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Drone Building 101

airfield.io

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Re: Drone Building 101

#21

Post by taneq »

_pmf_ wrote: post #18

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

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.

Re: Drone Building 101

#22

Post by dchuk »

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.

Re: Drone Building 101

#23

Post by Accacin »

Zahreddine wrote: post #12
kingbirdy wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any recommendations for a good beginner setup?

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.

This one? https://tinyurl.com/ybkbuma7

Is this the same as the Cheerson Cx-10 that the site recommends?

Re: Drone Building 101

#24

Post by sp00ls »

joshmlewis wrote: post #2

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.

I am and it is a blast. This hobby gets me outside a lot too which is great. Currently #24 on the MultiGP UTT1 leaderboard :)

Re: Drone Building 101

#25

Post by a-passenger »

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?

Re: Drone Building 101

#26

Post by ep103 »

nickthegreek wrote: post #14
stephengillie wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

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.

wait wait, you fly these things via a VR headset?

Re: Drone Building 101

#27

Post by fapjacks »

ep103 wrote: post #26
nickthegreek wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

wait wait, you fly these things via a VR headset?

Haven't you seen the drone racing league shows on the sports network? I cut my cable many years ago, but every time I head to HQ for work, I get cable in the hotel, and there's always Shark Tank on one channel, and DRL ("Drone Racing League") on another. Check it out! They all fly with headsets. It's actually pretty intense and awesome.

Re: Drone Building 101

#28

Post by stephengillie »

ep103 wrote: post #26
nickthegreek wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

wait wait, you fly these things via a VR headset?

The Inductrix Blade I have comes with an FPV camera built into the drone. It comes with a 6" FPV screen, and a big plastic clamp to hold the screen above the controller. This makes the controller assembly a little awkward, since the FPV display is heavier than the controller to which it mounts.

VR Headset might be a bit too much, but it's probably better than a small screen mounted awkwardly to a lightweight controller.

Re: Drone Building 101

#29

Post by natvert »

dchuk wrote: post #22

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 Mavi…

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

Re: Drone Building 101

#30

Post by FractalNerve »

natvert wrote: post #29
dchuk wrote: post #22

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 Mavi…

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

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/

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