Which transmitter and flight controller?

jbrumberg

jbrumberg

Member
I am a real newbee here, 2 hover flights newbee, but the numbers of what were basically real hover flight times and end of flight battery battery voltages were pretty much in line with what eCalc predicted. There is only so much one can do with a given frame and the useable available components, and then there are the trade offs of all up weight, payload, hover and flight time to consider; so there really should not be anything statistically that significant. I may be talking from where the sun does not shine, but eCalc is a very popular program used by a lot of really experienced builders. I tend to follow the example of people who appear to know what they are doing well. I do what the "Big Boys" do.

Good luck.

Jay
 
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ChrisHigs

Member
That's nice to know it's accurate and I can work out my build properly with it. Obviously an estimate for the frame and I hope I've slightly overestimated rather than under.

My first part has been despatched today, the Taranis. Not many around in the UK, found somewhere with stock so thought I'd get it now. When I have a bit more money I'll order the rest. Hopefully soon as my birthday is looming :)
 

jbrumberg

jbrumberg

Member
Taranis, a really nice beginning. A Tx that one does not have to worry about outgrowing very quickly (or ever). I underestimated my final all up weight. My predicted end weight was 1400 grams; my final total weight (AUW) was <1500 grams. Most of the additional unexpected weight came from the pipe insulation that I used on the landing skids to soften landings and the supplemental support stuff I added to the landing struts.
 
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ChrisHigs

Member
That's what I was going for. I could have gone cheap but didn't see the point later regretting it and wanting something better. If it had been £400, like some others, I doubt I would have bought it.

Had a look at some setup videos for it last night, it can certainly do some complex stuff but looks easy enough to learn the basics of it. I guess I won't know what else I want it to do until I start using it and flying. I'm gonna see if I can connect it to my PC and use it in a sim to get some practise before my build.

I guess every little bit adds up, and hard to think exactly what will be going on the frame and the weights of everything. How much over the basic frame weight does all the extra stuff add? FC, wires, etc. will all add up.

I wonder if my wife won't mind me paying the mortgage this month and buying stuff now ;)
 
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jbrumberg

jbrumberg

Member
Wives do not understand the importance the importance of anything "RC". It "trumps" "PC" by a long shot. :strawberry: It's a gender thing. Psychological research studies in the 1960's and 70's have shown very distinct gender differences. There are gender exceptions; my wife unfortunately is not one of them. Good luck. Jay
 

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ChrisHigs

Member
Haha. Definitely true. My wife would not appreciate this at all. She had a quick go of my Syma heli, crashed it and gave up. I'm surprised she wasn't more negative when I said I wanted to build myself a quad.

My mother in law very kindly offered to lend me the money to buy the rest of what I need until I get the money. Awesome. I think I'll be building it sooner than I thought. Need to get properly researching now. Can't wait :)
 

jbrumberg

jbrumberg

Member
Great M.I.L.!!! Every married man should have a M.I.L. as you (unless M.I.L. has ulterior motives that are not so kind). Good luck.
 

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ChrisHigs

Member
She's pretty good really, most of the time. Has her moments tho ;) I was a bit shocked earlier, mentioned money for my birthday to build my project and she offered to lend me the money.

Thanks, I'll need it I think.
 

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ChrisHigs

Member
Woo hoo. My Taranis arrived this morning. Had a quick look in the box and a hold of it this morning before work. It's rather nice. Need to work out some way to test it now. I assume I can connect it to my old nitro RC car.

Gonna be a long wait before I get the rest now :)
 


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ChrisHigs

Member
It's not 2.4GHz. I haven't used it in 8 years or so and plan to sell it. I night pull a couple of servos off it so I can plug it into the 8XR to see it working.
 
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ChrisHigs

Member
I had a play tonight and got the Taranis controlling the servos of the car easily enough. I unplugged them from the old receiver (which doesn't appear to work anymore - or maybe the Tx but the lights come on) and plugged them into the 8XR. Got it all binded and the sticks controlling the servos and had a play with the weights and expos. Lovely. I really like the programmability of it. I don't think they are good servos though as they always center differently depending on the direction they go.
 


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ChrisHigs

Member
Well I took my first flight using my Taranis last night. In AeroSim that is :) And only for 2 minutes at a time as I don't have a proper USB adapter for it.

I think it's a good thing I am getting some practise first. Wasnt finding it too easy at first and was flying all over the place crashing into everything. Got a bit better after a while but need to practise more. Acro mode is so difficult to fly steadily.
 

jbrumberg

jbrumberg

Member
Practice, practice, practice. It does get easier. I want to go out and fly my "toy" quads today, but it's still too windy around here. They and I do not mind the cold; it's the wind (+5mph/4.3kts).
 

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ChrisHigs

Member
I think I will need a lot of practise. Early days tho, and I usually find these things easier in real life than on the computer. My little heli was crashed so many times at first but only gets the odd bump now.

I was tempted to get a micro/mini quad but thought I might as well use the money for parts instead. They not too good in wind I assume.
 

jbrumberg

jbrumberg

Member
Mini's are a little easier to see; maybe more wind tolerant, but that is debatable. Then one gets into the 3 axis vs 6 axis gyro/accelerometer stabilization "discussion" and wind tolerance. Regardless, due to their size and power they have their limitations. I know how my 3 axis mini quads perform in the wind and I have an relatively accurate anemometer based at my property which is my flying location. I also have an accurate portable hand held anemometer for travel. Up to 3mph (2.6 kts) and my X1's fly pretty well, up to 5 mph (4.3 kts) I can fly, but it is more wind surfing, , +5mph I start to get blown around and out of control. And something to consider- wind at ground/eye level is usually a lot slower in speed and may be of different direction than wind even slightly higher in elevation.
 
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ChrisHigs

Member
You're tempting me to get an X1 or similar now :) Might be a good training tool that won't break as easily. Or that's how I'll justify it to the wife ;)
 

jbrumberg

jbrumberg

Member
SYMA X1's or WL Toys V959's get my votes. They both have large followings at RCG. They both are pretty robust structurally, have decent fcb's, and good motors. Both can bind with the flysky Tx protocol (9X). I think that you would have to get a flysky Tx module for your Taranis though. I have 4 operational X1's at this point (and one MIA). Wifey just gave up on the X1's :grumpy:. She saw bigger :hororr:"RC" battles brewing.:nightmare:
 

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ChrisHigs

Member
The two that I was looking at before. I think I will get one. Yeah, the Taranis needs a module to work with them. Doubt I'll get one just yet. Maybe when I order the other parts, depending how much it is. Why do you have so many X1s?

RC battles could be fun. Equip a fleet of quads with missiles and try and shoot down other quads.
 

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