Latest Activity

Stefan Gofferje commented on Bill Bonney's blog post FBI admits to using surveillance drones over US soil
"Well, a helo costs around $2000 per hour plus something like $2M-$5M buying. If a helo circles over my house or city block, everybody hears it. But you don't hear a quad hovering 150ft over your house. And it's hourly costs are much lower,…"
14 minutes ago

Moderator
Gary Mortimer commented on Bill Bonney's blog post FBI admits to using surveillance drones over US soil
"A FLIR of the right type on a police helicopter can stand off at 15km and observe. Just saying. I'm with Wayne its been happening and should not come as a surprise. "
16 minutes ago
Ted Weerts replied to Ted Weerts's discussion flight data HUD jumps around, shows jitter when gps is plugged in
"i can see that the parameter in the parameter list is changing, but i see no effect in the flight data screen.  and my mag field reads 550 when the board is outside the copter, just hooked up w/ usb, is the usb connection causing some…"
20 minutes ago
wayne garris commented on Bill Bonney's blog post FBI admits to using surveillance drones over US soil
"What amazes me is that this is news at all. Did you guys know the authorities in all our countrys use manned aircraft routinely to spy on there own citizens? They do it quite openly, most major cities and counties have fleets of aircraft this is all…"
21 minutes ago
Aaron Serafinowicz commented on keeyen pang's blog post Techpod review
"any updates? Where did you get your stand?"
24 minutes ago
Ted Weerts replied to ws_Alex's discussion APM 2.5 cannot maintain altitude?!
"it should have had a piece of foam on top of it from 3dr. and you should leave it there. the baro is very sensitive, and can be affected by wind and sun"
41 minutes ago
ws_Alex replied to ws_Alex's discussion APM 2.5 cannot maintain altitude?!
"Do you cover the barometer with some tissue? If yes, did you try removing it?"
53 minutes ago
Ted Weerts replied to Ted Weerts's discussion 2.9.1b flight data HUD jumps around, shows jitter when gps is plugged in
"Well i guess the rotation option is only available to arducopter 3.0 ...but it seems to do nothing to the compass orientation"
54 minutes ago
palo sestak replied to Randy's discussion ArduCopter-3.0 ready for wider use
"Thanks Randy for you analysis. These throttle drops weren't definitelly my input.Had no reason do that. They caused mentioned hight drops And these can't be even interference between RC Tx-Rx because FrSKY didn't do any beeps during…"
57 minutes ago
Xander Zoolander posted a discussion

Help with choosing motors and props and esc

My copter all in all will not be over 3 pounds.The motor size I need is 28mm diameter (whole motor) The "recommended" prop is 8x4.5, but I will need larger, since I will be extending the 10 inch booms to be 2 or 3 feet (I like to experiment possibilities)I would prefer Turnigy, or any good, quality to cost ratio, products.I'm planning on using this as an aerobatic tricopter.I don't know how to figure amps for the motor and prop combo.See More
57 minutes ago
Hein du Plessis replied to Andrew Rabbitt's discussion How heavy is APM2.5?
"Correct, just the APM board."
1 hour ago
mikel-ange Adelson commented on Steve Monro's blog post A beginner's experience to the Copter world
"its not in their system yet it takes a while to register steve.i like HK but the shipping can be a bit slow at times."
1 hour ago
Ted Weerts replied to ws_Alex's discussion APM 2.5 cannot maintain altitude?!
"I am having the same, along with a couple other problems. others have recommended that I  try reducing the Alt hold P value. However, this didnt seem to help my copter maintain altitude."
1 hour ago
Waladi replied to Randy's discussion ArduCopter-3.0 ready for wider use
"Hi Randy, What is the vibration tolerance for each axis ? Thanks in advance."
1 hour ago
ws_Alex posted a discussion

APM 2.5 cannot maintain altitude?!

