Hey guys and girls, I was approached by Numan Films to see if there was interest in participating in a new TV/Internet show around drones... 

Disclaimers:  This is still called a DEV kit... things may change in real production version. 

Full disclaimer, I am the Canadian reseller of 3DR stuff, but people knowing me know that I keep it true and if there is something I don't like I will point it out! 

So my IRIS RTF arrived Guess what I did... yeah pictures time! 

First of all... the box is HUGE!! (30 X 21.5 X 7.5 inches...!) 

It has no issues with Fedex, I think because of it's size carrier will maybe handle it a bit better... hard to toss this one around... but could it has being smaller  a bit... let's open it up... 

Oh... shipping with props on... !!!  that is a first for me... was it really necessary guys? I mean installing props is something we do (or should do) everytime we go flying and for safety I am always saying to remove them when done flying/crashing  :) 

I think it's one critical step that I like to leave for the customer to do... 

There is space optimization too where 3DR could have fit this all in a smaller box (but not much, Radio is cleanly secured, IRIS arms are solidly held in place in the cardboard cutout and tape.

Let's see the parts we get! 

Wow a LiPo Bag! yeah! now we are just missing a small LiPo Alarm/bench tester to complete the kit (as the included charger has no voltage display... plugging in the LiPo to the IRIS and starting up Mission planner to check voltage is not intuitive...)

So here we go with the inventory (remember, DEV kit, subject to change, bla bla bla) 

1 X IRIS craft (yeah... will get back at this later but the first time you touch it to take it out of the box you feel how strong and rigid the arms and shell are... wow) 

1 X Radio FlySky FS-TH9x (basic, proven, comes with the FrSky 2.4GHz DJT module so reliable signal) - no battery included, need 8 X AA regular batteries or a power pack... 

1 X IMAX B3 charger... basic, simple, does the job, 1 LiPo at a time

1 X bag of cables (international plugs for charger

1 X very nice user manual! 

4 X spare props (10x4.5 APC composite) 

3 X LiPo (not sure this is standard, I think you only get 1 LiPo unless you order more... I feel special!) 

What is missing... Tool bag... USB cables... I think It is included, manual refers to an included Alen key and a supplied custom wrench for the prop nuts... Also there should be a Tablet/USB cable and a PC/USB cable (referenced in manual)

So I think that was all in one bag that is missing from my DEV early shipped box... not a big deal for me but not fun for someone new to the hobby.  (guys put a checklist in the box for the content, it helps a lot and customers like to review it too) 

Love the included pre-flight check list and the sticker for Radio switches flight modes (wish it was pre cut but again maybe an early version) 

Belly side up

(more pictures in next post, reached the max for now) 

This is it... all of FrSky Taranis batch #1 packaged and all ready for Canada Post pickup! 

Also got to meet a lot of you for local pickup, it was busy!  For one night it felt like HobbyKing in here (all remaining units exceeding the pre-orders got sold in 14 minutes after the very late newsletter!) Thanks again!  

I know a lot of you (if not all of you) waited quite a long time for this shipment, well FrSky fixed the gimbal issues from test batch 1 (shipped to USA but not Canada) and now this is the time for us to also get our hands on some updated/revised units. I did test them out and no more gimbal sticking off center. 

There is still a small buzzing sound on the speaker, apparently there is a Cap/reisstor? fix... (post it if you know, hard to stay up to date and ship at the same time!) 

The demand is still crazy but this will satisfy quite a few customers! 

For those of you who have already started to tweak and mod your Taranis Radio, please post your settings, firmware update or tweaks that you applied! I did not see a lot of threads around here but I know there is a very long one on RCGroups. Would be nice to see some here too! 

Get on the Batch #2 pre-order list

Dany

Mississauga, Ont., businessman Dany Thivierge, right, has established himself as a go-to man for hobbyists in need of drone parts and know-how. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)

Hi guys, pretty happy about that one! 

Last week we filmed with CBC Evan Mitsui to get a good view of how the UAV hobby side was doing. 

We spend a good half day showing off technologie that here we now take for granted but that the vast majority of the the non initiate people have a hard time grasping.  We went flying (couldn't get the Hexa to work... I swear this thing has severe stage fright syndrome, when it's time to shopw off it refuses!) but we had fun with a Quad and recorded everything on the entry level DJI Phantom. 

