/tech/ - technology

been meaning to build one for a while, i've just had more important things to spend money on :/

Keep us updated. I would love to see it progress as it builds

>>1277
I'm really interesting in Quad Racing and want to get into the Drone Racing League but I can't currently afford one. I heard their are programs that work as simulator so you can practice with an xbox controller and your computer but haven't looked deeply into it.

>>1277
It does sound pretty fun, yes.
Do you have any online resources/books you'd recommend to get started on it?

To get started watch this guys videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNAH4C98Qhs

I recommend video goggles like the fatshark ones (or competitors like Aomway) instead of these huge boxey things but they are also more expensive, so that's your decision. Aside from that this is a good starting point. He also has videos on just about anything else if you want to dig deeper.

Also remember that the quadcopter breaks all the time so ideally you want a bunch of spare parts from day 1, nothing sucks more than breaking your first quad after 5 minutes and then having to wait 6 weeks for that replacement part from Shenzhen that is stuck at the customs.

Practising in a simulator is a must. Spend anywhere from 5 to 20 hours in there before attempting to fly a real drone. This will save a whole bunch of crashes. Many people recommend Velocidrone but I personally used the DRL Simulator. It's free and works really well too. They also recruited some people for the real Drone Racing League from there (it has race courses and online timetables). Of course it's a different feeling out on the field with the goggles and you'll realize things like wind exist, but the steering is really similar.

I'll keep you updated about my build, it's nothing too special though.

One more thing: The community is really nice and full of helpful people. There is also a high chance of regular meetups in your area so if you ever leave your room you might want to check that out.

I've always really wanted a quadcopter, not really to race it, but to build it and then use it in cases I don't want to leave the house. Like if I want to see if anyone is at my local skatepark a few blocks away but don't want to walk a few blocks to see that nobody is there, I would like to just use my drone to fly over and check it out.

Is this a reasonable use case or am I fooling myself?

>>1290
This is the greatest thing I've ever heard.

>>1290
>I've always really wanted a quadcopter, not really to race it, but to build it and then use it in cases I don't want to leave the house.
What if it gets stuck or crashes? Needing to climb a tree because you didn't want to leave the house seems counterproductive.

>>1506
Valid thought; in either case I've decided to put off buying one for the time being. I have too many projects I'm working on at the moment.

aerospace here. I had a job for a few months developing drones and I got to fly them quite a bit and it was about the most fun I've ever been paid for. Flying quadcopters is a blast, even if I can't keep up with the computers.