My tricopter has APM2.5.2 on it. The firmware is 2.91b.It flies super well on Stab mode. When hovering, the throttle stick is around the center position.Then switch to Loit mode, it suddenly reduces the height a little bit and immediately increase the throttle to regain the altitude. I didn't tune any P.I.D, so I'm satisfied with it. This is the most case, about 50%.However, on other 50% case, it will increase or decrease altitude rapidly! The decrease is scary - It almost hit the ground some…See More
1 hour ago
adriano nocenzi replied to u4eake's discussion APM 2.5 with NEO-6M ublox gps (not 3DR LEA-6)
"Thanks for the info about the lights code, as for the connection I use win xp and I made a ftdi from a USB cable I change the USB port with female pins. Could be that?"
2 hours ago

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Forum

How heavy is APM2.5?

Started by Andrew Rabbitt in ArduPilotMega 2.x hardware. Last reply by Hein du Plessis 1 hour ago. 3 Replies

ArduPlane 2.73 released

Started by Andrew Tridgell in ArduPlane 2.x software. Last reply by spagoziak 2 hours ago. 181 Replies

Issue with Arducopter 2.5 and RTL

Started by Zachary Rackovan in ArduCopter 2.x (multicopter). Last reply by Ted Weerts 2 hours ago. 23 Replies

Skywalker 1900 Parameters

Started by spagoziak in ArduPlane 2.x software. Last reply by spagoziak 2 hours ago. 2 Replies

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Welcome to DIY Drones!


This is the home for everything about amateur Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Use the tabs and drop-down menus above to navigate the site. (About us/Site rules)

This community created the Arduino-based ArduPilot, the world's first universal autopilot (planes, multicopters of all sorts and ground rovers). The APM 2.5 autopilot hardware runs a variety of powerful free UAV software systems, including:

  • ArduPlane, a pro-level UAV system for planes of all types
  • ArduCopter, a fully-autonomous multicopter and heli UAV system
  • ArduRover, a fully-autonomous ground-based vehicle system

I'm new to all this--where do I start?                    Are amateur UAVs legal? (yes)

Examples of civilian uses of drones                   Glossary of confusing terms

Blog Posts

FBI admits to using surveillance drones over US soil

Posted by Bill Bonney on June 19, 2013 at 2:59pm 8 Comments

The FBI has admitted it sometimes uses aerial surveillance drones over US soil,…

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RVJET with autopilot APM 2.5

Posted by jim C. on June 19, 2013 at 8:30am 5 Comments

hello everyone, after two weeks of settings and adjustments, the achievement RVJET fly with APM 2.5 in auto mode
Flying weight: 2750 grams
autopilot: APM 2.5
Motor: 3020 1110kv scorpion
prop: 10x6
Battery: 1 x 5000 + 1 x 3000

firmware : arduplane 2.73

How to succeed without really trying

Posted by Glenn Anderson on June 19, 2013 at 6:00am 25 Comments

My quad is flying better than it should.  I almost feel guilty.

I slapped together a frame in a few hours.  I use cheap props mounted on long shafts with cheap collets.  The motors are not precisely aligned to the frame.  The props are not balanced perfectly.  Motor centers form a rectangle not a square.  APM is strapped to the frame.  I never bothered to calibrate compassmot.  CG is not in the center of the…

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Printing (tiny) batteries

Posted by CrashingDutchman on June 19, 2013 at 4:33am 0 Comments

Novel application of 3D printing could enable the development of miniaturized medical implants, compact electronics, tiny robots, and more. It will probably take a while before this will be used for the hobby markt, but I though the story is nice enough to blog about it.

3D printing can now be used to print lithium-ion microbatteries the…

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Getting started with Matrix Pilot is now cheaper

Posted by Nick Arsov on June 18, 2013 at 11:30pm 22 Comments

Hi Everyone,

AUAV3 is now at a reduced price of $94.95 for a limited time.
There are several dedicated developers and most of the cool new features are at least in a beta form. We would like to see more users trying these boards and features. Also recently, 2 AUAV3's flew…
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Boeing's hydrogen-powered UAV takes first flight (last year)

Posted by Chris Anderson on June 18, 2013 at 8:00pm 6 Comments

Designed for a duration of four days at 65,000 feet. The first flight was just 28 minutes and it sustained damage on landing, but otherwise the mission was a success. ]UPDATE: This was a year ago, sorry for missing that. It's taken several flight since then]

Via…

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DIY Samsung Trigger for APM

Posted by Jeff Taylor on June 18, 2013 at 5:06pm 3 Comments

20130618_153028

In this post I’ll describe how to make your own cable to trigger the Samsung mirrorless cameras NX20, NX210 and NX1000. We’ll be using an ArduPilot Mega 2.5 to do the triggering but you can use any Arduino or even a soldered push button.

