I recently started an open-hardware project based on my RF work for the past several years.  Although I was targeting challenging real-time data collection in a tree-fruit orchard envrionment, UAV telemetry seems like a very good match for the design due to the inherent attributes of Low-latency and High reliability.  This modem is very similar to the performance characteristics of something like the original MHX910 from Microhard Systems.  Let me know what you think.

----------- from the project page ---------------

http://sourceforge.net/projects/openfhss/

For the 2nd time, we plugged the genderless micro Dean connectors in the wrong way & got an explosion followed by fire.

Without any gender, many a modeler has plugged 2 batteries into each other with these connectors, but why would anyone except a complete idiot say anything bad about a connector they spent $5 on?  Well, let us be the 1st complete idiot & regale the world with this new revelation.

This time, we got a pretty nasty burn.  The micro Dean connectors are the best connector for the job, but the lack of gender makes them Satan.  Marcy 1 has a new objective: finding a better micro connector.

OK so i got the frame parts and assembled it all...

APM and power distribution board:

the flat rainbow wire (black white gray purple blue) is from the power board, it carries GND, Left, Right, Front, Back.

i just used my own wire to have greater length and flexibility. i wanted the GND too because i will power the electronics with another BEC, not from one of the 4 ESC.

Motors mounted:

In the process of tidying the ESC wiring:

GPS mounted:

And finally the whole thing:

I'm still waiting for a few parts to arrive,

especially the radios, the video TX\RX as well,

and lots of parts for the DSLR camera mount i will just start to build.

soon on the way also - 2 more motors and ESC for the upgrade to a custom HEXA frame, on which the DSLR will be mounted on.

so the next post will probably be the camera mount building,

or maybe the first flight if i get the radio sooner than expected :-)

keep following !

The House and Senate now have to reconcile the two bills into one (S.223 & H.R. 658), pass it and convince the US President to sign it into law.

Amendments in either bill may not survive reconciliation.

Even Inhofe can realize his mistake (IMO) and change or remove his own amendment.

Amendments to HR 658 that will directly effect sUAS/UAS operators :

Miller (R-MI): Amendment No. 12: Directs the FAA to work with various federal agencies to integrate unmanned aerial systems into the national airspace system and would direct the Administrator to carry out safety studies to support such integration.

Shuster (R-PA): Amendment No. 24—Requires the FAA rulemaking activities conduct certain industry analyses prior to issuing regulations, and require the FAA to subject proposed regulations to certain cost-benefit studies

Amendments to HR 658 that may directly or indirectly effect some or all sUAS/UAS operators:

Graves (R-MO): Amendment No. 22: Provides an exemption for an air show in Cleveland, Ohio, from complying with certain airspace restrictions. The amendment would prohibit the FAA from imposing airspace restrictions on an air show or other aerial event located at the Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Ohio, due to an event at a stadium or other venue occurring at the same time.

Waxman (D-CA): Amendment No. 23—Expresses the sense of Congress that the FAA should work with the City of Santa Monica, consistent with FAA design guidelines, to address safety concerns at Santa Monica Airport.

Matheson (D-UT) / Pearce (R-NM): Amendment No. 30— Allows the Secretary of Transportation to release any airport, city, or county from the terms, conditions, reservations, or restrictions on deeds which the U.S. conveyed to an airport, city, county property for airport purposes, provided that the release results in furthering airport purposes.

Schiff (D-CA)[for Waters (D-CA)]: Amendment No. 31—  Expresses the sense of the Congress that the operator of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) should consult on a regular basis with representatives of the community surrounding LAX regarding LAX operations and expansion plans. Representatives of the community would include any organization with at least 20 members located with 10 miles of the airport.

New 3 Axis Gyros....

multi-rate, 5 deg/s drift, ya da ya...

Many of you have asked for a return of the DIY Drones podcast, which Tim Trueman and I took to nearly 30 episodes before we got way too busy with our day jobs last year. (You can listen to all the episodes here).

Tim's keen to restart it, but I'm too busy to be his co-host this time. So we need volunteers, both do to the interviews with Tim (they're typically done by Skype on a Sunday night) and to help identify and invite good guests.

Who would like to participate? Please volunteer or comment below.

Lasermotive

Welcome to LaserMotive...

LaserMotive is a Seattle-based company developing laser power beaming systems to transmit electricity without wires, for applications where wires are either cost prohibitive or physically impractical. As our first project, we won $900,000 in the NASA-sponsored Power Beaming competition, part of the Space Elevator Game

Arducopter Quad Ready to Fly now IN STOCK at uDrones!  Assembled, code loaded and tested. Limited Quantities so act now.

We process and ship your order in 24 hrs.

We are working hard restocking this beauty ASAP, so they'll stay in stock going forward

Cheers!

Gigio

Udrones Store

H.R. 658 FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011

No amendments regarding sUAS exmptions

The House was informed on March 22nd that all amendments to H.R. 658 needed to be submitted to the House Rules Committee by Tuesday March 29th.

