We have done a preview of what we are planning to do the Skywalker X8 build during the course of the show.
Our first person to interview is Wayne Garris from TechPod and we will be hearing his story.
All of this will be done on Google Hangouts so if you would like to be part of the interview and ask them some questions please add diydronestv@gmail.com to your Google circles and we will invite you when the interview starts (This will happen hopefully within the next week or so)
Dear Friends in this video I present the first flights made with the new frame designed by Virtualrobotix. The frame drawn using last generation 3D Cad , is made of carbon fiber and aluminum. The frame is designed for users who want to have a frame strong, lightweight, reliable and easily customizable. The version presented in the video and 'the naked version, we are also ending the production of the cover.
This is a render of cover developed for VR Copter X4-8
Is possible to implement the VR Copter also as coaxial X8 as in the render
All electronics mounted on six dampers it is easily removable and can be inspected. The battery is mounted above the distribution board to limit the vibrations transmitted to the VRBrain 4.5
Weight without GoPro and 1490 grams without battery Take-off weight of 2068 grams including battery and GoPro Flight time from 5800 mah battery with 14 min of flight with 70% of battery used. The final version of the frame should weigh 150-200 grams less.
The maximum payload is 1 kg . The frame will be available in kit form in the month of September.
We are working also to some option as VR Gimbal frame for GOPRO and small DSLR.
I Fly this frame for 2 hours with my VRBrain 4.5 and firmware Arducopter32 rev 3.0.4
The results is very impressive , the loiter is great , return to home ,too :)
See the video ....
If you have some suggestions about the frame are welcome :)
Posted by Euan Ramsay on August 14, 2013 at 1:30pm
Hi all,
I've created a new site, which I hope will become the repository for all Drone Laws and regulations around the world. My aim is to welcome credible posts on Drone* Laws for all the countries we fly in. The idea being is the local knowledge publishes their information here in easily readable format, using links to the actual legislation where possible. This will help both the locals and tourists.
It should also include advice, tips and contacts in case you do run into legal issues in a certain country. It should avoid legalese as much as possible (though links/references to actual official documents is encouraged).
I have created a sample of the sort of thing I'm talking about, using my own country of residence - Switzerland. I will try and populate the commerical one as well...unless a more qualified expert would like to have a go...?
This is simple wordpress stuff, so the workflow I invisage is: - if you feel qualified to comment on the legal specific in your country in plain language, PM me
- I will setup you up as a contributor with name and password
- you can write and maintain your own page(s) as you see fit
- I don't intend massive Administrator oversight; I'd prefer this to work on a more wikipedia style with peer review being the key. I'll just moderate the basic junk and spam out. I might even be able to ignore the fact the American spell all their words wrong...:-)
This is just the start of the site; I will add features that people think are necessary. Legal news, forums etc are all possible. But I want to keep it concise to the subject in hand - ie the legal facts, tips and links that RC flyers need to know in their country to fly safe, and within the law.
* Yes, yes, I know...but that's what Joe Public calls them, so with gritted teeth, so do I...
Posted by Graham Dyer on August 14, 2013 at 11:18am
Been testing a brushless gimbal on my quad, it's an own-design laser-cut Liteply gimbal which uses a Foxtech AIO (Martinez) controller ($50) and Foxtech 2208-70kv motors ($21). Information is a little hard to find on the controller and tuning of these things a little tricky but so far the results have been very encouraging.
The gimbal was laser cut from 2.5mm Liteply but needed some reinforcement to prevent flex so this is now version 3.1 :)
3mm or 4mm might be a little better in the stiffness dept. but this is not bad at all. It's also really light at less than 35g for the ply parts!
Camera is one of the new 1080p Mobius Camera's which is pretty amazing for the price of $70. just the colours are a bit saturated but that will be sorted out with later firmwares.
A very short video flying above my Johannesburg suburb showing the fantastic stabilization (Note: this is only 720p and I tried to keep the upload size small with a low bitrate, Youtube also takes some of the quality away):
While the vehicle featured in the video above is a rehash of the original, my first autonomous vehicle was the Big Trak. It was an amazing piece of engineering courtesy of Milton Bradley, and mine came to me thanks to my Dad's work cleaning out some old junk.
