10x4.5 carbon fiber propellers

So! There I go with the carbon fiber propellers from dealextreme.com. They are not probably the best, but I want to try first how the quad behaves with these cheaper ones.

I had to balance them a bit, I use adhesive tape and works fine. And I had also to reduce a bit the size of the adapter rings I have from the plastic propellers. The one that come withing the package are a bit bigger and don´t fit the motor cylinder.

These are going to hold much better the weight of the quad, reaching now 1.8kg, avoiding the propellers to break in mid air and being more precise when flying.

Iconix-x FPV Foldable

I´ve been interested in acquire a new frame to replace the Whirlwind FY450, or as a new quad for maybe using it just for FPV. I had some recommendations, and these frames are the winners:

• hoverthings
• quav 500/400
• iconic-FPV

At the end I decide to buy the Iconic-x FPV with foldable arms, nice when you have to pack so it doesn´t need to much room. I´ve just assembled the frame but I haven´t done anything else with it yet. I hope I can build the quad soon! The quality of the frame is just perfect and nice.

Comparing the Iconic-x FPV with my current Whirlwind FY450, they are quite similar in size, but the Iconic has much more room for all the electronics.

These are some specs:

New FOLDABLE design layout,
Pure Rubber Vibration mounts seperating the 2 levels of the frame.
Custom 6061 Aluminum CNC milled arms
45mm Distro board ( removable)
Deans style plug included
8"-10" Prop choices
Purple Hex cap screws for top plate support
velcro straps for mounting battery and gopro

Here you can see some interesting videos about how to assemble it and other stuff about this frame.

Tarot T-2D gimbal test quad aerial footage

V007. Recording date: 19-10-2013

As I couldn't definitely get rid of vibrations and jello with other solutions (earplugs, moongel, etc), I bought the Tarot T-2D gimbal, also because a camera stabilization system is the only way to go for having good quality aerial (and not aerial) videos.

Comparing this video with my previous tests, the gimbal really makes a huge difference. It makes THE difference. When I saw the video, I was impressed with the results (although they can be much better!), I didn't have to modify the gimbal settings at all, it worked out of the box. I use a 500mAh 3S 20C for the gimbal, lasting around 1h30m.

In one hand I've improved video quality, but on the other hand I've added too much weight to the quad (gimbal + stuff to hold it + gimbal battery + landing gear), going up to 1.7kg, which is a lot, probably for the type of motors and of course for the simple plastic propellers (a few times they broke in the air because of the weight!).

Setup:

Frame Whirlwind FY450
BL-2830/11 1000kv rotors
20A SK ESC
10x4.5 Plastic HK propellers
KK2 controller board
GoPro H3 black, 1080x60, N FOV
3300mAh 3S 20C battery
Turnigy 9XR transmitter
FrSKY V8FR-II receiver
Fatshark FPV camera
Fatshark Predator goggles
ImmersionRC 600mw Tx
1000mAh 3S 20C battery for video Tx
Gimbal Tarot T-2D
500mAh 3S 20C battery for gimbal
Plastic landing gear

TAROT T-2D Gopro Hero 3 brushless gimbal

October 2013. I decided to buy the TAROT T-2D Gopro Hero 3 brushless gimbal. This is a two axis gimbal for stabilizing the GoPro Hero 3. Please find at the end of the post the technical specifications and software.

This gimbal comes half assembled but it's really easy to complete it. In order to have it working I have bought a 500mAh 3S 20C LiPo battery, which gives you enought power to stabilize the camera for about 1h30m. It works out of the box! I've been afraid of connecting it with the software in case I screw it up :)

I've managed to fit it under the quad, being hold by two extra tubes I had, so I can put the gimbal or remove it in a matter of seconds, for flying only FPV or for recording video.

The quad now weights around 1.7kg, depending on the battery I put. I have a 0.5kg 5000mAh one! So it's really heavy now for the plastic propellers that will replace one day with anothers of carbon fiber.

