As you all know I’ve grabbed up the enthusiasm and started to Build a Quadcopter. In my first post I outlined some current and future requirements – the primary of which was adding the ability to do GPS guided “missions”.
What I didn’t mention was that I’d snuck a little extra quadcopter technology into my Hobbyking.com shopping cart as it was a great looking deal!
Quadcopter Technology – GPS and Compass!
I know the basic flight controller I ordered for the initial build will do the trick to get me flying It also has simple on-board setup/configuration which will aid me as a first time quadcopter builder. It can control a camera gimbal to aid in getting smoother video but beyond that I’m on my own!
Seriously More Flight Controller!
Then I saw another bundle pack in the Raining Cats and Drones sale and decided it was too good to go past.
HobbyKing HKPilot Mega Mini Combo Flight Controller GPS and Power Module
Price Paid (RRP): AUD42.96 (AUD165.04)
Weight: Flight Control 8g, GPS 17g, Power Module 4g
Features: • Arduino Compatible • Pre-soldered and tested • 3-axis gyro, accelerometer, magnetometer and high-performance barometer • Built in 4 MP Dataflash chip for automatic data logging • Honeywell HMC5883L-TR Digital compass • Invensense's 6 DoF Accelerometer/Gyro MPU-6000 • Measurement Specialties MS5611-01BA03 Barometric pressure sensor. • Atmel ATMEGA2560 and ATMEGA32U-2 (processing and USB function). • Micro-USB • External compass support • Included Ublox Neo-6m GPS with external compass • IIC Input • Included Power module • Telemetry radio, OSD and airspeed sensor ports Specs: FC dimensions: 32x50x10mm Weight: 8g GPS/Compass dimensions: 31x31x12mm GPS weight: 17g Power Module dimensions: 20x28x7mm Power Module weight: 4g Max amps: 180A Max Volts: 2~6s 7.4-28V Output: V/I sense and dual 5v @ 2.1A Includes: HKPilot Mega MINI 2.5.2 Power Module (volt/Amp sensor and dual 5V outputs) Ublox Neo-6m module with compass sensor Connection leads x 8
My intention is to build the quadcopter and learn to fly with the basic flight control before adding more “toys”, however I’ll probably try to integrate at least some of these elements (GPS and Power Module) into the basic build.
As the more advanced flight controller is basically the same weight as my initial choice swapping these won’t affect my weight goal. Likewise having the GPS and power management module available for the early build will help with packaging decisions.
The Cost & Weight Tally:
Total Cost (RRP): AUD122.92 (AUD363.63)
Estimated Flying Weight: 461g (plus propellors, receiver, camera etc)
This has been updated with the additional cost and weights of the enhanced quadcopter technology flight control/GPS/Power Module – however they may not be used in the initial build.
What next?
Unbox and think about assembling the parts already ordered!
Research and make a decision about the radio gear (in particular considerations around future capability).
