Hi,
So I just received my hexacopter and I'm very new to drones in general, so setup and following the very poorly written instructions from jdrones has proven to be very difficult for me. I would greatly appreciate any help and thank anyone who has taken the time to help me out.
1. My first question: Do I take the hexacopter stands off? They are very tightly screwed on, but I'm assuming they come off before flight. My copter is pictured below:
2. Is this the battery holder for the batteries that need to run the copter? If it is, where do I connect it? If not, what exactly is the battery/battery holder supposed to be/look like? I assumed jdrones sent everything, but thats the only semblance of a battery case I could find.
3. What do I do with this receiver? Where should I connect it and what do those two silver wires on the right end do? Do I connect those silver wires somewhere too?
4. This is my radio. I've gotten it turned on after putting 8 batteries in it but it is beeping obnoxiously and telling me I have an "air brake warning". I googled around and found out I should simultaneously press the curser/select keys and that the issue is a programming error that (I?) need to fix, but I bought this and did not program anything myself. I was trying to follow: http://jdrones.com/jDoc/wiki:s_jdwfly9ch#flight_modes but the beeping is too obnoxious to continue. What should I do about that?
5. How do I do a test flight? Is the mission planner necessary?
Thank you!
Replies
Hi,
So we've had some advancement with our hexacopter. We took it to an RC shop to see if they could help us. They said they were able to establish a connection between the computer and the copter and the receiver and the radio, but they cannot figure out how to work with the speed controls.
The RC shop told us that the mechanics are very complicated and they don't know how to begin getting it off the ground and suggested that we return the hexacopter (I'm not entirely sure if that is possible or not). Do you guys have any advice?
Thanks!
Hi guys,
I have one more question. When we ordered our hexacopter, we also ordered a telemetry kit. What is the purpose of a telemetry kit? I also have two of these and my guess is that they are part of the telemetry kit. Does anyone know what this is used for and how I should set it up?
Thank you!
Hi,
First of all, thank you so much to all of you for responding. Your quick responses will really help my research along!
@Morli:
I have some basic flying experience from an AR Parrot drone. I'm not trying to fly the hexacopter in any crazy formations or take it very far. I was just trying to get it to take off about 2-3 feet from the ground and just test if I could get it to fly around. Your detailed answers to my questions are very useful! I am slowly learning about how to use the drone and I'm not in a big rush to take it on missions or anything, but unfortunately, I don't have an RC expert at hand, so I have been taking very slow steps in learning everything myself. I just felt a bit lost when the box of all the parts came and I did not know where to begin.
As for your question about drones for foraging, I am working with a couple people and we are learning about drones for both mapping and image processing. We are helping a local foraging group called Concrete Jungle by providing them with the information that we gather and we are trying to determine how they could use drones to make the finding/identifying of fruit easier. We take the images captured by the drones and put them into a large database to further analyze. I have a wordpress blog called dronesforforaging if you have further interest in seeing what I am doing.
Also, yes, that is a Parrot in the background. That was my practice drone that I have been working with for the past month. Everyone's responses have really helped me out and thank you again! I will heed all advice!
@Richard:
Thanks for your advice! Don't worry, I won't be taking it high at all!
@Euan:
I have learned to fly an AR Parrot so I do have flying experience. I also have access to a large green area where I would be practicing with the hexacopter. I'm in no rush to take it out into any crazy areas or anything, but thank you!
@Andrew:
I do have experience flying a Parrot, but I see where you are coming from when it comes to experience with radios and motors and such. I will try and see if I can find someone to help me, but for the most part, I've been learning through youtube videos and reading forums. Thank you for your response!
Hi Tasmia,
Hope you take our words seriously though your budget seems to be deep. BTW do i see a Parrot quad in the background. Is it in working condition? Did you fly it? Hmm , quite a few goodies in there.
Do let us know if you need any further help.
Morli gave a great response. Starting with a hexa is great way to see a lot of money destroyed in seconds NOT minutes... 2-4 seconds!
I would like to add that purchasing a basic 3-4 channel electric powered R/C airplane and learning to fly it first with local assistance will help you learn all the needed basics, of radio, electric motors and associated systems. You will also easily find someone to help you with a traditional airplane where as a multirotor local expert may be much more difficult to find. Learning orientation, and eye hand coordination with a traditional aircraft will save you much money and grief in long run. After that move on to basic quad THEN you'll be ready for the Hexa.
I'm with Morli - you really need someone to explain all the fundamentals to you before you plough your expensive hex into a river - or worse - into a populated area. There's nothing worse than seeing all that money - and time - going to waste, or worse - hurting someone.
I'd even invest in one of the "fun" quads for less than $100, and learn to fly as well.
Hi,
Ok , first of all you need to find some one local who has RC flying experience. Any one from local RC flying club will be able to help you to understand
1. Basics of RC flying ( what is what , what is a RC control and what you should do to set it up etc)
2. Once you have good understanding of the above , you should come to Quad , auto pilot and related stuff. Else you will crash and loose money( sorry to be blunt but that is the plain truth).
We can help you via text advice etc but nothing like having some one in person close by to teach you . It is like teaching you how to drive a car via text instructions here. :). If you have some around to teach you with trainer setup, you can fly in less than a week. Easy :)
Now to answer your questions above.
1. Do I take the hexacopter stands off? No , they stay as it is , it is to keep the hexa and any other payload( camera etc) beneath safe. It is also for keeping the hexa safe when landing.
2. Is this the battery holder for the batteries that need to run the copter? . This is battery holder to power the RC Receiver ( shown in photo 3 next to the PC keyboard). Hexa is powered via bigger battery called LiPo ( which should probably say 2200 or bigger number on it. It looks like this. I did not see it in your photos)
3. This is the radio control receiver. This is used to receive the signals from remote control and feeds various control signals to electronic stuffs in the Quad/airframe. The two silver wires are antenna/s and you shouldn't do any thing to them. They stay as they are( don't connect them to any thing). Any damage to those will result in receiver not working. The colored wires in the left are to be connected to servos/ quad controller board / auto pilot board if any. You will need some assistance here , you are advised to contact local RC flyer/enthusiast /club.
4. This is remote controller which a flyer/RC pilot uses to control/fly a model plane/helicopter/quad copter. You need assistance in setting it up. Advised to follow point 3.
5. For now don't worry about this, you need to do 1,2,3,4 first , learn it well ( it is simple but has to be in person and not via any text coaching here).
You said "using drones for foraging. " , BTW what is foraging? & how do you think usage of a drone help in this?
Happy and safe flying.
Drone Support