Quadcopter

[Mudderoy]

http://oddcopter.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/DIY-Quadcopter-Build-551x413.jpg

I don't know how many of you know it when you see aerial video footage these days, many times (especially when it's not a multi-million dollar movie) that video was shot from a remote controlled helicopter like contraption. The come with 3 to 8 motors and rotors. I think some RC helicopters were actually used in the past.

As some of you may know xjtalk has a youtube channel. I've been working on my Jeep so I can take it off road again, and recently I went to Creek Side Edge to ride along with some fellow xjtalk.com members. I tried my new Contour camera stuck to the side of msmoorenburg's 97 XJ. I haven't published any of this video yet as I didn't feel I had enough to make a good several minutes long segment.

I'm hoping to add to that footage, and with the addition of another Contour camera I'm looking at doing some multi-angle shots.

In addition to this I would like to be able to go one step further. Take aerial footage as well! Yep, see the wheeling, the off road part, from the air. A birds eye view.

All of this is just goofing around of course, so I don't want to spend a lot of money. Looking at quadcopters the ranger is usually about $600 to $3200. $600 (minus camera) is a lot of money to have hanging from the wall or ceiling and used maybe 4 times a year. With this in mind, cheap, I started poking around on the old Internet and found this...

:link: (http://oddcopter.com/2012/12/12/easy-diy-quadcopter-build-part-1-the-parts-list/)

It's a 5 part series that goes from concept to flying. It's pretty interesting read and there are some flying videos.

This quadcopter and aerial camera platform is about $200, still a lot of money but much better than $600. Now the total cost was $214, but since it's coming from Hong Kong shipping is $50+. Total cost was about $275. :(

This is a learning experience and I may learn this isn't what I need, but I look at it like this. I should be able to use it for what I want, and it may only cost me $275 to find out I don't want to do it, or I want to go further with it.

Technology exists now that I can easily add a video feed transmitter so I can see real time what the camera is seeing. There are all kinds of uses for this beside off road videos. Just scouting a camp site from the air is one idea.

If you want to really dump some money into it night vision and FLIR (forward looking inferred) are certainly affordable, your kid might not be going to college, but affordable. ;)

It's just been ordered and I suspect it could be several weeks before the bit arrive. They were backordered on one part (x4) so I'll be waiting on that for sure.

No hurry. I'll be enlisting the help of my youngest daughter to help me with the build. She has had a interest in robotics and RC helicopters, so I'm hoping to share this "toy" with her as well as the fun of making it work.

http://youtu.be/0gQiB8Lo17k

[NW99XJ]

Cant wait to see this project finished....this should be real cool!

[msmoorenburg]

i've flown my brothers its pretty cool

[XJ Wheeler]

Been lookin at these things, so many uses and very versatile.

[Number2]

and now all my ads on pages will be for remote controlled helicopters.........

[Number2]

thats cool though. good luck with it

[Mudderoy]

Received an e-mail yesterday, parts have shipped!

I guess the back ordered items finally came in. Now I just have to wait for a big package from China!

[Brasscatz]

Funny... Wayne's midgets came in a small package from China.... Be sure you check for air holes in the box!!

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4 because my microwave couldn't do it

[Mudderoy]

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[OrangeXJ]

hurry up I want to see that bad boy fly

[Mudderoy]

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[Mudderoy]

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[Mudderoy]

No instructions came with the remote control or the computer. I connected everything as described on the DIY article. That's not good enough for me to power it up! I have to get the computer and remote info and verify the connections.

[4.3LXJ]

I don't blame you there

[Mudderoy]

http://youtu.be/0YRkm93sGEQ

[Brasscatz]

getting exciting! I'm thinking a nice coat of red will look sweet on that thing ;)

[XJ Wheeler]

Nice! Good idea taking the blades off for the first time.

Sent via messenger pigeon - i talk, he types.

