Quadcopter summer project with kids

Posted by Marco on July 9, 2015 at 8:01am

Hi,

I've found a lot of information in the wiki and in these groups but I'm still trying to figure out a 'part list' to buy for an "assembly and fly your first quadcopter summer project" I'd like to plan for August.

I'm inclined to buy an assembly kit + gps + rc transmitter/receiver + ardupilot trying to stay on a budget of € 400 to a max of € 500.

I'd love to be able to add telemtry and a cheap solution for video capabilities (I believe this would be too expensive).

Due to kids involvment (from 4 to 10 yo, hoping my toddler will stay with his mom :)) I prefer not to have soldering needs.

Can you please help me out with this?

TIA.

Marco.

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Replies

  • OG July 21, 2015 at 3:25am

    hello You might want to look at 380-250 kits perfect for summer camp ! the guys are correct HK is not really a good sorce for multicopter stuff if you do not know what goes together they sell a lot of crap as well. Better to get a ARF kit, or loose kit plug and play , you can get full kit including TXRx FPV TxRx for $200 low end all in!

  • luke cooke July 21, 2015 at 12:47am

    Looks like you have already selected your parts, but my project videos may still be of help to you.

    www.explorer4-quadcopter.com

    There is a complete parts list and build guide for the quad that I designed.

    There is also a revision 2 of the frame coming out in the coming weeks, thanks to the help from all the feedback!!

  • MR60
    Hugues July 17, 2015 at 12:35pm

    I would advise you to buy a quadcopter kit from 3DR instead of adding the difficulty and risks of wrong doing by purchasing individual parts that will certainly not match at first trial. I already see your motor KV is wrong and your battery voltage is wrong. Plus wanting to add fpv in your first build project is adding complexity and costs. Another advantage of getting a 3dr kit is the support you will get from this forum and /or 3DR.

    You can get a DIY quadcopter kit for 550$ which is in line with your budget and which uses the last Pixhawk flight controller able to run the last firmwares which is not the case if you use an "old" APM or similar.

    • Marco > Hugues July 21, 2015 at 2:37am
      I agree.

      The learning curve is what I actually like the most in everything I do.. And the suggestions I received here are great.

      Thanks again.
    • Vinnie Tsoi > Hugues July 17, 2015 at 2:18pm

      What in the world are you talking about?  How is the motor KV wrong? How is battery voltage wrong?  Please be specific if you want to comment.  He had chosen Multistar Elite - 2216-920kv which are designed for 400-600 size quadcopters and are designed to be powered by 3S lipos which he had ordered a ZIPPY Compact 4000mAh 3S lipo.  I don't see anything wrong with that.

      3DR kit is nice, but it is out of stock and you will get support from people regardless if it is a 3DR package he is building.  Don't tell me you will stop helping if the DIY is not 3DR.

      Just because Ardupilot team is no longer supporting the old APM doesn't mean people cannot continue to use them.  They are great and flies fine for what they are worth.  I have spent over ten thousand on my collection with many APM and Pixhawk including the IRIS+. You are not telling me those old APM builds I have need to be thrown away just because there is no more new versions of firmware?  Come on.  They all fly fine and I still have several new kits to be built with various different version of APM.  Also the whole point with open source is others can modify at will hence all the different versions out there and not just 3DR.  People buy old antique cars and rebuilt them, what is wrong with someone building a new quadcopter with an older version of flight controller board?

  • Edgar Scott July 13, 2015 at 11:13am

    If your kids are into LEGO you can use our LEGO frame to make it more exciting for them.
    http://www.instructables.com/id/LEGO-Drone-with-GoPro-camera/

    http://www.brickdrones.com

    We do not sell motors/flight controllers etc but you can get it from 3DR or other places.

    The Pixhawk wont fit inside but if you want to use APM you can use a APM Pro or APM mini

    3702046668?profile=original

    Ed,

    • Marco > Edgar Scott July 15, 2015 at 6:54am

      Hi,

      thanks to everybody for your suggestions..

      Anyone can help with the part list I posted?

      Thank you.

      Marco.

  • Víctor Mayoral July 13, 2015 at 11:01am

    Hi Marco,

    We have kits for building drones step-by-step. Please have a look at http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/drone-education-a-diy-drone-for.... The default kit involves soldering but we can probably do something about it and send it pre-soldered for an additional charge. Price-wise we can surely meet your needs but what I'm concerned about is the age of the kids.  The drones are based on the F450 and even adults should be careful when handling the drones.

    Regards,

  • Andre July 9, 2015 at 2:07pm

    Please don´t do that!

    Ardupilot, Arducopter is not a Toy!

    It is opensource and need that to be respected.

    There are a lot of other copter (Toys) in different shops. 

    • Marco > Andre July 16, 2015 at 9:51am
      I actually forgot the landing skid.. And I'm encountering sommle difficulties in finding one on HK.

      For the live video I'll wait a bit.
      Will it be possible to use the love video out from the Möbius and use a WiFi card to stream wirelessly for example to an android smartphone?

      Thanks again.
This reply was deleted.