Commence Building

[Blunt Force Trauma]

Finally received all the stuff I need to begin building a tricopter or quad, not entirely sure which way to go yet. I have all I need to go either way.

I've seen a LOT of crazy stuff done to quads, but one thing I've yet to see on youtube is someone attaching lasers to them.

If I went with a quad, I'm thinking of putting eight 800 lumen high-output white LED strips on either side of each boom. That would be insanely bright on a dark night. And four, switched 20MW green diodes lasers, also shockingly bright with any moisture in the air, pointing down, all in separate slowly oscillating gimbals gyrating around four degrees each, so the beams are parallel then overlap each other (not worked out the design for that yet). I can guarantee that will flood the 911 call center around here.

Let's hope I don't get arrested. Either way, the video will certainly go viral on Youtube.

[hitchcockgreen]

Lol can't wait to see the finished product.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

[Blunt Force Trauma]

Moving along.

Did some soldering of bullet connectors. Epoxied the connections to the base of the motors. Never trust motors that have nothing but the winding wires as the structural support for the main leads (the little screws are just temporary standoffs till the epoxy sets. Brushless RC motors are a little different from "normal" motors in that the hub spins with the shaft. Don't want the power leads to touch the rotating hub) My biggest hurdle was figuring out the flashing tool for the controller. It's extremely picky on what USB port is used on any particular PC. Thought it was faulty for several hours. Never run into that before with ANY USB interface device. Finally got it programmed for 'X' configuration. X config is popular with those who want to have a camera on board and not have the 'front' boom and prop to be seen.

[FirBirGir]

Looks like you're delving to my world now

I just finished building a remote controlled movie prop, a sci-fi virtual reality bracelet made of solid aluminum. Lots of soldering and packing crap into tiny spaces.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/16876214@N04/8101539988/

[Blunt Force Trauma]

Looks quite fashionable!

[FFAxTomcat480]

Is that a Sheffield or Kobalt single edge box cutter? I have the exact same one for the last 7 years no problems

[Blunt Force Trauma]

Kobalt. Yea, had that thing for 5 or so years myself.

[FFAxTomcat480]

No padding on your work chair, oh my

[Blunt Force Trauma]

Hehe, good catch. But actually, I lay an old pillow on it when I'm there for more than a few minutes.

I love that motorized drafting board. I got it for $25 about 7 years ago. The only thing missing was the counter weight for the parallel bar. But I never use the bar and have the board flat most of the time, so it's no big deal.

[Blunt Force Trauma]

Got the tri-copter carbon-fiber frame plates cut and drilled.

But, if you noticed, I'm doing a quad first. I'll do it with poplar and some luan press-board till I'm confident the crashing curve is somewhat flat.

[SnakeEye]

I'm interested in seeing how it looks then its finished. do you only build helicopters or do you build airplanes too?

[Blunt Force Trauma]

I had a couple of glo engine (gas) planes and electric balsa gliders years ago when the batteries weighted a ton and cheaper radios were only good for 1000 feet or so. Electrics have changed the whole landscape in the last 15 years.

And the 'new' electrics and materials have made things SO different nowadays with Li-Po batteries, all kinds of foams, carbon fiber, programmable control cards and ESCs, gyros, high-end brushless motors, etc. Planes can easily weigh half of what a similar size plane weighted 15 years ago and have 50% more power. A thousand feet of vertical climb is quite common nowadays.

Firbir might be aware of this stuff. Moongel It has the amazing property to isolate sensitive control board electronics like gyros, accelerometers and CCD or CMOS image sensors to low frequency harmonics like small electric motors and prop vibration.

[Blunt Force Trauma]

Been working on the divergence and convergence mechanical module for the lasers to go on the flyer.

A bit Rube Goldberg at the moment, I have the concept set, but now need to clean up the superfluous and unneeded complexity.
I decided on a mechanical device, because to control a simple pattern digitally with controlled mirrors is a bit over my head. Plus I'm not willing to go for the cost to control 4X 20mw. My module will be a combo of carbon fiber plates, rods, a rubber band or two and a reduction drive, and something to provide spring resistance... silicone tubing or similar. And if anyone is looking closely, you'll notice my "cam" movement for the lasers is currently much too extreme, probably providing a 45 degree cone at least. I want something under 10, to keep the beams somewhat tight, like a sweeping tracker beam.

