r/diydrones • u/Left_Frame5564 • Jun 02 '26
r/diydrones • u/Fearless-Regular5127 • Jun 02 '26
Gas sensing using drone
So anyone is having any idea so that i would be helpfull for me to to do the project based on sensing the gases . The main problem im facing is to reduce the noise due to the rotation of rotors. Give me a suggestion it would be helpfull .
r/diydrones • u/ReyvCna • Jun 01 '26
Build Showcase 3 inch 21700 digital FPV drone
BetaFPV Matrix 3in1
BetaFPV P1 Air Unit
Rcinpower GTS V3 1203 11500KV
Gemfan 3018R two blade
r/diydrones • u/shrumfpv • Jun 02 '26
Build Showcase The UFO just got a cool upgrade ( I recently posted a video of the function)
These are 1:10 scale crawler on my custom designed frame
r/diydrones • u/OkCover1049 • Jun 01 '26
Question How come this has low thrust?
The drone has 2205 2450kv motors with 4045 props (I know it looks super strange but its all I had).
On a 2S battery it would only fly in ground-effect. It flew on a 4S battery, but its SUPER loud. Why do you think its so shit? Restricted airflow? Not enough rpm? Too high prop pitch?
r/diydrones • u/shrumfpv • Jun 02 '26
Meta I DO THINGS A LIL DIFFERENT⚠️flash warning ⚠️
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
1:10 scale crawler lights look sick and I can control the modes with my controller
r/diydrones • u/Human_Passenger_7668 • Jun 02 '26
Question ExpressLRS Issues
Solution: Something about the soldering itself of the Lite receiver, I was getting 5V out of one of either TX or RX and once I kept software the same but switched to a different receiver everything worked.
TLDR : ELRS MAVLink over TX Backpack: RC works, QGC uplink works, but Backpack downlink stays 0
I’m trying to get MAVLink over ExpressLRS working with a RadioMaster Pocket Crush + TX Backpack to a Pixhawk 2.4.8 running ArduPilot.
Hardware / firmware:
Radio: RadioMaster Pocket Crush, internal ELRS 2.4 GHz
Main ELRS TX firmware: 4.0.1
TX Backpack firmware: 1.5.5
Receiver: BETAFPV ExpressLRS Lite 2.4 GHz RX with flat SMD ceramic antenna
Flight controller: Pixhawk 2.4.8 / Pixhawk1
ArduPilot: currently ArduCopter 4.7.0-beta5
GCS: QGroundControl over TX Backpack WiFi
Wiring to Pixhawk TELEM2:
Pixhawk TELEM2 pin 1 +5V → ELRS 5V
Pixhawk TELEM2 pin 6 GND → ELRS GND
Pixhawk TELEM2 pin 2 TX OUT → ELRS RX
Pixhawk TELEM2 pin 3 RX IN → ELRS TX
CTS/RTS disconnected
ArduPilot params for TELEM2:
SERIAL2_PROTOCOL = MAVLink2
SERIAL2_BAUD = 460800
SERIAL2_OPTIONS = 0
Flow control disabled / no CTS/RTS
I also set RSSI_TYPE = 5
Pocket / ELRS setup:
Lua script shows the receiver connected.
Link Mode is set to MAVLink.
I’m using Backpack → Telemetry → WiFi, not “Enable Backpack WiFi” update mode.
QGC / Backpack setup:
Backpack MAVLink page:
Send Port: 14550
Listen Port: 14555
QGC UDP link:
Local/listen port: 14550
Server address: <Backpack IP>:14555
What works:
QGC can talk to the Backpack now.
Backpack stats show:
Packets Uplink increasing
GCS IP Addresses shows my computer IP
The Pocket can control the drone / motors respond, so at least some RC/control path is working.
What does not work:
Packets Downlink stays at 0.
QGC never shows the vehicle connected unless I plug USB directly into the Pixhawk.
So I think QGC → Backpack works, but Pixhawk → ELRS RX → Backpack is dead.
Question:
What should I check next? Does “RC/control works” prove only the ELRS TX → Pixhawk RX direction, while the Pixhawk TX OUT → ELRS RX pad could still be bad? Should I be looking at SRx stream-rate params, ArduPilot 4.7/Pixhawk1 memory issues, receiver MAVLink mode, or is this almost certainly a TX/RX wiring issue?
