Payload Drop With Servo

[DougLeppard]

Hi, just thought I'd mention that I successfully made a functional payload release mechanism for my Xiro drone, but it would also work perfectly for a P3 because you can also control the LEDs remotely. I went through the design, parts and testing in a YouTube video:

Basically it was an LDR that was sensed by an Arduino Nano, and powered by a separate 1S lipo. It worked perfectly. Cheers Adam.

Adam that video was very helpful. My first choice was reading the light lik you did, will be more dependable. But many of us want to be able to send the quad on a mission and have it automatically drop the load. Unfortunately controlling the light can only be controlled through options on the mobile app and not during a mission. I have heard that that option my be added later by Litch and DJI.

But I had not thought of getting the setup payload release from ebay like you did, went out to ebay and found several options, thanks for pointing us in that direction.

 

[DougLeppard]

I ordered the servo mechanism that was featured in Adam's video and even talked to guy that sells it. I ordered a gimbal guard to hold all of it. Ordered the IR beam break device. Already have Micro and battery. So I am all set to develop the proto-type once the parts come.

This has been a fun project so far.

 

[adamu77]

I ordered the servo mechanism that was featured in Adam's video and even talked to guy that sells it. I ordered a gimbal guard to hold all of it. Ordered the IR beam break device. Already have Micro and battery. So I am all set to develop the proto-type once the parts come.

This has been a fun project so far.

Sounds great Doug, I look forward to hearing how it goes!

 

[DougLeppard]

Got the servo dropping mechanism. He sent me the double drop one. see Double Payload Servo Release for Drone Fishing DROP Release DJI Phantom

I have semi programmed the Arduino for project, waiting on IR sensor to come today.

 

[Tx121]

i am intrested in this project i was about to order the gannet system for my p3s then saw this forum ..being i am in the U.S. its 30$ shipping :-Xsucks ends up being 179$... i paid 300$ for the p3s on craiglist (lucky find lady won it at work). LOL.. with that being said its hard to justify half of what i paid for what mayb 50-60 $ in parts if that

 

[GadgetGuy]

Got the servo dropping mechanism. He sent me the double drop one. see Double Payload Servo Release for Drone Fishing DROP Release DJI Phantom

I have semi programmed the Arduino for project, waiting on IR sensor to come today.

Cool! A two barreled shotgun! If the first one misses, you still have another shot!

 

[DougLeppard]

Thanks for the encouragement.

I have all the parts and I am putting together the prototype this weekend, hope to have it dropping by Sunday.

I decided to build units and sell them.

Give me feedback on the criteria:

• Able to be able to drop load(s) either manually or under mission control as far out as drone can go.
• Completely self contained no wires hooked to the phantom no need to open up.
• Mounts on landing gear, zipped tied on.
• Run on 1S (3.7V) Lipo battery
• Jumper switchable to trigger being either lights or position of camera
• Drop two loads, one each time there is a trigger
• Keep under $100 plus shipping. Kit will come with:
  Micro controller all ready programmed
  All connecting wires
  Servo with dropping mechanism
  Battery connector (no battery figured most have one)
  Camera position sensor
  Light sensor
  3D printed base to mount on drone and all parts go on
  Zip ties
  Code for program
  Instructions and videos

Not included in kit:

• Battery and charger, most likely can buy as option
• Programmer to make changes in program, sold as option

Please give feedback on above criteria.

I need help, if you would like to help and would like to be a beta tester send me a message to my name at gmail. Tell me how you can help and I will give you significant discount.

Help I need:

• WordPress (or website) to have information and sell kits. Note if I accept your help for website I will send you the first kit for free. I will need to see your work on the internet.
• Beta testers.
• Any recommendations
• Get the word out about kit
• Help in videos
• Help in documentation.
• Help in the 3D design of base and dropping mechanism. Talk to me if you have experience in this area. You would also get the first kit free.
• Other areas you could help, you tell me.

I have always wanted a 3D printer now I have an excuse to buy one, Ordered and it is coming. BTW if you order parts one at a time and pay shipping it comes close to $80 to $100. I know the prototype was expensive.

Doug Leppard

 

[btcarre]

Thanks for the encouragement.

I have all the parts and I am putting together the prototype this weekend, hope to have it dropping by Sunday.

I decided to build units and sell them.

