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Main reason The reason why people are interested in assembling quadcopters is the desire to save money on purchasing an original device. However, this is not the only reason. Many are interested in this issue, since the hobby of flying a UAV grows into something more, for example, participating in quadcopter races, and winning them is possible only by practicing as often as possible and refining the design of your flying drone.

Assembly of the finished kit

Those who really want it have the best chance of assembling a quadcopter with their own hands. To simplify this task to simple assembly, you need to acquire the appropriate set of parts. Their cost is several times lower than that of RTF-style quadcopters. The reason for this is that the user is responsible not only for assembling the structure, but also for firmware, calibration and fine-tuning of the device. The main advantage of such kits is that there is no need to select the power of motors, chips and body weight.

There is also no point in worrying about the balance of the design, which directly affects the behavior of the device in the air. In this case, the quadcopter will have all the planned characteristics, including speed and flight time. When choosing a kit, you can choose whether the quadcopter will be monolithic or collapsible, i.e. modular. The latter option will be of more interest to those who want to have a fairly large, but at the same time easily portable model. It is worth noting that such models often have a very aggressive and unattractive design.

This is because the kit does not include an external casing, which serves as both protective and decorative functions. The assembly sequence of such structures is indicated in the instructions supplied with the kits of parts. Typically, the assembly of such quadcopters begins with the installation of complete motors on an exoskeleton made of plastic, metal or carbon. Following them, PIN cables are installed, which act as power regulators for the installed motors. Next, the signal receiver and the main brain center - the control module - are attached to the body.

At the end of the assembly, a battery, clamps, LEDs and other modules are installed that distinguish the model from others. On this step by step assembly ends, and all the fun begins, namely the process of flashing the device, its calibration and fine-tuning, which, depending on the component manufacturer, can last from half an hour to three hours. It is important that the battery is fully charged at the time of flashing. Otherwise, this process may fail.

Assembly from scrap materials

It’s unfortunate, but it’s still not possible to assemble a full-fledged quadcopter entirely from scrap materials. In any case, you will have to purchase a kit of parts. But you can buy them not as a whole set, but take only the most necessary ones. These include motors, propellers, a control board with a receiver, and a battery.

This is all that is needed to simply lift the quadcopter into the air and control it using the equipment. In order to prevent this set of components from falling into pieces in the air, it is necessary to secure them to a durable but lightweight body. You can make it from scrap materials. Anything can be used, from ice cream sticks to plastic caps and bottles.

As for additional purchases, you will also need to purchase equipment, since without it it will be extremely difficult to control the assembled device. You can find a quadcopter diagram online, or come up with it yourself. When creating a hull, it is worth remembering flight qualities, balance, stability and lightness of construction.

Otherwise, the device may turn not into a UAV, but into a crawling mini fan with remote control. It will be possible to refine the created design endlessly, so during the first assembly you don’t have to try too hard, so as not to lose interest during the work.

To make the technical part as balanced as possible without using complex calculations, you can use a little trick. You can select a specific common model and order components for it from the basic list. When ordering, it is important to specify the details correctly. So, the order list should contain 2 motors of right rotation and 2 left rotation.

They must be paired with appropriate screws - right-handed and left-handed. Otherwise the device will not function. There is always a possibility that when assembling parts, defective blanks may be encountered, so some can even be ordered in duplicate in case of replacement. Unlike the factory kits described above, such a device cannot be assembled from ordinary parts with bare hands and a screwdriver. You'll have to work with a soldering iron, glue gun, electrical tape and double-sided tape.

This is the only way to get the desired quadcopter. Once a working model is obtained, it can be upgraded at your discretion. Add antennas, LEDs, beepers (tweeters) and other parts that increase the functionality of your home quadcopter.

Step-by-step assembly of a quadcopter with your own hands: main advice

Before you rush headlong into assembling your own quadcopter, evaluate your strengths without looking away from reality. Consider not only your ability to work with such a dangerous tool as a soldering iron, but also your financial capabilities, i.e. how much money you can spend on components for the quadcopter without compromising personal budget. And only after that start active activities.

You can buy excellent quadcopters at - free shipping in Russia and the CIS, good prices!

Useful videos on how to assemble a quadcopter with your own hands


  • Tutorial

I have described the entire assembly and configuration process, and below there will be a slightly modified version containing more information from my previous articles.

I’ll leave the question of getting into this hobby out of the question and move directly to the quadcopter.

