Ladybird key chain camera construction

I just remembered that I hadn't documented the way that I attached the key chain camera to my Ladybird. As I described in an earlier post, I'm using Velcro to attach the camera upside down to the bottom of the Ladybird. I'm also using a soft and sticky padding to angle the camera in the right position slightly pointed downwards.

The first post was however with the camera pointed slightly upwards, which in general is a bad idea when recording things below the camera ;).

An update regarding the package containing new motors is that I've received a tracking number and that the package should be on it's way. Hopefully I'll receive the package before my vacation is over.

Lady bird flies with a new camera

I bought this Mini DVR 808 key chain camera a while ago as many RC model enthusiasts use them for cheap video recording.

It works fairly well and records in 720x480 with a pretty narrow angle lens. Having a wide eye lens would however have been ideal for this kind of video recording. There are however other cameras that feature that but not for less than $7.

I'd recommend removing the plastic container by unscrewing a couple of screws to reduce the weight of the camera. This is what I've done to fit it to the ladybird, still it feels like it's pretty overweight at the moment. I fitted the camera using Velcro to make it possible to remove the camera if desired.

This is my first attempt to do any kind of recording so please don't mind the quality :).

You might notice that the date and time annotation is upside down, that is because I had to mount the camera upside down on the Ladybird to be able to access the start/stop buttons. I then used the enhancement features from YouTube to rotate the screen :).

It's alive!

Just got my Lady bird back from the dead with the help of my tree climbing father :). But it's got company and it seems as of a spider have moved in and laid some eggs. Will try it in a day or two after it's dried out from any water left in is motors.

The Ladybird flies again

After some vital reconstruction and replacement parts, my ladybird flies once more. It's body was completely shattered and had to be replaced. That was done using the spare body I bought a couple of weeks ago again from Banggood.

Did you however notice how I mounted the new body sideways? The battery should face vertically, not horizontally as on the picture. But it doesn't seem to mater :).

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.