Give me feedback on the criteria:

• Able to be able to drop load(s) either manually or under mission control as far out as drone can go.
• Completely self contained no wires hooked to the phantom no need to open up.
• Mounts on landing gear, zipped tied on.
• Run on 1S (3.7V) Lipo battery
• Jumper switchable to trigger being either lights or position of camera
• Drop two loads, one each time there is a trigger
• Keep under $100 plus shipping. Kit will come with:
  Micro controller all ready programmed
  All connecting wires
  Servo with dropping mechanism
  Battery connector (no battery figured most have one)
  Camera position sensor
  Light sensor
  3D printed base to mount on drone and all parts go on
  Zip ties
  Code for program
  Instructions and videos

Not included in kit:

• Battery and charger, most likely can buy as option
• Programmer to make changes in program, sold as option

Please give feedback on above criteria.

I need help, if you would like to help and would like to be a beta tester send me a message to my name at gmail. Tell me how you can help and I will give you significant discount.

Help I need:

• WordPress (or website) to have information and sell kits. Note if I accept your help for website I will send you the first kit for free. I will need to see your work on the internet.
• Beta testers.
• Any recommendations
• Get the word out about kit
• Help in videos
• Help in documentation.
• Help in the 3D design of base and dropping mechanism. Talk to me if you have experience in this area. You would also get the first kit free.
• Other areas you could help, you tell me.

I have always wanted a 3D printer now I have an excuse to buy one, Ordered and it is coming. BTW if you order parts one at a time and pay shipping it comes close to $80 to $100. I know the prototype was expensive.

Doug Leppard

Dougg,

I have a 3d printer and am able to make a website if you are interested in my help. I can set up a word press and give it its own domain. I have made three websites and I think I would be your guy for this

Blake

 

[DougLeppard]

Dougg,

I have a 3d printer and am able to make a website if you are interested in my help. I can set up a word press and give it its own domain. I have made three websites and I think I would be your guy for this

Blake

Great Blake thanks for jumping in.

Send me an email to my name DougLeppard at gmail with links of your sites you have done.

Doug

 

[btcarre]

Great Blake thanks for jumping in.

Send me an email to my name DougLeppard at gmail with links of your sites you have done.

Doug

I emailed you.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Will you ship to Syria? I suspect a large bulk order may be pending!

 

[btcarre]

Will you ship to Syria? I suspect a large bulk order may be pending!

I bet that DougLeppard will be willing to ship to you if you pay for the international shipping

 

[DougLeppard]

@GadgetGuy very open to international shipping still haven't made proof of concept yet. PM me on this best to my gmail account. Interesting place to live Syria, home country or are you on assignment?

Had grand kids and broken dishwasher even so I got it being triggered to drop object but need to make a better mount and connect servo. All going well.

 

[GadgetGuy]

@GadgetGuy very open to international shipping still haven't made proof of concept yet. PM me on this best to my gmail account. Interesting place to live Syria, home country or are you on assignment?

Had grand kids and broken dishwasher even so I got it being triggered to drop object but need to make a better mount and connect servo. All going well.

I'm a buyer for a large faction of ISIS fighters needing to outfit their aluminum foil hatted DJI drones with servo dropping mechanisms for nefarious terrorist purposes. I do hope you won't discriminate against us, just because we are terrorists... Do please be careful who you sell to.

 

[DougLeppard]

You sound like my wife when we discussed you and your post (BTW my wife is a great person so that is no insult).

I have read many articles on bomb carrying drones in the middle east I am part of a non-profit that works in that area so I know what you mean it is a concern.

But how do I be careful? The ISIS or Boko Haram buyer is not going to be obvious. They will buy through France and send it on or even USA and send it on or buy it and reverse engineer it. Already they are using servos to drop bombs.

Actually DJI has a bigger job and they are looking into putting restrictions in to where the drones can fly, but that will not stop ISIS there are plenty of clones that are much cheaper they can buy through a Chinese dealer. When I played around with CX-20 which has an open sourced processor where you can hook a servo directly it was a better platform for bomb dropping than an DJI.

It is easy to say "be careful" but how does a private citizen check out each buyer other than have a no sell list of countries? I did look at your profile doesn't say much but you have been around a while and over 5000 messages and 12 followers you didn't feel like an ISIS person. That was the reason I asked you to PM me.

I do need help PM me with solid recommendations on how to be careful. If you seriously want to take this on I do have an FBI agent I know in my area that could be an assistance that would talk to you about coming up with a plan.

Thanks I look forward to your email and a solid workable solution.

 

[DougLeppard]

On a happier note

Steps I am taking to get this into production. It seems it would be easy and build your first one copy that and put it into operation, not so easy.

Steps I will be taking:

Build a proof of concept. Prove with this model it will do what you want and people who may buy it would purchase it. there is some engineering challenges that must be over come. So far looks good, my assumptions so far are working out. I hope to have the proof of concept version done soon. Part of this process was pricing out and finding sources for 100 hundred of these which I have done.

Prototype. Now need to build a version that will be your prototype of a production model. It must work well, must look at time or ease it takes to make one, cost, weight and how reproducible it is.

