This is a LED installation I made on the APM quadcopter. The purpose is to make it easier to see the quad while flying in the evening. And of course it also looks cool. I have used self adhesive flexible LED strips if different colors. The LEDs are powered from the main battery and can be switched on and off with a switch inside the quad.
When I built the “Stik Pusher” indoor plane, I installed some LEDs that I did not connect. My intention was to add an Arduino but I wanted to test and make sure the plane worked as expected before I did it.
The main purpose of the Arduino is to monitor the battery voltage, but all control signals from the receiver to the servos and ESC (speed controller) now goes though the Arduino. The Arduino flashes the LEDs located on the fin, motor mount and nose depending on the battery status. If the voltage drops to low, the motor is stopped to protect the battery, but the the control surfaces still works. This is similar to how a normal “cutoff” function in an ESC works. My ESC in this plane in very small and simple and does not have this function built in.
I have also connected a serial bluetooth module the the Arduino for wireless communication. I also plan on connecting an ultrasonic range finder pointing downwards to experiment with an automatic altitude holding feature. This requires tuning some parameters, and this is where the bluetooth connectivity comes in handy. Maybe later. I will also try to control the plane with a smartphone app or laptop using this bluetooth connectivity.
“Pickin’ Sticks” is an old classic computer game. This is my version of the game that I made in Java almost two years ago in the beginning of 2013. Now a have made some videos of it. The purpose this game to learn more about how object oriented programming and 2D graphics work in Java. The playable game is available for download. Read more here.
Download first version: PickinSticks.zip (30KB)
Download second version with more features: PickinSticks2.zip (60KB)
With indoor season coming I wanted to try one of those micro ReadyToFly quadcopters. I got the Hubsan x4. It is quite little quad is very sable an fun to fly. More info on this little quad here. Here is a video:
My new small airplane I have designed for indoor flying. Go to the Stik pusher page to see more images.
To extend the life span on LiPo batteries, they should be stored at the correct voltage. Most hobby chargers have a build in program for storage charging LiPo batteries, but mine did not. So I desired to make my own. Read more about how I made it on the DIY LiPo storage discharger page
This is a small indoor airplane designed to be very durable, easy to fly and fast to build. It is based on an old model called “Tichy Stick” by J.A Benson. The original model is designed for a Cox .010 engine and meant to be built out of balsa. My version is built out of 3 mm depron (foam). I have moved the motor back and turned it around to create a pusher. This makes it very durable. I have also created a open battery tray on the top front of the fuselage for easy access. The plane is designed for a 5-7 gram outrunner with a 5 inch propeller and a 2 cell 300-500 mAh battery. The wingspan is 620 mm and the flying weight should be around 60-80 grams. I have not yet tested this design but I am pretty sure it will fly great. I have tested a depron version of the original “Tichy Stick” which flies good.
Plans: stikPusher.pdf (1.8kB)
3D model make with “SketchUp Make”: stikPusher3Dmodel.skp (1.4MB)
This is a project I have been working on for a while now. The alarm clock features a large 40×7 LED dot matrix display and a easy-to-use user interface for adjusting settings. The clock is controlled by an real time clock module that keeps track of date and time. The time of this module is set using a built in GPS every three seconds if the GPS has a valid position FIX. Read more about this project here: Arduino based GPS alarm clock
A short video of my FT Spitfire. This airplane is a kit form Flitetest. Usually I do not like warbirds very much, mainly because they usually do not fly very well, and have bad stall characteristics. But this one is designed to fly well, and I think that is a lot more important than having the correct scale look. I use a very lightweight setup in mine, and this makes it possible to fly really slowly. The controls feels very precise for being a foamie.
A new compilation video made with the quadcopter. During this summer I have flown this quadcopter for a total of about 6-8 hours. This is the best of those flights. I have also stabilized almost the entire video in post production to get rid of the small vibrations. The entire video is shot at my local flying club Gamen.
Read about my APM quadcopter here.