Latest Activity

Bernardo M. A. posted a video

Octocopter FPV @ Camboinhas Beach

Octocopter flying over Camboinhas beach, Niterói, Brazil. I still have to get rid of the vibrations. They are creating wobbles in the vídeo. Music "TRANCE Mi...
2 minutes ago
Dr John Lannigan posted a discussion

Crius and twin rotor UAV

I have a Crius Pro v2 and in most manuals and topics ive seen, the setting up for the Crius is either for a heli or a UAV with 3 rotors or more.Im building a UAV which is a twin rotor or tandem similar to a Chinook heli, and im struggling to find any setting up parameters for this set up.Am i looking in the wrong place, could someone point me in the right direction.Many thanks,JSee More
6 minutes ago
Troy posted a discussion

3dr hex copter stabilize issue

Whenever im in stabalize mode with the arducopter autopilot it is extremley slow to react. It also stops it self from tilting past a certain point so if there is any wind I cant even correct for it. It wont drop a side enough to move against the wind. What paramters do I need to change? Also while just hovering the copter will be fine and then all of a sudden dip an arm and start moving in a direction and losing altitude. Im still flying low to the ground because of these issue because I cant…See More
9 minutes ago
Darrell Burkey posted a status
"Heading out on a very chilly day to do maiden flights on two copters. Fun times here in Australia's capital city."
11 minutes ago
Darrell Burkey posted a discussion

AP_Motors: Failed to create throttle curve?

I could only find one other posting about an error I receive when I attempt to run the motors test from the terminal which didn't answer the question.I've just set up a new copter with 2.9.1b and although everything appears to be set up correctly and work, when I access the terminal it outputs the error:"AP_Motors: Failed to create throttle curve"The Motor test doesn't work either. No errors, but the test doesn't appear to execute when I run it.Any ideas what causes this? See More
14 minutes ago
Darrell Burkey replied to Damien Fitzgerald's discussion arducopter low battery audible alarm in the group ArduCopter User Group
"I've never understood why RTL functions when the copter is so close to home anyway. If your copter is sitting on the ground, or at launch point already it really shouldn't suddenly jump to default height and attempt to land again.…"
22 minutes ago
Daniel Estes replied to Damien Fitzgerald's discussion arducopter low battery audible alarm in the group ArduCopter User Group
"Yep.  That is the one I am using.  My mistake was within Mission Planer.  I had the RTL set when the voltage would hit 9.6 Volts.  - not good when you are only 3 feet from the ground.  The plane hit the ground and decided to…"
26 minutes ago
R. D. Starwalt replied to jesse haley's discussion begginer
"Jesse, The budget you have set will probably have you building your aircraft to save money. How are your building skills? Do you have tools and other construction resources? There are several fixed wing aircraft that can be made from foam board.…"
27 minutes ago
Bot Thoughts replied to Thomas J Coyle III's discussion Getting Ready for the Sparkfun 2013 AVC in the group ArduRover User Group
"Speaking of magnetometers, I'm curious to know if you've done any tests to see how much the motor affects the compass. When I tested, it was with a 20T brushed motor drawing 20A (with no flux ring) and it had a tiny impact on heading. I…"
34 minutes ago
Steve Smetters replied to Jeffrey Lamont Brown's discussion APM 2.5 (2.9.1) Gimbal Servo twitch on Ch10 + 11 (50hz), not working on ch 7 + ch 8 (490 hz)
"Yes, I get this servo twitch as well with the 900MHZ XBee connected too... will try this fix. Thanks"
34 minutes ago
Sam Thompson posted a discussion

