In this tutorial, I am going to explain step by step how to built a 250 Quadcopter Drone. I had already built the drone when I decided to make this tutorial, so all the soldering and some construction is already made, but I will try to explain how to do it.
Now, I could do a presentation of what a drone is, how many types of drones there are, etc...but, if you have arrived here you know how to use Google
.My model is based on the Hobby King Color 250 chassis, is not too big, but neither too small. It is my first drone, I decided to built it by myself instead of buying one because I find it cheaper and more entertaining. I hope that this tutorial can help you built one yourself, and spread the hobby of drones even more.
Well, lets get to it:
Step 1: Materials
I am going to list all the materials I needed when I built my drone, and I will try to link them to a place where you can buy it, or something similar that will get the same work done.
Chassis: H-King Color 250(x1)
Motors: 4 individual motors http://www.kynix.com/Product/Cate/757.html
ESC:HobbyKing 10A ESC 1A UBEC (x4)
Flight controller:AfroFlight Naze32 Rev6(x1)
Propellers: Any type of 5030 will do (included with chassis, however I recommend buying more because they break easily)
Batteries: I recommend around 1500mAh and 40C, anything bigger will be too heavy and smaller will be to little power. ZIPPY COMPACT 1500mAh 3S 40C(x1) or (as many as you want), so you can fly as many as you like.
RC emitter & receiver:Quanum i8 8ch 2,4GHz(x1)
FPV Camera: If you buy it in Spain I recommend: Mini camera 600TVL con Filtro. If you are from elsewhere, this one is the most similar: Mini CMOS 600TVL FPV Camera.(x1)
FPV emitter: If you buy it in Spain I recommend: Mini transmisor de video 32CH 200mW . If you are from elsewhere: SkyZone TS5823 32CH 200mW.(x1)
Screen or googles: Screen: 7 inch monitor with receiver included. Googles:Quanum DIY FPV Google V2 Pro. (x1)
Some cables.
Connectors: Watch out for the connectors of your battery, it can be XT-60, that is the one I use, or other.
Soldering tin.
Bolts/Screws. (some come with the chassis, others don't).
Battery alarm: optional, but can be handy to know when the batteries are dried out.
Step 2: SAFETY
Drones are not toys. You have to be very careful when building or flying them. Here are some safety tips I recommend you follow:
Building the drone:
- Soldering can be dangerous, be very careful. Wires transmit heat, so consider having some tweezers or forceps to hold them and not burn your fingers.
- Once you have everything in place, you might want to put on the battery to see if it works, but please, NEVER EVER put the propellers on while in the working bench, because you never know when will the motors will be armed the first time you connect the battery, and it could hurt you really, really bad.
- Fly in open spaces, where if something goes wrong, the only thing that suffers is the drone. It is better if only your drone is destroyed in a crash than if apart from your drone, you break someone's windshield, or window.
- The first time you fly it, try having the drone always in sight, even if you have FPV goggles. Take your time to learn how to control the drone.
- Every time you fly, make sure your propellers do not touch any wire when rotating, or they could cut them and something will go wrong.
- Li-Po batteries can explode, corrode and provoke dangerous fires. Use only Li-Po certified chargers and try to buy them from somewhere reliable.
Step 3: Assemble the base.
So, you have now everything you need to start building your drone.
First, you have to assemble the chassis, but not entirely, only the bottom so you can add the flight controller and other things later.
The one I have used, the 250 Color, is very easy to assemble, just 4 black cylinders that you have to place in their respective places and put the bolt from under the base.
Other models may have other ways of assembly, but I think most of them will be quite easy.
Step 4: Time to solder
Now you have to solder the pins on the flight controller. I have used a Naze32 rev6. This model has 3 groups of pins you need to solder.
Groups number 1 and 3 are easy, however, for group number 2, I recommend you buy extra pins that have a 90º corner so you can pass the wires under the flight controller. This way, you gain some order with the wires, once everything is connected.
Then, the ESCs, is is very easy. Red on +, black on -. Do not change the polarity, because it will damage the ESCs.
Now, the battery connector, these wires are big, so put a lot of tin and solder where it puts Vin 14,8V Max, once again the red on the +, and the black on the-.
You have to solder the FPV gear also, I have made a quick diagram that can be useful for most of the cameras and receivers.
For the motors, some come with bananas easy to connect, for others, you will need to solder them to the ESC as shown on the diagram. Look out for the changes in the wires of the motors, two of them rotate Clock-Wise (CW) and the other Counter-Clock-Wise(CCW).
Do not forget to put some tape, or Heat Shrink Tubing so that the things you have soldered do not touch each other.
Step 5: Connections and more connections.
Once everything is well soldered, time to connect all the things.
I have made some diagrams that may help you will help you connect everything.
Make sure connect correctly the motors in their respective numbers in the Naze32.
Each receiver is different, but most of them connect the same.
Make sure the FPV camera is fastened somehow, or it will jump all around when you fly the machine.
Step 6: Check and double check
Once everything is connected, take your time to make sure everything is right, no loose wires, no metals touching each other, etc...
I have included close photos of my motors so you can see the soldered wires and the numbers.
Step 7: Finish the assembly
You are nearly finished, just finish the assembly of the chassis and you are nearly good to go.
One quick tip, try putting the receiver antenna connection in the hole the chassis has, so you can have a quick way to put and remove the antenna.
REMEMBER, do not put the propellers, the photo you see with the propellers is because the drone has NO BATTERY, therefore it cannot be armed accidentally.
You may need some velcro straps to fix the battery and a camera for recording in flight.
Step 8: Software and Calibrations.
You are now capable of flying your drone!
Remember, be safe and have fun!!
Thanks for reading this tutorial and I hope it was useful for you
