Progress: Well, the time has come. This is my final blog post for this project. Unfortunately, time was not on our side this time. The parts that I had ordered from the website Banggood.com have yet to arrive. I believe that the package may have been lost in shipping or is still shipping a month later. Despite this, one of the other components that I order has arrived. This is the FPV googles that are necessary to see the view from the camera on the quad copter while it is flying. However, this part is rather useless for now as the build isn't even complete (though you can plug a video input into the goggles to watch some youtube videos or maybe play some wii sports). So, where does this leave this project now? Well, I don't believe that I will be done with this before the end of the school year. However, I will not just leave the project to die. I will continue this into the summer and evolve it into more of a hobby, rather than a mandatory school assigned project. Reflection: This journey has come to an end (at least for now). With all of the problems that this project has been plagued with have created quite an interesting experience, albeit a fun one. I have learned much from this project, that being skills and experiences that I can pull upon in the future. This project has been a fun way to fill the time during the school year as it is actually something that I feel passionate about. Now that the end of this assignment is approaching, I think that this project is going to extend into summer vacation. I know that I didn't not reach the goals I set at the beginning of the school year, I attributed this both to a poor management of time throughout the school years as well as the numerous delays that I faced almost every quarter. These factors ultimately led to the project missing its mark in terms of timing. However, I am still proud with what I accomplished and find that this was a fun little hobby. This is less of an end, and more of a start. No that all the hard work of junior year is done, I an devote more time to this hobby, and it is just getting started. Thank you for following me these past few months, and hope you will do greatness in the future. ~ Brandon P.S. One last thing, if you would like to contribute to naming the drone once it is complete, feel free to put any suggestions into the input field below.
0 Comments
Progress: As I continue to wait for my parts to be shipped (from China), I have continued to practice flying in a simulator on my computer. After browsing some more online forums, I have found a new simulator that I can use on my computer. It is called as VelociDrone and is known for its realism and accuracy to real life flying. On this program I have been maintaining the skills that I had learned previously on the simulator I was previously using. I did some of the races included with the program, mostly time trials, as well as some freestyle flying. I used my transmitter as I did before, connecting it to my PC in order to flying in a manner that would result in the most experienced gained.
The parts that I need for my quadcopter, however, are still shipping, and it is unknown when they will be delivered. Unfortunately, the website that I had ordered them from only had them in stock in their China based warehouse, so shipping times vary from a few days to maybe even a month.
Reflection: Though the parts for my quadcopter have still not arrived, I have still been having fun planning a course and practicing in a virtual environment. All that is left for this project is finally build the quadcopter, which is nearly complete. The only pieces missing, as stated before, are the small standoffs that are necessary to separate the flight controller from the power distribution board. It is also what allows for all of the components to be securely fastened down on the drone, so that it does not come loose due to vibrations or a crash. I have learn much from this small side project. It has taught me handy skills, such as soldering, as well as how important it is to continue at something if you want to improve at it. At the beginning of this project, flying in the simulator was a very difficult task, crashing almost every 30 seconds. Now, after a school year of practice, it has become much easier to control a drone. I am by no means an advanced pilot, but I have go beyond the newbie that I once was. Instead of 30 seconds between each crash, it has become minutes. This project has been a fun pass time throughout the school year, and I believe that I will continue pursuing it after as a hobby.
Progress: As the necessary parts I need to complete the build are being processed and shipped, I can take some of this down time to plan a course that I can use to practice racing in, through various time trials and challenges. For this, I needed to find a large open space that contains some obstacles that can be incorporated into a course. I went online and searched up various parks around my area that could be easily accessible, keeping in mind some restrictions regarding where one can and cannot fly. Some of choices that I narrowed my field down to were Edgar Park and Bell Intermediate School, both in Garden Grove. I ultimately decided on Bell Intermediate School because (1) it is very close to were I live and (2) it is very open, with a field, a blacktop, and some baseball fields providing some obstacles. However, in order to use this location, I must keep in the mind the airspace restrictions resulting from the close proximity to the Los Alamitos Air Force Base. This can be taken care of through contacting them prior to beginning a flight. To plan a course, I screenshot a overhead view of the school, and used a program to draw a possible race course. When planning this course, I used reference images from other courses online as well as planning what elements I wanted to included. I ended up creating a course that starts with a slalom, into a long straight leading to a hairpin turn that leads back to a fast straightaway. Next, it turns into the field and then comes back and ends through a set of volleyball net poles. This is course is a good way to test my skills as it incorporates both fast and slow moments and is relatively far away from the buildings and fences, lowering the chances of crashes. Some updates on the status the build are that the need parts are ordered and should be shipping soon. Thus, I hope that we will be able to finish the quadcopter soon and actually fly the course. Reflection: The race course is one of the most important factors in creating a enjoyable and challenging experiences when flying a FPV quadcopter. That is why I took the time to find a suitable location as well as researching good layouts that have been used by other in the past. Though this is just the planning stage of the course, I believe that this is what the final course will look like as I took the time to incorporate the elements that I think are suitable for my skill level. It is also marked by easily noticeable landmarks, such as baseball cages and volleyball poles. However, one thing that I might change is the finish line, because I plan to sit near the start line. If the finish line is facing towards the start, I feel that this may lead to a crash, particularly involving myself. So that may be one change that is put in place, but I believe that the rest of the course is relatively well designed and challenging. Hopefully, this project will soon come to an end with the commencement of the build and I also wish for a good future ahead.
