Quad Want to build (or buy) a FPV Quadracopter

[GregC]

I have one Naza on my Hexa.... But I don't have the GPS I bought it before they came out with one of it. I will add it later though.
Have not started the QAV yet. I just went back to work, i had been off for 5 weeks. We are now working a lot of overtime... No building time left when you work 9 hrs a day 7 days a week.
But it does mean I get more toys.... I was getting all my parts in before I start my build. I wanted to put some time and thought into how I lay out the equipment.
No big hurry, I have plenty to fly

I made a rack in my garage to hang my Multi-Rotors......

Man, that is quite a collection! Congrats on work! Winter is our slow season, so we have to save up all summer to take care of bills in the winter. I do enjoy not working much in the winter (jan and feb), but I don't like the bill worrying when it gets close sometimes. But I have to stay busy, I just can't stand to do nothing. So I mess with the horses (which are absolutely worthless, but fun), and the other animals around the farm (if you can call it that). We mostly have lawn ornaments. If I did not have to feed all these varmints, I could buy whatever quad I wanted and not feel self conscious about it. Maybe varmints need new home! (won't fly with wife).
I like the idea of not being in a big hurry though. I was always a little impatient when I was younger, but age fixed that. I'm just glad to smell coffee in the morning now. Whatever comes after that had better be slow and easy. Although I am going to request a new switch on my DX7 though. It will be the "RUN" switch. I am sure that you have read my entry in the 130x thread. Oh, and maybe an "EASY" button too!

 

[GregC]

With 2.4 radio you could use 900MHz video equipment. A friend I fly with has a 900MHz system and loves it. He has a DX8 8CH Transmitter and we fly together all the time. He flys all the same areas and if I get a little interference in a section we fly he will also.
They are very close to the same. The 1.3 will be just a bit better. But I do believe you will be just fine with 900MHz... He uses a patch antenna along with a Clover Leaf on his quad and planes.

1.2 or 1.3 will kill your 2.4 radio signal you may not be able to fly a 100 yards or less. I did a test and my Futaba only went 75 yards before i lost control. My friend with the DX8 went about twice as far but he also crashed when he lost signal.

My Avitar was the very first quad I ever built.

What kind of range do you guys get with 900Mhz, and does it do well aroung obstacles for you?

I am going to have to figure a way to make an Avatar with my 130x in attack mode while I am flipping the "RUN" mode switch.

 

[Lee]

If you have read the threads with Kiof and my QAV500s you'll have seen he has the Naza with GPS and I have the Open Pilot. Kiof had never flown a quad before, but with the Naza it made things very easy. With the GPS and stabilisation mode, we could give his quad to a complete noobie and they would be able to fly it no probs.
We both use 5.8Ghz systems with clover leaf antennas out to 1.5kms with no issues. Realistically you won't go much further than that due to battery and flight times. I use a DX8 and he uses a FRSky system.
Look forward to seeing what you go for.

 

[breeze400]

Ya, It does seem that the Naza is rather top of the line. The thing that I just don't get is that some of the other flight controllers do many of the same things for $40. That is a pretty big gap!
One other thing that has me a bit worried is that I have a DX7s 2.4 radio and I want to get the dependability of a good 1.2video signal for better flight aroung obstacles. I think that that might be a problem with the 2.4 radio as well. But a lot of people say that the two are not very compatible with interference issues. I am mostly trying to decide on the FC right now. But I definitely want an OSD. I have plans for it, too stupid to talk about now.

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Also, is your avitar a QAV?

Yes I have a QAV 500. You may get a few of the cheeper boards with " A few if the same features" but believe me they are not the same! I have a kk2 board on my H Quad. It has the auto leveler built in. There is no comparison on how it flys to the NAZA. The NAZA you can take out in 20 plus mph winds put it in GPS att mode set the tx down on the ground and walk away. The NAZA will never move from the spot it was in. I have done this! Your cheep boards will not do this!

It like this you can be cheep and go out and buy a HK heli. Then spend all kinds of money upgrading it to get it to fly. Or you can just go out and buy the align and be done with it. Same thing with a fc. Go cheep if you want. But you will spend the money in the end between crashes and updating you fc anyways! So all I can say is do what you want. For me I'll get the best equipment first right off the batt! Like I said I never flew a quad before I my life. But I COULD fly my QAV right off the batt with the NAZA GPS!

 

[GregC]

Yes I have a QAV 500. You may get a few of the cheeper boards with " A few if the same features" but believe me they are not the same! I have a kk2 board on my H Quad. It has the auto leveler built in. There is no comparison on how it flys to the NAZA. The NAZA you can take out in 20 plus mph winds put it in GPS att mode set the tx down on the ground and walk away. The NAZA will never move from the spot it was in. I have done this! Your cheep boards will not do this!

It like this you can be cheep and go out and buy a HK heli. Then spend all kinds of money upgrading it to get it to fly. Or you can just go out and buy the align and be done with it. Same thing with a fc. Go cheep if you want. But you will spend the money in the end between crashes and updating you fc anyways! So all I can say is do what you want. For me I'll get the best equipment first right off the batt! Like I said I never flew a quad before I my life. But I COULD fly my QAV right off the batt with the NAZA GPS!

Did you perform the installation and calibration of the Naza yourself? If so what was the level of difficulty in getting it tweaked to fly right. Also, do you have OSD on your Qav?
Since I really want to start our with a really nice Quad and get it into FPV, I am starting to think that it would be stupid not to get a Nazi. It seems to be the gold standard..

 

[breeze400]

Did you perform the installation and calibration of the Naza yourself? If so what was the level of difficulty in getting it tweaked to fly right. Also, do you have OSD on your Qav?
Since I really want to start our with a really nice Quad and get it into FPV, I am starting to think that it would be stupid not to get a Nazi. It seems to be the gold standard..

Yes I specked, built, and set up my QAV myself. The NAZA is not that hard to set up. The hardest is setting up the tx switches to do what you want them to do. Lol I did find out that the ar8000 RX is the best if you want to have all the features of the NAZA GPS working properly. If you want the failsafe to work anyways! Lol you can just watch all the videos out there on you tube on. Setting it up. That's what I did.

I don't have the OSD yet. I never fly past where I can see my QAV anyways yet. I'll get one when the weather warms up though. My tired old eyes will get confused if I'm looking at all theses numbers in the screen! Lol just check out Lee and my build treads here on RCH.

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Oh PS go to if you haven't allready to FPVLabs and go to Sponsers gate. Then fpvmanuels. There is a qav500 tread there that Tim operates. Read it and you knollage on the QAV will grow greatly! Lol

 

[GregC]

Hi Everyone!
Been busy, our season is starting up and I don't have time to do anything but work and on occasion crash my 130x. It's like watching a video of a repeat of a crash sean over and over, except that it is not a repeat! But I am getting better. So far, I have only broken a tail blade grip and cracked the tail boom. All very cheap to fix, which is just what I wanted!
Now to the point, If you haven't seen this CBS segment you have to watch it! Watch the whole thing.

Drones: Eyes in the sky - CBS News

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Check this out also. I do not know when they started this, but it is cool. However not exactly the high performance machine that I would like to build. It is probably a flamewheel with clothes on it.

https://dslrpros.com/Products/tabid/94/ProductID/68/language/en-US/Default.aspx