Choosing a quadcopter size

A year ago, 250-size quadcopters were the most popular. But now pilots prefer to assemble smaller devices, which is very reasonable: the weight is less, but the power is the same. I chose the 180 size not for any practical reasons, but as a kind of assembly challenge.

In fact, this approach to selection is not entirely correct. It is much more reasonable to first choose the size of the propellers, and then, under them, the smallest frame into which the selected propellers will fit. And with this approach, the 180 format is generally rejected. Judge for yourself: the 210 format allows you to install the same 5-inch propellers as the 250, while the quad itself is lighter, and 4-inch propellers fit into 160 frames. It turns out that the 180th size is an intermediate format that is “neither ours nor yours.” It can also be considered a weighted 160. But, nevertheless, I chose him. Perhaps because it minimum size, capable of towing more or less comfortably GoPro camera or Runcam.

Accessories

Let's start with the engines. The “intermediate” size of 180, as well as the richness of their range, makes the choice difficult. On the one hand, you can take what goes on the 160s, on the other hand, what is installed on the 210s or even 250s. You need to start from the propellers and batteries (number of cans). I don't see the point in using a 3S battery, but for the propellers general rules are:

  • you need maximum static thrust - increase the propeller diameter and decrease the pitch (within reasonable limits)
  • needed high speed- reduce the diameter and increase the pitch (within reasonable limits)
  • you need high thrust with a small diameter - add the number of blades (again within reasonable limits, since if the difference between two- and three-bladed propellers is noticeable, then between three- and four-bladed ones it is not so big)

In my case, I have a 4" propeller size limit, but no motor limit. This means that the smartest thing to do would be to use three-bladed 4045 bullnose propellers. They are difficult to balance, but they make the controls more responsive and predictable, and the sound is quieter. On the other hand, with two-blade propellers the speed of the quadcopter is higher, but I definitely don’t need that. “People” use the following setups on 180 frames:

  • lightweight with 1306-3100KV motors, conventional 4045 propellers and 850mAh battery
  • heavy and powerful for three-bladed bullnose propellers and an action camera with 2205-2600KV motors and 1300mAh battery

In fact, the frame allows you to install motors from 1306-4000KV to 22XX-2700KV. By the way, I don’t know why, but 1806-2300KV motors are now out of favor and little used.

For my quad, I took the motors - RCX H2205 2633KV. Firstly, I wanted to have a power reserve (although with my modest piloting skills, it’s not clear why). Secondly, my setups have never turned out to be super-light, in addition, I also plan to carry an action camera. Specifically, RCX motors are a compromise option. They are cheap, but there are many complaints about the quality. At the time of purchasing the components, these were one of the few 2205-2600KV motors on the market. Now (at the time of writing) the assortment is much larger and it is better to choose something else.
With the rest of the components I acted on the principle of “more challenge”:

Selecting a flight controller

You may have noticed that there is no flight controller on the list. I would like to describe his choice in more detail. Inexpensive building kits often include a CC3D controller, so now this is perhaps the cheapest PC. There is absolutely no point in buying CC3D today. It is outdated and does not have such necessary things as battery control and a beeper. Its successor, CC3D Revolution, is a completely different product with rich capabilities, but also a price of over 40 €.
Modern flight controllers have already switched from F1 to F3 processors, making the Naze32 a last-generation PC and significantly reducing its price. Now this is truly a people's controller, which has almost everything your heart desires for a price starting from 12 €.
Of the new generation PCs, Seriously Pro Racing F3 is the most popular, primarily due to the availability of inexpensive clones. The controller itself is in no way inferior to Naze32, in addition it has a fast F3 processor, large number memory, three UART ports, built-in inverter for S.Bus. It was SPRacingF3 Acro that I chose. Other modern PCs were not considered due to price or some specific features(closed firmware, layout, etc.)
Separately, I would like to note the currently fashionable trend of combining several boards into one. Most often PC and OSD or PC and PDB I do not support this idea with a couple of exceptions. I don't want to have to replace the entire flight controller because the OSD is burned out. Moreover, as practice shows, sometimes such a union brings problems.

