I too will be following this build. I started with a phantom and will be moving up to a hex before long. I will not be using near the gear you are but this will certainly be a great thread to watch. I love those Tarot frames!
Building a hexacopter
- Thread starter mediaguru
- Start date
Any updates to this thread? I'm starting to accumulate the gear for a Tarot 810 build - would like some company in my confusion. ;-}
ladykate said:
Nice! Many of our parts are similar. It has been a bit slow. Many of my parts are on backorder. I'm posting what updates I do have on my blog at ambientflight.com.
In short, the frame is built and I've extended the power wires and servo wires for the ESC's, almost ready to put them on the bird. Next step for me is soldering on the motor connectors. My motors came with bare wires.
My transmitter came in today, an FrSky Taranis. The box was smashed though and the case damaged. Not sure if the TX was damaged yet.
I'm waiting for my flight controller, the Xaircraft America model.
Next steps:
1. solder on motor connectors
2. finish up esc server/power.
3. attach esc's to arms and mount motors
4. mount power distribution board somehow, not sure yet.
5. solder esc/motor power to PDB
I have yet to order blades and batteries. The GPS unit for my TX/rx is on backorder.
I went all out with a 1200 watt power supply, charger and paraboard. I should be able to charge even the biggest 6s batteries six at a time and in about 15 minutes.
That's it so far! Tell me about your build and what you are doing? I'm new to it. This is my first. Read a LOT and hope the reading pays off.
mediaguru said:
How bout them stick gimbals, eh?
Q: Was the carrying case slightly dented when you got it? Seems to be a very common occurrence, some dealers even warn about it. Mine had a small one (2"x1") next to one of the latches.
I just read your post. And I just posted a post about this.
That frame really looks badass. I'm ordering my frame tonight. I'll figure the rest out later.
That frame really looks badass. I'm ordering my frame tonight. I'll figure the rest out later.
OI Photography said:mediaguru said:
How bout them stick gimbals, eh?
Q: Was the carrying case slightly dented when you got it? Seems to be a very common occurrence, some dealers even warn about it. Mine had a small one (2"x1") next to one of the latches.
More than dented. It was smashed. I'm waiting for a replacement now.
mediaguru said:
Yep. Thanks! I'm looking forward to the build.
I have changed my mind on the flight controller though. I'm going with Pixhawk. I have Naza V2 in my Storm Drone 6. If i change my mind again, I'll just take it out of that.
How far are you away from the maiden flight?
69420rnr said:
Way far from a maiden flight... Not much done lately.
So tell me about the Pixhawk. I ordered the xAircraft controller because it is supposedly great for larger frames. But it has been backordered forever. May cancel if it takes much longer.
mediaguru said:
Honestly, I can't say that much about Pixhawk.
https://store.3drobotics.com/products/3dr-pixhawk
My main reason for this choice is, I own a Droid tablet and phone. I really don't want to buy an iPad and I'd like to try autopilot/autonomous flying. It's open source too. No restrictions on waypoints. Plus I want to try something different. I have a P2NV, P2V, and a Storm Drone 6. All Naza.
Same here on the maiden flight. I won't have the frame for another week, maybe two. I shot my wad to early when I said, "I was going to buy it that night." There was a minor set back. Soon though!
mediaguru said:My backordered radio system finally came in. Check it out. An FrSky Taranis 16 channel...
Yup, made in China
69420rnr said:
So how does that work? You punch in GPS points on your computer or a tablet or something, then load it in to the unit? For some of the aerial shots I do that might be nice. Plot the path of the copter, take off and let it fly the mission.
What about regular flying as far as GPS mode and ATT mode and all that?
Slow go on this build but yesterday I made some great progress. I've now got all ESCs mounted, leads run through the arms to the body, and motors mounted. Now ready to get the motor power leads wired to the power distribution board. Hope to start that soon.
http://www.ambientflight.com/2014/05/10/hexacopter-escs-and-motors-installed/
http://www.ambientflight.com/2014/05/10/hexacopter-escs-and-motors-installed/
mediaguru said:
I got mine together. My build thread is here: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=10744
It has taken a few flights to get the bugs out but it seems to be running well.
ladykate said:
Nice.
I'm at the stage now where I'm trying to figure out how to mount my flight controller. I'll look at your build thread, but how did you do it? We have the same inner plates. Looks like from reading part of your thread I'd better loctite all my screws.
mediaguru said:
Crap... lost my answer... try again.
Yes, please look at all the screws even the ones preinstalled (especially those). The motor mount piece (their assembly) caught me by surprise. Lucky I didn't completely lose the engine in the drink.
I stacked most of the gear in one corner and then laid out the rest so it was easy to access for updates and wiring changes. Mostly did an ad hoc wiring harness. If I do it again, I will lay it all out on paper and make a true wiring harness. I put the IMU in the center on the bottom deck. It was a tight fit but that is fine - less likely to move.
Adding in the extra decks fore and aft (one piece) was necessary for me. It allowed me to make a harness for the battery to hang from and to put the gimbal out in front. It also leaves me with the rear deck to add the ground station should I decide to do so.
The landing gear sucks. Both tubes fell out of the top sleeve (separate instances). I glued them back in with CA glue and they seem to be holding. The bottom bracket that holds the horizontal skids developed a crack (probably due to the two hard landings documented in the thread) so I chopped off the gear by 2" (a boon - now the camera can't see the skids when pointed down). Replaced the skids with PVC. Ordered an after-market landing gear set but will hold it as a spare since my kludge actually seems to work very well.
I'm running the 3D gimbal on it now. The following picture shows just the 2D. I haven't been able to check it out due to winds (20+ today... waiting for calm so I can't blame any issues on the wind).
Attachments
Really cool to talk with someone who has or is building a similar platform. I used a PDB, which is on the bottom of the bird.
Since the power leads from the esc/motors comes through that bottom center hole in the bottom, I don't have the option of putting the IMU where you did. I'm looking at having it a little higher, near the level of the top plate.
I've read some discussion about how octo's are better than hexas because you can lose a motor and still recover and land. This is promising reading that you were able to bring the bird down with relatively little harm when you had a motor fail, rather than the whole rig crashing to a pile of rubble.
Since the power leads from the esc/motors comes through that bottom center hole in the bottom, I don't have the option of putting the IMU where you did. I'm looking at having it a little higher, near the level of the top plate.
I've read some discussion about how octo's are better than hexas because you can lose a motor and still recover and land. This is promising reading that you were able to bring the bird down with relatively little harm when you had a motor fail, rather than the whole rig crashing to a pile of rubble.
mediaguru said:
Hexas can fly with just five motors. They tend to yaw - when I lost this one, it spun around once very fast, dropped down slightly, and then the controller seemed to recognize something was wrong and started compensating. I was able to steer it with no problem. I brought it down quickly but, had I been in a masochistic mood, I could have flown it longer. Ol Photography lost one on his modified 550 and it was also very recoverable. We both felt the larger frames with their reserve of power contributed to the stability quite a bit (he is running extended arms and bigger motors on his).
Nice PDU!
I ran my power down the side of the front and rear arms - negative to one side and positive to the other. It still folds correctly. I then put in a distribution block on each side and brought power up to the top deck. A failed power lead will not have anyplace to short out but there is a bit of extra weight because of it. Again, it seems to work. It also gives me a clear place on the bottom to hold the battery... and just enough room in the center to mount the IMU.
I bet there are a million ways to skin that cat!
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