Help! Hexacopter Build (First Timer)

[///Gold]

Hey there, came across this forum from a Google search and thought it would be a great place to start finding answers to most of my questions. So basically I'm diving into this new multi-rotor world since it's taking the cine world by storm due to the amazing aerial cinematography/photography you can get out of these bad boys. The best way to describe myself in terms of how I invest in media products is by the price of the actual product, the benefit, the overall use, and the value. As a person that loves media, I am aware of the fact that a lot of the gear is insanely overpriced. And yes, I am also aware of the fact that some of the products are actually worth their cost; but face it, most of us find that at least 1/2 if not 3/4ths of any advanced media gear is overpriced. So I did some research on hexacopters and octocopters and became amazed by them. And of course I stumbled upon the Octocopter brand along with the Mikrocopter brand as well. And yes, the $10,000-$11,500 price tag on those rigs made me laugh. That inspired me to dive deeper into my multi-rotor research. So I watched a lot of videos on Youtube with people's custom built hexacopters and they were surprisingly really good. And in most cases (surprisingly) better than that of the higher priced pre-built ones that are available for $10k+. So I figured for this years project, I should build one (with the aid of my dad of course considering the fact that I'm not the greatest with my actual craftsmanship skills but if you can let me CNC something, I'd do an amazing job on it) I still need some guidance on how to actually get everything I need to build this thing. And if you didn't already assume or infer, I will be using this hexacotper for mostly cinematography (aerial video) and maybe from time to time, flights without a camera just for fun because I like cool things LOL. Anyways, I want it to be a cost effective rig. It pretty much has to be a heavy lifter, but nothing too insane. I just have to be able to lift a D800. And when I get my Red Scarlet soon, it should be able to lift that too. So tips on what motors I should use would be highly appreciated. Also, I did some research on gimbals and I'm really liking the CineStar 3 Axis. It seems really interesting and it also features that new brushless motor technology. So tips on how that would work would be highly appreciated as well. Also, something I really want to have in my hexacopter rig would be that autopilot system. Honestly, the videos I've seen so far on Youtube don't really explain how those things work so I'm kind of lost with that. But the autopilot system is something I really want to have on my rig because I'd want to focus more on the shots than having a second camera operator. And having a second pilot is out of the question because no one in my area knows how to fly anything LOL. I love the idea of setting waypoints; because that way I can just pre-plan the flight route, and re-play that and focus on the shots instead without having to worry about the hexacopter too much. Finally, I'd like some tips on how to even control this whole thing. Let's be honest, those button filled remotes are quite daunting at first. Oh yeah and I forgot, the frame. I'm not entirely sure of how large I should build the frame. So a lot of tips on that would be much loved. So yeah thank you guys, hopefully you guys come across this post because that would be awesome. And expect a ton of videos of this bad boy when I finish building it around next Summer or earlier. Thanks!

 

[FlyGirl]

