| Electronics > Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff |
| School me on latest DIY RC planes, drones, and their modules... |
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| MarkF:
RC Model Reviews has a lot of info https://www.youtube.com/user/RCModelReviews/featured?disable_polymer=1 |
| james_s:
--- Quote from: metrologist on February 07, 2019, 08:40:58 pm ---I flew and built a lot of gas planes as a kid, and I have a small toyish 4-prop drone that I can fly around and do flips. It has some stabilization but nothing fancy. It's about the size of my hand. I also have a couple CP 3D helicopters that I got to hover, but not spent the time to actually learn to fly it (Szabo style). There is a gyro but no fancy stabilization. I might even want to add something to that if it exists... --- End quote --- This was not indicated in your initial post, so most people probably assumed like I did that you were a complete noob who saw a video of a cool "drone" and decided you wanted to build one of your own. RC forums tend to be filled with noob posts like that so it's understandable that would be the assumption if it is not said otherwise. |
| metrologist:
--- Quote from: james_s on February 08, 2019, 09:28:25 pm --- --- Quote from: metrologist on February 07, 2019, 08:40:58 pm ---I flew and built a lot of gas planes as a kid, and I have a small toyish 4-prop drone that I can fly around and do flips. It has some stabilization but nothing fancy. It's about the size of my hand. I also have a couple CP 3D helicopters that I got to hover, but not spent the time to actually learn to fly it (Szabo style). There is a gyro but no fancy stabilization. I might even want to add something to that if it exists... --- End quote --- This was not indicated in your initial post, so most people probably assumed like I did that you were a complete noob who saw a video of a cool "drone" and decided you wanted to build one of your own. RC forums tend to be filled with noob posts like that so it's understandable that would be the assumption if it is not said otherwise. --- End quote --- Well, I'm not sure if newb isn't still appropriate. The RC planes were 20 years ago. I'm sure tech is much different now. Also, the drone I have was a $19 toy, so I do not think that has given me any knowledge of anything significant. It's a palm sized indoor flyer. I was just looking at my Helios, they are the Honey Bee King 2 models. I flew one of them a few times to get a hover a few feet off the ground. I read a bit and it seems the gyro only affects the tail rotor speed or pitch to help prevent weather veining. So, yeah, I saw a cool video and wanted to build something. Here is what I'm thinking. A2212 2200 kV motors with 30A SimonK ESC and 7x4E props for $6 each. There are a couple inexpensive F4 FCs - either the $14 or a $30 one (I almost went for CC3D, and that is a newb mistake). I might rip the radio out of one of my helios (72 MHz AM), but I have an inkling it does some kind of mixing that I wont be able to work around...or buy an inexpensive radio set. Any suggestions? I'd run a 3S pack and the body size is looking like 250 to 300, which I would make either 3d print or just flat fibre board. Is that coming in about right? Now I think I should go play with betaflight software and see what it does... Can an F4 controller do anything for my helios, like replace the gyro and hover the helo automatically so I'd have to actually fly it into something to crash? I think I would do that first! I'm too scared to fly them because I know it will crash. That little drone is easy to fly. |
| metrologist:
I found a video showing basically what I was thinking of building, and for $100 minus a controller and goggles, which was beyond what I was thinking initially. It looks too fun, but something I realize and now I'm completely discouraged. For one, I burned out my power supply by testing my $5 hobby motor and ESC for a few seconds. I'm surprised because the supply can put out 15 amps @ 50V and I was running 12V @ 10A, for about 15 seconds. I am puzzled. I might be able to fix the supply if I get lucky and shotgun a few components, but it made me realize something. When I flew gas RC planes a few things that happened. Crashing is part of the hobby and I hit a light pole and a metal statue, besides the ground a dozen times. A friend folded his wing and crashed on a car, through windshield and through instrument cluster - totalling car. He also crashed on a house and made a hole through the roof! It's a dangerous hobby and I live in a very populated area. Look, if I don't know enough about what I'm doing not to burn out my power supply maybe I should not consider doing something that could kill someone else. Besides, I think there are now drone laws and insurance requirements. I know you had to buy a million dollar insurance policy around here to be a member of any RC flying club, and that was 20 years ago. I flew my little toy drones around the house and crashed a few times. It's out of my system now. And, since I have no power supply, I have time to evaluate whether electronics is for me at all. I've not been able to make anything work in a long time. years. I'm good at taking things apart and breaking them, and making half finished projects and messes. I could completely fill the back of a pickup truck with all the gear and crap. I should haul it all off to the trash. :blah: |
| hlavac:
--- Quote from: metrologist on February 10, 2019, 02:21:33 pm ---I burned out my power supply by testing my $5 hobby motor and ESC for a few seconds. --- End quote --- The joy of the BLDC motors + controllers: they back feed current when turnning off the phase winding. Most power supplies are not ready for that, having regulation only when sourcing the current. The whole thing can pump energy back into the power supply flyback style during each turn-off transient, you need massive caps to capture this with low enough rise in voltage. Try calculating the energy in your winding with given inductance and current, then calculate the voltage rise on your capacitor with given capacitance for that energy. You will get scared :) Batteries don't mind being charged :) I have even seen a RC battery being used on BLDC controller (o-drive) to capture the transients instead of a brake resistor, and provide boost for the srart up current |
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