Progress: Since my drone is near completion, it is necessary to start planning for when I can actually fly the drone. I have been researching where is it not only a good place to fly, but also safe and legal. There are many laws that regulate radio controlled aircraft and it is necessary to make sure that one is abiding by these laws. A very helpful website in understanding where it is safe to fly has been http://knowbeforeyoufly.org/. This website provides any pilot with a map that tells them were nearby airports are and restricted air spaces. I have also been looking into the designs of FPV racing course so that I can be able to create my own to time myself and practice. This is the final goal that I wish to meet and I hope that once I finish the construction of the drone, that I can start flying and racing the drone. Reflection: It is important to choose a place that is safe and legal to fly. There has been increasing regulation in the field of radio controlled aircraft as more people have been participating in the hobby as drones have become cheaper and more accessible. This makes it important to find a good place to fly once I finally finish the building of my drone. Therefore, thorough research is needed in order to be a safe and law abiding drone pilot. I think that it is important to understand what one can and cannot do with what is available to them. Therefore, I need to complete much research before I can achieve my end goal. It is tedious, but also necessary. I believe that the end goal is within reach, though. All that I need to do is finish the drone and then we should be up and flying in no time.
Progress: I have started the second build attempt of my drone. It went well relative to last quarter. I was able to mount the majority of the parts and solder some of the wires and connections together. A step closer to completion. However, there was a little snag this time as well. All of the parts were able to mount except for one. The flight controller, or the brain of the quad. The problem arose from the lack of 4 tiny parts called standoffs. These are what the standoffs look like: The majority of the drone is completed, without the standoffs, the drone is once again, uncompleted. However, this problem has an easy fix. These standoffs can be purchased for cents on the dollar, so it's just a matter of ordering some and waiting for them. Therefore, I consider this time was rather successfully as more progress was made toward getting this little thing into the sky. I am close, but there is still a little barrier standing in the way. I learned much about soldering during this as well as I soldered the ESC (Electronic Speed Controller) wires to the motors. I was also able to mount the PDB (Power Distribution Board) on top of the ESC. However, I must stop again as I need to wait for the standoffs to arrive. Reflection: Though the drone is still not finished, I feel more excited this project than I did before. I am even closer to being able to fly the drone and it will be finished in not too long. It is an interesting experience, however, having to deal with many problems and things that were not expected. This has taught me how to adapt when things do not quite go as planned. It is necessary to improvise sometimes in order to reach what you want to achieve. Nothing is ever planned out exactly as there are so many factors that can affect the world around us. Thus, from this experience, I have learn this and learned how to deal with it along the way. It is okay if things happen different from the plan. It's just how life is.
Progress: Once again, like last quarter, I have to prepare my parts, tools, and myself for building my drone. Last time, there was a problem with the solder and I was unable to complete some parts of my drone. To combat this problem, I went on Amazon and bought a brand new soldering iron. I've also had to refresh my self on the process of building a drone. I have gone over videos laying out the procedure and what must be done in order for the drone to work. The youtube channel UAVFutures has been a great help in this regard, with this video specifically being extremely helpful. I have been browsing different forums and websites to find in depth tutorials so that the process will go more smoothly than the first time. Some places that I have been looking to for advice have been www.reddit.com/r/FPVracing and Youtube channels similar to UAVFutures. These resources have very helpful in guiding me in the right direction and allowing me to understand what needs to happen for this project to work. I have also been practicing flying in the simulator to continue to get a feel for what I need to do once the build is complete and it is time to take to the skies. By the next blog, I should be able to continuing the building process of the drone and bring you along for the ride. Reflection: This blog is very similar to last quarter when I was preparing to build for the first time. However, now that I have actually had some experience with the process, I now know more clearly what I need to do. So for this quarter, I used what I learned to know what I need to focus on in order to continue the build and get into the air sooner. I have all the tools and parts that I need (I think) and now it's time for a second take. I think that this time will be the time that I will actually finish the drone and I am excited as that means it is almost time for real world flying. The simulator has been fun and taught me much about how quadcopters control, but I feel that I need to start flying the real thing. Next blog will be the build. Wish me luck! Reader Poll Progress: After the mess that was last quarter, my plans for having my drone completed have been somewhat delayed. Thus, I need to make up for the practice that I thought I would be able to do in real life with my newly built drone. I need to make sure that I am still able to fly the drone once it's completed, so back to the simulator it is. On the weekends, I have put in a few hours flying in the simulator, in order to keep the muscle memory that is necessary to fly a drone (without crashing it). As before, the simulator that I am using to practice flying a quadcopter in first person view is called FPVFreeride. It is a realistic computer program that I can plug my transmitter into and control a virtual drone that behaves in a realistic manner. It has become easier to control the drone now that I have had some experience from the previous quarters and I have become more confident in my skills as a pilot. Using this simulator, I have been able to practice not only the basic maneuvering of the drone, but also how to do some tricks that others have created tutorials and guides for online. One example being this video by a user named Ganked FPV: By continuing to practice using the simulator, I have grown more comfortable with the controls of the drone and should be able to transfer the skills that I have acquired to the real world when my own drone is finally completed. Reflection: Though there have been delays with what I had originally planned to do, it has allowed for me to have more time to become better acquainted with how a drone feels and responses to different inputs and situations. So, the problems that I had last quarter are both a blessing and a curse as my drone is unfinished, but I get more practice before attempting the real thing. I believe that this extra practice is important for me to become more well versed with the controls of the drone so that when it is completed, it will be a smoother experience when first beginning to fly. Therefore, I will continue to practice in the simulator while I sort out what is needed in order to complete the building of my drone. Hopefully this quarter will be more successful the its predecessor.
