Quad Crash

One thing in my town

One thing in Chicago

One thing maybe in New York?

Three things last seen on a boat from China

(Blurry picture is blurry)

So I received all the things yesterday.  I honestly think I’m (mostly) done spending money on the Inductrix, save for some replacement bits as things wear out. 

First, that E-Flite box is the Celectra 4-Port Charger, and is one of the three best options out there for multi-battery charging, and probably the best for a novice.  It’s unreasonably bulky because it’s designed to use 4 D-Cell batteries or an (optional - as in not included m’fmrs) AC adapter.  However, the thing is fast, independent, and even actually got my E-Flite battery that wasn’t taking a charge to work.  And while at first I was frustrated with the size of the box, the fact my FPV monitor sits perfectly on top of it for charging is great.

Second, I’ve now got what I hope is enough batteries to get me through the winter.  Six Nitro Nectar batteries give me enough juice to fly around the house for about a half hour.  On top of that these things give WAY more punch than my old batteries did.

So I’m skipping the lunch log (I did fly, just mostly zipped around the office).  But - it looks like Saturday I’m taking my Amateur Radio (ham) Technician exam.

It’s 35 questions from a specific pool of 426.  You can miss 9 and still pass. I’ve been studying the flash cards, and I’m at 76% proficient there.  And today I took my first practice exam.

I missed 8 :)

Flight Time

#1 Reason to fly microquads:

Today I decided to fly in the stairwell.  The focus was to fly up and down as best (and fast) as I could.  A bit of a primer for quad racing.  Didn’t do too bad, but I was still in very safe mode.  It was painfully short though due to a battery being down.

Ham Update

Flight Practice

Ahh.... this is where I got to fly.  No obstructions, almost no people.  I spent the time flying from one end, to the other, looping around that yellow cone, then up into the air where I dodged projectors, then landing on the stage where I was sitting.

Good times.

Unfortunately - I’ve got one battery that’s gone bad on me, which seems to be common with the stock battery that comes with the Induxctrix FPV.  So I only got about a total of 6 minutes air time, but what a six they were.

I also briefly put the quad in Acro mode.  Boy did I regret that one almost immediately!  A hell of a lot more punch, but I’m way more likely to crash.

On the upside, I did almost do a flip.

Some other notes: Over the weekend I went to my mothers, who has a good sized, fenced in yard.  With the wind still, I took it outside. I briefly flew over her house before a gust sent me down.  After that, I did a lot of flying around the yard, and even into the house itself.

Ham Update

So I recently spent way too much time angsting over buying some motors for my “outdoor” quad I want to build. While I didn’t, it does get me in mind of “next steps”

Immediate & Long term needs:

Charger

Especially as I move to using more powerful quads, and a better transmitter, I’m going to need this.  Charger requirements are capable of charging 4S batteries, as well as 1S batteries if I get the adapter.  Should be fairly easy, and this may be one of those purchases that just kinda stick around for a while.

Reuse: The USB charger will probably stay in my EDC bag, so I can charge a battery whenever.

FPV Goggles with DVR

While I’d love something like the Fat Shark stuff, I honestly think I may just get a nice $100 set from BangGood. It gives me goggles, gives me DVR, and gives me some good antennas (I hope lol). 

Reuse: The screen I have today will likely go in my kit to be used for “spectators” (ie: the kids) while I fly.  I may even keep the mount for it at work and cart it with me in my EDC bag for when I fly at work if I don’t use Goggles there.

Radio

So I think I’m mostly set on the Taranis 9XD Pro. I’ll need it, as well as a a FrSky module for it, potentially a receiver (I can always get that later), an OrangeRX module so I can connect to DSM2 (and thus the Inductrix), the LiPo batteries for it (see charger, above), and a case because I’m not carrying around a $200 piece of hardware in a canvas bag.

Reuse: The stock RTF radio for the Inductrix will stay at work, making it less stuff I need to carry with me so I can fly at work.  I'll also probably have the screen mount with it, so I can use the screen there too.  Downside is, unless I have my goggles (above) no DVR.

Where I’ll be at that point

So I’ll have phased out some of my hardware in favor of upgrades, but at that point I’ll have two kits: My “serious” kit - goggles and a good radio, and my “office” kit - the stock radio and screen.  I won’t be carting things around except for the Inuctrix, which I can fit easily in my bag, and it makes flying both at home and at work much easier.

Then What?

That question really comes down to how much I want to push myself.  In reality, I think I’d be better buying an almost ready to fly kit, but I’ve got a lot of things I’d like to do and I may be better off buying it piecemeal. And as much as I would love to fly a bigger quad, it’ll be all but useless without the Radio, and the DVR stuff is something I’d love to do so I can share my flights.   And, let’s be honest, I can’t really use the radio (and actually, the goggles) without being able to charge up the batteries.

Flying

Office was kinda busy today, and couldn’t get to the auditorium, so I went to an empty classroom. That was a bit intense.  Let’s start from the beginning though, yeah?

Starting off I had a huge rudder issue (or so I thought).  No matter how much I adjusted my trim, the quad was rotating.  I couldn’t even fly in a straight line.  So I sat down and looked at it and - sure enough - hair caught around the motor.  A quick off and on again, and I was flying perfect.

First I did a few laps around the room - good, basic flights.  Focused on stability and control. Focus was on being able to control where and what I did, as well as maintain as much elevation as I could.

Then the fun kicked in: I decided to do a low flight, about a foot off the ground, through the long rows of chairs and tables.  To say that was incredibly fun is an absolute understatement.  The best description I can give of it is the first-person view in A New Hope on the speederbikes

Seeing the chairs fly by, seeing the table legs fly by, all while I know one wrong twitch and bye-bye repaired frame.

And I’m proud to say - no crash, either.

Battery 2 was a disappointment.  I believe it had almost zero charge, and I got almost no flight out of it.

Battery three though made up for it.  Lots more  intense flying through chairs, and poked out into the hallway a few times to see students walking by.  Several laps around the room and through the chairs, and a safe landing at the end.

Also: No frame damage at this time!

Ham Progress

Good to be in the air again!

As I mentioned before, I’ve had.... a rough few days with my quad. Plus, aside from actually looking at the book for the Ham license I’ve done like NOTHING on this stuff lol.

So I’ve had... a very, very bad run over the last few days when it comes to my Inductrix. 

My kid lost one of the screws for the inductrix while I was replacing the frame

I’m having a lot of issues with the new frame, which are largely my own doing, I admit.

Stock frames are non existent right now.

Finding the screws from point 1 was also really difficult (you have to order the canopy kit... yeesh).

So, last night though I finally get things settled and set (mostly), go to take off... and my props go flying more than the quad.

Right...

Thankfully, the Tiny Whoop facebook group had a solution for what I was certain is a common problem. It turns out there are two solutions for when the prop on a micro-quad won’t stay on:

The Super Glue Trick (See video, above)

Take a small pin and put a dab of superglue on it.

Smear the glue around the inside of entrance to the hole in the prop.

Wait for the glue to dry.

Prop is ready to re-insert.

The Dental Floss Trick

Thread some dental floss through the prop.  I suspect waxed would work better.

Fit the prop to the motor shaft.

Trim excess.

The dental floss trick seems like it will be better for “need to fly now” type scenarios, and quite frankly given the fragility of super glue some days may be longer lasting.  However, the trimming step, especially under the prop, seems more difficult.