Quadcopter Drone - Flight Direction LED Wiring

Next I am going to add some LEDs for directional indicators when flying the Quad at night.  I purchased 1M LED light strips from Amazon, one in Red the other in Green.  Green will indicate the front of the Quad, Red the back.  They work off of 12V, so the input of 11.1v from my 3S LiPo battery will work just fine for this purpose.  Here we have a few of the pieces of the LED strips cut off and the clear plastic stripped off the ends, ready for solder.

Solder applied to the contact points on the base of the LED strip.

Same as before, but with heat-shrink tubing applied to each lead.  They were a bit too close together for comfort, so I wanted to eliminate the chances of a short.

Here is the "daisy-chain" of multiple light strips linked together.  They will all come back to one JST connector that will plug directly into the battery.

Quick pic of all the light strips once they have been soldered together and connected to the battery via a JST connector.

LED Light Strips Installed, not turned on.

LED Light Strips Installed, turned on.

LED Light Strips Installed, turned on, with lights off.  Looks pretty good.  Can't wait to try out some night flying.

Next up I will be binding the Transmitter / Receiver, and setting up the KK2.1 flight controller board for motor direction and various calibration steps.

Quadcopter Drone - Receiver Wiring & Antennae Mounting

Haven't had a chance to do much in the last two weeks, but I was finally able to sit down for a bit and make some progress on the drone.  First up, going to show what I have done with the Receiver, both connecting it to the flight controller board, and setting up the antennae.  Here is what the receiver looks like out of the box, with the "whip" style antennae.  I have been reading that for the best possible signal reception, the antennae should be mounted at a 90 degree angle from each other, so I will show how I achieved that on my Drone.

 

The Receiver itself is mounted to the frame using Velcro tape so that if needed, it can be easily removed.  Before attaching it to the Drone, I plugged in the servo leads, and labeled them to make it easier to keep track of which cable is which.

Here are the same leads, again labeled with Roman Numerals, plugged into the Flight Controller.  

Now that the Receiver is mounted to the frame and wired up, its time modify the antenna.  As mentioned before, I wanted the two whips to be set up in a 90 degree angel, so this is what I did to achieve that.  Using some acrylic leftover from my most recent Liquid Cooled PC Mod, I cut a small block and drilled a few holes into it.  I then inserted antennae tubing into the holes, which are set up with the 90 degree angel and the whips can go directly through them.

Here is a close up of the tubing with the whip pulled through and capped off with a rubber end cap.

And here is the setup attached to the frame next to the Receiver.  I used double sided tape and zip ties to secure the antennae mount to the frame.  It is very secure, and I am pleased with how it turned out.  

The next thing I had to do was change out the connector on my batteries.  They came with the "bullet" type connectors, but for use on my Drone, and to charge them, I needed to change it out with a TX60 connector.  Nothing too complicated here, just cut off the bullet connectors, and soldered on the TX60 leads.

Here is the finished connector, with heat-shrink tubing applied. 

And here we have the battery charging with the new connector, hooked up to my Turnigy Accucell.

Now we are going to attache the LED indicator and Speaker to the Flight controller.  Out of the box, the KK2.1 flight controller only comes with the speaker.  The speaker gives audible chirps to notify of status and errors with the flight controller.  This works great up close, but not whey the Drone is more than a few hundred feet away.  So an LED is needed for visual indicators.  

I purchased the LED on eBay, and then modified the wires on the Speaker to match.  Both the Speaker and LED can be plugged into the same port on the flight controller, so to use both at the same time, I made a Y adapter with FST connectors.  I would have done the same twisting wire look with the Y-connector, but I ran out of the wire I needed, so just did a few turns instead.
 

The speaker is tucked inside the frame and is not visible from this angle.  The LED was attached to the back of the Receiver, which is the "back" of the Drone, so I can see the indicator while in flight.  Going to set things up to that as the battery loses its charge the LED will flash faster and faster to let me know when its time to head back.

Now that everything is plugged into the Flight Controller, I figure its a good time to show a pin layout for the board, along with a bit of explanation at to where things get plugged in.  The leads from the receiver control plug into the left side of the board.  On the right is where the ESCs are connected, and control the motors.  I actuallly have to make one small modification with lead #1 to provide power for the the flight controller, but that will be in a future post.  

Last we have the LED / Speaker indicators that we just went over, and the Voltage Monitor.  The Voltage monitor basically just allows the flight controller to know what the battery level is at, and uses the speaker and LED to show that battery status.  Battery status will also show up on the LCD screen.

