tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63864797764502056302024-03-19T00:27:04.798-07:00adamweldAdam Weldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07485025501096765602noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6386479776450205630.post-71553552505868815602018-01-31T19:14:00.002-08:002018-01-31T19:14:26.247-08:00Stewart PlatformIt's been a long time since I've posted here, and more has changed in my life than I can possibly fit into words, but here's a quick recap of what you missed in the last two years:<br />
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I transferred from Lehigh to Cornell University, mainly to allow me to spend more time with my <a href="https://galenweld.com/">twin brother</a>.<br />
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I started a small business designing and selling <a href="https://hoverbot.io/">small brushless quadcopters</a>. Stay tuned for more on this in the near future.<br />
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I spent a summer doing hardware engineering at <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Prime-Air/b?node=8037720011">Amazon Prime Air</a>.<br />
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Time permitting, I'd like to write more about each of these, as well as some of the cool school projects I've been working on, in the coming months. To start, here's a simplified version of a stewart platform that I worked on as a final project to my Microcontrollers class:<br />
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Our website and write-up for the project can be found <a href="http://people.ece.cornell.edu/land/courses/ece4760/FinalProjects/f2017/psl58_aw698_eb645/psl58_aw698_eb645/index.html">here</a>.<br />
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I also just found out that someone decided to write about the project on Hackaday as well:<br />
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https://hackaday.com/2017/12/27/balance-like-a-mountain-goat-on-this-simple-stewart-platform/<br />
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Cheers! Hopefully I can find some time to post more updates on here soon.Adam Weldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07485025501096765602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6386479776450205630.post-52091737163984536412016-04-06T18:49:00.000-07:002017-01-30T09:43:23.009-08:00Shrike - HD Camera Mount Design and Testing<h3 style="height: 0px;">
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What?</h3>
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I've spent the last few months designing a 3D printed camera mount for my quadcopter. It holds my Foxeer Legend HD camera and SD FPV camera, and protects all the electronics from the inevitable.<br />
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Why?</h3>
The Shrike is a super lightweight, minimalist, x-shaped racing quadcopter frame. When built with the right components, it provides a ludicrous 11:1 thrust to weight ratio, and the symmetrical design offers nimble handling and the smallest possible size for 5" propellers. But the design doesn't include much space to mount a HD recording camera. And what's the point of zipping around the sky at 70 mph if I can't share my flights in glorious HD?<br />
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How?</h3>
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Through judicious application of calipers, 3D modeling in Solidworks, and 3D printing at Lehigh's Additive Manufacturing lab.<br />
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The Catalyst</h3>
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Over the winter I had a really nasty <a href="https://i.imgur.com/zeZxGOI.jpg">crash </a>that resulted in bent standoffs, that put the Shrike out of commission for a few months. All four of aluminum standoffs that attach the frame to the camera and top plate were bent in the crash. Luckily, all of the electronics made it through unscathed; the motor that came apart worked fine with a new c-clip.</div>
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Design</h2>
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As the Shrike was designed, the FPV camera sits in the very center of the frame. This is a design decision that helps keep the quadcopter as small as possible, and by extension very light and fast. Most frames that fit five inch propellers are in the range of 210-250 millimeters, measured diagonally from motor to motor; the Shrike fits the same motors and props but at a sparse 185mm. Needless to say, its size comes at a cost - it's a very tight quad to build and work on. While patience and steady hands are definitely required, this copter is race proven to be one of the fastest frames around.</div>
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Because of the flight camera's location, mounting another camera to record HD video is challenging and unwieldy. Most mounts end up looking something like this:<br />
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<a href="https://imgur.com/pnTjydQ">View post on imgur.com</a></blockquote>
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I started by sketching the profile of the Foxeer camera and Shrike. I wanted to keep all of the components as tightly grouped as possible, for aesthetic purposes as well as to lower the center of gravity. Even after getting rid of the carbon fiber top plate, the Foxeer camera was still raised too high for my liking.<br />
