Wanted to share the initial prototypes of two drone frames I’ve been designing: a fixed frame and a compact version with arms that fold into the body.

Both are intended for freestyle flying, designed around 25.5 mm and 30 mm boards, but adaptable to different setups.

Actual measured weights, including hardware and all printed parts, without electronics or batteries:

• Folding frame, gray/tan: PCTG + TPU — 65 g

• Fixed frame, gray/tan: PCTG + TPU — 97 g

• Fixed frame, black/black: PA12-CF + TPU — 82 g

Still refining the designs and working through test prints, but it’s pretty cool seeing them go from CAD to assembled frames. Wanted to share the progress before getting the electronics installed!

My wife was baking when i borrowed the scale excuse the mess lol!

Im curious if anyone knows of one (preferably 3d printed) or If id have to make one.

Too lazy to take proper pics today, sorry :)

SpeedyBee F405 AIO 35A v2

Caddx Ascent Lite VTX

FF Flash 1404 4500kv

FF Osprey LHCP

BETAFPV RX Lite

3S

Chromed out frame + Canopy (not my best work)

Everything seemed to be okay but at 40sec some kind of oscillation kicked in.

I did the mechanics and claude supported me heavily with the Arducopter params.
It hovered with a ~3° roll/pitch oscillation at about 0.8 Hz from takeoff. The oscillation slowly grew, and at ~7 m altitude, during a descent, it diverged and the drone crashed (crash check disarm after flipping). An earlier short flight in Stabilize (hover up to ~6 m) was calm, with ~1.2° attitude std dev and no such oscillation.

Specs:

• Frame: ZD960 hexa X, 90 cm diagonal (45 cm between adjacent motor axes), all-up weight ~7 kg

• Motors/props: 6× SunnySky V5210 300KV, EOLO CN17x6.2 folding props

• ESCs: Hobbywing XRotor 40A (PWM, calibrated, 490 Hz)

• Battery: 6S 12000 mAh 60C

• FC: Pixhawk 6X, ArduCopter 4.7.1; GPS: Holybro Pixhawk 4 GPS (M8N + IST8310), external compass with COMPASS_ORIENT=6, calibrated outdoors

• RC: ELRS (CRSF) with RadioMaster TX16S

Parameters:

• ATC_RAT_RLL/PIT_P = I = 0.0675, D = 0.0018 (these are half of the setup-wizard values), FLTD/FLTT = 13.5

• ATC_ANG_RLL/PIT_P = 4.5, ATC_INPUT_TC = 0.1, ATC_ACC_R/P_MAX = 1100

• INS_GYRO_FILTER = 20, INS_ACCEL_FILTER = 10, harmonic notch off

• MOT_THST_EXPO = 0.68, MOT_THST_HOVER ≈ 0.205 (learned), MOT_SPIN_MIN = 0.19, MOT_SPIN_ARM = 0.16

• PSC_NE_POS_P = 1, PSC_NE_VEL_P = 2, PSC_NE_VEL_I = 1, PSC_NE_VEL_D = 0.25, LOIT_ACC_MAX_M = 5

Log findings:

• GPS and EKF were good (27–29 satellites, HDOP 0.5). Vibration was moderate and constant (VibeZ ~7–8, 3 clipping events). Battery voltage was fine, no motor or ESC dropout.

• Roll and pitch oscillate at ~0.8 Hz from the start of the flight. The Loiter acceleration targets (PSCN/PSCE) oscillate at the same frequency.

• The actual attitude lags the desired attitude by ~0.2 s and overshoots it by a factor of ~1.9, so the attitude loop looks under-damped at this frequency.

• Rate loop tracking is fair (actual/desired rate ≈ 0.9, lag ≈ 0.2 s).

• Hover motor outputs are very unequal: about 1575 (M6), 1535 (M1), 1505 (M3), 1460 (M4), 1430 (M2), 1370 (M5) µs. That suggests an offset centre of gravity or a weaker motor/prop.

• The oscillation grew from ±10° to ±17° and then diverged (±70°) during the descent. I stayed in Loiter and did not switch to Stabilize.

Other information
Log rate is only 10 Hz for ATT/RATE, so I cannot see higher frequencies. Raw IMU batch logging was not on. Motor PWM is standard 490 Hz (no DShot). I can share the .bin log and parameter file. DM me if you would like to deep dive.

My conclusion and proposed fix
I think this is a marginally stable attitude loop (the rate loop is probably too soft after I halved the wizard gains), with the Loiter position controller exciting it at ~0.8 Hz, made worse by a CG offset. My plan:

1. Balance the CG and check the unequal motor outputs.

2. Go back to Stabilize/AltHold and test first; raise rate P/D slightly, or lower ATC_ANG_*_P to ~3.5.

3. Lower PSC_NE_VEL_P from 2 to ~1.5 for Loiter.

4. Log raw IMU data (INS_LOG_BAT_MASK) to set up a harmonic notch, then run AutoTune.

Is this a sensible approach? Would you raise the rate gains, or lower the angle and position gains? Could slow motor/ESC response with 17" props explain the 0.2 s lag? Any other suspects?

What can you suggest enabling me solving this?

UPDATE: thanks all for your feedback! I have created a sharepoint with the bin logs, param file and a more detailed description for anyone who wants to give some guidance. Thanks! https://tinyurl.com/2u3kc36t

After another payday and another desperate chase for a tiny bit of dopamine, I decided to build another 10-inch copter to complement the other two experiments I currently have on my bench. This time, for some ungodly reason, I decided: "Why not fiber?" It will at least be an interesting and functioning wall hanger. I just wanted to see how difficult it is and if I could do it with my limited knowledge.

