mRVRsport

Been thinking about getting back into R/Cs... and more specifically into Quadcopters.





I have experience with RC buggies & trucks back in the late 80's to early 90's. Haven't played with any of the new gadgets > 2.4Ghz Tx/Rx, brushless motors, Lipo batteries... But, I'm a fast learner and love to get my hands dirty with the technical details.

Wondering if anyone here who may already have a Quad or similar multicopter that may have similar interests and be willing to share some tips (on what I should get) or more likely what I should avoid.

Eventually, I like to do some aerial photography.





Here's what I think I need to get something together and into the air :

The basics -
Transmitter (TX) & Receiver (RX) [minimum 6 channels]
Multicopter controller (programmable)
Quadcopter platform (I would like to get a carbon fiber chassis)
(4X) Brushless motors
(4X) ESCs
(4X) Propellars
Lipo battery
Lipo Charger/Balancer

Optionals:
Gimbal (brushless w/gyro)
FPV 5.8Ghz headset
GoPro3

mRVRsport

So, here's some of the Tx/Rx I'm looking at (your thoughts?) >

1. Spektrum's DX6 6-Channel DSMX® Transmitter with AR610 Receiver, Mode 2 (SPM6700)
LINK




2. Futaba's 6EX 6-Channel 2.4GHz System with R617FS receiver
LINK

mgb

I'm also a relic of the 80's and early 90's r/c cars, cheap Tamiya buggies for me, my all time favourite was the Kyosho Burns, it was something else at the time and way out of this kid's price range.

Look at those handsets damn! I had a futaba set up actually, 2-ch though ha.

I had a couple of nitro r/c boats up until fairly recently too, good fun but not that practical and pretty much a summer thing as I don't want to be out on the water in winter. I'd have a blast with them while out on my big boat but they're dirty, noisy and tippy so I got rid in the end.

I'm glad you called these quadcopters instead of the stupid new title of 'drone', can't help you on these but they are interesting.

TEXAS TRAVISTY

what would a full setup like the one holding the Go Pro hero run? minus the Go Pro I have that already.
They are awesome looking I saw that the national parks are banning them.... not sure why. The footage these thing can capture is quite amazing, drastic changes in levels mixed with the Go pro's super hi def 180 fps would create some cool film.

mgb

Spoiling the peace and quiet, interference with fragile species like Falcons etc would be my guess. It would be a bit **** if you were sitting there admiring Yosemite Valley and there's 20 of these in the sky taking pictures.

TEXAS TRAVISTY

yeah I can see that

Burtonrider1002

My uncle does RC helicopters, and my cousin does quad copters. They're both a blast to watch, and I'm sure to fly. The RC choppers are a lot less forgiving, and get quite expensive quick.

mRVRsport

Ah.. good ol' Tamiya..
I started out with the very early Grasshoppers as my first R/C buggy and a simple Futaba 2 channel box. Then graduated to the R/C10s (gold tub) and a pistol-grip Futaba controller. You got to love those "fishing rod" antennas!

Back then.. I remember seeing the first Schumacher 4WD buggy with its $499 price tag (that's with NO motor, ESC, or any other electronics) and was blown away by it's Fully independent suspension & belt-drive system and extremely light weight chassis in its day . Talk about being way out of a kid's price range!


Never got into boats but did try my hand at building a sail boat out of styrofoam (age 11)... I had it tied to a spool of string and the thing was doing so well sailing toward the middle of the lake, I didn't see that I was quickly running out of string... Well, let's just say it made it all the way to the center of the lake and I was never able to retrieve it.


I hear you on that "drone" name calling..
News Media loves to blow anything out of proportion if they can get their ratings up.
Funny thing is they don't bother to call R/C planes or helis that and they've been around forever.

mRVRsport

The price varies quite a bit really... What you see above is a custom job.

But, for a "basic" quad system (Pre-fabbed, But NO gyro-camera gimbal, No TX/Rx, Lipos or other support electronics) will run you about $750 minimum. Something like the 3DR Iris (LINK) >


With gimbal (~$1004)




There are some nice chinese pre-fab quads that's becoming very popular like the DJI Phantoms -
This model (Phantom v.1) has the Go-Pro mount (static) AND transmitter Included, RTF** ~$480, LINK >


Phantom v.2 + H3-3D (gyro gimbal mount) ~$960, LINK >





Personally, I'm planning on building from scratch. So, I can learn how to setup and program it. Eventually I would like to have it with GPS and Autopilot functions.

My budget is around 600-800 for everything..
Definitely want to keep it under 1K for now.




**RTF = Ready To Fly

mRVRsport

Agreed!




I AM SO JEALOUS!

Man, looking at your uncle's Full array of helis... he's dedicated!
That TRex 550 alone cost a small fortunate! I can't imagine how much money he's put into those larger scale helis.

You got to get some photos of your cousin's quads too!!!

mRVRsport

Some guys have way Too Much Fun!

This is like having an outter body experience.. to fly around yourself like this. >

Object avoidance sensors >

mgb

Are they streaming video live to the 'pilot'? Can't imagine anything else really looking at the flights they've taken.

mRVRsport

Yes.
The technique is called FPV (First Person View) and they usually use technology gear from Fat Shark: Predator, LINK. It runs in the 5.8Ghz spectrum, so the live feeds is quite good & in near realtime.

Technical Details, HERE.

TEXAS TRAVISTY

check out the Skyzone FPV goggles

mRVRsport

Okay..

They are cool. But, to walk around with them on all the time is a bit too Nerd >


Holy smokes!
It's $800 for the glasses & camera package..