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Geek Culture / The RC Multirotor Thread

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BatVink
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Posted: 28th Apr 2015 13:49
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The gimbal has already arrived, struggling to stay focused on work!
Glad I went for an ultra-light one, as even this is quite weighty. I have 2 extra-power batteries though (2700mAh compared to standard 2200mAh), so I should still get some decent flying time.

Now I need some decent weather, it started snowing again, very unusual for the end of April.

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The Zoq2
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Posted: 28th Apr 2015 23:03
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Quote: "If you had so much trouble getting it down it's hardly likely to be stolen, and it's not really going to be damaged by sitting in a tree."


True, the only real risk was not getting it down at all or rain destroying the electroncs.

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Clonkex
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Posted: 29th Apr 2015 01:36
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Quote: "The gimbal has already arrived, struggling to stay focused on work!"


Haha I know the feeling!

Quote: "I have 2 extra-power batteries though (2700mAh compared to standard 2200mAh), so I should still get some decent flying time."


Wow, I bet they cost a bit! You should be able to film quite a lot of stuff with two bigger-than-stock batteries

I definitely want to see video with the gimbal now! (Incidentally, I actually thought the first video was with the gimbal and was surprised that it was so wobbly until I realised you never said that gimbal had anything to do with the video - and btw, you'll get WAAAAY better video with a gimbal than you got in that first video )

Quote: "not getting it down at all"


When I get stuff stuck in a tree I never assume it's impossible to get it down again, so I wouldn't have panicked.

Quote: "rain destroying the electroncs."


Yeah, that was definitely a worry. That's the only thing that would have made me nervous about leaving it there.


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The Zoq2
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Posted: 29th Apr 2015 13:19
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Quote: "When I get stuff stuck in a tree I never assume it's impossible to get it down again, so I wouldn't have panicked."


Yea, that was my thought aswell. I will get it down somehow, and as long as I did it before it started raining, I would be fine

Say ONE stupid thing and it ends up as a forum signature forever. - Neuro Fuzzy
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Seditious
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Posted: 29th Apr 2015 14:56 Edited at: 29th Apr 2015 14:57
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Quote: "True, the only real risk was not getting it down at all or rain destroying the electroncs."


I'd have thought by 2015 most electronics would be waterproof. Disappointing...

It's a shame the populated PCB's can't just be dipped in something to give a very small layer of waterproof coating, so the only shorts that could occur would be on the input/output ends. Would be very nice for roflcopters.
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The Zoq2
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Posted: 29th Apr 2015 15:12
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Quote: "It's a shame the populated PCB's can't just be dipped in something to give a very small layer of waterproof coating"


I think corrosionX does just that. Here is a video of how to waterproof all the electronics components on an RC vehicle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4z8QMgTEA4

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BatVink
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Posted: 29th Apr 2015 16:33
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Clonkex
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Posted: 30th Apr 2015 02:15
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Quote: "I think corrosionX does just that. Here is a video of how to waterproof all the electronics components on an RC vehicle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4z8QMgTEA4"

Quote: "[BatVink's video]"


Would you believe I immediately thought of both of those videos when I read Seditious' post?


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swissolo
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Posted: 2nd May 2015 01:27 Edited at: 2nd May 2015 01:35
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I'm way overdue on posting anything. I have video but it isn't on any of my devices (others were recording every time ) Here's a picture attached at least. I couldn't afford the tiny parts so it's not the cleanest build, but it flies fantastically

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The Zoq2
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Posted: 2nd May 2015 02:14
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That looks really nice and I have seen less clean builds

How well does having the camera on top like that work. I imagine you don't see any props but I also assume it might not like a crash upside down

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Clonkex
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Posted: 2nd May 2015 04:48
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Quote: "Here's a picture attached at least. I couldn't afford the tiny parts so it's not the cleanest build, but it flies fantastically"


Nice build! That's some serious heat-shrink on the arms! Does it not feel unstable because of the high centre of gravity?


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swissolo
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Posted: 2nd May 2015 07:49 Edited at: 2nd May 2015 07:52
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Quote: "That looks really nice and I have seen less clean builds"



Quote: "How well does having the camera on top like that work. I imagine you don't see any props but I also assume it might not like a crash upside down"

Surprisingly well. The camera (and quad in the background) aren't actually mine. Just happened to notice that the foot of the camera case happened to match the size of my massive receiver stuck it on there expecting failure, and it performed just as it did without the camera. The camera was heavy enough that any impact just popped it off and was far from causing any damage. Watching it fly with all that weight on top was strange. It looked like it was defying physics. Perhaps the camera was set to antigravity mode I believe there's a sweet spot where the camera is at the proper recording angle and doesn't show any props but I don't have any video of it there

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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 2nd May 2015 08:00
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All said and done, how much does the typical quadcopter weigh in a state ready to fly (with batteries on board and such)?

You're currently reading a post signature on an Internet forum -- get a life!
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Clonkex
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Posted: 2nd May 2015 08:51 Edited at: 2nd May 2015 08:53
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Quote: "All said and done, how much does the typical quadcopter weigh in a state ready to fly (with batteries on board and such)?"


In my experience the smaller ones tend to weigh 500-700 grams, but larger quads (like mine) weigh 1-1.5kg (mine was 1.58kg, IIRC - quite heavy). Then there's the professional mega-quads that probably weigh 5-10kg or even more.


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BatVink
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Posted: 2nd May 2015 14:44
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My Phantom weighs in at 1.2 Kilos without the Camera and Gimbal. I also have a couple of extra-duty batteries that are may be an extra 100 grams on top of a standard battery.