T-2D PTZ is TAROT company for GoPro Hero3 camera was developed, used in photographic film and entertainment, advertising and many other areas of model aircraft photography. PTZ using 6061T6 aluminum alloy full CNC precision machining, brushless direct drive motor, the overall framework designed with the idea of ​​compact, easy installation and other characteristics. Stable head structure allows the aircraft is flying at high speed state, still be able to precisely control the camera mounted GoPro Hero3 remain stable, so that the screen output to achieve the best model aircraft photographic effects.

Gopro two-axis brushless PTZ English software description and download link:

Manual & Assistant Download V1.3 Firmware Download

Product Features:
1, support GOPRO Hero3 video auxiliary output
2, support the supply voltage polarity protection and voltage compensation
3, support the motor drive end short-circuit protection
4, support for custom initial pitch angle
5, support sensitivity parameter adjustment and software 3D pose show
6, the support rocker rate mode and position mode
7, support Receiver: conventional receiver, S-BUS receiver, DSM2/DSMJ/DSMX receiver
8, support for remote devices: PPM/PCM/2.4G
9, the working voltage: DC 7.4V ~ 14.8V (Recommended 12V, three lithium battery)
10, working current: 200mA-500mA (power supply voltage and the motor related)
11, the working environment temperature: -15 ℃ ~ 65 ℃
12, the processor: Dual 32-bit high-speed ARM core processor
13, the sensor: Three rotor MEMS gyroscope rotor MEMS accelerometers and the three
14, the maximum angular rate: 2000°/ sec
15, the maximum acceleration: 16g
16, the control frequency: 2000Hz
17, the motor drive frequency: 20KHz (no noise smoothing driven)
18, the control accuracy: 0.1°
19, the control angle range: -45 °~ 45 °(roll), -135°~ 90°(tilt)
20, pose solver algorithms: PTZ dedicated brushless motor decoupled EKF algorithm
21, for shooting equipment: GOPRO Hero3
Related Part Number:
Head hanging hook TL68A01
GOPRO camera fasteners TL68A02
GOPRO brushless PTZ camera frame assembly TL68A03
GOPRO head roll arm TL68A04
GOPRO PTZ stand arm motor base TL68A05
GOPRO brushless motor TL68A06 PTZ
GOPRO two axes PTZ shock group TL68A07
GOPRO brushless pan rack assembly TL68A08
GOPRO head roll axis brushless motor TL68A09
GOPRO PTZ suspension ball TL68A11
GOPRO two-axis gyroscope ZYX22 PTZ
Specifications:
GOPRO brushless pan rack assembly TL68A08 x1
GOPRO two-axis gyroscope ZYX22 x1 PTZ
Weight: 195g

Hubsan X4 H107C 2.4GHZ with camera

After flying many times the Hubsan X4, and having lots of crashes, the board has been affected somehow. You can also buy the spare board, but I decided to upgrade to the Hubsan X4 with camera, to give it a try, also from banggood.com.

It flights a bit better, and despite being a bit bigger and heavier, it stills hold in the air for 7 minutes or so. It is fast and strongest, as it has been improved to not break easily. It is very rare you need to replace a motor with this quadcopter. The most common fix is replacing the propellers, but you can also buy the propeller protector, really useful.

The camera has low resolution and forget about watching in full screen! You have to keep the quad really quiet on air to have some kind of smooth video, otherwise it seems a bee holds the camera! :) There's a new version with 2MP camera though.

I'll try to upload my own video, but in the meanwhile you can check the video quality here.

Gimbal for camera stabilization

It's time for purchasing a gimbal, it is really difficult to get rid of all the vibrations and jello effect! and I also want smooth scenes independently of the quad movements, so this is the only way to go.

I've been reading about the gimbals for the last couple of months, and there are a lot of models you can buy, it's a mess! Firstable, I'll go for a 2 axis one to reduce complexity. Secondable, an affordable one, I've seen some very very expensives!

Someone tells me to take a look to goodluckbuy.com, there are a lot there, coming from China, and they normally work well.

So, I get this Aluminum Brushless Gimbal Camera Mount w/ Motor & Controller for Gopro2 FPV Aerial Photography

 After a couple of weeks I have it home, but to my sorprise I have received two pieces of the AX1, and I have NOT received the piece BX1 (following the instructions manual) :s.