Amateur Telemetry onboard Real Life Fast Jets

Im looking at trying to design and develop an onboard Telemetry system for a couple of fast jets that myself and my friends operate in a ground running operations only. Doing so will help us identify where areas of mechanical failure may occur (such as brake failure, due to excessive braking). Knowing this will help us brief the aircrew accordingly and adjust the aircrafts routine maintenance etc. What im looking for is a system that will record: Primarily:a)  Braking G-Force'sb)  Cornering…See More
37 minutes ago
walthero replied to Craig Elder's discussion APM Copter 2.9.1.b has been released
"More details on my S800 I have both 6S batteries in parallel to 90A Current sensor and soldered to lower frame plate. Batteries are in trays on landing gear far away from equipment. Current sensor is connected to port 2&3 as described…"
41 minutes ago
R. D. Starwalt replied to Personal's discussion My First Quadcopter Build
"Looks like you will be having fun with your quad! It will provide much experience and when you are ready, toss the KK2 and go with an APM or other aircraft electronics that are 'aware' of their location. Built it and fly on! -=Doug"
44 minutes ago
Zachariah Jones replied to Zachariah Jones's discussion I am looking for someone who makes or can make custom Carbon Fibre aireframes
"I am looking for a one off piece.  After talking with Michael he has made a good point that the shape would be rather impossible with Carbon Fibre or Glass Fibre sheets.  I need to look into using a mold.   I appreciate your time"
47 minutes ago
R. D. Starwalt replied to Paul Dowling's discussion shorted 5v to ground on reciever input in the group ArduCopter User Group
"If it helps.... wait... TC3 beat me to it! The Eagle files for APM2.0 were pulled from the 3DR store but many of us have them still. -=Doug"
49 minutes ago
Jacob Densmore replied to Dave Skala's discussion PROTOTYPE UAV's for sale soon!!
"Ok I hope i did not offend anyone. Keep up the good work. DIYdrones.com is my new favorite site thanks."
53 minutes ago

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Forum

Crius and twin rotor UAV

Started by Dr John Lannigan in Sensors & IMUs 6 minutes ago. 0 Replies

begginer

Started by jesse haley in Unassigned category. Last reply by R. D. Starwalt 27 minutes ago. 2 Replies

My First Quadcopter Build

Started by Personal in Quadcopters. Last reply by R. D. Starwalt 44 minutes ago. 1 Reply

PROTOTYPE UAV's for sale soon!!

Started by Dave Skala in Buy, Sell, Trade. Last reply by Jacob Densmore 53 minutes ago. 7 Replies

Newbie - possibilities of Drones/Planes ?

Started by Eric Martin in Unassigned category. Last reply by Jacob Densmore 1 hour ago. 1 Reply

ArduPlane 2.73 released

Started by Andrew Tridgell in ArduPlane 2.x software. Last reply by Lloyd Breckenridge 2 hours ago. 60 Replies

3d robotics apm power module

Started by Jonathon White in Aerial photography. Last reply by Darrell Burkey 2 hours ago. 4 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

Hybrid Penta Copter

Posted by OG on May 19, 2013 at 6:15am 8 Comments

This is a very interesting Hindered multi copter. I was thinking of this same concept using a weed waker motor on a large quad & kk board. But the guys in south Asia have beaten me to it. well it a nice job in any…

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3 axis Camera Gimble connections.

Posted by Jared Reabow on May 19, 2013 at 12:30am 11 Comments

NEW APM 2.5 Pin out and Wire Diagram And Camera Gimble explanation

Hey guys i recently got the APM 2.5, when looking at the pins, I saw A0 - A11 Pins werent being used and i did not know what they were for so i was googling and found a PDF that stated



A0- Sonar/ Ultrasonic A1- Voltage Sensor – Attopilot

A2-Current Sensor – Attopilot

A3- Optical Flow…

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Mapping Mission Ride Along

Posted by Matt Gunn on May 18, 2013 at 10:00pm 17 Comments

Here's my 1st mapping test flight with a Skyhunter twin-boom pusher. Im running Arduplane 2.73. Mapping camera is a Canon s95 running an intervalometer script via chdk. Its suspended from a single axis gimbal that keeps the camera pointing down regardless of aircraft bank angle. Video shot from a GoPro 3 Black Edition.

It took 120 photos during the 10 minute…

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Mechanical Hands From A MakerBot: The Magic Of Robohand (From Makerbot blog news)

Posted by Roberto Navoni on May 18, 2013 at 2:37pm 9 Comments

 

When Richard Van As, a master carpenter in Johannesburg, South Africa, decided to make a set of mechanical fingers, it wasn’t just for fun. He’d lost four of the fingers on his right hand in an unfortunate work accident. For a tradesman like Rich, having a disabled hand is a big professional…

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US House Crime/Homeland Security subcommittee hearing on domestic use of drones

Posted by Kyle Derkacz on May 18, 2013 at 2:30am 1 Comment

Domestic Use of Drones

...left with a cliffhanger: are you allowed to shoot down a drone if it's over your "airspace" (very end of the…

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Thirty Days (#13): Y6 in-flight motor failure tests

Posted by Joshua Ott on May 17, 2013 at 6:00pm 14 Comments

Testing out how the new Y6 responds to an in-flight motor failure. Not bad!

