Tag: quadcopters

Posted on

Binding With The Kingkong Smart100 DSM2 RX

The DSM2 RX that comes with the Kingkong Smart100 is generally regarded as garbage. It’s hard to bind with, it’s got poor range, etc. I will show that, at least in binding, it’s not completely hopeless. Here’s the step-by-step binding procedure:

  1. Plug FC to USB
  2. Flash NAZE firmware (NOT ALIENFLIGHTF1) — I used NAZE v2.0.0
  3. Set UART2 serial RX
  4. Save and reboot
  5. Set motor protocol brushed
  6. Set motor pwm speed separated from PID speed
  7. Se motor pwm frequency 32000 (or set motor_pwm_rate = 32000 on CLI)
  8. Set motor stop
  9. Set receiver serial-based receiver
  10. Set provider spektrum1024
  11. Save and reboot
  12. On CLI: set spektrum_sat_bind=5
    • 3 for DSM2 1024bit/22ms
    • 5 for DSM2 2048bit/11ms default AlienWii32
    • 7 for DSMX 1024bit/22ms used by Devo 7e
    • 8 for DSMX 2048bit/22ms Used by new DXe
    • 9 for DSMX 2048bit/11ms
  13. On CLI: set spektrum_sat_bind_autoreset=0
  14. On CLI: save
  15. Unplug FC from USB
  16. Plug battery to quad… RX should be in bind mode (rapid flashing orange)
  17. Turn on TX and bind
  18. Unplug battery from quad
  19. Plug FC to USB
  20. Revert to ALIENFLIGHTF1 (optional)
  21. On CLI: set spektrum_sat_bind=0
  22. On CLI: set spektrum_sat_bind_autoreset=1
  23. On CLI: save

Now you can do other configuration you may want to do or maybe just go fly.

Hat tip to Idriz for guiding me on the procedure

Posted on

Linear vs Circular Polarized Antennas

Linear antennas are simple, cheap, light, durable and work well enough. They do suffer from polarization and multi-path interference. These issues are mitigated with circular polarized antennas. On the sending side, circular polarized antennas send usable signals regardless of orientation. On the receiving side, they capture polarized signals and– when using matching circular polarized antennas– drop multi-path interference leading to a cleaner picture. In the above video from Neil DeLillo, you can see this difference in actual real-world use. Here’s the full article that explains the difference in detail. Basically, it’s weight/durability vs picture quality.

Posted on

716 Motors: More Power

Quadspex did a series of motor thrust tests that shows the power of 716  motors vs  615 motors into perspective. I’ve computed the thrust-to-weight ratios and summarized the results in the convenient table below:

Motor Thrust (g) Total Thrust (g) Thrust-to-Weight Ratio*
Stock 615 E010 7.83 31.3 1.252
RS 615 16000KV 9.3 37.2 1.488
RS 615 18000KV 11.2 44.8 1.792
MMW 615 17000KV 11.37 45.47 1.818
MMW 615 19000KV 13.03 52.13 2.085
Stock 716 E011 17.27 69.1 2.303
MMW 716 17000KV 18.47 73.9 2.463

*Assumes 25g take-off weight for 615 quad; 30g take-off weight for 716 quad

Here are the complete videos:

If you haven’t subscribed to Quadspex already, make sure you do. He’s got a bunch of very informative videos.