DIY Drones

Latest Activity

Duran DeV replied to jasonshort's discussion 'Arducopter 2.2 beta'

any ETA on when it will apear in MP ? Here another short video of our new Steadidrone Quads with 2.2b4, will try your new b4 today! Hope some of you reccognize the sounds track ;) I'm actually not that old, 27, b ut loved it as a kid.

9 minutes ago

Max Levine commented on Max Levine's blog post 'The easiest way to mount APM2 on ArduCopter.'

@Robert, You can see 4 ESC wires on the right, mag and gps are on the board so no wires here :) how to connect ppm-sum to APM2 board (there is firmware support already) For APM1 you'll need to update the…

19 minutes ago

Dave C replied to jasonshort's discussion 'Arducopter 2.2 beta'

You are like clockwork Marco, well done :) Could i ask, "Tuning fixes" - does that include getting the RATE_P STAB_P values correct for channel 6 tuning? I'm plannning on getting things properly dialed in today, and without a helper…

19 minutes ago

Wiesiek M replied to sfcnzl's discussion 'Problems getting XBee Telemetry working'

Hi, did you maybe identify the problem?

23 minutes ago

Flight Controller for a HPA

Hi i'm new,I'm part of a team making a human powered aircraft, and we're looking at flight controllers. Ideally we want the pilot to just pedal so the hpa follows a predetermined route, with a manual override. There will not be any ground controls during flight though it might be useful to monitor pitch, roll, gps location etc. remotely. Manual inputs will be from analog thumbsticks as opposed to a radio receiver.I'm currently considering OpenPilot CopterControl and ArduPilot ArduPlane. Do you…See More

Discussion posted by killerisation 31 minutes ago

0 Comments 0 Likes

Marco Robustini replied to jasonshort's discussion 'Arducopter 2.2 beta'

ArduCopter V2.2b6 - Daily update:- Minor changes for PID for jDrones motors due latest changes on control laws- Tuning fixes- TUNE 20 for tuning "NAV I"- Tweaks to Loiter and little change in the default PID

38 minutes ago

Cliff Dearden replied to Denny Rowland's discussion 'The way to go?'

Interesting Denny but whats the benefit of flying upside down if all your work is with filming. Could there be any increase in endurance for a given battery size perhaps? Or is it purely for fun flying?

41 minutes ago

Olivier replied to James Roney's discussion 'Barometer Interfere caused by Xbee 900 telelmetry'

I've purchase 2.4 Ghz here: http://www.buildyourowndrone.co.uk/ Nice contact and great services from Martin. About range due to winter weather I've not done long range test. I've only done test between my home and my garage, it works…

53 minutes ago

Imko van Beckhoven commented on Imko van Beckhoven's blog post 'Quad First flight'

Do you also need a uBEC and does youre laptop resets when you connect the Lipo?

1 hour ago

JesseJay replied to Sean Thomas's discussion 'Use a different IMU in place of ArduIMU?'

The MinIMU-9 just has i2c sensors like the ArduIMU. It does no on board processing. The ArduIMU V3 will off load some of the calculations to a DMP6000 once they workout the firmware licensing issue. Also, the MinIMU-9…

1 hour ago

malcolm churn replied to malcolm churn's discussion 'ArduCopter Traditional Heli (was: "600-size heli")'

Well that was some morning reading, good explanation for the terms... thanks for that...it might allow me now to tune a bit better than i have been :)

1 hour ago

malcolm churn replied to malcolm churn's discussion 'ArduCopter Traditional Heli (was: "600-size heli")'

any chance you could send a drawing over, got a mate here with a machine shop, but would like to get one made out of ABS or a material like it. That looks really good :)

1 hour ago

Chapelat Daniel commented on Jean-Louis Naudin's blog post 'ArduCopter in action: Testing the QuadCopter (HIL mode) on X-Plane v9'

Bonjour Amar, J'ai eu le même PB car j'utilisais Xplane en réseau sur 2 pc distincts, résolu en utilisant 1 seul PC comme indiqué dans le tuto,:Voici l'ordre de démarrage qui fonctionne dans…

1 hour ago

Harrison commented on Jordi Muñoz's blog post 'Please welcome ArduPilotMega 2.0!'

