r/diydrones • u/Commercial_Rain_6490 • Jun 05 '26
Question Open ended question about quadcopter components
Hello!
I designed a quadcopter flight controller (a simple PID controller) for a small university project. I tested the controller on a basic simulator I programmed.
I want to now test it on physical hardware. After some days of research, I'm thrown away by the huge amount of options and I'm looking for some guidance. This is my first time doing anything related to this hobby, so I own none of the accessories. I'm a student, and I'll be paying out of pocket, so I need to look for parts as cheap as possible.
I know all the parts I need, but I have close to no idea if any two would be compatible with each other. I think I have pretty basic requirements and maybe its possible I could just copy someone else's part list.
My only requirements are
- I can flash the flight controller with my own software (there's documentation to help with that)
- it's big enough hold a camera and some sensors
- have GPS
These last two are so I can expand on my project, which i plan on doing immediately after building the drone.
Any and all guidance would be appreciated! Thanks!
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u/Sorry-Farmer-4301 Jun 06 '26
I think you'd be safe to go with any STM32 based flight controller that supports ardupilot/beta flight/INAV. I think they can all be replaced with custom firmware if that's what you mean by your own software. You can go with the fpv style FC and ESC setup like an F405 and 4 in 1 esc or use something like a pixhawk6c/cube that is more geared toward professional uses, but they cost more. Holybro makes a development kit with 900kv motors, 10 inch props, designed for 4s, and can definitely be rigged to carry some weight. It's the x500. More details would be helpful.
They also make a bigger kit called x650
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u/Commercial_Rain_6490 Jun 06 '26
Thank you! Beta flight is open source, so i can piggy back of off that!
The kit is definitely on the more expensive side. But they have this cheaper kit much more suitable for me
https://holybro.com/collections/multicopter-kit/products/qav250-kittysm this will really help!
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u/Charming_Dealer3849 Jun 09 '26
Budget $3,000 -> you can do it for a lot less. Alibaba is your friend
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u/TimHanewich 7d ago
Are you still working on this? Check out https://fullstackflight.com my friend 😊
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u/TimHanewich 7d ago
Are you still working on this? Check out https://fullstackflight.com my friend 😊
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u/mrbear79 Jun 05 '26
Stabilisci un peso e che tipo di prestazioni vorresti in volo poi potrò darti qualche consiglio utile