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You are correct RENOV8R - I'm a Ardupilot bigot as that's where all my experience lies. Dugdog47, The Ardupilot firmware has an autotune feature that permits the aircraft to determine optimal pid values in flight. In order to use this feature, you need a spare R/C channel. I am using a Spektrum...

This morning was bitterly cold - 19 degrees F. but it warmed up later in the morning. The air was pretty calm so I took my Elev-8 out for the autotune test as well as test the ground station fail safe feature. Initially I had trouble arming the motors and I had to go back home and troubleshoot...

Just a quick note. I'm on hold again, awaiting delivery of the GPS/compass module and foldable mast that I ordered - it will arrive on Thursday. I need to mount it to the top chassis plate before I button up the chassis. Meanwhile, the propellers should also arrive sometime this week. I also...

I have built two Tarot multicopters, a 680 Pro Hexcopter and a 650 Sport quad. In addition, I am currently building a 650 Iron Man. Based on my experiences, I have the following critiques with Tarot designs. The first, and possibly the most significant flaw is the design of the motor mounts -...

I wanted to upload images but Photobucket was offline. It's back up so here are a few images: First, parts I've laid out for the build: In the pic aboove, you can see the three motors I salvaged and the one I bought, still in the package. The new motor has 22 1/4"esc leads which are more...

I have good news - I found a local source for some bullet connectors yesterday and also my Tarot gimbal arrived as well! So I am proceeding with the build. the first thing I did today was mount all motors on the Tarot motor mounts, securing them with screws and Locktite. Then, I mounted the new...

I am in a holding pattern waiting on 3.5 mm banana bullet connectors - I need them to fabricate the leads that go from the ESCs to the motors. The local hobby shop doesn't have any in stock so I ordered a package from Amazon, but it won't arrive until early-mid December... rats! In the...

The build is proceeding slowly as I have been waiting for stuff to arrive in the mail. I'm still waiting for 3.5mm bullets in order to fabricate the wires that go from the ESCs to the motors. In the meantime, I've been hooking together the power distribution harness, ESCs and a Castle BEC that...

Sounds like Charlie Brown's kite eating tree! Sorry to hear you're being unable to retrieve your wayward quad!

I thought about a bow and arrow, but decided that the sling shot was a cheaper option. The sporting good store advertised a slingshot that you could use to shoot arrows, but I felt that the sinker/fishing line approach would be easier to retrieve if I missed the desired branch!

Okay, so I wasn't flying a quadcopter - it was a Parrot Disco.... I got too close to some trees and banked to avoid the first but the second tree was just a tad taller and caught my aircraft. There it was, stuck at least sixty feet up and no way to climb up to retrieve it. I had to leave it for...

I had two flying video platforms that were similarly equipped though different frames - one was a modified Parallax Elev-8 and the other was a Tarot 650 Sport. Both had T-Motor Navigator MN3520 400KV motors, 15.5"props and Hobbywing Platinum Pro 30A OPTO Escs. Both had APM 2.6 flight...

The aircraft was a Parallax Elev-8 with a basic flight controller - it was not capable of providing any logs. This was a basic aircraft - no GPS, compass, etc. I later rebuilt it with the APM 2.6 flight controller - by then, I learned not to let it get so far away that I could not determine its...

I just have to share my lost drone story: Back when I built my first quadcopter, I was flying it and let it get too far and lost orientation. I didn't have enough time to figure out which way it was facing as the prevailing breeze blew it behind my house and over the woods behind it. My wife...

If you have seen YouTube videos of Bebop and Disco flights, you have noticed that many of the have flight gauges and flight data overlays. Adding overlays is a somewhat involved process and fraught with issues - almost all of the YouTube tutorials skip important steps. If you would like to...

If it's any consolation, I had the same problem - bad connector that caused an engine failure and devastating crash. My quad was totaled but I had enough spare parts that I rebuilt it and it flies great now! Good luck!

For me, it is hard to tell what went on from the video. Regarding the use of parts from a previously crashed aircraft, I have done that, but I have been leery about using motors, especially if the prop broke, or the motor was stuck by a tree branch while running. If I have the slightest doubt...

My first flights with the Disco:

So, my new toy arrived on Friday, the 13th, and I excitedly unboxed it. Here is the aircraft with the wings put on: The little thingy on the of the nose in front of the Parrot logo is the power switch and also the pitot tube. The camera is fixed and tilt and stabilization is done via software...

This morning, we had some calm air for a change, so I took my Tarot 650 Sport out to the field for an endurance flight test. This is a large copter, weighing around 3KG and powered by a 6000 mAH 6S lipo. I've estimated my expected endurance time, given current draw for mid throttle setting and...