Latest Activity

Popa Stefan commented on Chris Anderson's blog post Updated ArduCopter and ArduPlane code: APM2 users please upgrade!
"Hello,  I am looking for the servo_out variable in the newest Arduplane code and I cannot find where it's value is being calculated. I found in the…"
20 minutes ago
John Leichty commented on Alex Muir's blog post A Walk in the Mojave: NASA Tests Mars Rover on Desert Dunes
"Zing!"
43 minutes ago
Vernon Barry replied to John Kwasky's discussion Help With new (first) TX/RX purchase (budget)
"Jake, this is what I've been trying to get at. Prove to yourself this test. (I would but it's not like I'm going to go out and by a 9x when I have a DX8 and DX6i). Take your quad with no props, arm it, spin it up to half throttle and…"
44 minutes ago

Wiki Ninja
Kevin Finisterre replied to John Kwasky's discussion Help With new (first) TX/RX purchase (budget)
"Do you know if yours is a V1 or V2? I am actually trying to collect as much info as I can as I plan to help get the community failsafe dox to be a bit beefier. This gear is popular so determining IF there is an issue is certainly worth the effort.…"
1 hour ago
KM6VV commented on Jean-Louis Naudin's blog post APMRover 2, a fun UGV project for full autonomous recon missions...
"Hi, I just realized that this project uses R/C servos for steering, and ESC (fwd/rev?) for the drive motor.  My old truck frame has neither!  I can probably swap out the simple DC steering motor; but what's a good ESC to…"
1 hour ago

Moderator
Monroe commented on James Goppert's blog post ArkScicos Toolbox now released for Windows/ Mac as well as Linux
"It turned out to be a bit harder than I thought to get all three operating systems running on the network and switching between them and a single Eyefinity display. But! I finally got it up and going using just one keyboard and mouse. So now…"
1 hour ago
KM6VV commented on Jean-Louis Naudin's blog post APMRover 2, a fun UGV project for full autonomous recon missions...
"Hello Jean Louis, Just found this project, after following Ardupilot for heli for a while.  I would like to use an Arduino Mega and a 9DOF Razor IMU (SparkFun)  9DOF IMU Along with a 66 Channel LS20031 GPS 5Hz Receiver, also from SparkFun…"
1 hour ago
Hadleigh Shaw replied to Hadleigh Shaw's discussion Accurate GPS to use with remote control boat
"Hi Jake Thanks for the info. Can i run the Ardupilot 1.0 software with this board as I've been told with the newer sotware I would need sensors X and Y ? For the purpose I need it for (Boat) these sensors arent needed (they are for altitude…"
1 hour ago

Wiki Ninja
Kevin Finisterre replied to John Kwasky's discussion Help With new (first) TX/RX purchase (budget)
"jake I guess I didn't qualify the fact that I am a new dad... having them for two years doesn't always equate to constant use. Two of them have er9x on them because I found that the stock firmware was garbage. I wanted to try modding out…"
1 hour ago
Jake Stew replied to John Kwasky's discussion Help With new (first) TX/RX purchase (budget)
"I've never read anything from anyone claiming to have had this freezing problem.  I'd be really surprised if it's never happened to anyone given the number of units out there.  But the same goes for any popular…"
1 hour ago
Andy Demartini posted a discussion

Maestro Tracking and Telemetry Files

My Az-El mount is sitting on the bench, almost ready to go to the field.  But, it doesn't seem ready yet.  The hardware was set up and ranges configured with the Maestro Control Center.  Azimuth is on channel zero and elevation on channel one.  I set the Az to rest at North with permissible swings to South in either direction.  This gives me limits at 1385 (-180), 1500 (N) and 1615 (+180).  It all works fine with the Maestro Control.  I set the MP PWM at "235", the difference between my…See More
1 hour ago

Moderator
Jack Crossfire commented on Abe's blog post State Estimation For Aggressive Flight Using Onboard Sensing
"Was that your porsche?"
1 hour ago
Carl La France commented on Carl La France's blog post Radian rebuild wing root diagram and wing parts
"It might surprise you guys but I know what I am doing back in 1972 I was with the EAA for a couple of years and built a aluminum  a airfoil 49 feet long  with 6000 flush rivets in it  There was no distortion…"
1 hour ago