Beta version. I hope several of you will buy a beta version to see it it works for you. It will be at a greatly reduced cost. Often a prototype works well in the test situation but not so well out in public.

Production model. This is when above models worked well and you are ready to sell.

I most likely have told you more than you wanted to know but since you are taking this journey with me i had to share and it helps me think through things.

 

[GadgetGuy]

You sound like my wife when we discussed you and your post (BTW my wife is a great person so that is no insult).

I have read many articles on bomb carrying drones in the middle east I am part of a non-profit that works in that area so I know what you mean it is a concern.

But how do I be careful? The ISIS or Boko Haram buyer is not going to be obvious. They will buy through France and send it on or even USA and send it on or buy it and reverse engineer it. Already they are using servos to drop bombs.

Actually DJI has a bigger job and they are looking into putting restrictions in to where the drones can fly, but that will not stop ISIS there are plenty of clones that are much cheaper they can buy through a Chinese dealer. When I played around with CX-20 which has an open sourced processor where you can hook a servo directly it was a better platform for bomb dropping than an DJI.

It is easy to say "be careful" but how does a private citizen check out each buyer other than have a no sell list of countries? I did look at your profile doesn't say much but you have been around a while and over 5000 messages and 12 followers you didn't feel like an ISIS person. That was the reason I asked you to PM me.

I do need help PM me with solid recommendations on how to be careful. If you seriously want to take this on I do have an FBI agent I know in my area that could be an assistance that would talk to you about coming up with a plan.

Thanks I look forward to your email and a solid workable solution.

I intended my first Syria reference as a joke, and it kind of went downhill from there. It is a valid concern, but they already have plenty of other such DIY mechanisms on DJI drones, and other commercial versions already exist. By merely using a tin foil hat, they can also bypass all DJI GEO and NFZ restrictions on DJI aircraft, and can still fly 30m above the launch point. Launch from the top of a hill or a building, and that lets them basically fly their bomb dropping mechanism anywhere they want. It's not practical to stop manufacturing all guns, simply because some will be bought or stolen by criminals or terrorists and used to kill or injure people. ISIS has been using Toyota pickup trucks for machine gun turrets. Toyota hasn't stopped selling their pickup trucks. I wish you well, but this is far beyond my own level of expertise, too. Good luck, and keep up the clever innovation.

 

[Digdat0]

On a happier note

Steps I am taking to get this into production. It seems it would be easy and build your first one copy that and put it into operation, not so easy.

Steps I will be taking:

Build a proof of concept. Prove with this model it will do what you want and people who may buy it would purchase it. there is some engineering challenges that must be over come. So far looks good, my assumptions so far are working out. I hope to have the proof of concept version done soon. Part of this process was pricing out and finding sources for 100 hundred of these which I have done.

Prototype. Now need to build a version that will be your prototype of a production model. It must work well, must look at time or ease it takes to make one, cost, weight and how reproducible it is.

Beta version. I hope several of you will buy a beta version to see it it works for you. It will be at a greatly reduced cost. Often a prototype works well in the test situation but not so well out in public.

Production model. This is when above models worked well and you are ready to sell.

I most likely have told you more than you wanted to know but since you are taking this journey with me i had to share and it helps me think through things.

Your plans sound cool, i'd be interested in seeing some prototype pics and maybe even beta testing if you get to that point.

 

[DougLeppard]

Got the proof on concept working. Flew up and dropped items. The proof of concept works it proves the items I am using will work and the concept will work. I am now working on the prototype that can be 3D printed. That might take longer than the proof of concept.

Appreciate all the encouragement.

 

[DougLeppard]

I intended my first Syria reference as a joke, and it kind of went downhill from there. It is a valid concern, but they already have plenty of other such DIY mechanisms on DJI drones, and other commercial versions already exist. By merely using a tin foil hat, they can also bypass all DJI GEO and NFZ restrictions on DJI aircraft, and can still fly 30m above the launch point. Launch from the top of a hill or a building, and that lets them basically fly their bomb dropping mechanism anywhere they want. It's not practical to stop manufacturing all guns, simply because some will be bought or stolen by criminals or terrorists and used to kill or injure people. ISIS has been using Toyota pickup trucks for machine gun turrets. Toyota hasn't stopped selling their pickup trucks. I wish you well, but this is far beyond my own level of expertise, too. Good luck, and keep up the clever innovation.

Thanks. Your comments above I fully agree with. My problem is that some of the people we work with overseas have been killed by Islamic terrorist and by "normal" people who were told it was their duty to kill them. It is so much worse than our media tell us.

On a lighter note any insights or comments on this project is welcome love to hear from you.