COMPLETE NOOB HeRe

[EnlightMent]

At this point in the learning curve i am a little deer eyed. I watched one video of hundreds that mentioned to log hours on a SIM, so I held off pushing foward on a 5in quad and instead bought an Inductrix FPV BMF to practice with after a few hours on the SIM.

The problem is that I could not figure out how to get the DX6 working with any of the SIMs last night. I said okay no big deal itbis all part of a new hobby dont start pulling your hair out just yet. Im sending the DX6 back because even though it is a great transmitter and feel wonderful in the hand the X9D is more readily supported by other users.

I also bought the Fatsharks v3 which the view for FPV is to wide and made me a little dizzy and sick to my stomach. I know with a game like Quake 3 or Quake Live i like narrow field of view and would often change the settings a bit.

When i first starting the journey, it was pedal to the metal but then soon realized that I needed to take a step back and reassess plan better.

So the X9D will be here friday night and I hope to be crashing on the PC screen soon after. I wish there was someone that lives closed to me that I could sit down and chat with about where to start, what to buy, and look at what Im doing wrong to get feed back. Well also just to have that instant you can do it. LOL yes in my 40s and still need a pat on the back. I live 2.5 hours from the closest club in Flagstaff AZ but ive never sone anything like this and it is completely out of my comfort zone which is why I am pursuing this Hobby well one of the reasons.

I have a Maverick Pro coming in the mail next week, but that is just for videography. I do live in the Grand Canyon State and can't wait to get some footage. However, I want to fly or learn to fly freestyle with a 5 inch quad. The footage that I have been seeing on YouTube incredibly relaxing. I have a morbid fear of heights and there are some views that make the hair stand up on my the back of my neck. Hoping that this Hobby will help cure some of my fear of heights. My fear of heights is so bad that when I saw my toy quad the Traxxas alias go more than 50 feet in the air I got extremely sick to my stomach but the more I played with it and attempted to fly it the better it became. So I think I'm going to keep a diary and maybe a video diary of not only my progress n flying but also the help it is giving me for my fear of heights because the older I get the worst the fear is becoming and not only is it embarrassing but at times debilitating. Everybody walks out on the ledge sees how beautiful the scenery is and I'm down on the ground thinking everybody is going to fall including myself just writing this you're starting to sweat.

Concluding my first post on this awesome forum I want to say thank you Josh and all of flitetest for all that you have done to date and will continue to do.

I also am I asking for help. If you have any questions that might trigger in my mind what I'm looking for which way to go so that I can connect brain synapses in a way that will facilitate a higher Learning capability of this wonderful hobby I would be greatly appreciative.

I would love to be flying with some confidence or confidence 4 flitefest 2017 westcoast style.

Do you think that is possible?

TIA for any and all help folks

 

[CaptBill]

Welcome.
It can seem a little confusing, sorry, it is.Very confusing at first. But your doing the right thing by backing off just a bit. Very soon it will all click and you will have the lingo down, once you can speak the language your almost there.

Come up with some actual questions and this bunch will find you through them You can learn alone. Some actually prefer to do it that way.

 

[PsyBorg]

Welcome to the club. You have come to the right place for help. That and the fact you are smart enough to slow down a bit puts you one up on many people in this world.

My advise is set all the actual gear that fly's to the side until several things happen for you. First and foremost before you put any spinning vegomatic of deaths in the air you should probably get over that fear and nausea. Disorientation is the main thing that gives pilots a problem and the most likely time damage or injury will occur.

Spend time learning what the hobby is about. Read up on regulations where you live. Watch as many build videos or set up videos as you can so you have a general knowledge and clue how to properly set up a quad or any flying RC model for that matter. In between all that start flying sims once your new radio arrives. For FPV racing and freestyle I suggest FPV free rider as to me that is the most realistic flight "Feel" in a sim at the moment. Joshua Bardwell has an excellent beginner series done specifically in FPV Freerider which is also a boon. The 14 dollars for the complete program donation is well worth it and will save you a bajillion percent on broken gear.

