New to multi rotors.. ? then start here..

[Jumpy07]

If you haven';t flown anything RC before then its tough to get started..  like everyone else I read as many forums as possible and asked a lot of silly questions, (nothing wrong with that). Here is a quick guide to getting started and how to approach it...


If you have flown a Heli or Plane previously.. then it is probably easier for you and at least you will now some of the basics..

A lot of people come on the forum and ask a common set of questions;

"Will this work ?"
"Does this kit look ok ?"
"Is this good value on Ebay ? "
"I want to get into FPV.. what do I need ?"
"What Flight controller should I buy ? "
etc etc  etc

I always answer....with some questions first ... what';s your experience ?, what';s your budget ?, what are you trying to achieve ?

A flight sim is a good place to start.. it does not require rebuilding every time you crash it... and will get you to grip with the controls.

A small ready built trainer is also a good idea.. lots of these around now.. complete with TX for @ £40.. Hubsan, V929, V939 ..  buy lots of spare props.. as you will go through them..


For a first full size multi... stick to a hardware combination that is common, that way you will get help when you get stuck and will also be able to follow others builds... the DJI clone frames are good in this respect..  parts are cheap and easy to replace..  Whatever you build first you will change or upgrade as you learn what suits you... and again buy lots of spare props, a spare arm or two and a spare motor.

Lots of new fliers.. post "I want to buy an Octo with X, Y , Z...to carry my expensive SLR....." well you are on your own with that.. and you're likely to  get pretty disillusioned setting it up.. and spending money replacing parts...  you will also break your expensive SLR...not a good starting point.. like any hobby some people have more cash to splash.. nothing wrong with that.. but no point in wasting money.

Most hobby and even professional fliers, build their own Multi';s, that way we know how to fix them when things go wrong.. nothing wrong with ready built kit.. but you will be paying a premium and may not necessarily get the best kit either.. there will always be a compromise.

Another common question is..  What Flight Controller should I use?   .. this is always difficult.. and depending on who answers you.. you will get a different response.. there is no right answer.. depends on budget and what you are trying to achieve, and how much time you have or like to spend tweaking....

If you post a message for help and its your first post.. then please post as much detail as possible.. ie: hardware, flight system etc etc..  there are so many variables is hard to answer some posts.. so if you want a quick response, provide as much detail as possible.   

One note of caution, most of the RTF and ARTF kits in Ebay are expensive and reading and learning as much as possible will save you a lot of your hard earned cash. That said there are exceptions to the rule.. so again ask for advice before you buy..


We are a friendly bunch here, and will offer as much help and guidance as you need,  so ask away..

[teslahed]

Just to add to the guide, one of the first questions we often get is ';why doesn';t it fly?'; and ';why does it flip when i try to take of?';. There are a bunch of common problems that most of us have run into at one point or another.

Do all the motors spin the right way? Your flight controller will give details, but usually the front left and back right turn clockwise, and the front right and back left turn anti-clockwise. Swap any 2 of the 3 wires that run from the ESC to the motor to reverse the direction of any given motor.

Do you have the props on the right way around? There are clockwise and anti-clockwise props, and you can put them on the right way round or upside down. It';s worth checking and double checking - if you have one on the wrong way around it will make a lot of noise and produce very little lift. You will learn to recognise the correct direction the prop should spin in based on it';s shape and sweep angle.

Have you checked the transmitter channels are not reversed? They may need reversing - you will have to hook your flight controller up to a PC or other display whilst the receiver and transmitter are running and wiggle the sticks to see if the bars move in the right direction.

[Vidal]

Cheers mate.
You guys here are a very friendly bunch.
Bought a hubsan x4 last week to learn on. Coming from a plane background I thought this would a doddle to fly. It actually takes some getting used to to fly it well. Great little learner.
Going to build a cheap clone from rctimer. Looking forward to the build. Although ill
Probably be pulling my hair out when I do build it. Lol.

[endure]

Are the ~$110 clones from rctimer good value for money? They come with frames, motors, ESCs and props.

[guest325]

Are the ~$110 clones from rctimer good value for money? They come with frames, motors, ESCs and props.

They  are ok for a starter, but you still need the FC don';t skimp and buy the cheapest you can get your hands on!  KK2 is ok for what it is and costs but there are much better options - depending on how deep your pockets are!

[endure]

Not very deep I';m afraid 

I';ve got 50 quid in my Amazon account. Are the frames they sell on there the same as rctimer?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/BestDealUK-Useful-X-Mode-Multicopter-Quadcopter/dp/B00C38BNJO/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1IK20QSPEWCS9&coliid=I2CFEFUT113X0

http://www.amazon.co.uk/BestDealUK-4-Axis-Airframe-FlameWheel-Quadcopter/dp/B00ASHU4RY/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1IK20QSPEWCS9&coliid=I3KAXBNG9RB94C

[guest325]

The first one is more of an FPV frame, the second is a normal quad but they are both frame only.
If you don';t want to spend much to start with one of the best to get is the J P Twister quad, it comes complete and ready to fly for just over £40, it';s what I learned to fly with plus it';s cheap to fix when you have oops';s!
This was mine flying indoors:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AQBGGGrPtA&feature=youtube_gdata_player
And outdoors with a key fob cam onboard:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpxi5wK31jg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[endure]

Cheers - I';ll have a look. Whereabouts do you do your flying? Local park? Farmer';s field?

[guest325]

Cheers - I';ll have a look. Whereabouts do you do your flying? Local park? Farmer';s field?

Local park, free space and flying club fields; with my Twister I used to fly in the street and park but only on calm days.

