How to Build a Drone (Step-by-step FPV Drone Build Guide)

Constructing a Work Area for Your FPV Project

Any endeavor is best started with a neat and efficient workstation. Even if you may try to convince yourself that everything will eventually become untidy, having a clear workspace to begin with will help you organize your thoughts and make plans. Naturally, a decent, sturdy table is a wonderful place to start, but I also suggest a few specific features for a solder bench or electronics workbench.

Supplies

Making sure you have the right tools before beginning your drone project will simplify things considerably and save you from losing your morale if you have to stop mid-build and dash to the hardware shop.

Step 1: Frame

Similar to a car's chassis, the primary function of a drone's frame is to provide structure and form. Considering all the controllers on board, your frame's design may not seem like the smartest component of your quad, but it can be. You can really see the difference in quality between different frames by the way that designers consider mounting places for various accessories, such as gopros and batteries, and how these pieces are distributed in terms of weight.

Step 2: Motor

Your quad's motors perform the crucial function of turning the propellers, which provides thrust and allows you to control where the vehicle goes. There are a few specs to consider when thinking about a motor:

The ESC provides a rating for the motor's RPM per volt, which is known as the Motor KV. To make sure you don't burn out your motors by requesting too much torque, you should investigate the optimal KV for the weight and form factor of your drone.

The dimensions of the motor and the mounting. The motor size is typically expressed as a four-digit number, such as "xxyy," where "xx" denotes the stator's width in millimeters and "yy" denotes its height in millimeters. The torque a motor can generate is directly correlated with its size.

Step 3: ESC

An electrical device known as an ESC, or electronic speed controller, regulates the voltage applied to the motor, which in turn regulates the motor's rotational speed and the thrust the propellers produce. These days, it is not unusual to see boards with the power distribution components and hardware for all four ESCs on them. The input voltage and maximum output current ratings are crucial factors to take into account when selecting an FPV drone ESC. The voltage of the battery in your quad needs to be included in the input voltage range (4s, 6s, etc). Additionally, the maximum current must be greater than the motor's peak current that the ESC is managing.

Step 4: Flight Controller

The brains of the operation are the quadcopter flight controllers, which instruct the ESCs on what voltage to supply to each motor. When in an assisted flight mode, such level or horizon mode, it uses its own internal computation to compute the voltage. also picks up the signals you send it using your transmitter via the linked receiver's interface. Here I would love to introduce one of the best FPV flight controller — MEPS F7.

Step 5: VTX

Using the VTX antenna on your quad, the video data is transmitted to your headset using the VTX, or video transmitter. When operating at a greater power, VTXs can have varying output powers, which impacts the range of your video feed and lets you fly farther before losing it. Since most VTXs have numerous output channels available, they may be used with virtually any Google device. Unless your digital goggles feature an analog output VTX, you will need to modify your goggles to include an analog converter module.

Step 6: FPV Camera

FPV camera is important part too.

Step 7: Goggles and Transmitter

You are in control of your drone thanks to your goggles. They have very little latency when receiving the drone's output video, giving you the impression that you are a tiny pilot sitting erect atop your freestyle monster. Several flight parameters can be transmitted to your OSD in addition to the standard video feed. This can be quite helpful when flying, so make sure to pick up a comfortable pair of goggles with a display that you can focus on. Additionally, different goggles may have different functions, such as internal batteries, high definition displays, or integrated DVR.