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Share your drone info thread

Hi everyone,

With the encouragement from Ellison in Rants and Raves thread, I'm creating this thread to share your drone/copter information. I believe, this would help immensely for newbies like me during the initial build. For example, the Chris's blog on cheap Hobby King quad configuration is really a good resource.  

I don't want to burden anyone who is willing to share their info. Hence all fields are optional. Atleast the first 5 fields are ideal. Please find the list of fields to copy/paste at the end, so you can start filling :-). 

Here goes information about my quad.

frame: Quadcopter (3DRobotics)
controller/autopilot: APM1
esc: 20A (3DRobotics)
motors: 850Kv (3DRobotics)
propellers: 10x47, APC (3DRobotics)
motor to motor distance: -- inches

battery:  4S 3300mAh (Turnigy nano-tech)
total weight: -- lbs
flying time: 15 minutes (average)

radio: Turnigy 9X 
video/osd: none
other: Sonar, Xbee, GPS/Mag, Attopilot current sensor

 

Misc: 

Turnigy 9X: Mode1 -> Mode2 change, Li-ion battery hack
photos:

 

 

 

-------------

frame:
controller/autopilot:
esc:
motors:
propellers:
motor to motor distance: -- inches

battery:
total weight: -- lbs
flying time:

radio:
video/osd:
other:

Misc (hacks/mods):

photos:

 

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Oliver Wetmore on May 23, 2012 at 10:05am

Hi

I'm new to this forum and this seems to be the ideal place to start.  Just finished my quad (first build) and have had it up and flying.  Very stable from the get go and I think this has a lot to do with spending adequate time and attention to detail during the build process.

My specs:

Frame:  Own creation

Controller/autopilot:  APM1

Motors:  E-flite 480's 910kv

Esc:  E-flite  Pro 40amp

Propellers:  12x4.7

Battery: 3s 3300mah

Flying time:  approx. 10 mins

Radio: JR xg7 2.4ghz

Video/OSD:  None

Can anyone tell me how the aluminium protective dome might affect the 2.4ghz signal?   I haven't flown it out far enough yet since I'm still learning to fly it properly. 

Attachments:
Permalink Reply by James Dinh on June 1, 2012 at 4:26pm

Hi, 

My name is James and I am new to UAV's.  I had a previous post, but since I made many changes to my drone I decided to post again with new pictures.  I purchased my drone from FPVpilot.com and for the most part I love it.  I changed the booms from C section to square tubing (with rubber grommets between the boom and main frame), mounted the motors using X mounts dampened with neoprene rubber washers, changed the landing gears for something of my own design using 3/4" aluminum flat bars (hand bent to V shape and dampened). 

Frame: FPVpilot.com (with some modifications)

Autopilot: APM 2 purple complete

Motors: RC Timer BC2836 880 kv

ESC: RC Timer 30 amp programmable

Props:  APC 10 X 4.7 Slow Flyer

Battery: Sky 4s 5000mAh (2 in parallel)

Flight Time: 20 minutes (3.6v low)

Radio: Futaba 7c 2.4 ghz

Cameras: Gopro HD2 and Tachyon Ops (rear facing)

Permalink Reply by James Dinh on June 1, 2012 at 4:54pm

Here's a link to view my hexahere

Attachments:
Permalink Reply by Tian on June 6, 2012 at 10:10am

Hi,

That is a very impressive hexa. That 20 min flight time is superb for an amateur multicopter.

I have a few questions:
How heavy is your hexa including the two batteries?
Do you know how much payload capacity it has?
Also, do you happen to know around how much thrust each motor puts out at full power?

I'm trying to build a quadcopter for FPV with a decent flight time. I'm aiming for 15min+
Thank You

Permalink Reply by Knut Graf on June 7, 2012 at 6:39pm

frame: 3dr-b

controller/autopilot: APM 2, external GPS
motors: diydrones 880kv
esc: diydrones 20A
propellers:APC 11*4.7

battery: Zippy LiFe 4200 3s / 4s
flying time: 11min

radio: Spektrum DX8
video/osd: none yet
other: sonar, optical flow, 3dr radio

Misc (hacks/mods): wooden mounts for sonar & optical flow, led strips, fluorescent swimmers as orientation indicators.

weight: 1169 grams plain, 1600 grams with 3s LiFe, 1700 grams with 4s LiFe 

photos:

Permalink Reply by Chris Huitema on June 8, 2012 at 5:42am

Upgrades!

Quad --> OctoQuad

Modded ESC's on a distro board with Attopilot 180A current board.

The splash screen on my TX

APM Mods - see the extra cap next to the ADC chip for the sonar, and the breakout for the outputs needed for an octo.

