krachall Registered User Thread OP

Discussion Steele and Skitzo owe me $2500



Let me first establish the fact that I've never met Steele or Skitzo but they are directly responsible for the vaporization of a small portion of disposable income. I'm estimating that amount at $2500 but it's an ever-increasing amount that possibly has no ceiling.



It started innocently enough, at work. I work in sales at a small logistics company with responsibility for the revenue side of the business. Part of that responsibility includes marketing and that's where I was first introduced to drones and multirotors. As a way to get some unique footage of our warehouses and packaging facilities, we purchased a DJI Phantom drone. I never tried to fly it -- I really had no interested in it -- as I just needed the footage. Some other folks tried their hands at learning to fly it.



They had moderate success outdoors but struggled to get any good footage indoors. I don't know how the Phantoms work, again, having never flown one, so I offered no help. Instead, I just complained about not having the footage I needed. After weeks and weeks of excuses and technical reasons as to why they couldn't get good indoor footage, I got frustrated. "FINE," I bellowed, "I'll figure this out myself and get my own footage."



Still having never tried my hand at flying a drone, I immediately headed to the Archive of All Practical Instruction Known to Man, aka YouTube. I then typed three words into the search bar that, unknowingly at the time, would change my life, and my bank account: "warehouse drone video."



This is what popped up:



4K HD Drone warehouse racing. HQ Props 5x4x3 Triblades from GETPROPSMAN.com (1 min 35 sec)



It's a video of two guys racing mini quads in, around, and through a warehouse at such a high rate of speed with inhuman, his-midichlorian-count-is-higher-than-we've-ever-seen, reflexes that I was blown away. 20 seconds in, I had decided that I would learn to fly these things. Remember, I had never flown a quad before.



For those who don't know, that video is Steele and Skitzo. I had no idea I was watching two of the top quad pilots in the world flying around a warehouse. To paraphrase someone from these boards who helped me understand just how good those guys are, my reaction was equivalent to someone watching their first-ever basketball game and deciding they want to be Lebron James.



At this point, the financial impact was still zero. I again dove into the Magic Font of All-knowingness (aka Google) and searched for "learning to fly a drone." There I opened up Pandora’s Box on drone flying instruction. I didn’t try to absorb it all but noticed a common theme: start with a toy micro drone. Ok, Mr. Steele, I’m comin’ at you like a spider monkey...or...like a Hubsan X4.



Hubsan X4: $28.



Hubsan arrives and it takes me 10 seconds to realize that flying a drone is hard. Harder than I thought. WAY harder than I thought.



Hubsan X4 crash kit: $20.



So maybe Steele and Skitzo have a few more weeks to enjoy their position as Kings of Warehouse Drone racing before I arrive on scene and dethrone them both, but it was time to start thinking about buying a drone. Wait, what? Did I say “buy” a drone? BWAHAHAHA!!! Buy? I’m an engineer, and engineers don’t BUY something when we can BUILD it instead. Rephrasing: Time to start thinking about BUILDING a drone.



Returning to YouTube University, I found Bruce Simpson’s fabulous “low cost” miniquad racing build video series. BRILLIANT! Just what I need! A short little tutorial on building a drone. How hard can this be? Stick the green plug in the green socket and connect the yellow pin to the yellow wire and in a few minutes, I’m ripping around a warehouse telling Skitzo to speed up or move over. Right? Right? Hello?



This may take longer than expected. 6 HOURS of tutorial videos and I'm in information overload. Still undeterred, I did what any self-respecting engineer would do in this situation: I spent a bunch of money. That’s right, I paid a visit to The Infinite Storeroom of Everything You Need, aka Amazon Prime.



ESCs. *click* Motors *click* Frame *click* Flight Controller *click* PDB *click* Props *click* battery *click*



Basic drone components: $225



Waiting...waiting...waiting...shoulda paid for “next day delivery” waiting...FINALLY! Time to build! Wooohooo!



Oops.