Was a very nice day and we had a blast.  

Check the second part of the interview to see me with Yuri a friend/customer with a very DIY setup. 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/07/10/f-canadas-commcerial-uav-drones-laws.html

Hi guys, 

I got permission from my customer to share this story.  

The quad is a DJI Phantom, RTF in 10 minutes when you get your box delivered to you. yes no kidding, it's that simple. 

Of course this kind of product brings a lot of new beginner customers (as well as experienced one looking for a small form factor and easy of flying). 

So here is the story of this customer 4-5 flight, in a super wide open area, safe, really safe for experimentation. 

This is the video of the "trigger failsafe to save my $$$" event. 

Why I post this? 

I really think we should go in that direction for the APM failsafe out of the box. Granted we have more options but complexity and flexibility is not a reason to not have a basic default behavior even if not set in mission planner (for these beginners not reading instructions!) 

(below it is the text version of what was going on his mind.)

Enjoy! 

Dany

CanadaDrones

I didn't know what had gone wrong.  I was baffled and confused when it 
all went wrong so suddenly.  It was only while studying the video later 
that I figured it out.

I normally fly in GPS mode.  That's pretty much idiot-proof as long as 
the Phantom has a good satellite-lock.  But I had switched to Atti mode 
to experiment with improving video smoothness.

You can tell from the video it's in Atti mode.  I flew past my wife at 
high speed, then levelled off and swung it around to point back.  If it 
had been in GPS mode, it should have stopped by itself and hovered in 
that spot.  But in Atti mode it kept right on sailing further away, 
still at fairly high speed.

The problem was that it was such a bright sunny day, with bright snow 
and black trees in the background.  As it drifted even further away from 
me I wasn't sure and couldn't see anymore which way it was facing.  So I 
switched to Home-Lock and pulled back on the stick, thinking that should 
bring it straight back to me regardless of which which direction it was 
aimed at the time.  That was the plan anyway.

I didn't realize that Home-Lock doesn't work in Atti-mode.  I'd never 
tried that combination before.

So, when I pulled full back on the stick, the Phantom responded (quite 
properly) by backing up even more quickly away from me.  And that REALLY 
surprised me, because I wasn't expecting that at all.

At that point I should still have been able to figure out what was 
happening and recover.  But I was so stunned by this unexpected 
reaction, I just didn't know what to do.  I looked down at the 
transmitter to confirm it was actually in Home-Lock mode.  But when I 
looked back up I couldn't even see the Phantom anymore.

Last I saw it, it was heading for the trees across the lake.  So my only 
thought was to add throttle to ensure it clears the trees.

It was much too far away from me.  Did it just go out of transmitter 
range?  Maybe.  But fail-safe should have kicked in automatically then. 
 Did it lose satellite-lock?  If that's the case, then I'm really in 
trouble because I can't even see it anymore to control it manually and 
it might already be headed on its way back to China right now.

I was undecided about turning off the transmitter to force a fail-safe 
return to home.  If it has lost satellite-lock, then turning off the 
transmitter will kill any slim chance at all of my regaining control. 
But I didn't know what else to do.

Turns out, as you can see from the video, I had a solid transmitter 
connection the whole time.  I should have simply switched to GPS mode. 
Then Home-Lock would have worked perfectly.

But in panic, I switched off the transmitter, and instantly fail-safe 
kicked in and saved my butt.  But, it had already been flying for ~6 
minutes, and I was worried it was going to run out of battery time 
before I could get it back to the ground.

Video link below:  (and yes it's in French...) 

Radio Canada / Decouverte - Drones are in Canada

They scare a bit the audience but they do a fair job informing too.  From military / civil and hobby drones they cast the net wide. They also explain the good side for saving lives, detecting forest fires and more.  

Good job Radio Canada (Just wish they had contacted me for an interview! hehehe) 

Dany
http://www.CanadaDrones.com

I know Christmas is not done yet! But the deal is on NOW!  

Meanwhile let me wish you a fantastic time with family and friends, share the coupon code and the love. 

See you again next year (sorry will not monitor this much... vacation time is great, once in a while!) 

