ELEV-8 Super: parts cleanup of back offices forces a great box of free stuff!
Ken Gracey
Posts: 7,389
Hey all,
Just tidying up the office a bit and gathered up a bunch of ELEV-8 Super hardware. I have enough parts in a box to put together a really powerful, loud, flying pterodactyl-looking beast that'll attract attention from all the wrong people. I'm too busy to mess with the big stuff anymore and have my hands full with the ELEV-8, so I'm ready to pack this box up and send it to anybody who's brave enough to outfit it with a Parallax ELEV-8 V3 Flight Controller and have some fun.
This is what you need to bring to the table:
- smarts, capability, enthusiasm and FAA registration
- experience with RC or quads
- know-how about working with our Flight Controller, like loading code and maybe messing with PID
Two pictures below - the box is what I'll send out. The picture of the assembled Super is the lone wolf that I'll keep in case.
Tell your story and I'll pick a qualified non-commercial, law-abiding ENTHUSIAST from the replies. Free shipping, too!
Ken Gracey
P.S. The image upload button seems to have gone missing (from my view, at least). Anybody??
Just tidying up the office a bit and gathered up a bunch of ELEV-8 Super hardware. I have enough parts in a box to put together a really powerful, loud, flying pterodactyl-looking beast that'll attract attention from all the wrong people. I'm too busy to mess with the big stuff anymore and have my hands full with the ELEV-8, so I'm ready to pack this box up and send it to anybody who's brave enough to outfit it with a Parallax ELEV-8 V3 Flight Controller and have some fun.
This is what you need to bring to the table:
- smarts, capability, enthusiasm and FAA registration
- experience with RC or quads
- know-how about working with our Flight Controller, like loading code and maybe messing with PID
Two pictures below - the box is what I'll send out. The picture of the assembled Super is the lone wolf that I'll keep in case.
Tell your story and I'll pick a qualified non-commercial, law-abiding ENTHUSIAST from the replies. Free shipping, too!
Ken Gracey
P.S. The image upload button seems to have gone missing (from my view, at least). Anybody??
Comments
Hundreds and hundreds of dollars of hardware.
Surprised nobody went after this great deal. Are they afraid of the SUPER hardware.
And I have jason's email address.
Just making sure you're really ready! You're going to need to stand behind the backstop in case something goes wrong.
Ken Gracey
I seen this just after you posted it, and I thought wow real carbon fiber. Excellent warning for anyone interested.
JK, sounds like Jim is your huckleberry. And quite a deserving Parallax ELEV-8 fanboy moderator. What's not to love?
Amazing, are you telling us that you aren't forced to get everything in pair's, and different colors these days.
OTH, if you find something else you'd like to get rid of, feel free to send it to my hotel in Santa Clara where I'll be after one week. Have several packages waiting for me there already (one from Parallax of course)
Next up?
I have several quads and hexacopter but I'd love to lift a bit more weight. I have 3-axis gimbal for my larger camera but I don't have a 'copter that can lift the camera and gimbal.
I recently backed the Chronos 1.4 high speed camera which shot my hobby budget for awhile. But this means if I'm selected to receive the Super Elev-8 I'll figure out way to include high speed video of it in action.
I also have one of those parachutes you mentioned a few years back, and if I'm selected to receive this quad, I'll make sure and rig up a way to drop something by parachute. I'll make sure and share lots of photos and videos of the quadcopter in action.
I'm registered with the FAA (I can provide my number if you like, I'm not sure if it's okay to post it on a public forum).
I've never used one of the new Flight Controllers but I've used Hoverfly boards and other flight control boards. I don't think I'll have trouble loading the code of configuring the PID.
Duane, get a FC #80204:
https://www.parallax.com/product/80204
It's a great Open Source Flight Controller. Jason is around most of the time to answer questions.
Check out the Ground Station software in the Downloads section. You can tweak to your heart's desire.
Brothers and brother-in-laws don't count right?
