Today was the first day since Christmas that it wasnt snowing, sleeting, raining, windy, or cold. So, I tried ELEV-8 outside for the first time. 45 minutes later, I had drained two 4400 mah battery packs and had tired thumbs. This is great. Thanks to all on the forum.
I have been flying in the basement since before the first of the year. That is OK, but outside is much more fun. The only damage so far is a small pile of props with the tips broken off against basement walls. There have been no other problems.
I still want to use the elevator to go up and tend to move the throttle when using the rudder control, so more practice is required.
Rick
Today was the first day since Christmas that it wasn’t snowing, sleeting, raining, windy, or cold. So, I tried ELEV-8 outside for the first time. 45 minutes later, I had drained two 4400 mah battery packs and had tired thumbs. This is great. Thanks to all on the forum.
I have been flying in the basement since before the first of the year. That is OK, but outside is much more fun. The only damage so far is a small pile of props with the tips broken off against basement walls. There have been no other problems.
I still want to use the elevator to go up and tend to move the throttle when using the rudder control, so more practice is required.
Rick
Congrats, Rick! Indeed, it's a lot of fun and the crashes are nothing like an R/C helicopter. You can fix these quite easily - if you really crash badly and break more parts than you imagined be sure to let us know and we'll get you up and running. Unlike most flying robots, this one is made in the USA and we can send you whatever parts you need, quickly.
I finally had some free time to work on my Elev8 build today.
A few frustrations so far (not enough 1" screws, for example). My biggest problem at the moment is that the three wire plugs don't fit my AR8000 receiver. They are just a smidge wider than a normal servo plug and the AR8000 is quite rigid on that. Has anyone successfully mated them?
Joss, how many 1" screws did you receive?
Regarding the AR8000 receiver and the ESC plugs, simply sand the edges so that they fit the shape desired by the receiver.
Finished 150 standoffs that I'll ship to Ken in the morning for distribution to you guys. Hope it makes a difference. Feedback always welcome!
I made a little video during the process that I thought some might find interesting. I think it's fun to share the projects we do. I hope nobody considers this kind of thing to be spam or too far off topic..
Finished 150 standoffs that I'll ship to Ken in the morning for distribution to you guys. Hope it makes a difference. Feedback always welcome!
I make a little video during the process that I thought some might find interesting. I think it's fun to share the projects we do. I hope nobody considers this kind of thing to be spam or too far off topic..
...Tiger
Two amazing videos from you in one day have kept me so much closer to the forums! The surprise "Bad Day" video was such a good laugh I had to show it to some visitors at my home who've watched my ELEV-8 progress for the last couple of months. And the CNC video was fantastic as well. Parting off a part with a drilled/tapped center looks so much easier than parting off a solid bar of stock.
Is it OK to get a hard case battery or does that make it to tight of a fit. It looks like a hard case in some pictures. Is there one battery most of you prefere.
I would like to get them ordered.
Doc I just measured the battery opening it's about 1.25" tall by 2" wide.
Edit: It was recommended to me to get at least a 30C and I am using a 4000mah 11.1v Lipo I think Parallax is posting a battery they use in an earlier post. The kit comes with the connector to put on your battery if it doesn't have it already.
This aerial robotic platform is getting lots of positive attention, matching the product's sales.There are many quadcopter manufacturers, but I think Parallax is the only one who also makes the processor used in the control system. This is relevant information for anybody considering the ELEV-8 because Parallax [and more importantly, all of you] have the knowledge to truly support and understand the hardware system.
hey tiger thanks for the toolmaking lesson, i learned a lot from your emergency collet!
i also learned you should never order anything from hobbyking close to Chinese new year, my order hasn't even left the warehouse 10 days later.
i did get my gyro/accel in the mail though its working nicely with Jason's Ground Control program and QuadX Source ( you da man J!), so i have a brain just waiting for some brawn and its killing me. i just sit here and tilt it a couple times an hour, watch the graph and dream
skynugget all you have to do is add the interface for the receiver/ESC's! If Parallax doesn't have an Open board available soon, I will have to make my own. So far Jason's code only uses 11 I/O pins and four cogs. I plan on putting some RGB Led's and have the front one color and the back maybe a color display of the balance point?
