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FPV Quads


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Dug out my Esky usb controller, swapped it over to mode 2, downloaded the demo for FreeRider and started plugging away at Acro mode (non assisted flying)

 

Still struggle with Line of Sight (LOS) but my god the fpv was easy to pick up. I was soon zooming around the desert! As silly as it sounds, it was exactly the same as flying a helicopter in Battlefield3/4. I might look at getting a small monitor to attach to the controller so I can do LOS and FPV at a glance before I shell out for a set of goggles.

 

Talking of controllers.... I hit the buy it now button on one of these...

 

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Price was too good not too... just dont tell the missus. :D

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Had a good session on the weekend... and had a huge dumb thumb moment! :D managed to save it so still not broken yet! Also ordered a video receiver and dug out a little 7inch screen I have and will be rigging it up for fpv, think thats going to be my preferred method of flying.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This is getting addictive now! :D

 

Got my elcheapo screen made up, popped to jaycar and grabbed a box and set to with the hacksaw....

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built in receiver

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Not as good as a set of goggles but for $30 all up it will do for now. I can also use it for spectators when I get some goggles at a later date.... (which might not be much later! :D )

 

Also found a great deal on ebay... my second quad! Emax 250. everything needed to Get in the air minus receivers etc.

 

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Went a smaller one as it will be my first build and I really want to make it a little rocketship....

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Was at my sisters acreage on the weekend so used the chance to fly a few packs on the 280 and have a bit of fun. Turns out I can now do barrel rolls but I cant do backflips... I went through a few props!

 

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The quad took the hits well and didnt break anything which is a plus and I learnt alot. Still struggle with dumb thumbs but I am getting better! I had also flashed the latest version of cleanflight to it and used someone else's settings to help crisp the controls up (still new to tuning quads so used some recommended PID's) and it was transformed! Very responsive! It needs a few more tweaks but flew alot better.

 

Got home and ordered another 25 sets of props! :D

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  • 3 weeks later...

Nothing wrong with that at all.... but buy props.... lots of props! You will also probably want more batteries. I found 4 to give you a good hour out in the field. Also grab a 1500Mah LiFe battery for the Taranis whilst your at it.

 

Start reading up on open Tx and flash the taranis as soon as you get it.

 

Also depending on what firmware is on the FC of those, you will need the Chrome app Cleanflight or Baseflight to be able to communicate with the FC and tune the PID's if they arent to your liking.

 

I have had a couple of good weekends recently. Am able to flip and roll now but I am still struggling with orientation when I LOS.

I have also sat down and made a start with the 250.

 

Mounting the escs and motors to the arms and PDB.

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Semi bolted together.

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I was also hoping to get everything setup in cleanflight but turns out the esc's are flashed with simonK firmware so I cant use the Cleanflight passthrough to change motor rotation etc, that can only be done with Blheli bootloaders. It was a facepalm moment! Had to order an arduino nano to be able to do that now I have everything soldered in place, so just waiting for that to turn up. Also waiting on a few other bits to turn up to add on before I button it all together.

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My taranis turned up today so got straight into setting it up when I got home.

 

Flashed open tx 2.1.7, chucked on some custom sounds and mapped the switches. Excellent!

 

Bound it to my d4rii receiver on the 250 and tried to set it up in cleanflight... aaaand it didnt work. Went back over everything and all was correct according to the instructions, so I hit google to help. After an hour or so of searching I found a single post by someone suggesting the pinout instructions were wrong for the cc3d. Swapped pin 3 to pin 8 and boom.. full working trabsmitter! Very frustrating I can tell you.

 

I am so glad I boight a RTF for my first quad as building one has been a challenge! Now I need to get telemtry working on it and get the esc's flashed correctly and it will be ready to try out!

 

I also ordered the upgraded speaker setup for the taranis which should be with me in a few days. Fjrst impressions of it are good though. Once you get your head around what you need to do... it actually does alot! Mapped a pot to do volume control then set about setting up an arm/disarm switch. Then set up a logic switch that would repeat the armed warning every 5 seconds if the switch is in the arm position and the throttle is down.

I can see why these radios are one of the most popular for flying with.

