Soldering starter kit

A couple of days ago, I ordered a soldering starter kit as it will eventually be needed for my quad. I also ordered a soldering beginner course to get warmed up. I've never done any soldering before and felt that this kit should be a good start.

This is the DIY starter kit I ordered. This site is in Swedish: 

http://www.conrad.se/websale7/?wsid=11406a4e67cc188f3ac27cafc34785d0

I also need a CP2102?

This is a CP2102. It's used to program the OranteRX radio module. I just realized this morning that I hadn't covered the programming part of the module, and also hadn't ordered one. So, here we are, making additional orders again. This however is very cheap and can be bought from good old Banggood for less than $3 including the free world wide shipping. How the wiring is done is covered in a thread over at rcgroups.com.

There is always something more you need, isn't it? Anyhow, it's Friday and TGIF!

Using 433MHz or not?

I just got a tip from somebody I meet that using 433MHz for radio controlled models might not be such a good idea. The 433MHz band is free for usage but is also being heavily used by amateur radio enthusiasts. I was however suggested to use 439MHz instead as that frequency apparently is reserved for RC usage.

I'll be using the OrangeRX radio, which is open source and as far as I understand can be tuned for different frequencies by simply changing the code. I'll try that when the items arrive :).

Link to OrangeRX OpenLRSng: https://github.com/kh4/openLRSng

Package in the mail

Writing today's post from my balcony after having stuffed two grilled burgers into the opening in the middle of my face.

A package arrived today with mounts for my motors. This is the package that I wrote about that was in Malmö two days ago. It's the only urns I had to order from Germany as they weren't in stock in any other warehouse.

Another fail

Got another package in the mail today. However I seem to have missed the fact that I need four propellers for my quad. I only ordered two :(.

So, I need to make another complementary order. This order took nine days to arrive, so I should be fine.

I also got a replacement body for my first quad which had an accident.

Package tracking

I am tracking four packages at the moment containing most of the ordered items. This is the current status:

1. Package dispatched from Germany is currently inbound Malmö, Sweden, which means that it should be expected early this week.
2. Package #1 dispatched from Hong Kong has today, the 26th left Singapore for Sweden. That should take a couple of days.
3. Package #2 dispatched from Hong Kong has today, the 26th left Hong Kong by airmail to Sweden.
4. Package #3 dispatched from Hong Kong is unknown. I can't find it using any package tracking service. This is common for packages that has not yet left the first sorting stage.

My favorite packing tracking page is packagetrackr.com, it can usually find packages carried by any carrier in the world.

First package arrival

The first of my packages has now arrived. It was some misc stuff that I ordered a while ago that is needed for soldering. 3.5mm gold connectors and shrink tube.

Connectors are vital as most parts come without any connectors attached. I hope that I don't need to order any extra.

Packages are on their way

Short update as the title reads, the first packages have now left Hong Kong. This should mean that I should start receiving packages a little over a week from now. Experience tells that packages stay in Singapore customs for about a week before being sent onwards.

Things I forgot about

When I started listing the parts I needed for my quad, I forgot about one thing. How would I go about converting the 11.1V output from the battery pack into 5.5V input for my Multiwii flight controller? The question struck me a couple of days ago and was solved using a uBec. Simply, a thing that converts high input to a lower output.

The second thing I forgot about is a charger. I've ordered my shiny 5000mAh battery but nothing to charge it with. I decided to go with a Turnigy charger that can charge batteries with up to six cells.





As far as I know, everything should now be either still at the warehouse or somewhere between there and here. Time to wait.

Schematic drawing

This is the way that I see that my quad will be hooked up. As I'm new at this, I will keep this drawing up to date as well over time.

The radio

Choices, choices. Changes, changes.. I realised that the Turnigy 9X radio that I've chosen was in back order. I therefore made some changes. The radio that was available however was the same equipment but without its radio transmitter. I then browsed various choices of radios and stuck with a OrangeRX 433MHz radio module.

The main difference between the regular 2.4GHz radio and an 433MHz is that the lower frequency radio has longer range. A 2.4GHz radio may have a range of 300 meters open space, where a 433MHz radio can reach much further and does not require open space.

I also ordered a Bluetooth hardware to connect to the flight controller. This means that it will be possible to control the quad from my android mobile ;). Point and click on a map and it will go there.

Last but not least, shopping list is updated located in my first blog post.

Have a good weekend!

First order...

So, I've made some last minute changes (of course). This happened after that I'd read that the quad frame I decided to use was fragile. So I changed it and with that came also some last minute adjustments to the new specs.

That means, that the frame I ordered is made of fiberglass instead of wood and some fiberglass. It also has the same dimensions, 550mm across.

As this frame weighs slightly more, I also decided to go with some more powerful motors. It seems as if propellers in my desired dimension has run out thought. That will be a later issue.

Almost everything is now ordered, up to 2kg in package weight. Above that, shipping gets pretty expensive.

I've also updated my shopping list displayed in my first blog post to match the ordered items.

That's the way the cookie crumbles

So I need to fix my first quad. This is what happens when flying into hard walls.

Short completion to last post

What I didn't mention in my first post is that I yet haven't bought the parts yet. And yet another vital skill that will be required is to solider. I haven't done much solider in my passed so that will be a new skill to acquire.  Solidifying is required as most parts bought are delivered without any connectors attached. This is probably done to give the customer maximum choice of connectors, or simply solidify the parts together without connectors to save weight.

Will need to start ordering parts soon to be able to get everything before vacation time when I intend to start flying :).

The beginning

So, I've decided to get my self a hobby. Hobby hasn't ever really been an issue as computers always been at hand, however, by getting older, I need something new to focus the ever shrinking free time on.

Walkera LadyBird V2 FPV was my first quad RC, seen here to the right. Bought it from the good old banggood.com.

As I grew more interested in quads, I've now decided to build my own from parts that can be acquired online. I've therefore made my self a wishing list of the things I need to buy in order to build my UAV. And as always, budget is of the essence and I've decided on a shoestring budget.




This budget may however change during the project but I will try to keep it up to date with all parts I need for the UAV.

To comment on some of the parts that are in the list, the frame I've decided to go for is a light weight low budget frame, which I will probably buy two of to keep one as spare part. Light weight also means more payload.

This Multiwii and Megapirate All-In-One Flight Controller allows for autonomous flight from take-off, thorough way-points and onwards to the landing. It runs on the same software as the well-known but more expensive ArduPilot flight controller. Once again, shoestring budget.