Latest Activity

Andy Horka commented on Andy Horka's blog post My New Gimbal
"Glad to hear it is to your liking. I will continue tests this week and post the results. Andy"
5 minutes ago
Ted Weerts replied to Ted Weerts's discussion Arducopter disarms motors upon switching flight mode to land
"right. I suppose it makes sense to have some throttle however small when entering any flight mode, especially auto modes.  ...and it follows that having more throttle than necessary is best when leaving an auto flight mode - the copter will…"
9 minutes ago
Bryan Galusha commented on Marque Cornblatt's blog post Battle Drone Crash Test & DIY Walkthrough
"Amazing stuff, really like the resiliency of the airframe.  I'm sure the power being cut helps the props from breaking to answer an earlier question.  Really like the design, seems like it could be produced really cheap in mass.…"
18 minutes ago
Richard Boyhan replied to Jim Townsend's discussion Can't hover my 3DR Hex in Stabilize mode
"I assume your radio transmitter is not a ratchet transmitter. When you move the throttle it clicks when it moves. These ratchet transmitters are for planes. You need a helicopter or non ratcheted transmitter. If that is not your issue then you need…"
21 minutes ago
Richard Boyhan replied to Ted Weerts's discussion Arducopter disarms motors upon switching flight mode to land
"Also when I use takeoff in auto missions, I start the motors spinning then flip the auto mode. Otherwise you get a jot of a takeoff."
33 minutes ago
Bryan Galusha commented on Joshua Ott's blog post B go Beyond Quadcopter/Car convertable
"Unbelievable design, I bought a RTF/RTR (Ready to Roll...?) kit right away.  Some real innovation there for sure.  As a UAVForge lead on the evaForge team (who didn't even make it to the finals FYI) technically no one won according to…"
35 minutes ago
Richard Boyhan replied to Daniel Estes's discussion Hexacopter Looses Calibration in the group ArduCopter User Group
"If it flys fine without the gimbal and does not fly well with it. Then the gimbal is your problem. How close is the gimbal setup to the APM? Can you provide a picture?"
37 minutes ago
Andrew Rabbitt commented on Joshua Ott's blog post B go Beyond Quadcopter/Car convertable
"There's a load of very neat details in this Wow! concept.  I love it and will keep an eye on this.  I don't really need another toy hanging around me right now, but this is pretty cool, so I mightn't be able to resist…"
46 minutes ago
Oliver commented on Joshua Ott's blog post B go Beyond Quadcopter/Car convertable
"Very, very nifty! I'm going to chip in, but I wish you had another supporter category, say between the 25 and 125 steps, where the reward would simply be the right to buy one from the first released batch. "
55 minutes ago
Thomas Hyght posted a discussion

Constructing my first quadcopter

Hello all,I am working on constructing my own quadcopter and I need a little advise on parts/products/brands to purchase. The type of build I am planning on working on is a larger build than most. I'm attempting to create something that can handle more of a payload than others. I don't want anything too "zippy" so to speak. Something stable and powerful. However, I also want something with great range and flight time. The range I'm looking for is 5km to 6 km obviously with fpv, and be able to…See More
1 hour ago
apocolipse commented on Drone Savant's blog post (Acro Mode Anyone?) Today in 1927, Lt. James H. Doolittle performed the first known successful outside loop.
"Nice post!!!  My great grandfather learned to fly P-51d's under Lt. James Doolittle!!!  He flew during WWII"
1 hour ago
OG replied to Dean's discussion Cant flash firmware to board
"Firmware.diydrones.com  hope that helps you"
1 hour ago
Btanny replied to AJEsq's discussion Arducopter 3.0 RC2 Crash (Suspected Bug with outputs to ESCs)
"Hi Randy,  Quick question.. Why are the WPNAV PID values in v3rc3 not modifiable?  Should I not be testing auto mode?  I simply want to change WPNAV speed for my test flights."
1 hour ago
Josh Potter commented on Drone Savant's blog post (Acro Mode Anyone?) Today in 1927, Lt. James H. Doolittle performed the first known successful outside loop.
"The trainer settings and PIDs for adjusting the rate the quad returns to level (0 for true acro, no return) are nice.   I'm no acro ace, but I enjoy flying acro simply because I fly traditional helicopters. "
1 hour ago
Richard Evans posted a video

Flood

San Antonio Texas... Record rainfall on May 25 2013 led to some minor flooding.
1 hour ago
Charles lakins replied to Tono's discussion APM2.5 and simonK ESC's in the group ArduCopter User Group
"Great to see you got it!   The second video I posted before was the wrong one also Heres the first one from that post still   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBXtwu-GeHM  "
1 hour ago

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Forum

Can't hover my 3DR Hex in Stabilize mode

Started by Jim Townsend in ArduCopter 2.x (multicopter). Last reply by Richard Boyhan 21 minutes ago. 1 Reply

Constructing my first quadcopter

Started by Thomas Hyght in Quadcopters 1 hour ago. 0 Replies

For anyone using GRID or GRID V2...please read

Started by Matt Gunn in Aerial photography. Last reply by Tomas Soedergren 3 hours ago. 19 Replies

Arduplane Autoland

Started by Dean Wynton in ArduPlane 2.x software. Last reply by Tommy Larsen 3 hours ago. 18 Replies

Program lock-up normal for ERROR??

