

Ask HN: What is the best affordable programmable drone? - viksit

What would you recommend as a reasonably priced (sub 150$) quad-copter&#x2F;drone, that has a camera, the ability to be programmed (so that I can process video&#x2F;write my own stability algorithms for it), and reasonable flying time?<p>In the event nothing fits that price point, any pointers on what the state of the art is?<p>Thanks!
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ingenieros
The CrazyFlie meets almost all of your criteria except for the camera part.
[http://www.bitcraze.se/](http://www.bitcraze.se/) It's completely open and
some users have managed to attach tiny cameras to theirs:
[http://forum.bitcraze.se/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=427](http://forum.bitcraze.se/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=427)

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jpetersonmn
I don't think you're going to be able to do all that for < $150. Here's a
pretty good website for that sort of stuff.
[http://diydrones.com/](http://diydrones.com/)

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dirktheman
USD 150 is tight if you want to bring a half-decent camera up. You can buy
cute little quads for as little as USD16, but the firmware for these things is
always closed. Same with the DJI Phantoms and their Chinese clones.

What you're looking for is a flight controller with open source firmware. You
have several options for this, but Arducopter and MultiWii are the most
common. I prefer arducopters, but it's more of a 'PC versus Mac' debate: there
are upsides and downsides to both, and in the end, both do a pretty good job.
They're basically Arduino sketches loaded on an ATMEGA, so customizing it is
pretty straightforward.

I would highly recommend building it yourself, not buying a ready-made quad.
It's cheaper in the long run, (search 'DJI phantom replacement parts' for
instance), more fun and you'll learn more. I don't think you can write a
decent stability algorithm without knowing exactly what your hardware does.
One word of 'warning' though: the people behind Arducopter/MultiWii really
know what they're doing. If you're expecting to write a better stability
algorithm than the current ones, well, you're in for quite a challenge. Having
said that, if you choose to contribute to the open source projects: power to
you!

For about USD250 you can assemble a decent quad that's: \- Fun to fly \- Has
replaceable parts (a necessity, you WILL crash) \- Is upgradeable (GPS for
instance, or better ESC's, better motors, etc.) \- Has an open source flight
controller

You should be able to make one yourself for this amount. Take for instance a
nice 250 size FPV quad: \- ARF-kit: USD 100,- (Frame, motors, escs, wires,
etc.) \- HKPilot (APM based) flight controller: USD 71,- \-
Transmitter/Receiver: USD 54,- \- Keychain camera \- Ass. propellers (buy
spares. You WILL crash!) \- Batteries (3-cell lipo) and charger

Kit:
[http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__52863__HobbyKing_...](http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__52863__HobbyKing_Spec_FPV250_V2_Quad_Copter_ARF_Combo_Kit_Mini_Sized_FPV_Multi_Rotor_ARF_.html)

Flight controller:
[http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__51498__HobbyKing_...](http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__51498__HobbyKing_HKPilot_Mega_Mini_Flight_Controller_and_Autopilot_with_Leads.html)

Transmitter/receiver:
[http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__8992__Turnigy_9X_...](http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__8992__Turnigy_9X_9Ch_Transmitter_w_Module_8ch_Receiver_Mode_2_v2_Firmware_.html)

Regarding flight times: I have a slightly bigger quad (350 size). With gopro
attached it weighs in about 1150 grams, and I get about 6-7 minutes of flying
time with a 3-cell 2200mah lipo. I'm always experimenting on improving flight
times, and I think I can squeeze a couple of minutes more out of it with a
little tweaking. OTOH, 3-cell lipos are less than 15 bucks so I always bring 3
or 4 of them with me.

A couple of extra words if you're new to flying quads: \- Start off with a
light, cheap microquad. For instance the Cheerson CX-10. At 20 bucks it'll
cost less than a wrecked frame and 2 props, and it will teach you how to fly
these things. Plus, they're light so there's no damage when you crash them.

\- Please, please be careful with the larger quads. Don't fly over people,
don't fly over buildings, roads, etc. Not only is this dangerous, (+2 lbs
travelling at 40mph with spinning blades...) you're ruining the hobby for
everybody else when things go wrong. Same goes for cameras strapped to your
quad: respect privacy.

\- I've said it before but here it goes again: You. Will. Crash. Don't think
'I'll be extra careful' or (in my case) 'I'm a seasoned RC pilot, I think I'm
able to fly this thing without crashing': you're wrong. I promise. You will
crash, and you will break stuff. Not the end of the world, but get some spare
props and a frame if you can.

\- I've had nothing but excellent experiences with Chinese webshops like
dx.com, banggood.com or miniinthebox.com. Sure, quality is less than European
brands like Graupner, but it'll work. Your first car probably wasn't a brand
new Audi, but a banged up '89 civic, right? It'll get the job done just fine.

One last thing: I don't know if you have a wife/husband, but be prepared to
spend a lot of time tinkering. It's an addictive hobby, I can tell you...

~~~
viksit
One quick question - would you also know of drone simulators that offer the
ability to test out flight control algorithms?

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dirktheman
Not that I'm aware of... but when I try out new PID-settings I tie my quad to
four pieces of string, tied to four bricks. Kind of low tech, but does the
trick.

A flight controller in its most basic form isn't extremely complicated. It
takes input from a gyroscope and distributes more power to the lower side. You
can easily make a testing environment with the frame and motors, so without
props attached.

Also, the APM mission planner software has a setup tool that takes input from
both the transmitter and the flight controller. Maybe you can find a way to
make that work for you.

The multirotor forum and the rcgroups.com forum have tons of resources about
multirotors. Also, feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions. I'm
by no means an expert, though!

~~~
viksit
Thank you!

I just pinged you on twitter, but I thought I'd ask - would you know of any
small copters like the cheerson cx10 that support customizable firmware?

