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How to generate PPM signal with ESP32 and Arduino
The PPM protocol for encoding Remote Control channel values is now a legacy. Still, it is widely accepted by different hardware and when tinkering with Arduino, remote control, and working on own accessories for flight controllers, PPM is still a valid option. A few years ago I presented a code that allows generating PPM stream…
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ESP32, Arduino and Timer/Alerts
Because of completely different architecture, ISR and Timer solutions known from other Arduino compatible platforms, especially AVR/ATmega does not work on ESP32. They don’t. At all. If you would like to port any code that uses timers from AVR Arduino to ESP32 Arduino, you would have to rewrite them completely. However, timers and alarms with…
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DIY Drone Gesture Control – DIY Motion Controller
Together with the DJI FPV Drone we, RC and FPV hobby enthusiasts, got a new accessory: DJI Motion Controller. It does a pretty obvious thing that we know for years from the Nintendo Wii controller: with this device, you get gesture control over your FPV Drone. You tilt it left, drone turns left. You tilt…
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ESP32 and multiple I2C buses
One of the advantages of the ESP32 microcontrollers over the competitions is dual-core architecture and two I2C buses. Yes, the I2C bus allows connecting multiple slave devices to single pair of SCL SDA wires. As long as slave device addresses are unique, everything will work just fine: OLED display, LM75 temperature sensor, MPU6050 gyroscope. However,…
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FPV meets corporation – DJI FPV Goggles V2 vs V1 and availability
Why can't I buy DJI goggles anymore All of you who tried to buy FPV goggles in the last three months might have noticed that it was not a trivial endeavor. Starting from the last December, the DJI Goggles and Air Units and Caddx Vistas availability was limited. To some extent, it was due to…
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QmuBeacon – ESP32 and LoRa based GPS recovery beacon and locator
Having a broken leg, limited mobility, and paid sick leave have some perks after all. I’ve finally found some free time to sit on the project I started, I think, two years ago: ESP32, LoRa based GPS beacon, and locator. You know, put it on an airplane and have a way to get the distance…
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Diatone Roma F4 LR: Long-Range on 4 inches
For years, long-range drones were associated with big and purpose build (mainly lightweight) quadcopters. With at least 7-inch propellers, but true long-range started at 8-inches or more. Times changed, and in the 2020, a new class of long-range FPV quadcopters emerged: light, dead-cat frame, 4-inch propellers, weight around 250g, and with flight times somewhere between…
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Prusa Smooth vs Powder Coated PEI Sheets
Prusa offers two types of steel sheet beds for their Prusa i3 MK3 series 3D printers: smooth PEI and powder coated PEI. The smooth PEI version is the default, but you can get the powder-coated PEI if you pay extra. It's not cheap but has one or two handy features: it works great for bigger…
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Li-Ion vs. Li-Po for drones and airplanes?
Lithium-Polymer (LiPo) batteries dominate the RC hobby. In like 98% of the cases, if you have a drone or RC airplane, or RC car, it is powered by a LiPo battery. The reasons are simple: they are high current capable, fast to charge, and have relatively high energy density. LiPo is, however, not the only…