Started by Neil Flournoy in APM Mission Planner. Last reply by Neil Flournoy 3 hours ago. 4 Replies

ArduPlane 2.73 released

Started by Andrew Tridgell in ArduPlane 2.x software. Last reply by Andrew Tridgell 4 hours ago. 89 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.

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

QGroundControl Update

Posted by Lorenz Meier on May 25, 2013 at 4:55pm 0 Comments

After investing most time into PX4 for quite a long time now, the PX4 native stack has made it into a shape where we can fly fixed wing in autonomous mode with it, and there is also progress on multicopters. This put QGroundControl back into the development focus, since the field tests…

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3DR is one of CNBC's Disrupter 50

Posted by Joshua Ott on May 25, 2013 at 12:00pm 5 Comments

3D Robotics is one of the five manufacturing companies in CNBC's Disrupter50 list; along with Makerbot, Quirky, Shapeways, and Rethink Robotics.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100727789…

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(Acro Mode Anyone?) Today in 1927, Lt. James H. Doolittle performed the first known successful outside loop.

Posted by Drone Savant on May 25, 2013 at 6:28am 9 Comments

In 1927, Doolittle was the first person to successfully execute an outside loop — previously thought to be a fatal maneuver. Carried out in a Curtiss fighter at Wright Field in Ohio, Doolittle executed the dive from 10,000 feet, reached 280 miles per hour,…

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How to connect 3DR GPS uBlox to Raspberry Pi

Posted by Rogelio Nunez on May 25, 2013 at 5:45am 2 Comments

Here is my connection (You can check GPIO pinout here):

I used theFTDI GPS adapter cable, solder pads can be used also, just have…

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3 axis brushless gimbal

Posted by Jack Crossfire on May 25, 2013 at 3:56am 9 Comments



The key…

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First test of targeting system.

Posted by vis.asta on May 24, 2013 at 3:30pm 10 Comments

First test of targeting system. All calculations are done in the air.

Camera provides two streams. Highly compressed (rigth window) and detailed (left).

3 axis BL gimbal. In low light conditions and excessive vibration.

 

test at…

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Thirty Days (#18): NIR camera conversion

Posted by Joshua Ott on May 24, 2013 at 3:30pm 16 Comments

John modified a point-and-shoot camera to capture near infrared images. This is half the puzzle in building NDVI images for analyzing crop health.

Information on the conversion can be found here: …

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Understanding Fly-By-Wire B Mode Altitude Behaviour

Posted by Bill Bonney on May 24, 2013 at 2:44pm 2 Comments

A couple months ago I was testing ArduPlane and some of the different modes. I was not getting on very well in FBW-B* mode. If you look at the image below. You will see the purple track. I was loosing altitude and I couldn't understand why. You can see just before the path goes red, I'd lost a lot of…

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My two birds...ready for flight now

Posted by Euan Ramsay on May 24, 2013 at 1:30pm 5 Comments

Nicknamed "Laurel and Hardy", for reasons that should be obvious.

Everything calibrated...time to get the PID's done! Well..once it stops raining and snowing here in Switzerland. :-(

Some build annoyances, which I'll go into in an additional post.

 

 

 

Laurels bits…

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B go Beyond Quadcopter/Car convertable

Posted by Joshua Ott on May 24, 2013 at 1:00pm 15 Comments

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2017062404/b-go-beyond

Another cool Kickstarter project. It looks like it works well on the ground, the video doesn't show very much of the flight performance. It does appear to be quite robust at least. Thanks to…

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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

CU-Boulder organizing effort to establish unmanned aircraft test site in Colorado

CU-Boulder organizing effort to establish unmanned aircraft test site in Colorado

Jim Scott, CU-Boulder media relations A state application organized by the University of Colorado Boulder has been submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration for the development of one of six unmanned aircraft systems test sites slated to be established across the United States. Submitted this month, the seventh and final volume of the Colorado application is one of 50 proposals from 37 states for designated Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or UAS, test sites. UAS come in various sizes ranging from hobby airplanes to aircraft with wingspans as wide as commercial jets. While they can be used for tasks ranging from forest fire support and search and rescue missions to oil and gas exploration and military operations, a growing number of science efforts are being undertaken using UAS, said CU-Boulder aerospace engineering sciences Associate Professor Eric Frew. CU-Boulder has one of the most comprehensive UAS science programs in the nation, said Frew, who directs CU’s Research and Engineering Center for Unmanned Vehicles, or RECUV. CU-Boulder’s UAS projects have included monitoring seal populations in the Arctic and charting sea ice changes near Greenland to intercepting storm cells associated with tornadoes in Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska and measuring gaping holes in Antarctic sea ice known as [...]