Other programs that bring different flying courses and feel are Hot Props which is my second favorite and best flying sim. I also use DRL's sim but that's more of a video game style sim then a true teaching sim.

If you do all that and don't try to fly for the first month at all you will greatly benefit more so then diving in and breaking stuff or just plain being overwhelmed and quitting.

 

[EnlightMent]

Well I wrote a great reply but forgot to save it, so here is the edited version. Thank you for your reply and letting me know that I am on the right track. I'm not going to fly outside until I understand what and how I want to build. By the time I finish, I should have over 100 hours on the sim. Here is picture of what is around where I live for 100 miles in any direction. Well except when I stand right in the middle of the one horse town.

 

[rockyboy]

Beautiful landscape to fly in!! I'm in the same boat as you in overcoming a wicked fear of heights (can get vertigo from watching a video). I've done a lot more line of sight flying compared to FPV, and also have been working on more and more indoor FPV to get my head used to the view being very different than what my brain is feeling from a motion perspective, and that's helped a lot.

I think you're going to be very happy with the X9D for the long run - both in flying multi-rotors and when the fixed wing (and fixed wing FPV) bug catches you. It's also got a bit of a steep learning curve, so don't be shy about asking questions and expect to do plenty of research and video watching to figure it out.

Also, with the vertigo issue for awesome outdoor flying, it might be easier to step into FPV wing or glider flying rather than multi-rotors at first. The reaction time differences can be huge, and while learning to fly a FPV plane is very different and won't train your thumbs for 5 inch free style, it might help a great deal with the heights. At least I'm hoping it will for me, as I have 2 FPV wings I'm building while my FPV quad projects have moved down on the list.

 

[CaptBill]

Lovely view.
Where is this?
I guess it's a long drive to the convenience store?

 

[EnlightMent]

I could use some help. I am stuck and have no idea how to fix it. I am building the Impulse RC Alien RR5 (Kit) from Rotoriot. I have a short in the PDB and Im not sure why. 1 through 4 are the way that the motors are to be connected and facing front. I checked continuity of the PDB and 3 out of the 6 are giving me an alarm when connecting pos and neg, and I have no idea where the problem is. it is 3 and 4 and then the connect between 1 and 2. I didnt see the board lift, and I wasnt on it long enough to lift. 1 and 2 and between 3 and 4 are okay. I hope that this make since. what could be causing this?

 

[EnlightMent]

it is on the Navajo Res in Arizona. We have lived here for 6 years now, and we dont see ourselves moving anytime soon.

 

[EnlightMent]

Lovely view.
Where is this?
I guess it's a long drive to the convenience store?

it is on the Navajo Res in Arizona. We have lived here for 6 years now, and we dont see ourselves moving anytime soon. There is openness everywhere for miles and miles. I also learned that the state passed a law quickly so cities couldnt block flying in part due to the push from Amazon I think.

 

[EnlightMent]

Beautiful landscape to fly in!! I'm in the same boat as you in overcoming a wicked fear of heights (can get vertigo from watching a video). I've done a lot more line of sight flying compared to FPV, and also have been working on more and more indoor FPV to get my head used to the view being very different than what my brain is feeling from a motion perspective, and that's helped a lot.

I think you're going to be very happy with the X9D for the long run - both in flying multi-rotors and when the fixed wing (and fixed wing FPV) bug catches you. It's also got a bit of a steep learning curve, so don't be shy about asking questions and expect to do plenty of research and video watching to figure it out.

Also, with the vertigo issue for awesome outdoor flying, it might be easier to step into FPV wing or glider flying rather than multi-rotors at first. The reaction time differences can be huge, and while learning to fly a FPV plane is very different and won't train your thumbs for 5 inch free style, it might help a great deal with the heights. At least I'm hoping it will for me, as I have 2 FPV wings I'm building while my FPV quad projects have moved down on the list.

thanx for the advice, I have a friend who lives about 1.5 hours north that has about 6 fixed wings. I have only known him for a short time, but He is a great friend. The only issue is that he has never used FPV... LOL

 

[PsyBorg]

Did you get your pdb shorting issues resolved?

