I recently ran a build-your-own-quadcopter workshop in Canberra (Australia), where 9 people learned how to construct, tune and fly quadcopters based on the Pixhawk flight controller.
This workshop is the second one I've run (1st workshop here). There have been several improvements this time around: A stronger frame, pre-soldered connectors and usage of the Pixhawk.
There were of course minor technical difficulties (such as not ordering enough standoffs!) along the way, but we got there in the end and everyone had a great time!
For those that want to run their own workshops, I've published the documentation for this workshop here. It includes a full workshop manual, APM:Copter parameters file, materials list and useful links.
Why is everyone using only green props and not green and gold!
I think this sets a standard for quality documentation. Phenomenal work. I really appreciate the attention to clarifying terminology like "APM", and how the options for ground control station software are described. I added a link to this blog post here. Thanks for sharing!
+1 Stephen
Congratulations, this is excellent and very pro. Excellent documentation and good synthesis.
Sounds like a great workshop! Your workshop documentation all by itself makes for a pretty great tutorial on all the major aspects of building one of these quads.
How did you manage the workshop costs and parts? Did you provide parts, or expect the participants to buy on their own? Did you pre-purchase lots of sets and then seek registrations, or vice versa?
This is excellent work! I know how long it can take to write documents like these! Great build manual!
Sam: I got people to register/pre-pay for the workshop and then bought all the parts in bulk. Managed to get some decent discounts too :)
Can Ardupilot 2.6 be used instead of Pixhawk? It would money saving and Ardupilot seems like a pretty good autopilot program.
Owen: Either will work, as they both run the APM code.
Nice work! Do you charge for the workshop? I tried to put together a workshop here in South Florida, but got no takers. I used your manual and notes and they were very helpful, thanks a bunch. I think my advertising needs to be better.
Richard - I'm running the workshops as a hobby for now, so I'm only charging for parts. I advertised the workshop through my local hackerspace/makerspace.
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