I have been wanting to build a Quad-copter for awhile, but was lost trying to find out on google how a beginner like me can build one. So I was hoping that, everyone here at DIY Drones could help a beginner like me get started in this awesome hobby. Any information you may have is welcome.
In case anyone wants to help me locate good quality parts here is what I want my drone to be able to do.
-Video relay to stream to my laptop so i can fly the drone using the camera
-Long Range Radio Transceiver (Something that can reach distances up to 5 miles)
-Efficient electric compact motors to provide speed and long flight time
Note the reason why i want it to be able to go long distances, is so I dont have to worry about it cutting out on me when scouting crop fields
Replies
Ah!!! I see.
10 minutes is in reality the most realistic initial goal.
Yeah there is a calculator. Though one I used was very detailed though. Which is good. It won't give you a quick answer but when you dial the values in it will give a lot of information and show you if choices such a prop pitch angle will not work with your motors.
I don't have the link on hand but it is out there. Good to use at some point.
I just threw out that number (30 mins). I wasn't trying to suggest that should be your target. Sorry if I gave that impression.
That does bring up a good point though. Is there an online calculator that he can use which is easy for beginners? Some of the ones that I've seen are pretty complex and not so straight forward.
30 mins? Are you flying for 30 mins with a 4 prop set up?
I thought a practical target was 15 minutes (weight dependant obviously). Let's say hover throttle is ~50% of full range.
I figure to get to 30 mins (with a camera/gimbal) you'd have to double the props and triple the batteries? (5000mHA each)
I have 4 props, 600mm frame and 5000mHA Lipo. With my current overly heavy landing legs and no cameras/gimbal systems (i figure these are similar in weight), my hover throttle is far to high (~75%). I haven't timed it but But I doubt I am going to break 15 minutes.
I agree with Alex on most of his points. The one thing I would add is to study a few different builds people have made. There are lots of tutorials on the net and quite a few on DIY. Really try to understand what the most likely problems are that you will run up against first. You'll be more confident if a problem appears that you have at least heard about before.
Also, begin with the end in mind. If you know the payload you need to carry, then make sure the motor thrust is sufficient. If you know you need to fly for 30 mins, make sure the lipo capacity is sufficient given the motor draw and weight. The more detail you can lock down ahead of time means a lot less headache in the future.
If you do decide to go with a RTF kit, there is no shame in that. The advantages is getting up and running right away. You'll spend a lot more time having fun and using video and a lot less time debugging and building.
My 2 cents (I am a robotics expert and I built my own quad):
1. Buy or Build
You have 2 choices, a ready to fly kit, or you source your own parts and build it yourself.
If you buy a ready to fly, you have to pay extra.
If you buy your own parts and build it yourself you will learn more and have a more intimate knowledge of it's construction.
Nor will will be afraid of ripping it apart and modifying it later.
Ready to fly to kits will not have the best components (unless you go high end range 2,000+ euro).
However, if you take the value for whatever ready to fly kit you can afford, and then identify the parts and thier specifications, you can go and buy better quality. The ~300 euro overhead you are going to pay with a 600mm frame size quad is best put into quality ESC's motors, charger, flight board etc. I recommend you go with the frame size as below that you will have trouble carrying anything like a decent cameras and flying for very long.
I bought the SUNNYSKY X2212 980KV KV1400 1250 2350 Brushless Motor Short Shaft. They are better quality than the common DJI motors in ready to fly kits.
I basically studied in detail the 3DR design and specs and then bought all the parts from Alibaba (right down to wire connectors and heat shrink wrap).
I recommend you build your own as you will have a better quality system for the same amount of money you can afford.
2. Phase development
I don't know how much experience you have with robotics in general but it is a multidisciplinary area.
If you are going to build yourself then tackle the problem of flying first. Achieve both stable manual and computer assisted flying first. also sort out your base station comms and autonomous modes. Don't loose sight of the fact you are planning on building a helicopter. It isn't trivial.
Get it flying, then buy the camera and high bandwidth/rage radios.
That is what I did, I still haven't bought the cameras.
I spent around 900-1000 (give or takes some redundant parts) but I cheaped out and decided I would solve the flight stabilisation myself with a optical flow sensor and sonar instead of paying for a PXFLOW.
Then my computer crashed and I ran out of time/money to keep investing during a job hunt session.
Anyhow, fully employed again so i'll buying the PXFLOW as my build is good and im ready to move on the cameras.
However much money you think you have, buy the time you actually achieve stable flight, you'll likely have more money so don't worry about going all in now, take the project in manageable phases. Trust me, I'm an engineer.
Wiring advice:
When it comes to building, have a think about cable management. You will end up taking it apart multiple times and putting it together during the build. I came up with a scheme that let me unscrew every screw except one on each level of chassis plate and rotate them away to the sides to give access. My cable routeing plan was such that no wires would get pinched, they followed the freedom of movement of disassembly. Not a trivial thing, i worked it out after undoing all the wire connections just to get access to a single hardware bug many times.
Oh and I bought a crappy charger. I am regretting it.
If you need any general advice along the way, ping me and ill be happy to help.
Also, you should state and make it clear to yourself what you want out of all of this in the long term.
What you want to do with this does impact choices along the way and initially. For examples do you want to flying first person view for fun, doing aerial photography, or developing a robot. You goal will impact the frame size you choose and you are not goignto save any time or money buy realising you need to build a 2nd quad in order to scale up appropriately.
Broadly a 600mm frame should cover all bases. If i could do a redo though I would have bought a octacopter chassis and built it as a quad. As now that I realise i want to significantly increase my carrying capacity, I can't just mount 4 more arms. The one thing I never considered when I assessed the load requirements at the start was landing gear (battery protection cage). The crappy plastic helicopter H-style landing gear that is popular is total crap. Something stronger is required for my aggressive testing (heavy thus). If you are going to build your own quad, you might as well get used to referring to the early flight tests as crash tests. Get cheap propellers, buy lots of them.
And lastly, don't be an idiot like me who shoukld know better. If you put together your own power distribution board (even just the connectors), absolutely test where the battery is connected, Make sure it is not a short circuit :D