Originally Posted by cyborgcnc

Hi Bob,



I also understand your comment about investing in a programmer etc....let me tell you, if you are going to embark on this journey of building quads like this, a programmer for PIC's or atmel chips will be a tool you will want in your toolbox!

Hope this provided some guiding thoughts?

I too was nervous about avr programming, but it was really simple. I got this for about $35

http://search.digikey.com/scripts/Dk...e=ATAVRISP2-ND

and was able to easily program a Tiny45 for a shutter controller, an ATmega for an OSD, and now the SuperSimple ESC for faster response. Note that I have zero EE background. Now that people are offering the SMD board this is incredibly simple to put together and very fast response. I think this route has a much faster learning curve than an all-analog version with just 4 gyros.

For those who are interested in re-programming the HobbyKing SuperSimple ESCs, the details are found here and by working backwards:

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...postcount=7024

The ArduIMU+ will not work by itself. depending on your radio, you may need a PPM Encoder. I've built one of these but have not flown it yet.

The ArduIMU + is not a bad investment and will be used with the ArduPilot Mega on the ArduCopter Project that should be available some time this summer. I'm part of the team working on that project.

For now, your best bet is build the KaptienKuk design. It's considerable cheaper ,open source and you'll find a wealth of talent on this thread.

Hope this helps.

Ken

Originally Posted by BloomingtonFPV

I too was nervous about avr programming, but it was really simple. I got this for about $35

http://search.digikey.com/scripts/Dk...e=ATAVRISP2-ND

and was able to easily program a Tiny45 for a shutter controller, an ATmega for an OSD, and now the SuperSimple ESC for faster response. Note that I have zero EE background. Now that people are offering the SMD board this is incredibly simple to put together and very fast response. I think this route has a much faster learning curve than an all-analog version with just 4 gyros.

i was looking at that and had a question - do you build an additional board w/ the a socket for the type of chips you are going to program? kind of like a zif socket for a cpu? or are those, i guess possibly a breakout board it could be called, be purchased for the different chips?

Originally Posted by km28104

The ArduIMU+ will not work by itself. depending on your radio, you may need a PPM Encoder. I've built one of these but have not flown it yet.

The ArduIMU + is not a bad investment and will be used with the ArduPilot Mega on the ArduCopter Project that should be available some time this summer. I'm part of the team working on that project.

For now, your best bet is build the KaptienKuk design. It's considerable cheaper ,open source and you'll find a wealth of talent on this thread.

Hope this helps.

Ken

thanks for the info and the honesty , appreciate it greatly

This might help with programing the chip.

http://www.ladyada.net/learn/avr/avrdude.html

Guys,

As i have had a few PM's asking for SMD boards i thought i would post the current status.

Right now there are test boards heading to KaptainKuk and a few other testers who have working versions of this allready. Hopefully they will receive them sometime this week.
Once they have received them , built and tested them to ensure that the board works as expected i am very happy to get more boards manufactured.

I currently have 2 unallocated boards in my stock which i am keeping for myself at this stage as im awaiting parts to build them. But from what i hear some others will have them built well before me as i still need to order gyro's and build the copter. So I may be willing to part with one more board if someone has the parts and is willing to do some testing for me.

If you are happy to wait until the board is tested i will put up another post giving details on a new batch once the current prototype is tested.

So as a general rule, hang tight and give the testers another week or so and hopefully they will have some news.

Ja, just to add to Scorpie's post as a status update, I am expecting the Through Hole boards in today. Once I have them I will PM everyone who has asked for one to get their address so I can work out the postage to you all. Once done I will just ship them all off.

If more people want the board when my stock has run out, it is quite easy to get more done.

Good news guys. The TH boards have arrived. I will get a photo up later, meantime I will PM you all on the list, asking for your addresses to calculate postage costs. The price for each board will be the at cost of the board (which includes the cover for VAT I had to pay), plus a little extra to cover the cost of one for Jussi and KapeinKuk who have put so much into this project. I will also get a protected envelope for postage and give you a choice of postal options.

Cheers,

Niall

Originally Posted by Niall

Hi guys, do you think that these motors could handle a 12" prop?

http://www.giantcod.co.uk/a220817-11...-p-402708.html

rated at 7A for 60 seconds... probably not

Bob

Originally Posted by Scorpia

Guys,

As i have had a few PM's asking for SMD boards i thought i would post the current status.

Right now there are test boards heading to KaptainKuk and a few other testers who have working versions of this allready. Hopefully they will receive them sometime this week.
Once they have received them , built and tested them to ensure that the board works as expected i am very happy to get more boards manufactured.

I currently have 2 unallocated boards in my stock which i am keeping for myself at this stage as im awaiting parts to build them. But from what i hear some others will have them built well before me as i still need to order gyro's and build the copter. So I may be willing to part with one more board if someone has the parts and is willing to do some testing for me.

If you are happy to wait until the board is tested i will put up another post giving details on a new batch once the current prototype is tested.

So as a general rule, hang tight and give the testers another week or so and hopefully they will have some news.

I just got mine....that was fast!

Will build it during weekend - I have two photo-assignments this week...

Good work - the boards look really nice

Originally Posted by Niall

Ja, just to add to Scorpie's post as a status update, I am expecting the Through Hole boards in today. Once I have them I will PM everyone who has asked for one to get their address so I can work out the postage to you all. Once done I will just ship them all off.

If more people want the board when my stock has run out, it is quite easy to get more done.

Let´s see some pictures when they´ve arrived!

Thanks

Originally Posted by 420RcPilot

I just got mine....that was fast!

Will build it during weekend - I have two photo-assignments this week...

Good work - the boards look really nice

Fast, thats awsome, i was told that europe would probably be 7-10 days, looks like it was 6 including the weekend. AWSOME.

I hope it works for you. some build pics would be great.

Originally Posted by bob.titus

rated at 7A for 60 seconds... probably not

Bob

LOL, I came to the same conclusion and got some smaller ones.

Originally Posted by bob4432

i was looking at that and had a question - do you build an additional board w/ the a socket for the type of chips you are going to program? kind of like a zif socket for a cpu? or are those, i guess possibly a breakout board it could be called, be purchased for the different chips?

I just have a harness with sockets that are labeled. See the attached (messy) picture. The SMD board will have 6 pins that I will build a socket adaptor for.

EDIT: I've since made a press-on connector that I just hold in place while someone else presses the computer buttons to download the firmware. Works fine.

Originally Posted by kapteinkuk

Motors: DT-750
Props: APC 10 x 4.7
Battery: 3S 2200mAh
Yaw servo: HG D250HB
Arm Lengths: 55 cm
Total weight: 1130g without battery

What "C" rating batteries are you using? I was thinking that 2200Mah wouldnt give enough current to run 4 motors. but i guess a high C rating might work.

Also what ESC are you using?