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I decided to compress the design by moving the FPV camera forward. This allowed the HD cam to sit nicely, but introduced a new problem - prop interference. The frame's geometry gives only 5mm of clearance between the tips of the props and the center standoffs. I added the propellers to my Solidworks assembly, and made heavy use of the Section View feature to see where things would hit.<br />
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<a href="https://imgur.com/a/MbXLp">View post on imgur.com</a></blockquote>
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After a lot of trial and error, and a few prototypes printed and scratched, the design was ready for trial. I used the Ultimaker printers in Lehigh's Additive Manufacturing Lab for everything, with PLA as my plastic of choice. It's cheap, stiff, and surprisingly durable, making it a great choice for being driven into the ground at high speeds.<br />
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Initially I designed a latch to keep the camera in place during flight, but the plastic ended up being too stiff to allow the camera to be inserted. Even without the latch, friction holds the camera surprisingly strongly, and there's the option of using a velcro strap if that's not enough.<br />
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As this plastic printed part is replacing aluminum and carbon fiber, the question that has been on my mind since the beginning has been - will it hold up in a crash? The walls are all 2mm thick at a minimum, but I want to highlight a key design decision that I think will make this printed part quite resilient. Rather than completely replacing the aluminum standoffs, I designed the mount to slide over two shortened standoffs in the front, and sit over the two bolts in the rear. That way all 4 corners are fixed directly to the frame and supported along their height by metal parts.<br />
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<a href="https://imgur.com/iqWRhjY">View post on imgur.com</a></blockquote>
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The standoffs I have were cut down by hand, so currently the mount is held down (quite tightly) by friction. But once I pick up some legitimate 25mm standoffs, I'll change the mount so that it is bolted down onto the standoffs for extra security. In the meantime, I plan to crash test it until something breaks, fix the weakness, and repeat.<br />
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The Build</h2>
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Ingredients:</h3>
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<a href="https://www.x-labs.us/">X-Labs Shrike frame</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.readytoflyquads.com/20a-littlebee-esc">Littlebee 20A ESCs</a> (x4)</div>
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<a href="http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=76_156&products_id=4221">RMRC Seriously DODO flight controller</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.myrcmart.com/rcx-h2205-v2-2633kv-multirotor-outrunner-brushless-motor-motion-balanced-p-9195.html">RCX 2205 2633kv motors</a> (x4)</div>
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<a href="http://www.dalprops.com/products/5045v2">DAL 5045 BN V2 props</a> (x∞)</div>
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<a href="https://www.multirotorsuperstore.com/hawkeye-5-8-ghz-32-channel-200mw-video-transmitter.html">Hawkeye 200mw 5.8ghz VTX</a><br />
<a href="http://www.surveilzone.com/AOMWAY-58G-3dBi-Four-Lobe-RHCP-VTxVRx-FPV-Antenna-Multimotor-Long-Distance-RPSMA-Male-g-1302">Aomway 5.8ghz cloverleaf antenna</a><br />
<a href="http://www.readytoflyquads.com/micro-minimosd">Micro MINIMOSD</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.lemon-rx.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=135">LemonRX DSMX Diversity satellite receiver</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.surveilzone.com/Foxeer-Legend1-16MP-1080P-60fps-HD-Camera-with-Ambarella-A7LS-and-166-Degree-Lens-g-1435">Foxeer Legend 1 HD camera</a><br />
<a href="http://www.surveilzone.com/DC5V-plastic-case-mini-sony-super-had-ccd-600tvl-super-camera-2.8mm-lens-for-fpv">Foxeer XAT600M / HS1177 CCD FPV camera</a><br />
<a href="http://www.multicopterbatteries.com/bonka-power-1300mah-4s-45c-90c-xt-60/">Bonka Power 1300mAH 45C LiPo</a><br />
<a href="http://www.readytoflyquads.com/rtfpixel-stick-8x-rgb-leds">8x RGB LED stick</a> (2x) (optional)<br />
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These parts are crash-tested by the FPV racing community, and in my are all great choices for the price. Everything is cheap enough that you won't be upset if it breaks, but performs well enough for competitive racing and will deliver plenty of thrills without breaking the bank.<br />
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I haven't posted any build information for the Shrike before, so I'll include everything from the ground-up here.<br />
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Assembling the frame is fairly straightforward. The bottom plate is 2mm carbon, while the arms are a beefy 4mm. The power distribution board also serves as a top plate, and has two linear voltage regulators (5V and 12V) onboard that we'll use for our FPV gear.<br />
