Drone self-made: What beginners should know about kit & parts information, costs, etc. 7

Source: Vivado, same hereafter

Table of contents

Drone self-made information summary for beginners

A drone that is called the "Industrial Revolution in the Sky" and is attracting attention. In Japan, where the population is declining and the population is aging, efficiency and labor saving are indispensable in all fields, and the "drone" as a tool for that will play an important role along with AI, IoT, blockchain, and autonomous vehicles. Technology. Even now, it is already being used for aerial photography of photographs and videos, inspection of factories, buildings, solar panels, surveying at construction sites, remote sensing in fields, etc. There is no doubt that further utilization will be promoted once automatic flight is permitted.

There are various grades and prices of aircraft called drones, from "toy drones" that can be purchased for only a few thousand yen to industrial products that cost more than 2 million yen.DJI, the largest drone maker, has a market share of more than 70% in the world, and has launched excellent products equipped with collision avoidance ability, quietness, high resolution camera system for blurring and shaking.

However, there are people who are not satisfied with these off-the-shelf products or who are driven by the need to make their own drones. From hobby-oriented people who simply say "I like crafts, so I want to make it", "I want to be the fastest in the race", "I want to load a good camera on a lightweight aircraft weighing less than 200 grams", "Large aircraft for special purposes" There are various purposes such as "necessary". In this article, we will introduce information such as self-made drone, cost from the merit of DIY drone , necessary kit, typical parts and reference books and videos.

Even if you are a beginner, we aim to be able to "get an overview of your own drone" by reading this article, so please take a closer look. And if you are an intermediate / advanced person who has information, advice, and experiences about making your own drone, please do not hesitate to contact us. Please send a comment to your SNS account.

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"Why make a drone?" There are various answers, but it seems that people who work on their own drones often have the following motivations and purposes.

Even if you make your own drone, as mentioned above, its purpose is diverse. There is also a self-made hobby of "assembling and enjoying a semi-finished kit purchased online", and a business-level "self-made" of "a venture company raises funds and challenges the manufacture of special aircraft". "Also exists. Among them, this article will mainly deal with drone self-made information for beginners and beginners, so there is no description about drones for advanced self-made and industrial aircraft.

Rather than buying the parts separately, if you buy the necessary "kit set", it will cost around 10,000 yen. You can add thousands of yen to this, such as a receiver (around 5,000 yen), a battery (around 3,000 yen), cables, cable ties, and tools such as a hex wrench. In addition, an additional radio (controller) of about 5,000 to 30,000 yen is required for maneuvering. Based on these prices, it seems that " the price (total price) when you buy a set kit and make your own drone is about 25,000 yen as a guide ".

In addition, if the parts are broken or the base is burned due to improper assembly or settings, it is necessary to "repurchase", and if you are a beginner, it is often the case, so the amount of money to buy spare parts It seems safer to think of it as a budget first.

Even if a beginner tries to make his own drone, the cost is often higher than purchasing a finished product. If it is a simple toy drone, you can purchase it from around 5,000 yen online such as Amazon, so if you want to get a drone at the lowest price, this is the best candidate.

An example of a cheap drone for a finished product that can be purchased on Amazon

On the other hand, there are drones that cost more than 100,000 yen, such as DJI's "Mavic 2 Pro", so you might think, "In that case, it's cheaper to make your own ...?" However, it is almost impossible to make a self-made aircraft like "Mavic 2 Pro" that is "foldable, compact and lightweight, equipped with a 4K camera and precision gimbal, and can automatically avoid collisions and track subjects". It is possible, and even if it can be done, it cannot be kept at the same price. Therefore, if you just want a cheap drone or want a drone with a high cost performance, it is recommended to purchase a commercially available aircraft rather than making your own.

However, if you are in a circle of your own drone, you may be asked by another person to "separate unnecessary parts or give them away at a low price", so in that case it is free or cheap. You can get the parts. In such cases, it can be said that the self-made drone has an advantage over the commercial product in terms of cost.

Even if you purchase "parts separately" instead of "set kit", the price does not change significantly, and the advantage is that you only have to buy what you need when modifying, changing specifications, or upgrading. To the last, the appeal of the parts sold separately is that you do not have to replace the entire aircraft, and it does not mean that it is cheap if you buy it separately.

Drone self-made kit

Set kits for self-made drones are a niche market compared to finished drones, so the number of products is not very large.

The main kits found on Amazon at the time of writing the article are as follows.

Price: 10,800 yen (at the time of article creation, tax and shipping included)

Typical drone self-made parts

The main parts needed to make your own drone are the frame, flight controller, motor & speed controller, rotor (propeller), battery and receiver. In addition, GPS units and cameras may be added depending on the application. A separate radio (controller) is required for operation, and if you want to enjoy the "FPV" style of flying while watching the image captured by the camera attached to the drone, you will need an additional transmitter and FPV goggles. In addition, the introduction of distribution boards, cables, cable ties, tools, etc. is omitted in this article.

