Building things is fun. And building things that do something is even more fun. Building something that is super dangerous is potentially triple the fun.
The next few series of posts will chronicle my build of a quadcopter. I am completely new to the world of flying remote control things and this has definitely been a learning experience. My hope would be to get all of the pertinent information needed to build a quadcopter in one place as far as the research and planning necessary for the build.
Some say that a multicopter is like a flying lawnmower and I would say that is pretty accurate. Flying inside is not a good idea. Just ask my coffee table and the many propellers that I have hacked up.
The normal Jedi Gardener post is of course filled with very pertinent information about vegetables, star wars and physics. This post is a slight departure from that but strangely still applicable to gardening. Many large scale farmers are using multi-copters to examine irrigation patterns, soil variations and pest infestations. This is also a much needed tool for many suburban farmers like myself. After I learn to fly that is.
The first step in getting into multicopters is the decision on whether to build your own or buy a pre-built copter. I was initially planning to buy a ready to fly quad but decided to build based on several factors:
- I really like the DJI Phantom series of quads but they have demonstrated that they can release a firmware revision that will make your purchase non-functional. With the recent landing of a Phantom on the white house lawn DJI relased a firmware update that prevents their Phantom series of quadcopters from flying in certain areas: DC localities, near airports etc. I don't want to be at the mercy of a corporate decision on where I can fly.
- With a pre-built copter I was also concerned about what happens when it breaks. In my first two weeks I have already broken it once and I am sure that I will break it again. Without building the copter I would have less of an understanding of how to fix and tune it when needed.
- The array of options you have with a build is unlimited and therefore you can build a machine that can suit your needs.
After you have decided to build your own copter, the next step, and arguably the most fun, is research. There are so many parts to choose from and options, as far as wiring and flight controllers, that a lot of searching around is necessary. Luckily lots of people have built quads and written about their builds.
Here are some resources I used:
My goal is to have a quadcopter that I can easily repair. I would also like to expand later with a gimbal/camera and more advanced flight controllers.
So thats the end of Part 1. Stay tuned for Part 2 where I will detail the parts list.
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