YQ2 Quadcopter. Part 1 - Design by ycopter

Rating: 4.64      14 ratings
Posted: February 22, 2013  |  3,842 views
INFLUENCE 76%

Introducing the YQ2 Quadcopter

It is designed for DIY construction using cheap and readily available materials and incorporates many of the ideas in my ‘Tune Your Multi-rotor’ article.

This quad is design for fast and agile flight.  It is not a light weight design at all, with large battery, GoPro 2 in its protective case and FPV gear it weighs 2.2Kg.  Although not as efficient as lighter machines, it still has a flight time of between 6-9 minutes and the extra weight gives it a very stable flight profile.

 


Design features:

Video Quality

  • 2 stage camera vibration dampening.
  • Sharp and vibration free 1080p video (providing the motors and props are reasonably well balanced).
  • Up to 11” propellers out of view of the video.
  • Relatively level fast forward flight.
  • GoPro camera can be angled down for plan view or slightly back for fast forward flight.

Flying Characteristics

  • Stable with mass along central axis.
  • Fairly level pitch in fast forward flight.
  • Stable in moderate winds.
  • Designed for fast and agile flight.
  • Rigid frame hardly flexes, this keeps the motors held firmly in place which allows for accurate and predictable control.

Crash Resistance

  • Ultra strong core frame.
  • GoPro mounted in its protective case.
  • Weak points designed in, in the event of a crash the following are intended to break:

- Wooden arms (plug in design makes them simple to replace).
- Cable ties holding on landing legs.
- GoPro is soft mounted with Velcro and silicone rubber.

Cost Effective

  • DIY construction.
  • Uses GRP or G10 sheet material and readily available wood sections.

RF Design

  • Dirty and clean areas.
  • Video TX at front and RC and GPS antennas at back provides 400mm separation. 

Convenience

  • Fast and accessible battery location.
  • Easy to adjust the centre of gravity.
  • Uses 4S batteries in the range of 3000mah to 5000mah.
  • Self-contained video TX, OSD and power regulator which is removable.
  • Props out of view of the FPV camera and GoPro.
  • Motor arms can be removed for compact transportation.

Specifications:

Frame weight 650gm (Includes GoPro camera mount).

Motor to motor      - 681mm (diagonal)

                              - 500mm (width)

                              - 463mm (length)

Height 105mm (lower plate to top of GoPro case)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Comments

DaG February 25, 2013
It seem to have a lot of work on this Quad. Design is great and look professional ! I'll follow your progression. You said that the 2kg weigh is a most for stabilty but cost you lot of flight time. What the next step?
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ycopter February 25, 2013
Thanks, next step is Part 3, the build process. I will post this as soon as I can. The only difficult part of the build is cutting the frame parts, but I have some tips to make this much easier...
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trobi81 February 25, 2013
Hi Ycopter,

Thank you for creating such an interesting article! I can see that you have spent a great deal of time and effort developing a great design and documenting how others can build their own. I really appreciate the time you have taken to write a detailed overview and instructions. I'm definitely going to build one! Thanks again!
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ycopter February 25, 2013
Thanks so much for your feedback, yes it does take a long time to document, but sharing knowledge is what this great hobby is all about. Pleased you want to make one, build process coming in part 3.
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Adib Vahedi February 25, 2013
Wow looks pretty stable you have probably spent a lotof time on everything! Great flying! And thanks for spending most of your time making this great article! Hope you have a good time flying again!

Keep up the great work!!!!!!!!!!! ;)


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ycopter February 25, 2013
Thanks for taking the time to send your feedback, it is appreciated.
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krisrilee March 11, 2013
Hey I love the design. Ive just built one to the exact size and power system. What's your pids? For the kk2 board right?
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ycopter March 11, 2013
Thanks - I only test flew this design a couple of times with the KK2 and then switched to the Openpilot CC3D. My settings with the KK2 were Roll and Pitch P gain 95 (limit 45), I gain 20 (limit 15). Yaw P gain 35 (limit 20), I gain 40 (limit 10). I think I adjusted the stick scaling also R26, P38 and Yaw 43. In my experience you can increase the pitch quite a bit more than roll. Generally speaking you want low P and I settings for smooth video. I hope your quad flies really well.
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krisrilee March 11, 2013
I have a amp 2.5 board but it is so amazingly hard to adjust so I'm trying with a KK2 board to get the hang of it.
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ycopter March 11, 2013
The KK2 is great, good value for money and good performance. I really like the CC3D but it is much harder to set up than the KK2.
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krisrilee March 11, 2013
are the pids transferable? like are they common in any way between the boards?
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