The frame is the part that corresponds to the skeleton of the drone. A drone is completed by placing a flight controller, motor battery, etc. on this part and attaching a propeller. There are many variations in size and shape, so choose the one that suits your needs and tastes.

LHI H180 / H210 4-Axis 180/210 Mini FPV Quadcopter Frame Kit (Carbon Fiber) (H180)

Price: 2,200 yen (at the time of article creation, tax and shipping included)

* Please note that the examples introduced in this article are examples of each part, and it does not mean that you can make one drone if you purchase them in order from the top.

The flight controller is the "brain" that controls the overall control of the drone. Some simple ones only perform attitude control and altitude maintenance, while some advanced ones have functions such as flying along a specified route and return-to-home (automatically return to the takeoff location). ..

Price: 2,600 yen (at the time of article creation, tax and shipping included)

It is a part that is installed between the frame and the rotor and produces lift by rotating. Like the engine for a car, it is an important part that determines the flight speed and takeoff weight of the drone.

Price: 6,999 yen (at the time of article creation, tax and shipping included)

It is a part that produces lift by rotating at high speed. It is recommended to purchase a spare as it may come off if it is loosely attached or it may break in the event of a collision or landing failure.

Price: 599 yen (at the time of article creation, tax and shipping included)

For flight controllers and motors

Price: 2,880 yen (at the time of article creation, tax and shipping included)

It is a part to chat the radio waves emitted by the radio (controller) and transmit the operator's instructions to the flight controller.

Price: 7,182 yen (at the time of article creation, tax and shipping included)

It is a controller for operating the drone. It is more expensive than other parts, but it is important only for the parts that directly affect the operability. Futaba's radio is recommended because it is highly versatile and has many users, including drone racers.

Price: 28,700 yen (at the time of article creation, tax and shipping included)

We have picked up shops (online shopping) that can be used when you want to purchase parts for your own drone.

»HOBBYNET JAPAN» GOLD STONE PRODUCTS »Aircraft» ORI RC »Oto x Radi mail order» GOOD FPV

»Hobbypower» ARRIS

If you know of other recommended sites, please let us know on "Viva! Drone Official Twitter". We also welcome contact from shops!

Drone self-made and regulation / law

If you are going to participate in the race with FPV (first person view) goggles, it will be "out-of-sight flight" and you need to apply to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in advance and obtain approval.

»Reference: Aviation: Flight rules for unmanned aerial vehicles (drones, radio-controlled aircraft, etc.) – Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

If you can see the drone flying in the whole course without wearing goggles, of course, you do not need to apply for "out-of-sight flight".

Normal radio waves are used to remotely control the drone and transmit video to FPV goggles. The use of this radio wave may be restricted by law in order to efficiently use the limited frequency band and prevent crosstalk. On the other hand, if it is a product such as WiFi that has already acquired technical suitability, the user does not need to obtain a license or apply for it.

You do not need a license to operate a drone using radio waves such as WiFi and Bluetooth from a general smartphone app. For details, please refer to the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, which has jurisdiction over the Radio Law, as follows.

You can check whether the drone has passed "Technical Conformity" from this page.

»Reference: Search for equipment that has received technical standard conformity certification, etc.

To use 5GHz band radio waves for video transmission to operate a drone with FPV (first person view) goggles, the operator must obtain the "4th class amateur radio license" qualification.

»Reference: Japan Radio Association | Public Interest Incorporated Foundation

In addition, it is also necessary to apply for "opening of a radio station" for the drone that is actually used and obtain approval. If you use parts that have not been certified for technical suitability (remodeling parts or parts purchased from overseas), you can use them by submitting additional documents at this time.

»Reference: Procedures and inspections for opening radio stations

Please refer to the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications for an overview of cases where amateur radio and radio stations need to be opened.

Programming and self-made drone

The rudimentary drone programming includes "Airblock" and "DRONE STAR programming", which allow you to easily program the behavior of the finished drone using a GUI (graphic user interface), which are more specialized. There are various types and levels of programming related to drones, such as the SDK provided by DJI, the largest drone maker.

It is also possible to program the microcomputer board "Arduino" developed in open source and fly the drone. However, since production requires considerable knowledge and time, it is intended for people who are familiar with drone self-made and programming skills. In the following article, the whole story of actually making an aircraft that should be called "Arduino drone" is introduced, so check it out.

»Self-made drone with Arduino | Production record-Various self-made

Reference information for drone self-made

A book that systematically summarizes the knowledge from making a drone to flying it. Since it is the second edition published in the middle of 2017, it is relatively new as a printed matter and is recommended.

It is a video that carefully explains until just before setting the flight controller by attaching each part to the frame.

There is no detailed explanation, but it is a time-lapse (time-lapse fast-forwarding) video that allows you to see everything from assembly to setting at once.

You can aim for the fastest in the race, or enjoy the work.If you want to enjoy the freedom not found in off-the-shelf products and the process of trial and error, please try making your own drone.