[Blunt Force Trauma]

Did a few more things. Built a cheap quad frame. Made mine with Luan and made some nicely tucked compartment slots for the ESCs. Also using the same foam board design for landing legs as I plan to use for the tricopter (see above). The extension of the booms are an experiment to put the motors close, or on a vibration node. But also the extension helps protect the rotors in a high angle landing or crash. I imagine I very well may cut that off unless it greatly reduces vibration. The ESC programmable card I bought was DOA. They're only $7. That's one of the 'risks' with Chinese hobby products. Cheap as hell, but also the QA is all over the map. So I may flash the ESCs with my USBASP dongle. Just more effort as I have to whip together an interface plug, download the file and flash. The card makes it a 3 minute job for all 4 ESCs. Making the plug and flashing "manually" could take an evening.





Also got the 20mw lasers. Nice. A healthy bump above the average laser pointer. Popped a Surefire 3v to one and tried it out. VERY impressive on a misty night.





A quick dry-fit.

[Blunt Force Trauma]

Here's another product I'll be using. Some of you guys not be aware of this amazing stuff. It's called "InstaMorph". It's an extremely tough nylon or Teflon-ish plastic under 110F. It softens to a clear taffy-like consistency around 160F. I bought a 12oz container a few weeks ago, and I continue to be impressed. I'm to the point now where I believe everyone should carry a small 2" x 1/2" cylinder around in their pocket for any 'emergency' that might arise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_pM3rNRm9A

Here's an extra-impressive use:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynwD6aodP-I

Get to building that Grizzly you always wanted.

[hitchcockgreen]

Hmmmm that stuff looks like fun, actually. Fairly cheap, too.
Think I might have to pick up a jar and mess around with it.

[hitchcockgreen]

Found one of these in a Source store recently. It was a bit pricey but the thought of buzzing my nosey neighbours with a drone equipped with an HD camera, and controllable with a smartphone was a very very tempting thought.

http://www.amazon.com/Parrot-AR-Drone-Q ... B003ZT5HWO

[Blunt Force Trauma]

Came close to getting an AR Drone. But I wanted the possibility of more range than a wi-fi signal and more payload. I certainly would recommend it for those who want the FPV and flying experience without the headaches of doing it yourself, and believe me there are plenty. On the flip side, an AR Drone will never see THIS kind of performance.

[Blunt Force Trauma]

Two examples of 'complications' during a scratch build, one with cheap Chinese electronics and the other using open source code to improve flight characteristics.

The second programming card I purchased was also dead on arrival. Must be a bad batch. So I had to build my own interface pin connector to 'manually' flash the ESCs for multi-rotor performance requirements. It required a special pin setup at each end. . . at the ESC interface, as well as at the USBASP tool. So I put InstaMorph to use to lock in place the pin orientation! I also never use the magnifying glass on my 'third hand', so I molded a handle for the lens while I was at it.

Second was the control board flashing software code I first chose had problems. I had exactly this issue. I ultimately chose another fellow's code, and it now seems to be working.



All weighed, it's right at 1,220 grams, battery and all. The frame is the only variable in which I have significant control and it's a good 250 grams above what a decent glass fiber frame would weigh, and a good 300 over a carbon fiber frame. But as I said above, it's intended to be a somewhat sacrificial first flyer.

[Blunt Force Trauma]

Trainer quad complete!

I have set the gyros, trimmed the pitch, roll and yaw on the quad and on my transmitter. It is now flying well. . .a foot or so above the ground because I've only flown on the inside of my house since it's been dark when I get home from work. So I have not been totally free of ground effect yet. True test this weekend. . .

In the below photo I've labeled several of the tips for a beginner scratch-build I've learned in the last few weeks to reduce the damage and expense from a crash. I've made this one about as inexpensive as possible. The lightweight Luan plywood was scrap. I used two $2 poplar sticks for the booms. Set of screws, nuts and washers for the frame plates were around $3. Maybe another $2 for bullet connectors and an XT60 connector for the battery. The battery is a Turnigy 2200mAh 3S 25C Lipo for $9. The low-battery alarm was $2. I used cheap multi-strand 16g wiring instead of expensive multi-strand silicone insulated wiring. Under a $1 for the male servo wiring extensions. The ESCs are Hobbyking 20A UBECs flashed for quick response were $8 apiece. The motors are HexTronik DT750 brushless at $11 apiece. The control board is a Hobbyking V2.1 (Atmega) flashed for X config. for $13. The receiver is an OrangeRx DSM2 6Ch for $6. The props are GWS 9050s and were $3 for four.

So. . .throwing in shipping, there's maybe $140 in the pic below.

I was able to save a few bucks using an old PC power supply as my battery charger power source.

NOW time to build the Tri-copter!