Radio *click* standoffs *click* heat shrink *click* soldering iron *click* XT60s *click* JST pigtails *click* pin headers *click* *click* *click* *click* *click*



Rest of the basic drone components: $200



Somewhere in the middle of this Amazon orgy, my wife comes to me with her iPad, shows me the screen and says “Hey hon, I think someone hacked our Amazon account. Someone’s ordering a bunch of toys or parts for toys or parts to make a bomb or something.” No, sweetie, that’s just me, move along.



And...it’s built! Just LOS for now but let’s see if this thing flies! I’m very excited at this point and figure that since I’m about to be the next greatest thing in Warehouse Racing, there’s no reason not to have my first hover test be in my basement, right?



Props. *click* $20



“Honey, looks like you ordered two of the same thing by accident.” Grrr….NO, SWEETIE, I did that on purpose. Ok, maybe I’m not ready for basement flying. Time to take this baby outside and see what she can do in the cul-de-sac. The paved cul-de-sac.



Receiver *click* Replacement standoffs *click* replacement ESC *click* $40



Looks like I need a little more space and some...grass. I toss my quad and radio and all my props...lots of props...into a box. Oh, I have plenty of boxes at this point! I hop in the car and drive a few minutes down the road to an area just cleared for a new subdivision. PLENTY of room! I plug in, arm, and...I’m flying! Sure, it’s angle mode and it’s LOS but I’m actually flying this thing! And, if I do say so myself, I’m pretty damn good. I’m turning and hovering and well...that’s about it...but Steele and Skitzo didn’t do much more than turn around pallets in that warehouse so I’m close. Hmmm...I wonder how long my one battery lasts.



Battery *click* Battery *click* Battery *click* Battery *click* Battery $100



Having mastered LOS angle mode in just one flight, I’m ready for FPV. It won't be long before I'm competing in the World Warehouse Racing Championships, brought to you by Luminier and Caterpiller Forklifts, so I should probably figure out this FPV thing.



Camera *click* Video tx *click* Fatsharks uh...wow...that’s a big *click* $550



More waiting before the FPV gear arrives and it’s time to install all this stuff...er...uh...GRRRRR….



Fatshark Battery *click* FPV antenna *click* $75



Oh, and I discovered RotorRiot.



Backpack *click* $25



With my new FPV quad and my new FPV goggles all packed up in my new backpack, I'm ready to debut my flying skills in our warehouse. I waited until late at night when everyone had gone home. The warehouse was quiet when I set up and armed. Lift off and WHOA! That ceiling is low and WOW those pallet stacks are high and I didn’t realize we had so many signs hanging from…(see picture below if you think I’m exaggerating).



Video antenna *click* Video tx *click* props *click* $100



More practice. More rebuilding. More props. Maybe I should try a simulator?



FPV-Freerider *click* sim cable *click* $40



Well this simulator is certainly helping along with Josh Bardwell’s awesome Rate Mode tutorial. Practice, practice, practice, practice. Rolls on the simulator? Check! Flips? Check. S-turns! Check!!! I am an FPV SIMULATOR GOD! Time to take this back to the field and flip, roll, and loop like I do on the sim.



Frame top plate *click* replacement motor *click* more props *click* $40



But with every crash and with every broken part, I’m getting better. But I’m also getting hooked. I want another quad...maybe a small 150 for my backyard…



Bolt Tanto, Emax RS1306’s, Foxeer cam... *click click click click click* $300.



And then I made yet another error in a long series of critical errors: I discovered the Atlanta FPV Facebook group. Just a couple of flights with those guys and I realized that I was bringing the proverbial knife to a gunfight with my little 3S quad on two-blade props with low end components.



4S batteries *click* Redbottoms *click* BLHeli_S ESCs *click*. Hell, might as well put all this on a new frame *click* and why do your radios keep talking to you? OH! That’s badass! Taranis *CLICK*.



$800



Just last night, I was sitting on the picnic table at Brook Run with two guys, Ivan and Kenny, from Atlanta FPV making a field solder of a broken lead. I had just completed my first live split-s over-and-under a large tree. We were talking quad parts (what else?) and I mentioned that StingerSwarm uses blah blah blah. “StingerSwarm?” Kenny said, “yeah, he flies here sometimes.” To which Ivan added “Yeah, and Steele and Skitzo, too.”



