New setup advice

[Tean]

Hello to the forum from a newcomer. I would appreciate any comments and advice on my proposed first multirotor setup.

I am an experienced RC heli flyer, having flown them since the 1980s. I like to think of myself as a pretty competent 3D pilot and can fly at all orientations, normal and inverted, as well as doing a fair amount of the crazy 3D stuff. I was an early adopter of electric power and flybarless rotors on helis. I';m also a moderately advanced fixed wing pilot. I have been away from RC for a couple of years but my interest has been awakened again by FPV and with that in mind I would like to get into multicopters as these seem the vehicle of choice for FPV. I';d like to build up to a full head tracking system that can give spirited performance while carrying and fully gimballed camera.

I am assuming, possibly wrongly, that in view of my existing flying skills, I can dispense with the micro sized indoor copter stage and jump in at a larger, "outdoor and wind capable" sized frame. Orientation looks to be a challenge with most frames for LOS flying.

For the basic setup I am looking at using the Hobbyking Scorpion Y650 frame. This might seem an unusual first frame choice, but it appears to me that the Y configuration is the easiest to see for LOS flying and the Scorpion, with its size, shaped "body" and curly tail looks like it should show up well in the sky at reasonable distance. Plus it';s as cheap as chips at £20.
For power I am looking at a hex combo from Unmannedtech with the 2212Q 850kV motor, possibly on 4s with 10.4.5 props.
http://www.unmannedtechshop.co.uk/hexacopter-motor-esc-combo.html
For the controller, I';m looking at the ArduPilot 2.6.

Any comments, advice or alternatives appreciated. Thanks.

[nub]

Hi and to the forum.

Orientation problems can sorted out quite easily with some LED';s, but after a while you won';t even think about as you';ll already know from your past RC experience :smile:

i know nothing about the frame etc hopefully someone else will pop in and give you some advice about that.

[brokenpete]

Where are you based Tean?

[Hands0n]

Hi Tean, welcome to the forum.  I';m sure that you';ll find answers to all of your questions from this knowledgeable bunch of fliers   

Love the Scorpion air frame, looks wonderfully intimidating   

I';m a bit of a fan of APM flight controllers, they can deliver so much capability and yet be flown manually if it takes your fancy.  They do take a bit of setting up, although with Auto Tune it does help greatly.   And the latest versions of Mission Planner have a superb initial setup wizard that, if followed, ensures that all the critical steps are covered off.   Plus there are template parameter settings that you can load in at any time to alter the baseline purpose of the aircraft (ie. Beginner, Expert, Camera Platform etc ...). 

[Tean]

Thanks for the replies. I proposed the APM more out of a feeling that you get what you pay for, rather than any great understanding of the choices available. I imagine I would normally fly in a manual mode, but the ability to park using GPS would be useful while changing from FPV to LOS mode. I live in the Western Isles of North West Scotland and so will probably be learning FPV alone, without a spotter (and probably in a gale, lol).
Maybe I';m a bit over concerned about orientation problems. Single rotor helis fall out the sky pretty quick if you lose track of which way it';s pointing, but they';re much less stable and I never had GPS recovery systems on any of mine. But that said, the Scorpion looks a bit styled which I like. I also looked at the Sky Hero frames, but they seem very expensive for what you get.

[guest325]

I';m a big fan of diy where modelling is concerned,  this will be great fun when I get it finally sorted but could easily be adapted to whatever you want it to do.
http://www.multi-rotor.co.uk/index.php?topic=8745.0

[Tean]

Yes, I like a bit of building too, hence no Phantom style choice. I like the low tech wooden stuff at Flitetest.com.
But at the moment I';m building a new house (shouldn';t be playing with toys at all till it';s finished really) and haven';t got my hobby workshop done yet and lots of kit in storage, so I';m limited to "kitchen table" level building for the time being.

[guest325]

If you';re into real modelling (sounds like you are) this is where my Conduit copter was inspired from, also building a T copter.
Check out his channel, loads of interesting stuff!
http://youtu.be/OA03AcCeSIw

[kilby]

Indeed led for orientation but the 3M reflective tape can help too.

APM is great as it covers so many bases from acrobatics to stable camera platform & missions.

Find other flyers in your area as I started off not liking tricopters from all the videos I had seen but as soon as I saw one flying for real my opinion was changed (still don';t own one though)

[Tean]

Thanks for the replies. I had a reply too from Unmannedtech saying their motor combo will work fine, so it looks like it';s all a goer.
Anyone know if the telemetry add on for the Ardupilot worth having?

[kilby]

I like having telemetry installed if for no other reason than I never need to bother with a usb lead (or the danger of damaging the USB socket on the APM)

[Biffa]

I like having telemetry installed if for no other reason than I never need to bother with a usb lead (or the danger of damaging the USB socket on the APM)

That';s a good enough reason if ever there was one

[Tean]

Well I like a gadget, and as everything else for multis seems so cheap compared to single rotor helis  , I';ll add it to the shopping list.