You see, in the mid-80's my Dad worked as the assistant director of a science museum. Let me tell you, when you are seven-ish, this is only slightly less cool than your Dad being an astronaut. I pretty much had free run of the place when I would visit, and one day, while poking around, I found one of these guys being sent out to the dumpster. I asked around about it, and found it had been used during a demonstration about robotics in the early 80's, but had been recently replaced by a donated HERO robot. I asked if I could have this coolest of toys, and was told it had to go to the dumpster first. After that, it was fair game. So, I waited. Later I dumpster dived my first autonomous vehicle. Prior to this I had a remote control car, but with this thing I could program a course, hit start, and send it on its way! How cool was that? VERY COOL! About two years later, my parents bought me my first RC airplane, which I flew, crashed, repaired, and flew again for several years.
Many years later, I have re-entered the RC aircraft world, and am now pondering re-entering the autonomous vehicle world in the form of UAS. Things have come full circle, I suppose. But, as I read, and study, and think, and ponder, I sometimes wish there was the autonomous quadcopter version of the Big Trak. Something I, and more particularly my son and daughter in a few years, could pick up, program, and let go. I understand there is a big difference between flying, and rolling around the living room carpet. Still, I can't help but think a cheap, easy, safe experimental platform for kids would be a tremendous benefit to the UAV hobby, and budding UAS industry. If middle school children were to experiment with, "drones," and share their positive experience and excitement with parents, perhaps the general public would become more accepting. As an added benefit, these children would be ready to move into a future where the technology becomes an integral part of society.
I feel we are at a point where aviation was about a hundred years ago, or personal computers were around thirty years ago. We are at the point where viable, commercial applications are being seen, and UAS, particularly sUAS, are no longer the domain of the small hobbyists, big government, and big corporations. The, "drone," is becoming democratized. This is a good thing! But, if the DJI Phantom has become the Macintosh of UAV's, where is the Apple II the middle-school kids can play with?
So here it is.. finally! I used my old Flamewheel arms on it as I'm flying without FPV gear for now and I need a reference for the front of the quad; the red arms do this job nicely. As you'll notice, I have a combo wrench set sitting on the front of the quad for counterbalance as I'm in the market for a GoPro and I haven't quite convinced the wife that we need one yet. Ideally, I'd like the Radio Rx at the rear of the quad (where the battery sensor is) but I didn't have long enough servo leads, so it stays where it is for now.
The placement of the GPS and 3DR Radio Telemetry fit nicely on the top plate. I'm amazed at how well this GPS does at acquiring it's location. Almost instantaneously when I power on the quad. Having the Telemetry as a beginner adds a nice level of reassurance as to what mode I'm in, the GPS is functioning and everything is working like it is supposed too.
Putting everything together was a simple process. The configuration took a little more time and effort but after completing the "Mid Throttle" and "Saved Trim" processes tonight, I've got this thing flying smooth!
Very impressed... and I'm just getting started.
I primarily used the ArduCopter webpage for reference and a few 3DR YouTube Videos to assist in the configuration process. Very good job on the compilation of information on there - much cleaner and easier to follow then what was previously available.
I had to make some adjustments to my Turnigy 9XR during my maiden flight as I had AIL and RUD mixed up. I also had to invert my ELE as it seemed upside down to me. But with the 9XR and er9x, it was no problem at all. Very easy to do... and I have to send a personal thanks to Oliver Sumpton for pointing me in the right direction with that remote. I'll be sure to post my radio settings and helpful hints on its configuration in the future (once I've confirmed I have everything setup like it should be)
I have "Roll and Pitch Tuning" to complete next but I doubt that I'll need much of an adjustment as this sucker is flying pretty damn smooth already. I find it very snappy!
A quadcopter's failed auto mission as our apetizer, followed by our main course the flyaway of the chef, & our special search and rescue mission for dessert.
The auto mission was more simple as that you could die:
1-take off to altitude 40 meters
2-loiter undefinitely (waypoint 2 was never reached, the gremlins attacked before)
Specs of trainer quad (thank god that was not my main aerial platform): APM 2.5 firmware 3.0.1 custom 3DR based frame 880Kv motors, 11x4.7 props, 4S 4500 mah
Posted by Kevin Hester on August 13, 2013 at 3:00pm
Hi ya'll,
So yesterday the 'free' database I was using for droneshare filled up (wow! some days you are uploading 100 flights a day). 3D Robotics was already providing the web hosting (yay!) and now MongoLab has donated six months of database hosting. So if you need to use a MongoDB for any of your projects, please consider using MongoLab.
