I've suddenly found myself with spare time on my hands at the moment, so I decided to start a blog. Here it is: http://drone-pilot.blogspot.fr/

If you're a noob and just starting out in multicopters and there's something that you want explaining then post your ideas here and I'll see what I can do about writing an article, taking photos or making a video. I make no claims at being an expert and there's a lot of stuff that I don't know, but I will do my best to help out.

I'm currently putting together an article looking at what it takes to get a professional grade Octocopter in the air and also a taking a look at some of the various controllers that I own.

I'm looking forward to hearing all of you suggestions.

Cheers,

LG

Hi, im just staring out building my first quadcopter and just put up a parts list here:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1742885
do you think you'd be able to tell me what you think??

thanks
Dion

I want to know why my kk multicopter board only powers up three of the four motors at 1/4 throttle and why I have to go full throttle to get the fourth motor to power up.

my email is liveone1232003@yahoo.com for any help you can give me.

i'm no noob (anymore 0 but i see a lot of noobs asking the same quistions over and over again.
nice example is the above post. the so called lazy motor 4 problem with KK's.
many noobs experience this problem and others problems with KK controllers such as:
-lazy motor problem
-help my quad flips over as soon as i take off
- i can't arm my KK FC
-how do i program (calibrate) my esc's

and please do some safety topics in there to.

Originally Posted by dgonano

Hi, im just staring out building my first quadcopter and just put up a parts list here:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1742885
do you think you'd be able to tell me what you think??

thanks
Dion

I had a look at your list before and it looks like you've chosen some good items for your first copter.

I think that another poster already mentioned it, but Multiwii/megapirate boards can be a real pain to setup for a beginner, so if you've never flown a multicopter before you won't know if it's your flying skills or a badly setup board if you have problems.

Don't let that put you off though. The learning curve may be steep but it will be worthwhile and will stand you in good stead for future builds.

Safety, Safety, Safety That is my number one tip for anyone new to multicopters. If you have the copter powered up and are playing with any settings make sure that you have the props removed. There have been far too many injuries caused by people working on their copters with the props still attached.

The other bit of advise is to start simple and then build up the features. You need to get your copter tuned before turning on advanced features such as altitude hold and GPS. Don't be surprised if your copter just flies away into the distance if you haven't first set it up correctly for the basic functions.

Originally Posted by liveone

I want to know why my kk multicopter board only powers up three of the four motors at 1/4 throttle and why I have to go full throttle to get the fourth motor to power up.

Are you sure that you have calibrated all of your ESC's correctly? Motors not starting simultaneously is a common symptom of ESC's not being calibrated.

Evar try 1250kv motors on a quad?

Originally Posted by Torque66

Evar try 1250kv motors on a quad?

1250kv motors will work, but you really need to check the specifications of the motor to see what size propeller it can take.

I'm using some 1200kv RCTimer motors one my dividesign spider copter and they work well with 10" props.

http://www.rctimer.com/index.php?gOo...9&productname=

I just went to take some photos of a pro copter for a new article, but my girlfriend didn't put the memory card back in the camera. Doh!

Over 1m motor to motor, this is one big copter!

The question is, how do you know when your no longer a newbie? It's not as if you ever stop learning in this hobby.

If what I have read is correct, the reason people were custom flashing their ESCs in the past is for a higher refresh rate. I have the newer Plush ESCs on the way with Silabs and I read that they already have a high refresh rate.

Is there any good reasons why I would want to flash an Silabs ESC?

Looking to buy a QAV500 next week but struggling with components

ESCs

Pretty much decided that I want Simonk firmware and found the 20 amp one preflashed at rc timer for $11.00 (thanks to the link in your excellent blog). What is the quality difference between similar Turnigy, hobby king, and others? Not afraid to flash atmega or sil if it means I get a better controller. Also is there an efficiency penalty if I go to a 30 amp vs 20 amp controller for the same motor?

Motors

Looking at NX or AX 4008. I understand those motors, like most are simply white labeled but what is a fair quality vs price motor? One has a different mount and bigger shaft 3mm vs 4 mm swinging a 10 x 5 or therabouts. What should I chose and why?

Props

I see all sorts of issues with plastic but want good value and have always hated balancing. What do you recommend? Rc timer seems to have a great selection of carbon fiber ones at a great price.

Control

Planning to get the Naza setup with GPS as well and control the whole thing with an 11xg. Any comments?

Ground station is a future project, would like waypoint navigation. What should I think about now?

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Porthos23

If what I have read is correct, the reason people were custom flashing their ESCs in the past is for a higher refresh rate. I have the newer Plush ESCs on the way with Silabs and I read that they already have a high refresh rate.

Is there any good reasons why I would want to flash an Silabs ESC?

Yes, the SimonK firmware is specifically designed for multicopters and should improve stability. The reason there is so much discussion about the SiLabs ESCs is that Turnigy suddenly changed the design of the ESCs from ATMega to SiLabs, which are a little bit more tricky to flash.

There's now loads of tutorials on how to flash the new Plush ESCs with the SiLabs chips: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1686498

Originally Posted by skripo

Looking to buy a QAV500 next week but struggling with components

ESCs

Pretty much decided that I want Simonk firmware and found the 20 amp one preflashed at rc timer for $11.00 (thanks to the link in your excellent blog). What is the quality difference between similar Turnigy, hobby king, and others? Not afraid to flash atmega or sil if it means I get a better controller. Also is there an efficiency penalty if I go to a 30 amp vs 20 amp controller for the same motor?

Motors

Looking at NX or AX 4008. I understand those motors, like most are simply white labeled but what is a fair quality vs price motor? One has a different mount and bigger shaft 3mm vs 4 mm swinging a 10 x 5 or thereabouts. What should I chose and why?

Props

I see all sorts of issues with plastic but want good value and have always hated balancing. What do you recommend? Rc timer seems to have a great selection of carbon fiber ones at a great price.

Control

Planning to get the Naza setup with GPS as well and control the whole thing with an 11xg. Any comments?

Ground station is a future project, would like waypoint navigation. What should I think about now?

Thanks!

When it comes to ESCs, bigger is better as they will heat up less, so less likely to fail. The only penalty is carrying the extra weight of the bigger ESCs, but between 20A and 30A this is minimal.

I've had a look at those motors and they look like they're more suited to swinging a 12" prop, especially if you're going to run with a 3s lipo. I'm convinced that almost all motors come from the same factory and are just labelled differently, so if you can find one with identical specifications for a lower price then go for it and don't be sucked in by the brand.

I haven't heard good things about the cheap carbon fiber props, so I would stay away from them. If you don't like balancing props then the best that I've found straight out of the bag are by Graupner, but they're not the cheapest. The cheap carbon reinforced props work fine once they are properly balanced.

I really like the Naza and can highly recommend it. Unless they suddenly come up with another add-on for the Naza, I wouldn't expect waypoint navigation anytime soon. I'd suggest seeing how you get on with the Naza and start saving up for your next controller.

Overall I think you've made some good choices there and hopefully will have one really sweet copter when it's done.