Asylum-ET

I have started to build the most recent addition to our fleet of aerial photography vehicles. The UAP1 is one of, if not the most versatile frames as it can be configured as a quadcopter in plus or X configuration, a Y6, flat 6, X8 or flat 8. Here are a few images of the main frame components and how we have assembled them.

All the parts and hardware for the frame minus the arms.

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Generally I try to make positive posts and although this may seem negative, there is some positive in it. Windows Password Unlocker found on passwordunlocker dot com is worthless. They claim it is free and that you have a free trial but they fail to mention that there is no trial at all. You waste time and a CD/DVD burning their advertisement and that is it. If you want to have more than an advertisement then you must purchase the likely useless software and then waste yet another CD/DVD. Stay clear of passwordunlocker dot com and their Windows Password Unlocker. It is best to create a password recovery disc when you purchase or install your computer. If you have not done so yet you should do so this minute. If you have not done that and you have lost your password then there are a number of actual free applications that do exactly what they say they do. You may want to look into Ophcrack, Cain & Abel, DreampackPL all of which I have tested and found to work exactly as they suggest. If you download and burn Windows Password Unlocker be sure you have only wasted your time and your CD/DVD.

The FlySky FS-TH9X transmitter also branded as Turnigy, Eurgle and a few others, IMO is one of the best RC transmitters on the market for those that like to hack electronics and it is cheap. That is cheap price. The quality is rather decent except for the buggy factory firmware. I paid under $100 for it and with all mods it ran about $103 but I already had some items required. There are a number of mods that can be done to it. So far I have added the USBasp programmer to allow firmware updates, upgraded the firmware to the ER9X firmware, modified it to accept 2200mAh S3 20C batteries, switched the sticks from mode 1 to mode 2 and added 2-way telemetry.

Firmware cable mod

The circuit board I will be modifying. Take note of the red/white wires that are under the metal tension arm on the gimbal. That is how it came from the factory but on the opposite side. I have since moved the wire to just outside of the tension arm as I noticed it was binding up every now and then. Would not want it to crimp or cut the wire while flying.

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The 3 blade props found on GWSProps.com have so far been the cheapest 3 blade props I have found for the quadcopter plus both their s+h prices and times are very reasonable. Overall for the price you cannot go wrong. They use less power while providing the same amount of thrust as larger 2 blade props and they are only an advertised 10 grams a piece. The quality of the blades seems to be a bit inconsistent but this may be at least partially due to packaging used in shipping. The plastic props are breakable and ship in a padded manila envelope though none have come in broken out of three orders. I have found a number of prop blades to be bent upwards on one or two of the three blades and at one time had only noticed it on the HD-9050Rx3′s but it now just seems to be random. The weights vary slightly which could be fixed easily by sanding or filing little by little off the top and bottom of the center hub area until the weight matches your lightest prop and then repeat for the rest. I actually use a dremel for this which makes it much faster but you must be very careful or you can easily shave off to much.

My findings for prop weights from a few randomly selected props from 2 orders.

grey plastic
9x5x3 10.3g, 10.1g, 10.0g
9x5x3CR 10.7g 10.5g, 10.3g

black plastic
9x5x3 10.3g, 9.7g, 9.8g
9x5x3CR 10.7g 9.9g, 10.1g

I have also noticed that not all of the props are marked GWS and the plastic is different. This is for both black and grey props and I have yet to find one grey prop marked GWS. I really have not compared the blades for durability but I am guessing there should not be a great difference as they feel roughly the same and after all they are only $2.00 a piece and are more than sufficient to keep the beginner supplied.

Bent 3 blade GWS prop.

I am back with a few updates since the build was completed. I flew it a few times. I added some leds to it and flew around the back yard a bit. It started to oscillate rather hard and I couldn’t bring it under control before it smacked into a tree. Mind you I should not be flying in my back yard as there are vehicles, trees, fences and various other obstacles but I can’t help it. I MUST FLY!

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• 1 * X525 V3 folding frame
• 1 * KK multiCoptor blackboard controller[KK Blackboard 168P/PA 16kB]
• 1 * USBasp programmer
• 4 * 1000Kv noname brushless motor
• 4 * 3.17mm Shaft adaptor
• 2 * GWS 9x5x3 propeller
• 2 * GWS 9x5x3CR propeller
• 4 * HobbyWing SkyWalker ESC 20A
• 1 * ESC Connect Board
• 1 * 6 Channel Flysky 2.4Ghz rx/tx
• 2 * 3S Lipo battery 2200mah
• 1 * Lock&Lock Onion Case, 4.5X3.7 in, 1.25-Cup
• 4 * airplane landing gear, 46 x W9mm

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Here are all the parts after un-boxing them. Pay no mind to the pile of bullet connectors. I bought them after reading a review saying the kit did not come with bullet connectors. I later decided the connectors are a waste of time and money so I opted for soldering directly but more on that later. There were a total of 4 extra washers one of which was crushed a bit.

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Fast forward to present day. What a waste of money that 450 clone was. Or was it? I did learn a lot from the experience with it. I stripped everything I could from it that may be of use and decided to use what I could in a quadcopter. The tx and rx are working and after taking appart I found the no name Titan T-6x 6CH TX/RX is actually a rebranded Flysky so I need at least a 4ch and here I have a 6ch transmitter and reciever. Great, what else can I get from this heap though? I have 4 LiPo batteries, some deans connectors, those metal geared servose are still working good aside from one that now works after replacing the severed wires, a few connectors from the original servos and a gyro.
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A few years ago I finally gave into a life long urge to buy my own rc helicopter. I spent about $500 to get started with a clone TRex called the Titan 450 RTF. Well RTF my foot. That thing wasn’t ready to do anything but cost money. Mind you I have hundreds of hours of simulator time, I powered it up, brought the throttle up a smidge to start fine tunning my trims and all “looked” good. I was ready to take off. I brought it up about 50′ from my roof top and then it dropped like a rock. One of the bullet connectors between the ESC and motor apparently was not soldered properly and caused the motor to fail. Of course this was a nasty landing. The tail shaft was bent in half, gears stripped in all servos but the rudder and the carbon fiber blades shattered. Not to bad. I didn’t expect the servos to last more than one crash anyway. I replaced them with metal geared servos I had been waiting to install. I replaced the tail shaft and main rotor blades opting for fiberglass this time.
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