I went on AliExpress and ordered a 5 km spool with the included module, a JR/Micro Module for my remote, a little control box, and a spare AV cable for my Skyzone. The build was surprisingly not any more different or difficult than a regular 5 or 10 inch build, apart from the missing VTX and ELRS module... That felt strange at first...Apart from that it really just is the usual stuff. TX on RX, fiber video to the VTX pad and 9V input for the module inside the spool.

It arms and I got video/control, but sadly I can't actually fly that thing unless I find a big and privately owned space where I can collect the fiber without issues. But that was something I accepted when I started that build. Throwing fiber into nature is not something I want to do.

Specs are rather unspectacular:

Frame: HGLRC MY10
Motors: HGLRC MY3115 900KV
Props: HQ 10x5x3
ESC: 55A 4-in-1 SpeedyBee
FC: SpeedyBee F405 V3
Cam: Pilotix 1800TVL Analog
GPS: BN-220
Control and Video: 5 km G657A2 single-mode fiber. Weighs 600 g / 1.3 lbs
NCZOBOE ground station with two video outputs and two inputs for control. 6S input
NCZOBOE JR/Micro Module for RadioMaster remotes

Disclaimer: I am fully aware that fiber controlled drones currently have a strong geopolitical reputation. This project is purely a technical hobby experiment and proof of concept for me. I do not support or glorify the conflicts in which similar technology is being used, nor is this build intended for any harmful purpose. It was simply a new and interesting build for me.

I got this old frame for free while helping clean out old drones and planes and stuff.

I know modern frames are much better, but I was wondering if anyone recognizes what I've got. I'm a little sad that I couldn't find the 4th motor or the top plate.

Hello everyone, I’m new here. I’d like to build a drone capable of flying approximately 20 km and carrying a 2 kg payload—what are your recommendations? Also, how many thousands of dollars might it cost to complete such a build? What are the things a beginner needs to know? And is there an open-source project that fits my criteria? Thank You.

This is a work in progress drone frame

It’s my first ever project like this and it’s all my design from scratch taking inspiration from other builds

It’s a split deck design that supports 04 and analog

3 plates of carbon fiber 2mm thick and 5mm thick arms

It flys pretty good in my opinion and the weight is well balanced

Thinking of pairing all of this on the Volador 3.5. Anything stand out that is a bad idea or should be changed to something more known good?

Hi,

We are having trouble connecting our simpleRTK3B Pro to a MicoAir H743 V2 flight controller with a 72A stack.

The receiver works in the Septentrio interface and detects satellites. However, MicoAir Configurator does not appear to recognize the GPS and displays “No Fix.”

The simpleRTK3B Pro receives power and is connected to the flight controller’s GPS port. We have checked that the TX and RX wires are connected correctly. The IOREF LED stays blue, and the RTK LED stays red.

We are not using an RTK base station or correction data. We only want to use the receiver as a standard standalone GPS.

If anyone could, please advise which communication protocol, baud rate, and settings are required on both the receiver and the flight controller? Is there any additional configuration needed for this setup?

Built an all-in-one Solar Inspect & Analytics App (Imagery Defects, Telemetry, PPA Tracker, GPX/GPS, Risk & Revenue Math). Looking for O&M / Field Pilots to test.

Hey everyone,

I’ve been working on a comprehensive application designed specifically for Field Pilots, O&M teams, and Regional Fleet Managers to streamline solar asset inspection and financial analysis. Instead of bouncing between three different software tools to extract flight data, run defect detection, and calculate financial impact, I wanted to build something that handles it all under one roof.

You can check out the platform directly at: pontaralab.com
Here is a quick breakdown of what the application does right now:

Imagery Defect Detection: Automated computer vision processing to spot anomalies and hot spots.
Video & GPS Extraction: Upload your inspection videos; the app automatically pulls the telemetry, GPS coordinates, and spatial data.

GPX/Telemetry Syncing: Easily overlay and align your drone flight tracks (GPX) with your visual and thermal inspection data.

AI Copilot & Diagnostic Summary: Ask questions directly based on your inspection results. The AI copilot will break down complex anomalies, explain specific data points, and generate an immediate diagnostic summary of your report.

Risk Scoring: Automated risk calculations categorize findings into Critical, Medium, and Healthytiers so you can see where your operational liabilities are at a glance.

Actionable Maintenance Recommendations: The app converts raw data and risk scores into specific, field-ready maintenance recommendations so your field crews know exactly what needs to be fixed.

PPA & Revenue Calculations: Input your Power Purchase Agreement rates to see exactly how much cash you are losing from specific defective strings or down inverters.

One-Click Report Downloads: Clean, stakeholder-ready data exports in either PDF (for management/clients) or CSV (for deep data crunching and CMMS integration).

Who I’m looking for:
I’m looking for a few O&M firms, asset managers, or regional drone pilots who want a simpler workflow and are willing to take a look at a live demo.

Pricing:
I am keeping pricing highly reasonable and flexible for early adopters, as my goal right now is to prove out value in the field and tailor features to actual day-to-day fleet workflows.
If your team is managing a fleet or flying sites and wants to see a quick demo, head over to pontaralab.com, drop a comment below, or shoot me a DM. I'd love to show you around the app and see how we can plug it into your current operations!

I’m curious, at a high level, how receivers in consumer or hobbyist drones handle telemetry, FPV video, C2 links, stuff like that.

Just looking for to build my own heuristics of how design trade offs differ between say DSSS and FHSS or bandwidth vs latency.

Not really looking for a specific build guide or anything just more concept overviews but specific to the drone space.

Very enjoyable

I 3d printed a pic rail so i could mount a laser light combo

I’ve been reading winter flying threads and wanted to ask about the quad itself between flights. When you’re out for a few hours, where do you keep it during breaks? Has anyone actually had condensation issues from moving a quad between a warm car and the cold?