Dany

Ok it was a very long wait for those of us who bought the wifi back pack to see our GoPro video on our iphone (and other devices too) 

But it's out today.  

I've tested it and there is like a 3-4 seconds delay so no live streaming that could help us to do cheap (near) FPV... but it's nice to make sure your landing gear/arm is not in the shot.  Also you can see if your lens is clean... 

It's pretty much it... kind of a bit sad there is such a long delay... maybe some firmware update will make it faster later.. 

Update your cineform software to latest before up update the wifi pack and gopro hero2 firmware. 

It was a bit bumpy installation (firmware upgrade) but worked in the end. 

Let me know if you get better lag time... 

Dany

In the quest for ground clearance and light weight legs I think I found a great product. 

These landing gear are usually made for 90 grade F3A Airplane but they fit very well on the 3DR frame. 

Super sturdy, made of Carbon fiber and shaped to absorb some impact (they are very stiff) they work great and will not add a lot more weight.  I first saw something similar on the uDrones products but they were straight and looked a bit thin.

I always try to bring you guys the best products and I sure know I got a lot of request for longer, stronger legs.  Well here they are and as a bonus I find them pretty sexy!  hehe 

As usual, let me know what you think? keeper product or not? 

https://www.canadadrones.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=CF-LEGS-20-2

Real clearance under the center plate is more 17cm (around 6 1/2 inches) 

This is a really sexy 3DR Hexa!   Oh and the props are 11X4.7 real Carbon Fiber too, this is stiff and price went down recently so really happy to offer them now! 

With 2.7.3 out there is no excuses to not fly!! 

Hi guys, the weekend in Montreal was great, really hot out there but we still had a lot of people coming down to the Big O for the Faire.

It was a first time event for the Montreal Maker Faire organization and I think they did a great job.  They will be taking in all that experience and making an even better event next year.  (Better venue? Maybe)

Did I mention that it was hot?  

Here are some pictures of the CanadaDrones boot (note that we changed location, Day 2 location was way better as we had some shade and wind!)

The demo flight part of the exhibition did not go as planned.  When we tried to fly our copters there we were facing several “issues”... First it was an all concrete environment and you guys know that landings might be rough some times to say the least so crashing there would have meant a lot of repairs. Also for some strange reasons the copters were spinning like 4-5 complete turns (yaw) on their axis until you clear 2-3 feet.  I suspected high current wires in the concrete to maybe affect the compass?  Plus there was a lot of “noise” in the 2.4mHZ band, one of the other exhibition was some radio relay stations and they were cranking up the signals.   So ultimately I decided to only fly the QR-LadyBirds for safety reasons.

What a blast, we could interact a lot more with the kids without fear of slashing them apart.  

A lot of people were happy to just see the evolution of the hardware and showing the APM1, APM 2 and APM 2.5 side by side was a great way to explain how fast things are evolving.

Thanks to all the CanadaDrones customers who came and brought some project to work on and show.

(In no particular order and I am sure I forgot someone! Blame the heat)

Bob Roach 

Eric Pichet
Daniel Boivin

Eric St-Denis

Fred O'Donnell

Ellison Chan

David Galley

Dianne Boisvert

I did not manage to take as many pictures as I wanted as it was non-stop busy and hard to just take a break.  Next time I need to plan to get someone else there as a “real” pilot so while he fly I can still answer questions.  This was a great learning experience and I really had a blast!

If you have more pictures please share them, I know a lot of people were taking pictures and recording video so I will see if I can get more to show.

Finally big thanks to Jani and Nin over at jDrones for the special carbon fiber hexa to put on display as well as the cool new pancakes motors and power distribution board (no picture sorry!) 

The 3DRobotics swag also disappears in a blink of an eye, thanks for the stickers!

I will sure repeat the wonderful experience that the Maker Faire was.  Hummmmm there is an Ottawa Mini  Maker Faire in October....  :) 

Hi folks, the first Montreal Mini Maker Faire is almost here!  http://www.makerfairemontreal.ca/

Check out the maker section, lots of interesting things will be there on top of the Canada Drones boot.  

I have confirmation form a bunch of guys here that will bring their projects to showcase as well as potentially fly. 