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<blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" data-id="a/kAMQ1" lang="en">
<a href="https://imgur.com/a/kAMQ1">View post on imgur.com</a></blockquote>
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After desoldering everything but the power wires from the ESCs, cut the motor wires to length and tin them. I decided to mount the ESCs with the pads facing down, so that I wouldn't have to cross the power wires to get to the PDB pads. Remember to add heat shrink before soldering! The ESC signal wires are also soldered to the relevant pins of the flight controller. I also added leads to the FC's onboard 5V regulator and signal pin to drive the 16 RGB programmable LEDs that I decided to use.<br />
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Here's a wiring diagram for all of the electronics:<br />
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<a href="https://imgur.com/pvoFwwl">View post on imgur.com</a></blockquote>
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Here are various photos taken while soldering together the electronics when I first built this quad. The black goop you see is liquid electrical tape, which provides some water protection for the various circuit boards.<br />
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<blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" data-id="a/f8yQm" lang="en">
<a href="https://imgur.com/a/f8yQm">View post on imgur.com</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js"></script>
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I don't have any great photos of soldering the FPV gear; refer to the wiring diagram to see how it's set up. The trick really is to measure twice and cut once. I always add 25% to the lengths that I measure to add a bit of slack.<br />
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With all of the electronics wired, I used double-stick tape to hold them together on top of the flight controller. Here's the complete quad before adding the camera mount:<br />
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<blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" data-id="DzSC7XH" lang="en">
<a href="https://imgur.com/DzSC7XH">View post on imgur.com</a></blockquote>
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With the electronics taken care of, its quite simple to slide the 3D printed part over the standoffs and bolts, slot in the camera, and attach the antenna tubes and video antenna. Here are some glamour shots of the build put together.<br />
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<blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" data-id="a/I0FtJ" lang="en">
<a href="https://imgur.com/a/I0FtJ">View post on imgur.com</a></blockquote>
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Download</h2>
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You can download the mount here on thingiverse:<br />
<a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1543406">http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1543406</a><br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js"></script>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js"></script>
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Adam Weldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07485025501096765602noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6386479776450205630.post-73747790175619179042016-03-11T01:40:00.001-08:002016-09-14T20:29:52.201-07:00Project PODBack in January, I brought my <a href="http://www.armattanquads.com/morphite-x-155-v2/">Morphite 155</a> quad-copter on a trip with my family to Nevada and Utah with the intent of exploring the beautiful landscapes from a birds-eye view. I had my first opportunity to take flight just outside the Valley of Fire state park. And what a flight it was! As I soared past sandstone and brush from the virtual cockpit of my palm-sized robotic flying steed, I was reminded of just how rewarding this hobby can be. Unfortunately, my first flight was also my last flight of the trip, as I crashed the little guy into a tree and broke a solder joint on the antenna, rendering the video feedback useless.<br />
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As much as I love building and flying my drones, I can't deny that they are fragile creatures. And flying without crashing would be about as interesting as playing a video game and staying at the spawn point. So I set out to make my drone as near-indestructible as possible.<br />
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The plan was simple - to build a 3D-printable enclosure to protect the electronics, and provide strain relief for the video transmitter's antenna. Armattan was nice enough to provide CAD files for the frame, making the job of modelling the machine digitally a whole lot easier. The first step was to measure and model all of the components and place them in a Solidworks assembly.<br />
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Then I made an open-ended box to cover the sides of the component stack, with holes cut out for access to the USB port and to allow wiring to the motors and battery. This box also forms half of the sandwich that will eventually hold that antenna solidly in place.<br />