If not is the alien logo facing up or down when you put it on the frame? The alien side is the positive side and could potentially short out on the carbon frame even with the coating it has. If that is not the case look for tiny solder balls that may be bridging the gap between each section for each ESC. Finally look for any excess solder that may have wicked down the edge of the board that could be connecting the upper and lower portions of the board when you made your connections.

 

[EnlightMent]

Did you get your pdb shorting issues resolved?

If not is the alien logo facing up or down when you put it on the frame? The alien side is the positive side and could potentially short out on the carbon frame even with the coating it has. If that is not the case look for tiny solder balls that may be bridging the gap between each section for each ESC. Finally look for any excess solder that may have wicked down the edge of the board that could be connecting the upper and lower portions of the board when you made your connections.

I think it might be the ESC bridging issue. Ill have to look into it more when I get back from a weekend in Cali. I wanted to bring it with me but I am tired and ready for bed. I forgot to check everything before I did the shrink wrap over the ESCs. The only issue I have with thinking that it might be the ESC is the fact that it is shorting on one where the ESC is not connected between 1 and 2. but when I connect the positive on 3 with any of the other neg I get a short and when I connect the neg on 4 with any of the other postive I get a short.

Pls tell me that I didnt completely mess this up and it can be fixed.

 

[EnlightMent]

Thank you for your help. I kept rolling around in my mind ESC until I got it. I trouble shooter and narrowed it down to one ESC. That is the good news. The bad news is that I lost two small O rings somewhere, and I can try to fix it until next week.

Until then a big time THANK YOU

 

[SlingShot]

That photo is freaky awesome. With the blue cast and all I was expecting to hear Mongolia or something. Then I noticed the scrub.

 

[JimCR120]

I stayed at a Navajo reservation over 30 years ago on a youth group trip. I have a number of pleasant memories including the scenery. I think you'll have plenty of area to hone your flying & capturing landscape skills and we'll be eager to see them as you share them.

 

[cranialrectosis]

Check Ace Hardware for O rings.

Do you have your X9D connected and working with sims yet? That radio is a favorite but it comes with a heck of a steep learning curve.

Whenever I power up a copter for the first time after a solder job, I use a smokestopper. This prevents shorts from being fatal to electronics. I highly recommend this little bit of kit. It can save you $$hundreds$$.

Holy smokes that landscape! Your videos are gonna be popular.

Welcome to FliteTest.

 

[EnlightMent]

I stayed at a Navajo reservation over 30 years ago on a youth group trip. I have a number of pleasant memories including the scenery. I think you'll have plenty of area to hone your flying & capturing landscape skills and we'll be eager to see them as you share them.

That seen was just a small taste... I have been sick with the flu for the past week. I have some video of just a few places. I cant wait to start uploading them.

 

[EnlightMent]

So I finished my build of the Roto Riot Alien 5 version. I have since ve only able to fly 5 packs FPV, and im not getting sick. I fly at the fair ground which is within 5 miles of a dirt airport, but I talked with a few the Pilots and they said no worries just keep it under 100 feet over there and all is good.

The day before the parallel charging board came in the weather was beautiful. The next day when everything was charged and I was ready to fly it started blowing 10 to 15 mile an hour winds. I still went out flew 5 packs.

Yesterday we had 35 mile an hour winds and blowing dust. Last night we had a hail storm for about an hour with 25 mile an hour winds. And today the winds are 15 to 20 miles an hour with gusts up to 30.

I do have a question in all of this. Does anyone know if the runcam Swift 2 is able to be installed on the alien frame? I would like to be able to hear the motors while flying. I think it is because of listening to the motors on the simulator.