Frame: Custom

Controller: APM1

Motors: JDrones 880kv

ESC's: Flashed JDrones 30A

Props:  12" x 4.7"

Battery: 4s 5500mah

TX: Eurgle 9x running ER9x with FrSky telemtry

Video: 540TVL Camera 5.8ghz 600mw TX

Extra's: Sonar, Optical Flow, Xbee, GPS, Mag, Atto Pilot

Board modded to filter sonar better and easy connection of outputs 7 and 8

Weight: 1700g without battery, 2230g with 4s 5500mah

Other Stuff: Ardustation

Permalink Reply by Sonny on June 18, 2012 at 8:36pm

I haven't posted here often, but I thought it would be fun to share info on my quad.  First, the obligatory:

frame: My own quad frame + electronics enclosure.

controller/autopilot: APM1

motors: 880kv

esc: 18A (Turnigy Basic)

propellers: 10x4.7

battery:  3S 4000mAh

flying time: ~9Min

weight: 4.1 lbs

radio: Hitec Aurora

video/osd: GoPro, minimosd, 5.8Ghz Fatshark transmitter, Fatshark dominator goggles (All removed in the most recent pictures for basic testing)

other: Sonar, Xbee, GPS/Mag  (All removed in the most recent pictures for basic testing)

Front picture (that is a custom go-pro mount hanging from the front)

Rear:  Notice the sonar.

Enclosure:

 

The arms and core structure (which fastens the arms) were milled out of 6061 alum.  After destroying several other frames, I wanted something sturdy that I could learn on.  This most recent one has survived 20+ *very* hard landings without issue.  

The electronics enclosure is the fourth enclosure, but only the third printed variation.  It holds the receiver, apm1, and gps.  The top is laser cut (so that I can see LEDs easily).  The holes that you see are there for fastening the xbee and video transmitter to the top.  I need a good enclosure for those, but haven't undertaken that yet.

The battery + sonar mount is PLA printed on my reprap.  After having an incident where the batter slipped out of the velcro straps in flight, this one has a 6mm lip that holds the battery from shifting while the velcro holds it snug.  There is a box that holds and protects the sonar itself from damage which is attached to the sonar mount.

The gopro mount is printed PLA as well.  It holds the go-pro very well and you can see in the videos how vibration free/smooth the it is.

All of the parts were designed in cad programs and milled/printed/lasercut on CNC machines.  I'm very pleased with the result.  If anyone would like to see some pictures of the previous frames, enclosures, or process I'd be happy to share in a reply.  See the video links below (and excuse the beginner flying).

Most recent manual flight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuEyrV_vmXA

2.6 loiter mode test: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2mPJFdtJoQ

Old flights ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfpZ7KhP0bA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmYXIfc3pb4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNPMosfk9Ws

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZNYr9neA4Q

Permalink Reply by Sam Steeb on June 19, 2012 at 10:43pm

You can visit my profile for some pics of a few of my quad designs. Didn't want to put too much on a post. So far they have all shared the same gear and weight range, or close enough. Designs are with sport flying in mind, being able to roll and flip. Although the thrust/weight should offer a decent payload, no tests or design accomidations have been made.

I have an APM2 on order and am looking forward to getting the latest version quad to maiden on my new controller!!!

more about specific versions here as well.

 

frame: my own designs

controller/autopilot: KK v5.5 (different "brands")

motors: eMax GT 2205 -1660kv

esc: Hobbywing 12A

propellers: 8 x4.3 SF

battery: 1800 2s 30c or 1800 3s 30c

weight: 14-16.5oz depending on frame and cell count

flying time: 14-18min depends on stunts or just flying

 

 

Permalink Reply by Shahin Mo on June 25, 2012 at 4:35am

Can you give the weight sizing as well?  Thank.


ModeratorPermalink Reply by Ruwan on June 25, 2012 at 5:51am

That is a good idea, let me add it to the original post.

Permalink Reply by Jae Paik on July 3, 2012 at 5:24pm

frame:  Personal monstrous design.  3/4 Aluminum tubing
controller/autopilot:  APM2
esc:  Turnigy Plush 60A
motors:  E-Flite Power 32 770kV
propellers:  APC 13x4 Electric
motor to motor distance: 36 inches

battery:  Turnigy 20-30C 4S 5000 mAh
total weight: ~8 lbs
flying time:  Wouldn't know.  Can't fly it for more than 30 secs before crashing

radio:  E-Flite LP5DSM

other:  Lots of Zip-Ties that seem to come off at the wrong times

Misc (hacks/mods):  Carefully crafted StarBucks Directional Indicator

photos:

I think I may have built this thing waaaay too big and heavy.  Can't seem to tune the PID to keep it steady.  Constantly have to fight it to keep it somewhat leveled, otherwise it draws blood.  Anyone have any ideas?

Permalink Reply by Knut Graf on July 3, 2012 at 8:06pm
You might want to try two things to improve handling:
-Move the ESCs further away from the APM. They might give you some sensor interference in flight.
-Mount the APM directly to the frame, with Velcro or nylon stand-offs. It looks like the suspended mount might give you more vibration instead of dampening them.

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