I read several docs on the ardupilot website, in particular about building a copter.. It was suggested that total newbies (like me) should buy a small inexpensive copter first and learn how to fly/use it. That’s what I want to do. However the copters listed there are no longer available. Can you, please, advise which micro drone with Ardupilot is available in USA and/or Germany? Before I buy a bigger copter I would like to learn how to fly it, how to update firmware, how to use Ground Control Software, etc… I’m on Linux…
Do you want to learn to fly copter then buy a ready one with Betaflight installed. Hobbyking, Banggood, GetFPV or any other store.
If you want to fly FPV I suggest you buy a Holybro Kopis 2. It is fantastic but you need googles for FPV
If you want to learn ArduCopter:
You can change to ArduCopter on a lot of new flight controllers but then you need to learn how to tune. They will not fly until you have spent a lot of time.
Thank you very, very much. You gave me some directions.
I’m not interested that much in racing/FPV/googles, but I do need:
real time video stream;
operational range of 3-4 km while in direct sight;
ability to use QGroundControl and/or DroneKit;
ability to connect Arduino to the drone and send signals to it via QGroundControl and/or Remote Control.
So, may I ask you four more questions, please?
a) Can you recommend any specific Betaflight (or maybe other open-source based) copter that is capable of the above out of the box?
b) Can that copter be changed to ArduCopter?
c) If there is no such open-source copter (as described in (a) and (b)) - maybe there is a closed-sourced one?
d) Can you, please, provide a link on a website/video that shows how one can replace Betaflight (or proprietary software) with ArduPilot and then tune the copter so it can fly?
This is a very good little drone. The flight controller can run ArduCopter, it has barmometer. It is not restricted to DJI or any vendor. You do not have to fly fast.
It is very light so you get good flight-time. It runs Betaflight
You can get it with an excellent FrSky receiver (or without receiver)
To make use of ArduCopter you should mount a GPS/compass unit and solder to the flight controller. Then you can fly missions.
Do you have radio and receiver or starting from scratch?
It is very fun to start from scratch but you need a good portion of time.
Let’s stay within 2km. I start from scratch and have absolutely nothing, not even a remote control. Except for Arduino that I want to connect somehow to the drone and control it
Can you, please, suggest some more drone models which already have GPS/compass in place, so I don’t need to add them? My budget is up to 400$.
Your budget is too low. To stay within our budget you have to build the drone from scratch.
Search Bangood.com. They normally have the lowest prices.
Arduino will not do! That is a 8-bit processor. A decent flight controller runs on a 32-bit ARM-processor. Holybro Kakute F7 (AIO) is a prefect one but there are others.
Ready to fly drones are expensive and does not really allow you to fly. You tell it where to go only.
If you really want to fly I still suggest you buy a Kopis 2. You get a lot for the money and can quite easily add a GPS. You cannot get allt the stuff you for less money.
You need a decent transmitter: FrSky Taranis X9D+ is a good alternative
To see what the camera sees you need a video receiver and display, or googles. There are cheap, bulky ones at Bangood or nice but expencive Fatshark ones. (I have Fatshark Attitude V5. That is almost your complete budget)
To record the video you can use GoPro or replace the “RunCam Robin” with a “RunCam Split”
It’s a djungle! Don’t you have an RC club near you så people can help? I could help but I live in Sweden
If we increase the budget to 450$-500$ can we get a drone that has all the components inside and can fly 2km?
I didn’t want to use Arduino instead of Flight Controller, but rather connect Arduino to the Flight Controller (in order to be able to send signals to Arduino via FC).
I’m not aware of any RC club in our area so I’m dependent on the assistance of kind profis from the online space
You will, of cause, need LiPo batteries and charger. You can probably get them from a more “local” dealer.
For the transmitter:
FCC is the US version of the transmitter module protocol
LBT is EU version. It can be changed (re-flashed).
The receiver will most likely be FCC version. Not legal in EU. Can be changed (re-flashed).
The transmitter and receiver must use the same protocol to be able to communicate.
I have calculted the total costs of the setup that you have provided and (along with shipping costs) came above 700$ which is significantly higher then my initial budget so I decided to look around a bit…
This looks more suitable for long range and costs less. It has less advanced hardware but probably it is OK for the first drone… So may ask you a few more questions?
After looking through Joshua’s video lessons I feel like I can manage to assemble it alone. How different are Tyro119 and Tyro129 in this regard? As far as I can see they are quite similar and I probably will be able to assemble Tyro129 based on the lessons of Tyro119. What do you say?
I have found FrSky Taranis X9D Plus to be cheaper on GetFPV… Strange… Do I miss something obvious?