Hey there, came across this forum from a Google search and thought it would be a great place to start finding answers to most of my questions. So basically I'm diving into this new multi-rotor world since it's taking the cine world by storm due to the amazing aerial cinematography/photography you can get out of these bad boys. The best way to describe myself in terms of how I invest in media products is by the price of the actual product, the benefit, the overall use, and the value. As a person that loves media, I am aware of the fact that a lot of the gear is insanely overpriced. And yes, I am also aware of the fact that some of the products are actually worth their cost; but face it, most of us find that at least 1/2 if not 3/4ths of any advanced media gear is overpriced. So I did some research on hexacopters and octocopters and became amazed by them. And of course I stumbled upon the Octocopter brand along with the Mikrocopter brand as well. And yes, the $10,000-$11,500 price tag on those rigs made me laugh. That inspired me to dive deeper into my multi-rotor research. So I watched a lot of videos on Youtube with people's custom built hexacopters and they were surprisingly really good. And in most cases (surprisingly) better than that of the higher priced pre-built ones that are available for $10k+. So I figured for this years project, I should build one (with the aid of my dad of course considering the fact that I'm not the greatest with my actual craftsmanship skills but if you can let me CNC something, I'd do an amazing job on it) I still need some guidance on how to actually get everything I need to build this thing. And if you didn't already assume or infer, I will be using this hexacotper for mostly cinematography (aerial video) and maybe from time to time, flights without a camera just for fun because I like cool things LOL. Anyways, I want it to be a cost effective rig. It pretty much has to be a heavy lifter, but nothing too insane. I just have to be able to lift a D800. And when I get my Red Scarlet soon, it should be able to lift that too. So tips on what motors I should use would be highly appreciated. Also, I did some research on gimbals and I'm really liking the CineStar 3 Axis. It seems really interesting and it also features that new brushless motor technology. So tips on how that would work would be highly appreciated as well. Also, something I really want to have in my hexacopter rig would be that autopilot system. Honestly, the videos I've seen so far on Youtube don't really explain how those things work so I'm kind of lost with that. But the autopilot system is something I really want to have on my rig because I'd want to focus more on the shots than having a second camera operator. And having a second pilot is out of the question because no one in my area knows how to fly anything LOL. I love the idea of setting waypoints; because that way I can just pre-plan the flight route, and re-play that and focus on the shots instead without having to worry about the hexacopter too much. Finally, I'd like some tips on how to even control this whole thing. Let's be honest, those button filled remotes are quite daunting at first. Oh yeah and I forgot, the frame. I'm not entirely sure of large I should build the frame. So a lot of tips on that would be much loved. So yeah thank you guys, hopefully you guys come across this post because that would be awesome. And expect a ton of videos of this bad boy when I finish building it around next Summer or earlier. Thanks!

Hi! Welcome! How much experience do you have with flying radio controlled aircraft?

 

[///Gold]

Hi! Welcome! How much experience do you have with flying radio controlled aircraft?

Well I basically have 1.3% of experience of flying radio controlled aircrafts. LOL. The last time I flew anything was about 6 years ago. It was basically one of those mini helicopters (at the time, it was the smallest rc helicopter in the world) I learned some basic flight skills from that but I never flew anything else after that. However, I do like diving into things on a professional level; it's pretty much how I dive into any new topic that I'm not really fond of. So with a few tutorials, I'm sure I can teach myself how to fly a hexacopter. And if I'm not mistaken, a multi-rotor should be easier to fly than a traditional helicopter anyways.

 

[FlyGirl]

Well I basically have 1.3% of experience of flying radio controlled aircrafts. LOL. The last time I flew anything was about 6 years ago. It was basically one of those mini helicopters (at the time, it was the smallest rc helicopter in the world) I learned some basic flight skills from that but I never flew anything else after that. However, I do like diving into things on a professional level; it's pretty much how I dive into any new topic that I'm not really fond of. So with a few tutorials, I'm sure I can teach myself how to fly a hexacopter. And if I'm not mistaken, a multi-rotor should be easier to fly than a traditional helicopter anyways.

Well certainly a collective pitch helicopter... LOL! I still have problems with those.... I can't comment on all you laid out since I'm pretty new to multi-rotors too so I'll let those more in the know comment on your plan etc. but I can say you would be ahead of the game by getting a small and inexpensive quad to strengthen your flying skills. You really don't want to be wrecking something that you spent a boatload of money on to build. Much easier to learn basic flight with something small and fairly indestructible. While you are building the big one you can also be learning the basics of orientation meaning training yourself to be automatic on your stick responses so when you have to act fast you don't freeze or make the wrong input. Just my 2 cents and welcome to the forum.

Oh and those little helicopters are like crack... It's what got me hooked!