[fruitsalad]

they also great for indoor flying chasing the cat  ::)

[endure]

Just ordered a Twister 

[guest325]

Have a look at this thread - shows what I did with mine.
http://www.multi-rotor.co.uk/index.php?topic=1522.msg12099#msg12099

[endure]

I';ve no intention of looking at any threads that will persuade me to spend more money for at least a week   

[endure]

Arrived today. I managed to do a flip in the garden - completely unintentionally 

[Dark_Knight2310]

Hi.  I am knew to multi-rotors but have owned flown several helicopters.  I plan to build up a F450 kit gradually and buy bits as and when I can.  I was wondering what I can expect to pay for the radio system?  I see that there is a Futaba 8J for sale on here for £120, so around half new price.  Is that overkill for what I want or is it good?  I must admit it';s the controller that is giving me the most confusion outof all the bits and pieces.  Any advice most welcome!!

Many thanks,

Steve

[Friskle]

Hi.  I am knew to multi-rotors but have owned flown several helicopters.  I plan to build up a F450 kit gradually and buy bits as and when I can.  I was wondering what I can expect to pay for the radio system?  I see that there is a Futaba 8J for sale on here for £120, so around half new price.  Is that overkill for what I want or is it good?  I must admit it';s the controller that is giving me the most confusion outof all the bits and pieces.  Any advice most welcome!!

Many thanks,

Steve

When it comes to the TX, my opinion only of course, The TX is "The" main thing, i prefer the Hitec Aurora 9, though i also have two DX6 Black editions, though the DX black atm, is currently around 95 quid, imho, thats a bargain, its a very good TX.

[guest325]

Whilst I agree with Friskle about the quality of the  tx/rx';s he';s pointed out I would also recommend this:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=65911
I also own a dx7 and Aurora9  both of which are pretty much faultless  but so is the i6, it was purchased for "throw in the car" foamy planes but is no longer restricted to them because it is a very good tx!

[Rango]

Ok so as a super noob who doesn';t have any grasp of any of the acronyms or short hand, can someone tell me the basic difference between Tx';s set to either mode 1 or mode 2 . (Tx is the controller in your hands right lol?).

[mev]

Mode 1; Throttle and yaw are on the right stick, pitch and roll are on the left stick.

Mode 2; Pitch and roll are on the right stick, throttle and yaw are on the left stick.

So for the two different modes the sticks are effectively switched to opposite sides.

The choice of which you use is purely preference. It seems from my involvement in quads that the majority of people prefer mode 2.

If you have never flown either you just pick one and stick with it. Ha ha, sorry I';ll get my coat.

[Rango]

Ok cool, thanks for the speedy and clear response. My little hubsan is set to mode 2 then, and that just feels right to my hands/brain lol. Cool good to know.

[Dippi]

Hello, Am totally newbie to this hobby.
I tried to order a f450 kit and thought it would be easy, it turned out a disaster, it came with a kk 5.5 board, couldn';t configure the esc to work with it, then had ordered a spare apm 2.8 had multiple arming problems, never was able to calibrate my RC. finally reading a lot of posts etc decided to order a Naza m lite FC, waiting for it to arrive and new esc.

My parts are as follows 30a xxd esc linear.
Flysky fs6 TX and FS ia6b Rx
Soon to arrive Naza m lite FC
mate xt60 PDB
motors a2112 1000kv
1045 rotors

Please can anyone send me a detailed pictures or how the wirring between the RX nada and esc work. i have downloaded the manual gone through the videos and there is a lot of conflicting stuff out there.

Thankyou

[hoverfly]

This might give you a start 
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=naza+m+lite+wiring&oq=naza+m+lite&aqs=chrome.4.69i57j69i60j0l3.13938j0j4&client=tablet-android-lenovo&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#imgrc=E3nYNiHVKzrAoM:

[betty]

Many things need to day. FPV is not easy!

[wittekonijn]

Hallo
new here and looking to flash a KK2
with aero2 software
i have trying to flash the aliexpress KK2  with aero2 or kaptienkuk software but get always the same error
problem with the fuses

the programmer is setup richt and the programming software is working like ik should but it is going wrong with the programming of the kk2
curently software in the kk2
HW ver.2.1.x
EW ver .1.19S1.pro
steveis

regards raf

[volans]

I bought a 2nd hand quadcopter (hand built). Then acquired a Turnigy 9X radio, intending to replace the existing receiver which is a frsky X4R. The +, - and signal wires are soldered on but also there is a 4^th, yellow wire soldered onto the board. I've sent a couple of emails asking for some info but, as yet, haven't had a reply.
  I realise this is a a bit vague, but has anyone an idea what it could be for, and could it be left disconnected? might be able to get a photo if it helps.

[ched]

I bought a 2nd hand quadcopter (hand built). Then acquired a Turnigy 9X radio, intending to replace the existing receiver which is a frsky X4R. The +, - and signal wires are soldered on but also there is a 4^th, yellow wire soldered onto the board. I've sent a couple of emails asking for some info but, as yet, haven't had a reply.
  I realise this is a a bit vague, but has anyone an idea what it could be for, and could it be left disconnected? might be able to get a photo if it helps.

OK so there are many many combinations of components. I believe the Frsky X4R has telemetry so the 4th connection is probably for that but I am not very familiar with FrSky.

By all means start a new thread and post some picys showing what you are trying to do and the make and model of the components. I am sure we will be able to help get you in the air.

[Cheredanine]

As ched said, on an x4r you will have connected 5v, ground, sbus and smart port telemetry. The first three connect to the main pins on the reciever, the fourth is typically connected to the small socket on the edge

[Bad Raven]

  I realise this is a a bit vague, but has anyone an idea what it could be for, and could it be left disconnected? might be able to get a photo if it helps.

You can pull the full documentation from the Frsky website.