MultiWii Flight Board

[Crash]

I finally got around to wiring up the MultiWii board that I put together months ago.

The wiring is a bit of a mess because I didn't have an interface board and with it just being a test craft, I did it fast. Bottom line is that it flew well with no tuning. I only flew half a battery but so far I like the board.

I used the old way of doing things because that's the way it was done 5 months ago when I started collecting pieces. It's an Arduino Mini Pro ($20), USB adapter board ($10 or $20), a gutted Wii remote, and a gutted Wii Nunchuck. Everything is shoe gooed together on the back of an old credit card.

I used my Jakub frame that previously held the KapteinKuk board. One of the things I like is the ability to switch to stable mode which uses the Accelerometer to self level.

More Info on the MultiWii setup can be found here:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1340771

 

[DroneBuilder]

Crash -

I'm glad to hear that it flew well "out of the box"! I just put one together today using the Paris 3.0 board, and I have loaded MultiWii 1.7 on there. Everything shows up correctly (I think) in the GUI, and I'm here taking a break before I choose motors and ESC's. I'm notgoing to order new ones - I'm stripping some of my other birds that have not turned out so well.

I'm thinking of using the Exceed RC 30A ESC's from my Mini-KK Hexa (I broke one of the birch-wood arms, anyway), along with EITHER some extra Robbe 2827's (extras for my stock MK Hexa) or some extra Turnigy 2217/20's that I have laying around.

I'll post video if I get it flying!

 

[Buzzed]

Hey Crash glad you got your new bird up and flying. Does the board do a pretty decent job of self leveling?

Oh and could you possibly fly it over this way so I can use that MasterCard? I Need to buy more parts for my projects and your card will work just fine. View attachment 306

 

[Crash]

Hey Crash glad you got your new bird up and flying. Does the board do a pretty decent job of self leveling?

Oh and could you possibly fly it over this way so I can use that MasterCard? I Need to buy more parts for my projects and your card will work just fine. View attachment 534

It levels well. I can snap the sticks and the quad will hit about a 45 degree angle and bounce back immediately. I do need to use a lot of trim to maintain a level hover. It's a problem with my setup that I haven't figured out yet. I ordered a new board that has all the sensors built-in so I'm not going to worry about it too much.

All in all, it's a good setup for a beater or sport quad or for someone who wants to start cheap. The MK battery costs more than this thing.

BTW, I erased the mag strip on the mastercard and cut the numbers out.

 

[Buzzed]

All in all, it's a good setup for a beater or sport quad or for someone who wants to start cheap. The MK battery costs more than this thing.

BTW, I erased the mag strip on the mastercard and cut the numbers out.

Does that cost include the frame too???

I just knew you disabled the card Crash, I was just messin w/you a bit.

 

[Crash]

It's on a Jakub frame that costs $70 I think. You could build this on an old yard stick and plastic tub from the dollar store. So including a 3000mAh battery it was a little more than $200. Motors and ESCs were about $10 each.

The new Quadrino board I bought is from here: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1261382&page=814&highlight=nospam2#post17838612
http://www.declspec.com/quadrino-datasheet.pdf

That was another $150 but it will clean up the wiring and have more and better sensors. (That board is brand new BTW - I hope it works as it should)

 

[DroneBuilder]

That Quadrino Board looks really nice! It seems to address most of the common issues I have been reading about.

That is, I like the fact that the Quadrino has a built-in 5v voltage reglator, so you can just plug your battery directly into it. (I've read posts where folks have problems because they are using the 5v from multiple ESC's BECs.)

I also like the built-in FTDI -- just connect with a mini-usb cord! Very nice.

I like the fact that it has the built-in ITG3200 and BMA180 -- better quality than the WMP and NK gyros and accellerometers. I like the easy addition of battery voltage monitoring and low battery warning . . . dang - I want one!

You say $150. Did you add the Magnometer and the Baro? Does the MultiWii code support these features yet?

Last question: What is the story on GPS hold for Multi-Wii?

 

[Crash]

That Quadrino Board looks really nice! It seems to address most of the common issues I have been reading about.

That is, I like the fact that the Quadrino has a built-in 5v voltage reglator, so you can just plug your battery directly into it. (I've read posts where folks have problems because they are using the 5v from multiple ESC's BECs.)

I also like the built-in FTDI -- just connect with a mini-usb cord! Very nice.

I like the fact that it has the built-in ITG3200 and BMA180 -- better quality than the WMP and NK gyros and accellerometers. I like the easy addition of battery voltage monitoring and low battery warning . . . dang - I want one!

You say $150. Did you add the Magnometer and the Baro? Does the MultiWii code support these features yet?

Last question: What is the story on GPS hold for Multi-Wii?

Yes, I got the baro and magnetometer. The baro support is crude at the moment. I recall there being an accuracy of a couple meters but someone recently posted code that brought that down to 20cm. There is support for the magnetometer in the code. I have no idea how well it works.

From what I understand, GPS hold would need another processor. I wouldn't hold your breath on that one. Openpilot or Arducopter will probably get there first. I could be wrong though - stuff changes fast.

I bought one of these just in case: http://www.dealextreme.com/p/em-411-gps-engine-board-module-with-sirf-star-iii-chipset-80037