Building Quadcopter Part 3

Photo 1: Frame Top View

Photo 2: Frame bottom view

Photo 3: Frame side view

Making progress on the build.  I have assembled the basics of the SK450 frame (see the first 3 photos) and you can see that it has 3 levels for mounting electronics, sensors, battery, camera, and radio.  I am currently "dry-fitting" components to see what should go where.  Instructions are few and far between, usually a few pages written in Chinglish.  For Example: the Wiring document is called "HK Mini APM Wiring Helps".  The current plan is:

1. Top level: sensors, controller
2. Second level: receiver, maybe controller
3. Third level: power distribution
4. Hanging from bottom: battery, camera
5. Mounted on each arm: speed control

I also received the receiver, controller and sensor kit from Hobbyking, which is very small, see photo 4.  The AAA battery is just so you can judge the size.  The controller came from Hong Kong but only took about 8 days to arrive with no duty payable (gotta love the USA).

Photo 4: 6 channel receiver and Flight Controller

Building Quadcopter Part 2

Started the quadcopter build by asssembling HobbyKing SK450 frame.  Have not received the controller module but I do have the motors, battery, receiver, speed controls and miscellaneous other bits.

The frame is easy to assemble so far with a small screw driver with an allen key head.

Started My Build - Part 1

I decided to start my own build and go from the inside out.  I am going to start with the flight controller and software, get familiar with how it works, then get a frame/motor/speed controller set, then add a radio.  My first purchase is the flight controller, a HobbyKing HKPilot Mega Mini Combo.

This unit has all the smarts from the microcontroller chipset, plus GPS, gyros, compass, accelerometer, magnetometer, barometer, and ports for additional functions.  This thing will know more about where it is and what is doing than I know about myself.

Once I have the unit, I will hook it up to the mission control software, update the firmware, and start familiarization.

Drone Cancels Soccer Game

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/29624259

The latest drone innovation is towing an Albanian flag over the Serbia versus Albania football match. This caused an uproar among the Serbian fans, a riot, then the match was cancelled.  Another milestone in the development of the drone industry.