it unravels and then to tidy it up you have to use heat shrink which stiffens the cable up and because this can be close to your control board, transfers vibrations to your flight controller. The spiral wrap is much more flexible, and if you need to rearrange things you can reuse it easily.

I used the spiral wrap anywhere there are two or more cables, or where wiring passes through an opening in the frame and abrasion could cause the wiring to become exposed.

[Marschy]

But I am fast running out of space to put boards and YARDS and YARDS of bloody cables !!

Using the purpose built space for the ESC's in the undercarriage has saved me heaps of space. Even if at some stage I break the undercarriage, where they are at the moment is perfect. Have a look at the thread on rcgroups for the Alien 560 I posted before. A lot of people have replaced the undercarriage with crab landing gear and lost that space altogether, but it would be simple enough to cut the ESC mounts off of the legs if need be and still have a purpose made place for your ESC's.

I have removed the heat shrink from the ESC's unsoldered the power supply cables and then soldered them back on so the cables face in the same direction as the motor cables, all in the name of making sure the cables are as short as possible.