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Thinking about building a "Cheap" Quadcopter.

nnnnnate

nnnnnate

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Location
WVC, UT
I've watched all of these build videos from RC Model Reviews:

[video=youtube;8jbpwqCCVbs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jbpwqCCVbs[/video]

And now I really want to build one (a first person view ZMR250) for myself. My wife bought me a $20 Heli deal a few years ago for Christmas and I promptly broke all the blades. I didn't really look for replacements but I did enjoy it while it lasted.

Here is a parts list I found for the build from that tutorial on RotoBuilds: Link

The actual quad isn't too expensive but the controller/radio/whatever its actually called (.....what I hold in my hand and fly the darn thing with) gets up there in price. I've looked at the FrSky Taranis X9D which is about $195 but am not sure if thats what I should go with. I skimmed through a few youtube reviews from the RC Model Review guy but since I really don't know whats what with these I feel a little lost.

I think I have an okay idea of what the build entails as far as individual components go and although I haven't done any significant soldering feel like I could handle this project. Are there any DIY quad guys here that can give some feedback?

For the other guys that are new to this stuff....

This style quadcopter is called a FPV, a first person viewer. There is a mounted camera on the quad that transmits a video to goggles you wear and you navigate via that video feed. I probably won't install that right away since I would need to polish some traditional line of site flying skills first but it would be neat later on. The 250 in the name specifies the size of the copter if I understand that right. 250 is considered a small quad, smaller than a DJI Phantom which seem to be pretty popular but bigger than the micros that can fit in your hand. Anyway, I think they look pretty neat and I want to play with one.
 
Marsh99

Marsh99

Lover of all things Toyota
Location
Mantua UT
Radio selections is something to think about.If this is a hobby you want to "try" I would go cheap.If this is something you are sure about I would buy a radio that has all the bells and whistles you want with all the channels you could dream of having. Radios are expensive but they rarely go bad and nothing is worse then buying something and instantly wanting/needing something better.
 
spencurai

spencurai

Purple Burglar Alarm
Location
WVC,UT
I would go with the Turnigy 9X series radio/receiver....they are super hackable and are really good radios for the ~60-70$ price tag. Basically Turnigy ripped off a lot of other more expensive radios and did a fantastic job. You can swap modules and flash firmware to get similar functionality to a Taranis.

Build lists are a great place to start as you can get into the air with proven components that someone else has taken the time to sort the bugs out of.

There are tons of videos on Youtube that will take you step by step on the build process. There are also some fantastic soldering tutorial videos out there so you can get tips and tricks and techniques down before you start soldering tiny parts onto expensive boards.

Filtetest is a great youtube channel as is RCModelReviews so you're on the right track.
 
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nnnnnate

nnnnnate

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Location
WVC, UT
Here is what I've ordered.

BODY AND MAIN GUTS
ZMR250 250mm Carbon Fiber Mini Quadcopter Multicopter Frame Kit
Acro Naze 32 (rev6) flight controller
DYS BE1806-2300kv Brushless Multirotor Motor 2s~3s (5)
Afro ESC 12Amp Ultra Lite Multi-rotor Motor Speed Controller (SimonK Firmware) Version 3 (5)
SimplePDB zmr250 power distribution board
RADIO
FrSky 2.4GHz ACCST TARANIS X9D PLUS Digital Telemetry Radio System (Mode 2)
FrSky D8r-II plus 8ch 2.4GHz ACCST Receiver (w/telemetry)
POWER
Turnigy nano-tech 1300mAH 3S 45~90C Lipo Pack battery(3)
turnigy reaktor 300w 20a 6s balance charger
hobby king 350w 25a power supply
hobby king parallel charging board
FrSky AC/DC Charge Adapter US Version
Props
10 sets green/black, gemfan 5045
10 sets red/black, gemfan 5030

Since placing the order I know that I probably should have gotten a different radio receiver than what I did. Probably should have gone with the D4R-II or the X4R.

I'm unsure about the firmware thats pre-installed on the ESCs. I guess its the SimonK Firmware but I still don't understand what exactly that means and if I'll need to do something special because that is there. I'm hoping that if its not going to work with something else I'm using (like the flight controller) I'll be able to flash it with something else.

Thoughts?
 
spencurai

spencurai

Purple Burglar Alarm
Location
WVC,UT
You will need to check the product page for the ESCs to see if multicopter firmware is installed on the ESCs...multicopter motors operate in a slightly different manner than regular RC ESCs so you might need to flash the firmware to something like SimonK. There are firmware flashing adapters and software on Hobbyking and others. There are plenty of youtube videos to show you how to do it.
 
nnnnnate

nnnnnate

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Location
WVC, UT
I was looking at the "Tiny Trainer" today at work from Flight Test. Now I'm wondering if some 14 year old scouts would have any interest in making one...