I also learned you should never order anything from hobbyking close to Chinese new year, my order hasn't even left the warehouse 10 days later. (snip) I just sit here and tilt it a couple times an hour, watch the graph and dream
That's funny - I have the same issue. I killed a motor, so I ordered some new (different) ones quite a while ago. Paypal said it was paid, but HobbyKing didn't catch it, so a week later, wondering why I didn't get a ship notification, I checked back and discovered the problem. I submitted a support ticket, and a week later, still hadn't heard anything. I finally caught someone online and they finished it off, but they still haven't shipped. I'm kind of in the same boat as you with my own quad.
You still have some soldering to do - ESC and receiver pins.. Might as well get those out of the way.
That's funny - I have the same issue. I killed a motor, so I ordered some new (different) ones quite a while ago. Paypal said it was paid, but HobbyKing didn't catch it, so a week later, wondering why I didn't get a ship notification, I checked back and discovered the problem. I submitted a support ticket, and a week later, still hadn't heard anything. I finally caught someone online and they finished it off, but they still haven't shipped. I'm kind of in the same boat as you with my own quad.
You still have some soldering to do - ESC and receiver pins.. Might as well get those out of the way.
Jason,
When I order motors from HobbyKing, I always order two of each as it takes forever to get replacments from HobbyKing especially when they are out of stock for an unknown period of time.
I have had good success with BP Hobbies in NJ. Their motors cost more, but they are ususally in stock, are well made, and shipping does not cost an arm and leg and take three weeks or more.
Just a thought.
Regards,
TCIII
I got a couple from Parallax the other day, but my weekend was full so I haven't had time to install them yet, and I'm in Redmond wed to fri this week. Hoping to get them done before that. I always buy an extra one too, but I had just finished breaking THAT one two days earlier. It was a rough couple days.
I always forget about BP. I use nitroPlanes sometimes, but thy rarely have stock I want. Good reminder.
Four standoffs arrived today. They are cute little things.
Thanks Tiger and Ken for all your efforts.
I was going to make my own, but these are far nicer that I could ever produce.
My standoffs arrived too, thanks Tiger/Ken/Julia from me too!
Should be able to try them out, along with my new batteries. I got Turnigy Nano-Tech 45-90C, 3300mAh, 4000mAh, & 5000mAh. Overkill I know, but not very expensive on Hobbyking even from US warehouse. The 5000mAh one is 457g (just barely over 1lb), so I may only use it without the camera on board, we'll see.
Roy,
Let me know how the 5000mAh battery works out for you, and if your flight time is any better. When we were testing batteries and flight times, we found a 4400mAh battery to be the most we would go with and still have a good power to weight ratio. Any larger and the extra power was not worth it because you used more throttle to stay up. None the less, I am interested to see what you think. Also, for everyone looking for motors, we have the Turnigy motors and KDA's available. Check out the KDA's at the link below. They have a higher Kv than the Turnigy's, and are not a direct one for one swap. If you run one type, stick with that same type, dont innerchange your motors. We are currently out of the Turnigy's until early March.
I, too got my great little standoffs this weekend. Thanks again Tiger/Ken/Julia!
I elected to go with the HoverFly Pro and GPS boards and I will mount the GPS above the HoverFly Pro with the normal standoffs and grommets. I don't think that will cause any additional vibration on the Pro board - hope not...
Back to soldering for now.
Comments
I tried to send an email Julia at the address you listed, but it bounced as not deliverable.
However, I tried yet again using my gmail account, and that appears to have worked.
Perhaps your IT guy has been a little over zealous with domain blocking?
Roy
I have been flying in the basement since before the first of the year. That is OK, but outside is much more fun. The only damage so far is a small pile of props with the tips broken off against basement walls. There have been no other problems.
I still want to use the elevator to go up and tend to move the throttle when using the rudder control, so more practice is required.
Rick
Congrats, Rick! Indeed, it's a lot of fun and the crashes are nothing like an R/C helicopter. You can fix these quite easily - if you really crash badly and break more parts than you imagined be sure to let us know and we'll get you up and running. Unlike most flying robots, this one is made in the USA and we can send you whatever parts you need, quickly.
Ken Gracey
Joss, how many 1" screws did you receive?
Regarding the AR8000 receiver and the ESC plugs, simply sand the edges so that they fit the shape desired by the receiver.
