Maxicopter

The Droidworx pro series airframes are designed in particular to accept the Mikrokopter UAV electronics set,
however they can also accommodate other known and newly emerging UAV electronics platforms, some of
which are mentioned below.

If you plan to assemble the electronics yourself it is advised that you make yourself well acquainted with
the process by studying WIKI pages and forums, and that you have some reasonable soldering skills.

Take your time; make an art out of your build and you won’t have any problems at all. If in doubt - ask
in the forums and get clear on what you are doing before proceeding.

Propellers and engine combinations

Recommended propeller EPP 1045 - New formula
Recommended engine - AXI 2217/20 (short shaft) and Robbe Roxy 2827-35

Following well known and proven assemblies the engine and propeller configurations recommended are
as follow. To date the most commonly used propeller is the EPP 1045 – new composite formula. Be sure to
use only the “new formula” propellers as the older types are brittle and some failures have caused crashes.
The new formula propeller is softer to touch and has a distinctive matt finish whilst the old ones were shiny.

Be sure to take some time to prepare the propellers before installing them – lightly sanding with 240 grade
abrasive paper along the leading and trailing edge. A prop balancer is also a good investment and can be bought
from most on-line hobby stores.

Another well used propeller is the APC 10x 4.8 – slightly heavier and stiffer but also very responsive matched
with AXI or Pulso 2217/20 series motors.

12” propellers recommended are APC 12 x 6E(P) and 12 x 3.8SF(P) on AXI 2814/20 (short shaft - multi rotor version) and
MK 3538 engines.

Warning: never use prop protector type rubber mounted propellers!

The droidworx pro series frames are supplied with a boom lengths suitable for 10 & 12’ propellers on the AD-8,
10, 12 and 13" propellers on the AD-6, AD-4, ADX-4 and 10" on the ADX-3. If you are using 10’ propellers only, which
is recommended for normal flying and light aerial photo and video work, removing 5.5 cm off the AD-8
booms will reduce the overall diameter of the craft resulting in higher aerodynamic efficiency and more lively flight
characteristics.

Cutting the Carbon Fiber booms must be done carefully and safety – wearing a quality protective dust
and particle mask and in an open and well ventilated situation. Use either a Dremel with a large cutoff
wheel or a hacksaw and miter box (recommended). Do not cut off the end with the pre milled mounting hole.
(See assembly instructions for more details).

Engines - standard and medium to heavy lift

Recommended standard engine AXI 2217/20 Short shaft or Robbe Roxy 2827-35

AXI motors are one of the highest quality brushless motors available; however, the protruding shafts
below the firewall mount will need to be removed to fit these motors - Axi also now produce factory modified short
shaft versions for Multi-rotor craft on special request and these are recommended.
The AXI 2217/20 is recommended with APC 10x4.7or EPP 10x4.5. Pulso 2217/20 motors from www.pulsosystems.com
are also a solid choice in the mid price range matched with an APC 1047 or EPP 10x4.5

The 40mm engine mounts supplied with the Droidworx airframes fit all 16mm / 19mm standard hole pattern for
firewall mounting on most brushless motors in the mid size range. Larger mid range engines will fit the standard
Droidworx engine mounts also - the 50mm "super heavy" lift engine mounts are required for the 2820 series engines.

Larger medium to heavy lift engines are required to lift Pro series DSLR camera's using the
droidworx-photohigher Pro Cam Gymbal and extended landing gear assembly.

Recommended engines and propeller combo for medium and heavy lift are:
Axi 2814/20 + APC 12x6 / 13x6.5 for medium/heavy lift on all craft (recommended for AD-6 and AD-8 heavy)
Axi 2820/14 + APC 12x6 / 13x6.5 and up to APC 14x4.7 for heavy lift on AD-4
Pulso 2820/14 + APC 12x6 / 13x6.5 and up to APC 14x4.7 for heavy lift on AD-4

Mikrokopter has released some new mid-heavy engines which are a slightly modified Pulso 2814/20 - this engine
is called MK3538 - this engine matched with 12 x 3.8, 12 x 6 or 13 x 6.5 is also recommended on all droidworx
standard - mid heavy lift craft.