Congressman Richard Nugent (R,FL) had submitted an ammendmentto make all aircraft flying within AC 91-57and under 55 pounds exempt from regulation. Note that his amendment had no mention of any CBOs (IE: AMA) being exempt.

Mr. Nugent withdrew his amendment.

Today, March 30th, the House Rules Committe ruled that, among a few other items, no more amendments can be added to the House version of the Bill.

Ther are no provisions for exempting recreational sUAS from the FAA's authority in the proposed Bill.

The Bill will now go into discussion phase and then to final vote.

So I was reading the article on the MIT guys using the kinect to map out a physical space and what struck me was not the amazing mapping technology, but their really great guard they've got on their quad props.

It looks like the straight edges are CF Rods... does anybody know about the light-colored round pieces that connect under the motor?  Any ideas on the best material/process to make some that are reasonably strong?

"The face you save could be your own."

This is the sUAS flying over the nuclear plant in Japan, does anyone have info on it, I am struggling.

After using this setup for as my 'mode' switch:

it worked OK :) 

But I decided to take it to next DIY level :)

There is 3 knobs on FlySky FS-TH9X radio, they are B5K potentiometers:

so we need to pick one of them that we going to replace with any available 6 position rotary switch.

(I have this one and it fits right)  

Unsolder the 3  wires from B5K:

And remove the B5K from the radio :) 

Next we need to make a small array of resistors that will act as B5K pot, when we switch to different modes.

 The brown wire (  middle one on B5K ) feeds different voltage to the radio channel. 

Now we need to add the switch that will connect the brown wire to each position.

And now we have solid 6 modes switch for APM and ACM :) 

This is a "kitchen table setup" so if someone can measure better resistors value, pleas do :)

Its much easier than trying to setup some channels mix in this radio :)

Hope it was helpful.

Hi all, its wonderful to see wonderful creations... I've been envious (not jealous :) ) of many a post now, and decided to get even! Unfortunately here (Nairobi, Kenya) the electronics are limiting, no access to good airframes save from importing, leaving us enthusiasts disappointed, so I have decided to start with an airframe, then build the logic to fly it using a small enough PC motherboard, details on this later....

The challenge: Can one build a UAV with materials available in one's backyard?

Below is the preliminary airframe structure. Here I am using PVC tubing (Yes, I said PVC, my payload is no more than a kilo :) ) and cut out PVC sheet to brace the wing and form an aerofoil shape. Notice the top-most tubing has wider diameter than the one to the lower part of the image...

I used PVC glue and used bottles to hold it in place to dry... very sophisticated :D

To keep it light enough, I have decided to fill the gaps between the PVC sheet with a nylon bag, glued and stuck in place with PVC glue and duct tape :D ... below see it balanced...

The tail section is screwed to the rest of the plane so that it can fit in the van for , below....

Notice my methodology, the "Close enough (CE)" methodology... and all my coding employs "Code Like Hell (CLH)" methodology, I do get things done though :)....

Here are a few photos of the "thing" thus far...

I will use something for the nose to be more workable ( I believe the term is aerodynamic but this goes against my methodology :) )

some landing gear....

... yes from my daughter's baby stroller....

Tomorrow, I will test the "thing" to see if it can attain lift with some rigged control surfaces before I continue and report back here at, say, 0800!  Good night one and all....

Here's another cool autonomous vehicle project on Kickstarter. Pledge $400 or more and, if the project hits its funding goal, "We send you a remotely controlled 1m (3.2ft) long, articulated, inflatable Protei in KIT to assemble yourself. The design and functionalities would be similar to the one of Protei002 (http://goo.gl/dWG7p)."

 

"We are developing Protei : a low-cost open-source oil collecting robot that autonomously sails upwind, intercepting oil sheens going downwind. Protei combines conventional technologies in an innovative design that we can implement in the short term to address timely environmental crisis such as the BP Oil Spill, cleaning the ocean gyre garbage patches or performing ocean research. We need your help to build our next prototype of Protei - the first articulated sailing boat that can tack upwind pulling a long heavy payload and initiating a revolutionary family in ocean robotics. http://protei.org"

Here is my quick mod to make it easier to fill up my Easy Star with all the gear. The lid will be held in place with 6 pair of magnets glued to the fuselage. I did the prototype with 3 mm balsa but the next version will be in 2 mm ply. I will probably make a box on top for the APM and better pockets for the XBee and GPS.

They seem to point the finger at the RC pilot, although I think both pilots were showboating. That is unless smoke on and stay down is a standard go around in the USA

Full story

Bring on Detect Sense and Avoid

Having recently developed an interest in CAD and modelling (i.e. industrial design tools not standing around in a bikini). I found this handy video on CadJunkie that runs over some of the different approaches some of the different packages take (Subdivision, NURBS surfacing and solid modelling). Looking at some of the awesome CAD renders on here i'm sure many members are already quite familiar with this, but for anyone who like me hasn't really touched CAD since the early 90s this is really cool stuff.