Hi everyone, First of all, I am a total newbie with minimal knowledge and zero experience. I have been doing some research over the last few days and WAS going to for MikroKopter Quad XL. Then I found a cinestar 8 frame for only $600 and seems like I will be getting it. Cost for this system is much higher than I was originally planning but it is a much better system. Few questions I have for you; Can I build the Cinestar 8 as a Quadcopter at first? I am looking to use T-Motor MN4012 with BL-Ctrl V3.0, any comments? If I can built a quad, can i buy the Quadro 2XL Combi now for Quad operation, then buy a second one to create Double Quadro 2XL later on? OR would I need to buy the dual version as it comes from manufacturing? I simply do not have the funds right now to get all components for a Octo System and I am trying to figure out if I can get going with a Quad System much faster and have the option to upgrade later. Thanks
G'Day Firat, A cinestar frame for $600 is an absolute steal, however if it is new it going to be a knock off, of the real thing ... there are some differences between them. Funds are going to be your biggest issue, as you have found, it would be worth having a look at the wealth of information in this thread http://forum.freeflysystems.com/index.php?threads/total-cost-of-your-setup.2677/#post-31668
If you don’t have the funds to replace 50% or more of your kit in the event of a crash or other problem, then you shouldn’t get started. Starting out in this pursuit is a costly enterprise, and accidents of all sorts are inevitable.
I appreciate the warning for a fake product. It seems like a person who purchased it decided he could not finish... It is half assembled. I will have a chance to examine the product... I am creating a cost for myself. I won't be investing in any camera system just yet until I learn to fly properly and I plan do add on over time as I move forward. I am not planning on navi or gps to start.. Those will be added later as well. I would appreciate an answer to my questions as best as you can, so I can make better decisions. I found out that I can build this as a Quad at first, but what I am very curious is that if I can double the quad XL module later as I don't wanna throw away $500 for the single board if I am going to need to buy the dual later. Cheers
if you want a copter to learn with, you can buy an entire quad ready made for that sort of money with the GPS, which will help when learning, and then buy/build your octo when you are ready .... You are opening yourself up to problems building a quad with the intention of turning it into an octo ... IMHO Two quad boards do make an octo .... but you will have more work to do down the track compared to running an integrated board .... If a cheaper alternative is what you are after, which it sounds like you are, use a converter and ESCs, or look at a different flight controller that uses regular ESCs then you can expand your build as you go ..... Design work up front will save you a lot of time and money.
I also wanted to explain how I decided to get a cinestar because I know buying a cinestar as your first ever multirotor does not make sense whatsoever. I originally was looking at the MultiKopter Quad XL which the kit is 1,300 which is very affordable for myself. My intention was to learn with this model and maybe upgrade in the future if needed more lift for my DSLR etc. BTW, I am into photography, not video and I do not do it professionally, just as a hobby. Then I started reading about the CineStar 8 frame and how amazing it is then I found one for $600 and started looking at numbers and decided to spend the few extra hundred and go with this frame i found instead of the multikopter. To me, its no brainer to go for a upgradable, much more solid frame over mikrokopter... As far as I can tell electronics are the same... And of course now, I want to make my purchases wisely to make sure nothing I am buying will be garbage when do decide to move forward. This why I asked about the motor selection and the whole single/dual board issue. I think I am going order the frame, 4 motors and single board, set it up as a quad for now. I also ordered the DVD from Quadrocopter.
I guess the question is what do you want to do with the copter? Secondly if budget is an issue the cinestar8 probably not the right starter aircraft. Being new to this stuff there is a lot to learn. Its not hard but being new to this stuff there is a bunch of jargon and terminology that isn't necessarily standard across the board. What company A calls function X company B calls that function Y. Companies A's function is similar to B's except they each have nuances. Terms like S.Bus, PPM and PWM are some for example are terms describing different signal modulations. Mikrokopter was designed for graupner controllers in mind and DJI was designed for Futaba. But you can use other brands, but you may not get the full capability of the system. IMO you should start small and get used to flying something cheap reliable that you can repair without breaking the bank. Ideally you should get a simulator like Aerosim RC. So far this one seems to have the most fidelity. However, sims are great for learning the "Monkey Hand skills required to fly, but are more forgiving than the real thing. You will find once you buy this stuff that things can add fairly quickly. You need to buy batteries which cost from 50 to 200 bucks a piece depending on the voltage and current capacity. The battery is by far the critical system component to the aircraft. Once it fails you are done, and the expensive machine will be shattering into pieces in front of your eyes. Not trying to scare you out of this. But even some of the experienced guys have seen these things wreck into pieces. A lot of companies talk how easy these things are because they now can take off an land on their own fly preprogrammed courses, come home if you screw up. All that is well good until you end up in a situation does not work as advertised, because you flew on a day that had solar activity and the GPS failed. So big picture is to do a ton of research as you are doing to make the best decision possible.