Noooooooo.... So I complained and they were very quick to answer and agree to send me the correct piece. Another two or three weeks until having it home.

However, in the meanwhile, I start trying to make it work. The manual says no much about how to connect the wires of the motors to the board. There are three black wires per motor, but no labels on them, so I have no clue which one is positive, negative... And I'm afraid to connect it to the wrong position and burn the board :s, if that can happend :p 

After some tests, it seems to be stabilizing the camera. But as it is not doing it perfectly fine, I go for an upgrade.

I donwloaded the driver and the software (SimpleBGC_GUI_2_0b3) to check the version and upgrade it if that's the case. Mmm a new version available! let's try..., it says "installing"... great... why is this taking so long?... still "installing"?... I think something goes wrong, let's just disconnect the usb from the computer and start over. Mmmm why this thing is not making any sound at all? why the software is not recognizing the gimbal! why there's this red permanent light on all the time!! :(

Disconecting the usb while updating/upgrading is not a good idea at all. After reading in some forums, I discovered I've damaged the bootloader! Here you can find instructions about how to fix it. However, I don't understand more than the basics of electronics and have no clue about how to start with this, and I also need to buy some components but don't know for sure which ones...

As I really want to record nic shots soon, I'm thinking of ordering a well known gimbal, and while it arrives trying to fix this one.

Second FPV distance test. After the failed first FPV distance test I go again to try in a flatter terrain to avoid as much obstacles as possible.

This tests make me really nervous! When I start having some noise on the video I start trembling thinking that at any time the screen of the goggles can become white and crash, and probably lost, the equipment.

On this ocassion, I successfully covered 1550 meters without having too much noise on video. I'm pretty sure I could have continued for a bit more, but from that distance I was not able to hear the voltage alarm, so I prefered to come back save and sound!! :)

I would like to time it next time, I'm insterested of knowing the speed the quad can reach.

Setup:

Frame Whirlwind FY450
BL-2830/11 1000kv rotors
20A SK ESC
10x4.5 Plastic HK propellers
KK2 controller board
GoPro H3 black, 1080x60, N FOV
3300mAh 3S 20C battery
Turnigy 9XR transmitter
FrSKY V8FR-II receiver
Fatshark FPV camera
Fatshark Predator goggles
ImmersionRC 600mw Tx
1000mAh 3S 20C battery for video Tx
Plastic landing gear

Welcome GoPro Hero3

Welcome GoPro Hero3! I sold the Hero2 for buying the Hero3. When flying multicopters, and I guess RC in general, every extra gram of weight matters. You don't normally have too many minutes of fligh time, so reducing it to the limit is something to have in mind.

The GoPro Hero3 is not only smaller and lighter. It allows also to record at 1080 and 60fps, or if you need to really slow down the footage, 720 and 120fps is a great choice! There's plenty of info about the rest of the spectifications of the camera on the Internet, the weight and the recording modes were my main reasons

This article of Abe Kislevitz about the GoPro Hero 3 is really worth it. 

This is an example of how to place both the FPV camera and the GoPro in the wood stick I put on the front of the quad. This is an easy way of getting rid of the motors on camera, and facing it down or any other direction.

I still have to replace the propeller of the last crash :) As you can see, these are cheap and also very resistant, but after some crashes they finally brake! :)

Picture from above :)

Aerial footage chasing MTB rider

September 2013. Re-edited video, sorry about the quality. This time I try to follow for the first time a moving objective, a mountain bike rider, using the FPV camera, the goggles, and recording with the GPH3. The challenge here is controlling the speed of the quad so the camera points to the rider at all times, even if he speeds up or slows down while riding up the slope. Also being careful with the low side shots, because as it wasn't a flat scenery it was so easy to crash against the bush.

Using moongel to get rid of jello.