Next up I will show what I have done to give my Drone some Directional LEDs for night flying.  Thanks for stopping by.

Quadcopter Drone - Body Construction & KK2.1 Firmware Flashing

Now that we have have gone through the components that will make up the Drone, its time to start construction!  I figured the best way to show this was by making a video and posting it to YouTube.  This only covers the construction of the body, which consists of some simple soldering, attaching the booms, and at the end modifying an anti-vibration mount for the GoPro.  Check it out here, and hit up the link if you want to watch it in Full screen 720p HD.

Here is a picture of the body fully assembled, and a look at the small modification I had to make for the anti-vibration mount.

And here we have the body again, but this time with the GoPro mounted.  Can't wait to start shooting some aerial videos!

Now that the body is set up, time to add the Flight Controller.  I will be using a HobbyKing KK2.1 flight control board.  There is already a new version of Firmware available, so lets go over flashing it before I install the board onto the Drone.  Here we have the KK2.1 plugged into my Laptop using a USBasp programming tool.  These can be found at various Hobby Stores, and even on Amazon for $5-8.  Be sure to grab one that has a 6pin ribbon adapter, as that is what you will need to interface with the KK2.1 board.  I recommend this one from Amazon, as it comes with everything you will need to get started.

You will need to install the necessary USB drivers for your Windows PC to detect the device, before you can flash any firmware to the control board. First step is to plug in the USBasp device, then open a web browser and download the most current drivers from this website. Once downloaded extract the .zip file to your desktop or an other directory where it will be easy to find later.  While you have your browser open, also download the KKFlashTool from this website. Now that we have the needed drivers and software, navigate to the Device Manager and locate the unrecognized USBasp device under "Other Devices".

Click on images to see a larger version.

Right-click the USBasp device and select "Update Driver Software..." from the menu.  Now browse to the directory where you extracted the downloaded driver to, and hit "Next".

The driver install process will begin, and you will get a prompt saying that "Windows can't verify the publisher of this driver software".  This is safe to ignore for this particular driver, so select "Install this driver software anyway".

You will now see a window showing the drivers for this USB device were installed successfully on your computer.

Back in the Device Manager, refresh the list and you should now see USBasp device is now recognized, and resides under the hardware tree as a normal USB device.

Ok, now unplug the USBasp, and open the KKFlashingTool you downloaded earlier.  Once the screen below pops up, plug back in the USB device and select it from the "Choose your programmer" menu. Then under "Choose your controller", select the KK2.1 from the drop-down menu.  Now select the source for the new Firmware.  There is both an online repository for custom Firmware and the option to select from a local directory.

Once the desired Firmware is selected hit the Green Circle (with the runner inside) and the flashing process will begin.  It will take about 30 seconds, and you should hear a few beeps coming from your KK2.1 if you have the speaker plugged in.  Once complete you should see a dialouge similar to this at the bottom of the KKFlashingTool, telling you the flashing was successful.

If you would like to have a more detailed walkthrough, the website where you download the Flashing took has both manuals and video tutorials to watch.  I am currently using KK2.1 ++ BETA firmware, created by user RC911 over on the RC Groups forum, but there are many options to choose from, including stock v1.6 as of Feb 15, 2014.

Now that my flight controller has the Firmware I want installed, its time to mount it to my Drone.  I used some anti-vibration pads that have adhesive on both sides.  It mounts securely, and is supposed to reduce mico-vibrations from having too much impact on the flight controller's sensors. 

That's all for now.  Next up we will be connecting the ESCs, Receiver, and modifying the antenna whips.  Stay tuned, and thanks for visiting!

Quadcopter Drone - Component Breakdown

I am traveling for work currently, so can't do a lot of actual "building", so until I can get to actually putting things together, I thought I would break down the components that will make up my Drone, and give a bit more detailed information about them.

DJI Flame Wheel F450 Kit
This is the frame or skeleton of the drone. The Main Hub consists of a top and bottom that are attached to the Booms of the drone. The top is also where I will mount the Flight Control Board and a few other avionic and sensory components. The bottom will carry the battery, camera mount, and is also a circuit board acting as the power distribution center for the drone.

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This particular drone is a “Quadrocopter" and therefore has 4 booms which radiate from the central hub. I think am going to go with the Black and White booms, keeping the Red ones as backup in case I break one during a crash. Shorter booms increase maneuverability, while longer booms increase stability. Booms must hold up in a crash while interfering with the prop downdraft as little as possible. These DJI booms are great combination for both maneuverability and stability.