Which receiver would you recommend for Tyro129? Is there one suitable for long-range? And what is TBS Crossfire Micro TX? Is it a receiver?
For now I would prefer not to invest in goggles if possible. But can Tyro129 transmit the video to a computer or to a smartphone? If yes - how?
If GetFPV has better price: Fine!!!
I don’t know those drones. I cannot help.
Crossfire is a module you can attach to the back of a Taranis. It runs on 900MHz and therefore gives you longer distance. You need a crossfire receiver too. It adds cost to your project.
I would wait and maybe add it it later. Joshua has tested Crossfire. Check his channel.
Nice that you decided to build the drone. You will learn a lot.
Video from drones are, mostly, analog and transmitted at 5.8 GHz. You need a receiver, antenna and monitor of some kind to see the video.
Googles have it all built-in but you can buy the items separately and assemble them. Some prefer to have a display on top of the transmitter.
5.8GHz is a very high frequency suffering from short usable distance. You lose the video signal earlier than the RC.
Search info for Long Range Drone and you will find a lot of helpful information.
At least with those you get all the parts and you know they will work together.
Just need a transmitter and receiver - standard kit is a Taranis X9D+ (or similar) and X8R receiver.
The Taranis is a bit much to get used to for a beginner, but it’s something you cant go wrong with.
There’s some cheaper options, so long as you get a Tx/RX comb than can output all channels through one connection -> SBUS usually.
I know this is a little higher than you have budgeted for - but it is worth noting that the transmitter will last a long time and many of the expensive parts (autopilot, transmitter, receiver, etc.) can be reused on another drone in the future. Also, this doesn’t include a battery charger - so you will have to purchase that.
Thank you very much to all of you for all your ideas and explanations.
I’ve followed your advise and read this blog about long range drones. There the author suggests to use 2.4 GHz to transmit video. And this is good for me because we have restrictions on using 5.8GHz in my place. And I even might have troubles importing equipment based on it. While there is a limit on the power of 2.4GHz as well, but the frequency itself is not illegal all together. So I definitely want/must use 2.4GHz for video. So my questions:
What is the distance I can get with 2.4GHz if I use special antenna/higher power?
Will 2.4GHz give me another advantage - ability to transmit video to my regular smartphone/laptop via regular WiFi at least for now(/short-medium ranges), before I buy a special antenna/ground station? This way I can save goggles that I don’t need anyway.
Is it possible to do both - transmit video AND remote control on 2.4GHz just on different channels?
If #3 is not possible - are there transmitters/receivers that work on 433MHz/915Mhz out of the box?
(instead of me buying 2.4GHz Taranis and then retrofitting it with 915Mhz crossfire). Must be compatible with the Eachine Tyro129.
Can you give some options for such a 2.4Ghz video transmitter that is compatible with Eachine Tyro129?
Although I haven’t tested video link at 2.4 GHz you can expect a range of 2km.
Except for range there is no benefit. Where it’s allowed all use 5,8GHz as it is faster. (Higher frequency gives more bandwidth).
No! You have no video input to our phone!
Yes!
I don’t know any. FrSky and TBS makes add-on units.
Shure! Good antennas extend the range but not as far as you may want.
If you fly a mission you can fly far beyond the receiver range and check the result when/if the drone returns.
Extra hardware. You need a receiver and some type of display. I don’t know any hardware that converts analog signal to HDMI that suits RC flying. Lag cannot be accepted.
No: You have to replace the flight controller.
This new drone (QAV 250) from Holybro has all you need. The “Complete” kit includes camera and video transmitter. Mail them if you need 2.4GHz video link https://shop.holybro.com/pixhawk-4-mini-qav250-kit_p1125.html?
That flight controller is supported by ArduCopter
I would like to have control over the drone even if it’s 4 km away (LOS), so I need to see (over video) what happens with it. I’m still puzzled how the drones listed in your link above are able to achieve those ranges? On which frequency do they transmit video?
If 2.4GHz video transmitters exists - there must be equipment that is able to receive that video…
No?!.. On Tyro129 specs it says that it has Eachine GPS F4 Flight Controler and is able to work with Betaflight and INav. Are you sure that it is not supported by ArduCopter? Betaflight and INav are both open-source. Is there a reason that it is supported by one open-source program and not by another?. Strange. I also saw F4BY on the list of ArduCopter supported hardware. Is it a different F4?..
There are projects like AntennaTracker. The antenna tracker rotates the antenna and tries to point it in the right direction. This can really improve the range and destroy your budget
Yes!
Ask the ArduCopter people. It is not only mapping the correct pins. It has to be a valid CPU with enough flash memory, Uarts et cetra.