 

[sixshooterstang]

Start with a blade nano qx or a little bigger sized quad like the blade 350qx, DJI f450 arf with naza, or the walkera QR X350. Parts are cheap and once you really have the hang out it, get something a bit larger and with an intermediate camera setup like Gopro with a brushless gimbal. Then you can try cinema/photography aircraft. After 2 years in this hobby I would have to say that if it were not for those two years fiddling with low cost setups, I would not be able to safely and confidently fly our companies 1 Meter hexacopters.

 

[SleepyC]

Believe it or not, to fly either of the cams you are talking about you are going to be in the $4000 - $6000 range, and MONTHS of tuning on the gimbal to get it to perform properly.
i would highly suggest flying something smaller for a while as no amount of $$$ can replace experience. A little wind, a moment of dumb thumb and your out a $4000 rig and a $2000+ cam!

 

[///Gold]

Start with a blade nano qx or a little bigger sized quad like the blade 350qx, DJI f450 arf with naza, or the walkera QR X350. Parts are cheap and once you really have the hang out it, get something a bit larger and with an intermediate camera setup like Gopro with a brushless gimbal. Then you can try cinema/photography aircraft. After 2 years in this hobby I would have to say that if it were not for those two years fiddling with low cost setups, I would not be able to safely and confidently fly our companies 1 Meter hexacopters.

I've actually been missing around in a simulator and astonishingly I found that the multi rotor was way easier to fly and hover than a helicopter. The learning curve won't be hard for me. Basically I don't start off with beginner things. That's how I approach everything new because I find that starting off with beginner items are a waste of money. Personally I like diving into pro line stuff. I learn concepts faster that way. So yeah, the learning curve won't be hard for me. I'm primarily focused on how to build this rig since it seems both simple and kind if complicated at the same time.

 

[Jareth_Atian]

I'm going to join in with the other folks and highly recommend that you build at least one small rig before jumping into a large/expensive aerial photography platform. If, however, you are determined...

I would note that you're going to need a lot of lifting capacity for the cameras and gimbals that you're hoping to use. I expect that you'll need a fairly large octo- or X8 frame. Choose your motors and propellers based on your planned lifting capacity. For example...For my aerial photography rig, I decided that I was going to be carrying a Sony NEX5R camera and a VX5N gimbal (from gothelirc.com). Since this is less than 700g payload, I figured that I could get away with a hex rather than an octo. I chose a frame based on features that I wanted (folding for storage, relatively easy to disassemble, reputation for low vibration, etc), then weighed out the other components and planned out which motors/props I'd need for the desired weight. In my case, the weight of my craft+cameras+batteries is around 5.4kg. I chose T-motor 3515-15 motors, since 6x T-Motor 3515-15@ 22.2v with 14" propellers: 910g thrust each@50% throttle = 5460g thrust

If you have any specific questions about frame choice, motor choice, propellers, etc...definitely post them here. I'm still a relative newbie, but I'm learning from every failure that I make on this journey.

 

[tstrike]

post deleted, best of luck to the OP.

 

[///Gold]

Believe it or not, to fly either of the cams you are talking about you are going to be in the $4000 - $6000 range, and MONTHS of tuning on the gimbal to get it to perform properly.
i would highly suggest flying something smaller for a while as no amount of $$$ can replace experience. A little wind, a moment of dumb thumb and your out a $4000 rig and a $2000+ cam!

I am aware of the cost, but it probably won't be more than $4000. And it won't take months for the gimbal to be tuned. Like I said, the learning curve won't be had for me.

 

[///Gold]

I'm going to join in with the other folks and highly recommend that you build at least one small rig before jumping into a large/expensive aerial photography platform. If, however, you are determined...

