What Quadcopter do I want?

[nicko777]

Hi all. I am so green to this stuff, but I want one, I need one, I can't live without one. I have always been interested in RC, I have only ever bought one, a car for my 2 year old at the time who enjoyed pulling the tyres off in the end but still worked out how to move it with the controller. For $10 I wasn't going to complian, especially as it has bright blue LEDs in the wheels for that extra pizzaz. That was 18 months ago, but now I want my own but not as a toy but as a high tech version.

I am under a lot of assumptions with hardware, for example, checking on prices that the top of the woozer frame is made from carbon fibre. Today I came across Zero UAV autopilot systems which appeals to me but then with different brands and opensource software you begin to think that battle isn't just uphill to know what I need but over a number of hills.

The other issue is the plethora of motors. Higher KV doesn't seem to be a pre-requisite for better performance, it appears to indicate poorer torque which I assume is important for heavy loads.

I am assuming that the following is ideal for my needs:

• approximately 500-600cm Quad-copter
• FPV live Hi Res video maybe a Go Pro Hero 2, (audio not important especially with rotor and wind noise affecting it) and radio link up to 20km

video glasses with radio link and possibly a repeater
​

• GPS - ability to back track home if lost tx/rx link and battery level low or completed task, also to collect waypoint and track data
• Two Batteries

I like the idea of an Android tablet as the controller but I assume a wifi or Bluetooth connection to the radio repeater would be required.


Is that enough info?

thanks in advance

 

[Electro 2]

Many, many, lofty targets to hit here, results in the near-term would be unlikely. I'm not aware of any pre-packaged total systems, (there are only a handful, anyway), that would support all these goals. Build will be expensive. I can easily see 3k going away. Multis are a bad way to start RC, not only do you have to learn/deal with the complexities of RC in general, but the same quirks of multis, too. A long road. Example: the control with a wi-fi link, (tablet, phone +app), then a 20KM range are incompatible goals, would require a repeater/data format translator set-up. Doable, probably gonna sink about a K or so, and several months researching/specifing/purchasing/coding/integrating/trouble shooting in this project alone. This and learning RC, and learning MR aircraft, are not really gonna be practical. I'm guessing get somehing cheap and fast to start, (DJI Phantom ??) then move into the dream rig later.