Props, Motors, ESC Units
 

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The DJI F450 Kit also includes the following components:

• 4x 10in props (+2 more for backup in case of a crash), and 4x 8in props. The pairs of props spin in different directions. The Standard Props are the same "tractor" propellers used on standard front-engine R/C airplanes. The "pusher" props are contra-rotating and exactly cancel out motor torques during stationary level flight. Opposite pitch gives downdraft.
• 4x Brushless Electric Motors. There are electrical "outrunner" types, which is more efficient, more reliable, and quieter than a brushed motor.
• 4x Electronic Speed Controllers (ESC). Converts DC battery power into 3-phase AC for driving brushless motors.

Connectors - Power, Flight Controller, ESCs, LEDs
 

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Here we have some of the various connectors for the drone. The larger gauge wires are for connecting battery power to the ESCs. The smaller "jumper" type wires are for connecting the ESCs and Receiver to the Fight Control Board. We also have some random Velcro straps to secure the battery and camera during flight. On the far left are two LED strips, green and red.  Supposed to be for orientation during night flying, but I still haven't decied if I am going to use them yet.

Batteries, Charging Unit
 
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These are the batteries that will be powering the drone during flight. The larger units are for the drone itself (one is a backup for extended flight times), and are 3600mAh capacity. The smaller one powers the handheld radio transmitter. Both are Lithium Polymer (LiPo) and offer the best combination of energy density, power density, and lifetime. Also shown here is the Battery Charging system and the connectors for the batteries. Standard AC/DC transformer is used for the Power System. The output is 15v @ 4A.

Landing Gear, Vibration Reducing Camera Mount, GoPro Hero3
I will be mounting a GoPro Hero3 Black Edition camera to this drone, and have had to obtain a few specialized parts to do so. The underwater protective housing will be attached to an Anti-Vibration Camera mount, which will help stabilize aerial videos. This will allow the drone to carry its "payload" and help reduce the shaking or "jello-effect" that can occur due to high frequency vibrations.

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Since the camera will be mounted as a hanging payload underneath the drone, I had to find a way to get higher ground clearance. There are a lot of skid-style mounts that achieve this, but they look crappy and are add more weight than what I was comfortable with. So I found someone who was manufacturing carbon fiber leg extensions, which give me just enough ground clearance for the camera. Plus it makes the drone look like a flying spider, so I am happy with how they look. I will eventually be going with a gimbal to stabilize the camera level (pitch & roll) in flight, but that is "Phase 2" of this project, along with FPV.

Radio Control System and Receiver
 

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I will be using a Turnigy 9XR radio transmitter to control my drone. I like that it has a built in display to quickly bounce between menus and settings, or quickly glance at flight status. It operates on the 2.4GHz wireless frequency. The radio receiver is a FrSky combo that also shows flight telemetry. The receiver antenna is a loose wire whip, that I will secure to the side of one of the booms.

KK2.1 Flight Control Board, 3D Printed Protective Casing
I am using a HobbyKing KK2.1Flight Control Board as the "brains" of the craft. The Flight Controller interprets input from the receiver, battery monitor, and onboard sensors. Also regulates motor speeds, via ESCs, to provide steering, as well as triggering cameras or other payloads. Controls autopilot, and other autonomous functions. The USB drive looking device is used to flash new firmware to the flight controller.  On the left is the speaker, and LED status light that is visible during flight.

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I was able to find a guy on RC Forums that uses a 3D printer to create a derelin "housing" to protect the flight controller. Since this will be sitting right on top of my drone, a crash could easily break the board. The housing works and looks great.

KK2.1 Installation
 

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 Here is a pic of the control board sitting inside the housing. There is also a laser cut acrylic top that protects while allowing access to all of the needed jumper pins and buttons to adjust setting on the board.

KK2.1 Installed, OCD
And here we have to acrylic top installed. I discovered that most of the threads on the drone are the same size and pitch as my various screws that I use when building custom liquid cooled PCs.  So I was able to use there here as I prefer the matte black look over shiny chrome.  As for the storage and labeling... I have been told that I may have a bit of OCD.

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That’s all for now. When I get back from my travels, I will start soldering the power connections to the central hub. Thanks for stopping by!

Quadcopter Drone - UAV with a GoPro

And so it begins...

After roughly 6 months of getting all the parts together (many directly from China which is what took so long), I am ready to start a new project.  I am building a Quadcopter (4 prop) Drone, better known as a UAV (Unmanned Ariel Vehicle).  The controller range of this device should be around 1km, with a flight celing height of about 200m.  I know it can go higher than this, but the risk of losing the device due to signal interruptions and high winds (not to mention current FFA regulations limiting drone flight above 500ft), make going any higher a bad idea.

