the RC (radio control) and electric rideables thread

Gibson99 said:
I would be afraid that at that height and that distance, it would get caught by the wind and I'd be out several hundred bucks just like that.
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it scares the hell out of me EVERY time I take it up. but my confidence in it's stability grows with experience, too. the furthest I've taken it is probably something like 530 meters out at a height of 115 meters. and that's absolutely peanuts compared to what some folks do with the advanced and pro models. with a wide open area, some go 3-4 kilometers regularly. obviously that's just using FPV. that's not something I'll be shooting for any time soon.
 
Gibson99 said:
i bought this kit from banggood preassembled (it's my first real quad - i don't count the H8 Mini I also got since that's basically a toy). i have 5040 props on motors labeled MT2204-2300KV. mine is also CC3D but i haven't connected it to the PC for calibration or any tweaks - it was ready to fly out of the box - just attach props and battery and go.
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The 2204 motors provide more torque than mine (1806) this means that it's better for efficiency wise to use bigger or more aggressive props, this will lower RPM but will increase flight time. Also the 2204 motors work better with 4S batteries but the other electronics must support this (ESC, UBEC, etc.). Strapping a larger battery is a compromise as it's also increasing the overall weight. I'm now looking at some HEX configuration, it's easy to adapt what i have already have, only need 2 motors and 2 ESC, with that I may be able to lift a large 5000+ mAh.
 
There is ppl flying ( airplane ) FPV up to 80 KM, but for that i think you have to say FU to any national rules for RC planes and fly really high.

I am pretty sure sooner or later some FPV guy will make a real airplane crash :(
 
kamkar1 said:
There is ppl flying ( airplane ) FPV up to 80 KM, but for that i think you have to say FU to any national rules for RC planes and fly really high.

I am pretty sure sooner or later some FPV guy will make a real airplane crash :(
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not just the FAA rules, but also the FCC - fed communications committee - they set rules about radio frequency use and power limitations. to hit 80km you have to have some serious power in your transmitters, which i'm pretty sure would require some expensive specialty licenses/permits/etc.

i'm still learning, and i have a lot to learn about all the intricacies of quadcopters/etc. that's why i bought an RTF model - cheap, i can work on learning to fly instead of learning to build. i can tweak later, and in the process learn about building. that's how i learned about cars and computers - started with working models, then eventually started modifying more and more... and eventually i got to where i really could build one from a pile of parts. i've built a lot of computers, but only one car - a delorean. :D
 
I think those guys often use amatur radio bands, somthing like 433 MHZ and then run both control and telemetry off that.
Not sure if you can allso do that via a repeater for extremely long range, i once had a dualband radio ( 70 cm & 2 M radio ) i was able to talk over a 2M repeater some 50 - 60 km avay, and then talk to the whole country on a fjew milliwatts of output on my little radio.

Remember way back, a guy i knew got a 1:10 on road nitro car with 2 gears, only problem was there wasent a manual for it and this was in the late 80ties with zero internet.
It all came together pretty fast, but that gearbox was problematic, we sort of could deduct how it was put together but then we was like ???? that cant work.
So after putting it together and taking it apart several times we just said "F" it and put some nitro in it and took to the street, and wouldent you know then damm thing worked and changed gears :D

I have helped my friend build many things over time from 1:128 models of USS missouri - a Robbe model of a ww2 submarine - a piper cub airplane in balsa wood - and a lot of cars and trucks.
For the most the manual / instructions is pretty strait forward, but offcourse if a person have little DIY skills i can undestand things can be overwhelming for some.
I have been tinkering with things since a was old enuff to plug a 6 V bulb into a mains outlet and blackout the half of the apartment block :D
 
kamkar1 said:
I think those guys often use amatur radio bands, somthing like 433 MHZ and then run both control and telemetry off that.
Not sure if you can allso do that via a repeater for extremely long range, i once had a dualband radio ( 70 cm & 2 M radio ) i was able to talk over a 2M repeater some 50 - 60 km avay, and then talk to the whole country on a fjew milliwatts of output on my little radio.

