Multicopter post 2

[Anil Kumar]

Hello Quad and Tricopter and all Multicopter enthusiasts!
I intend to keep this updated with Multicopter information as a
placeholder and way to get links to the mountains of info that is out
there. Please advise if you come across anything additional and of
interest to the community.
Deciding on a particular Quadrocopter or Tricopter is a personal
decision based on skills and budget and current needs. You can buy
the
MK almost RTF, but the UAVP/UAVX and most other flight controller
boards of high performance and quality are not available RTF. You
need
good soldering skills for wires and some board components. Both the
MK
and UAVP/UAVX will do AVP in their basic form if that is your
interest. The MK designed by Ingo Busker and Holger Buss requires a
license for commercial use. Both are continually evolving as are many
of the other quads due to technical hardware and software updates.
The
MK is more mature at the moment with GPS and way-points and follow me
modes, but the original UAVP designed by Dr Wolfgang Mahringer aka
Wolferl is a stable platform. It now has a major update by Prof Greg
Egan aka GKE that has performance improvements, and a GPS hover hold
and RTH capability that was released on 15 August 2009 as the UAVX.
The UAVX firmware requires a ₨ 442.15 (₨ 442.15 ($10)) plug-in
replacement
18F2620 PIC to upgrade the original UAVP board. There is a follow-on
UAVP-NG project with completely redesigned boards, hardware and
firmware. The project is headed by Amir Guindehi and his team in
Switzerland. The MK boards, (V2(ME), NAVI, GPS, I2c ESCs) are on the
average about ₨ 22,107.34 (₨ 22,107.34 ($500)) more in total minus the
frame and TX/
RX and you have to purchase the boards from Germany, which incurs
additional shipping and 19% German value added tax and sometimes
customs charges, and wait. The UAVP and UAVX parts are available at
Ken's www.quadroufo.com site in California, USA.
Multicopters are all fairly stable within their individual
limitations. The original X-BL and the Walkera and Gaui and Xaircraft
multicopters in their stock version are limited in what they can lift
with the supplied ESC's and motors/props. Some multicopters can use
ESC's that have higher current capability and can easily be fitted
with larger motors and props and higher power ESC's for payloads up
to
3lbs or maybe even more with decreased flight time. So consider those
factors if you want to use camera payloads that are more than 7oz or
about 200g.