I finished the Flying Flowerpot quadcopter rebuild and had a successful basement test flight in the new configuration. Changes since the last blog posting:
Moved the camera mount again, to the upper level but with a new mounting bracket so the camera is out front between the props.
Moved the receiver slightly.
Tidied up the wires.
The following photos show the Flying Flowerpot 2.0:
Top view, no flower pot
Note the receiver attached to top level with double sided foam tape
This mid size low cost intermediate grade quadcopter is easy to fly and includes a camera. It is a good trainer before moving on to more complicated and expensive machines. The unit is fully assembled and you just have to charge the flight batteries, insert transmitter batteries, and then you are ready to go.
The UDI 818A is available from Amazon and others for about $65 to $85 US. This includes the copter with camera, transmitter (mode 2), extra battery, USB charger, and extra props. It comes in white (my unit) or black, they are identical except for the color. All you need to add are AA batteries for the transmitter.
Design
The unit incorporates a horizontal plastic prop guard assembly to help preserve the copter when you bump into something. You can hit an obstruction without damaging the quadcopter. You can turn the camera on and off with the transmitter and it takes decent video (see the youtube link below). Other than that, it is a pretty standard 4 channel quadcopter with 6 axis gyro stabilization.
Documentation is terrible - a google translation from Chinese with some made-up words thrown in. Read it to get some basic ideas and a good laugh.
Flying
Relatively easy to fly, the throttle is not too sensitive and the controls work well. Flight time is about 7 mins on one battery and it takes about 1 to 2 hours to recharge. The inevitable crashes do not seem to mar walls or ceilings, in case your wife or mother is wondering.
This can be flown outdoors if it is fairly calm, but be careful as it will be harder to control than in controlled indoor environment.
Accessories
There are no accessories and you cannot add any due to the small size of the unit. You may want to buy extra batteries or props that can be found on Amazon or Ebay.
I went to a "Meetup" of the DC Area Drone User Group yesterday. It is essentially an informal meeting of like-minded individuals organized through the Meetup application.
The meeting was very useful as we had a great mix of beginners like me, experienced folks, large drones, small drones, different radio setups, etc. I was able to ask questions of some of the experienced folks about how to set up my controller and radio, what props to use, where to buy parts, etc. There was also an opportunity to see what other people had done with their drones - construction techniques, equipment, and so on. You also get to meet people and exchange contact information.
If your community has a similar club or users group, I encourage you to attend as it is a great way to meet folks, get questions answered, and learn.
I learned a few things from building my first quadcopter drone.
The USB port is very fragile, attach a permanent short extender cable to connect to your PC. Otherwise, you will be buying a new controller.
You need to take time to think as you assemble the drone. There are lots of ways of attaching components and taking some time to think will yield a better result. Spending time with the Mission Controller application will help you set up your drone, understand how it will work, and allow you to test some of the functions before flying.
The best places to get pieces are online stores like Amazon and Hobbyking, Home Depot, and your local hobby shop.
Nylon cable ties are a great way to attach things to the quadcopter frame. Why use bolts when a simple tie will do?
Learn how the controller works before flying. There are some modes like "althold" that sound useful but should only be triggered after flying.
Make a tethered test setup to test fly your quad.
Use the Wiki, google, youtube, and manufacturers sites to find solutions to problems or helpful tutorials.
Making progress, I found the link to set up the motors, speed controls, etc and got the wiring for the ESCs and motors set up properly. Then I mounted the propellers and spent a while trying to figure out how to arm the drone, which I found at this link on the wiki.
I also needed a way to test-fly the drone, given my propensity to crash quadcopters. I came up with a system using an old piece of plywood, with holes to allow rope to be attached to the drone landing gear. The rope is wrapped around some tall screws on the plywood to allow adjustment. This is shown in the photo above and actually worked out well.
Then our first test flight shown above. The drone worked, although the controls need adjustments, particularly the throttle. You can see me testing throttles, forward motion, yaws left and right, and left and right movement - all the basic movements. So now it is back to the wiki and Mission Planner to find out how to tune the controls.
Back to the drawing board. I am still trying to repair the broken USB connector on the flight controller but the parts are taking forever to arrive.
In the meantime, I ordered a new flight controller from Amazon which cost $30 less, is a little bigger, and comes with a case. This required a new mounting setup which is shown in photos 1 and 2.
This medium size hobby quality quadcopter is getting long in the tooth as it was introduced back in 2011, but is still workable as a camera platform or fun flyer for an experienced pilot.
