Hello everyone,Besides some small roadblocks, my Arduino-EasyStar UAV project has been going well. The autopilot is nearly debugged (or so I tell myself : P), and I have all of the electronics parts I need, except for the proper batteries.I'm not sure what to do about powering the motor, especially since I don't have any previous r/c experience. The battery pack that came with the EasyStar seems pretty heavy, especially considering all of the additional weight of all of my equipment. I'm considering a lithium pack, but I was wondering if this would still be worth my investment if I stuck with the brushed motor for now? Are lithium packs really that much lighter?Thanks!
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Also, instead of starting a new thread, I thought I'd ask a quick question that I can't find a straight answer to:
Would the 5V regulator on the Arduino Diecimila be able to handle the current necessary to drive servos? It would be nice to not need a separate regulator, especially because the prototyping shield I'm using has loads of places to hook up for 5V; but I've heard that servos can peak at pretty high current levels, so I don't want to burn anything out on the board.
Does anyone use flexible solar panels to power their brushless motors on the planes? They go on the wings and body. It seems you could get 200+ mA at 14 volts or more...
Jacob,
You should upgrade to lipo even if you don't upgrade to brushless motor/ESC. As an example, I fly a big Aerobird Extrem based platform. The big sub-C bat that came with it is a brick! The upgrade for the stock setup is even heavier. I did some digging online and compared weights/size of available lipos that could be used to power "Big Bird". I found a 6000mah 3 cell lipo that ended up being the exact same weight as the upgrade 3000mah 7.2v bat from hobbyzone.
I fly pretty aggressive at times and still get 30 to 35 minute flights off the big bat.
Great to hear about your progress. Are you using our ArduPilot code as the base of your autopilot? If so, there are a couple tweaks I need to tell you about.
As for the EasyStar, you will be happier with a LiPo/Brushless combo, which is lighter, more powerful and much longer range. Here's my post on how to do the upgrade.
Replies
Would the 5V regulator on the Arduino Diecimila be able to handle the current necessary to drive servos? It would be nice to not need a separate regulator, especially because the prototyping shield I'm using has loads of places to hook up for 5V; but I've heard that servos can peak at pretty high current levels, so I don't want to burn anything out on the board.
Something like this: http://pagermotors.com/index_files/Flex_Cells/pages/Flex_Cells_Indi...
You should upgrade to lipo even if you don't upgrade to brushless motor/ESC. As an example, I fly a big Aerobird Extrem based platform. The big sub-C bat that came with it is a brick! The upgrade for the stock setup is even heavier. I did some digging online and compared weights/size of available lipos that could be used to power "Big Bird". I found a 6000mah 3 cell lipo that ended up being the exact same weight as the upgrade 3000mah 7.2v bat from hobbyzone.
I fly pretty aggressive at times and still get 30 to 35 minute flights off the big bat.
Great to hear about your progress. Are you using our ArduPilot code as the base of your autopilot? If so, there are a couple tweaks I need to tell you about.
As for the EasyStar, you will be happier with a LiPo/Brushless combo, which is lighter, more powerful and much longer range. Here's my post on how to do the upgrade.