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3d - Printworx

New Guy with Questions

Started by Bawbee, Wednesday,July 24, 2013, 11:42:46

Previous topic - Next topic

Bawbee

Following on from post in the ';Welcome'; section, I would appreciate your input to my questions:

I work in the offshore oil industry and recently managed a project where I contracted a company called Cyberhawk for an aerial survey of an offshore oil platform flare-boom and tip. The results from this survey were exceptional and I am consider extending my hobby, photography, to include aerial work. I was pointed here by a member at EOS Magazine Forums (photography related); who goes under the name of ';NickM';.

Nick advised me that these forums would assist me in gaining some knowledge before ';wasting'; cash on something that I don';t need.

So, advise away on a total budget of up to ~£1000 for a stable unit and inclusive/attachable camera (stills and video preferred).

Make?
Model?
Intregral camera carriage?
Electric (Battery) or Petrol driven?

PS - I would also appreciate contact from any local members here (Live: Dundee - Work: Aberdeen).

Thanks,
Bob

Calomile

That price will get you a smallish frame for flying a gopro, the guys you hired have a quite expensive rig, I would estimate somewhere between 3 and 6 thousand depending on configuration.

To begin with I would look at buying something like the blade mQX and a flight simulator such as Phoenix to get used to the mechanics of flying before spending all your money on an expensive craft only to crash it the first time you take to the skies.

This site is a great resource, lots of very knowledgeable folk who are willing to give you a hand (myself included). Check out the chat room whenever you get the chance!

Cheers,

Cal
I reverse polarities for fun.

SimonS

You have quite a few members of this board in the East of Scotland.  I think that the closest to you is probably Rudeboy in Montrose.  Nub is in Glenrothes, I am in Dunfermline and I think that there are some members up in Aberdeen.

Looking at your budget, I would start with the camera.  The easiest option is the GoPro (v2 or 3 silver or black) which can give you 1080HD video and also take stills at the same time.  A secondhand v2 goes for about £160 on ebay while the 3Black is around £350 although there are some offers around.

Next I';m guessing you will need some radio control gear.  If you can wait for delivery from HongKong then a Turnigy 9xr plus Frsky module, receiver and Tx battery will be a bit less that £100 including shipping.  Alternatively, something like a Spektrum Dx7i sourced in the UK will be around £170.

Next, the flight controller.  The is really only one candidate for this if you have not flown before and that is the Naza Lit with GPS. Others will probably disagree and recommend APM/MultiWii/CC3D etc etc and there is no denying that some of those can be far more capable but they require far more knowledge and time to set up.  It';s a bit like the Apple v Windows argument.  Naza is simple and easy to setup (Apple) while the others can do more but will leave you pulling your hair out at times (windows).  I speak as someone who has tried Naza, APM,KK2 & CC3D.  CC3D is probably the best for those who put flying first.  Naza is better for Aerial photography.  The Naza Lite with GPS is around £144.

So far we have taken about £404 - £664 from your budget depending on which options you go for.

The remaining items required are a frame, some motors, props, ESC';s, Lipo';s and a charger.

You should be able to get 3 or 4 LiPo';s and a charger for £100

Frame wise there is a huge choice but most flyers seem to gravitate the Discovery or one of its clones.  The price will vary from around £20 for a clone from China to £80 for a pair of genuine Discovery plates and 4 DJI arms.

Props can be had for less than £10 a set and you can get 4 pairs of 9x4.7 carbon props from RCTimer for about $30 plus delivery.  RCTimer is also a good place for ESC';s and a set of 4 30A SimonK flashed ESC';s are around $50

Our Total so far is £569 - £899.

Lastly the motors. initially I would suggest something cheap as you are likely to have a few crashes and there is the posibility of bending a motor shaft or two.  Equally, start with the cheaper props.  Something from RCTimer like the HP2212-1000kv or the NTM 2826 series from HobbyKing are around £10 each.  When you get more proficient it is woth spending the extra for something like the RcTigerMotor 2216 900kv as these are much better balanced and will help to reduce vibrations getting to the camera (known as Jello). They are around £28 each.

So we have a total of £609 if you take the cheapest option each time through to £939 at the top end (£1011 with the tiger motors).  Allow another £50 for odds and sods like connectors, wiring, soldering iron, tools etc and you are about there.

If you want to come and have a look at any of my quads you are welcome, just drop me a PM.

Calomile

If you aren';t comfortable with building there are options available to you, but you will still need to be handy with a screw driver and soldering iron eventually in this hobby.

Can';t add anything to what Simon has said, it';s really great advice. I would look at getting experience beforehand though!
I reverse polarities for fun.

ChrisH

Bob,

Welcome. Not wishing to put a dampener on your plans as long as it is all for personal enjoyment!

Anything that the CAA regard as commercial or for reward is a new kettle of fish requiring a BNUC licence which alone could cost you £1500 + insurance!

Have a look around the forum to get ideas of what';s involved. Just for fun is the best route IMHO. ~~

It';s a great hobby that empties your bank account quicker than a day at the races! :smiley:
Chris
Hubsan X4
DJI F450, Naza, GPS, DX8,
Tarot FY680 Naza, GPS, Hero3 Silver, 5.8 FPV with screen
 :england:

nub

yup never as straight forward as it should be, i';d love to fly RC models for a living but there';s a few hoops u need to jump through 1st, ach never know maybe someday :smiley:
Point and click.

