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A few tips for building a hexacopter

Posted by Chris Lovett on February 1, 2013 at 11:26pm

I had a blast helping my friend build his hexacopter last weekend. This video includes some tips and tricks. We also had to do some interesting trouble shooting for problem that showed up during ESC calibration that turned out to be a bad soldering job (yep it was my fault!).

Anyway please enjoy a 5 minute condensed version of a fun day building the most excellent 3DR ArduCopter Hexa-B Frame + Motors + Full Flight Electronics Kit.

Tags: arduino, calibration, diy, drones, esc, hexacopter
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  • Steve Monro May 10, 2013 at 9:47pm

    Hi Chris, I think I may have found what I was looking for in this post, but still keen to know what you are running. (http://diydrones.com/group/arducopterusergroup/forum/topics/payload...). Thanks. :)

  • Steve Monro May 10, 2013 at 8:56pm

    Wow, this is a great quick video. I have just purchased one of these bad boys and so am waiting with expectation for it to arrive. Chris, the biggest question I'm having right now, is what battery and charger to buy. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has struggled with this. These flying machines are totally new to me (well, the DIY types). Could you post a link the type of batteries/charger you have? Did you need different connectors too? And how much flight time are you getting with it?

    Basically, I don't know if I'd under-power or cook my new device with the wrong battery or voltage... eg, a 3C or a 4C etc... there are just so many variables to consider.

    I'd just love to know what the basic requirements are, because the 3drobot site isn't much help, except that it just says "batteries and transmitter not included". 

    I'm looking at buying from HobbyKing. What are your thoughts?

    Many thanks, Steve

  • Chris Lovett February 20, 2013 at 12:35am

    Thanks.  I think the information you need for connecting the PDB to your APM is on this wiki page http://code.google.com/p/arducopter/wiki/APM2RC - scroll down about 4 pages until it shows the "Output" connectors, which includes the power input from the PDB.

  • Peter Klimon February 20, 2013 at 12:23am

    Chris,

    Can you possible do a followup showing exactly where the the cables get connected from the PDB. I cannot find any clear examples of how to connect the wires...

    BTW - Great video! I hope you can maybe do a one that is not quite so condensed...

  • Paul Braun February 2, 2013 at 12:25pm

    Chris - Thanks for putting the effort into making this video.  It was good to see the process from front to back.  Too bad you don't live in Madison, WI - I could use the help once my son and I get ours!  I am debating on a quad or hexa rotor.  Any recommendations?  Also, I'm debating what kit to purchase.  I've looked at 3DR's and JDrone's off of DIY Drones but there seem to be a handful of others on the web as well.  Frankly, it's a bit overwhelming.  Our ultimate goal is to capture flight video and utilize FPV with goggles so several kids can experience flight while I fly.  I'd love any suggestions you might have...

  • Joshua Johnson February 2, 2013 at 2:54am

    Awesome quad looks great Chris. Thanks for making an informative video! I would love your expertise on my Micro Siri Heli.

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