So tomorrow is the first week of Feb! Any update on the parts?

2 hours ago

Hein du Plessis commented on Chris Anderson's blog post 'A quad with everything for less than $100'

I would add 20 bucks and upgrade to this frame: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=22397

2 hours ago

Andrew Radford replied to glen's discussion 'can a blue tooth modle be used for telmetry'

http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/bluetooth-serial-communications-with-the-apm

2 hours ago

Denny Rowland replied to Denny Rowland's discussion 'The way to go?'

Dont know what happened then but here it is again MIT ACL - Variable Pitch Quadrotor - YouTube

2 hours ago

The way to go?

No Description

Discussion posted by Denny Rowland 2 hours ago

2 Comments 0 Likes

Randy commented on Doug Weibel's blog post 'Difficulty with using Ultrasonic Ranging (Sonar) for landing flare control.'

@Tom in ON, Sadly we don't have too many other options for altitude estimation besides Sonar + Barometer. The Sharp IR Sensor's distance detection is limited to 1.5m (max) so probably too short. Laser…

2 hours ago

Ruwan Janapriya replied to Ellison Chan's discussion 'DiyDrones Rants and Raves'

We do have a lot of wonderful stuff in DIYDrones already. I appreciate the effort by Chris et. al. But you know, there are some stuff which can improve it further. For example polls. Being completely new to RC/Quad, I wished if I had seen quad…

3 hours ago

Start a discussion

Click here to start a forum topic below. Remember to select a category!

VIew all discussions

Click here to see all forum topics.

Forum

Arducopter 2.2 beta

Started by jasonshort in ArduCopter 2.x (multicopter). Last reply by Duran DeV 9 minutes ago. 1197 Replies 15 Likes

Problems getting XBee Telemetry working

Started by sfcnzl in Wireless communications. Last reply by Wiesiek M 23 minutes ago. 8 Replies 0 Likes

Flight Controller for a HPA

Started by killerisation in My Project 31 minutes ago. 0 Replies 0 Likes

The way to go?

Started by Denny Rowland in Aerial photography. Last reply by Cliff Dearden 41 minutes ago. 2 Replies 0 Likes

Barometer Interfere caused by Xbee 900 telelmetry

Started by James Roney in ArduCopter 2.x (multicopter). Last reply by Olivier 53 minutes ago. 9 Replies 0 Likes

Use a different IMU in place of ArduIMU?

Started by Sean Thomas in ArduIMU. Last reply by JesseJay 1 hour ago. 2 Replies 0 Likes

ArduCopter Traditional Heli (was: "600-size heli")

Started by malcolm churn in Helicopters. Last reply by malcolm churn 1 hour ago. 1002 Replies 6 Likes

can a blue tooth modle be used for telmetry

Started by glen in ArduCopter 2.x (multicopter). Last reply by Andrew Radford 2 hours ago. 3 Replies 0 Likes

DiyDrones Rants and Raves

Started by Ellison Chan in Miscellaneous. Last reply by Ruwan Janapriya 3 hours ago. 49 Replies 0 Likes

Heartbeat on APM code

Started by GrandBourgueul in ArduPilot Mega 2.x software 3 hours ago. 0 Replies 0 Likes

Interesting GPS Power Problem

Started by John Hanson in ArduCopter 2.x (multicopter). Last reply by John Hanson 4 hours ago. 2 Replies 0 Likes

Night vision pictures with GPS coordinates

Started by Lee Wilkes in Aerial photography. Last reply by Luke Nyhof 4 hours ago. 13 Replies 0 Likes

ESC arming issue (Turnigy Plush 40)

Started by Andreas in ArduPilotMega 2.0 hardware. Last reply by Martin Szymanski 4 hours ago. 50 Replies 0 Likes

Skywalker Fiberglass flight report

Started by Ryan in Aircraft platforms. Last reply by Ryan 5 hours ago. 5 Replies 0 Likes

Reading I2C sensor port on arduino

Started by Dany Rassam in Sensors & IMUs. Last reply by Martin Szymanski 5 hours ago. 5 Replies 0 Likes

CCW EDF?