Setup:

Frame Whirlwind FY450
BL-2830/11 1000kv rotors
20A SK ESC
10x4.5 Plastic HK propellers
KK2 controller board
GoPro H3 black, 1080x60, N FOV
3300mAh 3S 20C battery
Turnigy 9XR transmitter
FrSKY V8FR-II receiver
Fatshark FPV camera
1000mAh 3S 20C battery for video Tx
Fatshark Predator goggles
ImmersionRC 600mw Tx
Plastic landing gear

Predator goggles and GPH3 FPV aerial footage

V004. Recording date: 12-09-2013

Re-edited video, sorry about the quality. This is my first FPV aerial footage using the Fatshark Predator goggles and the ImmersionRC 600mw Tx, with Spironet antennas and the FPV fatshark camera. I'm impressed about the feeling of flighing with the feet on the ground. This is one of the most amazing things ever! I use a 1000mAh 3S 20C for the video tx, having more than an hour of battery life.

I've put a 7cm light wood extension on the front of the quad so I can bring the camera forward and solve the problem of propellers on camera. I also try not to record on wide FOV for this reason and to get the more realistic view.

I'm using the GoPro Hero 3 Black for recording (the H3+ already on the market!), which is much lighter and it allows you to test live on your mobile device if the camera is pointing correctly with the WiFi function. However, I don't recommend to flight with the WiFi activated because of the interferences it might cause, in my case the rotors suddenly stopped and I crashed the quad. There's plenty of discussion on the forums about this topic. I've never used the WiFi while flying since then, and never happened it to me again.

Recorded at sunset, I still have to learn how to setup the camera for better quality footage with low light.

Setup:

Frame Whirlwind FY450
BL-2830/11 1000kv rotors
20A SK ESC
10x4.5 Plastic HK propellers
KK2 controller board
GoPro H3 black, 1080x60, N FOV
3300mAh 3S 20C battery
Turnigy 9XR transmitter
FrSKY V8FR-II receiver
Fatshark FPV camera
Fatshark Predator goggles
ImmersionRC 600mw Tx
1000mAh 3S 20C battery for video Tx
Plastic landing gear

Quad crash - propeller brakes on air

You don't always have to crash for breaking a propeller. This plastic ones sometimes break on air!! Here's a good example it happened to me once. It maybe was a bit overused, I'm not sure, I didn't check it properly before flying.

Crash at 50''

I'm not saying I don't recommend them, I totally do. But when you start adding more equipment to the quad (FPV, camera, gimbal maybe, etc), it starts to be very risky. These propellers are not made for big weight! But perfect for training and FPV sessions at a low price.

First distance test with FPV

September 2013. This is the first FPV distance test I try, and it didn't end up really well! The land was not flat, so I didn't take into account to keep the quad at eyesight, and I suddenly lost the video signal. Luckily, I did attach my mobile to the quad and share the position with another mobile, so I could easily find it between the bushes. From that moment on, I'm much more careful when flying! As a result of the crash, only the landing gear was broken! :)

Well, 932m is not bad at all so far!!

The best is to have one of those GPS systems with the return to home features (RTH), so if you loose signal the quad comes automatically to the starting point. I don't have one... yet.

Flying in FPV is just amazing. You can feel a bit disoriented at the beginning with your feet on the ground but at the same time having the feeling of being actually up in the air. Totally recommended!!!!

Starting with FPV with Fatshark Predator and ImmersionRC

August 2013. Now it's time to go one step further and start flying in FPV.

It took me a while until discovering what exactly to buy, reading and asking in forums. As this is not a cheap upgrade, I did want to get it right at once.

So I finally bought the following components:

• Fatshark Predator pack. It includes the goggles, a camera, and a 2S 1000mAh battery.
• ImmersionRC 600mw video transmitter, including 5.8GHZ antennas.
• Immersion RC Spironet circularly polarized antennas, 5.8GHZ.
• 3S 1000mAh 11.1v LiPo battery for the video transmitter

 

 

 

 

With these you have everything you need in order to start flying in FPV. You can also choose not to buy the goggles and purcharse an LCD screen, there are cheap ones out there.

