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Adding GPS to Flip32+ and Cleanflight
Flip32 and Flip32+ (10 DOF version of Flip32 with built-in barometer and magnetometer) are nice little flight controllers. And cheap. Some call them clones of Naze32, but this is not completely true. Yes, they are very similar, share the same hardware, but they are not identical. I would say they are better than Naze32 since have…
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Let’s build a FPV drone: frame
Many say that small 250 class quadcopter are super fun. Small, fast, agile, tough and crash resistant. I’ve decided to check it out and build 250 quadcopter drone by myself. And next few posts will be tightly connected with this topic. Let’s call it a build log. The most important part of every multirotor is a frame.…
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Depron RC Plane Build – Everything You Need to Know
How hard it is to build a RC plane without plans and starter kits? To do it in “Trust me, I’m an engineer” style. In mid June I’ve decided to give it a try and right now I can tell: it’s hard, but not that hard as one might imagine. All the problems I’ve faced…
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Adding Bluetooth telemetry to Flip32+ and Cleanflight
When few weeks I wrote how to solve a problem of broken USB port in Flip32+ flight controller, I suggested that one of the solutions is adding a serial Bluetooth module to provide wireless connection with a bord. And telemetry. Excellent news is: this is pretty simple and cheap. What we will need: Flight controller…
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Simple servo tester with Arduino
Servo tester is a useful little device that is needed specially when you do not have one. I’ve been placed in a situation like that few days ago what I was trying to connect ailerons with servos on my Depron plane and setup correct control throw. Luckily, I own a few Arduinos, so 15 minutes…
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Flash BLHeli to Afro ESC
SimonK is most widely recognized ESC firmware in multicopter world. But there is a second option, in many ways much better than SimonK firmware. It is called BLHeli. It supports many different ESC, including both Atmel and SiLabs based. Plus, it has a cool software that allows you to configure you ESC without programming card. Just…
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x525 V3 Quadcopter Frame Review
There are many cheap quadcopter frames on market. Big, small, X, H, foldable, good and bad. And choosing a correct frame for a purpose is both hard and critical for further drone performance. One of cheap, and on a first glance, versatile frames, is x525 V3. Is it worth the money? Well, it’s a hard…
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Dead Rat, wooden quadcopter, maiden flight
Last week I was, finally, able to perform a maiden flight of my DIY wooden quadcopter (here and here). I will not say it was huge success, but it was a success alright. What went like expected? Well, quite alot. First of all, it flies and has enough thrust to weight ratio to do flips…
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Wooden quadcopter, work continues
Work on wooden quadcopter continues. This weeken I’ve been able to almost finish. Almost. Frame itself is done, motors and ESC are in place, electric cables soldered, but this wooden multirotor is grounded. The reason is flight controller Thunder QQ Super. Why? Because it is crap. Really. The first unit was broken and 2 motor channels…