Wiring diagram

It is clear that all components that need 5V or 12V power will receive it from the BECs of the power distribution board. The camera could theoretically be powered directly from a 4S battery, since the input voltage allows this, but in no case should this be done. Firstly, all cameras are very susceptible to noise in the circuit from the regulators, which will result in noise in the picture. Secondly, regulators with active braking (such as my LittleBees), when this braking is activated, give a very serious impulse to the on-board network, which can burn the camera. Moreover, the presence of an impulse directly depends on the wear of the battery. The new ones don't have it, but the old ones do. Here's an educational one video on the topic of interference from regulators and how to filter them. So it is better to power the camera either from the BEC or from the video transmitter.
Also, for the sake of improving picture quality, it is recommended to connect not only the signal wire, but also the ground wire from the camera to the OSD. If you twist these wires into a pigtail, the ground acts as a shield for the signal wire. The truth in in this case I didn't do this.
Since we are talking about “ground”, people often argue about whether it is necessary to connect the “ground” from the regulators to the PC or whether one signal wire is enough. On a regular racing quadcopter it definitely needs to be connected. Its absence can lead to synchronization failures ( confirmation).
The final wiring diagram turned out to be simple and concise, but with a couple of nuances:

  • power supply of the flight controller (5V) from the PDB via outputs for regulators
  • power supply of the radio receiver (5V) from the PC via connector OI_1
  • video transmitter power supply (12V) from PDB
  • camera power supply (5V) from video transmitter
  • OSD connected to UART2. Many people use UART1 for this, but like on Naze32, here this connector is paralleled with USB.
  • Vbat is connected to the PC, not to the OSD. In theory, battery voltage (vbat) readings can be read on both the OSD and PC by connecting the battery to either one or the other. What's the difference? In the first case, the readings will be present only on the monitor screen or glasses and the PC will not know anything about them. In the second case, the PC can monitor the battery voltage, inform the pilot about it (for example, with a beeper), and also transmit this data to the OSD, to the “black box” and via telemetry to the remote control. It is also easier to adjust the accuracy of readings via a PC. That is, connecting vbat to the flight controller is much preferable.

Assembly

To begin with, a few general advice for assembly:

  • Carbon conducts current. So everything needs to be well insulated so that nothing shorts to the frame anywhere.
  • Anything that protrudes beyond the frame is likely to be broken or torn off in an accident. In this case, we are talking, first of all, about connectors. Wires can also be cut by a screw, so they too must be hidden.
  • After soldering, it is highly advisable to cover all boards with insulating varnish PLASTIK 71, in several layers. By own experience I will say that applying liquid varnish with a brush is much more convenient than coating with a spray.
  • It wouldn’t hurt to drop a little hot melt glue on the places where the wires are soldered to the boards. This will protect the soldering from vibrations.
  • For everyone threaded connections It is advisable to use Loctite medium hold (blue).

I prefer to start the assembly with the motors and regulators. good video on assembling a small quadcopter, from which I adopted the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe arrangement of motor wires.

Separately, I would like to say about mounting the regulators: where and with what? They can be mounted on the beam and under it. I chose the first option, since it seems to me that in this position the regulator is more protected (these are my speculations, not confirmed by practice). In addition, when mounted on a beam, the regulator is perfectly cooled by air from the propeller. Now let's talk about how to secure the regulator. There are many ways, the most popular is double-sided tape + one or two zip ties. “Cheap and cheerful”, and dismantling will not cause any difficulties. The worse thing is that with such fastening you can damage the regulator board (if you put a tie on it) or the wires (if you fasten it on them). So I decided to mount the regulators heat shrink tube(25mm) and soldered them together with the beams. There is one caveat: the regulator itself must also be in heat shrinkage (mine were sold in it) so that the contacts do not come into contact with the carbon fiber of the beam, otherwise there will be a short circuit.

It also makes sense to glue a piece double sided tape from below on each beam in the place where the motor is mounted. Firstly, it will protect the motor bearing from dust. Secondly, if for some reason one of the bolts comes loose, it will not fall out during the flight and will not be lost.
When assembling the frame, I did not use a single bolt from the kit, since they were all indecently short. Instead, I bought it a little longer and with a head for a Phillips screwdriver (this is a personal preference).

The camera did not fit widthwise between the side plates of the frame. I slightly processed the edges of its board with a file (rather, I sanded off the rough edges) and it stood up without any problems. But the difficulties did not end there. I really liked the quality of the camera holder from Diatone, but the camera with it did not fit into the frame in height (by about 8-10mm). At first I attached a holder to the outer (top) side of the plate through a neoprene damper, but the design turned out to be unreliable. Later came the idea of ​​making it as simple and reliable fastening. I took only a clamp from Diatone's fastening and put it on a piece of rod with M3 thread. To prevent the camera from moving sideways, I secured the clamp with nylon sleeves.