“STEELE AND SKITZO?" I shrieked, "those guys owe me $2,563!!!” That's right, Mr. Steele, you and your buddy Skitzo owe me at least $2500. At least!Let me first establish the fact that I've never met Steele or Skitzo but they are directly responsible for the vaporization of a small portion of disposable income. I'm estimating that amount at $2500 but it's an ever-increasing amount that possibly has no ceiling.It started innocently enough, at work. I work in sales at a small logistics company with responsibility for the revenue side of the business. Part of that responsibility includes marketing and that's where I was first introduced to drones and multirotors. As a way to get some unique footage of our warehouses and packaging facilities, we purchased a DJI Phantom drone. I never tried to fly it -- I really had no interested in it -- as I just needed the footage. Some other folks tried their hands at learning to fly it.They had moderate success outdoors but struggled to get any good footage indoors. I don't know how the Phantoms work, again, having never flown one, so I offered no help. Instead, I just complained about not having the footage I needed. After weeks and weeks of excuses and technical reasons as to why they couldn't get good indoor footage, I got frustrated. "FINE," I bellowed, "I'll figure this out myself and get my own footage."Still having never tried my hand at flying a drone, I immediately headed to the Archive of All Practical Instruction Known to Man, aka YouTube. I then typed three words into the search bar that, unknowingly at the time, would change my life, and my bank account: "warehouse drone video."This is what popped up:It's a video of two guys racing mini quads in, around, and through a warehouse at such a high rate of speed with inhuman, his-midichlorian-count-is-higher-than-we've-ever-seen, reflexes that I was blown away. 20 seconds in, I had decided that I would learn to fly these things. Remember,For those who don't know, that video is Steele and Skitzo. I had no idea I was watching two of the top quad pilots in the world flying around a warehouse. To paraphrase someone from these boards who helped me understand just how good those guys are, my reaction was equivalent to someone watching their first-ever basketball game and deciding they want to be Lebron James.At this point, the financial impact was still zero. I again dove into the Magic Font of All-knowingness (aka Google) and searched for "learning to fly a drone." There I opened up Pandora’s Box on drone flying instruction. I didn’t try to absorb it all but noticed a common theme: start with a toy micro drone. Ok, Mr. Steele, I’m comin’ at you like a spider monkey...or...like a Hubsan X4.Hubsan X4: $28.Hubsan arrives and it takes me 10 seconds to realize that flying a drone is hard. Harder than I thought. WAY harder than I thought.Hubsan X4 crash kit: $20.So maybe Steele and Skitzo have a few more weeks to enjoy their position as Kings of Warehouse Drone racing before I arrive on scene and dethrone them both, but it was time to start thinking about buying a drone. Wait, what? Did I say “buy” a drone? BWAHAHAHA!!! Buy? I’m an engineer, and engineers don’t BUY something when we can BUILD it instead. Rephrasing: Time to start thinking about BUILDING a drone.Returning to YouTube University, I found Bruce Simpson’s fabulous “low cost” miniquad racing build video series. BRILLIANT! Just what I need! A short little tutorial on building a drone. How hard can this be? Stick the green plug in the green socket and connect the yellow pin to the yellow wire and in a few minutes, I’m ripping around a warehouse telling Skitzo to speed up or move over. Right? Right? Hello?This may take longer than expected. 