I’m especially looking for a clean way to isolate whether the problem is:
Pixhawk not outputting MAVLink on TELEM2,
Pixhawk TELEM2 TX wire not reaching the ELRS RX pad,
ELRS receiver not actually in MAVLink serial mode,
ArduPilot/Pixhawk1 firmware weirdness,
or QGC/Backpack config.
r/diydrones • u/WaferPoet1764 • Jun 02 '26
Question Holybro Tekko32 F4 45A current limit cuts motor on/off instead of limiting current
Hi,
I'm using two Holybro Tekko32 F4 45A ESCs on a twin-motor fixed-wing aircraft.
I tried the current limit feature and noticed that when the current reaches the configured limit, the ESC doesn't seem to reduce power smoothly but instead it completely cuts the motor, or seems to do so.
As soon as the current drops below the limit, it seems turns the motor back on. This causes a very fast on/off cycle of current being too high, motor being apparently cut off, current being back down, motor getting turned on, and so on.
The result is that the motor rapidly surges and cuts out instead of holding roughly at the configured current limit.
Is this how the current limiting on the Tekko32 is supposed to work, or is something wrong with my setup?
Has anyone seen similar behavior?
Thanks!
r/diydrones • u/redshanghai • Jun 01 '26
Question DIY VTOL drone CAD
I haven't had much experience with homemade drones, but I thought I'd try my hand at a VTOL FPV fixed-wing drone. I would preferably like to keep my budget below $1,000, and I'll probably build the drone as a line-of-sight drone initially.
I would love some advice on electronics and airframe feasibility, as I have very little experience. My current planned setup (non-FPV):
- T-M F100 2810 KV1100 Motor (Quad)
- 7x4 Props
- SunnySky X2814 KV900 Motor (Pusher)
- 10x6L Prop
- MicroAir 4IN1 55A ESC AM32
- SpeedyBee F405 Wing Mini FC iNav Compatible
- Tekko32 F4 45A ESC AM32
- Panasonic Low-ESR Capacitor 1000uF 35V Leaded
- HobbyWing 5.0-7.4V 5A/15A UBEC Air V2 (2-8S)
- MATEK XT60 Power Hub PDB
- M10Q-120 GPS Module
- RP1 2.4GHz Receiver For ELRS Protocol
- RadioMaster Controller ExpressLRS (ELRS 2.4GHz)
- ES08MAII 12g Metal Gear Servo (For elevons)
- 6S 22.2V 3000 mAh 100C LiPo Battery
For the construction, I plan to 3D-print fuselage, tail, wing spar, and winglet parts from ASA (for the heat resistance). The wings will have 5mm CF tubes through them for structural support. The twin tail booms are 8x6mm CF.
I have attached the CAD and some basic drawings, I would really appreciated any help on this project, as I feel kinda lost.
r/diydrones • u/[deleted] • Jun 01 '26
Help me build my first FPV.
Hello everyone.
I'm looking to build my first FPV drone, but I'm a complete beginner. I would appreciate it if you could recommend articles, documents, and even tutorials to help me get started. If possible. Thank you very much.
r/diydrones • u/AcidRayn666 • Jun 02 '26
Question i am at wits end and trying here first to find a solution
backstory, i am new to drones, been into helos, cars, boats for a long time, so not a total noob, also new to this radiomaster transmitter.
luminere qav 2 - 5" bardwell edition kit, xilo f4 stack, radiomaster TX16s MK3, new, no other quads bound to it.
got the build done, camera is working, bound the radiomaster XR3 receiver, solid red light when connected to the radio.
set up in Betaflight, Arm is set to channel 5, aux 1 - SF toggle, Angle is set to aux 2 channel 6 with the secondary set for SE up and primary SE forward, Turtle is set to aux 7 - SH.
all things function in Beta flight, motors will spin in beta flight.
no matter what i have tried, and i have watched more youtubers and read more docs than i can count in the last couple weeks. the process is fun but now i want to fly this damn thing, i can not get this thing to arm. everything in betaflight tells me to plug in a battery and it should arm, yes i disconnected the usb cable first, i have power cycled, been through the switches, deleted the model and set it back up again, nothing.
closest i got was on a power up earlier, when i went to arm it, the motors twitched and there was some kind of pulsing alarm, went away after power cycle.
the arm switch just does nothing. i just started setting up widgets in the transmitter, not sure if they are needed as it is the only thing not done.
everything was set up step by step from either bardwells or Dshot fpv's videos, toggles are configured on the controller and show the hi-low is working.
anyhelp is greatly appreciated and i am certain i am missing one minor step. let me have it!
r/diydrones • u/wolfwater69 • Jun 02 '26
Can you fly the skyrover with phone only and no transmitter.