I really liked that the only connectors on the PC I had to solder were the connectors for the regulators. Full-fledged three-pin connectors did not fit in height, so I had to resort to a trick and use two-pin ones. For the first five channels (4 for regulators + 1 “just in case”) I soldered the connectors to the signal pad and ground, for the remaining three - to the plus and ground, so that the PC itself could be powered and from it - backlight. Considering that Chinese clones of flight controllers suffer from unreliable fixation of the USB connector, I soldered that too. Another feature characteristic of the SPRacingF3 clone is the tweeter connector. As in the case of vbat, on the upper side of the board there is a two-pin JST-XH connector, and on the lower side it is duplicated with contact pads. The catch is that the clone has a constant ground on the connector and when using it, the beeper will always be activated. The normal working ground for the tweeter is connected only to the contact pad. This can be easily checked by a tester: the “plus” of the connector is connected to the “plus” on the contact pad, but the “minus” is not connected. Therefore, you need to solder the wires for the “beeper” to the bottom side of the PC.

The three-pin connectors of the regulators also had to be replaced. It was possible to use four two-pin plugs, but instead, I took two four-pin plugs and inserted the “ground” of all regulators into one, and the signal wire into the second (observing the order of connecting the motors).

The backlit plate is wider than the frame and protrudes from the sides. The only place where the propellers won't knock it down is under the frame. I had to do some collective farming: I took long bolts, put nylon couplings with pre-made slots on them (so that the ties securing the lighting could be fixed) and screwed them through the bottom plate into the frame posts. I used zip ties to attach a plate with LEDs to the resulting legs (the holes in the plate fit perfectly) and filled the ties with hot glue. WITH back side plates soldered connectors.
After assembly, at the setup stage, it became clear that something was wrong with the tweeter. Immediately after connecting the battery, it began to squeak monotonously, and if you activated it from the remote control, then this monotonous squeak was superimposed on a rhythmic one. At first I made the mistake on the PC, but after measuring the voltage with a multimeter, it became clear where exactly the problem was. In fact, it was possible from the very beginning to connect a regular LED to the tweeter wires. As a result, I ordered several tweeters at once, listened to them and installed the loudest one.

Often the PDB and controller are attached to the frame with nylon bolts, but I don't trust their strength. So I used 20mm metal bolts and nylon couplings. After installing the PDB, I soldered the power supply to the regulators (the rest of the wires were soldered in advance) and filled the soldering areas with hot glue. Main power wire, going to the battery, I secured it to the frame with a tie so that it would not be torn out in the event of an accident.

I removed all connectors from the receiver with wire cutters, except for the required three, and soldered the jumper between the third and fourth channels directly on the board. As I wrote above, it would be wiser to take a receiver without connectors. I also unwrapped his antennas and heat-shrink them. On the frame, the receiver fits nicely between the PBD and the rear rack. With this arrangement, its indicators are clearly visible and there is access to the bind button.

I secured the video transmitter with zip ties and hot glue to the top plate of the frame so that through the slot there was access to the channel switching button and LED indicators.

There is a special hole in the frame for mounting the video transmitter antenna. But you should not connect it to the transmitter directly. It turns out to be a kind of lever, where one arm is the antenna, the other is the transmitter itself with all the wires, and the place where the connector is attached will be the fulcrum, which will bear the maximum load. Thus, in the event of an accident, with almost 100% probability, the connector on the transmitter board will break off. Therefore, you need to attach the antenna through some kind of adapter or extension cord.

I decided to solder connectors to MinimOSD rather than solder wires directly. They write on the forums that this board often burns out, so it is wise to immediately prepare for a possible replacement. I took a strip with connectors in two rows, soldered the lower ones to the contact pads with holes, and brought vIn and vOut to the upper ones. After that, I filled the solder joints with hot glue and packed the entire board in heat shrink.

The final touch is a sticker with a phone number. It will give at least a little hope in case of loss of the quadcopter.

The assembly has now come to an end. It turned out to be compact and at the same time maintain access to all the necessary controls. You can see more photos

Everyone brainiacs, brain hello! For a long time, people have been dreaming of flight, of free soaring in the sky, but so far this is not achievable, although... let's try to fix this a little and let's do it ourselves simple quadcopter.