[bluedragon436]

That's really cool... been looking at quadcopters for a while.. Might have to look into ordering one of these kits... Looking forward to seeing more on this from you Tony!! It's way too windy to try flying something like that, especially learning to fly it... not to mention I don't think they'd like me flying somethign like that over here!! LOL

[NW99XJ]

Even without props on that thing was wanting to move off the table!
Cant wait to see it in action.

[Mudderoy]

http://youtu.be/TnZ-1QxcYcU

[Brasscatz]

"And then I panicked" lol!

[XJ Wheeler]

That looks hard to control. If it were me i wouldn't strap a camera on till i got it down some.

Why is the charger delayed?

Sent via messenger pigeon - i talk, he types.

[Mudderoy]

That looks hard to control. If it were me i wouldn't strap a camera on till i got it down some.

Why is the charger delayed?

Sent via messenger pigeon - i talk, he types.

The joystick has increments to it. I was moving the throttle one notch at a time, so I was basically putting it just at the threshold of flight. Now as far as pitch and yaw, that did seem to be overly sensitive. It was a test. I have more reading, and understanding to do.

The computer has self leveling so I suspect this will be much easier to fly in the coming days, and certainly much easier to fly that a true helicopter model.

[XJ Wheeler]

The joystick has increments to it. I was moving the throttle one notch at a time, so I was basically putting it just at the threshold of flight. Now as far as pitch and yaw, that did seem to be overly sensitive. It was a test. I have more reading, and understanding to do.

The computer has self leveling so I suspect this will be much easier to fly in the coming days, and certainly much easier to fly that a true helicopter model.

Okay, cool. I figured it would be more basic. The self leveling i'm sure will make a huge difference.

Sent via messenger pigeon - i talk, he types.

[msmoorenburg]

So was i right about how stressful it can be to learn to fly it?

[oderdene]

maybe it will easier to control after adding some weight for example camera, weigh etc. lowering center of gravity will lower vertical sensitivity,

[Mudderoy]

So was i right about how stressful it can be to learn to fly it?

I didn't feel stressed. In fact I was pretty happy that it wasn't crazy time trying to control it. I think it would have been if this was a $1000 quad though.

[Mudderoy]

maybe it will easier to control after adding some weight for example camera, weigh etc. lowering center of gravity will lower vertical sensitivity,

Oh I'm sure it has to do with the computer adjustments. That's the "tuning" I'm talking about. Each axis has it's own sensitivities. Even though I set the self leveling level, I don't remember seeing if it was turned on or not.

This is all fly by wire, so the computer is the thing really flying it. I'm just making suggestions. :pray:

[Mudderoy]

I just remembered! I know this is much like a fishing story, but prior to me pulling out the tripod and setting up the camera (smart phone) to shoot the video my first flight was a good one. 6 foot hover and when it started drifting towards my head I backed up and using the control move it gently away from me.

Then I did a pretty decent landing about the spot where I took off.

Naturally I didn't get that one on video.

Really all in all it's pretty easy to control. It didn't dawn on me until this morning that the YAW control is on the left stick with the throttle! lol

Like was telling Matt I really need to stop playing and sit down and read about how all this works.

I have about 50 hours in a plane (years ago) so I understand flight and controls, but when they start talking about ailerons, rudders, etc... on a quadcopter, it just isn't right. No moving parts on a quad other than the propeller speed. Really a cool idea though. I guess I didn't think of the YAW control because I used my feet to do that in a plane. Besides unless you just wanted to do a good coordinated turn you really didn't have to mess with the rudder, well unless you were doing a cross wind landing. I didn't like those! :D

[bluedragon436]

Any updates on this beast?? Was thinking about picking up one of these kits or one of the quadcopters that I found online... This one seems pretty cool.. I just got done checking out a page on FB called Detroit Drone (https://www.facebook.com/DetroitDrone?ref=br_tf).. He has some pretty amazing shots he did with his quadcopter setup!!