I will also be strapping my GoPro Hero3 (Black Edition) camera to the drone for aerial video, and eventually enabling FPV (First Person View) flying.

There are a TON of parts that will go into the construction of this drone.  Here is a list of the primary components, and farther down this post, I will included a more detailed parts list:

• DJI F450 Flame Wheel Kit (frame, legs, motors, and ESCs)
• Turnigy 9XR Transmitter (Controller)
• FrSky 2.4GHz (Transmitter / Receiver combo)
• Hobbyking KK2.1 Multi-rotor LCD Flight Control Board

The last part I was waiting on came in just a few days ago, but I will be traveling a bit for work over the next few weeks and won't be able to do much until I get back.  I wanted to at least get everything together to see what I will be working with before I left.

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And here is the more detailed Parts List.  Things may change as the build progresses, but I am pretty sure this will get me off to a good start.

Part	Qty	Model
DJI F450 Flame Wheel Kit	1	DJI F450 Flame Wheel Kit
DJI F450 Flame Wheel Frame	1	DJI F450 Flame Wheel Frame
Motor	4	Dji 2212 Electric Motor
Propellers	2	Dji 1038 10" CW/CCW PROPELLER SET
Electronic Speed Controllers	4	Dji ESC 30A
Battery Charger	1	Turnigy Accucel-6 50W 6A Balancer/Charger
Power Supply	1	Hobbyking 60w Power Supply (4A)
Battery (Drone)	2	Turnigy 3600mAh 3S 30C Lipo Pack
Flight Controller	1	Hobbyking KK2.1 Multi-rotor LCD Flight Control Board
Voltage Status LED	1	KK2.0 Super Bright Status and Alarm LED
Flight Controller Flashing Tool	2	USBasp AVR Programming Device for ATMEL
Flight Controller Flashing Cable	1	AVR Programming Cable
Flight Controller Housing	1	KK2.1 Delrin Protection Case V3
Transmitter	1	Turnigy 9XR Transmitter Mode 2 (No Module)
Battery (Transmitter)	1	Turnigy 11.1v (3s) 2200mAh 1.5C
Transmitter Module	1	FrSky 2.4GHz TELEMETRY Transmitter Module
Receiver	1	FrSky V8FR-II 2.4Ghz 8CH Receiver (HV)
Legs / Landing Gear	1	F450/550 Flamewheel Legs
Vibration Dampening	1	Align PU Adhesive Gel
Vibration Dampening	1	Vibration Dampeners M3x8 - Set of 4
Misc Parts	2	Male XT60 connectors (5pcs/bag)
Misc Parts	2	Female XT60 connectors (5pcs/bag)
Misc Parts	1	XT60 Male w/ 12AWG Silicon Wire 10cm (5pcs/bag)
Misc Parts	1	XT60 Female w/ 12AWG Silicon Wire 10cm (5pcs/bag)
Misc Parts	1	Extreme accuracy Prop/Rotor balancer
Misc Parts	1	Battery Connection Wires
Misc Parts	2	Turnigy Battery Strap 330mm
GoPro Mount	1	Batwing Camera Mounts
GoPro Strap	1	Go Pro 3 Strap (Blue)

There were some other small connectors and cables that will also be used, but I already had them from other project, and did not include them in the above parts list.

Next up is the construction of the F450 frame and soldiering the power contacts to the circuit board.  Stay tuned!

Project Index

• UAV with a GoPro - Project Intro
• Component Breakdown
• Body Construction & KK2.1 Firmware Flashing
• Receiver Wiring & Antennae Mounting
• Flight Direction LED Wiring
• UBEC Install and Prop Balancing
• DYI Foam Hard-case
• KK2.1 Setup, Training and Simulation
• GoPro Accessories & Storage
• Maiden Flight... and Crash
• Repairs Complete, Rocket Launch
• Tarot Gimbal Setup, Install, Studder Fix
• New Landing Struts
• Tarot 650 Frame, FPV, 3DR SOLO Announcement
• 3DR Solo update, Tarot 2D Gimbal flight Test

[REVIEW] COD iONIC Screen Protector for Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 ed) - Anti-Glare vs Ultra Crystal

Hey Guys.  Recently got a hold of the new Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Ed) tablet.  It has probably the BEST screen on a mobile device right now (2560x1600) so I wanted to make sure to protect that panel.  Went ahead and purchased both the Anti-Glare and the Ultra Crystal version of the COD iONIC screen protectors, so that I could do a good comparison between the two of them. The following prices are on Amazon as of Nov 1, 2013:

COD Screen Protector Film Matte (Anti-Glare) for Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Ed (3-pack)
$4.85 (+$3.85 shipping)
COD Screen Protector Film Clear (Invisible) for Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Ed (3-pack)
$9.85 (free shipping with Prime)

I took a few up close pics with my DSLR to compare text clarity, and also have a video review to compare in addition to calrity, light diffusion, and how they work with the S Pen.