(I thought it was appropriate to thank them somehow)
Florida Keys authorities are turning to unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with infrared cameras in their ongoing battle to control mosquitoes.
According to the Keynoter's Ryan McCarthy, The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District is to test a vehicle by Condor Aerial developed for the purposes of law enforcement. However, it's hoped that the drone's infrared camera could be used to identify pools of shallow water which can host mosquito larvae, allowing the water to be treated with larvicide on the ground. (Nano-drones will not be dogfighting mosquitos one on one just yet, it seems.)
The Keynoter reports that the UAV weighs 2.2 lb (1 kg), 2.5 ft (0.7 m) long, and capable of flying 90 minutes at a time. This, combined with District Director Michael Doyle's description of the UAV as resembling a hawk, suggests the vehicle is a version of Condor Aerial's Maveric UAV.
The Keynoter reports that a test flight will take place on August 26, with a Condor Aerial employee on hand to control the vehicle from the ground.
Condor Aerial's (rather macho) promo reel for the Maveric UAV is below.
° Don't leave your model in a car in the middle of summer if your principle construction method is hot glue
° 3D LOCK DOESN'T MEAN JACK - you absolutely need telemetry so that you can track your GPS location and wait for it to settle down. Since the crash I have seen the 3D lock jump 30m and back within a few seconds. Almost surely this was the reason for my model rocketing off (I got a 3D lock after 20s or so in a completely new location).
Finally...
° There are HD cameras and then there are cheap HD cameras. Cheap HD cameras are not HD, no matter what the video resolution output is. HK HD WingCam I'm talking about you. $40 wasted on you when the 480p keychain for $7 makes better video.
Posted by Enes ÇALDIR on August 13, 2013 at 4:05am
Looking for CAD models of 3DR's products? Me too... No matter how hard I searched I coudn't find any accurate and good looking models for my CAD projects. So I have decided to model my order package for everyone's use. Here are some 3D CAD modellings of 3D Robotic's products. You can use them in your projects for easy modelling.
Posted by Mark Kellogg on August 12, 2013 at 11:44pm
After experimenting with Sorbothane grommets, moongel, O-rings, etc. I have had very good success with anti-vibration bobbins supporting an electronics deck on the quad. The graph from a recent flight is shown below.
Flight log graph of AccX, AccY, and AccZ from a recent flight.
The quad, pictured below, is a wood frame 13mm square alder with 3mm Baltic birch ply decks, 420mm prop to prop, 28-26 1200kv motors w/ 8 x 4.5 props, and a 2.5 APM with the upgraded GPS. The flight graphed above was with a 3300 mah 3 cell battery and no camera or telemetry gear attached.
The bobbins were purchased from Kronos Robotics (here) but they are used with a simple ply platform. One of the key elements is having a bit more weight on the platform than just the APM. The dampening remains about the same with a camera attached…just a cheap point and shoot non HD video…but it weighs about the same as a GoPro.
Flight facts: hovers at about 55% with 3300 mah battery, flight time with no camera about 13 minutes. Very stable loiter, RTL works well (400 meters is max I’ve tried). No experience with planned missions yet since most of my available open flight space is covered with 8 foot tall blackberry bushes (and I’m not going in there to recover anything…the coyotes can have it!)
Frame is a 420 mm quad. The design criteria was to have “easy replace” everything (legs, motor mounts, etc) including an electronics flight deck which can easily be switched between different quads by only switching the ESC leads. Camera, telemetry etc. will go on electronics deck. The wood frame is two 13mm square x 630mm wood members notched in the middle and glued to a 120mm square 3mm Baltic ply. Weight as shown with 300 mah battery, no camera, is 1.32 kg. The "bones" of the quad can be cut, assembled, glued, and clamped in about 60 minutes. I built 3 basic frames and haven't broken any arms or basic frame components in multiple crashes as I continue to learn to fly.
View of the bobbins mounted. I have the upper deck about 5.5 cm above the power deck as I am experimenting with compassmot results, currently at <20%. The spacers are nylon threaded and have no metal except the small mounting screws. The clear top deck (which is actually straight, the macro lens distorts it) is for protection of the electronics since I’m a novice pilot! Note the CG marked on the deck for quick CG balance of each new battery.
Props are cheap HK 8 x 4.5 but balanced very carefully.
