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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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Things that I hate about the DJI Digital FPV
At first glance, the DJI Digital FPV system is the best thing that happened to the FPV, drones, and airplanes since the LiPo batteries. And yes, DJI FPV is an amazing technology that lets you see so much more and works almost out of the box. It is, however, not perfect and this is my…
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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…
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3D printing with a polypropylene (PP) filament
3D printing does not end on PLA, PET-G, and TPU filaments. Yes, they are great and work just fine for the majority of cases. However, there are more options than just the basic filament types. Polypropylene (PP filament) is one of them. Strong, but not stiff, can be used to make hinges, enclosures, and boxes.…
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What is the best flight controller firmware? Betaflight, Ardupilot, or INAV?
The question "What is the best flight controller firmware?" pops up here and there from time to time. Some say it's Betaflight. Some say it's Ardupilot. And reality? Reality is often disappointing, and there might be no one answer to that question. Every flight controller firmware has strong and weak sides. Ardupilot sucks on small…
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INAV for tracked rovers
INAV 2.5 introduced rover and boat support. However, INAV setup on tracked vehicles like tanks or with differential steering was never really working like expected. Turning was possible but only in forward or backward movement – throttle had to be not-idle. And that meant that turning in place was not an option. Luckily, the INAV…
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Fat Shark was sold to Red Cat Holdings
Have you heard the news of the month? Apparently, Red Cat Holdings bought Fat Shark. Ha! Yes, the Red Cat that in 2018 wanted to buy your blackbox log and pay for them with their own cryptocurrency and in January 2020 bought Rotor Riot. The question remains if it is good for the hobby or…