Quadcopter,Anybody have one?

I agree with Reckless Kelly, that would be very marginal for carrying a Gopro. It says payload is 100 grams, that's what the Gopro weighs by itself, no case. (case almost doubles the weight) It's also fairly small and only flies on 2 cell, 7.4 volts. Most quads that lift a Gopro fly on 3 cell, 11.1 volts. That may not be bad to get your feet wet but there are better choices for learning to fly, IMO. The Nano QX is extremely popular and parts are plentiful. I bought two of the ProtoX's from Amazon, only $36 shipped. They are a BLAST to fly and will teach you the basics.

If you really want to fly a Gopro around, you'll need something a little larger like a DJI Phantom, Blade 350QX or build any of the 450 quad kits on the market.

 

I use the Feiyu-Tech G3 gimbal, I even wired the pitch control into the F2 port on the NAZA so that I can control it with my channel 6. The video quality with it is amazing, and it has been completely "plug and play", with no adjustments needed aside from basic NAZA setup. It was only $170, and is available from a US distributor (tired of waiting a month for stuff from China to clear customs).

 

Good to know, I'm still searching for a decent brushless gimbal. Where did you buy it from? What radio are you using? I may use the stock radio for a while but I have a Futaba 7C that I'd like to use at some point. Looks like the Phantom's are Futaba FAAST compatible. I'd really like to have pitch control as well. Currently I'm shooting aerial pics with a T-Rex 600 and homemade camera mount for a Sony Nex. I have to frame the shots simply by guessing and don't have the ability to tilt unless I land and manually adjust it. Looking forward to this new technology.

Oh, is your gimbal specifically for the newest Gopro? I have the older version which is a little larger and heavier.

 

I have a few laying around. Little bit higher up the food chain though.

Currently working on a couple of other projects

 

Weaponized???

 

Here's the link to the place I got it from :http://hobbywireless.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1096

I'm using the Turnigy 9XR from Hobby King with OrangeRx transmitter and receiver. It's S-bus compatible and I've had zero issues with it. The radio is completely adjustable and pretty easy to use and set up.

The gimbal is technically for the Hero3/3+, but I can squeeze my Hero2HD into the frame and then secure it with a ziptie instead of the bolt in front cover. Supposedly, you can buy a Hero2 cage for the gimbal, but I haven't found one for sale yet.

The FPV makes it really easy to properly frame your shots. I've got 2 cameras on my copter, one fixed mini sony PZ0420,and the GoPro on the gimbal. I have a remote switch inline with the video feeds so I can switch between views and keep my OSD visible.

 

Just saw this one, http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...adcopter_5X_Package_Mode_2_Ready_to_Fly_.html

Any feedback from those that are currently flying quads?

 

It looks like a decent starter quad. Realize that there is no GPS and the tuning is done "manually" instead of via computer interface. It uses the latest version of the KK series of flight controllers. Some people swear by the KK stuff, I could never come to terms with the one that I have (older v1.1 model, several improvements have been made). The 5 channel radio is pretty basic and doesn't allow for channel mixing or tuning the dual rates. If you get it, make sure that your first flight is in a WIDE OPEN AREA, this allows for mistakes to be made without smashing into walls, trees, people, etc. I always do a first flight from the middle of a field that about 300ydsX300yds so I don't "ham fist" the controls trying to avoid something.

Realize that this unit is also coming from the international warehouse (in Hong Kong), so unless you pop for the expedited shipping, don't expect to see it for at least a few weeks after ordering it (expedited shipping with have it at your door in about 1.5wks).

 

I also just noticed that it is a "Mode 1" controller so the controls are all kinds of opposite to what most people in the US fly (throttle/rudder on the right, Aileron/Elevator on the left). Turnigy is pretty good about being able to open the radio and swap the stick around, but you'll have to change the channel outputs on the receiver in order to get it to line up properly.

 

If you guys want to do cameras and such, I highly recommend a hex-rotor over a quad. Better lifting capabilities and safer in the event you have a motor failure, for not much of a greater expense. Flight times are about the same or greater depending on what your doing. I would look at the Y-Frames. Greater stability and much better in higher winds. Arduino has some good open source and you can write your own code for stuff if you get into that. I know it's not "out of the box" stuff, more hobby building. But the expense is not that much greater if you piece meal it together.

 

Has anyone built their own? Just wondering about pros vs cons. As I mentioned in earlier posts I had a Blade 350QX but the damned thing took off on me...took my GoPro and never came back. Don't know if I'd want to buy another one already assembled. However, I'd consider building one maybe.

 

They have a mode 2 model also, I was thinking that it would be a reasonable place to start. I already have a Nano on the way to play with as well. You can't buy all the parts for much less and I'm guessing you could upgrade as you felt you needed to do so.

For those wanting to try building there are lots of resources on the web. I found this last night while looking for reviews of the HK linked above, pretty similar specs.

http://fpvcentral.net/2013/03/high-performance-quadcopter-for-120-step-1-the-shopping-list/

 

Bookmarked. Thank you for the link.

 

the quad im currently building, got delayed about a week in building because the motor connectors are on back order, finally made progress over the weekend andd got the soldering finished and all motors hooked up to the speed controller and started getting the flight controller hooked up and set up yesterday, turns out if might have a bad gyro and will have to be returned

 

Do the homemade quads have the self stabilization capability or do you constantly have to be on the sticks to it keep it from nosing over and crashing?

 

the flight controller Im using has 3 axis gyro stabilization, so yea, it will maintain stable flight hands off

this is the one were using:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/..._flight_controller_usb_gyro_acc_mag_baro.html

 

the ban trap ...

 

I've got a Phantom 2 Vision (the one with the built in camera and first person viewing).
http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-2-vision

I've loved it, and the FPV works stellar up to about 1000' but you have control of the quad until about 3000'. It definitely needs a better gimbal for smoother video. The camera is decent, but not is good as a gopro 3 IMO. I like I can shoot photos in raw format with it. Being able to adjust the tilt of the camera to frame up shots from afar is nice and be able to take photos and start/stop video recording from afar. The return to home feature with autolanding is excellent - although I've just played with it to make sure it works and haven't used it under duress.

If you just want to play with a non-gps quad a Syma X1 is $30 on Amazon and is loads of fun and durable, and comes ready to fly with transmitter. I've been playing with those for a couple years and are excellent to hone your skills before you spend money for something pricier.

 

Thanks for the heads up, I took a look at it and it looks nice. Do you feel it's worth the extra $$ over the other gimbals for around $75? I got my Phantom yesterday, quality looks very nice. It's a bit small but should be perfect to get my feet wet before I step up to a Flamewheel 550.

 

Everything is controlled by the (Flight Controller) or brains of the quad/multirotor. You can install any FC you want on any quad you build, some have GPS (self stabilization etc), some don't. The lower end FC boards (Wii and KK) are around $50 and don't have GPS but I believe they will self stabilize. They will, however drift if there is wind, GPS allows the quad to stay in one spot if you don't touch the sticks. DJI makes a few FC's that are very nice, Naza Lite, M and V2. You can add GPS to all of them, costs are around $170 for the Naza lite and $300 for the V2. Naza also has what's called "intelligent orientation" and "return to home". Just google for a better explanation than I can give you but those are two very cool features. The Blade 350QX also has those features as well.

Unless you are super motivated, good with a soldering iron and experienced in RC, I think the best route to go for the money is a RTF quad, Phantom or Blade 350QX. I've been in the hobby for 25 years, already have transmitters, batteries, chargers, etc and for $399 the base Phantom seems like a great deal for what you get.

(edit: I have yet to fly it though so my opinion may change if it flies away on me.