DIY $10 Drone Racing Gates

Before you start building your LED racing gate, you’ll want to gather the materials you’ll need to build it. We used:

• LED lights (5/16”)
• Flexible PVC tubing (1/2” (outside diameter), 3/8” (inside diameter))
• Power drill with 1/4” and ½” drill bits
• Telephone cord or strong twine to pull LED lights through tube
• Stable wood base
• 3-cell LiPo battery (or 9V battery)
• T-fittings (3/8”—match to inside diameter of PVC tubing)
• Heat gun or hair dryer
• Battery ends
• Soldering materials: iron and metal
• Scissors
• Tape

Next, grab a friend to help you. Although we know you could do this on your own, it is much more fun and will take less time to assemble several gates if you have more than one set of hands. Additionally, this is a great activity to do as a family!

Now let’s get to the good stuff.

Step 1

Cut your PVC tubing to the size hoop you want to create.

Step 2 

Drill a hole in the PVC tubing on the outer edge.

Step 3

Feed telephone wire or strong twine through tube and tape to the LED wires. Then pull through the tube until the wires come out through the hole you drilled in Step 2. 

Step 4

Cut the LED lights on the cut line at the length you need them to be.

Step 5

Solder the LED wires to the battery ends.

Step 6

Heat both ends of the tubing with heat gun/hair dryer and insert the t-fitting into each end.

Step 7

Cut a small length of tubing from your scraps (however long you’d like it) and insert bottom part of t-fitting into it.

Step 8 

Drill 1/2” hole in wood base and insert tube into it to get the LED racing hoop to stand upright.

Step 9 

Plug in battery (make sure it’s properly charged!).

Step 10

Have fun flying!

Who plans on making these gates? Share with us your versions in the comments below!