Costa Concordia

Posted by trappy on May 17, 2013 at 10:38am 6 Comments

We went and filmed the repair works of the stranded Costa Concordia.

 
 
 

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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

Germany Scuttles UAV Program, According To Reports

Germany Scuttles UAV Program, According To Reports

Agence France Press is reporting that Germany has cancelled a planned ‘Euro Hawk’ UAV programme because it believes European authorities will not certify them to fly in civilian airspace. More from AFP: Germany had “no hope” of seeing the unmanned aircraft, part of a programme that would have cost more than one billion euros ($1.3 billion), approved for use, said the source speaking on condition of anonymity. The European Aviation Safety Agency has said it would only certify the drones to fly over unpopulated areas because of a lack of an anti-collision system to protect airliners, according to German press reports. “The equipment is not ready for approval without immense expenditure,” the source added. Bookmark It Hide Sites

Israel is world’s largest exporter of drones, study finds

Israel is world's largest exporter of drones, study finds

By Gili Cohen Israel is the world’s largest exporter of unmanned aircraft, in terms of the number of systems sold, a study has found. Over the last eight years Israel has exported $4.6 billion worth of unmanned aerial vehicles, according to a study by the business consulting firm Frost & Sullivan. UAVs, or drones, constitute nearly 10 percent of Israel’s total military exports. Unmanned equipment exports are a relatively volatile market, the report shows. Israel had $150 million in UAV exports in 2008, a figure which increased substantially in 2009 to $650 million. Exports of the small surveillance planes peaked in 2010, a record year for drone sales, to $979 million. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-is-world-s-largest-exporter-of-drones-study-finds.premium-1.524771 Bookmark It Hide Sites

Michael Hutt program manager USGS to speak at sUSBexpo

Michael Hutt program manager USGS to speak at sUSBexpo

Michael Hutt will share insights from the USGS and their unmanned aircraft operations at the Small Unmanned Systems Business Expo July 25th – 26th at the TechShop San Francisco The USGS National UAS Project Office at the Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center (GECSC) is located in Denver CO, and is an operational component of the Climate and Land Use Change Land Remote Sensing Program. It was established on May 8, 2008 based on the successful completion of an Emerging Technology Investigation into the potential use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to benefit the DOI and USGS missions. http://susbexpo.com/ Bookmark It Hide Sites

Texas Senate approves bill to curtail drone photography

Texas Senate approves bill to curtail drone photography

Remember the River of Blood story, it went viral. Seems the Texa’s senate would prefer to sweep what Texan businesses get up to under the carpet. If this act makes it all the way through and you let this sort of images out into the wild you will be facing the law. It should not have taken the images to uncover the massive pollution that was occurring.  Texas should know the condition of its rivers. I would be ashamed to live in a place that seems to care so little for its environment. Good news though for other states bidding to host one of the FAA Test sites, Texas Privacy Act (HB 912) could be a royal PIA for people testing. Use of drones to capture photographs and video images on private property without permission of the owner would be prohibited under a bill the Senate passed Friday. Supporters of the ban say it is needed because of the increasing incidence of indiscriminate surveillance by unmanned drones. The Senate amended the bill, already passed by the House, to exempt unmanned vehicles used by police and law enforcement officers and to protect citizens who use a cellphone or other recording device to film [...]

Congress gets mixed advice on drone laws

Congress gets mixed advice on drone laws

  AP WASHINGTON – The growing use of unmanned surveillance “eyes in the sky” aircraft raises a thicket of privacy concerns, but Congress is getting mixed advice on what, if anything, to do about it. A future with domestic drones may be inevitable. While civilian drone use is currently limited to government agencies and some public universities, a law passed by Congress last year requires the Federal Aviation Administration to allow widespread drone flights in the United States by 2015. According to FAA estimates, as many as 7,500 civilian drones could be in use within five years. “Technology is great — as long as it’s used the right and proper way,” Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing Friday on issues surrounding drones — which can be as small as a bird and as large as a plane. http://www.pressherald.com/news/nationworld/congress-gets-mixed-advice-on-drone-laws_2013-05-18.html Bookmark It Hide Sites

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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