Rlink LRS – New promising UHF LRS system?

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Posted by Stigern | Posted on 13-04-2014

Category : RC

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This new and exciting LRS system looks very promising.

rlink

It’s priced at around 150$ for a complete set, which includes a TX, RX, wires & antennas. I bought one set as soon as I’ve read some about it. Haven’t had the time to test it other than binding and seeing that it works. I also measured the output power to around 7-900 mW in LOW and 1400-1700m W in HIGH. The power consumption are a little bit higher than most other LRS systems, but IMO it’s not a big problem.

Range tests from users at rcgroups seems to be pretty decent, around 70 km in low power mode and with stock antennas.

Key Features:

Super high sensitivity as -115 dBm
RSSI output(analog buffered) in separated channel on the Rx side
Diversity
Frequency configurable from 410-510Mhz
Firmware upgradable
16 channels (using two RXs)
Handles any standard PPM stream
And the best of all, the devs are active on the rcgroups forum, they are also on skype and are very happy to help out there too.

Links:

Himodel.com – 133$ TX & RX
Royalway-tech – Makers of Rlink

 

DIY: Stigerns Homebuilt H-Quadcopter

Posted by Stigern | Posted on 08-01-2013

Category : RC

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After some inspiration from fpv.no I decided to build my own H frame quadcopter.

It’s a very simple yet stable design, and makes a perfect FPV quad. The H quad gets a much larger “center” than most other types, which makes it spacious! You can fit almost anything onto it, well you’re only concern is the weight.

So I started off by drawing a simple 3D model of what I was looking for. I used 3dsmax, but for a quick model Sketchup is great. I’m jus more used to 3dsmax.

I bought some 18mm tick pinewood plates which I cut out cylinders in 20x18x800 mm sizes, then cut them down to their correct length.

To make em stick together I used some small wood-screws and polyurethane wood glue between the joints. Making it surprisingly sturdy and stiff!

For soldering it all together I used a power distribution board, placed underneath the plastic box. For battery connections I use two XT60 plugs, one in front and one in back, to keep the quad in balance. Alternatively you could make room for the battery under the plastic box, making it possible to only fly with one large battery.

The end result looking like this! Total quad weight without battery: 1045 g

Parts list:

4x XXD A2212 KV1000 Brushless Motor
10×4.5 SF Props (comes in pack of four)
HobbyWing 20A ESC (found at eBay, RCtimer.com also has some nice ESCs)
Hobbyking Multi-Rotor Power Distribution Board
Hobbyking KK2.0 Multi-rotor LCD Flight Control Board
A 3S lipo of your choosing, I recommend 2x 3000 mah.
Nylon XT60 Connector for battery. 
2x PolyMax 3.5mm Gold Connectors

Other parts:
Receiver of your choice, I use a Turnigy 9x with the 9x receiver.
LED’s? I bought the Turnigy LED’s from Hobbyking.
Feet? I used some tube-isolation foam.
Screws & Glue
Wood, pine or other equivalent.
Zip-ties.

X525 V3 ARF from Goodluckbuy

Posted by Stigern | Posted on 06-11-2012

Category : Electronics, RC

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I just took the next step and ordered a real quadcopter, it is a ARF kit thats based on the x525 frame. The contents of the kit looks okay, and I guess for a first time build it’s just a good thing most parts already has been selected for me.

Kit Contents:

– X525 V3 folding frame*1
– KKMulticopter v5.5 *1
– XXD 2212 KV1000 brushless motor*4
– 3.17mm Shaft adapter*4
– GEMFAN Carbon Nylon 90×50″ 9050 9050R CW CCW Propeller *4
– Hobbywing 20A ESC*4
– ESC Connect Board*1
– Heat shink tube*12
– Not assembled,just a kit

I will most likely not be using the KKMulticopter 5.5 board, instead I have a KK2 from Hobbyking on it’s way. It looks much easier for a newbie to understand and setup. As some extras to the kit I also got a few extra props, one screw set, prop savers. I also ordered one extra frame kit!

The receiver I’m gonna use is the Turnigy 9x, and for powering this quad I will be using the lipos listed under here. Of course I will not use both at the same time, but I thought I’d give it a shot with different C ratings and mAh:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=18207

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=26453

I’ll try to update this blog with a build log.