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Now we come to the hardest part - I wanted an organic shape for the top of the pod, and anyone that's used Solidworks knows that compound curves and shapes don't come easy. I used a Loft feature with a number of guides and profiles to pull this part off.<br />
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Adding bolt holes, support structure, and a mount for the camera was fairly straightforward. At this point, I was starting to get pretty sick of the modelling shtick, and ready to see how the design looked in real life! So I sent it off to the wizards at <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/lehighaml/home">Lehigh's Additive Manufacturing Lab</a> to get printed on their Stratasys Objet 30 Pro, which uses a photo-polymer resin and, importantly, a soluble support material. The support material is fairly essential due to the hollow nature of these parts.<br />
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Here you can see how the parts came out of the printer, before the support material was removed. Below is the assembly process of the quad-copter - even though I all the parts were carefully dimensioned, it was a pretty tight squeeze to fit all the electronics inside. I also accidentally snapped the lower box-shaped part while attempting to make a bit more space for the battery leads to exit. A picture is worth a thousand words, and this time I remembered to snap a few of them during the assembly. Take a gander below.<br />
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Pretty sweet, huh? The design isn't yet ready to be shared with the world, as I need to fix some flaws (namely the lack of venting to cool the video transmitter), but it's been a fun project so far, and a good excuse to sharpen my solid modelling skills and play around with 3D printers. As soon as I find some time, I'll make some upgrades to the design and print out a new revision.<br />
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Let me know what you think!Adam Weldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07485025501096765602noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6386479776450205630.post-88136027225846083322016-01-08T18:25:00.001-08:002016-04-11T12:50:14.094-07:00Nexus 5 Battery Capacity UpgradeGoogle's Nexus 5 is a great phone running vanilla Android, but it could never really hold its own in the battery department. I "upgraded" to Samsung's Galaxy S6 a few months back, but I have found myself missing the stock Android experience, so when I found my old Nexus sitting unused in my desk I got to thinking. After reading <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus5/comments/2yr8q2/swapped_my_nexus_5_battery_for_the_battery_from/">a post on Reddit</a> about fitting the battery from LG's G2 into the Nexus 5, I couldn't resist a little side project that could breathe new life into my old phone.<br />
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Ingredients:</h4>
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<li>Google Nexus 5 phone</li>
<li><a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-OEM-LG-BL-T7-3-8V-3000mAh-Li-ion-Battery-For-LG-G2-D800-D801-LS980-VS980-/221884184176?hash=item33a953f670:g:74AAAOSwHjNV9TKJ">LG G2 3000 battery</a></li>
<li>Screwdriver</li>
<li>Soldering equipment</li>
<li>Dremel and grinding bit</li>
<li>Masking tape</li>
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The stock Nexus 5 battery is 2300 mAh, whereas the G2's is 3000 mAh for about a 30% increase of capacity. Not bad, as long as we can make it fit!</div>
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The disassembly of the phone was pretty straightforward, just pop off the back plate and remove all visible screws.</div>
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Here are the two batteries side by side, G2 is on the right.</div>
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In order to make the new cell function properly with the phone, we'll need to transfer the circuit board from the original battery to the new one. I de-soldered both boards, and then attached the N5's to the G2 battery after double checking polarity.</div>
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The new battery is about 3mm taller than the original, so to make it fit we need to remove some of the chassis material above the area where it fits into the phone. I removed all circuit boards from the phone and then masked off the area I'll be removing.</div>
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And after a few minutes with the dremel</div>
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The main circuit board still fits nicely</div>
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With the battery pcb folded compactly next to the cell, it now fits into the phone nicely. Remember that the chassis material is conductive; I covered any possible problem areas with electrical tape to reduce the chance of a short.</div>
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And that's it! The phone can now be put back together the same way it cane apart, and with any luck you should have a functioning Nexus 5 with a significantly larger battery.</div>