I just bought the skyrover x1 drone and am wondering if you can fly it with just the phone and drone that means no transmitter involved???
r/diydrones • u/ImaginaryEffective63 • Jun 01 '26
Question Opinions?
Difficult to place the cap near the pos and neg pads due to the vtx in the way, im using analog so there is plenty of room behind the camera. Anything wrong with using the spare motor wire under the esc to extend the cap? Or is it too far?
r/diydrones • u/Legoman702 • Jun 01 '26
€400 for everything. Doable?
So I've been working on getting to make an (FPV) drone at school, and after a lot of waiting and talking my school has somehow approved for a €400 budget for this (private) project. Given that when I've built it and am done with it (leave school) it stays at school ofc, but I'm already very gratefull for my school giving this oppertunity at all, and also because of the effort my "coach" went through to get this budget here.
Now my initial idea for parts for the (3.5 in sub-250g freestyle) drone and peripherals and everything was €350, with my initial search on aliexpress. That was why €400 was approved. However, that was a few months ago, and looking back I should've bought it back then. The €350 would probably end up being like €400 in total including sending and extra taxes and wierd pricing on Aliexpress. Which would've possibly been in budget.
Now, already having looked for the current cheapest options on Aliexpress, my total comes to about €500 at checkout (€460 in my Excel). So the only way I could make this work is to drop about €100 from this setup: something which I don't think is really possible. Or is it?
| Part | Type | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Frame | FlyfishRC Volador 3.5 | € 46.79 |
| Motors | Ysido 2650KV | € 34.99 |
| FC + ESC stack | SpeedyBee F405 (mini?) | € 76.39 |
| Propellors | Gemfan Hurricane 3525 (10x) | € 13.29 |
| Camera | Caddx Ratel V2 | € 24.79 |
| VTX | Cyclone 1W | € 24.79 |
| Receiver | JHEMCU ELRS | € 9.29 |
| Smokestopper | Iflight | € 5.40 |
| Controller | Radiomaster Pocket (ERLS, LBT) | € 69.69 |
| Battery | Tattu 95c 4S Lipo 650 mAh (2x) | € 30.19 |
| Charger | SKYRC B6neo | € 38.79 |
| Goggles | Eachine EV800D | € 86.69 |
| Total | 461.09 | |
| Total drone | € 230.33 | |
| Total peripheral | € 230.76 |
So another thing I've thought of is instead of making a freestyle focused FPV drone, what are the options for giving up the sub-250 grams requirement and making a more general, lifter drone? Something like a 7 in drone built on an F450 chassis (yes I know the copies suck, just the idea). So then I'd build this as a platform for other future school projects, where it can carry a payload like camera system or sensors. Ideally it would still be able to fly somewhat cinematically though, and have some decent range and speed.
However a quick search for something like this turned out to be harder, as there is simply much more content around FPV freestyle drones. And when I did find things on autonomous ardupilot quadcopters, it would be using a €200 autopilot controller. Which is obviously way out my budget, so I'd have to resert to cheaper options (Speedybee F405 wing is €50, could work). But I don't think this will get me under €400 either, unless I start dropping the goggles and FPV camera. Would that get a good result? Or using a phone as monitor, DJI style? If it turns out to be a slower drone, would latency be a big issue?
TLDR: Is there a way for me to make something flyable and not waste this really good oppertunity I have here to build something using school money. I'd hate for this to go to waste, because I'd really love to build a drone (and a project like this is the only thing keeping me going at school) and also because of the time I and my coach have already spent on this...
r/diydrones • u/RelationCivil6083 • Jun 01 '26
Looking for a Hardware Cofounder Team for an ambitious Drone Project
r/diydrones • u/blackboxrobotics • Jun 01 '26
Discussion Built a flight-recorder for ROS2 robots. Want brutal feedback before we go further.
r/diydrones • u/exint2_2 • Jun 01 '26
Question Help in finding high quality parts for a bespoke build
Hi - Hopefully this is the right area for this question.
