Latest Activity

Neil Flournoy replied to Neil Flournoy's discussion Program lock-up normal for ERROR??
"FYI MP 1.2.52 seems to have fixed this. Thanks!"
30 seconds ago
Neil Flournoy posted a discussion

Can't get a mission to repeat.

Hi all,I am flying a Bixler 2 with APM 2.5 and I can rarely get a mission to repeat. Today I made a simple mission in MP that went away from me approx. 500 feet and looped straight back and landed. It landed at my feet. THAT was special! I thought I finally had it fiured out. I reset the mission with a switch on the Tx and tossed it again in exactly the same direction and it made the loop and tried to land 200 feet away!! I then brought it back to the original starting point and disconnected…See More
3 minutes ago

3D Robotics
Joshua Ott commented on Joshua Ott's blog post 3DR is one of CNBC's Disrupter 50
"3DR rules because the community it comes from never stops moving forward. Our pick-and-place machines and reflow ovens are nice, but they're available to any company out there. We have some brilliant people on the payroll, but they could…"
5 minutes ago
Tono replied to Tono's discussion APM2.5 and simonK ESC's in the group ArduCopter User Group
"Is this endpoint calibration he same one Marc suggested? Or there's more? I mean, is it something specifically for the simonk's or is it done with the APM? I just calibrated as Marc suggested, each one of the motors and still…"
14 minutes ago
Bill Bonney replied to Seppo's discussion RFD900 - New long range radio modem
"Is there a version of the multi-point available for the 3DR Radios, or do you need both RF900 for that mode? Thx"
17 minutes ago
Charles lakins replied to Tono's discussion APM2.5 and simonK ESC's in the group ArduCopter User Group
"Yeah what he said :) the programming card would only set options   you still need to perform the endpoint calibration for throttle travel relating to your RX for each esc once that is done you should see much better results"
19 minutes ago

Developer
Andrew Tridgell replied to Andrew Tridgell's discussion ArduPlane 2.73 released
"Hi Iskess, I've just added a new MIXER_GAIN option to master that I think will solve your problem. I've documented it…"
22 minutes ago

Wiki Ninja
Gary McCray replied to iskess's discussion Looking for best laptop screen to see in the sun in the group ArduPlane User Group
"Hi Oliver, Looks like the guy you bought from still has a bunch on EBay. I've seen Oliver's screen which is excellent and these are (by far) the least expensive option for a daylight readable ground station laptop. Transflective screens…"
23 minutes ago
Bill Bonney replied to charles1317's discussion X axis accelerometer non functional
"Trey reseting the board back to factory settings by going into Terminal (CLI) in mission planner and typing 'setup' 'reset' then 'setup' 'erase' you can then also try in Terminal typing 'test' then…"
25 minutes ago
Monroe Lee King Jr. commented on Joshua Ott's blog post 3DR is one of CNBC's Disrupter 50
"Yeah! I don't see any other open source drone company's making the news! 3DR rule's no doubt about it!"
28 minutes ago
Tono replied to Tono's discussion APM2.5 and simonK ESC's in the group ArduCopter User Group
"Thanks for the quick reply. :) I am using T-Motors  http://www.hobbypartz.com/02p-motor-375-ms2216-kv1100.html By any chance, do you know if there are issues with these motors? I just calibrated each one of them as suggested and also tried the…"
32 minutes ago
Monroe Lee King Jr. commented on Joshua Ott's blog post B go Beyond Quadcopter/Car convertable
"Yeah! This is the kind of stuff I hang around for! Awesome. Gets me to thinking too!"
38 minutes ago
titeuf007 replied to AJEsq's discussion Arducopter 3.0 RC2 Crash (Suspected Bug with outputs to ESCs)
"the better way is to use external compas look here  http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1820773&page=342#post25091010 external ccompass is very cheap(3usd on ebay) and it s the most important thing on you quad if you don t want…"
39 minutes ago
Monroe Lee King Jr. commented on vis.asta's blog post First test of targeting system.
"hint: There is some open source algorithms used in a program called Optictracker some of them may be useful for this. It works great for optical tracking."
44 minutes ago
Tommy Larsen commented on Andreas M. Antonopoulos's group Telemetry over cellular IP
"Hi For those of you that hasn't seen my solution, take a look here"
45 minutes ago
Tommy Larsen replied to Jonathan McClanahan's discussion Telemetry over IP with Arduplane? in the group Telemetry over cellular IP
46 minutes ago

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Forum

Program lock-up normal for ERROR??

Started by Neil Flournoy in APM Mission Planner. Last reply by Neil Flournoy 30 seconds ago. 4 Replies

ArduPlane 2.73 released

Started by Andrew Tridgell in ArduPlane 2.x software. Last reply by Andrew Tridgell 22 minutes ago. 89 Replies

X axis accelerometer non functional

Started by charles1317 in ArduPilotMega 2.x hardware. Last reply by Bill Bonney 25 minutes ago. 1 Reply

Google Earth flight reconstruction

Started by Søren Kuula in Video. Last reply by M3one 3 hours ago. 1 Reply

RTL climb altitude

Started by Assaf Weiss in ArduCopter 2.x (multicopter). Last reply by Assaf Weiss 4 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.

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

3DR is one of CNBC's Disrupter 50

Posted by Joshua Ott on May 25, 2013 at 12:00pm 2 Comments

3DRobotics was one of the five manufacturing companies in CNBC's Disrupter50 list; along with Makerbot, Quirky, Shapeways, 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 7 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 8 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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mapping with condor drone and apm 2.5

Posted by jim C. on May 24, 2013 at 8:30am 9 Comments

Because the latter one of condor drone tests went very well in the navigation, I decided to mount the camera aboard the condor photography for mapping and the results appear promising.

 

 …

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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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