KK2.1
This is probably the first thing you will find when searching for a flight controller online. It is based on an AVR microcontroller, has an LCD display that allows you to program it without connecting to a PC, and also has an MPU6050 as a sensor. You can program it using your own firmware, but for this you will need an AVR ISP programmer, since it does not have outputs on the board. It is also cheap and requires manual settings and is perfect for experienced pilots.

KKMulticontroller
This is something unique in the line of controllers! It is based on Atmel AVR (168p), which is good, but I think the controller is no longer supported, since their website is closed. Maybe they switched to 32-bit quadcopters or something else. The controller itself is outdated, it uses Murata Gyros to orient the position in space, the sensors are not interconnected, the gyroscope is analog, arrow attachments are used for adjustment, that is, everything is simple, but old...

For your brain games I picked OpenPilot CC3D because of how easy it is to set up.

Step 7: Control Panel

Managed homemade, of course, with a wireless control panel. Their choice is quite large, from expensive ones - Futaba, Spektrum, to cheap ones - Turnigy and Flysky.

The number of remote control channels means the number of control signals transmitted, we need at least 4 channels:

Throttle
Yaw (rotation about Z axis)
Pitch (rotation about the Y axis - axis passing through the left and right sides)
Roll (rotation about the X axis - the axis passing through the front and back of the copter)

In the future, for use on a quadcopter - homemade The video camera will need more channels, so I chose the 6-channel Flysky. It's a cheap remote control, but it's not suitable for long-range flights. So, according to our budgetary capabilities, we choose a remote control for crafts.

Step 8: Mounting the Flight Controller


The remote control and flight controller are selected, all that remains is to attach this controller to the quadcopter frame, add the battery and begin calibration brain games. We attach the controller to the top of the frame with zip ties, with the arrow on the controller located along the X axis. Another point, to dampen the vibrations of the motors, we place a regular sponge between the frame and the controller.

Step 9: Connecting and Setting Up Electronics

According to the instructions, we connect the flight controller, speed controller and control panel. And the following video will help you with this:


And if you have a Flysky remote control, then this video:

Step 10: Testing

Before the first flight, all components must be tested using the OpenPilot GCS control system. It has a display that makes it convenient to test sensors and other components. So, we remove the propellers and use the remote control to check the functioning of all parts homemade products.

I also checked the range of the remote control by placing the quadcopter nearby and at a considerable distance. And the correct functioning of the propellers can be recognized by the characteristic sound when they rotate.

Step 11: And finally: flight

A quadcopter is fundamentally a dangerous device that can cause serious damage if used incorrectly, so be careful and responsible when operating it!

We hang the battery at the bottom of the frame, connect it and place it crafts on open place. Then, from a safe distance from the quadcopter, we begin a gradual launch brain craft And. If you feel that craft When lifting, it falls off and floats to the side, then correct this by attaching the appropriate arrows. Once you have achieved a stable climb, check how the quadcopter responds to the remote control commands and adjust the PID values ​​to get the desired response.

And now congratulations, you have created your own quadcopter from scratch with your own hands!


I'm interested in quadcopters. I decided to place an order, the choice fell on the Habsan x4 with a 0.3MP camera.
I waited and received it. I flew it quite a lot (there were crashes, long waits for spare parts and repairs). The idea came to my mind to build a large quadcopter, I plunged into this topic, and re-read many articles. Whenever possible, I answered questions from people in the Rc modelers group: regarding the selection of parts, assembling the quadcopter. From all this the idea to write this article arose.
Flight principle


So, If you decide to build your own quadcopter, then you need to decide on a budget. The size depends on the amount you are willing to spend on this Miracle. The most common sizes (in mm) are 250,330,450,550 and more.
*250 size: small, light, most often used only for FPV flights.
*330 and 450 the golden mean for a budget quadcopter. Acceptable weight and assembly price.
*550 and more can be classified as professional copters or multirotors. Such machines will turn out to be heavy and expensive. For these aircraft there will be powerful engines and they can carry a decent amount of weight, up to kilogram DSLRs.
I will continue my story based on a 450 scale copter.
A special place in this category is occupied by the DJI 330 and 450 and TBS Discovery frames.


Their price is appropriate...high.
There are many clones, and I chose this one.


It's time to find out what is it quadcopter and what it consists of.
1. Frame
2. Receiver/Transmitter
3. Flight controller:
a) AIOP
b) NAZA
c) MuliWii
d) HKPilot
e) AMP
f) And others

4. Power plant
a) Motor
b) Speed ​​controller
c) Propellers
5. Battery
6. Add. Equipment:
a) FPV system (first person view in real time)
Heading camera
Transmitter
OSD
b) Gimbal for on-board camera
c) Backlight

Now we can look at everything in detail.
1) With frame have already decided. 450 scale, TBS clone.


