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Project Dualcopter – worklog #1
Flying season 2016 is slowly coming to an end on northern hemisphere. That means less time spent on an airfield and more time spent behind a desk. For this autumn I've found a very interesting, small project: Dualcopter. Dualcopter is an UAV with two coaxial contra-rotating propellers and 2 control surfaces driven by servos. Lift…
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Hands on: DALprop T5046 propellers
Last weekend I had an opportunity to spend some time in the air with new DALprop T5046 propellers from Surveilzone.They are "funny" propellers. On one hand they have some nice features, on the other, they have few flaws that almost disqualifies them in my eyes… Pros Good air "grip" Good efficiency Smooth flight Nice speed…
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Tip: how to secure XT60 plugs
I had a problem with my SkyZone goggles: I was constantly breaking battery cable near XT-60 plug. One not careful enough grip and cable was ripped away. I’ve decided to fix it and permanently secure the cable with epoxy glue. Sure, I could use hot glue (that looks ugly) or Sugru (that is expensive), but…
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INAV is learning to do mini-quad racing too
Let’s be honest: in terms of mini-quad racing there is Betaflight (probably also Raceflight but I’ve never flew it yet, so will not comment on its flight performance), long long gap, and then it’s everything else including Cleanflight, LibrePilot, INAV etc. Originally INAV concentrated on “big” UAVs with GPS capabilities. After all NAV in name…
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Hand on: DAL (DALprop) TJ5045 propellers
After moving to new, 4S powered, mini-quad based on Reptile X4R 220, EMAX RS2205 2300KV and FVT Littlebee 20A, I’ve discovered that I’m missing some power. DALprop 5040 and DALprop T5040 I’ve been using on 3S did not delivered enough power. So, I’ve gave DALprop TJ5045 a try. According to specs, they should be most…
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Marabou Stork: FPV airplane maiden flight
For the last few week I’ve been little busy building my next fixed wing UAV: “Marabou Stork” Depron/Carbon/3D Printed airplane with pusher prop build for FPV. It’s improved version of “Red Cruiser” model from last year. It’s equipped with KFm-2 wing, Turnigy D2826-6 2200KV motor, APC-E 7×4″ propeller, 2700mAh Lipo battery, FPV setup with MinimOSD…
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How to install and configure Betaflight
Latest Betaflight 3.0 is a new quality for flight controller software. It brings many new, cool, features comparing to previous versions. If you fly mini-quad or micro-quad, you have to check what Betaflight 3 has to offer. This tutorial will show how to install Betaflight 3 and how to configure it so mini-quad can go…
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Micro MinimOSD stops overlaying in flight: solution
Both MinimOSD and Micro MinimOSD suffers from irritating technical problem. In some setups, they stops overlaying data during hard maneuvers or even right after arming. Problem is very simple: chip MAX7456 is extremely sensitive in terms of supply voltage quality. Working motors and/or servos, can introduce enough power supply noise to occasionally force MAX7456 to…
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Preview: cheap APM Power Module for Cleanflight
Recently I’ve got my hands on a pair of cheap APM Power Modules from eBay with integrated 5V BEC and current meter (90A max). Although they are APM designed and will not work stright away with STM32 flight controllers like Naze/CC3D/SPRacingF3 (or rather would work only once since they are 5V scaled and those flight…