I wanted to thank you again Chris... after some pressure, seller admitted that its a replica not a genuine product.
While the $600 looks like a great price, by the time you put all the parts together you might find that the total remains comparable to complete systems sold by retailers in NA..... with the possible exception of a costly high power PDB c/w programmer etc. which can be as high as $700. In any case here is an Asian source and the parts are 100% carbon fiber...... keep in mind that there may be some slight design variance from the original.... not sure which evolved ahead of the other. http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free...x-8-Axis-Octocopter-frame-kit/1013825004.html
So I took the plunge and ordered my first parts today... Quadro 2XL Combi, Flite Ctrl V2.5, miscellaneous cables etc. and of course the DVD package from Quadrocopter.com to help me out.. I am planning on setting up a Quad using the cinestar 8 frame. I am planning on using 17" props in Quad configuration. Next to purchase are; 4 x T-Motor MN-4014 Frame (Most likely replica) Batteries Controller / Transmitter ( Probably borrow from my dad (JR) , not sure if it will be compatible as I am not %100 sure about this PPM SumSignal, I need to research it more ) Navi Control and GPS. Let me know if I made a HUGE mistake I will not be purchasing any gimbal or any other equipment until I can fly it properly...
Be sure to get a copy of AerosimRC, the copter simulator. Depending on which transmitter you use, you can fly the copter in the sim. I worked with the author of the sim and he was kind enough to put a Cinestar model in the sim. Also consider getting a Blade mQX as your "training wheels." If you can fly that, you can fly the Cinestar knockoff. If you try to go straight to the Cinestar knockoff then, to use your words, you will be making a "HUGE mistake." You will crash it. Plan on putting in, oh, several tens of hours on the simulator -- it has a flight training program so use that as a measure of your progress. Then fly the Blade for several tens of hours. Then you'll be ready to fly the Cinestar knockoff. Be prepared to search the various fora for information: mikrokopter.de multirotorforums.com rcgroups.com and several others. To paraphrase the X Files, "The answers are out there." Andy.
http://www.bladehelis.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=BLH7500 Everyone starts somewhere .... and the smaller copters don't make you cry when they centre punch the Earth
What Chris says -- and for the reasons that he says it. Fly a lot. Crash a lot! Think of it as a copter with training wheels. This is how I learned. You can even fly the Blade indoors although it stirs up a lot of self-induced turbulence -- but it allows you to build the hand-eye coordination that you need. You've got to be able to look at a copter, in any orientation, and just fly it without having to think, "OK, it's nose-in, and I need it to go to my right, which means I have to put in left input on the right hand stick." That kind of thinking has to become so automatic that it's not even thinking in the conventional sense of the word. We're trying to avoid you having to make a posting like this: "OK, guys, well, I took the Cinestar out today. The first two flights were great, but on the third one, I don't know what happened, but it flew off sideways. First it hit a tree, then it tumbled down and hit my neighbor's car, skittered sideways, and clobbered by neighbor's cat, and then flew into the street under a passing bus." I'm exaggerating for conversational effect, of course. It would not do that. It would just hit the tree, plummet from 30 meters up onto concrete and you'd have a pile of pieces, none of which would be so large that they couldn't fit into a a biscuit tin. Tell a lie. The second paragraph is also a bit of an exaggeration. Some of the pieces would not fit. Andy
So, I placed an order for everything I needed from different sources for a Quad build. However, supplier shipped Octo XL Combi vice Quad 2XL. So the question is, can I run only 4 motors on Octo XL? Is there way to configure the board so that Octo board is happy with only 4 motors??? If yes, if you can provide details, it would e great! cheers
I found to the answer to my question so i figured I would share.. If for whatever reason you are not using all BL-Ctrl on your power distribution board, you need to connect GROUND and PIN 5 together in order to mask out that BL Ctrl that you are not using. Then you can either change the addressing using solder bridges or create a custom mixer.