Drone Building 101

161 points by bharatkhatri14 8 years ago | 29 comments

dchuk 8 years ago |

One update that article should make: Buy the Mavic Pro rather than a Phantom 3. They can be had for under $1000, their batteries are cheaper, and they fold up to about 25% of the size of the phantom models. Good cameras, flies for 25+ minutes, controller is also much smaller than phantom models.

I never leave home without it now.

There's arguments to be made for getting the Phantom 4 Advanced/Pro rather than the Mavic, but those arguments revolve around professional photography/videography mostly. The Mavic, for most folks, is the right call.

natvert 8 years ago | |

Totally agree. I carry my Mavic everywhere I go. I'm the author of this page and it is slightly dated. Happy to answer any questions or help folks get started with their own quads. My most recent posts on the topic are here: nathan.vertile.com/blog

FractalNerve 8 years ago | | |

Hi Nathan, thanks for the writup, highly appreciate you taking an HN/AMA :)

What about the "Bayang Toys 9x", do you have better suggestions today? Because GearBest's armada of similar drones make it hard to choose a great drone for an outsider [1]. I think there are three folks who are in the majority, that aren't professional hobbyists.

Those who want a) great office+outdoor drones for under '$69', b) very fast drones with cameras for under '$249' c) high-altitude aerial drones with stablized cameras for under '$349'

Can you suggest drones that fit into these categories? =)

[1] https://www.gearbest.com/rc-quadcopters-c_11333/

joshmlewis 8 years ago |

Is anyone here into drone racing? I got into it around this time last year and it's one of the best things that's happened to me.

stephengillie 8 years ago | |

I got a small Inductrix Blade, but they are tricky to fly. I'm going to wait for auto-stability and auto-flight.

On the other hand, having a wireless camera that can fly anywhere has unique security and surveillance implications.

Edit: Editing this post changes its position: https://imgur.com/gallery/4nVD1

nickthegreek 8 years ago | | |

I work at a makerspace and we teach drone classes to kids. We start with the Inductrix Blade (pretty unbreakable), upgrade its motors, solder on a camera to the power leads and use a cheap FPV headset to fly it around. We then hold nano drone races in our space about once a quarter for the kids.

The Inductrix is a great cheap way to get started with indoor flying that wont poke an eye out.

joshmlewis 8 years ago | | |

Drone racing is more like F1 where everything is stripped down for performance. Learning how to fly in non-stabilized mode is so freeing. Albeit with the stock Inductrix controller you are at a disadvantage. Check out the FrSky QX7 which is $100 and get some flying time in a simulator.

LeifCarrotson 8 years ago | | |

DJI makes nice platforms for a wireless camera with auto-stability and auto-flight. A beginner can easily fly in high, gusty winds with minimal effort while taking smooth, high-resolution video. It's seriously impressive technology.

But it's like driving a tugboat instead of a jet ski. While it does have impressive speed and power, it's all expended in service of stability. If you want to do crazy stunts at speed, dancing nimbly around the sky, you want manual-control on a racing drone.

mod 8 years ago | |

I built a 250 and flew it once and haven't flown it again! That was in the winter.

I'm afraid to break it, I guess. I'm decent in simulators but mine flies so differently, it's quite difficult.

I'm also quite busy, so I have that excuse...

I should get over it.

mysterydip 8 years ago | |

Saw it on tv for the first time a few weeks ago and loved what I saw. I'd like to get into it but need more time, money, and practice :) Are there any good simulators out there?

hkchad 8 years ago | | |

There's liftoff on steam, http://store.steampowered.com/app/410340/Liftoff/ and DRL has one, https://thedroneracingleague.com/videogame/download/

With both you can use a normal transmitter if you have one and that's the best way to get a similar experience of real flight. The FrSky is the easiest to setup but a Spektrum can be made to work w/ a special adapter. I like both of them for different reasons.

draxofavalon 8 years ago | |

I saw some videos of Drone Racing League for the first time a weeks ago and I'm amazed, it looks funnier than any video game!

joshmlewis 8 years ago | | |

Yes it's amazing. The great part is a league called MultiGP with chapters all over the world that are grassroots where locals come together for organized races and compete against each other. They even have a regional series that leads to a national championship where anyone has a chance to make it. I love that compared to most sports where there's a professional league and it's untouchable.

agumonkey 8 years ago | |

Did you left the race sweaty ? I wonder how "physical" it can get.

kingbirdy 8 years ago | |

Any recommendations for a good beginner setup?

__alias 8 years ago | | |

buy a Wizard X220 off banggood.com.

It's the best value for money starter racing quad you can get. I bought it for my first drone and it's just as capable as anything you can build for twice the money.

Zahreddine 8 years ago | | |

Start off with the $15 cheapies like the E10 and solder a small TX03 camera onto it followed by Lizard95 and similar sized drones and then onto larger 180-250 size drones like the Wizard x220s.

For the goggles I'd recommend the Eachine VRD2 if you're cheap or Aomway Commander if you want low profiles.

All can be found on banggood.

__alias 8 years ago | |

bought a wizard x220 about a year ago and am now building my 4th. Such a fun hobby.

falcolas 8 years ago |

I made a multirotor (a tricopter specifically) out of wood, and it was damned fun. It even flys quite well, when the electronics aren't burnt out or defective. That's been the biggest bummer.

pyrox420 8 years ago |

Good article, some of it's out of date already but still a really good piece of info if you want to build your own. I'd suggest just getting a ready-to-fly model first to practice on (husban x4 like). Then watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2Q2KdhtmFA Stu has some great ideas on how to get into the hobby for pretty cheap. Watch out on that x220 wizard, the FPV camera is crap and will be your first upgrade. :)

a-passenger 8 years ago |

I was thinking of building an FPV but I wanted to provide solar power as well, therefore I was searching for a bigger frame. In the end I decided to buy this one: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/sunbird-electric-glider-laser-cu... though I havent yet. The plan is to use it for aero-photography and increase the flight time by recharging the battery while cruising. Has anyone made anything similar and perhaps willing to share any advice?

_pmf_ 8 years ago |

I just want this: http://whatisflike.com/

taneq 8 years ago | |

They call it a tricopter when it's a Y6 hexacopter. That's enough to make me dubious about them. That and the rider sitting so close to completely unguarded 600mm+ props with their squishy innards in the plane of the props (so even if the rider stays clear, a failing prop could easily kill them). It's fine as a demo but insane to use regularly or offer to the public.

Further down the page: "We are planning to get prepared to accept and fulfil your order already in 2016." Good to know. At least their latest concept illustration seems to address the props-of-doom issue.