Starting out, general questions about ArduPilot

Hello all,My name is Paul and i am a 17 year old student in Canada.I found this site alittle while ago, and have been slowly absorbing the abundant amount of information on it. I plan to build my own UAV, but do have atone of questions before i start!First, if this is in the wrong section, my apologies.My last project was a ROV submarine, with a 640x480 colour camera (cmos from sparkfun), 2 3watt LEDs, as well as with a arduino based temperature sensor (outputted to a LCD screen).http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/8494/dsc01946j.jpghttp://img262.imageshack.us/img262/9263/dsc01947j.jpgreally enjoyed building that, and ever sense i saw the "Make: 19" volume, i knew what my next project was.So, if its okay, here we go:(pre warning.. its allot, but many are y/n :D )First:is there any difference or advantage of using the http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8772 (with a mini-usb cable) VS. a simple FTDI to usb cable (from the diydrone store)?(y/n)?also, what exactly are these:http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9373http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9372are they "advanced" replacements for the xyz sensors?i'm was considering going with the standard "Easy Star", but am too content in making an UAV that looks like a Predator UAV.http://cgi.ebay.com/RQ-1-Predator-B-UAV-63-Electric-RC-Airplane-Ready-Fly_W0QQitemZ220471302467QQcmdZViewItemQQptZRadio_Control_Vehicles?hash=item33551d1943orhttp://cgi.ebay.com/UAV-RQ1L-Predator-63-Brushless-4CH-RC-Spy-Plane-ARF_W0QQitemZ200405975908QQcmdZViewItemQQptZRadio_Control_Vehicles?hash=item2ea9208364thoughts?The second ebay link i believe is the same plane that chris anderson is pictured holding in the "Drone edition", 19 of make magazine.I'm basically just asking if its a huge deal to use something "unsupported".I'd probably go with the first link, just because of my "nub" factor, and the "one box" kinda thing.I think i'll use two http://fmadirect.com/detail.htm?item=1778&section=20 . If i've read correctly there is no real difference between using those vs. the ones supplied in the diydrone store.If i use 72Mhz RC gear, does it matter whether i use 2.4Ghz or 900Mhz xbees? Other then the range difference. Can someone give me an aprox max range of 2.4, i reckon its sufficient.in the manual, ( http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddjmqgw3_43gm6gvggf )its talking about 2,4Ghz transmission and video.lets say i use my xbees for the ground station (the laptop one), is there enough bandwidth to also supply a video feed from something like a http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8739perhaps not.I'd be more inclined to simply record video from a camera. What would be required. just wondering if any of you have a video recording rig, and how its setup. Not sure if something like a "flip mini" is popular, or if there is a better, lighter, cheaper DIY approach.Thanks very much, look forward to being part of what looks like a very friendly, and informative community!Cheers!

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  • Does anybody know if i can use the RV IR sensors with Ardupilot out of the box?

    Do i need to modify anything?

    Thanks.

    Teo

  • 3D Robotics
    Paul,

    That is indeed a lot of questions, but I'll take a stab:

    1) As mentioned, we don't recommend the 3.3v Sparkfun FTDI, which has caused us a lot of trouble.

    2) Those are the individual gyros for the now-discontinued first version of ArduIMU

    3) Unless you are a very good RC builder and pilot, I would not recommend the Predator. It's got very little interior room, is a pain to set up, and very fiddly to fly. We use our for showing off at trade shows, but that's about it. A very poor choice for a first UAV.

    4) Feel free to use the two FMA sensors, but you'll have to set one of the XYs as a Z yourself. Out of curiosity, why not use the DIY Drones ones, which will work out of the box?

    5) The 900Mhz Xbees have better range.

    6) No Xbee has enough bandwidth for video
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