A new Toy to help find rockets

[blackbrandt]

Now, I have always wondered if I could build that copter from Captain America. You know, the one where the Red Skull escapes from the burning building?

[DRAGON64]

I have looked at some FPVideo on you tube, most of which is mounted to sailplanes etc... I would need a barf bag before too long, hopefully the quadcoptor will be more stable. Once you mastered the flying etc.

[bobkrech]

I bet (and I'm sure comes with the attendant price tag). The Spec Ops boys get the best toys. And if it has a silenced weapon on board, makes a nice little UCAV, just to make the bad guys lose even more sleep.

Greg

PS: Anyone else seen the Ghost Recon Alpha flick on YouTube?

It's the first auto-stabalized, autonomous or piloted recon drone for single soldier and squad level ops. In limited quantity development runs, yes they are expensive since many different configurations are being engineered, built and field tested by engineers based on soldier feedback. The anticipated price of the mass produced drone will be about the cost of a top-of-the-line unsubsidized smart phone, but you probably won't see it in your local hobby store.

Bob

[bobkrech]

I have looked at some FPVideo on you tube, most of which is mounted to sailplanes etc... I would need a barf bag before too long, hopefully the quadcoptor will be more stable. Once you mastered the flying etc.

This is a top end consumer quadrotor drone you can buy from PFV for $3K. Check out the video below.



Bob

[cavecentral]

I'd have to find a lot of my rockets that would be otherwise lost to pay for that.

[jadebox]

found this and will start building it soon.

A larger Quadcopter.

I saw some of those at the Maker Faire here in Orlando. A company that makes them for use by TV and movie companies (and for hobbiests) is headquartered near here and they had several on display, and even flying, in the exhibit hall. I'd really love one for capturing videos and stills of rocket launches. Of course, their most expensive model (which cost about as much as a small car) was the one that appealed to me the most. It can carry a decent size camera and has the ability to remain in one position by itself. Fly it into position then push a button and it just stays right in place even if the wind changes. Pretty cool!

Now, if I just had that kind of cash laying around .....

-- Roger

[Windeavor]

Nice vid quality but good luck flying that thing on a windy day.

[jadebox]

Nice vid quality but good luck flying that thing on a windy day.

There are other things you can say that about, you know. :-)

-- Roger

[CarVac]

Sometimes the day turns windy after you launch your rocket, though.

[jadebox]

Sometimes the day turns windy after you launch your rocket, though.

If it's too windy, you wouldn't fly it or you'd wait for the wind to die down.

And, not all of them are that expensive. There's a toy one you can buy for a few hundred bucks (which was featured in a rather amusing bit of product placement in an episode of "Modern Family").

-- Roger

[CarVac]

One underclassman of mine made a tricopter (tilting the third rotor for yaw control) for what I think was around 100 dollars. Not quite as ridiculously stable, but pretty awesome and very cheap by comparison.

[dlb]

Well I still waiting for the V929 (smaller Quadcopter), but shipping now shows it in NY, so it's now in the US at least.
Also felt lucky and ordered the Frame, little large than the one shown before , so instead of 450mm span on the motors it's now 666mm across ( the Devil machine )
and order (4) 60 amp ESC ( motor controllers ), plan on removing the lower support main plate and replacing it with one I make that will include PCB power traces( wiring) for motor power and not buying another board and adding more weight to the copter.
As light as I can, making the thing the better.



I will make this a build thread.

[cerving]

Wouldn't it be easier to do this with an electric-powered plane? Weight is not as much of an issue, and if it's basically a powered glider then it's going to be easy to fly. The real challenge is locating the lost rocket in the first place, ususally you know it went "that way" but you have no real idea exactly where it is. I used to fly RC gas helis, I would get nervous flying one more than 100 yards away... you just can't get a feel for where it's going if it's too far away.

[sodmeister]

That`s pretty neat ,expensive ,but very cool (of course ,flying HP rockets ain`t cheap either)

Can you slap some Hellfires on that thing ?

I look forward to seeing how this works out.

Cheers

paul T

[Zephhyr]

My college senior project group built one of these (this exact frame, the 1 posted in the first post) to make a fully autonomous UAV capable of navigating a maze.

My first recommendation is to NOT use this frame, all the aluminum parts look good but are VERY pore quality and bend or break easily.

The Ardupilot mega is a wonder of electronics but requires a LOT of reading to fully understand how to tune it. Especially if you are not using a known combination of motors and ESCs. They are not nearly as plug and play as many people think.

Buy a large supply of props, you will need them.