The camera on top seems strange, although I guess you just want to record the flight of the quad.

My gimbal and camera sit underneath so I can record the landscape I am flying over. I'm awaiting delivery of my RC tilt lever so that I can adjust the angle of the camera while in flight.

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The Zoq2
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Posted: 2nd May 2015 15:29
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Quote: "All said and done, how much does the typical quadcopter weigh in a state ready to fly (with batteries on board and such)?"


I think the common racing quads usually weigh around 500-700g with all equipment and the larger weigh more.

My small 3d printed quad weighs ~400g with the camera gear on it and my tricopter weighs a bit more than 900g.

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swissolo
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Posted: 3rd May 2015 19:29
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Quote: "The camera on top seems strange, although I guess you just want to record the flight of the quad."

It was the only place the GoPro would fit. I don't usually fly with a camera but that was one of my better pictures A Mobius shaped camera on top would probably make a little more sense but it was just what happened to be available.

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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 3rd May 2015 20:36
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Quote: "weigh 5-10kg or even more"
Heavy! Those must have a fair bit of power to get off the ground I would assume?

Quote: "My small 3d printed quad weighs ~400g with the camera gear on it"
That's about the weight I was expecting most quads to be. Interesting that most are heavier!

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The Zoq2
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Posted: 3rd May 2015 21:00
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Quote: "That's about the weight I was expecting most quads to be. Interesting that most are heavier!"


When you actually think of everything that is on there, it gets heavy pretty quick. The battery on my small quad weighs ~200g, the camera and video transmitter probably weigh ~80g so you get above 400 pretty fast

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BatVink
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Posted: 3rd May 2015 21:30 Edited at: 3rd May 2015 21:32
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Here it is with the gimbal attached. I was so keen to test it out, I didn't clean the lens This is using a GoPro 3 Silver.

The gimbal is working perfectly to steady the X & Z axes. You can see it holding position while the rotor protectors tilt around in the breeze. The harsh Y rotation is me trying to manouever in a confined space, looking forward to getting it out into the open.

Still waiting for my Tilt control lever so I can get some real control on the camera.



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The Zoq2
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Posted: 3rd May 2015 22:19
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That looks pretty stable, too bad about the frame coming into view all the time.

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BatVink
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Posted: 3rd May 2015 22:53
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When I'm all sorted, the frame will be removed, and my tilt lever will allow me to point the camera slightly downwards. Combined with being able to trim a little off the HD footage, I'm hoping for some reasonable results.

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Clonkex
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Posted: 4th May 2015 02:59
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Quote: "The gimbal is working perfectly to steady the X & Z axes. You can see it holding position while the rotor protectors tilt around in the breeze. The harsh Y rotation is me trying to manouever in a confined space, looking forward to getting it out into the open."


At first I thought it wasn't very stable at all, but then I realised it was just the Y rotation that made it seem unstable. You're right, the X and Z axes are rock solid. Can't wait to see what kind of footage you can get in a more open space (and when you have that tilt control lever)

Nice place to film in. Very posh. And green. I love the way the girl (your daughter maybe?) starts to move towards the quad and then promptly freezes - I assume you told her not to go too close at that point? That made me laugh


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BatVink
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Posted: 4th May 2015 11:09
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Quote: "I love the way the girl (your daughter maybe?) starts to move towards the quad and then promptly freezes - I assume you told her not to go too close at that point?"


Correct on all accounts
The location is the grounds of a house attached to a local church. It seemed spacious until I flew the quad and realised just how tight it was. The plan was to fly down the drive under the trees, rotate and pan along the building. But parked cars, people and my under-developed flying skills resulted in just an afternoon of practising.

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swissolo
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Posted: 11th Jun 2015 22:47
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Been quite a while since someone posted here hasn't it? I ordered a Husban H107D and it just arrived yesterday. Wow is it fun Some aspects of it are honestly pretty cheap in quality but it performs really well despite that. Unfortunately, the lens I bought as a mod to increase the camera FOV didn't show up

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The Zoq2
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Posted: 11th Jun 2015 23:34
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It has indeed, let's start it back up

The hubsans are pretty cool. I made my own 3d printed frame for mine but if you fall on the motors the bottom caps pop off which I need to fix.

It also seems like the FC for my quad has broken, the yaw drifts randomly even when it's laying on a table. Also, one of the motor is making a weird sound

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BatVink
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Posted: 9th Jul 2015 13:38
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So I'm on my third gimbal controller board. It turns out the first 2 had incorrect wiring diagrams! Resulted in blowing the voltage regulator due to an unnecessary earth connection from the axis controller.

Now I have a steady setup, I'm waiting for some less windy days. Below is my attempt in winds that were a little too strong and caused a bit of Jitter when the gimbal reached it's limits. The drone was tipping at quite a high angle to counteract the wind. There was also a significant amount of drift.

Anyway...the results aren't too bad for a first serious attempt...



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The Zoq2
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Posted: 9th Jul 2015 15:22
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Looks pretty good, I think the colors are a bit to saturated though...

I somehow managed to break the flight controller on my tricopter and a motor (or something else) on my quad so none of them work right now

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BatVink
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Posted: 9th Jul 2015 15:36
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Quote: "I think the colors are a bit to saturated though..."


This is the location for the 1970s film The Railway Children, so I was trying to emulate the feel of the film. I also had an "Old Film" filter but I removed it.



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