Remember way back, a guy i knew got a 1:10 on road nitro car with 2 gears, only problem was there wasent a manual for it and this was in the late 80ties with zero internet.
It all came together pretty fast, but that gearbox was problematic, we sort of could deduct how it was put together but then we was like ???? that cant work.
So after putting it together and taking it apart several times we just said "F" it and put some nitro in it and took to the street, and wouldent you know then damm thing worked and changed gears :D

I have helped my friend build many things over time from 1:128 models of USS missouri - a Robbe model of a ww2 submarine - a piper cub airplane in balsa wood - and a lot of cars and trucks.
For the most the manual / instructions is pretty strait forward, but offcourse if a person have little DIY skills i can undestand things can be overwhelming for some.
I have been tinkering with things since a was old enuff to plug a 6 V bulb into a mains outlet and blackout the half of the apartment block :D
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I'm a tinkerer too. I think i was about 8 or 9 years old when mom came home to find the VCR in pieces on the dining room table, plugged into power, with my hands down in it... Cleaning it like i learned in a repair manual i got at the library. She freaked out but i actually did fix the VCR - it had been eating tapes but i fixed it. :)
 
there are two kinds of persons:
- if it's not broken then don't fix it
and
- if it's not broken yet, I may improve it more :p

Here's another aerial with the P3:
 
i look at broken things as opportunities. hey, it's already broken, so there's no harm in tinkering with it. often when i want to modify something on my car, i will go buy that part at a junkyard/wrecker, and then modify THAT part. that way if i screw it up, i still have my car. :D
 
Gibson99 said:
i look at broken things as opportunities. hey, it's already broken, so there's no harm in tinkering with it....
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So true. Just about everything in my house that breaks or quits working usually ends up much worse off because of this. :D
 
DT MI said:
So true. Just about everything in my house that breaks or quits working usually ends up much worse off because of this. :D
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blades from a dead ceiling fan make great rifle targets. just stick em in the ground, and boom - instant target! just make sure that if the blades look like this, you face the woven side away from you so you can see your hits easier. :D
hqdefault.jpg


i suppose they could also make a good obstacle course for quadcopter racers since they'll probably fall over when hit and not really damage the quad.
 
@TechTronic9000 - i just watched your videos on building your 250 racer. that's the exact same frame and FC i have. PDB is a little different (mine has a couple extra switched outputs which are currently used for the LEDs and will soon be repurposed for the FPV camera/VTX). i find that the silicone dampers that came with the camera mount plate on mine are way too soft - the git1/2 just flop around on it, so i have to use a zip-tie to hold it down against the top plate of the quad. this still leaves a little rubber between the two plates, so it doesn't give the jello effect. the dampers on yours look different and more solid.

i think i may relocate my PDB to be between the bottom two plates. this will get the wires going to each ESC out of the way so that i might be able to fit my little 1500mah batteries actually inside the frame instead of on top, for better protection and a lower center of gravity.

one question for you though - you said the ESCs each feed power to the FC, but that you don't want all 4 of them doing that so you should remove the + wire from 3 of them. it kind of makes sense, but mine doesn't seem to be wired that way - all 3 wires from each ESC are fully inserted in the FC, though i suppose it's possible that the + lead from 3 of them was cut and is hidden inside some of the shrink-wrap tubing. maybe i'll find out that they did do that once i take it apart to add the FPV camera.

great video series - i learned a good amount about the cc3d and open pilot. my controller has eight aux switches, and i have no idea which one controls flight mode (i'm assuming that's the auto-leveling mode?) since there was no documentation with this kit. i know i've accidentally toggled some of the switches simply taking the controller in and out of the carrying case, but auto-level seems to be always on. guess i'll have to play with it and see what happens! either that or install open pilot and see if i can read the existing settings... of course, that may not tell me which switch it is since they have no way to know what my controller looks like. all 6 channels on my receiver have something plugged into them, so it must be doing something...


TechTronic9000 said:
there are two kinds of persons:
- if it's not broken then don't fix it
Click to expand...

i tell people that all the time. reminds me of this flowchart (warning - foul language!)... i have a copy on the wall in my office. it was originally sent to me on October 1, 1996 according to the fax machine's header. :D

Drawing1.jpg
 
@Gibson99
There are two types of U/BEC's (voltage regulator) out there. The one's integrated in our ESC's can be "switching" or "linear" voltage regulators. When connecting ESC's to CC3D you actually connect all the + and the - together. The problem only appears when the regulator is a switched type one, because even the tiniest variance of a voltage between one of the regulator will trip all the others in adjusting voltage and this will mess up completely the feedback and can possibly shut of the regulator or exhibit voltage spikes. On the linear voltage regulator this feedback differential voltage problem does not happen and so you can connect all the outputs together. It's even recommended to do this to have a sort of redundancy. Because there are a huge number of ESC's and BEC's out there and because the specifications are mostly fake or the sellers do not know what the characteristics are it's safer just to use a singe connection to avoid having problems. In my case i have used some more know brand (Emax) 12A ESC with SimonK firmware that they come with a datasheet and specify exactly that they use a linear voltage regulator (bec) inside.

