Introduction: Indestructible Drones for Dummies the Key to Real Stable Flights

Today I will just give some Quadcopter/Multirotor Build or.. setup guide

I got my first quadcopter "WALKERA LADYBIRD" 6 months ago When I first played Call of duty. In preparation for flying a bigger quad I practiced a lot in that small thing . At first you will be kinda scared crashing it but since its a small quadcopter it is so light that it does not even really damage the frame anyways If you want to get in to this hobby you have to learn the basics.

If you are a beginner and you say its easy to make one of these well yes the kit that is. Once you use different parts tuning the quad will be a drag and in this guide I will show you the key to less tuning .

Anyways lets get started

WHY DID I SAY THE KEY TO STABLE FLIGHT?

WELL WHILE LOOKING THROUGH SOME DRONE BUILDS I NOTICED THEY MISSED SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT TO ACHIEVE REAL STABILITY FOLLOW ME AND GO THROUGH THE GUIDE AND AT LEAST REACH THE ESC GUIDE WHERE YOUR ANSWERS CAN BE FOUND

Is it REALLY indestructible?

Well If you go with my suggestions your drones frame would be really solid all you really have to worry about is your motor shaft bending and propellers breaking but everything else is ok nothing to worry about especially with my suggested ESC AND FLIGHT CONTROLLER CASING

My setup as of now

KK2 flight controller

DJI 920KV motors

Emax 4 in 1 25A ESC

DJI F450

DIY landing gear -->

Carbon fiber 8x4.5" propeller

4000mah 4s Li-po

Turnigy 9XR with FrSky DJT 2.4Ghz combo V8FR-II RX

KK2 Pi gains are stock

waiting for arrival FPV parts

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HN5VT1E/ref=oh...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GGC60N2/ref=oh...

Main Parts of a Multi-rotor

  1. BRUSHLESS MOTOR and propeller duhhhh...........
  2. FRAME
  3. FLIGHT CONTROLLER
  4. ESC's Electronic speed controller ....for "brushless motors"
  5. RECEIVER AND TRANSMITTER 5 CHANNELS +
  6. LI-PO Battery

FOR PHOTOGRAPHY PURPOSE

  1. GIMBAL SYSTEM < just google this
  2. FPV KIT
  3. AN FPV MONITOR

Step 1: FRAME

LETS start with the frame well this is quite easy as you know there are many types of frames for different types of multi rotors.

Anyways lets go with the standard and cheap ones

  1. Tri-copter = CHEAP BUT not that stable
  2. Quadcopter = Average
  3. Hexacopter = Above average
  4. octacopter = EXPENSIVE BUT SUPER STABLE

DIY, 3D print OR BUYING one its your choice but if your really want a descent frame I would suggest going with the DJI F330 F450 FRAME I myself tried this on my F450 and guess what its real I even crashed this frame many time all you have to worry about is more on your motor shafts bending. The reason why I chose this is because its reliable I mean this is a main stream frame even in the Philippines it has a name, if you broke an arm just go to a hobby shop near you most likely they have one. Anyways im not saying this is the best option you can always make your own DIY FRAME or 3D print if you have one that is anyways the goal is to just make your drone's arms really solid and the center plate really convenient. Laser cutting would also be nice if you plan on going with an acrylic frame.

Also if you want to go acrobatic I suggest buying or making a small yet powerful drone the advantages of having a smaller one is its rigidity and and its weight when these things are combined you get an easy to control quad since more weight means more inertia meaning it needs more control wherein with the small drone controlling it will just be a piece of cake totally nothing to worry about except for your propellers as usual.

Step 2: BRUSHLESS MOTORS

You dont just buy motors you base it by the size of your frame or your purpose for making a multi rotor

HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR MOTOR

If you want a heavy lift get a low KV motor 500-1000KV is for you but then again you will need 8" + propellers for this and a 450mm + frame for this

If your frame is small get a higher KV motor 1500- 2800KV just remember if your drone is small get high KV motors Big and heavy lift get a Low KV motor

If you also noticed they are also based on motor power or torque

HIGHER KV = MORE RPM LESS TORQUE = SMALLER PROPELLERS

LOW KV = LESS RPM HIGH TORQUE = BIGGER PROPELLERS

MY SUGGESTION: JUST BUY 900 - 1000 KV MOTORS WITH A 450mm FRAME that is actually the standard today.

Step 3: DIY Landing Gear Cheapest Version

Some of frames you buy today already comes with a built on landing gear so depends on your frame you may skip this part.

Or if you are like me being cautious or if your camera is just to big I would buy a landing gear or just a DIY or 3d printed part. If you look at my other picture I have the DJI landing gear for me I regret buying those landing gears I mean buying those fragile legs are like a waste of money you'd rather DIY you can even use BBQ sticks or chopsticks. How cheap is that!

but make sure that if you have an FPV on it make sure that your landing gears are well made maybe adding more sticks on my bbq stick landing gear would be better as as long as you protect your camera when you have one.