2) Receiver/Transmitter. Its choice is very important. You need to understand for yourself: how far you want to fly.
The most popular options:
 1.5-2 km will provide 2.4 GHz
 433 MHz will provide about 5-10 km (it all depends on the power, you can fly 20 km)
For myself I chose 2.4 GHz FlySky Th9x 9 channels



Not expensive and easy to set up equipment.
A quadcopter requires at least 5 channels.
The choice of this equipment is due to its popularity, how long it has been on the market. There are many clones. There is a lot of debate about which company was the first, this is the same Turgiga 9, Avionix and others... There are a lot of settings on the Internet.
3) Flight controller
On at the moment there are a lot of flight controllers for quadcopters. I made my choice. This Naza Lite with GPS

Not very expensive and angry. Naza requires minimal setup and is very easy to do.
With AIOP, Crius and MultiWii controllers it will be many times more difficult, especially for a beginner.
Why did I take a controller with GPS?
This function is necessary for hovering at a point and returning home.
I see it very convenient functionality.
4) Power plant
Raises many questions among the uninitiated.
BC motors are used. They are three phase (3 wires), their efficiency is about 90%.
To control the rotation speed of such a motor, a speed controller (regulator) is used, which receives commands from the flight controller.

Let's consider frames 330.450mm. Depending on your needs, you need to estimate the weight of the quadcopter. On average it turns out from 1k to 1.5kg. It is desirable that the thrust of the motors be 2-2.5 times the total mass. This suggests that the thrust should be 2-3 kg. We divide this by 4 and get the thrust of one motor: approximately 500-750 g.
The question arises: which engine to choose? We look at the characteristics of the frame: we are interested in what engines can be installed in it. The first 2 digits should be of interest: 22 or 28 in most cases.
Let's start choosing an engine. You will see a certain value next to the engine name, for example: 1100kv. This value indicates the number of revolutions per 1 volt. Engines with high values kv have fewer turns of the stator winding than lower speed ones. It follows that the maximum current will be higher in motors with lower kv, which have a greater torque force and this allows the use of larger propellers.
Can be compared to a car's gearbox. 380kv and 1400kv are like the first and third gears of a car.
380kv for measured slow and long flights with a large load capacity
1400kv for fast and manoeuvrable running.
On the Internet or in the description of this engine you can see it technical specifications and test results. You need to find out the maximum current (A) that the engine can draw and, based on this data, select a speed controller (ESC). Let's say max A for a 20A motor. Then, we take ESC 20-25% more powerful, 25-30A.
Now let's look at the test results.
For example we see: 11x4.7 –3S-12A – 830g
It means
11x4.7 - propeller characteristics (11-inch, 4.7 pitch)
3S - number of LiPo battery cans
12A - current strength in the circuit at a given load
830g – engine thrust under given conditions
Thus, the maximum thrust is 830x4 = 3300 g, the maximum current in the circuit is 12x4 = 48A
The maximum current strength is needed to select the Battery and Wiring.

For starters, don't buy carbon props. Overpayment. Learn to fly cheap ones.
The propeller mounting depends on the engine itself. Most propellers have an adapter for the engine axis. Possible mounting on collets or threads. Eat great options Self-tightening mounts from DJI; with this option, your propeller will never unscrew during flight.
For more simple options I advise you to additionally secure it with thread sealant.

Please note : You can compare motors with different kv under conditions of the same standard size. For example, EMAX XA 2212 exists in different configurations:
820
980
1400

They can be compared.
The efficiency of a motor with 1400kv will be maximum when using an 8040 propeller,
And a motor with 820kv - with a propeller of 1147.
A motor with 820kv will have maximum torque, so it is advisable to use large propellers. And a motor with 1400kv will love high speeds at lower loads.
The difference between the presented motors is in the winding.
It makes sense to use them like this:
1400kv on a 330 frame and 8040 propellers
980kv on a 450 frame and 1045 propellers
820kv on a 500-550 frame and 1147 propellers
I chose
And propellers
Wonderful set.
Connection diagram
For simplicity: Signal - black, Power (+\-) - red