Infragram: the Infrared Photography Project

Infragram: the Infrared Photography Project

A simple, cheap infrared camera which can measure plant health — for geek gardeners, farmers, and open source DIY scientists. What could farmers, gardeners, students or environmental activists do with an infrared camera that costs as little as $35?What is Infragram? Infragram is a simple, affordable near-infrared camera produced by the Public Laboratory community in a series of collaborative experiments over the last few years. We originally developed this technology to monitor wetlands damages in the wake of the BP oil spill, but its simplicity of use and easy-to-modify open-source hardware & software makes it a useful tool for home gardeners, hikers, makers, farmers, amateur scientists, teachers, artists, and anyone curious about the secret lives of plants. What can you do with Infragram? Take pictures to examine plant health in backyard gardens, farms, parks, andnearby wetlands Check on the health of your crops, especially from a balloon or a kite Monitor your household plants Teach students about plant growth and photosynthesis Create exciting science fair projects Generate verifiable, open environmental data Check progress of environmental restoration projects Document unhealthy areas of your local ecology Pretend you have super-veg-powers Near-infrared photography has been a key tool for planning at the industrial and governmental level: it is used on airplanes and satellites by vineyards, [...]

Google acquires kite-power generator

Google acquires kite-power generator

Well I did’nt see this coming. Using lots of UA tech Google invests in yet more cutting edge stuff (ed) Google has acquired a US company that generates power using turbines mounted on tethered kites or wings. Makani Power will become part of Google X – the secretive research and development arm of the search giant. The deal comes as Makani carries out the first fully autonomous flights of robot kites bearing its power-generating propellers. Google has not said how much it paid to acquire Makani, but it has invested $15m (£9.9m) in the company before now. In a statement posted to its website, Makani said the deal would “provide Makani with the resources to accelerate our work to make wind energy cost competitive with fossil fuels”. Rather than use fixed turbines to generate power, Makani has been experimenting with “flying wings” adorned with several smaller turbines that act as propellers as the craft takes off. Makani claims that mounting the turbines on a wing is more efficient as large numbers can be built with fewer materials than traditional tower-based turbines. In addition, the robot wings can land to avoid damage if wind speeds are too high or during bad [...]

Unmanned aircraft can protect crops from locusts

Unmanned aircraft can protect crops from locusts

by Gabino Martinez Serrano The world population is growing at a rapid pace. Today we are almost seven billion people and it is estimated that the figure will exceed 10 billion in 15 years. The world’s need for food will double, but the world’s arable land remains the same. Experts say that to increase performance, it is important to plant each crop where it can best develop, increase the yield potential of plant varieties and to reduce adversity posed by pests which have become a real problem. Failure to protect crops from pests would reduce harvests to just over half. Locusts are unique because they undergo a phase change. This means that under certain circumstances related to climate and population density, their behaviour changes and they move, eat and behave as a group, forming gigantic clouds and can travel great distances devouring crops in their path. These pests can affect 20 per cent of the surface of the earth, spreading through Africa, the Near East, and Southwest Asia. More than 65 countries may be at risk of swarms, invasion and reproduction. The last powerful plague occurred in 1988-89, threatening as many as 43 countries, one fifth of the world as [...]

ESCC to use donated unmanned aerial vehicles for science

ESCC to use donated unmanned aerial vehicles for science

Ted Shockley MELFA — Launching unmanned aerial vehicles from the Eastern Shore could be a financial plus for the area, and Eastern Shore Community College is positioning itself for an associated educational and training partnership. A link between the two was seen recently when an Aerosonde aerial vehicle donated to the college was unveiled in front of a gathering of staff members and industry experts. “We have something tangible, real, that the students can see,” said College President Linda Thomas-Glover of the unmanned airplane, which from wing to wing was bigger than a typical dining-room table. The particular model was used for years out of Wallops to gather weather data and has flown into hurricanes, said Jon Borcik, a program manager for AAI Corp., which oversees the Aerosonde program. He called it a “coming home mission” for the plane, a fitting place for an aircraft based at Wallops to continue its ­service. The plane will be used to stimulate an interest in science and also be studied by various college classes. The donation was arraigned by Peter Bale, board chairman for the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International and a former program manager for Aerosonde North America at Wallops. At a [...]

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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