My parts are trickling in and I got a good look at the flight controller last night. Its going to be tricky to solder it up since I haven't any actual soldering experience but I'm excited. I've watched youtube videos which I think helped and there are plenty if resources and build write-ups on my model and parts that getting things in the right places shouldn't be too bad.

I started clearing out an unfinished bathroom (in an otherwise finished basement) last night in order to make myself a little work space. I'm going to put my drafting table I did homework on a few years ago in there along with some decent overhead lights and some tools and get going. My wife rolled her eyes after I told her why I was finally getting around to going through my boxes in there, she's been bugging me to do it for over 5 years. :D I guess I just didn't have the proper motivation.
 
spencurai

spencurai

Purple Burglar Alarm
Location
WVC,UT
nnnnnate said:
I was looking at the "Tiny Trainer" today at work from Flight Test. Now I'm wondering if some 14 year old scouts would have any interest in making one...

My parts are trickling in and I got a good look at the flight controller last night. Its going to be tricky to solder it up since I haven't any actual soldering experience but I'm excited. I've watched youtube videos which I think helped and there are plenty if resources and build write-ups on my model and parts that getting things in the right places shouldn't be too bad.

I started clearing out an unfinished bathroom (in an otherwise finished basement) last night in order to make myself a little work space. I'm going to put my drafting table I did homework on a few years ago in there along with some decent overhead lights and some tools and get going. My wife rolled her eyes after I told her why I was finally getting around to going through my boxes in there, she's been bugging me to do it for over 5 years. :D I guess I just didn't have the proper motivation.
Click to expand...

flight test is a fantastic resource and their YouTube build videos are great. I did a couple builds with my brother last weekend an pad they would be great for scouts!
 
nnnnnate

nnnnnate

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Location
WVC, UT
My frame came today. I'm going to do a build thread for it but I stayed up way too late and got this done.

c6pLsSAl.jpg

(NOT sponsored or endorsed by Dr. Pepper, can is merely included for size reference )
 
nnnnnate

nnnnnate

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Location
WVC, UT
I don't know of a Dr. Pepper lift but I did just recently see this Beer lift competition. :rofl: I think I'm particular to the "yo dog" entry.

[video=youtube;Lh5Jbi6AcsE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh5Jbi6AcsE[/video]
 
nnnnnate

nnnnnate

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Location
WVC, UT
:tara:

20151213_215101.jpg

20151213_221132.jpg

While waiting for parts for the big one (ZMR250) I decided I wanted to build a little one that I could control with my fancy transmitter. The ZMR250 is a "size" 250 mm and measures 250 mm diagonally from center prop to center prop. (The real popular DJI Phantoms are in the 450 class, bigger quads are better for stability and so the Phantoms are super popular with people shooting sweet pictures or videos.) I looked around at what was out there and found Hovership and the 3DFLY which I thought was pretty neat. They sell a components package and provide a file to have the frame 3D printed. The 3DFLY is about 110 mm if I remember right. I ordered the kit and tracked down someone local and had three frames printed, it was the first time I had ever done anything with 3D printing and I thought it was pretty darn slick. I got it all put together pretty quick and did a test flight in my kitchen. It was getting a little too close to the cabinets so I dumped the throttle from about 3' up and it landed upside down on the tile. I hadn't pushed one of the props all the way on the shaft and the fall pushed the bottom out of the brushed motor. I put the motor back together and it spins but somethings not quiet right with it and it won't hover now. I've got a few more motors coming but they won't be here for a few more days.

I finished the 250 just tonight. It was pretty tricky to get it all sorted out and wired up correctly. I was hoping to get it wrapped up earlier this week since I'm not going to be able to fly it for a while with the impending snow. When I was soldering the flight controller I screwed something up and busted the board. I think I got it too hot but I'm not sure, it won't register when plugged into my laptop and the LEDs don't light up at all. As you can see there aren't any cameras on it which will probably change after Christmas. I'll probably get some FPV goggles (the cheap ones) and a micro camera for that. I'm still trying to decide whether to put on a GoPro type camera for higher quality recording as well but am leaning away from that right now. I've never done any photo/video editing and just don't see myself really getting into it. There are plenty of youtube videos out there of FPV racing anyway, nobody wants to see me crash into a fence or nose dive it onto concrete.

Anyway, I took a bunch of pics that I might post up of the 250 so if someone has interest they can see what all is involved in building one of these things. I'm just super pleased though that I was able to get the props to spin without causing the whole thing to blow up.
 
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