As this frame is a bit small, I've to place one of the batteries unterneath the frame, so I've bought a plastic landing gear from banggood to avoid the components touching the ground. And it is also a good idea in case of having a crash, because it will absorb most part of the impact avoiding brakings.

 

So everything put toguether looks like this

Notice that the wood stick allows me to put the FPV camera on the front, and gives me space to mount the GoPro just behind it with the GoPro mount. So the camera is inside the landing gear (not in the picture now).

 

 

The wire connections of the FPV system are easy. The camera has one wire, that goes to the right side of the transmitter (video, positive, ground). The battery is connected to the black and red wire that goes to the left side of the transmitter.

It is really important, both for the goggles and the video transmitter, to attach the antenna at the first place, and after that connect the battery. Don't do it otherwise!

I also find useful the velcro strap ties, for batteries or whatever you need.

Rock climbing aerial footage

V003. Recording date: 10-08-2013

This recording session has been quite a challenge for me. I didn't have a lot of experience flying yet, it was windy, water underneath, narrow walls, and people watching... 100% under pressure! The spot is really beautiful for hicking, climbing, or just for chilling.

To try to get rid of vibrations and jello I tried this time using moongel inside the GoPro waterproof housing, as some people recomend in forums. It really makes a difference, it's worth a try, but vibrations and jello depends on a lot of factors, so it might work or it won't for you... At the end it´s not worth it to publish this video, because of the quality and all the weird movements due to my lack of experience. Hopefully I can repeat at the same location and make a top one! :)

Setup:

Frame Whirlwind FY450
BL-2830/11 1000kv rotors
20A SK ESC
10x4.5 Plastic HK propellers
KK2 controller board
GoPro Hero 2
3300mAh 3S 20C battery
Turnigy 9XR transmitter
FrSKY V8FR-II receiver

Jello test aerial quad flight

V002. Recording date: 2013-08-02

I recorded this video before I put the wood extension for allowing the camera have different point of views easily. Re-edited video to remove a person that didn't want to show up in the video, but I didn't want to loose the scenes... sorry for the quality. For this video I used the earplugs solution under the camera mount. It doesn't work very well for me though! First flight over water, really scared!

Setup:

Frame Whirlwind FY450
BL-2830/11 1000kv rotors
20A SK ESC
10x4.5 Plastic HK propellers
KK2 controller board
GoPro Hero 2
3300mAh 3S 20C battery
Turnigy 9XR transmitter
FrSKY V8FR-II receiver

Short quadcopter aerial footage

V001. Recording date: 28-07-2013

This is one of my first flights with the quadcopter. I think the original footage is 720x60, and wide FOV. After watching the vibrations, the jello of the video, and the propellers on camera, those problems became my main priority for the following videos.

Setup:

Frame Whirlwind FY450
BL-2830/11 1000kv rotors
20A SK ESC
10x4.5 Plastic HK propellers
KK2 controller board
GoPro Hero 2
3300mAh 3S 20C battery
Turnigy 9XR transmitter
FrSKY V8FR-II receivet

Battery duration, charging and balancing

I've four batteries: 3 x 2600mAh 3S 20C, and 1 x 3300mAh 3S 20C. They last between 7 and 8 minutes, depending on the flying mode, camera on board.

With the charger you can balance the batteries or charge them. Some people charge them and only use the balance option every 5 or so flights, when the difference between the cells is high. I've been doing this for long time, until someone told me the best is to balance them always. There's a lot of discussion as well about this matter, so at the end I guess you do what it works for you! :)

To fully charge/balance the batteries requires about 45 minutes, depending how much you drain the battery :p. I've a voltage alarm that beeps at 3.70 per cell to stop flying and avoid damaging the battery.

Anti-vibration solution with moongel

From the wikipedia, Moongel is a translucent blue, sticky, gel-like substance produced by the drum practice products company RTOM. It has been incorporated into several products and come in packs of four which can applied to a drumhead or cymbal to diminish the higher overtones. It also has become a popular studio technique due to its dampening properties. Therefore, it allows for drummers to get a "punchier" sound of out their toms.

I read people use this as a solution as well for reducing vibrations. So I went to a music store and bought a small box of Moongel. It contains four of five pieces of it.

