Quading Vacation (no wheels included)

I recently had a 5 day vacation in the foothills of Alberta Canada and took advantage of the great weather to fly my quad. I was able to make 20 flights in 4 different locations. All locations were very remote. The video includes a failsafe RTL when I try to go to far and loose my radio signal. With winter around the corner it was great to have such an opportunity.

I hope you enjoy

Equipment

jDrones X1 Frame

JDrones AC2830-358, 850Kv

jDrones 20 Amp ESCs

10"/45 propellers

Turnigy nano-tech 3300mah

ArduPilot Mega 2.25 ????(read)

Arducopter 2.7.3

Xbee 900 Telemetry

jDrones MiniOSD

5.8Ghz Video Transmitter with circularly polarized antenna 3 lobe

Gopro Hero2

Diversity Duo receiver with circularly polarized antenna 4 lobe and a 3 Turn Helical Antenna

Spectrum DX7s radio

APM 2.25

Since new I have had continuing problems with the data flash card not being recognized. I final remounted the daughter board and permanently soldered the interconnection, then I removed the SD card slot and permanently soldered the SD card in place. I kept the SD insertion switch and soldered it closed. Since this mod I have never had any problems with the card. I was forced to repair the USB connector that became intermittent a month ago. I did this by using an old Blackberry charging station to add the female pigtail USB cable that is permanently mounted to the CCT.

Thanks to the development team for their work on Arducopter project. My quad (with all its modifications) operated flawlessly during this trip.

Emile L.

Power out put from ESC, 3S LiPo, 10x45 Propeller

	25%	50%	70%	100%
Amp Wattage Thrust	1.3 A 17W 165gr	3.6 A 47W 403gr	6.45 A 79.7W 612gr	11.78A 143W 949gr

Power out put from ESC, 3S LiPo, 10x45 Propeller

25%

50%

70%

100%

Amp
Wattage
Thrust

1.3 A
17W
165gr

3.6 A
47W
403gr

6.45 A
79.7W
612gr

11.78A
143W
949gr

Power out put from ESC, 4S LiPo, 10x45 Propeller

	25%	50%	70%	100%
Amp Wattage Thrust	1.83 A 27.7W 235gr	5.16 A 79.1W 537gr	8.9 A 133.4W 790gr	15.9A 232W 1240gr

Power out put from ESC, 4S LiPo, 10x45 Propeller

25%

50%

70%

100%

Amp
Wattage
Thrust

1.83 A
27.7W
235gr

5.16 A
79.1W
537gr

8.9 A
133.4W
790gr

15.9A
232W
1240gr

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Comments

Carl Campbell September 27, 2012 at 8:50pm

That is some amazing scenery, thank you for sharing it.
Jay Bryon September 27, 2012 at 3:39pm

Nice! Thanks also for all the tech data, helpful to those of us looking to make wise hardware choices, good to see what's out there and how well the options work together.
Jeff S. September 27, 2012 at 10:11am

Very nice setup! I'm hoping to build my own one day, but have much to learn. I put the video on mute, and played Pink Floyds "Learning to Fly". Nothing wrong with Tom Petty though.
Emile L. September 25, 2012 at 11:31am

I get 6-7 min per flight and usual put back about 2400mah into the batteries. The extra weight of the all-terrain gear cost me in time. I know with different materials on the build I could reduce the weight by 1/3. I still need to do more research but will probable stay with the 3s.
Distributor

Dany Thivierge September 25, 2012 at 11:03am

you are running the HE motors, 850kv, switching to 4S and better props ( I now have very stiff carbon fibre 11x4.7, really helps a lot) should provide more time. But of course the added weight from the LiPo might also not help.

What is your typical flying time with the current setup?

This is the thrust data provided by Jani

Power out put from ESC, 3S LiPo, 10x45 Propeller

25% 50% 70% 100%

Amp
Wattage
Thrust 1.3 A
17W
165gr 3.6 A
47W
403gr 6.45 A
79.7W
612gr 11.78A
143W
949gr

Power out put from ESC, 4S LiPo, 10x45 Propeller

25% 50% 70% 100%

Amp
Wattage
Thrust 1.83 A
27.7W
235gr 5.16 A
79.1W
537gr 8.9 A
133.4W
790gr 15.9A
232W
1240gr
Emile L. September 25, 2012 at 10:53am

If it doesn't work the way you want it change it.....

I have never folded it. (I have a truck)

I have not looked into flashing the ESCs yet. I will look into the advantages this winter.

My winter project will be a new quad or hex. The focus will be to reduce the weight. I would like to get a minimum of 10-15 min. This thing comes in at about 1.5 KG.
Distributor

Dany Thivierge September 25, 2012 at 10:44am

Nice hacking on the gopro mount Emile! (as usual)

There is nothing left stock on that Quad :)

Does the X1 frame still fold?

did you also flashed the ESC with SimonK firmware or that is another project for winter time?
Emile L. September 25, 2012 at 10:43am

The camera is mounted to the battery box. The gear is also mounted to the battery box. The battery box is mounted to the quad with the original velcro battery strap. By loosening the strap I can move the battery box assy back and forth to adjust the CG point. The gear legs are from a local hobby shop and are off a helicopter. The are heavy and I drilled than out to reduce the weight.
Wiki Ninja

Stephen Roach September 25, 2012 at 10:03am

I really like that you figured out a method to mount it on the side & not the bottom
Wiki Ninja

Stephen Roach September 25, 2012 at 9:38am

Great idea!

Is the camera mount attached to some type of box?

Did you fabricate or purchase the white legs?

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