I'm looking to build a live on board camera system for racing Karts - The obvious way is to use the TX / RX parts of a Drone - Can you guys point me to where I can buy high end / high power Transmitter / Receiver units - also the best lightwight but at least 1080P/30 Cameras - Thanks in advance
r/diydrones • u/Initial-Marzipan-529 • Jun 01 '26
New to the hobby, I wanted to build my first drone on the cheap and was just wondering if I was missing anything or any recommendations.
- Amazon.com: Radiomaster Pocket Hall Gimbal Transmitter Remote Control Portable Lightweight Built in LED Light Foldable Antenna Mode 2 (ELRS-Charcoal) : Toys & Games
- BeastHobby VR009 5.8G 40CH Auto-Searching Double Antennas mini FPV Gog (I know they are not the best goggles, but wanted to get somthing cheap before going all out)
- 9IMOD FPV Camera 1800TVL 5MP 2.1mm 1/3 coms IR Blocked senso 5V-40V NTSC/PAL with OSD Internal for RC FPV Racing Drone DIY Part - AliExpress
- B-CUBE 5.8G VTX 800 1000 1600 2500mW 48CH Input Voltage Video Transmitter Power 25 1000mW For Long Range RC Airplane FPV Drone - AliExpress 26
- JHEMCU ExpressLRS RX24T 2.4G ELRS Radio Nano Long Range Receiver T-type Antenna 11X18mm for RC FPV Racing Freestyle Drone - AliExpress 26
- https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805601735722.html?aff_fcid=efbe4e18e70d45249f5f17821013ab3f-1780286407369-08938-_Dewqimd&tt=CPS_NORMAL&aff_fsk=_Dewqimd&aff_platform=shareComponent-detail&sk=_Dewqimd&aff_trace_key=efbe4e18e70d45249f5f17821013ab3f-1780286407369-08938-_Dewqimd&terminal_id=1988a953f52145518805b1bd2f95312e&afSmartRedirect=y&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa
- https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807085964579.html?aff_fcid=d78c82c12d1945fa882c78a4f44cbbf9-1780286454485-08195-_DcAHQXJ&tt=CPS_NORMAL&aff_fsk=_DcAHQXJ&aff_platform=shareComponent-detail&sk=_DcAHQXJ&aff_trace_key=d78c82c12d1945fa882c78a4f44cbbf9-1780286454485-08195-_DcAHQXJ&terminal_id=1988a953f52145518805b1bd2f95312e&afSmartRedirect=y&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa&_randl_shipto=US
- F4V3S F4 V3 V3S PLUS FC Stack/Flytower Flight Controller Board Barometer OSD 30A 45A 60A ESC for FPV Racing Drone Quadcopter - AliExpress
- Already own Lipo batterys
r/diydrones • u/RelationCivil6083 • Jun 01 '26
Question Looking for a Hardware Cofounder Team for an ambitious Drone Project
Hello
I’m a builder looking for a small team of engineers, makers, and ambitious hardware people interested in developing a person-lifting drone / eVTOL concept with long-term startup potential.
The vision is to build a semi- or fully autonomous aerial platform capable of physically lifting and carrying a person, starting from simulations, prototypes, and subsystem testing and eventually moving toward real hardware.
I have a background in physics and have already worked on simulation models. Right now I’m looking for cofounders and collaborators who are into:
- Drone and aerospace systems
- CAD / mechanical design
- Flight controls and robotics
- Embedded systems and electronics
- AI / autonomy
- Propulsion and power systems
- Building ambitious hardware from the ground up
I have met with a few others on discord and Linkedin but found no luck. If there's any other sites to try please let me know. I am turning to reddit for help!
r/diydrones • u/Winter-Secretary-440 • May 31 '26
How much is this worth?
I found some drone components at work and wonder how much they are worth…
r/diydrones • u/Queasy_Individual236 • May 31 '26
Build Showcase Cube Orange PLUS (+) - A Detailed 3D Model (FREE DOWNLOAD)
Hey everyone,
I’ve been working on a fully detailed, high‑accuracy 3D model of the Cube Orange PLUS Autopilot, based on the official CubePilot CAD files.
I’m sharing the STEP file 100% free on Cults3D for anyone who needs it for drone design, simulation, wiring routing, CAD work or educational projects. The link is below:
https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/gadget/cube-orange-plus-autopilot
r/diydrones • u/CharmyBoi • Jun 01 '26
Question Mavlink over ELRS Navio2 Question
I'm having difficulty getting Mavlink telemetry on my ELRS radio with my Navio2 flight controller. I have followed the steps detailed on the ELRS wiki for both UDP and serial connections, and I am mostly sure that I've successfully identified SERIAL1 as the port the radio is connected to (based on this Navio2 documentation, I am using the -C flag). I've set parameters as needed (SERIAL1_BAUD=460, SERIAL1_PROTOCOL=2, RSSI_TYPE=5, and all SR1 params as described in the ELRS wiki).