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Adam Weldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07485025501096765602noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6386479776450205630.post-18834857166622241092015-10-08T23:14:00.002-07:002016-04-11T12:50:32.964-07:00New Mini Quadcopter (Morphite 155X FPV)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/FRtacomUG2c47PYFrV0rT071ejLfOxuYIYnSPQIpANGw0i_ERKlTuV8ys9U1AJC7mmpk5MZGBXjeN-JfnvBrIxWOrN5dVxdNzb7AmF3gkG413KH587Dmd6ipT4XPSDIaAobud_di-Um2TO9PxULbcv5Du3dn18BHDHtyViijFZ5BCHBu-MKOdhoECvtCc3RO1ElH9Lt2NcWMAcdJPu-TOwiFKoZJwr6IRYQOcPbPGmt8EUjOEwahb59jEquOB0IefxtcOQJNhk56Ha90g12C0bfOecwiWO4T3fpqFu5r_IxYe9btLbPMN1kWFgAZ86Kwz0_7CZKafM7eau3173rRinqQwZXg4BbvLAEcB9iLVNwkq5q4qvwoNhJmgxmHDA3vR_klXyybzInkiBSPwk8jeikytw1GC8dm9aEbOOObaYY77Bhi5igdagwF4oVtMhQr7ton3h-mWqggwKaIcX-2X_FJk9sVWhm2m7gor67Q0LVvfvn54jSeYQlFa3ajW0DMDkrNgNEfoh-54IQs5pKGdXdqJdEsAB8nBcTnoe1ypr0R=w1600-h900-no" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/FRtacomUG2c47PYFrV0rT071ejLfOxuYIYnSPQIpANGw0i_ERKlTuV8ys9U1AJC7mmpk5MZGBXjeN-JfnvBrIxWOrN5dVxdNzb7AmF3gkG413KH587Dmd6ipT4XPSDIaAobud_di-Um2TO9PxULbcv5Du3dn18BHDHtyViijFZ5BCHBu-MKOdhoECvtCc3RO1ElH9Lt2NcWMAcdJPu-TOwiFKoZJwr6IRYQOcPbPGmt8EUjOEwahb59jEquOB0IefxtcOQJNhk56Ha90g12C0bfOecwiWO4T3fpqFu5r_IxYe9btLbPMN1kWFgAZ86Kwz0_7CZKafM7eau3173rRinqQwZXg4BbvLAEcB9iLVNwkq5q4qvwoNhJmgxmHDA3vR_klXyybzInkiBSPwk8jeikytw1GC8dm9aEbOOObaYY77Bhi5igdagwF4oVtMhQr7ton3h-mWqggwKaIcX-2X_FJk9sVWhm2m7gor67Q0LVvfvn54jSeYQlFa3ajW0DMDkrNgNEfoh-54IQs5pKGdXdqJdEsAB8nBcTnoe1ypr0R=w1600-h900-no" width="640" /></a></div>
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I've been flying my <a href="http://www.armattanquads.com/fpv-morphite-180-v2-1/">Morphite 180</a> racing quadcopter for a few months after building it over the summer. FPV is new to me, but it's been tons of fun so far! Here's some DVR footage:<br />
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I decided to do some upgrades to it (stay tuned for more info), and decided to build something new with the leftover parts. Say hi to the 180's younger brother, the 155x:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old vs. New<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Components stripped from the old frame</td></tr>
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Here's a shortlist of parts:</div>
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<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.readytoflyquads.com/the-flip32-deluxe">Flip32 Deluxe</a> Flight Controller (BorisB Betaflight fimmware)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCoQFjACahUKEwjJhqKu3bTIAhUJWx4KHUCWC_M&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.readytoflyquads.com%2Frtf-mini-4-in-1-12-amp-35x35-hv-blheli&usg=AFQjCNHSMP3XVq_mMHY3IOAQs-Spub9jUw&sig2=UGXvVnlThHSMI3Va5dVB0g">RTFQ 12A 4-in-1 ESC</a> (BLHeli 14.1 firmware)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.banggood.com/Eachine-ET200-5_8G-200mW-Mini-Transmitter-p-972618.html">Eachine ET200 200mw</a> vTX</li>
<li><a href="http://www.banggood.com/Eachine-ET200-5_8G-200mW-Mini-Transmitter-p-972618.html">DYS 1306 3100kv</a> motors</li>
<li><a href="http://www.banggood.com/Eachine-ET200-5_8G-200mW-Mini-Transmitter-p-972618.html">Cheap micro camera</a></li>
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Then started putting everything back together. The 155x has a lot less space to mount components compared to the 180, so I need to keep all wiring connections short and be careful with every placement.<br />
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This cheapo Ebay variable voltage regulator will feed my FPV gear about 7.8 volts, hopefully filtering some of the ESC/Motor noise as well. I may later add an LC filter inline.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Motor wires braided and soldered</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/9kHbDBr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/9kHbDBr.jpg" height="400" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All components wired together</td></tr>
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Motor wire get braided, and everything is wired together. I use a diode in the vTX's 5V output to the camera, to drop voltage to about 4.7V. The image is washed out closer to 5V.<br />
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As you can tell, the wiring in this build is very minimal! This is to keep weight down and to better fit everything on the small frame. There are only three connectors in use, total; everything else is a direct solder joint.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All finished!</td></tr>
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A little bit of elbow grease fitting everything together, as well as layers of doublestick tape above and below the voltage regulator to provide insulation, and we're done. More beauty shots below:</div>
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Seen here with my Walkera Devo 6s controller, running <a href="http://www.deviationtx.com/">DeviationTX </a>firmware.<br />
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Maiden footage below:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/a4XFR2Ym9sk/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a4XFR2Ym9sk?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
No tune, no LC filter, no flying skills etc. Still amazed by how fast and agile this frame is. Flying 1000mAh 3S.</div>
