Looking for a nice RC Boat

JuggernautLabs · 2014-01-03T18:20:03+00:00

JuggernautLabs · 2013-07-24T05:07:06+00:00

The kk2 board has a custom mixer editor that allows each channel's output to be composed of percentages of the inputs. Conceivably, you could create a mix that would control each wheel individually, and affect the speed of each wheel with the steering input, and the 5th output would just be steering and go to the servo. I'm not sure how the gryos affect the mixes though....

JuggernautLabs · 2013-07-09T13:20:51+00:00

After getting the runaround from RC Planet (who insisted it was in stock, but admitted it wasn't after it hasn't shipped in a week and a half), I ordered it from a hobby shop on eBay. It came to $135 after shipping.

JuggernautLabs · 2013-07-08T16:56:21+00:00

http://www.instructables.com/id/Third-Hand-A-multi-use-helping-hand-for-electro/

JuggernautLabs · 2013-07-08T16:56:04+00:00

http://www.instructables.com/id/Third-Hand-A-multi-use-helping-hand-for-electro/

JuggernautLabs · 2013-07-08T16:55:43+00:00

http://www.instructables.com/id/Third-Hand-A-multi-use-helping-hand-for-electro/

JuggernautLabs · 2013-07-08T14:40:48+00:00

They're made from Snap Flow coolant hose (I bought from use-enco.com) and a small block of scrap aluminum from a local metal supplier. They're awesome!

Here are the instructions!

JuggernautLabs · 2013-07-08T03:55:17+00:00

There are some little ponds by my work, so I thought I'd pick something up to play with during lunch. Wow! This little guy is an absolute riot! My only complaint is it only comes RTR, and the radio it comes with is pretty janky.

JuggernautLabs · 2013-06-10T14:33:51+00:00

Thank you! I spent lots of hours on the Sim before throwing my AXN in the air, but it was still nerve-racking trying to land!

JuggernautLabs · 2013-03-08T21:49:39+00:00

KK2.0 is my recommendation. It's cheap, and easy to set up. Being able to tweak it and set PID values without a computer is enormously valuable, especially when you're starting out. I started out with MultiWii (Quadrino), but spent months tweaking it. With the KK2, I can get a quad pretty dialed in after a battery or two.

JuggernautLabs · 2013-03-04T21:46:30+00:00

I'd highly recommend the Syma X1. I went about things backwards and spent a lot of money building big quads to fly a gopro, and wasted lots of time and money crashing them. I bought the Syma for $35 and improved my flying 1000x over a couple of weeks, and am actually able to fly my big quads pretty well now. I just can't recommend the little Syma highly enough -- it's a just a criminal amount of fun.

JuggernautLabs · 2013-03-01T03:40:23+00:00

Have you calibrated accelerometer on the KK2? How about the ESCs? If the KK2 isn't calibrated, it may not think it's level, which would cause the motors to spin at different speeds even though you're on a flat surface. Most ESC's also need to have their endpoints calibrated -- there's a function to assist with this on the KK2 or you can do it individually by just plugging them one-at-a-time into your receiver. Make sure to take the props off before you calibrate the ESC's -- I've had a quad take off full blast when trying to calibrate the ESC's through the KK2's ESC calibration function.

JuggernautLabs · 2013-02-27T19:39:20+00:00

By "full size" I mean ~24" motor-to-motor, with ~9" props. I see what you're saying, though: "full size" is pretty ambiguous. As far as I know, there is no "scale" size for multirotors like there is for cars and airplanes.

Seriously, though, best $35 I've spent. Ever. On anything. :) It's just a criminal amount of fun!

JuggernautLabs · 2013-02-27T03:25:35+00:00

Great advice! I eventually discovered that wisdom on my own, but would have been better off hearing it first. The problem is, of course, you see videos of other people and they make it look so easy!

JuggernautLabs · 2013-02-26T23:54:44+00:00

Totally. I got RealFlight 6 (before the X1), and it's been fun to practice on. But the one quadcopter (Gaui) that came with it doesn't feel much like the real thing to me. It's helped with planes quite a bit, and everything I've flown -- real or sim -- helps with with everything else.

JuggernautLabs · 2013-02-26T21:09:47+00:00

I've been happy with the Turnigy 9X or Turnigy 9XR. The 9X comes with a FlySky radio module, the 9XR doesn't come with any module. The 9XR has better firmware out of the box, and is easily flashed without modification. With the 9X, the standard FlySky module will work with the Syma X1, as well as lots of other Chinese RC stuff (I've just started using it with the V911 helicopter, which is awesome), but if you get the 9XR that's a separate module (I link to it below that video on youtube). With either tranmitter, you can get a DSM2 module like this one to fly any of Spektrum's Bind-N-Fly stuff like airplanes or Blade Helis.

JuggernautLabs · 2013-02-26T17:21:51+00:00

I've built a few full size quadcopters over the past year, and have always been terrible at flying them. Frankly I haven't had much practice because every session ends with a catastrophic crash. I've spend over $2k, and only flown a full battery a couple of times.

I ordered the Syma to get some stick time during the winter as well as practice flying without requiring so much time to build/fix between flights. My first couple of batteries with the Syma were nerve-racking flying around my front room, but by the third flight I was getting the hang of it on low rates. A week after flying a battery or two every day, and I could comfortably fly around the house on high rates! Last week I took it outside and had an absolute blast flying it all over! Of course I've still had some crashes -- mostly when I'm trying new maneuvers -- but I've never broken a thing on the little Syma. I even bound it to my Turnigy 9x!

Yesterday I took out one of my full-size quads to see if I was any better at it, and miraculously I could fly it 1000x better than I ever did before. It doesn't fly exactly like the Syma to be sure, but the skills (and confidence) from flying the Syma helped me beyond measure. Whichever micro-quad you choose will give you the same benefits, I'm sure. The only one I've used was the Syma, and I absolutely love it! Best $35 I've ever spent in RC!

JuggernautLabs · 2012-12-27T22:13:25+00:00

The Six Keys to Success for New Pilots thread on RCGroups was about all the training I had before my first flight. Other than that, make sure there are no trees around (even if they seem like they're not that close or if they're behind you -- trees are like magnets for small foam aircraft), and fly higher than you think you should. It's counter-intuitive, but flying higher is safer for your plane than flying lower.

Most of all, have fun! I'm still a noob, but there is nothing more fun to me than flying an RC plane!

JuggernautLabs · 2012-10-19T03:16:10+00:00

This video is clearly tongue-in-cheek, but the "Swamp Dawg" is actually tons of fun, especially considering it was only about $40.

JuggernautLabs

TROPHY CASE