SEQ Drone User Group
Hi everyoneFollowing this post on the DIY Drones forum, I have started a Meetup group for drone / UAV operators in the South East Queensland region.You will find the new group here.The purpose of the group is to host regular meetups for drone enthusiasts and commercial operators, and to help improve public opinion regarding civilian use of drones. Cheers!
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Also hit the snow last saturday and had some good flights around the alpine park. Video here - http://vimeo.com/70777613
Will also be heading back to Qld this weekend for a week, but hiring a 4wd and hitting the country. Wallaman falls and then to Port Douglas for a few days to warm up.
Let me know if anyone will be around. (:
All,
Anybody flying at the moment. I have built and flown a TBS Dicovery Quad Spider.
It flys much more stable than the DJI450 and I now have more room for all the gear that now adorns it.
Any new drones in the air in this group?
Hey JB, just from an admin point of view, why the two groups and two accounts? I received about 6 messages from you about the DUG?
But on the drone point of view, how's the VTOL project going? Did you get back to that? And the book?
Anyone here using the Ardupilot android App?
I am using it on my phone attached to my transmitter. I get just as much information as I wuld have from a laptop. You can use it to create missions but I have been using the laptop for that and the phone and Ap in the field.
Steve,
It is great news that you have finally have the Hexacopter in the air. It must have been a little frustrating to have had to wait so long. It is unfortunate that you have had to spend a bit more money to get the thing off the ground.
Just one thing about your Tx. For your flight modes you only need that one channel going to the APM. The various modes can be changed by using the Tx’s programming to mix several switches to that one channel.
On my radio I have mixed a 3 position switch and a two position switch to give me 6 modes. I use a Spektrum radio and the programming for the Futaba will be different but I am sure there will be on this site some instructions on how to program your radio.
Good luck with your Hex and I hope that the weather will be dry enough to get it in the air this weekend.
Richard
Hello guys,
Well having waited and waited for HK to get their mail service into gear, I couldn't wait much longer, as I need to be up and running, and proficient to use the hexa for a youth camp for the upcoming holidays. I've alerted them to the big delay and they are looking in to it.
I'd timed the purchase of this device and all the parts to arrive well in time so I can build it and get used to it. Trouble is... I'm a little Gen X Gen Y and I 'want' it so... So I got a little bit out of control... In the end I bought a Futaba T8J and the cheapest battery (30C 2200mAh 3S LiPo) and a cheap charger from mildtowildrc.com.au in Arana Hills. Good service and lots of RC stuff to chose from.
So, last night I put it all together and did a quick test flight in the lounge room (game I know), but it went up a little. Success! :D
The main reason I went with the Aurdu board was because of it's "openness" and I figured an open source device was going to be better supported with upgrade ability, rather than one of the closed propriety systems currently on the market.
This has also given me the ability to "fix" it when it breaks or similar because I now know how it all works and goes together - rather than the pre-built, off the shelf options.
Tonight I took the machine for a spin in a big park up near Chermside, and I was soooo surprised. The hexacopter flew amazingly. It stabilised, auto-levelled, went backwards and forwards. I'm super impressed.
I'd originally used velcro sticky dots to hold the APM board down in the frame, but for the levelling/stability I thought this wasn't the brightest ideas, so instead I cable tied it flush to the frame. The GPS and the RX is still cable tied down though.
Even though I have a million switches on the TX handset, I only have one switch available, because the cables that came with the copter only have 5 wires. This means I'm going to have to find a few more cables to be able to add the whole return to base and things like that.
Not sure if anyone else has had this too, but the battery I bought has a Deans connector on it. It looks like this | --- trouble is the battery connector I got with my APM has the XT60 plugs on it. I just lucky I found the videos about the "jumper" pin that is available with the APM.
One thing I did have a slight issue with, the hexa frame kit came with a missing screw for one of the motors. I haven't told 3DR yet. What are they going to do? Send 1 screw from the USA? Instead I just made sure that the single screw holding the motor in was tight. Tonight's test flight however I noticed loosened that screw - so without screwdrivers on hand, I called it a night and didn't go up again.
I'm sure I could share more, but it's been a HUGE learning curve for me, and has suffered some budget blow-outs along the way... Like everyone, I'm looking to refine and make it better along the way.
I plan on updating my blog with a full write up in the near future.
Cheers,
Steve
Steve,
Hopefully you won’t have to wait much longer for your controller to arrive.
Lately I have been buying my gear through local suppliers such as: uavrobotics here in Australia and Mongrel gear based in Yass and a really local supplier, zeejay hobbies a helicopter specialist but they have a very wide range of wires, harnesses, batteries and connectors. ARC hobbies stock DJI Flamewheels and more.
The 3D Robotics telemetry I use I bought from uavrobotics and the cost was roughly the same as from the US (after taking into account the extra shipping costs). I had some questions regarding OSD’s and they replied quickly and were knowledgeable.
What controller will you be using? I am using an APM with a GPS and telemetry.
Richard
Hey Richard,
I'm still waiting for HobbyKing to ship the battery and controller... Been 2 weeks. :( Getting a little antsy in a way. I would have thought they would have been here by now...
I'd be keen to meet up with people when the thing is flying though. :)
Oh also, if you ever get the chance to head to Melbourne (or Adelaide) let me know. Some great sights in both cities (and Brisbane for that matter), but here's a teaser of Melbourne @ 100m...
Hey guys,
Just thought i'd drop by and say hey and to also let you know that there's a Brisbane group. You're also welcome to head into the Melbourne group if you're interested. There are nearly 50 members there with a wide range of skills, talents and builds.
Oh and I also live in Brisbane, but split my time between there, Melbourne and Adelaide. Would love to catch up with you guys sometime and maybe go for a fly or so.
Cheers,
David.
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