I would note that you're going to need a lot of lifting capacity for the cameras and gimbals that you're hoping to use. I expect that you'll need a fairly large octo- or X8 frame. Choose your motors and propellers based on your planned lifting capacity. For example...For my aerial photography rig, I decided that I was going to be carrying a Sony NEX5R camera and a VX5N gimbal (from gothelirc.com). Since this is less than 700g payload, I figured that I could get away with a hex rather than an octo. I chose a frame based on features that I wanted (folding for storage, relatively easy to disassemble, reputation for low vibration, etc), then weighed out the other components and planned out which motors/props I'd need for the desired weight. In my case, the weight of my craft+cameras+batteries is around 5.4kg. I chose T-motor 3515-15 motors, since 6x T-Motor 3515-15@ 22.2v with 14" propellers: 910g thrust each@50% throttle = 5460g thrust

If you have any specific questions about frame choice, motor choice, propellers, etc...definitely post them here. I'm still a relative newbie, but I'm learning from every failure that I make on this journey.

Thanks for the reply! Lets say I just wanted to lift my D800 for now, would I still need to build an octocopter as opposed to a hexacopter? I was planning for a hexacopter build but if it calls for building an octocopter I will. And the frame, I need help with that. I don't want to buy one because I think it would be more sensible to build one to my specifications. Is there any template/blueprint I can follow to make a frame w=for either hexa/octo? Hopefully I can build it out of carbon fiber. And about the motors; what would be a good site to get them from? I already have a site down for the props, but they don't carry motors which is kind of weird considering they pretty much have everything else but that.

 

[PeteDee]

Do it with a 950 OctoQuad, will easily lift your D800 or an Evo S800 hex with one of the big gimbals.

Looking forward to you posting up some footage.

Cheers

Pete

 

[Jareth_Atian]

Hum. The D800 weighs 900g by itself and most gimbals that I've seen for that camera size seem to weigh at least that much...but you might still be able to get away with a hex, if it's a big one. Like I said before...figure out what weight you need to carry, then choose your motors and propellers accordingly.

Designing your own frame is a heck of an undertaking. I'm afraid that I cannot help you there. There are no blueprints or templates that I'm aware of. I wouldn't try it. Good luck.

As far as motors go...Lately, I've been favoring buddyrc.com. They have sunnysky motors, which have a pretty good bang for your buck.

 

[///Gold]

Hum. The D800 weighs 900g by itself and most gimbals that I've seen for that camera size seem to weigh at least that much...but you might still be able to get away with a hex, if it's a big one. Like I said before...figure out what weight you need to carry, then choose your motors and propellers accordingly.

Designing your own frame is a heck of an undertaking. I'm afraid that I cannot help you there. There are no blueprints or templates that I'm aware of. I wouldn't try it. Good luck.

As far as motors go...Lately, I've been favoring buddyrc.com. They have sunnysky motors, which have a pretty good bang for your buck.

What do you guys think about the YS-X4 Wifi edition by ZeroUav? It seems like the best autopilot system on the market right now with all of those features for under $1000. Definitely better than the Naza from the specs I'm reading.

 

[Jareth_Atian]

The ZeroUAV products look good on paper but I've never seen one in person. I don't know anyone that has used them, either.

I was, at one point, considering giving them a try but I have to admit that the poor English in their manuals (and the fact that their technical support page and Zero Forums have no English at all) turned me away from their products. DJI's technical support is abysmal, but at least they have English FAQ's...

If I spoke Mandarin, though, I definitely would have considered ZeroUAV. The feature list does look impressive.

 

[sixshooterstang]

All of the zero UAv reviews seem ok but if you spend 1000 on a flight board alone then his budget of 1500 is nearly all spent

 

[///Gold]

All of the zero UAv reviews seem ok but if you spend 1000 on a flight board alone then his budget of 1500 is nearly all spent

No I was just saying that the YS-x4 System from ZeroUav offers a GPS package with a ton of features for under $1000. My budget isn't $1,500. It's probably going to be anywhere from $3,000-$4,500. But as of right now, there isn't a cap on my budget.

And by the way, if you guys have never seen the ZeroUav systems in actions, I highly suggest searching some videos on Youtube about them. They're way better than the Naza from DJI.