...Tiger
I made a little video during the process that I thought some might find interesting. I think it's fun to share the projects we do. I hope nobody considers this kind of thing to be spam or too far off topic..
...Tiger
Oh, and sorry about that wrecking ball...
Edit: Although I think Ken is an expert delegator.
Two amazing videos from you in one day have kept me so much closer to the forums! The surprise "Bad Day" video was such a good laugh I had to show it to some visitors at my home who've watched my ELEV-8 progress for the last couple of months. And the CNC video was fantastic as well. Parting off a part with a drilled/tapped center looks so much easier than parting off a solid bar of stock.
Thanks again to Tiger for the huge contribution!
Sincerely,
Ken Gracey
I would like to get them ordered.
Edit: It was recommended to me to get at least a 30C and I am using a 4000mah 11.1v Lipo I think Parallax is posting a battery they use in an earlier post. The kit comes with the connector to put on your battery if it doesn't have it already.
This aerial robotic platform is getting lots of positive attention, matching the product's sales.There are many quadcopter manufacturers, but I think Parallax is the only one who also makes the processor used in the control system. This is relevant information for anybody considering the ELEV-8 because Parallax [and more importantly, all of you] have the knowledge to truly support and understand the hardware system.
Congratulations on the good review. It was short and to the point.
Jim...
hey tiger thanks for the toolmaking lesson, i learned a lot from your emergency collet!
i also learned you should never order anything from hobbyking close to Chinese new year, my order hasn't even left the warehouse 10 days later.
i did get my gyro/accel in the mail though its working nicely with Jason's Ground Control program and QuadX Source ( you da man J!), so i have a brain just waiting for some brawn and its killing me. i just sit here and tilt it a couple times an hour, watch the graph and dream
thanks again everybody!
That's funny - I have the same issue. I killed a motor, so I ordered some new (different) ones quite a while ago. Paypal said it was paid, but HobbyKing didn't catch it, so a week later, wondering why I didn't get a ship notification, I checked back and discovered the problem. I submitted a support ticket, and a week later, still hadn't heard anything. I finally caught someone online and they finished it off, but they still haven't shipped. I'm kind of in the same boat as you with my own quad.
You still have some soldering to do - ESC and receiver pins.. Might as well get those out of the way.
First thought after seeing pic 1
WOW
First thought after looking at 2 bags in pic 2
OOO NOOoo what have I gotten myself into.
When I order motors from HobbyKing, I always order two of each as it takes forever to get replacments from HobbyKing especially when they are out of stock for an unknown period of time.
I have had good success with BP Hobbies in NJ. Their motors cost more, but they are ususally in stock, are well made, and shipping does not cost an arm and leg and take three weeks or more.
Just a thought.
Regards,
TCIII
I always forget about BP. I use nitroPlanes sometimes, but thy rarely have stock I want. Good reminder.
Thanks Tiger and Ken for all your efforts.
I was going to make my own, but these are far nicer that I could ever produce.
Rick
Thank you, Tiger/Ken/Julia!!!!
Should be able to try them out, along with my new batteries. I got Turnigy Nano-Tech 45-90C, 3300mAh, 4000mAh, & 5000mAh. Overkill I know, but not very expensive on Hobbyking even from US warehouse. The 5000mAh one is 457g (just barely over 1lb), so I may only use it without the camera on board, we'll see.
Let me know how the 5000mAh battery works out for you, and if your flight time is any better. When we were testing batteries and flight times, we found a 4400mAh battery to be the most we would go with and still have a good power to weight ratio. Any larger and the extra power was not worth it because you used more throttle to stay up. None the less, I am interested to see what you think. Also, for everyone looking for motors, we have the Turnigy motors and KDA's available. Check out the KDA's at the link below. They have a higher Kv than the Turnigy's, and are not a direct one for one swap. If you run one type, stick with that same type, dont innerchange your motors. We are currently out of the Turnigy's until early March.
http://www.parallax.com/StoreSearchResults/tabid/768/txtSearch/motor/List/0/SortField/4/ProductID/815/Default.aspx
I elected to go with the HoverFly Pro and GPS boards and I will mount the GPS above the HoverFly Pro with the normal standoffs and grommets. I don't think that will cause any additional vibration on the Pro board - hope not...
Back to soldering for now.