Quadcopter decisions... so many!

[rcguy813]

Hello everyone, I'm new to the board, but it looks like there is real passion around quadcopter building here (vs. say, HeliFreaks), plus, you're all in my backyard!

I've been flying micro-helis (McpX) and my Trex-450Sport for about 1 year now, and I'm very interested in Ariel Photography (I guess I should use "AP"). As I scour the boards to learn more about AP mounts on my Heli vs. building a Quad, I'm pretty set on not messing with my Trex450, and I don't have the desire to buy a 600/700 class heli.

After reading about the MultiWiiCopter in previous posts, it looks like a great product! I'm also interested in the new Gaui 500x (vs. their smaller 300x). What would you recommend for a newbie Quad flier that wants a stable, yet fun platform?

Many thanks for your input.

[crazyj]

What camera setup are you looking at? DSLR, GoPro, something else? Are you going to do photo's, video or FPV?

Stability can be had with many different multi rotor setups, controller boards and various sensors. I've learned the key is to having a rigid airframe, a well tuned controller, and balanced props/motors. Good video/photo (and flight) quality will result from those basic principals, ever better quality when everything is working in harmony on a copter.

I'll be honest, I'm a sponsored pilot for MultiWiiCopter.com, but I'm not trying to be a salesman. This is my opinion - Scarab 12 copters are well designed, lightweight, strong in the right spots and fly well. I haven't had much experience with any other frames or control boards since I've only been flying these for 6 months. Just look for a rigid but lightweight frame - something with low drag in the prop wash (thick booms are bad for efficiency). Spare parts are essential and for some of the Chinese copters I'm unsure if parts are easy to find - be careful with that! The Gaui 500x looks interesting, but the center section is kind of small possibly making it tough to hold all the electronics neatly (FPV gear especially).

Hope this info helps,
Jason

[rcguy813]

Jason,

Thanks for your thoughts. I have both GoPro-like video and DSLR-grade cameras, but I think this is primarily for GoPro class of video. FPV might be fun some day, but just AP and video for now.

I'm seriously considering the Scarab 12, but am a bit confused with the different ones -- as a first time build, I'm assuming I want to buy the Scarab 12 - Quadcopter Airframe (for $136) and NOT the Quad-X Euro version. Can you explain the differences?

Also, do you have any experience with OpenPilot's CopterControl?

Many thanks
Eric

[Takeo77]

I've noticed that the Scarab frame makers are based in AUS, how long does an order take to get to the USA?

[crazyj]

I've noticed that the Scarab frame makers are based in AUS, how long does an order take to get to the USA?

Hi Takeo, usually it takes about 1 week for the stuff to arrive - not too bad IMHO. Quinton, the owner, ships almost immediately unlike other Hobby Retailers (HK).

[crazyj]

Jason,

Thanks for your thoughts. I have both GoPro-like video and DSLR-grade cameras, but I think this is primarily for GoPro class of video. FPV might be fun some day, but just AP and video for now.

I'm seriously considering the Scarab 12, but am a bit confused with the different ones -- as a first time build, I'm assuming I want to buy the Scarab 12 - Quadcopter Airframe (for $136) and NOT the Quad-X Euro version. Can you explain the differences?

Also, do you have any experience with OpenPilot's CopterControl?

Many thanks
Eric

Hey Eric, there are three distinct Scarab copters from MultiWiiCopter.com. There's the smaller Scarab 12 which can be G10 fiberglass and aluminum booms or all carbon, the Euro version is the fiberglass/aluminum kit without the bubble on top and carbon landing gears. The Euro is intended to "belly land" on it's G10 bottom structure. The other two Scarab types are the TriHexaKopter and the QuadOctaKopter. They feature all high-strength carbon parts and larger frame center sections. The QuadOcta is just that, its center frame supports the mounting for a quad or octa setup. The TriHexKopter is the same, having the option of tri or hex depending on how you built it. You might want to start out with the tricopter and then upgrade at a later point to a hexa buy buying 3 more motor mounts, booms and electronics. The Hexa setups give a slight redundancy if a single motor/ESC/prop were to fail in flight.

I still fly my smaller Scarab 12 fiberglass/aluminum kit with KDA 20-22L motors and 9x5x3 props (3s 2100). It is more than enough to fly well with a GoPro. For beginners, the cheap (T-Rex 450) aluminum booms will break in a crash, usually preventing further damage to the frame and motors. I have a nice collection of bent and broken booms from my early days that I keep for other projects. I've only bent one motor shaft out of many crashes.

Cheers,
Jason

[rcguy813]

Jason,

Thanks for the update. I think for right now, I'm going to go with the lower cost solution and slightly smaller Scarab 12 Quad. Which "brain" would you recommend? Paris 4 w/ Sirius Board or the higher end Paris 4 w/ Sirius 600? What's the difference?

[crazyj]

Jason,

Thanks for the update. I think for right now, I'm going to go with the lower cost solution and slightly smaller Scarab 12 Quad. Which "brain" would you recommend? Paris 4 w/ Sirius Board or the higher end Paris 4 w/ Sirius 600? What's the difference?

The Sirius Navigator has an ITG3200 gyro; the Sirius 600 has an original Nintendo Wii Motion Plus gyro and an ITG3200. You can only use one or the other and select your gyro choice when loading the firmware to the micro controller. Currently, the ITG3200 doesn't fly as smooth as compared to the Wii gyro running on the open source software v1.8. I'm still trying to adjust my copter to fly smoothly with the ITG3200, but it's tough, the Wii is much better at the moment. All my flying is done gyro only, but for line of sight flying the more stability and leveling features in the Sirius IMU are very nice to have.