Searching my first Quadcopter

[kazolito]

Good morning to all,
I'm looking for a DIY Drone to start my adventure in this amazing world.
Yesterday I was searching on the Internet and I see a new "business" called BonaDrone (www.bonadrone.com), someone hears even about that?
I think that it's a new company, dedicated to the world of DIY Drone, it seems to be a nice option to start with the world of quadcopters.

I like to hear your opinion before I buy my first drone.

Thanks for all,
Joan

 

[John Doecliff]

Well I suppose it's ok. It's basically component's that are commonly available on their 3d printed frame. Motors,props,ESC's and battery's are easy to come by but I would be interested in what kind of flight controller it has and what kind of radio your getting. It seems expensive for something you put together yourself.

 

[kazolito]

Hi John!,
Thanks for your help!. I sent an email to people of BonaDrone asking for these questions:

1. What kind of radio controller is it?
The radio controller is a 9X standard controller. I searched about it and it´s a generic open source type of radio. It has 9 channels and it seems really good.

2. What kind of flight controller is it?
The flight controller is an improved version of Ardupilot Mega, this controller is also open source.

3. Why I think that it isn´t expensive?
Well I think that I will have great advantages because for example if I crash my quadcopter, because I´m newbie, I can repair easily without expend too many money. I only need to replace 1 arm or 1 body by another new one. On the other hand, if I buy a drone as a Phantom and I crash it, I must buy another one.
BonaDrone team will develop new accessories periodically, so I can update my own 3D Quadcopter always and it seems to be good. And of course through 3D print I can customize all the frame.

It seems really good right?

Tell me your opinion about components,

Regards

 

[fengshuidrone]

I don't know how Euro's translate to dollars but it looks pretty steep in price. Those look like Turnigy Multistar motors. They are $16.00 each at HK. That is also a Q Brain 4 in 1 ESC, Right around $40.00. The Turnigy 9x TX/RX combo can be had for right around $60.00. The FC sounds to me suspiciously like a Multiwii, which could be considered an improved version of Arducopter mega and was actually ported over from Arducopter. Mega Multiwii boards go for $35.00-$45.00. The 3dr radio's are pretty cheap as well, myself having picked one up in the past brand new at $24.95. That battery charger looks a little dubious and less than great. So that leaves the 3d printed frame the only thing that they are really making. Now, if that is a 5200 mah battery its about $25.00, if it's 2200 mah then its $18.00. So,there is under $250.00 in hardware there. I don't know how much 619 euros is in U.S. currency, but I think it is more. So basically they want $350.00 U.S. for their printed frame. I wouldn't buy it preferring to source my own parts and build my own frames (my last frame cost less than $40.00 to build from CF.)

 

[John Doecliff]

Well then I would say as long as you don't find any negative reviews of the quadcopter and you think it would be a good fit for you then by all means get it. I am not familiar with the ardupilot controller but I have never heard of anything bad about it and as long as the radio works well then everything should be fine. As a beginner I would get a few extra props and a couple of battery's as well. Make sure you read up on lipo battery's because there's a lot of useful information that pertains to safety about them. Fly in a conservative manner when your just starting out, do not push the limits and you should do just fine. I would also add that it appears that most of the components are common and easily obtainable from the hobby king web site. So they have done the homework for you and put all the parts together in one box with their frame and then you just assemble it. It may be cheap compared to a phantom but it may be a little on the high side compared to other DYI kits. It is all in one with the quad, battery, radio and battery charger so that's a good thing. Hopefully the flight controller is already set up as well.

 

[kazolito]

Thanks for your replies and opinions.
Well, the main thing that I like from BonaDrone is that it will give to me all parts in one box and I only need to assemble it with easy instructions. Maybe I can buy these components a little more cheap but I will lost a lot of time buying it and then when I will receive that I haven´t got any instructions. On the other hand, I think that BonaDrone will be a nice option because their product "Mosquito" will be upgraded in the future as for example GoPro Cameras, so I can put different accessories with it. Also I can custom my 3D Quadcopter as an unique Quadcopter with different colors thanks to 3D printing.
Today I find the instagram of BonaDrone https://www.instagram.com/bonadrone/ (I think that real account of this guys) and I like too much their videos made it with Mosquito.

In conclusion, I will start my adventure with this guys. I will say what is my opinion when I receive my drone, in January!.

Thanks for your opinions and your time guys!

Best regards!

 

[fengshuidrone]

Sounds to me like you really didn't need anyone's opinion

 

[kazolito]

At last, I will wait for a few months. And I will see what is the opinion of the people about this new company.

Thanks for your recomendations guys!

 

[fengshuidrone]

I was just joking. You go with what you like.

 

[Old Man]

I could not find a price on the website but I did see that some of it was developed by 3D Robotics and it uses Tower and Droid Planner. That suggests it may be using the Pixhawk-2 for a flight controller. A very good and versatile flight controller once you learn how to use it.

A word of caution about 3D printed items. They are not anywhere close to as strong/robust as carbon or fiber filled moldings. 3D printing is often used because it is cheap, not robust. I suspect you will break an arm every time you crash, or worse, break out one of the frame pockets the arms slide into.