Top view of electronics deck, camera can mount on top or bottom of the nose. I may make a bigger (extend the back) deck when telemetry is installed to allow for separation of RX and TX.
Close view of rear of electronics platform. Note nylon screws wherever possible. Once I install an APM 2.6 or PX4 with separate compass I will lower the deck spacing and raise the GPS/compass itself to help compassmot.
Posted by Bill Bonney on August 12, 2013 at 11:00pm
We are pretty close to the launch of MAVPilot (A Pocket GCS for your iOS device). I’ve been getting up early to do testing in the relative peace of the weekend mornings. And as a way to get some exercise and not to only spend my time just be standing in a field for a couple of hours, I ride loaded. It's a Cargo Bike from XtraCycle. (And I can also fit the kids on it for trips to the beach!)
MAVPilot is coming along great. Yesterday, I was testing some new features. One being audio alerts for when using using the fence as a safety feature. Now when if you exceed the fence boundary you will get a warning as the craft engages Return to Home or Land, depending on how you have set it. More info here and here on ArduPilot.com site. The next feature for fence will be to outline the boundary on the map.
Drone flying in Norway has it's challenges. I bought an 3D Robotics Quadcopter in June. Parts of this summer holiday was spent getting through the practical side of flying - both using the stics and MissionPlanner. All in all great fun!
I wanted to learn more about how to take aerial photography. Rather straightforward until you learn that the national security agency wants to know when and what you will be photographing. So I had to send them an application which they expeditiously answered yes to.
The next step was to make sure I followed all air safety regulations and had the proper insurances. Fine - easy but a bit expensive.
And while I was at it I considered if the regulations motor based activities in wilderness areas could be an issue. I also learnt that flying with birds could be a problem in relation to the biodiversity act. Flying within some protected areas is also not allowed.
I wrote it all up in a rather lengthy Norwegian blog post which can be read using Google Translate. If you plan on bringing your quadcopter or similar to Norway it could be well worth reading up on the issues.
After completing my efforts I managed to take some great imagery. The imagery below was made using trial software from Pix4UAV. It is of the farm where I did my testing. It was made making a mosaic of several images. I then made an elevation model and ultimately did a hillshade analysis. The final hillshade was put on top of the imagery making increasing the depth experience for the viewer.
I will follow up with some posts on how to adopt aerial survey methods drones.
Posted by OneDrone.com on August 12, 2013 at 3:37pm
We would like to invite you to DronExpo 2013 - 1st European FPV/UAV meeting & multirotor and UAV expo. Expo will take place inside of 25th traditional meeting of RC aviation, which is tbe biggest RC event in Slovenia and one of the biggest in the region. We expect more than 100 different model planes in competition programme, more than 2500 visitors ... and a hot new products from FPV/UAV/multirotor world.
Main sponsors of the event are OneDrone.com (leading European hobby/semi-pro FPV/UAV store) and Kopterworx (leading European proffesional aerial photography solutions provider).
When: Thursday, 15th of August 2013 (national holiday in Slovenia, Austria and many other countries), programme starts at 10.00 Where: LESCE airport, Slovenia (near BLED)
You can see a lot of fantastic hand crafted RC planes in the competition programme ... and following machines in DronExpo:
- Kopterworx Hammer X12 (lifting power of more than 45 kg) - Kopterworx Hammer X8 (specially made for filming in hot environments) - TBS Discovery FPV quadcopter - TBS Discovery PRO - european premiere! - TBS Discovery special X8 edition - Sky Hero Spy X6 configuration with dji WKM - Sky Hero Spyder X8 configuration with APM2.6 - Logo Extreme 800 heli with dji ACE One controller & Zenmuse - Goblin 500 helicopter with dji NazaH and with WookongH - dji Phantom with Zenmuse gimbal - H2O quad with waterproof housing - Droidworx SkyJIB X12 - Droidworx CX4 - SIS NightQuad with NightCam - Skywalker 2013 UAV plane with APM2.5 - Skywalker X8 2200 mm FPV Wing with FY-41AP controller - HK Phantom with FY-DOS controller - TBS Caipirinha fpv wing - TBS Zephyr II fpv wing - Bormatec Explorer UAV & catapult launcher ... and much, much more.
Visit DronExpo 2013 and spend nice sunny day with us.