Monkey see, Monkey do.

dazza22

hi
I  not going to disagree with any of the above.
But if you can find someone local to  you who is prepared to help and who knows APM
arducopter .
It is worth a thought . Because once setup it is a stable easy to fly platform. With
lots of added function (which I imagine you are looking for) over NAZA ,
But as mention if learning yourself Arducopter not the easiest to set up .

Bawbee

WOW! Wonderful information from you all - Many Thanks. I will need to take some time to digest it all.

For my part, I would need to buy a RTF unit (see, learning the lingo already  ;D) and I think now that I will need to tread carefully and take my time.

Thanks to you all again,
Bob

flybywire

It';s all good advice as far as I can see, all I could possiby add would be to consider the Naza M (V2), over the ';Lite'; as DJI are including this in future upgrades for waypoint functionality (with their 2.4 ghz bluetooth datalink) and also note: DJI quote: "2.No extended function (does not support NAZAV2-PMU, Zenmuse H3-2D/NAZA OSD/NAZA BT module/IOSD)".  :hmm:
http://www.dji.com/dji-released-2-4g-bluetooth-datalink-ipad-ground-station/

Don';t get me wrong, the ';lite'; is an excellent  & capable controller, but IMHO is better off for a ';second'; (cheaper!) system/craft.
Andy
Blog: [url="http://ajwillis303.wix.com/stuff"]http://ajwillis303.wix.com/stuff[/url]
The spiritual home of fpv large
Keep it emax, capiche?
Hardware? sure, I got hardware!

ChrisH

#9
Chris
Hubsan X4
DJI F450, Naza, GPS, DX8,
Tarot FY680 Naza, GPS, Hero3 Silver, 5.8 FPV with screen
 :england:

philtrum

Hi Bob

are you by any chance CanonBob on talk photography, if not you use a similar avatar ?
if so, we have done business in the past on a lens  :smiley:

one thing you need to work out, is what you want to do with your camera rig, what sort of weight do you want to lift, as that determines a lot of things.

I would also heartily recommend spending a small sum of money on something like a hubsan x4 as a taster into the hobby, as flying these can be more of a challenge than some people realize.

This is a fantastic forum and will have the answers you need

longer term if you are looking to do this for money etc or personal gain, there are qualifications  / exams you need to do, to be legal.

Cheers
Phil
Many Thanks
Phil
[url="//www.makeitbuildit.co.uk"]www.makeitbuildit.co.uk[/url]

VinHex

Hi Bob,
We all have out preferences and they are all good.. each have there own options for what is required.

It';s a can of worms when you first setup any unit, but If I can give any advice it';s this..

If you have little experience sorry if you have, buy a really cheap one to get the hang on how it all works.  Once you feel that you have the gist of it all move on from there.

1:Look for a frame that can be upgraded!! That way you can just pay a little extra to add on once you start moving up. rather than banging out more cash for a complete unit.

2:Get a good controller at the start! You can stick with that unit and learn more and more every time you fly and tweak.

3:As you kit grows and your learning curve slows down you will start to understand about reliability and keep the kit maintained. Once you start getting expensive gear in the air the last thing you want is failure! One esc or battery can put your baby in the ground.

4:Use the forum to it';s most the guys on here know there stuff! No question is a stupid one we were all beginners once.  If you feel awkward asking then PM someone!

5:As mentioned going pro comes at a cost with the regulations.  Enjoy it first then move up!

6:Don';t push cheap to meet the budget, wait  little longer and buy better, as mentioned above fly a unit you can push around and learn all about it all, giving you time to save a little more to get quality.

These are only my suggestions, I hope I';ve not offended in anyway.. Not knowing level of flying skills.

Vin
Vin,

HEXACRAFTER HC650, DJI WKM, DJI DataLink 2.4Ghz, 4S DesirePower 6200, Aeroxcraft Landing Gear, Xaor 12x6 Pre-Balanced-Props, Spektrum DX8, AR8000 Receiver
TM1000, Fatshark Attitude SD, Sony Exview Had II CCD 650 Line Sony Effio-E, DJI iOSD, Hexacrafter Brushless Gimable Fat-S Spironet Antenna

Bawbee

All,

Many thanks for all of your information, it is much appreciated.

I have not yet decided on a unit yet but I have moved away from the commercial viewpoint and may still consider combining my photography with a multi-rotor. I am still not sure about the GoPro Hero 3 as I would prefer an LCD screen to be a standard and I am investigating other ';extreme'; cameras. I don';t think I could find a unit that wil carry a Canon EOS 6D + Lens - but I could be wrong.

Having taken all of your kind advice on-board, I will probably go for a small RTF unit and see how it goes from there.

Once again, Many Thanks for your advice  ~~

Philtrum - See PM.

Hands0n

For an RTF the DJI Phantom seems to be a solid investment - especially now that it has dropped in price to just under £350 for the complete kit (see http://www.multi-rotor.co.uk/index.php?topic=4305.msg35074;topicseen#new ).  I believe that it comes with a GoPro mount, although that should probably be capable of carrying a similar sized and weighted camera.
--
Danny
"Its better than bad, its good"

Current FCs: Pixhawk, APM 2.6, Naza M V2, Naze32, Flip32+ CC3D, KK2.1.5
Aircraft: miniMax Hex, DJI 550 (clone) TBS Disco, 450 Firefly, 250 Pro, ZMR250, Hubsan X4, Bixler 2