We will have our own secure, dedicated flight zone where we can go and fly our gear. (will require a quick inspection/ hand test when possible clearance to be granted access) 

Here is a quick list of things that I will bring out there. (we will have at least 2 tables under a main tent) 

    - a Quad that will be used to do demo flight (yes on a very secure area! at 3pm Saturday and Sunday) 

    - a QR Ladybird for quick and super secure fun around the boot

    - a 3DR Hexa full equipped with telemetry and camera gimbal. 

    - a jDrones special Hexa (top secret for now!) 

    - some I/O boards to have some LED action :) 

    - a laptop connected to an APM 2.5 to showcase the mission planner and the features. 

    - Some 3DR and jDrones swag 

    - Soldering station, LiPo recharge station / Power  so we can work on the projects and repairs and have fun. 

    - and more!  (rumors has it that there will be CanadaDrones.com coupons on site !) 

When? 

Next weekend! August 25-26 from noon to 6pm (for people helping me /  bringing any equipment we will need to arrive on site around 9am to setup on Saturday)

How to get there and parking? 

http://www.parcolympique.qc.ca/en/how-to-get-here/#5

One VERY important thing is that we are going to share a site used for a rock fest later that day.  Your admission will allow you to stay on site and watch it so security and rules are a bit "extreme" for a Maker Faire but never the less mandatory and will be enforced.  

This is the full list of "rules": http://expmtl.com/en/FAQ/

but for people that will skip this important reading here is some main points

 -  NO SLR CAMERA (it's a rock fest afterall)... if you really really really want to bring SLR camera, let me know as I can potentially have a media badge for you... but really you will need to take really good pictures! hehe

ITEMS NOT ALLOWED ON THE FESTIVAL SITE
Glass bottles and cans
Hard-sided coolers
Musical instruments – unless you are in a ExperienceMTL approved performing band
Megaphones
Fireworks
baseballs, beach balls, footballs soccer balls, etc.
Large sport umbrellas
Folding chairs
Skateboards 
Animals (except Guide dogs)
Large backpacks (camping style)
Tents
Laser pointers
Brought from outside alcoholic beverages
Illegal Drugs and drug paraphernalia
Video / Audio recording equipment – unless you are an Experience Montreal accredited media person.
Professional photo equipment (SLR cameras, i.e. removable lens cameras) – unless you are an Experience Montreal accredited media person.
Items intended for sale / promotion unless they are approved festival merchandise.
Any object that can be used to cause bodily harm

Items that are on the disallowed list will be confiscated. Don’t not bring them to the festival site at all to save yourself the problem!

Hope to see a lot of you there!  I am very excited about this event. 

Dany

www.CanadaDrones.com

This is just a heads up for my fellow customers. 

I am taking a break with the familly Startign July 22.  Shipping will resume on August 6th. 

There is high probabilities that I will be around and shipping in the middle of it (we are not really going away) but there is no guaranties that I will ship orders.  On the list of things to do on vacation there is way to many things to say that we will really relax...  The list includes redoing the kitchen, getting a new car (lease is over) camping with the kids, beach time, COPTER time with video (even if I crash I will publish the best of moments!) and of course lots of beer! :)

So hurry up if you plan to need something or want a full kit, only 11-12 days to go before we close for 2 weeks!

Oh while at it... let's give you a quick update on the latest improvement on the Original Arducopter frames.

All kits now comes with thicker arms (for the same price). 

We listen to your comment and although it was nice to have the lightest frame possible the bent arms were too frequent.  So we only ship the new thicker arms from now on.

They weight just 27 grams instead of 14 for the old ones so not a major trade off. The 3DR arms are still at the top of the scale at 50 grams,

Enjoy the summer!

and thanks to all for the amazing ride so far! you all blew my expectation, stay tune to see what the next months have in reserve... lots of new thing brewing....

Dany

Mark your calendars for August 25-26 in beautiful Montreal City!

Canada Drones is proud to let you know that we will be sponsoring the Montreal Maker Faire 2012. 

We will have a booth there with the 3DRobotics and jDrones products on display.  People will be able to interact with the gear in a safe way (no Lipo connected on display items). 

We are still trying to figure out if there will be a way to do some flight demo but safety is paramount and we will only do so if the organisation is giving us the green light. 