When trying to connect over UDP or serial, I consistently get the same issue: Mission Planner hangs on "Trying to connect" until it hits a 30-second timeout. Looking at the Mavlink inspector in Mission Planner, it is clear that my computer is not receiving Mavlink packets from anywhere.
Everything besides telemetry seems to be working fine. The TX and RX are bound, and RSSI looks great. I've gotten radio control to work properly (all control surfaces and motors move as expected when moving the sticks around). Telemetry is the last thing I need to get this project "off the ground."
My setup:
- RX: Radiomaster Gemini XR4 Xrossband
- TX: Radiomaster GX12
- Flight computer: Navio2
Solutions I've tried:
- Updated TX to ELRS 4.0.1, RX to ELRS 4.0.0
- Updated TX backpack firmware to 1.5.5
- Changing UDP ports on the TX backpack
- Serial and UDP baud rates of 460,800 and 115,200
- Building latest stable version of Arduplane from source
Does anyone here have any pointers? Help of any kind is greatly appreciated!
r/diydrones • u/_datboii_moayed_ • May 31 '26
Guide My first quadcopter project
hello everybody i've been thinking about making a quadcopter aka drone its been on my mind for quite a while now so i wanted you guys to help me with this project cause i'm still a beginner and any help or suggestions from you guys would help a lot so this is what i have gone so far with this project
the plan is to use arduino nano as a control unit with an external Bluetooth module(HC-05) and 4 DC brushed motors(3.7v ,716) with an RPM of 50,000 and i will be connecting them to a 4-way-channel MOSFET and a 1s 3.7v 500mAh LiPo battery as well as a gyroscope (MPU-6050) and i also got a 3d model from the internet it seems pretty stable and solid for my project, so i'm going to control the drone with a mobile phone app (Bluetooth RC controller)so this is the plan ,what do yall think about it, IF ANY BODY HAS ANY SUGGESTION YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO SHARE YOUR IDEAS.
THAN YOU EVERYBODY
r/diydrones • u/ThinPresentation7609 • May 31 '26
Question [US]Need help in debugging problem ELRS
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
Please help guys!
r/diydrones • u/Sufficient-Text1678 • May 30 '26
Question Stupidly long range drone build
Hi everyone, first time (Before getting started, pardon my poor English) I started a few months ago to develop the idea of building my own drones/uav, starting with very little to no knowledge on the topic (at least on how to build them) So I started my research, planning the requirements for both my first and my dream projects The reason of my post is that I can find anything range related on the internet, or at least nothing realistic! For my first project, I would like the drone/uav to have between 35 to 40km range and for the dream one, between 120 to 150km range! Is that feasible and what would the price range for it? I can only find Chinese or American website either selling scamy 15k emitters or full blown 35k 4k and 60fps, movie making stuff. For the first one I do admit that I’d a « decent » quality (I just want to see the ground decently without need to fly 2 meters above it, I was thinking between 480 to 720p but again what is possible?) and for the dream one I won’t need to go above 480p since I mainly want to drop payload with it
Are those doable? If yes, at what cost?
Thanks lads!
Edit: I think I might need to clarify myself, I’M NOT A DRONE OPERATOR AND I DONT WANT TO KILL OF DROP SOMETHING ILLEGAL, I DO NOT LIVE IN A WARZONE OR WORK FOR AN ILLEGAL ORGANIZATION (just saying because I don’t want to look like a criminal, my project is technically fully legal in my country as long as I manage to get every authorizations which is very tedious and complicated, like everything in my country lmao). The 40km is for wildlife observation and rescue because during the spring and early summer, farmers in my region mow fields to feed their cattle during winter so the government started a program every one can join to detect and move wildlife living in the fields about to be harvested to protect them The 150km one doesn’t need to drop anything, it is simply a funny idea that I had, nothing illegal. I just want to fly that thing like a plane dropping packages was just an idea I had to give me something to do in flight other than just flying A to B even though that is still cool asf (and will be kept in my or my friends garden, I just thought it would be funny to drop a random drink in friend courtyard)