Started by Justin in ArduCopter 2.x (multicopter). Last reply by Steve Warren 5 hours ago. 9 Replies 0 Likes

Newbie Question with new 3DR kit

Started by Doug Fletcher in ArduCopter 2.x (multicopter). Last reply by Doug Fletcher 5 hours ago. 5 Replies 0 Likes

Magnetometer Config Question

Started by Vincent Hoog in Autopilot hardware. Last reply by Vincent Hoog 6 hours ago. 2 Replies 0 Likes

Digi 9XTend Development Kit - Price Drop, $250 OBO

Started by Luke Middleton in Buy, Sell, Trade. Last reply by Luke Middleton 7 hours ago. 3 Replies 0 Likes

UAV System Interface / Software

Started by Joel Alexanian in Autopilot hardware 7 hours ago. 0 Replies 0 Likes

Photos

Loading…

Videos

PIRATE HUNTERS MERCENARY STYLE.4

Added by C.P. Ryan 0 Comments 0 Likes

Quad Copter SecondFlight

Added by Imko van Beckhoven 1 Comment 0 Likes

Site license

All content is free to use under a Creative Commons attribution license.

Welcome to DIY Drones

This is the home for everything about amateur Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Use the tabs and drop-down menus above to navigate the site.

This community created the Arduino-compatible ArduPilot, the world's first universal autopilot (planes, copters of all sorts, ground rovers, boats). The ArduPilotMega autopilot hardware runs a variety of powerful free Arduino-based UAV software systems, including:
* ArduPlane, a pro-level UAV system for planes of all types.
* ArduCopter, a fully-autonomous multicopter and heli UAV system.

I'm new to all this--where do I start? Are amateur UAVs legal? (yes)

How can I join a DIY Drones project? Glossary of confusing terms

About DIY Drones (site policies)

Contests

Season Two of the Trust Time Trial (T3) Contest has now begun. The second round is an autotakeoff and landing round for both planes and copters, with a deadline of March 4th. Details here.

A list of all T3 contests is here.

Blog Posts

A quad with everything for less than $100

Posted by Chris Anderson on January 29, 2012 at 8:30pm 17 Comments 3 Likes

HobbyKing's done it again. Check out this deal: their mini-quad with four motors for $33.95! (Or $31.95 if you just let your browser sit open on that page for a few…

Continue

More Progress on the Quad Frame

Posted by Dirk Van Essendelft on January 29, 2012 at 5:00pm 0 Comments 2 Likes

I have just finished the first revision of my full frame. The arms are designed to be very ridged in every bending moment. I added anchor points to the arms about half way out. This will allow me to attach stay wires that will also help keep the frame ridged. The hub is designed to break at bolted connection to the arms in the event of a hard crash. The hub has the fewest parts and would be easiest to replace. The arms can fold together for compact storage. The hole…

Continue

Difficulty with using Ultrasonic Ranging (Sonar) for landing flare control.

Posted by Doug Weibel on January 29, 2012 at 1:30pm 23 Comments 3 Likes

A feature frequently requested is to add support to ArduPlane for using sonar to control the landing flare.The answer, unfortunately, is probably no. Take a look at this graph I obtained yesterday...

This has been on my to-do list for ages as I have never gotten around to getting some real world…

Continue

Marcy 1 with POV

Posted by Jack Crossfire on January 28, 2012 at 8:00pm 5 Comments 8 Likes

A 3x2 propeller, another tuning of the PID & azimuth, & a lot of camera flashes got it up to 9 minutes. Previously, it was a 3x3 propeller. The motor stayed just cool enough.…

Continue

Quad First flight

Posted by Imko van Beckhoven on January 28, 2012 at 12:08pm 7 Comments 1 Like

It took me a while to get to this point, Build log (in dutch) but now i am almost there. Yes almost, I've got myself a very strange arming procedure. But enjoy the video first.

