I may have bitten off more than i can chew here, but here goes…I recently managed to get my hands on a couple of display DJI Phantom 3 models, these are complete with motors but lack the electronics inside and i decided to build a working quad using the shells. I have the Ardupilot, GPS and plan to add sonar. The camera gimbals are there, but just the motors, not the electronics, i’m hoping to use a generic 3 axis controller and hope it will fit in with plans, if i have to downgrade to 2 axis, its not a big loss. I plan to use Q ground control software, it seems to fit in with some of my plans, but one of my hopes is to fly the craft purely via telemetry if possible.
I’m not new to quads, but pretty new in what iv’e outlined above.
Fun idea! You’ll need escs also as they are part of the P3 board. The shells are a royal pain to open up but there are videos out there that show the process and make it easier, if you haven’t done so already.
Also, there is space for a small m8n GPS (that DJI uses that) just under the top of the shell. If you go this route it will be very close to the flight controller so will be subject to interference. You can shield it with copper foil underneath to reduce interference, that’s how DJI did it. For compass it’s at the bottom in one of the arms, not sure how you could replicate that, but the internal one on the fc might work fine.
When i was given the APM Oliver, i was also given a Ublox M6 GPS module, which i plan to mount externally on a stalk of some kind. I have some self adhesive aluminium on a roll, some 50 mm wide. I had planned to wrap the esc’s and power leads with this, and earth the foil to the -ve supply. I have given some deep thoughts here regarding interference, and how best to avoid it.
I did manage to find a 4 in 1 esc module of the right rating. These boards have 4 esc’s and the power distribution all in one module. This should go part of the way in containing some interference, simply because there will be less power cables routed around inside the quad.