I've been following the ArduCopter project for a while now, and have decided to give it a go. Over the last few days I've been reading up on as many details as possible, and would like to run the results by the community, to find out if I'm making the right choices.
Goals:
- A nice balance between agility and lift. I do not plan to lift heavy camera equipment, but would like to add some gadgets or a tiny video camera later.
- As responsive as possible
- Flight times are important; the longer the better. I don't really know what to expect yet, based on my choice of parts.
- Addition of GPS/magnetometer to enable real UAV behavior
So, the various choices:
Frame
I'll either go with the ArduCopter frame when it's out of beta, or I will buy Jakub_J's frame ( http://www.kkmulticopter.com/index.php/airframes/44-kkquadrocopter-airframes/78-kkquadrocopter-airframe-by-jakubj ).
If the ArduCopter frame is done soonish and priced right, I'll get that.
TX/RX
The Turnigy 9X 9Ch. It's a guess in terms of quality control, but there's no beating the price. I'll order it as soon as HobbyKing has it back in stock.
Engines and props
Now the hard part starts. I'm following Old_Man_Mike's thread on quad motors over on rcgroups (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1006721 ) - according to his research, the KDA20-22L (KDA) and DT-750 (HexTronik) have the best performance ratios. I'll be using these with - probably - EPP1045 props.
ESC
No idea yet. It seems the Turnigy Basic 18A is the best choice, but I haven't done enough research on ESC's yet. [Update: I mentioned the Turnigy Basic 18A, but should have referred to the Turnigy Plush 30.]
Battery
I'm looking for great weight to power ratio. I'm thinking 4000mAh+, but those weigh up to 400-500g. Also see open questions :)
Open questions
- Does this shopping list give me something satisfying my goals?
- What is the best battery to choose for the longest battery life/agility combination? Will I burn the engines if I use a 4000mAh+ 4S?
- How will the ArduCopter frame compare to the Jakub_J frame? Will it be worth the wait?
Very much looking forward to your insights, and hoping I'm not making any too obvious mistakes :)
Replies
I have exactly the same idea as you.
At the moment I allready have the APM and IMU.
I also was looking Jakub_J frame which is reasonable priced.
An Eurgle 9ch TX/RX is on the way which is the same choice as you but an other brand.
When I look for the motors and follow the forums tips I would also like to go with the 20-22L's and 25A ESC's.
But Arducopter is going to sell their own motors and ESC's.
The positive side of waiting and buying the Arducopterkit willbe that everything is made for each other. Software and Hardware. On the other hand if I read the procedures for programming the PID values and it doesn't seem that hard. So going for my choices of motors, ESC's and frame is realistic.
I have to be honest, its itching to buy the rest of the components.
I hope its worth the wait.