What you’ll need:

  • Any 2 or 3 wire cable – I use a 30cm Futaba servo extender which I cut the female end off…
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DJI has officially released the H3-2D Gimbal for $699!

Posted by Adam AKAV8R on June 18, 2013 at 3:00pm 16 Comments

Well the price has finally been released for the new DJI Phantom gimbal @ $699.00 and comes complete as shown below. The nice features are the ability to charge the GoPro while flying and the ability to output video to your video Tx all contained inside the arms of the gimbal.  Full details …

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Parrot releases GPS module for AR.Drone 2.0

Posted by Chris Anderson on June 18, 2013 at 1:20pm 11 Comments

MAVLink-compatible, which means it works with QGroundControl. All details here. Coverage from Engadget:

Starting next week, Parrot will be…

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Contests

Season Two of the Trust Time Trial (T3) Contest has now begun. The fourth round is an accuracy round for multicopters, which requires contestants to fly a cube. The deadline is April 14th.

A list of all T3 contests is here

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UAV news from sUAS News

Unmanned aircraft training goes on the road

Unmanned aircraft training goes on the road

By HEATHER R. SMITH AMRDEC Public Affairs To train operators of the unmanned aircraft Shadow, Hunter and Gray Eagle, the Army uses Institutional Mission Simulators, which are mockups of the ground control stations from which aircraft are operated in the…

GA-ASI and Fokker Team to Offer Predator B to the Netherlands PAS13

GA-ASI and Fokker Team to Offer Predator B to the Netherlands PAS13

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA‑ASI), a leading manufacturer of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), tactical reconnaissance radars, and electro-optic surveillance systems, today announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Fokker Technologies, a leading specialist in advanced components…

ETURNAS UAV at PAS 13

ETURNAS UAV at PAS 13

LE BOURGET, FRANCE: June 19, 2013 - Design Intelligence Incorporated, LLC (DII) and MicroLink Devices, Inc.  (MLD) today announced the development of a new solar-optimized unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) called ETURNAS. The ETURNAS UAV weighs less than nine pounds and uses a reconfigurable solar wing…

Piaggio Hammerhead at PAS13

Piaggio Hammerhead at PAS13

Visiting Paris airshow for the first time the Piaggio Hammerhead is certainly the most dashing UA entrant. Based on its existing manned platform the Hammerhead is a fast high performance machine as one might expect from the Italians. The Piaggio…

New Pix4DPartner‐ and Sponsorships

New Pix4DPartner‐ and Sponsorships

While Pix4D’s currentDesktop software Pix4uav isthe perfectsolution to convertUAV imagery into geo‐referenced 2Dmosaics and 3Dmodels, Pix4D’s goal isto keep on innovating and developing technology that can push the limits of 3Dmodeling even further. The current version of Pix4uav is used…

UAV news from Flight Global

Maritime Heron UAV supports European airspace trial

Europe has advanced a project to prove the feasibility of using satellite communications to enable UAS operations in non-segregated airspace ...

Brazilian navy begins UAS evaluation

The Brazilian navy has begun to evaluate two Israeli-made unmanned air systems for maritime surveillance missions ...

Indian air force to launch micro UAS evaluation

The Indian air force is to evaluate several micro unmanned air systems from around 10 companies in early May ...

VIDEO: Eurocopter demonstrates unmanned EC145

Eurocopter has unveiled an optionally piloted vehicle (OPV), based on its EC145 light twin, which has been in development since September 2011.

Israeli F-16 downs another Hezbollah UAV

An Israeli air force Lockheed Martin F-16 has shot down an unmanned air vehicle launched from Lebanon by Hezbollah militants ...

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