The LotusRC T380 is sold under a variety of names and is available from various China-based sources and on Ebay for about $200-$400 US. The specs are as shown in the table below.
Aircraft size
410x410x140
mm
Maximum expandable size
615x615x140
mm
Motor to motor
Diagonal distance between two motor centers
410mm
Propellers
frontal and versa professional props 8045
8inch
Battery
LiPo 3S 2200mAh 20C
standard1P
Aircraft weight(kit only)
Without battery, receiver, applicable payload
430gram
Take-off weight
3S 2200mAh 1P battery, receiver
610gram
Recommended payload
Camera mount
≤380gram
Maximum payload
Use standard 1P battery
≤380gram
Maximum takeoff weight
Use standard 1P battery
1300gram
Flight distance
Visual area
-
Flight time
3S 2200mAh 1Pbattery, receiver
18~25mins
Wind resistance
≤4
Class
Design
The unit combines aluminum and composite construction with the electronics prominently displayed under a clear canopy. The motor housings and propellers are easily removable for transportation. The landing gear is narrow and somewhat fragile and you may want to consider buying a replacement. The radio system, if supplied, is 2.4 GHz and fairly basic.
Documentation is poor but better than some. A short set of 6 pages in readable english with some setup instructions.
Flying
Relatively tricky to fly, sensitive to the controls, and should be flown by an experienced pilot. Spend time on the setup and trim to get best results. Flight time is about 15 mins on one battery and it takes about 1 to 2 hours to recharge. There are no prop guards or other crash resistant features so watch out.
This can be flown outdoors quite easily due to its power and wind resistance.
Accessories
There are some accessories such as camera mounts, GPS add-ons, and others, but you will likely need to buy them online from China. Extra props are available on Ebay and other sources.
This essay is written to alert people about what will change
in the future due to readily available “Drone Technology”.What do I mean by Drone Technology?
Drone Technology consists of:
Traditional radio control (RC)
model components: transmitters, receivers, servos, and batteries. This has existing for over 45 years.
Traditional model making
components: RC airplane, car, boat, helicopter kits, spare parts, glow engines,
raw materials (wood, aluminum..). These
have existed for over 75 years.
New power technology: rare earth
motors, high capacity Lipo batteries, large displacement gas engines,
electronic speed controls. These became
available in the last 15 years.
New electronics and software:
programmable control boards, telemetry transceivers. This is a modern invention of the last 5
years.
New sensors: compact digital video
cameras, gyroscopes, compasses, GPS receivers, altimeters, temperature sensors,
magnetometers, barometric pressure transducers.
Modern inventions driven by smart phones, video games, and car
electronics.
What this means is that we have progressed from expensive difficult to fly radio controlled aircraft controlled line of sight from the ground (15 years ago) to affordable self guided multi-rotor programmable drones that can fly up to 20 miles carrying a payload of up to 10 pounds and perform a number of tasks like taking videos, dropping something, landing, etc. If a fixed wing drone is used, it could likely fly up to 50 miles autonomously on a precision pre-programmed path performing tasks. These are self-sufficient drones requiring no control from the ground.
The Good
New productive capabilities for businesses: inspecting roofs, cell towers, electrical equipment, photographing, trimming trees, finding fish in a lake, you name it
New capabilities for public service: search and rescue, surveying crime scenes, mapping, etc.
Forget package delivery by Amazon, this will not happen for many years as flying an unreliable drone over a populated area in weather is a recipe for disaster
It is a fun hobby
The Bad
Walls will no longer allow you to have privacy, like in your backyard
Some fool will likely fly one of these in a populated area, crash it and kill somebody
Some fool will fly near an airport and nearly cause a crash
Noise and disturbance
The Ugly
This technology opens up the following criminal possibilities:
Cross border drug and gun smuggling
Delivery of contraband to prisoners when they are outside exercising
Anonymous delivery of drugs within an area
Entering houses through open upstairs windows and stealing valuables
And so on
Terrorist possibilities
Dropping bombs or chemicals on innocent people (easy)
Ramming commercial airliners (hard)
How can we deal with this phenomenon? Unfortunately, the genie will not go back in the bottle, this technology is available worldwide. Laws are needed and will regulate the law-abiding person, but will not stop criminals or terrorists. However, the laws will allow us to put criminals in jail. Jamming technology will have little effect as the drones do not require a communication link as they are autonomous. Guns will have little effect, although a shotgun will be the best weapon to bring down a drone.
I believe we have to re-think security and safety. Assume these drones exist and design protection that does not rely only on terrestrial measures, like walls, barbwire, gates, and the like. Re-design to account for the hazards of these devices
