A fun little project... APM Phantom...

[PaulJC]

So i';ve been lusting over a Phantom 3 for a while but there is no way i';m dropping £1100 on one... The appeal is definitely the portability, sonar and optical flow...

So i';m gonna build something of similar size just for fun...

I';ve just ordered this off eBay...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331515475483?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT


I';ve got 4 more of these sat on my shelf doing nothing so they can go in... Running the latest BLHeli...
http://www.rctimer.com/product-1323.html


I';d already ordered an optical flow sensor off eBay anyway...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/310702206281?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT


It';ll also be getting Sonar...
https://www.coolcomponents.co.uk/ultrasonic-range-finder-xl-ez4.html


The APM will be getting pulled from my Alien frame, fully reset and started from fresh so APM 2.5 running whatever firmware version will be happy with sonar and optical flow... Power Module, Telemetry Radios, OSD, NEO M8N GPS, if i still have no joy with it i';ll get an APM mini to go in this, or just set it on fire... lol

I';ve got a pile of 3S 2200mah Turnigy blues from my flying wing so i';ll find a way to fit and run them in parallel for 3S 4400mah...

No FPV at first, just gonna see if i can get it to fly and run right with it being a ';spare'; quad i don';t have to worry about :)

I need to decide on motors now, mostly do i want props that i can spin off or ones with separate nuts to hold them on and what KV would be best, i';ll also need an Rx but i wouldn';t be surprised if i buy a Taranis at some point so i';m not rushing into that just yet... If it goes together and flies well it';ll get FPV and a Gimbal and a nice backpack to carry it about it, but until then it';ll be a fun (and probably frustrating) toy :)

Loads of bits lying about doing nothing so total cost has put me £70 out of pocket so far (if you forget the fact i';ve just spent £200 on a NAZA V2 to go in the other thing lol...)

Any thoughts/ideas?

[Fletch]

http://www.readytoflyquads.com/rtf-opera-full-mainplate-phantom-conversion-kit

[PaulJC]

Thats a nice little find, i wonder if a full size APM will sit on that...

[PaulJC]

£16.50 by snail mail so i';ve ordered one anyway, worth it just to tidy up power distribution if nothing else :)

Total project cost so far £86.46, now i just need some motors :)

[quadfather]

http://www.readytoflyquads.com/rtf-opera-full-mainplate-phantom-conversion-kit

"to replace your phantom center plate to install a FC that does more then hover awsome.  :)  just kidding"   

[Nige8021]

I think there was a post recently about the sonar & optical flow not working on the APM only on the Pixhawk ???

[PaulJC]

I know Lidar doesn';t work on APM but i';m sure Sonar does depending on firmware version, a Pixhawk isn';t completely out of the question of it gets a lot of use but we shall see, optical flow was about a tenner so not the end of the world if that doesn';t work, would just be a nice touch that';s all

[rotorx]

I know Lidar doesn';t work on APM but i';m sure Sonar does depending on firmware version, a Pixhawk isn';t completely out of the question of it gets a lot of use but we shall see, optical flow was about a tenner so not the end of the world if that doesn';t work, would just be a nice touch that';s all

To save you all the blood sweat and tears I went through, no sonar will not work with APM    I tried everything in parameters to get it working, to find out it has been dropped from 3.17 I think it was. It was never really supported in APM and few on the sites really seemed to have used it from my experience.

I still have mine, hoping to use it with pixhawk.

[PaulJC]

Thats ok, 3.1.5 was a pretty stable roll out  lol

Like i say, just for fun at this point so if anything doesnt work it';s no biggie :)

[PaulJC]

Motors ordered, in the end i went for the DJI 2312 960kv motors as used on the vision 2 along with some 9x4.5 props which has added £56.10 to my total, not bad for 4 motors and 4 props i don';t think...

£86.46 + £56.10 = £142.56 total so far, not quite so much of a super cheap project anymore but still gonna be fun all the same :)

[quadfather]

Just noticed the price of the sonar.  £28.50 

You reckon it';s ten times better than the SR04? 

[PaulJC]

Ha ha, probably not, but it is the ';recomended'; for APM, so if it doesn';t want to play it can go back... lol