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It was all going so well.

 

Had everything ready on the 250 and I just needed to flash Blheli firmware on the esc's. Followed the instructions and everything went well. Plug it all back in together powered it up and subsequently fried all 4 esc's and the CC3D flight controller. Turns out the firmware I flashed wasnt the right version... like seriously.. not, just dont work, it sends power where it shouldnt and kills everything!

 

SO I have now ordered another (3) cc3d boards and 5 new escs. I will be testing it on one before I do all four this time!

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Do you know that if you want to reverse the direction of rotation on the brushless motors you only need to swap over 2x of the 3 connections. You don't have to do this by the fc or speed controller.

 

Yes I do and I didnt do it as I wanted flat wires on the arms. The motors can then be reversed in the esc firmware. I was flashing BLheli as they had simonK on them and I wanted dampend light and Oneshot on this quad.

 

Its all a learning curve but I am glad I went a RTF as my first quad so I can get out there and fly rather than make mistakes like this on my first one and have to wait yet again.

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Seeing as the 250 is on the back burner now I pulled the D4Rii out and put it on my 280. Rebound it to a new model setup and got it all working with the RTF 280. Chucked on a pack to test it and wow... like flying a different machine! Alot more sensitive than the stock RTF transmitter. I need to set my end points to match but liking it so far.

 

I also did the speaker upgrade and music and voices now no longer sounds like its underwater! (yes, the transmitter will play music... :D )

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Went and tried out some goggles today. I wanted to see what would work for me, either the normal goggles fatshark etc or the 4.3 full screen types.

 

I wear glassses and I am slightly short sighted so when I popped the googles on I was suitably surprised! Usually when I remove my specs i get eye ache as they try to adjust. With the goggles on I found the point of reference for the screen to be perfect for me and my eyes were not strained at all! I then chucked a set on eachine 007 units on and struggled from the moment I put them on. They do come with a fresnel lens in that meant the magnification was off for me. This can be changed but needed modding to do it.

 

Glad I did it and (cost aside as the eachine units are dirt cheap ) I will be going with goggles.... now just to order!

 

I also had a great day flying! Decided to put my fears to one side... as thats what stops you, the fear of crashing into something or someone, and forced myself to make maneuvers around a set of football posts. By the end of the first battery it was becoming normal for me.

 

My biggest gripe..... dog walkers! See two guys flying quad copters in a corner of a football field away from everyone and they just have to come and walk past us! One instance I walked out onto the pitch, sat the quad down, stepped back, armed it and a lady appeared from no where behind me, walked past me and her dog proceeded to sniff the quad. I told her "she was lucky I didnt take its nose off and wasnt it clear to keep a little distance?" Proceeded to ignore me and keep walking. Use the rest of the field you stupid bint! :rolleyes::rolleyes:

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Thanks to all this filth i have been forced against my will to dive in, what are your thoughts on this?

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]210206[/ATTACH]

 

Had your maiden yet?

 

 

 

I had a spare hour tonight and thought I would pop down to the footy pitch and fly a few packs on the 280. I have been tweaking it all week at home so it was time to give it a whirl! I havent stopped grinning since I got home!

 

managed 4 packs back to back and not one crash. I am now what I consider to be flying... not just taking of and hovering etc. By the end of the fourth pack I was putting full laps in around the pitch with a few flips and rolls.

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Another great day out flying today. Met up with 5 other guys with various degrees of skill. Had a few ride along in FPV and that is going to take some getting used to! Will get a bit better at LOS and then jump in I think!

 

Also had a bit more of a play with the 250. Got all the esc's swapped over, mounted the camera and the Vtx (which I need to come up with a better idea for). I also came up with a way to mount the OLED display which will work great, mounted the D4rii receiver and got it weighed!

 

All mocked up..

 

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Weight without battery... I have 2 other pieces of hardware to fit ( display and voltage monitor ) but I am happy with this weight..

 

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Where the OLED display will be fitted..

 

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and final weight with a heavy 2200Mah battery. This will be flown with 1800Mah 4s 60c batteries so again, the weight will come down again..

 

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So I am hoping to have a sub 500g ship... should be good for maneuvers etc!

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