5) Battery
When choosing a battery, you need to select the current output. This is the number C. (25С,35С)
Do not forget that, according to our data, the system consumes 48A.
Let's say there is a 3300mAh 3S 35C Lipo Pack battery
3300 mAh - battery capacity
3S – number of cans (one can 3.7v)
35C – current output. Those. Battery capacity 3.3Ah (3300 mAh) x 35C = 115A
Which sufficiently covers our energy consumption. Even too much. The higher the C, the heavier and more expensive the battery.
Let's see whether a battery of the same capacity, but with a current output of 25C can cope with our tasks or not: 3.3Ah (3300 mAh) x 25C = 82A
Answer: Yes.
Such a battery will be lighter and cheaper.
To monitor the battery condition, you can buy such a thing.

Imax B6 is very popular for charging batteries, be careful, there are a lot of fakes.

And don't forget to handle LiPo very carefully.
My advice: take at least a couple of batteries.
6) Add. Equipment.
When you have decided on the flight range and selected the control system, you can begin choosing an FPV system:
FPV - literally: first-person view in real time.
 2.4GHz is compatible with 5.8GHz
 433MHz compatible with 1.2GHz
Otherwise, joint interference will be created.
For my 2.4 GHz I selected 5.8 GHz 200mw

The FPV system consists of:
1) Course camera
2) Transmitter on a quadric
3) Receiving station on the ground.
To increase the communication range, you can replace standard antennas with “clovers”

Most transmitters are powered within 9-12v, a small 3S battery can power the transmitter and camera, which is selected for a given voltage.
What does 200mw mean?
This is the transmitter power. It directly affects the communication range. On open area With non-standard antennas, the signal can be received at a distance of up to 1 km.
Considering that my control system is not capable of controlling a distance of more than 1.5-2 km, this is ideal
option for my needs.
Now everything is clear with the choice of receiver and transmitter, but how to choose a camera, there are a huge number of them?
The choice of camera initially comes down to money.
There are cameras that have the function of streaming data and simultaneous recording. The cost of such cameras is much higher. The mobius camera is very popular.

Its competitor has appeared, which also has an AV output

You can use the cheapest directional camera, without a housing. The cost of which ranges from 600 to 1000 rubles, and is recorded using a good action camera on a gimbal.
For an FPV camera we will see the TVL number. What is it? This is the number of scan lines. For an FPV camera, 500-700TVL will be enough. The level of minimum illumination is important; this parameter is measured in lux. 0.01 lux is enough for flights even in the evening. The viewing angle is equally important. 100-120 degrees is ideal. It would be nice to have automatic highlight and auto correction. white balance.
The picture can be displayed on such a monitor

You can buy a 2- or 3-axis gimbal for the camera. This thing allows you to rotate the camera and have a more stable picture, without jerking or jerking.
The thing is quite expensive.
I have this one:
Naturally the on-board camera itself
Can be installed LED backlight, beeper, GPS tracker

As you understand, to assemble such a UAV requires quite a lot of investment.
The price is approximately 400-500 dollars.

This review is intended for beginners and contains theory; there will be a continuation soon. With assembly and configuration.
I have planned a series of articles and will slowly implement them.
I will be glad to criticize Thank you per view.
I'll show you the cards: the end result


How to assemble such a thing and lift it into the sky?
Instructions will be in the next part)

Here is a short video from the first flights with a gimbal.


P.S. Everything was purchased with personal funds. I'm planning to buy +99 Add to favorites I liked the review +62 +150

In order to assemble a quadcopter with a camera with your own hands, you need to divide the assembly into two stages. The first stage is assembling the quadcopter itself. The second is connecting a camera to it.

So, the first stage.

DIY quadcopter assembly recipe

To assemble the quadcopter we will need the following:

  • four quadcopter motors;
  • four speed controllers;
  • four propeller(propeller), maybe with a reserve;
  • power splitter 3.5 mm;
  • customizable board via USB to control the quadcopter;
  • four batteries or more to get the most out of your flight;
  • charger for recharging batteries;
  • quadcopter radio control device (sold together with receiver and transmitter);
  • additional boards for connecting the receiver to the “brains” of the quadcopter;
  • silicone-sheathed wires for motors, two pieces each, red and black;

This is all about mechanisms and controls.