Posted by Scott Fuller on August 11, 2013 at 7:00pm
For months now I've been looking for a SBUS to PPM converter for my Futaba Radio. I want to place my Futaba RX out on one wing and my video TX on the other. While surfing FrSKY's page for a SBUS receiver I ran across a SBUS to PPM converter! I've seen plenty of DIY converters but Aloft hobbies had one cheap in the states and ready to go for about $15.
After reading around in a few forums I was a bit skeptical about it working. After checking things out in Mission Planner things look good! Now I can finally rip the 10 wires out of the wing and narrow it down to three!
Hopefully this helps other folks looking for a SBUS to PPM converter. I won't miss the rats nest of wire I had before.
Finally I got around installing the FPV gear to my T-Rex600.
I kept it simple, the self-made tilt gimbal is servo driven and suspended by a number of ear plugs. The result is acceptable, very little jelly.
The video shows one of my first FPV flights at a nice New Zealand beach. It felt really weird to fly that heli just with the few through the camera. I didn’t use the head tracker yet, one step at the time.
Some movements are still a bit uncoordinated at times, but along the beach it was easy to navigate and the heli reached speeds up to 75km/h at an altitude of about 50m.
It was gusty at times; you can easily see the “pine pollen dust cloud” drifting along over the forest and the beach (at 4:30 in the video). At the end everything was covered in a yellowish dust.
I also connected the head tracker via the DX8 Trainer plug, and it works. The only drawback was, you need to hold the Trainer-Button down, and so you would need a third hand. To overcome this inconvenience, I drilled a 1.5mm hole through the housing and the button while pressed.
Now I just press the button and insert a pin in to the hole to keep the button down by it selves, simple. But don’t forget to realise the Trainer-Button before switching on the DX8, otherwise you end up in the binding mode.
In the pictures you see the modified Trainer-Button and the DX8 setup.
I selected only Aux3 as slave for tilt only, if you have pan as well, you need to select Aux2 for example also.
I still fly ArduCopter 2.9, the next thing on my list is to upgrade to 3.0.1 first the 450 for testing and then the 600.
Posted by Kevin Hester on August 11, 2013 at 1:00pm
I frequently read posts where folks 'think' their vehicle was in mode X or the battery was 'probably' getting low. And then they crash... Please read on for how to avoid this...
So the main reason I wrote Andropilot was that I wanted an easy way to know what was happening to my vehicle out at the field.
If you can afford to spend $100 and have an Android device, I think many of us would recommend that you run (not walk) to do the following things ;-):
Buy this (or the version appropriate for your country) ($85) (some small assembly will be required for this kit)
Buy this USB adapter ($2) (correct for most Androids, if not sure ask in the forum or read our wikis)
So I finally received my APM 2.6 + accessories. As it's been almost a month since I ordered it so I had a lot of time to consider how I was going to dampen the vibrations. Below in the photos is my solution (not sure if it works yet, as I haven't tried to fly).
1. The Final Product
2. Adding the vibration dampening (silicon fuel tube) to the screws.
3. All the silicon tube has been added (still some thread showing so it makes it through the frame)
4. The view from the bottom. The holes used are already present on the TBS Disco bottom board.
5. The side profile.
6. The APM upside down with 3M double sided tape, moongel and double sided tape.
Explanation:
- I cut a piece of wafer board just a bit wider then the APM, drilled four holes in it which line up with pre-made holes in the bottom of the TBS Discovery frame.
- I placed 3x10mm screws in the holes then flipped the wafer board upside down.
- I then placed silicon fuel tube on the thread of the screws then cut about 60% of the tube off the screw (leaving enough thread at the top to get through the frame and attach by nut to the bottom.)
- I added the nut to the bottom of the board, with some threadlock and just enough pressure so that it was firm but there was still flex if I pushed down on top the board towards the frame.
- I then attached double sided tape to my APM, followed by Moongel then another square of double sided tape. Then placed that on top of the newly mounted wafer board.
- Lastly, I secured the APM to the wafer board with two elastic bands.
So in review the dampening is:
APM 2.6
Double Sided Tape (3M)
Moongel
Double Sided Tape (3M)
Mounting Plate
Silicon Fuel Tube
Frame
I realize that it's not the prettiest setup but I'm pretty confident that it'll do the job. I'd wait to see what the end result is (if it works or not) but I'm too proud of it to wait...
Shout out to Dany (www.canadadrones.com) for his suggestions/help on this topic and Dennis Baldwin (YouTube) for this videos on vibration dampening.