Adam Weldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07485025501096765602noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6386479776450205630.post-42324229903506198342015-09-10T14:33:00.000-07:002015-09-10T14:34:28.530-07:00Lehigh University Drone Club!!!After spending this summer building and flying a small RC racing quadcopter, I couldn't suppress the urge to bring Drone Racing to my friends at school. Enter LU Drone Club:<br />
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While we're still waiting on official school approval for the club, don't hesitate to contact us if you are interested in drones, want to learn how to build one of your own, or have any other questions. We will soon be starting weekly meetups for Drone Club on the Lehigh Mountaintop campus. Stay tuned for more information.Adam Weldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07485025501096765602noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6386479776450205630.post-48435559646063654892014-08-25T07:38:00.001-07:002014-08-25T07:38:39.081-07:00First Day of ClassesToday is my first day of classes at Lehigh University! I'm excited to be done with orientation and to finally start my classes. I'm not excited about waking up for 8AM classes M/W/Th/F. I'd love to write more, but I'll be late to CSE 002.Adam Weldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07485025501096765602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6386479776450205630.post-35297153580145371402014-08-18T19:51:00.001-07:002014-08-18T19:53:23.580-07:00Mister TwoI picked up this 1985 Toyoto MR2 up halfway through my senior year, after much sweet talking my parents and saving up. The original LBM paint was in reasonable condition, the owner had service receipts up until 2004, and I fell hopelessly in love with the retro interior on first sight. She ran beautifully for two whole days before overheating and suffering a blown headgasket.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bDJ0JKDEcqs/UtHibrWspbI/AAAAAAAA2gg/KWiwCTFqcZc/s1600/IMG_20131222_104106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bDJ0JKDEcqs/UtHibrWspbI/AAAAAAAA2gg/KWiwCTFqcZc/s1600/IMG_20131222_104106.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Unphased, I decided to take the car on as a project and replace the headgasket myself.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Up on to jacks she went</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eventually I managed to get the motor out</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Block HG surface after quick scrape</td></tr>
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However, a quick look at the crankshaft bearings show tons of wear. I pulled the pistons to find a number of stuck rings and poor cylinder walls. At this point I should probably have started looking for a motor to drop in, but instead I stubbornly decided decided I wanted to get the original motor running. So down she came for a full rebuild. I moved the engine to 410 Machine in Buckley as I had no indoor working space in my own house.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">5-angle valve grind done</td></tr>
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Finally, after a number of months waiting for work to be done, and much procrastination on my part, the engine was back in my driveway and ready to go back into the MR2.<br />
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I got the engine recently reinstalled and the car running, after figuring out a few timing issues. Now that I'm off to college I won't be able to see her until Thanksgiving. Stay tuned for more updates!<br />
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<br />Adam Weldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07485025501096765602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6386479776450205630.post-77263246491943885942014-08-13T17:14:00.002-07:002014-08-13T17:14:52.020-07:00<pre style="color: #00000f;"><tt><span class="keyword" style="color: #0066cc;">public</span><span class="normal"> </span><span class="keyword" style="color: #0066cc;">class</span><span class="normal"> HelloWorld </span><span class="cbracket">{</span>
<span class="normal"> </span><span class="keyword" style="color: #0066cc;">public</span><span class="normal"> </span><span class="keyword" style="color: #0066cc;">static</span><span class="normal"> </span><span class="type" style="color: #0066cc;">void</span><span class="normal"> </span><span class="function" style="font-weight: bold;">main</span><span class="symbol" style="color: darkred;">(</span><span class="normal">String</span><span class="symbol" style="color: darkred;">[]</span><span class="normal"> args</span><span class="symbol" style="color: darkred;">)</span><span class="normal"> </span><span class="cbracket">{</span>
<span class="normal"> System</span><span class="symbol" style="color: darkred;">.</span><span class="normal">out</span><span class="symbol" style="color: darkred;">.</span><span class="function" style="font-weight: bold;">println</span><span class="symbol" style="color: darkred;">(</span><span class="string" style="color: #116611;">"Hello, World"</span><span class="symbol" style="color: darkred;">);</span>
<span class="normal"> </span><span class="cbracket">}</span>
<span class="cbracket">}</span></tt></pre>
Adam Weldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07485025501096765602noreply@blogger.com0