Moderator
Monroe replied to Earl's discussion Button Add in MP
"Yeah, it needs to be Mavlink because the telemtery link is going to be stronger than the R/C gear at that distance."
1 hour ago
Jake Stew replied to Hadleigh Shaw's discussion Accurate GPS to use with remote control boat
"I'd suggest the APM2 @ $199.  Everything is all in one nice little unit, so it would be easier to waterproof than using separate modules.  The GPS by it's self can be had for around $30. The mediatek and ublox chipsets…"
1 hour ago
Jordan Tolentino commented on Jordi Muñoz's blog post How to boost your 2.4Ghz Spektrum/JR Transmitter signal!
"If I were to use a 2s lipo with this module instead of a 3s like it recomends in the article, would I lose operation time? Range? Etc. Thanks"
1 hour ago
Jake Stew replied to JD's discussion How NOT to fry the APM 2.0!!
"The 5v and gnd pins are all tied together on the output rail.  You can run lots of current through these rails because there's no components involved.  If you notice any problems just take two lengths of wire and solder them along the…"
1 hour ago
Dave replied to John Kwasky's discussion Help With new (first) TX/RX purchase (budget)
"I'm going down the exact same path.  I've used a Turnigy 9x for about 6 months.  I believe it's just a rebadged version of the FrSky. Very early on, I reflashed with ER9X firmware because the stock firmware sucks.  Very…"
1 hour ago
Kamu Johansen commented on Max Levine's blog post 9x radio 'mod' list
"Hey Max, did you ever get around to doing that thumbstick mod write up?"
1 hour ago
Jake Stew replied to John Kwasky's discussion Help With new (first) TX/RX purchase (budget)
"So you have three of them that you've been flying for years with no problems, then you borrow one to a noob and he has a problem that was possibly caused by some sort of TX/RX problem...  so now you think 9X's are crap? I think your…"
2 hours ago

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Forum

Help With new (first) TX/RX purchase (budget)

Started by John Kwasky in RC equipment. Last reply by Vernon Barry 44 minutes ago. 23 Replies

Button Add in MP

Started by Earl in APM Mission Planner. Last reply by Monroe 1 hour ago. 8 Replies

Send me pictures of your workshop

Started by Amanda DeMatto in Miscellaneous. Last reply by Rick M 3 hours ago. 1 Reply

Power plant recommendation for my quadcopter build

Started by Luc van Helfteren in Quadcopters. Last reply by Tian 3 hours ago. 1 Reply

APM2 New $180 Shipped

Started by Herschel Boyd in Buy, Sell, Trade. Last reply by Herschel Boyd 3 hours ago. 4 Replies

Motors 5 & 6 swapped places

Started by Raymond Choat in ArduCopter 2.x (multicopter). Last reply by James Dinh 4 hours ago. 5 Replies

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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. (About us)


This community created the Arduino-compatible ArduPilot, the world's first universal autopilot (planes, copters of all sorts, ground rovers). The APM 2 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

Blog Posts

IEEE Spectrum on laser-guided aggressive maneuvering research

Posted by Chris Anderson on May 16, 2012 at 1:00pm 1 Comment

This is just a good journalistic summary by …

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Possible R/C or UAV in the news again.....

Posted by Petroni on May 16, 2012 at 12:00pm 5 Comments

Hope one didn't get away from Sparkfun HQ!…

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FreeIMU 4.0 and MultiWii - Is your copter trusted enough to fly above your car in a confined space?

Posted by Fab - Arduino for Visual Studio on May 16, 2012 at 9:00am 11 Comments

As a huge follower of Fabio and his excellent FreeIMU I thought it time to post an update. I am looking forward to playing with the final release. For those who don't already know Fabio, he is a pioneer and well worth following.

 

Extract from the blog...…

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State Estimation For Aggressive Flight Using Onboard Sensing

Posted by Abe on May 16, 2012 at 7:32am 5 Comments

The video from our recent experiments with state estimation in GPS-Denied environments. 