Step 4: FLIGHT CONTROLLER

There are many types of Flight controller many of which you have to research on your own

I will just give you some of the things I know arranged by price



1. KK2 board..... user friendly and cheap
2. MULTIWII............soooo many models its up to you some can be expensive but if you want a basic and descent one go with the Multiwii SE
3. DJI NAZA SERIES ......expensive but convenient and stable
4. ARDUPILOT......expensive but open source features hackable~


I use the kk2 and the Multiwii SE

the difference between the two is the self stabilization on the kk2 you go right at max for a second and it slowly compensates to the opposite direction. unlike the multiwii go right for a second it compensates faster = less drifting

but in terms of tuning you will find the kk2 better because you will need an external uploader for the multiwii and a laptop near you to fine tune the flight controller

Step 5: ESC (SIMONK FLASHED) THE KEY

As you know the ESC "Electronics speed controller" is one of the main components of a Multi-rotor Without it what will drive your motors

And here is the thing its easy getting an ESC for the motor people just choose their own esc with the approriate current rating and then finished~ but wait ESC are not always responsive try doing this connect the motor and esc and connect it to your receiver plug a battery and turn on your transmitter move your stick and look at the speed change as you move the stick if you notice it. The ESC response is delayed by some millisecond and this can affect your stability during the flight. As your Flight controller calculates its orientation/position the esc take time doing what the flight controller is telling it to do making your drone oscillate.

NOW HOW TO FIX THAT OSCILLATION ..... CHOOSE THE ESC THAT IS APPROPRIATE FOR THE DRONE!

IF YOU EVER SEE AN ESC WITH A TEXT "SIMONK" FLASHED/ PRE-FLASHED yeah thats what you are looking for.

look at the video and see the comparison and IF YOU HAVE AN ESC ALREADY AND ITS NOT FLASHED WITH SIMONK DONT BE SAD BECAUSE YOUR ESC MIGHT BE PROGRAMMABLE HERE IS A LIST OF ESC THAT CAN BE REPROGRAMMED AND HERE IS THE PROGRAM YOU USE FOR FLASHING THE ESC LINK

AND FOR THE MODULES YOU NEED YOU WILL BE NEEDING A USBASP AND A FLASHING TOOL

And a little google and youtube wont harm if you have these things and you dont know what to do~

Step 6: TRANSMITTER AND RECEIVER

ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE PARTS YOU WILL HAVE TO GO TROUGH!

Look inside HOBBYKING AND CHOOSE TURNIGY I USED THE 9XR WITH FrSky DJT 2.4Ghz Combo Pack for JR w/ Telemetry Module & V8FR-II RX

REMEMBER CHOOSE 5 or more channels~

THROTTLE===MOTORS SPINNING TO GET ALTITUDE (LIFT)

RUDDER=== ORIENTATION CCW OR CW

ELEVATOR=== FORWARD / REVERSE

AILERON === LEFT RIGHT

AUX === MODE SWITCH ACROBAT/ SELF LEVEL ,.....ETC

Step 7: Li-po Battery and Charger

Well this is easy

your options here are 3s or 4s for common and usual application some can reach 2s but that is for small drones.

anyways the li-pos you need are based on your motor specs "THE REQUIRED VOLTAGE IS ALWAYS IN THE INFORMATION OF THE MOTOR" but it does not give you the battery capacity you need If you have a heavy lift drone use a 4s 4000mah+ that will at least give you 16 min flight time and if you have a smaller or lighter drone go with 3s 2200mah + but I dont really know the flight time so better go with the higher mah.

For a charger IMAX B6 Is A GOOd BUY in hobby king

IF MOUNTED UNDER THE FRAME MAKE SURE THAT THE BATTERY HAS SOME PLATE ON IT TO AVOID ACCIDENTAL PUNCTURE IF EVER A CRASH OCCURS

Step 8: BUILDING TIPS FOR THE ELECTRONICS

COVER YOUR FLIGHT CONTROLLER!

Dont take off if your flight controller has no cover.... who know what type of dirt or metal shaving will get on to PCB. Remembering what happened to mine makes me sick some small metal filling shorted out my multiwii it was not that bad but It damaged the atmega 328 and i hope the sensors are still ok.

For the esc's as long as it has the cover its fine but if you want your esc to become quite water resistant go with a 4 in 1 ESC "EMAX 4 in 1"

For clean wiring keep your wires short as possible

http://www.pololu.com/product/1930

http://www.pololu.com/category/70/crimp-connector-...

http://www.pololu.com/product/2619

Step 9: TUNING

tuning will be based by your drones specs for the time being I will try making a video and until then keep on researching about tuning.

Tuning for me was not really a problem because like I said SIMONK FLASHED ESC ARE the best for multi rotors

they are the key to real stability and to less tuning.

Even if you don't tune your Pi settings on the flight controller its still ok and if you really want it super stable tuning it the whole day would be the best way to do it

And remember to play inside an open field" with grass" the grass absorbs the impact when you crash.

Step 10: My Drone Flying Around the Schools Battle Field

Too bad I Ran out of batteries before they set the field on fire well I was actually able to but no pictures awwww it was sooo cool