Hi DIYDrones Community!
I am looking to put together a comprehensive post with links to all subject matter (starting with very Newbie all the ways to very technical). The idea is NOT to give the answers in this post, but to link to great articles/books/websites/etc. There is great information out there, but people have very different varying degrees of knowledge and difficulty finding it. I think we need a one-stop-shop to get people going instead of relying on them to "Search". Maybe if this turns out good enough, they will add this to the "Getting Started" portion of DIYDrones. I DO NOT want people to have to sort through the comments. I have done a test and I can edit this post after publishing. So any good links shared will be put into this original post.
The entire DIYDrones project is a part of the Arduino project. The APM is built from Arduino hardware. The APM hardware will change as Arduino hardware itself changes.
(Anyone have a link to the ARM 2.0 Hardware manual? For some reason I can't find it right now)
RC uses wireless communications to bridge the gap between devices. Higher Frequencies can send more data, have less range, and cannot penetrate objects. Lower frequencies can send less data, have greater range, and can penetrate objects better. The most common hobby frequences from highest to lowest are 2.4Ghz, 900Mhz, 400Mhz.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hertz
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_waves
RC uses wireless communications for the following reasons: control, telemetry data, FPV
(Need some great links on each of these)
An RC build is usually composed of the following hardware components: Flight Controller, Electronic Speed Controller, Power Distribution Board, Transmitter(s), Recievers(s), PC, USB to Serial adapter, DC Motor(s), Servos, ....
Great links ...
More to come. I should keep modifying this. I want to see reaction too. The more interest and help then the more time I will personally put into this post.
Replies
Hi BoBo(?)
You are nearly addressing a question of mine. I am not an RC-anything expert. I am looking at integrating the ArduPilot into an existing multicopter frame, but the info on the power connections and requirements is a bit sketchy in the documentation (http://code.google.com/p/arducopter/wiki/APM2board).
My question is this: If I have an existing copter and I want to install the ArduPilot, where to I get the power from? Will I be able to get it from the existing batteries of the copter, which I think will result in an unstable voltage? Or do I install an additional power distirbution board (https://store.diydrones.com/Quadcopter_PDB_p/ac-pdb-01.htm) to get the power from the batteries, or do I install my own battery?
Thanks
Francois