The vehicle is localizing against a known map using a MEMs IMU and a 2D lidar scanner.

There are more details in our paper:…

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Want to know more about the Sea Shepherd drone?

Posted by Gary Mortimer on May 16, 2012 at 7:22am 2 Comments



Getting ready for the start of our next live podcast in a couple of hours time (you can download it later) 10:00 PST about 17:00 GMT I think (could very well be wrong)

The show link here…

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ArduCopter Loiter Tuner / SIM

Posted by jasonshort on May 15, 2012 at 10:30pm 16 Comments

This is a simulation I'm working on to improve the Loiter control laws and discover optimal gains. I have identical code from Arducopter running in Flash as OO Javascript so I can ensure the behavior is the same as the real thing. I tested the MTEK GPS to find the actual latency and accuracy and then modeled it in code.…

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Amazing Feat with Latest AeroQuad 2.1 Flight Code.

Posted by Ellison Chan on May 15, 2012 at 9:00pm 30 Comments

Ok, I can honestly say, that I would never even attempt this with Arducopter.

Check out the AeroQuad website, if you're interested in learning more.

Radian rebuild wing root diagram and wing parts

Posted by Carl La France on May 15, 2012 at 6:00pm 7 Comments

I finally got all the parts together and I am ready to  assemble the one piece wing  the aluminum piece in the center of the photo  Joins both wings together ,reinforces the leading and trailing edge of the wing, is a servo tray for the ailerons and flaps . sets the dihedral angle of the wings and a means of attaching the wing to the plane…

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Just one month to go before the Sparkfun AVC (and the DIY Drones multicopter rodeo!)

Posted by Chris Anderson on May 15, 2012 at 2:22pm 11 Comments

The Sparkfun Autonomous Vehicle Competition is on June 16th, just a month away! Once again the DIY Drones teams will be well represented, with at least 15 people from the APM team alone coming and competing. There will be the usual barbecue at Doug…

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Contests

Season Two of the Trust Time Trial (T3) Contest has now begun. The third round was a reliablilty/aerial photography round for both planes and copters, which is now closed. Stay tuned for the next round, beginning soon.

A list of all T3 contests is here

 

UAV news from sUAS News

GA-ASI & UK Partners Validate New Open Payload Architecture During SPCD

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA‑ASI), a leading manufacturer of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), tactical reconnaissance radars, and electro-optic surveillance systems, along with SELEX Galileo (a Finmeccanica company) and Cobham Aviation Services (Cobham), today demonstrated a new open payload architecture during the Sovereign Payload Capability Demonstration (SPCD) held at GA-ASI’s Gray Butte Flight Operations Facilities in Palmdale, Calif. The event included a live flight demonstration over the Pacific Ocean of a GA-ASI Predator® B/MQ-9 Reaper UAS fitted with a SELEX Galileo Seaspray 7500E surveillance radar and showcased the radar’s ability to track targets on land, in the littoral and maritime environments, and from air-to-air. An international audience was in attendance, including officials from the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the Ministries of Defense of the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and The Netherlands. “Today’s demonstration represents a significant step toward the goal of operational independence for Predator B,” said Frank W. Pace, president, Aircraft Systems Group, GA-ASI. “Our open payload architecture greatly reduces integration complexity by allowing payload providers and mission systems integrators to develop their own payload control software and ultimately integrate their own payloads.” The SPCD is part of a joint Independent Research and [...]

Mystery object nearly causes mid-air collision

DENVER – The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a mystery in the sky. A mysterious object flying over Denver nearly caused a mid-air collision Monday evening, 9Wants to Know has learned. As far as investigators know, the mystery object did not show up on radar Monday. Investigators believe this object, whatever it is, could pose a serious safety hazard to planes. Radio transmissions from LiveATC.net confirm a nervous-sounding pilot reported a strange object at 5:17 p.m. Monday. The pilot is heard telling air traffic control: “A remote controlled aircraft, or what? Something just went by the other way … About 20 to 30 seconds ago. It was like a large remote-controlled aircraft. he corporate jet, a Cessna Citation 525 CJ1, was flying at 8,000 feet above sea level over Cherry Creek when the mystery object came close enough to make any pilot nervous. “That’s an issue because now we have something in controlled airspace that poses a danger,” Former NTSB Investigator and 9NEWS Aviation Analyst Greg Feith said. Feith listened to the air traffic recordings and believes the object could be one of three things: - A military or law enforcement drone. - A remote controlled aircraft. - A large [...]

