DJI naza F450 build

stauntonflyer

Psychopath Labratories

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t.rexxer

Member
Very well done stuantonflyer. How far have you flown away from your ground station? I am waiting for the arrival of my F450 also. Once I perfect my programming and flying skills, I will try FPV. Have you tried goggles? may be an option to your less than perfect 7" tv. :livid:

btw: Love the custom "bic" legs. Very cool. Happy flying and thanks for sharing.
 
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cabojay

Member
Very nice job. Nice and tight and everything looks like you found a good place for it.. Love the fpv Where did you get the fpv? Thanks Jay
 

stauntonflyer

Psychopath Labratories
T. Rexxer,
I just got the ground station and FVP setup together so I have only made a few test runs. I have been probably 500' out from it. I have a weird interferance that cuts in and out that I'm trying to fix. Not sure yet if it is just a weak transmitter or vibration or some such. No goggles yet but I plan on getting a set at some point (the TV was a cheap quick solution).

Thanks Cabojay,
I got the FPV off of ebay It's also cheap and easy way to start.
Link to video setup http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-8G-Video-...adio_Control_Control_Line&hash=item3cc9942d16

I'm still working the kinks out but, should you go this route I would recommend throwing away the cables that connect the video transmitter and the camera. Remove the plug on the camera and solder new wires directly to the board. I had both the cables they sent for camera connection break on me. I actually burned out the input voltage filter on 2 video transmitters (both fixed) due to shorted cables.

Thanks for looking!
 

t.rexxer

Member
I'm all for cheap quick solutions SF. I am even more for learning from those who know waayy more than I do, like yourself. I am a fairly good heli pilot, and MR's seem even easier especially with the naza m with gps, which I have ordered along with my F450 (just came yesterday), but the FPV thing just blows my mind and I am very leary about spending all that $ then doing something stupid, either equipment wise or setup wise, and I have nothing 'cause I flew far away. Sounds like you made some good choices on equipment. I may follow your lead but it seems the MR technology is constantly changing. For example, some pilots stick with 5.8 ghz for the fpv transmitter, some swear that 1.3 is the new way to go. I'm so confused, but if it was easy, everyone would be doing it, right? Thanks for your input. Much appreciated. Let us know how your flights go.

:encouragement:
 

stauntonflyer

Psychopath Labratories
I don't know much compared to others on here, but I'm learning fast.

When you get RTH working it'll give you piece of mind. I was pretty nervous flying till I got the GPS working correctly and my fail-safes setup.

When I was looking at video transmitters I decided on 5.8 because the more common lower frequency I was seeing was 1.2 ghz. I'm pretty sure you are supposed to have an armature radio technician license to operate at 1.2ghz in the states. Lower frequencies are supposed to work better but I just opted for 5.8 to start. Maybe 1.3 is just over the license threshold, I'll have to look that one up.

My only previous experience before this build was a helicopter kit that I got at a yardsale. Took me 8 hours to assemble and flew for 4 seconds before it was a total write off. Naza makes it pretty easy to fly, especially when setup correctly. GPS mode is super stable and very easy to fly in.

I'm going to be doing some tweaking today, maybe I'll get a video uploaded later. I'll post it in this thread if I do.
 

t.rexxer

Member
Well the fact that you have a functioning FPV rig means your doing SOMETHING right SF! :friendly_wink:

I agree, the rth is sooo critical to peace of mind. I have seen many examples of this function on youtube showing the reliability of the Naza w/gps that it sold me to take the plunge.
The frequency thing is somewhat confusing for me for now, but half the fun for me is doing the research and gathering opinions before jumping in. I used to have a novice class ham license (morse code only). Not sure if I must renew it or if I even can but I live waaay out in the boonies so chances are no one will bother me if I go the 1.2 ghz route. But that is for the future.

I have another motivation to do this... my oldest daughter and long time boyfriend finally made it official with their engagement. A May '14 wedding is planned. I am hopeful to have the fpv thing down so I can safely and reliably get some good video footage of the reception (too distracting for the ceremony, but who's gonna fly it while I give my daughter away??) then put it together in a video/music presentation as an after wedding gift for them. Lofty goals, but one worthy of pursuing. Plus, it just looks like FUN!!