Here we can see all that is included in the packaging.  Each comes with 3 protectors, a microfiber cloth, installation card, and a sticker to remove lint or fuzz that might get stuck under the protector during the install process.

I did a video to better compare not only text clarity, but also light diffusion, and to show how well the S Pen works with each.

Here is a up close picture to compare the text behind the two protectors.  Overall they both look pretty good, but there is a tiny bit of distortion on the Anti-Glare side.

After using both of these protectors you really can't go wrong with either one.  But if you plan on using the S Pen a lot, go with Ultra Crystal and you will be happy.  Thanks for stopping by.

CASE MOD - Poetic Slimline for SamSung Galaxy Note 8

Ok, so the title of the post is a bit misleading... this isn't a true "Case Mod" as the term is intended for PC Case modifications.  Even though this little modification on my tablet case is really simple, it turned out to work really well and deserves a post.  Plus I am going to just copy and paste this info over on XDA-developers for those who can actually make use of it.

I recently started using the Poetic Slimliine Case for my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 tablet and really like it. Thin, light, Sleep/Wake function, and good protection.  The only thing it is missing in my opinion is an elastic holder for a larger S Pen.  I realize the Note 8 already has an smaller S Pen inside the tablet body, but the larger versions you can purchase from Samsung or Wacom are better for taking notes as they are the size / weight of a normal pen, and the back works an an eraser tool for most applications that work with the SPen (S Note, Papyrus, etc).  Here is the one I purchased.  It works really well, much more accurate that the crappy types of stylus you can get for other tablets, accurate and feels very close to pen / paper.

To fix this issue, I commissioned my wife to help with her sewing skills.  Purchased a roll of 1.5in wide black elastic from Hobby Lobby, and had her sew some loops on the top of two bands.

I was going to glue the bands to the inside of the case, but found it wasn't necessary.  The friction grip that occurs once the tablet is snapped into case is plenty strong enough to keep them in and from moving around.

 

Here we have it installed.  It keeps the Pen securely in place, and is very easy to access.  Also doesn't get in the way when holding the tablet in any orientation.
 Here is a shot from the back.  It is flexible enough to easily plug into the headphone jack.  Doesn't hinder anything on the device.

Overall, this little $2 upgrade has made this case perfect for me now.  Very happy with how it turned out.

Tannerite vs a Microwave & Cantaloupes

Did a bit of shooting this weekend, and decided to use up some of the Tannerite that I had sitting is my storage room.  Shooting Tanneriate in the containers that it ships in is fun and all, but its a lot MORE fun to put it inside things and watch them go boom.  Here is a little background on what Tannerite is for those who don't know.  From the Tannerite web site:

Tannerite® is a binary explosive used primarily as a target for firearms practice. Tannerite is unique in that it is exceptionally stable when subjected to less severe forces such as a hammer blow or being dropped. It is more than 1000 times safer than ordinary black powder since it is not flammable and can not be initiated by any kind of flame or electricity.  It is supplied as two powders which are combined to produce the explosive.

Tannerite® Company recommends using 0.5-pound (0.23 kg) preparations of the substance, which should detonate when shot by a high-powered rifle. Small caliber rim-fire or slow moving pistol ammunition will not initiate a detonation.

Tannerite® detonations occur at a very high velocity, producing a large explosion and cloud of water vapor. It may be useful for persons who are firing at long ranges; in this scenario, a long-range rifle shooter places targets downrange, retreats to his firing position, and fires. The shooter does not have to walk down range to see if he has a hit, the Tannerite® will detonate and serve as an indicator.
Since the two components are not explosive until mixed, they can legally be purchased in the USA without a license.  They can be legally used for sporting purposes in conjunction with small arms, just like black powder and other exempt sporting powder.

So now that you know what it is, take a look at the video below to see what fun it can be!  I basically just mixed the Tannerite, and placed it into smaller containers, which I then inserted into cantaloupes.

We also used 2 full size containers inside of an old microwave for an impressive demonstration.  Cantaloupes were shot with my AR-15 (5.56mm), microwave was done using my M1A (7.62mm).