The ArduCopter flight code is HUGE and rather difficult to understand, let alone modify, due to poor/non-existent comments in the code and very obscure terminology use within the code.

This project can be very frustrating but also fun and rewarding.

We have about $1100 in ours and it is not quite finished.

I will post a few pics and vids when I get a chance.

found this and will start building it soon.

A larger Quadcopter.
Attachment 92167Attachment 92168

All carbon fiber and aluminum parts, have that EVIL look about it.

A FPV cam will be installed on a servo controlled sled and FPV glasses to fly it and look for lost ones.

Should be interesting.
Going to try to get a good amount of lift power , to maybe snag that chute in tree tops.

We shall see!

[Zephhyr]

Here are a few pics of our quad-copter.

[Zephhyr]

Some more pics.

[Zephhyr]

Videos of our test flights.

[MarkII]

If you get an arduino mega and a 3-axis gyro/accelerometer combo, these things can become completely autonomous, hovering completely motionless in moderate, gusty winds...

Just think of the video footage. Or even a "chase plane" for rockets on chutes.

EDIT: In fact, the libraries are readily available. It shouldn't be that hard, even for someone without programming experience. I'm planning on using similar guidance systems for my active stability controller, and in preliminary tests I'm pulling heavily from these.

Hmm, I wonder if you had an APRS compatible altimeter transmitting GPS information, could you mount/interface a receiver so that the quad-rotor would go to, then hover over the location of the rocket autonomously?

I wish you luck and will anxiously follow along with your progress. I've been drooling over these on MakeZine and AeroQuad for a while now.

We make a much better one but it's only avaiable to SOCOM....

Bob

I bet (and I'm sure comes with the attendant price tag). The Spec Ops boys get the best toys. And if it has a silenced weapon on board, makes a nice little UCAV, just to make the bad guys lose even more sleep.

Greg

PS: Anyone else seen the Ghost Recon Alpha flick on YouTube?

Actually, if you put a tracking receiver on the quadcopter, you will get better signal too. For gps, you don't need precise aiming, but an elevation control on a lightweight Yagi would let you benefit when using "dumb" trackers.

I have looked at some FPVideo on you tube, most of which is mounted to sailplanes etc... I would need a barf bag before too long, hopefully the quadcoptor will be more stable. Once you mastered the flying etc.

Attention! Attention! Jargon/acronym overload! Repeat: Jargon/acronym overload! Translator is overwhelmed and has become inoperable! Must revert to Standard English immediately!

[north boy]

Wouldn't it be easier to do this with an electric-powered plane? Weight is not as much of an issue, and if it's basically a powered glider then it's going to be easy to fly. The real challenge is locating the lost rocket in the first place, ususally you know it went "that way" but you have no real idea exactly where it is. I used to fly RC gas helis, I would get nervous flying one more than 100 yards away... you just can't get a feel for where it's going if it's too far away.

Using a plane would remove the ability of hovering and capturing good still photos etc.

I flew helis for a good few years. Compass Knight 50 I had. It was a fully 3d chopper and a total dream to fly. I joined a heli forum and got masses of info out of that and well worth it. Unfortunatly helis are a serious hobby that loves to surprise you and the cost of a crash that totalled my £900.00 pride and joy sickened me enough to pack it in. I still have all the gear including the heli thats trashed and I will be going back to it at some point in the future. Its an addiction a bit like rockets ......

Excitement wise helis are a 10 out of 10 but cost is mega down side.

Rockets are a bit more predictable not quite as exciting if I was honest but cost wise v excitement they out weigh helis by far

[dlb]

Reason I pick that frame over the 1 with the round tubing is that motors can tip or turn on axes, square tubes eliminate this problem and I found carbon fiber tube for replacements. After reading a lot about controllers I ended up opting for the KK2 board, I already own a 7 channel radio controller. The good news is a little baby quadcopter will be here tomorrow.

[MarkII]

Or instead of the heli, you can get one of these:

http://gizmodo.com/5934169/investiga...eillance-drone

[dlb]

Ok
This has taken longer than thought, Im within a few weeks of flying this puppy.
Alot move involved and getting all those parts from china.
Tried the motors in a test and WOW what power it will have.
Also got a new 9 channel controller to operate it with, extra channels are other mods I will add later.

[CarVac]

You mean like the grappling hook and the winch for picking up the rocket and flying it back to you?

[rbelknap]

You mean like the grappling hook and the winch for picking up the rocket and flying it back to you?

Or at the very least, pulling it out of the rocket-eating tree.

[CarVac]

Oh, in that case you need a chainsaw.