[Mudderoy]

Any updates on this beast?? Was thinking about picking up one of these kits or one of the quadcopters that I found online... This one seems pretty cool.. I just got done checking out a page on FB called Detroit Drone (https://www.facebook.com/DetroitDrone?ref=br_tf).. He has some pretty amazing shots he did with his quadcopter setup!!

Battery charger came in and I charged the battery one day and flew it the next. All on video. I started working on the video and had to do something else, and haven't got back to it.

The extra battery and easily broken plastic parts came in from China.

During the flights I made the other day I didn't like how unstable and sensitive the controls were. I really need to focus on unbolting everything, putting locktite on and tightening everything back up. Then I have to get the latest flight computer software updated. From what I've read it makes it much more stable. I'm sure there will still be a fair amount of tuning I'll have to do.

I'll get the flight video up soon and you can see what I mean. I'm sure some of it is me learning how much stick to give it, but I would like it to hold a hover without input from me. Especially if I'm trying to record useful video from it.

From the other youtube videos I've seen this should be possible.

[4.3LXJ]

Tony, maybe this will not be useful to you, but a trick I learned in flying unstable kites is to run an anchor (windsock) off the back with lines to all sides affected. So in your case, that would be the weight of the camera perhaps on some chains to all four corners.

[Mudderoy]

Tony, maybe this will not be useful to you, but a trick I learned in flying unstable kites is to run an anchor (windsock) off the back with lines to all sides affected. So in your case, that would be the weight of the camera perhaps on some chains to all four corners.

I have a 2nd battery that I can add which will make a big difference as well. But if I'm right, the firmware upgrade should go a long way. The flight computer has sensors that detect movement and should be able to make the platform very stable. As in put it at a flight level and position and hands off it should hover in place. Depending on the speed of the air mass that it is in of course.

[prerunner1982]

Not sure what kind of camera if any one of these could hold, but here are some quad copters for fairly cheap.

http://www.xheli.com/rtf2.html

[bluedragon436]

Not sure what kind of camera if any one of these could hold, but here are some quad copters for fairly cheap.

http://www.xheli.com/rtf2.html

Yeah that is the main place I was looking at them at!! They got some pretty decent deals...

[Mudderoy]

Same video with update at the end! (03:20 is the new stuff)

http://youtu.be/HByTTruQemA

[4.3LXJ]

A few more test flights and you won't have to mow the lawn :D

[Brasscatz]

A few more test flights and you won't have to mow the lawn :D

:smiley-laughing021:

[OrangeXJ]

Tony..... There was a artical in todays paper 9/15 about drones and it was mostly directed towards the type of craft you have and directed towards gov agencys using them for servalence. The FAA has rules inplace now if it has a camera mounted on it. The rules also are for civilian use. The only ones I remember are if you are taking a picture that has a person or property in it you have to have there permisson and they can not be flown with in 400 ft of a structure. Altho I don't think the FAA will inforce them un less you piss someone off. And more rules to come in mid 2014.

[bluedragon436]

So in other words, just don't let them know you are taking pictures or video of them... Just got to make sure you have a good zoom capability!! LOL

[oderdene]

kind of use of quadcopter

http://cdn.theatlanticcities.com/img/upload/2013/06/11/drone.jpg

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/technology/2013/06/sushi-restaurant-replaces-waiters-drones/5872/

[bluedragon436]

That almost looks like the Brookstone Quadcopter without the blade rings on..
http://www.brookstone.com/webassets/product_images/700x700/652479p_alt5.jpg
http://www.brookstone.com/ar-drone-quadricopter?bkiid=SearchResults|CategoryProductLi st|652479p

[XJ Wheeler]

Might be a bit fearful to reach out there... although i do get hungry enough. :D

Sent via messenger pigeon - i talk, he types.

[nickyg]

I could just see a bunch of homeless guys with butterfly nets. running by and getting a free lunch.

