Astounding new nanocopter: the Walkera QR Ladybird
I just got the Walkera QR Ladybird nanoquad and it's just frankly amazing. For $140, you get the quad, a 7 Channel 2.4 digital Devo 7 RC set with graphic backlit LCD display, a 240MaH LiPo and a LipPo charger. It can fly inside and out and has much better range than a Parrot AR.Drone (thanks to the proper RC gear). The RC gear alone is worth nearly that price (you can buy additional receivers for it here)!
Walkera says that it includes RC telemetry for battery and flight controller status:
1). Onboard telemetry system enables real-time monitoring of receiver, gyro, mix control and speed setting.
2). In-built telemetry function also enables and simplifies flight battery voltage monitoring.
We had a great time flying it around the living room. It's very stable, but as you would expect from a quad, very maneuverable. The transmitter starts up in regular mode (not dual rate or exponential, both of which are options), so it requires a very light touch on the sticks. A couple clicks of the trim and it will stay in one place. Because it moves fast and is so small, it's pretty easy to lose control in a small space, but the airframe seems quite robust. We crashed it lots of times, and just had to superglue on one of the motor holders after it cracked. Good as new!
Here are some shots of the incredible integration on the single flight controller board. It says it has a "six-axis gyro", but I think that must be a mis-translation from Chinese. It's probably a three-axis gyro and a three-axis accelerometer. Alternatively, it could just have a three-axis gyro, like the simple KK boards (in which case I don't know that the other three axes are supposed to be)
Top of the board, showing the flight computer and RC receiver
Bottom of the board, showing the motor controller microprocessors and four speed controller circuits.
Here's how the LiPo fits on the bottom:
A sense of the RC transmitter display
And a video in flight:
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Moderator Comment by Ruwan on May 1, 2012 at 12:15pm -
@Sam, I wonder the difference between [1] & [2], same seller $5 difference. Wondering for which one I should go.
[1] http://www.ebay.com/itm/Smallest-HD-DV-Key-Chain-Camera-808-11-H-26...
[2] http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lightest-HD-Key-Chain-cam-DV-LENS-Camera-DV...
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Comment by Ellison Chan on May 1, 2012 at 12:22pm -
Ruwan, I don't recommend those keychain cameras. The picture quality is very bad.
I just order one of these:
Picture quality is much better, but it's just a little heavier.
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3D Robotics Comment by Sam Kelly on May 1, 2012 at 12:24pm -
@ Ruwan, they seem to be the same thing, my cameras were not from that seller. Just search for 808 #11 and make sure they specify 720p HD and that they ship from Hong Kong (most of those sellers do). Video quality is good for the price.
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Comment by George P. on May 1, 2012 at 2:21pm -
It is possible to attach a 1g super mini camera & 50mW 2.4GHz transmitter compo for fpv flying:
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Comment by Dez Socks on May 1, 2012 at 4:57pm -
Any way of making a all in one speed controller like pictured above?instead of 4 individual ones.Would shave some weight off some quads.
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Comment by Dave Wicks on May 1, 2012 at 6:34pm -
@Ellison, thanks! I ordered one as well.
@George, would you need another lipo to power that mini fpv system or could you power it via the ladybird lipo?
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Moderator Comment by Ruwan on May 1, 2012 at 6:40pm -
@George, wouldn't it interfere with radio control? It is also 2.4GHz?
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Comment by Evie Alani on May 1, 2012 at 10:46pm -
in the words of some half wit "Its a bit of a toy" when talking about the Ariel Atom this toy looks to be much more than that! Sign me up for telemetry!
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Comment by George P. on May 2, 2012 at 1:42am
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You can use the 1s ladybird battery. Camera & tx works well in 3 - 4.5V range.
If the camera tx use a different channel, no, it not intefere with ladybird's radio.
Check and the tx in the follow link. Come with 4 selectable channels and weight only 0.6g.
http://fpvhobby.com/90-6-gram-50mw-24ghz-tx.html
Compine great with this tiny 1g camera:
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