Arming procedure:

Connect copter whit USB to laptop.
Let APM 2.0…

Continue

QRM [DIY quadcopter] update 2

Posted by s.v.itterzon on January 28, 2012 at 6:57am 13 Comments 9 Likes

This week all necessary parts for the QRM quadcopter arrived, and we test fitted them on the aluminum prototype frame. Everything fitted perfect, and we finalized the designs so that the frame could be machined out of carbon fiber.…

Continue

ArduCopter: "PIDT1" code and hex files to try...

Posted by Igor van Airde on January 28, 2012 at 3:25am 9 Comments 5 Likes

Hi all,

a while ago, I wrote about control structure and started a discussion. Now the discussion about PIDT1 is going on also in the "…

Continue

MyDIYTri Part 5. A month late!

Posted by Don Brooks on January 27, 2012 at 10:30pm 24 Comments 2 Likes

Wow, the fun I've had and the things I've learned along the way with this little project. But at long last, I'm happy to say that I've actually finished the build! This whole thing started as a way to relax and pass the time during the holidays. I was thinking at the time, that I'd actually be able to finish things a month ago…

Continue

Open source G10 quad frame

Posted by Chris Starke on January 27, 2012 at 2:30pm 14 Comments 10 Likes

I have just finished the design and prototype phase of my open source quad frame. Its a 1.5mm G10 frame for 10"-12" props. I am in the process of designing a two axis gimbal for it, but to do this i need access to a faster prototyping process. I have entered the instructables shopbot contest and I really hope that i can win that as it will make prototyping so much easier. I've spent approximately 3 months on this design so id really appreciate it if when downloading the dxf…

Continue

Finally, my first quad is ready

Posted by Marcelo Ceccon on January 26, 2012 at 10:09am 3 Comments 1 Like

Here is the video, poor quality due to compression and the camera.

body construction:

…

Continue

Chat

Welcome to
DIY Drones

Sign Up
or Sign In

You can also sign up with:

Groups

ArduCopter User Group

453 members
ArduPlane User Group

285 members

ArduCopter (traditional …

75 members
ArduPilot (legacy) User …

73 members

Moderators

47 members
ROS User Group

24 members

View All

UAV news from sUAS News

’3 Idiots’ UAV inducted into counter-insurgency operations

The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), that awed viewers in the Bollywood hit ”3 Idiots”, has been officially inducted into the paramilitary forces. The Border Security Force (BSF) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) are using the drone, titled ‘Netra’, in counter-insurgency operations. The autonomous UAV for surveillance and reconnaissance was inducted into the paramilitary forces last month while the army, navy and several state police forces have shown a keen interest in acquiring it, say its makers. It was developed by Ideaforge Technology Pvt Ltd, a company floated by a group of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Mumbai alumni, and the Pune-based Research and Development Establishment (Engineers) laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). DRDO, after watching the 2009 Aamir Khan-starrer “3 Idiots”, tied up with IdeaForge to refine the Netra. It is designed specifically for anti-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations in forested areas. It can be used in hostage situations like the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, border infiltration monitoring, local law enforcement operations, search and rescue operations, disaster management and aerial photography. “Ten units of Netra have already been taken by the DRDO for research related works in their laboratories like Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) in [...]

Dhaksha UAV Forge entry tested successfully by team MIT India

MIT, Anna University, Department of Aerospace Engineering’s Division of Avionics successfully tested the DHAKSHA- mini unmanned aircraft system (UAS), will provide the public safety and rescue operations with real-time video and stable, high-resolution imagery said Dr.K.Senthil Kumar,Project Director,Mini UAV’s. He also informed that the short-range tactical rotorcraft system can be made available immediately when first responders need it. DHAKSHA’s compact size fits in the small case or a car and is easy to launch and recover in almost any harsh environment. DHAKSHA is highly tolerant of sustained winds and wind gusts, thereby achieving stable aerial imagery through an advanced onboard control system. “ DHAKSHA will help first responders locate and identify natural and human public safety threats, keeping people out of harm’s way,” said Dr.S.Thamarai Selvi, Dean MIT. It speeds and maneuvers at the touch of a button. Operator training and workload is minimized through a streamlined design and user interface. Video imagery is transmitted to the handheld ground control station and distributed to decision makers for real-time viewing. “It fits seamlessly into public safety operations,” appreciated by Prof. Dr. P. Mannar Jawahar, Vice Chancellor, Anna University, India. MIT can provide extensive and experienced support to users because we’ve been involved [...]