My heli experience peaked around 18 years ago. I had a great teacher (who I found out just passed away last summer :sorrow:) and he was a miniature aircraft factory rep/pilot. I had tried a couple of other heli's ( a schluter heliboy i bought new in denver while in the army and a used schluter superior...) and like your yardsale experience both ended badly. My friend finally talked me into a new Miniature aircraft .60 size excel. A bit scarey 'cause of the size, but extremely stable. I actually got fairly good at forward flight and not too bad at nose in, which, to me is the first thing one should master. But, the cost of crash parts for the big bird and the messiness of nitro fuel had me drop it to pursue interests.

Fast forward almost 20 years later, this past December my daughter and future son in law give me a brookstone stunt copter for Christmas and sheesh, the thing is fun. kinda of pricey but with full collective, quite an amazing little bird. She saw a sales guy flying one in the local mall and they sprung for it. She remembers when I took her to fly with my MAS friend. It reminded me how much I enjoyed the hobby back in the day, so bought a Trex 700e dfc for normal flight and a 450 pro dfc to try 3d once the simulator gets old....Then I dove in an got a Heli max 1SQ to see how it feels to fly a quad.... even MORE fun. Then I discovered the FPV thing.. and the "gotta have it" meter was pegged! Haven't even built the helis yet, but I will eventually as you can't really beat them for sport flying. I know guys flip their quads and fly them fast, but my goals are purely cinematic with the quad as well as experiencing the technology the NAZA/gps provides. The level of sophistication available to today's r/c hobbyists just blows my mind!:surprise:

I just started my f450 build yesterday. I purchased a set of legs and the batwing from Yuri at Iris Aerial. Nice stuff. I bought several black arms as I don't really care for the white and the naza LED will be facing backwards, so that should be all I need for orientation until I do the FPV thing. Got a gopro naked (cheap and I here many many unhappy customers who bought the 3 regarding build quality) and ordered a fairly inexpensive undermounting gimbal from a nice swedish guy who makes his own stuff like Yuri. but it hasn't arrived yet It uses one micro servo to angle the camera. Very nice stuff and reasonably priced.

So on with the build.
Ok, sorry for the war and peace story. I get carried away.:dejection:
Good luck on your tweaking and I'd love to see the vid if you make one. I will try to remember to take a few photos of my build and post here to share.
Happy flying SF and thanks again for your input. Much appreciated.
:02.47-tranquillity:
 
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t.rexxer

Member
btw: Amazing low price on your fpv setup. And the ebay link still works. May be just the thing for a newbie like me.
Are you happy with the quality of the video? Thanks SF.
t
 

stauntonflyer

Psychopath Labratories
Quite the background, makes sense that it has led you to the fpv multirotor area. I just saw the batwing the other day, I like It, might look into that for my next build.

You'll get a lot better quality out of a gopro and a undermount gimble. My video quality is kinda poor and I have pretty bad vibration at the moment. The transmitter holds a good signal to 400 feet, gets kinda fuzzy to 1000 feet and starts going out after that. I went to 1100+ yesterday and took a dusk video of my town. For some reason it didn't record audio and I'm trying to figure out the best way to load the video here. This is the story of a build like this, as soon as you get one thing working you find 2 more that have issues.

My setup is perfect for what I want at the moment, just to see what the hell the Quad is doing when I can't see the quad. Definitely not going to video any weddings!

For the first few flights might be a decent idea to slap one of those pingpong balls on one side. Every time I crashed it was because I got disoriented and went full speed the wrong direction. I spent many days in a field just going strait out and strait back to get a feel for it. Nearly destroyed the whole thing the second trip. I came down the field at myself at full speed, went right over my head. I had a pretty good wind blowing in my face so the quad was screaming down the field. I turned around to see where the quad was headed and hit the wrong direction on my radio. I was trying to go forward to slow down but I went back to full reverse heading the quad at top speed strait towards an apartment building. In my panic I managed to hit the throttle wide open and and hit the correct direction. The quad started slowing and climbing and passed right through a 10' gap between the 2 apartment buildings climbed over the roof and returned towards the field As soon as it was over the field I dropped the throttle and managed a picture perfect landing some how. I packed up and headed off in search of a new pair of pants and a six pack.