6 HOURS of tutorial videos and I'm in information overload. Still undeterred, I did what any self-respecting engineer would do in this situation: I spent a bunch of money. That’s right, I paid a visit to The Infinite Storeroom of Everything You Need, aka Amazon Prime.ESCs. *click* Motors *click* Frame *click* Flight Controller *click* PDB *click* Props *click* battery *click*Basic drone components: $225Waiting...waiting...waiting...shoulda paid for “next day delivery” waiting...FINALLY! Time to build! Wooohooo!Oops.Radio *click* standoffs *click* heat shrink *click* soldering iron *click* XT60s *click* JST pigtails *click* pin headers *click* *click* *click* *click* *click*Rest of the basic drone components: $200Somewhere in the middle of this Amazon orgy, my wife comes to me with her iPad, shows me the screen and says “Hey hon, I think someone hacked our Amazon account. Someone’s ordering a bunch of toys or parts for toys or parts to make a bomb or something.” No, sweetie, that’s just me, move along.And...it’s built! Just LOS for now but let’s see if this thing flies! I’m very excited at this point and figure that since I’m about to be the next greatest thing in Warehouse Racing,right?Props. *click* $20“Honey, looks like you ordered two of the same thing by accident.” Grrr….NO, SWEETIE, I did that on purpose. Ok, maybe I’m not ready for basement flying. Time to take this baby outside and see what she can do in the cul-de-sac. Thecul-de-sac.Receiver *click* Replacement standoffs *click* replacement ESC *click* $40Looks like I need a little more space and some...grass. I toss my quad and radio and all my props...lots of props...into a box. Oh, I have plenty of boxes at this point! I hop in the car and drive a few minutes down the road to an area just cleared for a new subdivision. PLENTY of room! I plug in, arm, and...I’m flying! Sure, it’s angle mode and it’s LOS but I’m actually flying this thing! And, if I do say so myself, I’m pretty damn good. I’m turning and hovering and well...that’s about it...but Steele and Skitzo didn’t do much more than turn around pallets in that warehouse so I’m close. Hmmm...I wonder how long my one battery lasts.Battery *click* Battery *click* Battery *click* Battery *click* Battery $100Having mastered LOS angle mode in, I’m ready for FPV. It won't be long before I'm competing in the World Warehouse Racing Championships, brought to you by Luminier and Caterpiller Forklifts, so I should probably figure out this FPV thing.Camera *click* Video tx *click* Fatsharks uh...wow...that’s a big *click* $550More waiting before the FPV gear arrives and it’s time to install all this stuff...er...uh...GRRRRR….Fatshark Battery *click* FPV antenna *click* $75Oh, and I discovered RotorRiot.Backpack *click* $25With my new FPV quad and my new FPV goggles all packed up in my new backpack, I'm ready to debut my flying skills in our warehouse. I waited until late at night when everyone had gone home. The warehouse was quiet when I set up and armed. Lift off and WHOA! That ceiling is low and WOW those pallet stacks are high and I didn’t realize we had so many signs hanging from…(see picture below if you think I’m exaggerating).Video antenna *click* Video tx *click* props *click* $100More practice. More rebuilding. More props. Maybe I should try a simulator?FPV-Freerider *click* sim cable *click* $40Well this simulator is certainly helping along with Josh Bardwell’s awesome Rate Mode tutorial. Practice, practice, practice, practice. Rolls on the simulator? Check! Flips? Check. S-turns! Check!!! I am an FPV SIMULATOR GOD! Time to take this back to the field and flip, roll, and loop like I do on the sim.Frame top plate *click* replacement motor *click* more props *click* $40But with every crash and with every broken part, I’m getting better. But I’m also getting hooked. I want another quad...maybe a small 150 for my backyard…Bolt Tanto, Emax RS1306’s, Foxeer cam... *click click click click click* $300.And then I made yet another error in a long series of critical errors: I discovered the Atlanta FPV Facebook group. Just a couple of flights with those guys and I realized that I was bringing the proverbial knife to a gunfight with my little 3S quad on two-blade props with low end components.4S batteries *click* Redbottoms *click* BLHeli_S ESCs *click*. Hell, might as well put all this on a new frame *click* and why do your radios keep talking to you? OH! That’s badass! Taranis *CLICK*.$800Just last night, I was sitting on the picnic table at Brook Run with two guys, Ivan and Kenny, from Atlanta FPV making a field solder of a broken lead. I had just completed my first live split-s over-and-under a large tree. We were talking quad parts (what else?) and I mentioned that StingerSwarm uses blah blah blah. “StingerSwarm?” Kenny said, “yeah, he flies here sometimes.” To which Ivan added “Yeah, and Steele and Skitzo, too.”“STEELE AND SKITZO?" I shrieked, "those guys owe me $2,563!!!” Images View all Images in thread Views: 1636