Propellers from: www.apcprop.com

A mid - heavy lift AD-6 or AD-8 would be best fitted with the MK 3538 engines or AXI 2814/20 engines on APC 12 x 3.8,
12x6 or 13x6.5 props with standard 40mm engine mounts.


Note: the mid-heavy series engines: MK 3538, AXI 2824/20 and Pulso 2814/20 will fit the droidworx standard
40mm engine mount. This is the recomended medium to heavy lift setup.

Be sure to order propeller adaptors with your engines for fitting the propellers.


Note: The larger engines listed above may need excess shafts removed for firewall mounting to the
droidworx airframes - see note below - unless factory modified short shaft engines from MK AXI or Pulso are sourced
and fitted.

Propeller balancing and installing them correctly ensuring that they spin true is critical. It is advised to
to fit the propellers only after you have installed the electronics, software, firmware and powered the board and are
sure all systems are operational; then fit the propellers and secure them well - and check them regularly.

Balancing your propellers - a quick guide here.

Note: the arrangement of the Droidworx frame engine mounting system is specifically designed for vibration
absorption. Consequently the engines used must be in the firewall mount configuration and protruding shafts
cannot be accommodated. The process for removing the excess shaft is detailed in the link directly below.

Excess Shaft Removal

Special Note: Factory modified AXI Short shaft motors are now available from AXI model motors on special
request - Pulso systems mayalso offer factory short shaft engines for Multi-Rotor craft. Please contact them for
more information.

www.modelmotors.cz

Electronics

Recommended setup is Mikrokopter - Flight Control V2.1-ME + compass + Navi & GPS.

Mikrokopter is at present the best option offering a very well known, widely used and proven platform.
The craft can be flown using only the flight control board, however navigation systems and GPS modules
provide potential for enjoyment and also for commercial applications. A new feature from Mikrokopter named
"care free" is a remarkable software modifictation allowing the craft to be easily controlled regardless of its orientation
in the sky - a compass and navi gear is required for this function on firmware 0.80 and higher.

Be sure to make use of forums for help in setting up your aerial droid. RC Groups Mikrokopter/UAVP forums
offer an enormous wealth of information and personal on-line help. The Mikrokopter.de forum is also a great
resource for on-line help. International enthusiasts at present tend to focus their energy on the RC Group
Forums. Go to: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=716870

There is an extensive and comprehensive UAV resource list on the RC Groups forum assembled by a helpful
and well respected enthusiast and the link to that is: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1097355

WIKI pages offer an encyclopedia style instruction manual for everything Mikrokopter and more.
Go to: http://www.mikrokopter.de/ucwiki/en/MikroKopter?action=show&redirect=FrontPage

Open Pilot - is an open source platform which is rapidly advancing ; Go to http://www.openpilot.org - you may like
to become involved in that project.


Batteries

LiPo (Lithium Polymer) are the best choice for now and inroads have been made in battery technology over
the last years with greater output and performance continually being offered across the board.

3 cell 11.1 volt or 4 cell 14.4 volt 2600 mAp to 6000 mAp. Prices range from $30 on www.hobbycity.com to
well over $100 + for more expensive batteries. A LiPo battery charger is needed to recharge the batteries and
these can also be bought from most on-line RC stores - you might want to consider a multi-port charger for charging
up to 4 battery packs at once.

The AD-8 and ADX-4 configuration uses larger amounts of current for flight and higher discharge rates are
recommended. 4 cell 14.4 volt power offers increased performance and endurance than a 3 cell 11.1 volt
power system. Batteries with a discharge rate of 45C and higher are recommended. New LiPo batteries
currently emerging on the market are claiming peak discharge rates of 90+C; note, higher "C" rated
batteries are recommended.

Recommended battery is Hyperion G3 EX series: LGG345-3300 to -LG345-5000-4S

The battery tray on Droidworx airframes are universal and designed to accept most battery sizes and shapes.