 

Review: Mini Pet Quad 4CH 6-Axis

Posted by Stigern | Posted on 03-10-2012

Category : RC

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I have now flown this quad for some time, and it is about time to write a review about it. So here goes!

First some technical data:

Size: 8.5 x 8.5 cm
Flight time: 6-8 minutes (depends on lipo and flight style)
Charge time: Approximated 60 minutes (from my experience it’s a bit shorter)
Radio range: Over 40 meters
Quad-copter weight: 34g
Quad-copter battery: 3.7V 300mAh Li-Po battery
Gyro: 6-Axis

RTF Package contains:

Quadcopter
Transmitter
Charger & 1 Lipo
Spare set of props

The quadcopter itself is quite well built, the build quality is much better than the WL-Toys quads. It got some nice rubber buttons at the bottom of each feet, which keeps it in place when landed. I don’t know if it’s any good as a impact reducer, they aren’t that soft. The booms to the motors are made of aluminium, so they feels very solid. I’ve had my crashes with this one, and it’s not showing. Only visual damages are that the props have a few scratches.

The quad flies great! It’s a blast to fly indoors because of the gyro, it’s the most stable quadcopter I have flown. Having that said, it’s the opposite when turning outside for flying. Because of it’s eager gyro the quad wants to counter every little puff of wind. So if you want a mini quad for outdoor use, you might want to look at the v939.

The flipping function isn’t as good as the wl-toys, you need to flip a switch on the transmitter to make it go from “Beginner” to “Advanced”, when this is activated the quadcopter will do flips if you push the direction stick forward or backwards, resulting in a flip in that direction.

The only drawback is that you can’t fine select sensitivity as on the wl-toys tx, there are only those two modes.

One great feature is that the wires to each motor uses a small connector on the board, compared to the first v929 model this makes replacing a motor simpler.

The transmitter is decent enough, the only thing it lacks compared to the other models in its price class is the back light.

Pros & Cons:

+ 6-Axis Gyro (great for beginners, keeps it very stable)
+ Well built
+  Great indoors

– 6-Axis Gyro (makes it unstable in windy conditions)
– Only two modes
– Comes with only one lipo

Mini DV 808 #16 – Key Chain Camera

Posted by Stigern | Posted on 20-07-2012

Category : Electronics, RC

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A long time ago I bought a small key chain camera from a random eBay shop, I knew the video quality had to be very bad considering it’s size, and I was right. But then I stumbled over a thread on RC group discussing just something similar to what I had bought. In fact it was identically looking, only the internals was better on the product discussed on rc groups.

I soon discovered I had bought a cheap china copy of a not so cheap china product hehe. The real hd key chain camera would record 720p in a decent quality.

So me and a friend went onto eBay to look for this #16 model, a real one that is. We found a great deal only 40$ including shipping for each 808. So I’m gonna do a quick review when mine arrives in mail. Until then, here is a sample video someone else recorded with the 808.

Specifications:

  • 1/4” CMOS WXGA HD Sensor / H.264/AVC1 DSP / Hynix 512M DDR2
  • Rechargeable LIPO Battery (250mah), with Battery Charger Manage IC
  • Video: 720P HD H.264/AVC1 video codec, 1280 x 720 30fps .mov
  • Photo: JPG 1280*960 (no degrading by upsizing to interpolated “5 megapixel” size)
  • microSD card slot, supports up to 32GB
  • USB2.0, plug and play, easy connection with computers, no driver needed.
  • Super mini size, only around 50mm (L) x 32mm (W) x13mm (H)
  • Super light-weighted: only approx 17g!
  • Multifunctioned, you can use it as a mini DVR, a camera, a webcam, a removable USB drive.

Stay tuned!

RC Season 2012 – New Toys!

Posted by Stigern | Posted on 19-07-2012

Category : RC

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It’s been some time since my last blog about rc helicopters, so it’s time for a new. There haven’t been any changes for about 2-3 years, still got my Lama v3, Honey Bee FP2 & Walkera 5#6. Only one of them are in working condition, only the 5#6 can fly. My lama has a broken TX, and my FP2 misses some crystals(where did they go?).

