For someone new to the multirotor hobby, putting together your first quadcopter parts list can be extremely daunting. Trying to figure out what to buy and what parts will work together is tough, especially for people who don’t come from a background in radio controlled planes or helicopters. Forums are packed with people who want …
I’ve made some pretty major upgrades, additions, and modifications to my quadcopter recently, so I thought now would be a good time to do another post. The base for this quad is still the same one I’ve been using for nearly a year now, which was the subject of the post about upgrading from KK2.0 …
Like many drone enthusiasts, my first DIY quadcopter build used the KK2.x flight control board. I went through several iterations of my KK2 quadcopter and I still highly recommend the KK2 for beginners and anyone looking for an affordable, capable flight control board. It’s got support for just about any multirotor configuration you can imagine …
After getting a fair amount of quadcopter flying experience under my belt, I wanted to put together an FPV setup to try out. Budget is always a concern so I went with a fairly inexpensive kit from HobbyKing that has everything needed to get started. I can upgrade parts later on as the need arises, …
After a lot of trial and error with DIY quadcopter builds and trying my hand at a few DIY quadcopter frames, including my favorite - the Lunchbox Copter, I wanted to build a quad around a frame that would be stable in flight and strong enough to withstand the occasional hard landing. Now that I’ve gotten a …
In the last post, I detailed the construction of the Lunchbox Copter. I’ve taken it out for a few flights, and I’m pretty happy with the way it flies. I wanted to get some aerial video so I attached a GoPro to the top of it: The flight video is a bit unstable because the …
After experimenting with a few different styles of DIY quadcopter frames, I came across some posts on DIYdrones by Jake Wells who has built some quadcopters out of plastic storage boxes. Dubbed the BoxCopter, his creations are light, stable, and watertight on the bottom, so they can land on water which is especially cool when …
I’ve gotten a few quadcopter flights under my belt and have had a chance to experiment with building different types of DIY frames. This is my first quadcopter, which I outlined building here and here: From the beginning I had some doubts about the durability of this frame, because it just felt cheap and shoddy. …
When I got my KK2.0 Flight Control Board from HobbyKing, it had version 1.2 of the firmware on it. While this version works, and has auto-level capabilities, the newer version 1.5 firmware has a MUCH more stable auto-level function, as well as support for camera gimbal controls, which is something I definitely want to try …
I recently received my Syma X1 RTF Quadcopter from Amazon. Total cost (with free Prime shipping) was around $40 which makes it one of the most affordable drones out there. I’ve had a chance to fly it a few times and it is a pretty solid little machine. The Syma X1 is a great starter …