Pulse Aerospace Unveils New Helicopter Unmanned Aircraft System at PIPELINE Innovator of the Year Event

LAWRENCE, Kansas (January 30, 2012) – Pulse Aerospace, a Lawrence, KS based unmanned aircraft systems developer, released their latest product, the PA-01 Vapor helicopter unmanned aircraft system (UAS), at the PIPELINE Innovator of the Year Event in Overland Park, KS on January 26, 2012. Bill Donovan, President of Pulse Aerospace, was selected into the 2011 group of high-growth oriented innovators to take part in the PIPELINE entrepreneurial fellowship culminating in venture capital presentations to judges including Thomas B. Pickens III of Astrotech; Lars Perkins, founder of Picasa; and Suren Dutia, Kauffman Foundation Fellow. “It was really great to put our company through this process.” said Bill Donovan. “There are a lot of business incubators out there for new ideas, but PIPELINE is more focused on helping existing companies that are poised for strong growth, and the timing worked out well for us to release our new product, the Vapor, at the event.” During his presentation, Donovan emphasized that a new commercial market is emerging, which they hope to capitalize on with the Vapor. “To integrate UAS into the commercial market you have to do three things: You have to make them easier to operate, more affordable, and more reliable. [...]

The University of North Dakota’s UAS Program from a Graduates Perspective

With the FAA in the US trying to integrate Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the National Air Space (NAS), the question of how UAS pilots will be trained or get degrees, when this happens, is a question on almost everyone’s mind in the industry. The first college to have a full degree for UAS was the University of North Dakota (UND). The FAA is currently using much of what they have discovered as a template for how other degrees in the field should be run. UND started its UAS program in 2009. In 2007, all it had been was a proposal from some students and teachers. In that two year span, a lot of work was done to make this program happen. The program is very extensive in training. First, a student must start on a commercial airplane pilot path, taking a few introductory courses in UAS to get them interested. Once they have started their mid-level manned aviation classes, they can start on harder level UAS classes. All of the UAS classes are built to teach their students to work as a team in either the development process of new systems in the UAS industry, or operating within one [...]

Heron TP in flight test crash

No injuries in crash of Heron TP near Tel Nof Air Force Base; IAF launches probe into crash of “UAV that can reach Iran.” The Heron TP, Israel’s most advanced unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed Sunday morning during a test flight near the Tel Nof Air Force Base in central Israel. The Israeli Air Force says technical failure or human factor could have caused the incident. The all-weather fully-automatic UAV was designed for strategic reconnaissance and carries a whole payload of sensors, optical and infrared cameras and is equipped for fire-control, also reportedly having assault capabilities. Thought to be the biggest UAV in the world, it is capable of reaching Iran. With a wingspan of 26 meters, the IAI Eitan resembles a small airliner, though it weights only four tons. With a cruise speed of 300 kilometers per hour, it can stay in the air for up to 36 hours, and is able to cover a distance of 10,000 kilometers. Its payload is up to 1.8 tons. Tel Nof airbase, or Air Force Base 8, is one of Israel’s three principal airbases. It was opened by the British as the UK’s main airbase on Palestinian territory, and used to be known [...]

More…

More…

Badges | Report an Issue | Terms of Service

1	Warning from the LAPD--do not use UAVs commercially!
2	Arducopter 2.2 beta
3	The easiest way to mount APM2 on ArduCopter.
4	40mm retractable camera turret
5	A quad with everything for less than $100

Latest Activity

Start a discussion

VIew all discussions

Forum

Photos

Videos

Site license

Welcome to DIY Drones

Contests

Blog Posts

Chat

Top Content

Groups

UAV news from sUAS News

UAV news from Flight Global