Caution - LiPo Batteries are dangerous if handled incorrectly - please view the Lipo Care page below:

LiPo care information

Radio Gear

Futaba, Spectrum, Graupner 2.4Ghz. The Mikrokopter platform is designed to accept the signal stream from
these radio systems through special adaptations in the Mikrokopter electronics; Spectrum via a satellite only
installation, Futaba through a special PPM receiver and the Graupner via Jeti Duplex. Up to 12 channels are
accepted by the MK platform and 9 channel radio systems are recommended to allow for all possible functions.
7 channels are required for the aerial droids controls, 4 for throttle, yaw, pitch and roll, 1 for height hold,
1 for GPS position lock and return to home feature, 1 for "care free" flight mode leaving two for camera
functions or other accessories.

Recommended systems are Graupner MX16 + Jeti telemetry, Spectrum DX7 + satellite and Futaba 9c +
R6107SP receiver.

Camera’s

Recommended hobby camera - GoPro Hero HD

For light fun and easy HD video, choose the GoPro HD form Hero. Droidworx has a simple 90(180) or 360 degree
spherical Uni Mount for light FPV camera's, GoPro's and other specialist mini imaging devices.

The droidworx-photohigher pro series gymbal and extended landing gear option will accommodate larger
DSLR camera's and HD video camera's. This is a pro-setup for smooth gyro stabilized operation in roll and tilt
axis offering superb results - a smaller version of the Pro-gymbal is due for release on September 18.

We also have a smaller point and shoot mount (the DX-1) for pocket camera's, GoPro and mini HDV camera's. This is a
tilt only mount for simplified and easy operation yet offering great results for aerial snap shots and home
video.

Shutter Control

Shutter control for camera's (still photos) can be accomplished by installing a remote infra red device. These
can be sourced from www.blip.com.au in Australia. A list of suitable camera's for these devices can also be
found on that site. Alternatively the camera can be set to shoot every 5 seconds or a manual remote servo
can be fitted to fire the shutter at will from ground equipment.

Recommended camera's are:

Panasonic LX5 - Panasonic GF/GH 1 - Sony Nex 5 - canon 550D

These camera options are based on personal and professional recommendations and most other point and
shoot camera's, hybrids and video cams will fit our mounts; the choice here is also a personal preference for
the individual.

FPV - video downlink and telemetry - (First Person View)

As the recommended radio frequency is 2.4Ghz for your aerial droid your FPV system cannot conflict with
this bandwidth. 1.2Ghz or 5.8 Ghz systems are therefore recommended for video transmission (900 Mhz is a banned
frequency range for public use in some countries).

The recommended telemetry downlink connection for google earth waypoints and flight data is XBee:
Please note that placement of the XBee module on the craft is critical - it must be well away from the flight
controller and speed controllers.

Note: FPV piloting is against the law in some countries including Australia and the UK: be sure to check with the
relevant civil aviation safety authority in your country or ask on the international forums before buying, installing and
operating an FPV system.

FPV telemetry equipment allows the possibility to see through the lens of the onboard camera equipment
for an aerial view for framing shots and video footage and also just for the unique experience of that
perspective. It is strongly recommended that professional aerial applications always use a two person
operation with the pilot of the vehicle solely focused on the craft whilst the second person operates the
camera via wireless telemetry.

Recommended video downlink system is: Fox 700 1.2 Ghz

Sources for FPV equipment are:

www.rangevideo.com
http://www.firstpersonview.co.uk/
www.globe-flight.com
http://fpvpilot.com/default.aspx.

A good guide for FPV safety can be found at: www.fpvpilot.com/safe.aspx

Safety

You are in control of a potentially dangerous craft – be responsible in your actions and choices when operating this craft.

Always check your equipment before you fly; a simple preflight check to ensure that everything on the craft
is in the right place and all equipment is functioning normally.

Safety precautions to take are:

Battery levels on the craft and transmitter are fully charged.
Propellers fastened tight
Engine mounts tight
You have the correct model selected on your transmitter
The area is clear and everyone nearby is notified of your intent to fly.
Choose a level area for take off.
Keep others clear in front and behind.
Plan your flight and survey the flight path for wires and obstructions.
Set the timer on the transmitter to 80% of the known battery duration.
Always keep the craft in line of sight of the transmitter – never fly behind trees etc.
Fly well clear of other people and their property - 30+ meters.