Good thing you have extra arms I think I have replaced 5-6 now.

Good luck!
 


stauntonflyer

Psychopath Labratories
ignore the voltage warning, I can't seem to keep the gains in my OSD set properly. It keeps changing back to the default I guess, 7.5=12.6 V. Also the directional arrow only seems to work if I'm moving, it just points everywhere when I hover.
 

stauntonflyer

Psychopath Labratories
ignore the voltage warning, I can't seem to keep the gains in my OSD set properly. It keeps changing back to the default I guess, 7.5=12.6 V. Also the directional arrow only seems to work if I'm moving, it just points everywhere when I hover.


Update, I haven't had the video cut out so bad since then. I think the combination of being 1000 up and 1000 out and directly behind my neighbors house really made things fuzzy!
 

t.rexxer

Member
Here is a quick flight video, sorry for the static, I kinda pushed the limits. I got disoriented and nearly lost it for a minute then got real friendly with a tree at the landing. the video goes out pretty bad when I'm behind houses or too far. oh well here it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUn53RzFFl0&feature=youtu.be

Hey SF. Very cool. Any flight you can land safely after is a good one! Looks like you have some jello/vibration issues but all in all, a great learning experience. My f450 is built but waiting for a spektrum y connector so I can bind my reciever and the T1000 telemtry module at the same time. Then I can start programming and hopefully soon after make my maiden flight. This week cold again here in CT but warmer next week. May be a good time to do so. Thanks for sharing the vid.
 

Bit of a brown pants moment there at the end but you brought it back safely! Nice build, I just finished my F450 build last weekend. I have only had time for a short maiden flight and have not flown it FPV yet. Sadly it was WAY too windy today to even attempt another test flight.

I am in Virginia as well, in Franconia. I remember passing through your town as a little kid on my way to summer camp in the mountains. Also the local Sears in your town is owned by a guy I went to high school with.
 

stauntonflyer

Psychopath Labratories
Yea! Quite the "brown pants moment" the quad was behind me at that moment and I watched it through the vid screen. I have alot of vibration and video cutting in and out, but it works for what I'm doing. I have another build in R&D at the moment and will wait for all the upgrades till I go further. :)
 


t.rexxer

Member
I've had many "brown pants" moments with my heli's so I know how you feel. Good save though. Keep on tryin'... you'll get it. ;) Weather cold 0 but and windy here too after a teaser nice weekend. But a few more cold days and the warmth should return with a little less wind. Man it's been a long, cold winter, but spring is around the corner guys, so hang in there. I took a few pics of my f450 but just haven't had time to post them. I'll try before end of week.
 

ama3497

New Member
Hi!

I don't know if i am doing this whole forum thing correctly, but i am having a difficult time with hooking up my electronics with my quad. I have the Naza-m system and the DX5e transmitter with the AR600 reciever. I have followed the videos necessary for hooking up the wiring to the naza, pmu, and the reciever, but i am still getting a ton or error messages saying that the reciever and all of my electrical parts are not properly connected, but they are! And I do not know what to do!

Here is a link to a video of my setup, I sent this video to a mentor of mine and he did not know what the problem was
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGkRLnquG_s&list=UUnoM2Y69c9xtnzJVcalXtYg&index=1

If anyone is willing to help me can you please email me at ama3497@gmail.com
This is for a school project and I personally CNC milled the frame and would love to get this thing flying!
Any help would be very much appreciated! :)
Thank you,
Alex Anderson
 

stauntonflyer

Psychopath Labratories
Ama,

I couldn't really catch the errors your having but I'll throw a touch of terribly uneducated advice out. First did you run through all the calibrations in the software? also, I know that spektrum receivers don't fit well with the naza connector plugs, did you check that you don't have 1 or more upside down? When I hooked my receiver in I had a few plugs that wanted to go either way.

uhhhhhh... that's all I got.
 


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