I live in Idaho and I'm a few miles from the middle of nowhere. There are lots of places nearby to fly something big and scary.
I'll make sure and "Fly Safe." (Scott Manley's catch phrase. For those who may not know, Scott Manley has a fun YouTube channel.)
Yes, I'll do that. I've been meaning to get one. It will be great to have an open source controller using a processor I know how to program. I have a pretty strong math background I've been very interested in getting familiar with the controller's firmware.
This is very exciting.
Thanks Ken.
- smarts, capability, enthusiasm and FAA registration; The last one for sure, the first three - well, I don't want to brag...
- experience with RC or quads; Yup, lots.
- know-how about working with our Flight Controller, like loading code and maybe messing with PID; Yes, except I have not used the V3 FC yet.
And here's a story;
Remember back when there was that quadcopter balloon contest? I took first place and won the prize of an ELEV-8. I ended up giving that to my son. Finally this last fall he put it together with only a small amount of assistance from me. He did a great job, it was very neatly done and the wires were routed especially nicely - it looked better than mine. One modification we did was to shorten all the arms by 1". I think it looks better that way and is a little easier to transport. We also used a different flight controller because the HoverFly Open did not have auto leveling and that is a feature he wanted.
The first few flights were only a couple feet off the ground in the front yard. The PIDs needed to be adjusted. Each time we would make a small adjustment then fly it again to see if we were adjusting in the right direction. It was getting late so my son set up the halogen work lights on the porch so that it would illuminate the front yard. To be safe he stepped onto the porch and closed the gate. Then something terrible happened.
He flew it up a couple feet off the ground again, it seemed to be flying more smoothly. He then landed after a couple seconds and handed the controller to me because he was a little nervous. That would have been fine if not for the fact that as he drew his hand away he accidentally bumped the throttle. The quad immediately jumped up into the air high enough that I could not see it because we were under the roof. I cut the throttle and it dropped back into view but I didn't want to crash it so I applied more throttle so as to hover it. I strongly encouraged him to open the gate so that I could step out and see it. Not knowing what throttle setting it required to hover I erred on the side of a little too much knowing that in a couple seconds I would be able to see it again. We could hear it just above us but I did not know which way it was facing.
We stepped out into the yard and looked all around but could not see it. We could hear it but it was getting quieter. Since we couldn't see it I cut the throttle and we listened intently for the sound of a crash but heard only silence. And that was it. In the span of about fifteen seconds it was gone. We don't even have a picture of it. We spent the next two hours hacking through the dense underbrush of the surrounding woods but found nothing. It was equipped with a low voltage alarm so we hoped to hear it go off when the battery drained. We took another battery and hooked it up to another identical alarm so that we could determine just how long it takes to drain a battery with only the alarm using power. About a week it turns out, and it drains only one cell. We never did heard anything.
We discussed at length what mistakes were made. I felt terrible because I lost his quadcopter. I was trying to save it and in doing so I lost it. In hindsight it is real obvious that the right course of action would have been to cut the throttle and let it drop. The damage would most likely have been minor and could have been very easily repaired. There was nothing around that a falling quadcopter would have hurt. We are surrounded by trees and lawn. His mistake was handing over the controller without first disarming it - and of course hitting the throttle stick after it was in my hands. Also, being behind a gate meant that precious time was lost, if I could have immediately stepped out I probably could have located it and recovered control.
My son was devastated but handled the loss well. He took responsibility and did not place any blame on me.
Time to find another box. That was a pretty heart wrenching story.
Yeah, it was one of those times you desperately wanted to go back in time just one minute. On the positive side it was a good learning experience. Hopefully this story will increase awareness, if only slightly, that unexpected things do happen - and are extremely easy to prevent if basic safety rules are followed.
From your story, I learned that drones should flown during daylight hours with a 360 degree field of view. I also learned that the controller should be handled safely when passing to others, similar to firearm safety, with the chamber wide open.
-Phil
He's going to have a great time with this project!