Progress – POV Camera for Quadcopter

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Spent some time in the workshop today in between meetings, and finally got the POV camera powered up and working. I fashioned a little custom wiring harness using JST connectors for power, reconfigured the A/V cable that came with the transmitter, and powered up the system.  Behold – video!  From left to right:  LiPo battery (in this case powering Tx and Rx), camera, battery powered field monitor, transmitter (this and the camera will be housed on the quadcopter), receiver, and antenna.

In other news, the HoverFly Pro (a version of the flight control board that has some useful features, including auto level) arrived as well, so I’m working on upgrading the quadcopter with that and the POV video system. I hope to be flying again – and exploring local lakes with the OpenROV – in the next couple of weeks!

Build Log – Wiring Harness

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Finished with the LED wiring, which for whatever reason was a total pain, and then set to work on the wiring harness to connect the battery to the ESCs and other powered components. It took quite a long time, but I’m happy with the result.  I added two JST connectors – I need to update the diagram to reflect two connectors instead of one – which will power the LEDs and the video transmitter (which hasn’t yet arrived) for first-person flight.  Next up is a procedure to make sure the propellers spin in the appropriate directions – two clockwise, two counterclockwise.  That procedure, however, requires the battery, which has yet to arrive.

Build Log – Booms and Chassis

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ELEV-8 Coming Together

The first of two quadcopters is coming along.  I’ve got the booms and frame assembled, and just need to work on the wiring harness before putting the top on.  As is always the case with projects, there are things that I would have done differently, but they are mostly minor things, and I can use what I’ve learned as I start the second build.

Build Log – 4 Motors, 8 ESCs Wired

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Brought many of the parts for the project home – it’s much easier for me to work in my shop, where I have all of the tools and ventilation that I need to work efficiently.ESCs Wired
Spent a couple of hours soldering wires and EC3 connectors – these are little gold bullet type connectors – to the Electronic Speed Controls (ESCs) and motors.  Lots of fiddly cutting, soldering, and twisting of wires, but I made good progress, finishing all 8 of the ESCs and enough motors for one of the ELEV-8s.  I may just push through and try and get the rest of the motors wired up, as once this task is completed I can set to work assembling the airframe.Four Motors Wired!
Still waiting on the batteries, video transmitter and POV camera – hopefully that stuff will show up next week some time.