[bluedragon436]

Tony, was wondering how this project was going?? If you were able to update the firmware and get it flying more stable or not?? Have been thinking about building a quadcopter which will be a bit more in-depth then the RTF I currently have been enjoying, but not quite as in depth as the one you have... Just interested to see how this one was going, as I might have to pick our brain some when it comes to the flight controller and software tweaks and such...

[Mudderoy]

Tony, was wondering how this project was going?? If you were able to update the firmware and get it flying more stable or not?? Have been thinking about building a quadcopter which will be a bit more in-depth then the RTF I currently have been enjoying, but not quite as in depth as the one you have... Just interested to see how this one was going, as I might have to pick our brain some when it comes to the flight controller and software tweaks and such...

Nope nothing yet, sorry. I may have mentioned. I have to take it all apart, and put it back together with blue locktite. I think a couple of things have already vibrated off, so replace as well.

[bluedragon436]

Nope nothing yet, sorry. I may have mentioned. I have to take it all apart, and put it back together with blue locktite. I think a couple of things have already vibrated off, so replace as well.

Yeah I do remember seeing that.. but was thinking I had seen that you had done it.. but that might have been one of the many other Quad copter build threads I've been reading lately, as I've been trying to learn what I can prior to making the purchase of parts... Going quite a bit outside the cheap quadcopter I have now... No where near as far as some folks have... like ones that require dual controllers and run $4k+.. don't see me ever getting to that level...

[KMW-NWXJ]

I've been looking at the DJI Phantom 1.1.1 to put our GoPro on. It has GPS, position hold, return home, and programmable route capability. Seems like a pretty well set up package out of the box.

[Mudderoy]

I can put a $200 flight computer on this one and do the same. Nothing wrong with spending $800+ for a Quad if you want, but I'm just cheap.

I'll be mounting the Contour camera on this one.

[bluedragon436]

I've been looking at the DJI Phantom 1.1.1 to put our GoPro on. It has GPS, position hold, return home, and programmable route capability. Seems like a pretty well set up package out of the box.

Yeah I've been looking at that one as well... but can't stomach the $800 for it right now... I'm looking at picking up another quadcopter that will allow FPV, GPS and return home.. don't know of the FCC's full capability just yet, if it can be programmed or not for route.. but it'll allow me to mount a go-pro or whatever action camera I choose for recording purposes.. and it's a quick little sucker too, so that def isn't a bad thing... so long as I can learn to fly and control it first... otherwise it'll be a quick little sucker right into the ground...

[KMW-NWXJ]

Hmm. I'm seeing everywhere for around $500.

[OrangeXJ]

Yeah I've been looking at that one as well... but can't stomach the $800 for it right now... I'm looking at picking up another quadcopter that will allow FPV, GPS and return home.. don't know of the FCC's full capability just yet, if it can be programmed or not for route.. but it'll allow me to mount a go-pro or whatever action camera I choose for recording purposes.. and it's a quick little sucker too, so that def isn't a bad thing... so long as I can learn to fly and control it first... otherwise it'll be a quick little sucker right into the ground...

Don't forget about tree's. I crash mine into tree's more often than the ground.

[KMW-NWXJ]

I think I just figured it out. You guys are looking at the Phantom 2. I'm looking at the Phantom 1.1.1. That's the $500 vs $800.

[Mudderoy]

Hmm. I'm seeing everywhere for around $500.

Oh, that's good news. They were a lot more expensive when I built mine for $250.

[bluedragon436]

Yeah I was looking at the Phantom 2... I'm still thinking about the unit I was looking at, as it can be used to sort of do "racing" as well as just venturing using FPV. and is small enough I can fairly easily cary it in a case when I go out kayaking, hiking or even in the Jeep...

[bluedragon436]

You need to look at the DJI Inspire 1.. That's the one you really want!!! It's the one I would love to snag up if I wasn't broke, and had more practice at flying a quadcopter..

[KMW-NWXJ]

Yeah, no kidding! That one is sweet. And sweetly expensive too!