So the trick here is to put two or three of this pieces inside the GoPro housing, trying to have the Moongel all around the camera so it doesn't touch the housing directly. It's a bit tricky, but play with it! :)

 

 I've also added that wood stick at the front of the quad in order to be able to have different point of views while flying.

I'll see how the whole thing behaves!

Anti-vibration solution with ear plugs

I've experienced lots of vibrations and jello on camera. There's a lot of discussion about this issue on forums. Every part of the multicopter counts for having more or less vibrations or jello. Also the settings of the GoPro have to be taken into account.

I've tried to fly with the camera directly on the quadcopter, but all the motor vibrations are directly transmitted to the camera. I haven't got any video of this part, the result was really bad so I just deleted it :p For this flight, I put a bit of foam around the camera:

So after that I read that ear plugs go well and solve part of this vibrations and jello effect. I've to say that I'm recording in 720 and 30fps, wide FOV, but I've no video of this part neither :(.

I was not happy with the results... still lots of vibrations!!!

But I love that views from the air :)

The real quadcopter arrives!

After surfing the web during a couple of months, reading information about multicopters in forums, I decide to go for a bigger quadcopter and start practicing with the goal of recording video and taking pictures from the air.

I think this field requires a lot of knowledge if you want to build your own quadcopter. At least for me, it seems impossible at this point!!! So I contacted a local store and bought the quad already builded. It is really basic, but I want it for practicing and not worrying too much for the crashes.

This is the setup:

Frame Whirlwind FY450
BL-2830/11 1000kv rotors
20A SK ESC
10x4.5 Plastic HK propellers
KK2 controller board
3 x 2600mAh 3S 20C battery
1 x 3300mAh 3S 20C battery

I have bought the Turnigy 9XR transmitter and the FrSKY V8FR-II receiver from Hobbyking. It is not the most reliable transmitter, of course, but some people told me it is really good to get into RC without spending lot of money at the first place.

The guy at the store configured the transmitter, so I just had to connect everything in order to fly. Easy!

 

I have the V680AC sinchronous balance charger/discharger (specifications here). I really like this one, easy to use and reliable.

Let's fly now!!! :)

The Hubsan X4 travels to Switzerland!

I have now 12 batteries for the Hubsan X4, so I can fly for more than an hour and a half :). This is a great way of practicing for when the real quadcopter comes.

In the meanwhile, I take the Hubsan with me almost everywhere I go and fly for a while. In my last trip, to Switzerland, we both went to Zermatt and hike with the magnificent views of the Matterhorn!

I had a few crashes and broke a motor, so I had to replace it on my way back. You can see how easy this is in the following video:

The Hubsan X4 family grows

One of my cousins got a Hubsan for his birthday!!! Fly Hubsan, fly!!! :)

Hubsan X4, my first quadcopter

The Hubsan X4 has been my first quadcopter :) I had other indoor helicopters in the past

but this Hubsan X4 is really really worth it. I have bought at banggood.com, it takes around two weeks until you receive it, but is not pricy. My transmitter was faulty but they sent me another one really quick.

It has two modes, normal and expert. You don't normally need the expert mode unless it's really windy outside. This quad is small but it flies amazingly well!! It is super fun!! I recommend to purchase at least a 5 battery pack (380mAh) to enjoy flying for a while. The duration of a battery is around 7 or 8 minutes, and it takes 45 minutes for full charge.

I also recomment to buy some extra propellers, and the 5 in 1 charger battery wire. It takes about 3 or 4 hours to charge them all with the wire, but you don't need to check them every 45 minutes, it's just useful.

Please take a look at this video before flying, these tips will save you some bucks for sure!

After some crashes you will notice the quad is not flying properly, or it doesn't stand quiet when trying to keep it at the same spot. You will need to check the propellers haven't been bended, and calibrate it in order to (probably) solve this. Take a look this video to see how to do it:

 I have also bought a soldering iron, tin, and a third arm in order to fix when the motors brake. It is really easy to do, and will allow you to continue flying in no time!