MarkoeZ 68 Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Hi guys and girls, wanted to share what i was working on. A quadcopter built from available components and scrap! (and the inevitable motors, esc's and transmitter) Im actually flying (or crashing atm) an uno in the first test, but that will change to an Arduino Mega board with soldered connections soon. Maybe i will do an MSP430 quad in the future, but there is so much going on in flying, i figured i'd really need a proper well tested flight controller first, that being MultiWiii. The arms and base are made from protoboard, so i can solder directly to it. Arm supports are cut from old motherboards and graphic cards. I sliced off the chips and heavy components first. Cheers! Video Blog: the very first arduino test with LCD and Tactile Button: An overview of the Motion Plus and Nunchuck, extraction, and their boards: Arduino Startup Sequences with and without sensors. Motion Plus bare, Nunchuck still plugged in. And working pcConf: MultiWii PC Gui Screencapture. Seems functional: Motion+ and Nunchuck Stripped and Soldered Together: DIY ESC Test and Configure Setup. Using MSP430 Launchpad, Nunchuck Analog Stick, ESC and Brushless Motor Building a sensor casing from a layer of foam, and the first layout drafts Quick and easy way to get Motion+ and nunchuck boards tied together and aligned Video of the building progress: First Flights on a wire, 2 props, one axis. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bluehash 1,581 Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Looking good. Thanks for the update... does it fly yet? MarkoeZ 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkoeZ 68 Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 ermmm, well sunday i managed to hold it afloat in the local park for 10 seconds, does that count? Totally expected though, many many variables that need adjusting in the flight controller, the esc's, the transmitter, etc. But i did wire tests today. Take the props off of 2 arms, and connect a tight wire there on both ends and to anything solid. One axis tests that way. Do that twice for both main axis and everything should work. Found out it was the esc throttle range calibration that was off. So planning flight tests for tomorrow P.S: still got one TX channel from the (cheap) transmitter left, plan to eventually attach an msp430 to that and do some fun stuff with it. Im more familiar with the msp when i want to program my own stuff, and it will take load from the main flight controller. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkoeZ 68 Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 oh, and im doing a full video blog again, also added to main post: the very first arduino test with LCD and Tactile Button: An overview of the Motion Plus and Nunchuck, extraction, and their boards: Arduino Startup Sequences with and without sensors. Motion Plus bare, Nunchuck still plugged in. And working pcConf: MultiWii PC Gui Screencapture. Seems functional: Motion+ and Nunchuck Stripped and Soldered Together: DIY ESC Test and Configure Setup. Using MSP430 Launchpad, Nunchuck Analog Stick, ESC and Brushless Motor Building a sensor casing from a layer of foam, and the first layout drafts Quick and easy way to get Motion+ and nunchuck boards tied together and aligned Video of the building progress: bluehash 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkoeZ 68 Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 and will it fly? you tell me, this is with 2 props attached bluehash 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bluehash 1,581 Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 That's good progress! Keep building. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkoeZ 68 Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 Thanks, and certainly will. Already planning to use the code and part of the hardware schematic i used for my led display to make an array for the leds that will be on the arms. Much more fun than just linking them to the 3v of the arduino. Should be interesting night flights Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkoeZ 68 Posted June 29, 2012 Author Share Posted June 29, 2012 Well it's flying! Got a total flying time of about 14 minutes now, and my first crash Finally felt confident enough to fly it higher than 40 centimeters today. So it was at about 3 meters and easily hovering towards me when one of the cheap rubber bands that keep the propellers on popped off. Flight lesson number one: A quadcopter missing a motor/prop behaves like a brick. Flight lesson number two: Bricks dont fly well. result: So i was bummed, but then the urge to fly tomorrow came. So i dove into my drawer, found an old 10mbit network card, stripped and cut it, and voila: new arm base Its even stronger than the one i built originally, and i pushed the motor mount a bit towards the struts. Also, its the forward arm, so that now has a unique color. Cheers! MarkoeZ EngIP, OppaErich and RobG 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bluehash 1,581 Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Sweet! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OppaErich 25 Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Bricks dont fly well Try harder ! I guess it's just a matter of speed. :thumbup: MarkoeZ 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkoeZ 68 Posted June 30, 2012 Author Share Posted June 30, 2012 Try harder ! I guess it's just a matter of speed. Yep, up to about 320km/h straight down And thanks guys Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkoeZ 68 Posted June 30, 2012 Author Share Posted June 30, 2012 Aaaaaaannnnnnddddd...... A flight video! I was trying to stay low because i was testing new rubber bands for the props, at one point you see one snapping. Also trying to stay low for the camera ofc. But it gives a nice impression of what it can already do. Cheers! xmob, pine, OppaErich and 1 other 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bluehash 1,581 Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Well... congratulations! MarkoeZ 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OppaErich 25 Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Rise and shine ! Awesome sound, at first I thought you're close to a race track. Cool stuff :thumbup: MarkoeZ 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
xmob 26 Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Brilliant work! That's nice stable flight you have there. I would forget using prop savers. You are hanging the weight of the quadcopter (/4) on those rubber bands. Use fixed hubs and buy shares in a prop manufacturer. Trust me, I have. :? And be confident and get some height! You'd be surprised at how much ground effect there can be. MarkoeZ 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.