DIY quadcopter frame

In order for our quadcopter to feel confident in flight, it needs to be equipped with some kind of skeleton on which all control mechanisms will rest. There are two approaches to solving this problem:

  • ready frame for quadcopter;
  • frame assembled by yourself;

To choose the most suitable option for you, you need to understand some nuances. If you purchase finished frame, then, as a rule, you can already screw everything onto it and you can launch it into flight. But if any part is damaged due to a fall or careless use, the wait for this part will take some time until it is delivered by courier services to your address.

As for the prefabricated frame with your own hands from improvised means, in this case you will need to tinker to cut everything smoothly and attach it. In case of any incidents, the broken part can be easily replaced.

The most common option for making a frame from improvised means is plastic pipes, which are used in construction for wiring. Their properties are ideal for fastening all necessary elements controls, engines. To fasten them (motors), you can use fasteners, those that are used to fasten pipes to walls when wiring.

With the help of such pipes it turns out quite good design, on which you can securely mount all the parts of the quadcopter and the camera. So, we almost have a do-it-yourself quadcopter with a camera, all that remains is to assemble it all correctly and go on test flights.

DIY quadcopter with camera: video of the assembly process

The entire process of assembling a quadcopter with your own hands is presented in this video. Let's see.

Below are photos that I found on the Internet. They present quadcopters with a camera, which were assembled with their own hands from improvised materials.




How to connect the electronics of the entire quadcopter

I couldn’t find the Russified instructions, thanks to my friend who translated this instruction from English into Russian for you.

When connecting motors, you will have to extend the wires using the extension method. You can use any suitable wires, but preferably “silicone” ones. This will allow them not to crack at low temperatures if you suddenly want to capture the New Year's fireworks display on video in winter.

Set up and “train” the quadcopter using software

So, we have assembled a quadcopter with a camera with our own hands, all that remains is to train our machine to behave correctly in flight. To do this, you need to “train” her. How is this done? Very simple! You need to upload the firmware to the board via USB. You can find this firmware on a specialized forum or on our website. When the article with the firmware is published, a clickable link to the firmware will appear here.

If you don’t know how to fly a quadcopter yet and want to learn, then I’ll write an article on this topic especially for you. The link will appear here. There I will talk about the features of controlling a quadcopter and which one is the fastest to learn to fly like a professional.

As for the second stage, here you just need to attach a camera that you consider suitable for yourself in terms of price and quality. In the video reviews you will find a suitable camera, if not, then write to the chat, which is located in the lower left corner, other users will tell you.

At the end of this article, I suggest you watch another video on assembling a quadcopter with a camera with your own hands.



This article is also available in the following languages: Thai

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    THANK YOU so much for the very useful information in the article. Everything is presented very clearly. It feels like a lot of work has been done to analyze the operation of the eBay store

    • Thank you and other regular readers of my blog. Without you, I would not have been motivated enough to dedicate much time to maintaining this site. My brain is structured this way: I like to dig deep, systematize scattered data, try things that no one has done before or looked at from this angle. It’s a pity that our compatriots have no time for shopping on eBay because of the crisis in Russia. They buy from Aliexpress from China, since goods there are much cheaper (often at the expense of quality). But online auctions eBay, Amazon, ETSY will easily give the Chinese a head start in the range of branded items, vintage items, handmade items and various ethnic goods.

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        What is valuable in your articles is your personal attitude and analysis of the topic. Don't give up this blog, I come here often. There should be a lot of us like that. Email me I recently received an email with an offer that they would teach me how to trade on Amazon and eBay. And I remembered your detailed articles about these trades. area I re-read everything again and concluded that the courses are a scam. I haven't bought anything on eBay yet. I am not from Russia, but from Kazakhstan (Almaty). But we also don’t need any extra expenses yet. I wish you good luck and stay safe in Asia.

  • It’s also nice that eBay’s attempts to Russify the interface for users from Russia and the CIS countries have begun to bear fruit. After all, the overwhelming majority of citizens of the countries of the former USSR do not have strong knowledge of foreign languages. No more than 5% of the population speak English. There are more among young people. Therefore, at least the interface is in Russian - this is a big help for online shopping on this trading platform. eBay did not follow the path of its Chinese counterpart Aliexpress, where a machine (very clumsy and incomprehensible, sometimes causing laughter) translation of product descriptions is performed. I hope that at a more advanced stage of development of artificial intelligence, high-quality machine translation from any language to any in a matter of seconds will become a reality. So far we have this (the profile of one of the sellers on eBay with a Russian interface, but an English description):
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7a52c9a89108b922159a4fad35de0ab0bee0c8804b9731f56d8a1dc659655d60.png