About

Gender

Male


Location

Savage, MN


About Me:

I started building robots and control panels in grade school. Now I upgrade and maintain industrial control systems. I started flying RC about a year ago and I mentor in the FIRST robotics program.


Please tell us a bit about your UAV interest

I just finished assembling an APM. I want to try it in an airplane, helicopter, quadcopter, and a snow sled that I made last winter. I would like to automate my yard work and house work. Some day I want a light speed star ship, with an autopilot of course.


Hometown:

Minneapolis MN


Activity Feed

John Hestness commented on Alex Zarenin's blog post DIY 10-channel transmitter
"Nice project and write up!"
Nov 27, 2017
John Hestness commented on Chris Anderson's blog post Pixhawk Mini now just $139
"Amazon servers are slow this morning, but this just made my Cyber Monday complete, Thanks Chris."
Nov 27, 2017
John Hestness commented on Chris Anderson's blog post Pixhawk Mini now just $139
"Sale appears to be over."
Nov 25, 2017
John Hestness replied to mic d jona's discussion 4wd rc mower in ArduRover User Group
"Mic, I am going to recommend that you use a controller (autopilot) that can run the Ardupilot Rover Firmware, there is a list here, http://ardupilot.org/rover/docs/common-autopilots.html  The FPV parts are usually a separate system and may or may…"
Aug 19, 2017
John Hestness replied to mic d jona's discussion 4wd rc mower in ArduRover User Group
"Mic, that  https://www.goldenmotor.com/  website looks very interesting, have you ordered from them before? 

A problem that I anticipate having is getting a good GPS signal where I want to mow as there are a lot of trees in the area. I just found…"
Aug 3, 2017
John Hestness replied to mic d jona's discussion 4wd rc mower in ArduRover User Group
"Mic, start by reading all of this,  http://ardupilot.org/rover/index.html
If you need 4 motor drivers, you will probably end up with 2, two motor drivers. There are some quadcopter 4 motor drivers, but those would not be suitable. There are many…"
Aug 2, 2017
John Hestness replied to mic d jona's discussion 4wd rc mower in ArduRover User Group
"Same here, would be fun to discuss. I have been thinking of an autonomous weed whip."
Jul 30, 2017
John Hestness commented on Bill Piedra's blog post VTOL Anaconda built for Tyler Perry
"A few years ago I answered an ad about a large RC aircraft collection that was being sold off here in MN, when I called the guy he said I'm sorry but Tyler Perry just showed up with two rented trucks, bought everything, and took it back to GA. He is…"
Jul 30, 2016
John Hestness commented on Joe Renteria's blog post "Wing Board" using Pixhawk and GCS...
"By that I mean it could keep you alive."
Jul 30, 2016
John Hestness commented on Joe Renteria's blog post "Wing Board" using Pixhawk and GCS...
"Wearing a smart parachute (yup its a thing, just looked it up) in the sky could do the job of wearing a life jacket on the water. If I were a little younger I think I would like to try it."
Jul 30, 2016
John Hestness commented on Carles Gelada's blog post Is Deep Learning the future of UAV vision?
"Thank you Carles for an amazing post. The entire reason I started following DIYdrones was to do something new. Today. Please continue with this idea. If you have any thoughts on where a newby could start that would be appreciated. I have some Pi's,…"
May 3, 2016
John Hestness posted photos
Jan 17, 2016
John Hestness commented on ExitZero's blog post Micro Quadcopter for Christmas?
"I picked up one of these as well.  It flies very good and it has survived many crashes so far. One surprising thing is that it is heavier than it looks. I think somebody could cut the weight in half, and then add more electronics!"
Nov 13, 2014
John Hestness commented on Rob Thompson's blog post Stair Climbing Ground Drone ARTI by Transcend Robotics
"Great to see a working stair climber. I am glad to see they are making it open source. I would like to see a less expensive device specifically for domestic household stairs.  They are at half of their goal with 22 days to go.    
 Kickstarter"
Nov 10, 2014
John Hestness commented on John Hestness's blog post Nanobeams
"Nanobeams are 5 mm x 5 mm. MicroRax and Maker Beam are 10 mm x 10 mm. The original T slot extrusions are 20 mm and up.  "
Nov 9, 2014
John Hestness commented on Chris Anderson's blog post Kickstarter for tornado-measuring drones
"I live in the Midwest and I fly drones, so I got to back these guys. Looking forward to mission reports. Stay safe."
Nov 1, 2014
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