People interested to come I will have some free tickets, let me know! 

Also if you are interested to come show your setup that would be great, I will have a spot for you! 

This will be fun!

The nice X525 and X1 QuadCopter frames are cheap and light, perfect for beginner as they have suspension legs helping in the hard landings.  This frame also fold and is great for transportation.  More and more people are using it as basic platform and hack it and improve it.  

This new product is to specifically address the carbon fiber motor mount flex issues and stress fatigue failures. 

CNC machined from billet aluminum it is designed to adapt a large range of 28mm and 35mm motors.

These mounts are much stronger than the stock ones and will eliminate the common cracking and vibration issues. The nice bonus is that it's a direct replacement with no modifications necessary.

Designed and cut by Terry at http://smallpartscnc.com They are now on sale for Canadians in my store. 

http://www.canadadrones.com/X1-X525-Aluminum-Motor-Mount-Set-p/x1-motor-mount-set.htm

I know a lot of you did some similar plates but these looks way nicer and are quite lighter as excess aluminium is removed. 

Here is my own home made ones, soon to be replaced by these nice ones! 

Will post picture of them mounted on the Quad as soon as I get them! Should be 5-10 days. 

Dany

www.CanadaDrones.com

It is with GREAT pleasure that I am launching CANADADRONES.COM

Your Canadian source for UAV gear.

It is a Canadian Distributor web store where you will find all your ArduCopter needs!

After being bitten by the DIYDRONES bug nearly 2 years ago and ran into all the possible issues there could be with a Quad (Crashes / rebuild and Crashes cycles... you all know the drill)

I finally got tired of wait for my parts to get delivered to me and sometimes getting hit by the “surprize” duty fees!

So I’ve contacted all our friends with the BIG stores around here, jDrones.com, DIYDRONES.com and BuildYourOwnDrone.co.uk to get the ball rolling on opening my own distribution channel. (Sorry world, Canada only for me!)

As expected the feedback and help from these guys was awesome and I need to say that I am so proud to be part of this amazing community!  Thanks Jani for the countless hours of discussion, Thanks Martin for the hints and inside bits of your store plus the encouragement words. And all the staff at 3DRobotics (Yvett and all) for their supports on setting up the official distributor agreement.

Ok enough Oscars type speach... Although I need to say thanks to my wife and familly for the long hours of moral support they gave me while building what I know will be a real sucess story!

You know why I think it will be a great adventure? Because of YOU here, always happy to help around, educate and improove our products. So without further ado, Canadian customers welcome to my store!

http://www.canadadrones.com

Inventory is humble at the moment as this is considered “testing the water” but I have parts in stock to support all your Quad/Hexa needs, from the AutoPilot IMU to the full Original ArduCopter/Hexa and 3DR kits you will find what you need.

I will get regular restock from the real DIYDRONES suppliers so quality is there and it will grow with the demand just lilke Martin did over the pond!

Just like his mode of operation I will put Customer Service at the center of my business model.

This is just the begining of a wonderfull ride!

* as any new website launch there could be some bugs/glitches so please report any broken links/images or strange behavior to dany@canadadrones.com 

Dany 

http://pilotmag.com/images/mar-apr11pics/insidecockpit_spread.jpg

Nice!

"You ready to rock and roll, man?” I still didn’t believe what was about to happen. I looked up through the clear glass cabin roof, knowing that the next time I looked up, I’d be staring at the ground below. “We’ll start off with a roll. I’ll count down from three. Ready? THREE!”

Oh this is nonsense. Helicopters can’t roll upside down. Doesn’t this guy know that? Go ahead buddy, keep counting over there. “TWO!” What does this guy think he’s going to do when he gets to zero? I glanced over at the pilot and caught my reflection in the Red Bull logo painted on his flight helmet. Gosh I look silly with a smile this big. “ONE!” I should really tone down that smile. These pictures are going to look… “ROLL!” I look up just in time to catch the sight of a freeway zooming by, and then it’s over, blue skies return.

http://pilotmag.com/redbull

This time it was quite fast...

Full inventory is back... hurry-up!

(this is the last time I report this stock level... )

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=8992

Wow go now!!!