I ordered the parts for the quadcopter this week. The frame will be 450mm wide (that would be the distance between the engines), and according to my calculations it will put about 1,1kg on the scale, while being to lift almost 3kg. That should leave me some room to install upgrades in the future (LED lighting, small camera, …), considering that the weight should not exceed half the lifting capability.
To power the Beaglebone Black board I was considering destroying a small USB charger that you would also see in your car. But then I’ve read that when powering the BBB via USB, you should be careful with power consumption of peripheral devices. It won’t be able to power USB devices on its host controller that way. And since I want to use a USB wireless dongle to connect to the quadcopter, and according to the specs I would need a 5V/2A power source connected to the DC plug for this, I had to consider something else. The idea now to use the 5V output of one the speed controllers BEC connector. This 5V is meant to power the receiver, so that’s what I’ll try to do. This 5V source is rated for a current up to 2A. Connecting it to the DC plug, means I get free use of the voltage regulators on the BBB as well.
I do need to investigate whether the 3.3V PWM output signals of the BBB are enough for the speed controllers, it should but if not I will need a level converter, or maybe just a few transistors to boost it to 5V.
Partslist:
The frame:
1x Q450 V3 Glass Fiber Quadcopter Frame 450mm – Integrated PCB Version
The speed controllers, motors and propellors:
5x TURNIGY Plush 30amp Speed Controller
5x NTM Prop Drive Series 28-30S 900kv / 270w (short shaft version)
2x 10×4.5 SF Props Black CW (2pc) CCW (2pc)
5x NTM Prop Drive 28 Series Accessory Pack
The battery, charger and low voltage alarm:
2x ZIPPY Compact 3700mAh 3S 35C Lipo Pack
1x On-Board Lipoly Low Voltage Alarm 2s~3s
1x HobbyKing® B3AC Compact Charger
Sensors (accelerometer, gyro, atmopheric presssure and magnetometric):
1x Arduino 10DOF (L3G4200D, ADXL345,HMC5883L & BMP085) Sensor Stick Breakout- for MWC/KK/ACM
Wireless dongle:
2x Logilink WLAN stick N150 nano WL0084A
Nuts and bolts:
1x Straight Pin Header 3 Row 30Pin 2.54mm Pitch (5PCS)
1x Straight Pin Header 2 Row 30 Pin 2.54mm Pitch (5PCS)
1x Pin Header 1x30Pin 2.54mm Pitch Straight (5PCS)
2x PolyMax 3.5mm Gold Connectors 10 PAIRS (20PC)
1x Polymax 5.5mm Gold Connectors 10 pairs (20pc)
1x DC connector cable 5.5mmx2.1mm
1x Assortiment solid core wire
The only thing missing here are some screws and nuts to bolt the BBB to the frame.