So, I went back to RCGroups to check out the news on the rc front. And to my suprize quadcopters had really dropped in price! Walkera has some new neat models, the ladybug for example. They still cost, but not as much as those custom built ones. Of course you get what you pay for to some extent.

But I found a thread on the forums discussing about a new brand named WLToys, and their Blade MQx clone the V929. It has recieved very positive response, and many good reviews. Presumably it’s very easy to fly, flies well and stable it can also take a beat. The main argument for getting it is the price which is around 40-50$!

The V929 is my entry into the quadcopter universe, I just ordered one from eBay 47$ including shipping!

Now for some tech specs.

WL Toys V929

Main Wing Diameter: 13.5cm
V929 BodyWeight: 61g
FlightTime: about 10 minutes
Charging Time: 50 minutes
Range: 100-150 meters
Power Supply: 3.7 V 500mAh Lipo Battery

As a replacement for my FP2 I found another helicopter from WLToys the V911:

More about this model later!

 

My Arduino Robots

Posted by Stigern | Posted on 14-11-2009

Category : Arduino, Electronics

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Thought I write some about my two robot projects! They both use a Modified Pico, since it’s the smallest Arduino I’ve found. And it also fits on a small breadboard!

Botty 2:

This is the most advanced robot I’ve built, but it’s not nearly finished.

It’s current task is to drive straight forward until it senses a object with it’s IR-sensor, then drive away from it until it’s cleared, and continue in that direction. Really simple 😛

It uses a Sharp-IR sensor, mounted ontop of a servo, so it scans the horizon while driving forward. The sonar in the picture isn’t in use, since I actually like the IR sensor better.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pscYXg-Rkp0;ap=%2526fmt%3D18&w=425&h=344]

BewBit:

Simple and yet fun to make arduino bot. Just follows the strongest light source. Using two LDRs, a modified pico and 1xAA and 2xAA battery packs, to give out 4,5 volts. Just enough to power theSN754410 and motors. But it gets around. It also includes a low-voltage alarm, which beeps when the voltage goes low.

Had a little accident, it drove over a carpet, or it came about 30cm into it and some funny gear-whining noise came 😛 A lot of hair in the gearbox, had to take it apart and clean it.

Future plans:

* Crash sensor, a small micro switch in front.
* Speaker, plays sound according to light source 😛
* Better code

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRqkj8t63pA;ap=%2526fmt%3D18&w=425&h=344]

Walkera UFO 8! 5#6 sized ufo :D

Posted by Stigern | Posted on 05-03-2009

Category : RC

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Now, this is small. And so extremely cool 😛

It’s around the same “class” as the 5#6, 5G6 series. Which makes it even more suitable for using indoors. The ufo 4 also got a update, the ufo 5. Which is just an updated version of the 4. But the 8 is a all new ufo in the collection.

Specs:

1). Main Rotor Dia. : 80mm
2). Overall Length: 230mm
3). Overall Width: 230mm
4). Main Motor : 0720RN
5). Battery: 3.7V 400mAh Li-Po
6). All-up Weight: 40g (Battery included)
7). Transmitter: WK-2401
8). Receiver: RX2418
9). Gyro: 3D Gyro

I’m just amazed. Wonder when they will move onto something smaller than the ufo8,5#6,4#6 etc.

New interesting Walkera Coax!

Posted by Stigern | Posted on 30-07-2008

Category : RC

Tags: , , , , , ,

Walkera has released many new models this summer, but this one is different. It really sticks out.

But it’s basically two 53# stacked onto the same frame, with some aluminum upgrade parts and 2.4ghz
system.

Specifications:

1).All-up Weight: 768g (Battery included)
2).Main Rotor Dia. B: 450mm
3).Main Rotor Dia. A: 450mm
4).Overall Length: 575mm
5).Battery: 7.4V 2200mAh Li-Po
6).Receiver: RX-2409
7).Drive System: 4 X 370SH
8).Transmitter: WK-2401
9).Servo: WK-7.6-3 weight 8.5g;speed 0.11sec/60o(4.8V); torque 0.9kg.cm(4.8V); dimension 22.5X11.5X24mm

And the price?

Miracle-mart.com – 199$
Rc-fever.com – 184$
Toy-easy.com – 235$
Rc711.com – 184$