As for the CC3D I'm also learning to tweak it, for now i have adjusted PID's a bit and hope to get rid of the shaking (wobbling), also I have configured 3 different flight modes (default mine came with the same preset for all) and on 3rd one I can potentially do flips and rolls.

I also need to setup the FPV, currently I do not have a dedicated camera, will probably use at first the Git2 or the small Foxeer, but i have a trouble fitting the LCD monitor on to my remote as it does not have any kind of screw mount, just a flexible stand as a miniature TV.

I'm now thinking of searching a cheap HEX frame, and just add 2 additional motors/ESC's. That would transform it from a racer to a more camera platform and can potentially carry much more larger batteries like 5000+ mAh.

77987s1(1).jpg
 
@TechTronic9000 - saw your video with flips and rolls and crash in the main git2 thread. figured i'd post this here rather than clutter that thread.

now, keep in mind that my 250 racer is basically the only quad i've ever used, and these are the only props i've ever used... but i HIGHLY recommend these props. not only are they dirt cheap, they're strong (hence the name King Kong)! i've crashed and cartwheeled along the ground several times - some pretty hard (enough to splinter the end of the motor arm, which is carbon fiber) yet all it does is bend the prop. and then you can bend it back and keep flying! eventually i replaced a couple of them because they'd been bent several times and had chunks missing from hitting hard surfaces while still spinning. but i'm only on my second set of props so far, and i'm still learning how to fly! but hey - 10 pairs for $5? can't beat that!
i need to find a big field like that to go practice flying in. my back yard is big compared to most neighborhoods (1/4 acre), but it's small enough that it feels cramped when i try to do any kind of maneuvers with the quad simply because it's so fast. i tried to do a forward flip, and even with a good amount of altitude, i still couldn't pull it off. crashed a few times. need practice.

after fiddling with my transmitter, i figured out which switch controls the cc3d rate modes. it's a 3 position switch, and from what i can tell the 3 modes they programmed into it are:
1: slow rates, auto level
2: fast rates, auto level
3: super fast rates, NO auto level (full acro mode)

needless to say i crashed pretty hard not long after trying the 3rd one. it could be the same rates as the 2nd position, just that without auto leveling, it's not fighting itself, so it reacts quicker and feels like even faster rates. it's very twitchy. plus i have to think further ahead to counter whatever moves i make. more like a real pilot.

learning is fun!
 
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Talked to my friend on the phone today, seem like he is going for a flight with his racer tomorrow if the winds stay low.
He say the 250 sized racer is much more wind sensetive than his phantom 1

Looks like he is lucky less than 5 m/s gusts, avg wind even lower :cool: maybe i sould see if i can get some sleep before tomorrow and then join him now that i have a battery operated x camera at my disposal.
2 quadcopters is allways better than 1 :D

Sad news though, when he called he said he just ordered a new Sj4000 and a mobius, i was like nooooo you should have gotten a git 2 instead of that sj4000
Okay the git 2 is a little more expensive but its allso a whole other cam than a sj4000.
 
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@Gibson99
I have failed to find 5030 King Kong props, maybe I'll chose some 5040 bull nose ones.
For the CC3D flight modes I have configured them:
1) Default rates, Roll & Pitch - Attitude, Yaw - Axis lock, Throttle - Manual
2) Default rates, Roll & Pitch - Attitude, Yaw - Axis lock, Throttle - Cruise control
2) Default rates, Roll & Pitch - Rattitude, Yaw - Axis lock, Throttle - Cruise control

Attitude mode is full level flight (most stable).
Rate mode is full manual (no stabilization).
Rattitude is a mix of the two above, when the control sticks travel up to 80% of their interval it acts like attitude, when you co over 80% it switches to rate.

@kamkar1
I find the small 250 very susceptible of being mess up by the wind. With the Phantom 3 you can hover it perfectly stable in pretty powerful winds but it uses GPS, baro, magnetic heading, and even visual positioning and ultrasonic radar for height under 3 meters from ground.

Instead of the SJ4000 he could have got a Git1, much more better, FPV capable and cheap also !
 
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