airheadbit
New member
Sorry, yes I'm in the US. So would this http://https://www.sparkfun.com/products/155 be something to look into if I wanted to start thinking about DIYing a controller? I'm going to be ordering a realativly cheap 4 or 6 channel transmitter to learn to fly with, but I want to stretch my skills a bit. I am hoping to use RC planes and quads to do surveys for my ecological engineering degree, so rather than paying an extra $50 for every new button or function it make sense to use something like a raspberry pi and or an arduino. I'd like to make it modular so I can try out different radios, switch layouts, and the like.
You make a good point about wanting to keep the power as low as need to get the job done. So far all of my licensed transmissions have been under 5w. I am a little worried about losing signal with a very directional antenna. Would I need to build some kind of tracking mount to keep it lined up?
IFlyRCstuff I used a smartphone app and just bashed through the test until I had the rules down. The electronics questions are pretty basic. You'll be able to pass it.
I picked up a used FrSky Taranis X9D Plus 2.4GHz ACCST Radio & X8R Combo w/ case (Mode 2) with a damaged screen cover at a good price. The Taranis is expandable and programmable, you can switch the transmit module or add a second cost effectively. My goal is a animal tracking/counting survey system using a Nvidia core for non-domestic animals and a WiFi tagged system for domestic animals. I'd rather spend my time working the tag and vision issues, other people have create very flexible RC controllers. OrangeRX has a nice $60 433mhz 1 watt system that is plug and play with the Taranis.
FYI there is software for the PIXHAWK to act as a base tracking device... In case you wanted to save some money.