Progress: After ordering, waiting, and eventually receiving all the parts, I finally started building my drone. To start building, I packed up all my parts and tools and went over to my friends house in order to use his soldering iron. The process went relatively well at the beginning as I screwed in the four motors into the frame. There were some issues with the screws not lining up, but I was able to position then correctly in the end and secured the motors to the frames. Then I began to mount the ECS. However, the ECS came with the wrong screws and standoffs, so I could not continue after that. Thus, I did start building, though I did not get that far due to some more issues. Unfortunately, I must find a way to fix this issue before I can continue. There are spare screws and standoffs available for purchase online, which is on option that I might go with. However, for now, I cannot continue building until I get these missing parts.
Below is a time lapse of myself putting the first parts of the drone together.
Reflection: This quarter has been plagued with difficulties that I have been unable to control. First with the delay in shipping, and now with the missing pieces needed for building. As a result, I do not think that I will be able to achieve that goal that I set for myself this quarter. With shipping taking more than a few days and finals approaching, I do not think that I will have time to finish building my drone before the end of quarter two. However, I should be able to finish building my drone at the beginning of the next quarter and continue with the timeline I set for myself at the beginning of the quarter. This quarter did not go quite as expected, but I am still excited for how this project is going to turn out.
Progress: After a long period of waiting, all the parts that I ordered have finally arrived. The frame, motors, PDB, ESC, propellers, battery, camera, and VTX have all made it in one piece. Also, I have become informed about how to build the drone through the many videos and posts that I mentioned before. During this time, I also made some arrangements for other resources that I need to build, such as a soldering iron and some tools. I will be going to the house of a friend of mine who has allowed me to use his soldering iron and my dad has given me some screwdrivers and wire cutters to use as well. This means that I am now ready to start building my drone as I have all the necessary resources to do so. Reflection: Now that everything is in place, I am able to continue my project and continue working towards my quarter goal. The delay of the parts was somewhat of a setback as it took longer than expected for me to have all the parts that I needed. This means that I am starting to build later than I first planned to. Despite this, I still think that I can reach the goal that I set for this quarter, to goal of building a drone. Everything is in place and all that I have left to do is put that parts together. Hopefully, the rest of the quarter will go on smoothly and no more problems will arise.
Progress: This blog post brings good news, but also some more disappointing news. A number of the parts that I have ordered have arrived, such as the motors and frames. However, some of the other items have not yet, for example the PDB (Power Distribution Unit). It has been almost a month since the time that I ordered the parts and I am still waiting for some of them to arrive. Therefore, this delay pushes back the date that I will actually be building the drone. In the mean time, I have been watching and reading guides on how to actually build the drone. I have watched UAVfutures build guides and tutorials, and have read many posts and articles from the /r/FPVracing subreddit. Hopefully, the parts will arrive soon and I will be able to continue my project. Reflection: The delay in shipping is a minor setback to my project as it pushes back the day that I will be able to put the parts together. This also pushes back the day that i will actually be able to practice flying in real life, rather than just in a virtual environment. This delay makes me less sure that I will be able to finish my goal of building a drone by the end of the quarter as this process is taking longer than I initially expected. However, I still believe that it is possible to still achieve this goal if the parts arrive soon and everything else goes smoothly. I expect that the parts will arrive soon as it has already been about a month since they were for ordered. In the mean time, I will continue to watch the build video and other resources in order to be able well versed in the process when the parts finally arrive. One of the videos that I have been watching: |
AuthorMy name is Brandon and I hope to document my experience in learning how to race a drone. Archives
May 2018
Categories |