Year of the quad-copter!!

[Jkieft]

I have been into RC's for a long time, but I have never experienced the complexity and the precision of flying a Multicopter! I have sold every RC car and Heli I own and jumped into the DJI F450 with Naza + GPS + FPV system. I built an FPV ground station using an aluminum case from Harbor Freight! SEE pics. So far flying is good, BUT, I have experienced the "glitching" problem with the motor to ESC bullet connectors. Soldering the bullet connectors seems to be the cure-all for the time being; but that's part of the hobby!

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Joe

 

[hjls3]

welcome Joe - nice looking rig. Are those DJI 10" props? Before too much time passes you might consider upgrading those. I dig your case. Looks like alot of thought went into that. What holds the mono-pod (i think that is what it is) vertical when you are using it? again - nice work....

 

[Jkieft]

Good questions... I am looking for some Graupners as we speak... The monitor is held by a wall/ceiling satellite speaker mount bought from www.monoprice.com (4-pack really cheap, but good stuff). The antenna receiver is a leg from an old aluminum camera tripod. Also, in the case I used a homemade composite aluminum sheet, raised up and anchored with L brackets, for a workable platform and future additions.

 

[hjls3]

Super cool. Do you mount that case to a tri-pod?

 

[Jkieft]

I thought about that but by folding camping table with chair seems to be the best for now. Finally found some Graupners in-stock at on RC-Drones. $12.00 each free shipping.

 

[Roger Ramjet]

Hi there! Do yourself a favor and save a couple hundred dollars... Throw all the DJI props in the garbage!!!! It will break up in flight and will cost you a bundle if it doesn't hurt someone. Guarantee. APC, Zinger and of course the great Graupner will amaze you with the reliability of its performance and the knowledge that you will land with an entire prop. I did not believe and found out the hard way, even with DJI props balanced on a magnetic table. Do not get me wrong, I think that DJI F450 as wellas the F550 are great machines, I owned them both. The NAZA controller and the GPS are great too! But the props..... Happy landings at any rate, this is my opinion based on hard learned lessons. Just trying to avoid this for you.

 

[kloner]

welcome aboard the addiction highway...... as the rotor turns so do the days of our lives

 

[Roger Ramjet]

Hey Kloner!

Really had no idea that you were such a great philosopher... (Ha! Ha!)

Totally agree with you on that one. I always say: ''You may regret an extra hour passed at the office when you die but you will never regret an extra hour of flying!''

 

[Jkieft]

Thanks for looking out for me!! I just put on a set of Graupners a few days ago. I balanced them and it flew great! First thing I noticed was that the motors ran cooler and it held altitude better. I also replaced the acorn nut with a locking nut and an 8mm washer for under each prop. The other question is, do I balance the DJI motors as well? I ran the motors with out the props and noticed slight vibrations. I have a magnetic prop balancer that would work I suppose.

One more thought... I want to add a GoPro camera. Is the the older GoPro HD decent? Or is the HD 2 worth paying extra for? I know it all depends on what I want use it for...I know that you get what you pay for as well. Does anyone have any other suggestions or alternatives to a GoPro equivalent??

 

[kloner]

if all your recordings are during the middle of the day, any of em work alright..... if you want to film around dawn/dusk, golden hour kinda thing, the newer cams coming out look a lot better and are on par with the pricing you like

have a read and look here

http://fpvlab.com/forums/showthread...S15-and-HDR-AS15-Thread-Discussion-and-Videos

 

[Jkieft]

Thank God for the fail safe feature on my Dx7s. I was hovering over my house at about 100 feet in GPS mode. The quad started to glitch and pitch left and took off horizontally out of sight several houses down. I was running my fpv system but not looking at the display. I HAD NO VISUAL ON THE QUAD! I then flipped the fail safe switch and waited. After about 45 second my quad was at the higher altitude and I finally saw it returning. When it was in good sight I took over the controls and landed the ***** no problem. WTF!!?? I did some troubleshooting and discovered that the bullet motor connectors were loose!! I removed the heat shrink and soldered them together, added new shrink and so far no glitches. BUT I still have the jitters when I fly. I have gone 5 flights now problems. Thanks Dx7s...