wastingallmytime
Junior Member
INTRO/REQUIREMENTS
Hey all, as the title would suggest, I am attempting to build an amphibious tricopter for filming. I will mostly be using it to film my crew team, but I would like to be able to use it for just flying around as well. My ultimate goals for this is for it to be able to carry a GoPro, survive a crash landing into water, and do all of this as cheap as possible. I have little to no multiroter experience, so I purchased a Proto X Nano just to get some of the basics down, and get some practice. I wont take the actual drone over the water until I get enough practice to feel comfortable enough with the flight.
BASIC TRICOPTER
I did some research and I think my starting frame will be the Tricopter V3 from rcexplorers.se (http://rcexplorer.se/product/tricopter-v3-kit/) as it has been used by many and has worked perfectly. I can 3d print most of the components of the quad which will make it very cheap, and it will be easier to mod by changing the CAD file. Its been used to film many episodes of Flight Test and works very well. Now, I have some questions regarding what to use with it. I would be running a 4C setup with it, and use these components:
3 x 900kV NTM 28-30S
3 x Mounting accessory for the NTM motor (only needed for NTM motors)
1 x 4S 3000mAh Zippy 20C
3 x Afro 20A ESC
1 x TGY-210MH Servo
2 x 9×5 Multistar Carbon props
1 x KK2 mini Flight controller
1 x High Tec Optima 9 receiver
These are a list of components that are recommended, have been used before, and work flawlessly. However, if you have any other suggestions I would be happy to hear them.
MODS:
Now, I will be seriously modifying the frame of the V3 to better fit my needs. Aside from making it amphibious, I will remove the bottom part of the frame, and add in a mounting point for a gimbal and create a compartment for the battery. In order to fit the gimbal, I will make the legs longer and sturdier. I will also create a pace to mount the KK2 board and the Optima 9 receiver on the top of the frame.
AMPHIBIOUS MODS:
Now, this is where I run into a lot of problems. I have thought of many ways to keep the drone off the water during the event of a crash (It will happen, no matter how good of pilot I am). I did some research and saw that many people put their drone in a waterproof box (except for the motors and props of course) and this makes most of the components waterproof. However, this did not seem to work very well, and impaired performance. It also made it difficult to mount an effective camera system. I was thinking about adding some foam or other things similar to foam that float and add enough so that even on a rough impact the drone would remain above the water. Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance!
Hey all, as the title would suggest, I am attempting to build an amphibious tricopter for filming. I will mostly be using it to film my crew team, but I would like to be able to use it for just flying around as well. My ultimate goals for this is for it to be able to carry a GoPro, survive a crash landing into water, and do all of this as cheap as possible. I have little to no multiroter experience, so I purchased a Proto X Nano just to get some of the basics down, and get some practice. I wont take the actual drone over the water until I get enough practice to feel comfortable enough with the flight.
BASIC TRICOPTER
I did some research and I think my starting frame will be the Tricopter V3 from rcexplorers.se (http://rcexplorer.se/product/tricopter-v3-kit/) as it has been used by many and has worked perfectly. I can 3d print most of the components of the quad which will make it very cheap, and it will be easier to mod by changing the CAD file. Its been used to film many episodes of Flight Test and works very well. Now, I have some questions regarding what to use with it. I would be running a 4C setup with it, and use these components:
3 x 900kV NTM 28-30S
3 x Mounting accessory for the NTM motor (only needed for NTM motors)
1 x 4S 3000mAh Zippy 20C
3 x Afro 20A ESC
1 x TGY-210MH Servo
2 x 9×5 Multistar Carbon props
1 x KK2 mini Flight controller
1 x High Tec Optima 9 receiver
These are a list of components that are recommended, have been used before, and work flawlessly. However, if you have any other suggestions I would be happy to hear them.
MODS:
Now, I will be seriously modifying the frame of the V3 to better fit my needs. Aside from making it amphibious, I will remove the bottom part of the frame, and add in a mounting point for a gimbal and create a compartment for the battery. In order to fit the gimbal, I will make the legs longer and sturdier. I will also create a pace to mount the KK2 board and the Optima 9 receiver on the top of the frame.
AMPHIBIOUS MODS:
Now, this is where I run into a lot of problems. I have thought of many ways to keep the drone off the water during the event of a crash (It will happen, no matter how good of pilot I am). I did some research and saw that many people put their drone in a waterproof box (except for the motors and props of course) and this makes most of the components waterproof. However, this did not seem to work very well, and impaired performance. It also made it difficult to mount an effective camera system. I was thinking about adding some foam or other things similar to foam that float and add enough so that even on a rough impact the drone would remain above the water. Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance!
Directly solder the ESCs, the FC, and the RX, and seal each with shrink tubing and hot glue. Use shrink tubing to wrap the boards, and then use hot glue to seal the ends of the tube. I would also recommend using some silicon over the hot glue, to make sure it really seals. I like using hot glue on electronics, because it's really easy to clean it up with some alcohol, if need be.