[bluedragon436]

Yeah, no kidding! That one is sweet. And sweetly expensive too!

It actually gets even more expensive.. You have to have two controllers for it, one for the quad, and one for the camera control... Funny thing is, the extra controllers are on back order for folks ordering them as a kit... Either way full price for everything is like $4500.. it's crazy expensive... I can do everything I need or want to do with a quad with the one I've been looking at or the one you were looking at...

[KMW-NWXJ]

Well, I just bought a Phantom 1.1.1! It is like new used. Got it from B H Photo. I got a set of prop guards and extra props too, $356 out the door with free shipping. Arrived last night. We'll be getting to know it today! Woo hoo!

[bluedragon436]

Well, I just bought a Phantom 1.1.1! It is like new used. Got it from B H Photo. I got a set of prop guards and extra props too, $356 out the door with free shipping. Arrived last night. We'll be getting to know it today! Woo hoo!

That's not a bad deal at all shipped... Hope it works well for you and performs well.. I might look into picking up a nicer one here shortly, once the Jeep is all taken care of...

[basicmods]

Bit of a thread res, but I used to be pretty heavy into RC helicopter's (owned like 6 at one point, still have 3..or is it 4?) and have one quadcopter and a Y-copter. I would love to build one up for camera use, but I don't have a camera yet - so first things first.

Was curious if you ever had luck with yours and the new firmware for the board?

[Mudderoy]

Bit of a thread res, but I used to be pretty heavy into RC helicopter's (owned like 6 at one point, still have 3..or is it 4?) and have one quadcopter and a Y-copter. I would love to build one up for camera use, but I don't have a camera yet - so first things first.

Was curious if you ever had luck with yours and the new firmware for the board?

It's still waiting on me. Just haven't sat down long enough to take it apart and put it back together with loctite.

[Mudderoy]

Moved the quad to the desk yesterday. Pulled out the USB programmer, downloaded the software and the 1.6 firmware update for the KK2.0 controller.

Started checking out the frame, WOW there are a lot of missing nuts! Not much point getting the software updated (better auto leveling) until I get the frame put back together and locktite on everything!

I'd update the firmware and say "just one quick flight..." and it would probably disintegrate mid air!

[bluedragon436]

aww come on Tony... you don't want to play 100+ piece pickup in your yard/neighbors yard?? Yeah, would definitely make sure you get her back together before flying again...

[KMW-NWXJ]

I understand that completely! Same way myself.

Just got back from Moab,and my boys took some video with our Phantom 1.1.1 with GoPro on Moab Rim trail. I think it really gives a whole new perspective to trail videos, and also to the terrain.

https://youtu.be/VLO93hqVj2M

https://youtu.be/TiCszs-jOZc

[bluedragon436]

I understand that completely! Same way myself.

Just got back from Moab,and my boys took some video with our Phantom 1.1.1 with GoPro on Moab Rim trail. I think it really gives a whole new perspective to trail videos, and also to the terrain.

https://youtu.be/VLO93hqVj2M

https://youtu.be/TiCszs-jOZc

Not meaning to thread jack... but do you guys do FPV at all on your Phantom?? Or just line of sight and have the go pro running & recording??

[KMW-NWXJ]

Yes, that was FPV filming.

[bluedragon436]

Yes, that was FPV filming.

Thanks.. Been looking for a Phantom 1.1.1, but haven't had any luck on finding one that doesn't look like it's been through a war, or the person wants like original price for it... Been looking at picking up a Phantom 2 Vision + v3, that he is looking to sell, since he just bought a Phantom 3.... I am very interested in it, but the more I look into the "entry" level Phantom 3, I might just pick up one of them for a just a bit more then what he wants for his still pretty much brand new Phantom 2 (if I can't get him to come down a little bit on the price for it).. Either way, I enjoy flying the quadcopter I have currently, but it it isn't nearly as stable and enjoyable airframe to fly as the Phantom's are, and it defiantly doesn't have the camera setup like they do...