Unlicensed pilots operating drone aircraft in Illinois airspace

BY NOLAN PETERSON Medill Reports The FAA said it has met a key congressional requirement to streamline the integration of unmanned drone aircraft, known as UAVs, into U.S. airspace by 2015 – allowing public agencies to operate drones with fewer restrictions. The Illinois Army National Guard has already been operating its Shadow drone in Illinois airspace for six months, but Army regulations do not require certified pilots to remotely operate drones – leaving some aviation experts to question what training requirements should be expected of drone pilots now that their airframes share the sky with domestic commercial aviation. Keith Mackey, an aviation safety consultant, has more than 30,000 hours of pilot flight time in aircraft such as the Boeing 747. He said remotely flying an aircraft can be a lot more difficult than manned flight, and real experience as a pilot is necessary for the safe operation of drones in domestic skies. “I suggest that there is going to be a steep learning curve, with the real potential for accidents,” said Mackey, who has logged more than 6,000 hours as a flight instructor. “A lot of people not steeped in reality and without much experience in aviation are making decisions on paper [...]

Saab flight tests heavy fuel version of Skeldar UAV

Saab has conducted flight tests of a heavy fuel powered version of its Skeldar vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in Sweden and Germany. Mikael Franzen, director of Saab Product Area Tactical UAS, said flight testing of the heavy fuel version of Skeldar is progressing according to plan, with several heavy fuel engine helicopters in flight testing stage. “The robust engine and transmission design of the heavy fuel version of Skeldar gives customers a safe and reliable solution for maritime and land operations,” Franzen added. Besides heavy fuel version flight testing, the company is simultaneously conducting maturation and functionality tests to validate Skeldar’s performance. Further development of the Skeldar ILS concept is underway, as well as the functional and configurational development of the Mobile Ground Control Station. The Skeldar is a medium range VTOL rotor UAV designed to conduct surveillance, intelligence gathering, light cargo transportation, and electronic warfare missions, and has been demonstrated and tested from land as well as from a ship’s deck in several countries worldwide. Bookmark It Hide Sites

Safeguarding The Oceans With The Sea Shepherd and sUAS

In this installment, we will discuss the role sUAS plays in assisting the Sea Shepherd in their ongoing endeavor to help safeguard the inhabitants of our delicate ocean ecosystems. Sure to be an exciting and informative dialogue, with all that had to be overcome operating an unmanned system from the high seas. We look forward to finding out more about this admirable example of what can be accomplished with a low risk, low cost solution. sUAS News produces these podcasts with the aspirations of  mainstreaming applications for unmanned technologies in an effort to make the world a better place. Listen live http://www.blogtalkradio.com/suasnews/2012/05/16/safeguarding-the-oceans-with-the-sea-shepherd-and-suas 10:00 PST Wednesday 16th May. Please send Patrick any questions you might have for the guests to patrick@suasnews.com or tweet @sUASNews Bookmark It Hide Sites

UAV news from Flight Global

Finland to get first Orbiter 2 UAS this year

The Finnish army will receive its first Aeronautics Orbiter 2 unmanned air system before the end of this year ...

India’s Rustom 1 reaches 50km flight milestone in test flight

India's Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) Rustom 1 unmanned air system is still undergoing testing and recently completed its 14th successful...

Israeli know-how boosts Russia's armed UAS project

Technology transferred from Israel is helping Russia to design its first strike unmanned air system ...

Australian Shadow 200 UAV commences Afghan operations

Australia has commenced operations with the AAI Shadow 200 tactical unmanned air system in Afghanistan ...

Senior official raises F/A-XX doubts while retired USMC Generals question USN’s F-35 commitment

A senior US Department of Defense official is questioning how the US Navy will fund a next-generation replacement for the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet....

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