Cheap-ass quadcopter build Part 6 - Transmitter (continued)

[@shanemdalton1]

I can't tell you how grateful I am !!! I have been playing with these nrf24l01 for a day already trying to get all three position vales to transmit! I am making and RC blimp on the cheap and this video is invaluable.

[@mikebrown7366]

A couple of things. If you put a 10-100uF electrolytic capacitor directly across the Vcc and Gnd pins of the RF module, it greatly helps. The current surges when the module transmits cause the voltage to sag and the cap smooths that out. I had a lot of problems with nrf24l01 modules until I found this tip. Solder the cap directly to the pins on the bottom side. Another thing is that supplying 3.3V to the raw in of the Arduino will result in less than 3.3V coming out of the onboard regulator. There is always a certain amount of "dropout" with linear regulators.

[@thecruisnix]

The ripple from the battery is enough to start oscillation on the voltage regulator to smooth that is to add capacitor across the positive and negative sides of the power supply and the noise should stop or be low enough that the voltage regulator doesn't oscillate

[@iforce2d]

Hmm... but what level of ripple does a battery produce, is what I'm wondering. The voltage regulator I'm using has small caps at both ends, but maybe they got it all wrong? fwiw many people do find that adding a small cap across the power pins of the RF24 module helps. I will be trying that on the next tx conversion I'm doing right now :)

[@JerryEricsson]

Couple of questions, first off, how about using an Arduino Pro Micro? The built in mouse/keyboard should be much easier to program with, second, could a fellow use an old USB or perhaps a joystick port type of joystick if you have one laying around? I have many of those in my backroom just gathering dust that need a bit of loving care to rehab them back into good standing. ONe an old CH Flightstick Pro that has like 9 seperate controls on it, with a couple of hat type mini joysticks onboard and would seem ideal as well. Perhaps wiring it up to the Pro Micro with it's leonardo chip could make a much easier to control and build system. Let me also admit that I really don't know much about all this, just thinking while watching the build. I used to love the old flight games from the 90's and I know I paid over 60 bucks for the flight stick, so it would be great to be able to once again put it into some service or another. When I purchased it, I still had an old 386SX but soon upgraded to a 486 so I could get enough power to run my favorite game back then.

[@SlimeyBastardVG2]

Have you tried using 3 batteries in series to output 4.5 volts and inputting that into the arduino so that there's a much lower voltage drop by its components? This would also mean you don't need a voltage regulator.

[@mayankanand1379]

My long range nrf module only works when i touch the antenna or the board itself with my bare finger....does anyone had the same issue...or any one can tell how to fix it...i am using the nrf with arduino pro mini and i am also powering the nrf with another 3.3volt power supply...

[@shubhamsaxena508]

stick a capacitor on nrf

[@MrPnew1]

Great video series. Would you be willing to give some details on the construction of your transmitter tester? Thanks :-)

[@iforce2d]

hehe you are the second person to ask in the last few minutes, I actually have the link to the sketch still in my clipboard: www.iforce2d.net/cheapassQuadcopter/TXTester.ino The comments in the sketch should tell you all the info needed.

[@MrPnew1]

Thanks for that. I have been watching your video series all morning and am just about to give my Paypal account a hammering. Do you have any details of the actual hardware side of the tester. I love the LCD representation of the joysticks movements

[@iforce2d]

MrPnew1 The screen is this one, also found on ebay and a bunch of other places: www.banggood.com/0_96-Inch-4Pin-White-IIC-I2C-OLED-Display-Module-12864-LED-For-Arduino-p-958196.html The RF24 is just a regular one (PCB antenna type). Arduino is a pro-mini (what else? :)

[@MrPnew1]

Thanks again and happy new year

[@allwinmeshach9615]

iforce2d i cannot upload the code in multiwii board it says error compiling.

[@aaronsonderegger3107]

Hi iforce2d,thanks for the video. I'm not to experienced with coding, and I was trying to use your code for my Arduino mega 2560. This is the error I receive. transmitter_D.ino:6:22: fatal error: nRF24L01.h: No such file or directory compilation terminated. Error compilingI downloaded my nRF24 library from GitHub, and I'm not sure if that's the problem. Any help would be great. Thanks

[@iforce2d]

+Aaron Sonderegger I'm assuming you have added the nRF24 folder to the libraries folder of your arduino installation and restarted the IDE? You should see some new entries under the Examples menu if you have everything in place.

[@aaronsonderegger3107]

+iforce2d I've added the nRF24 folder to the library folder. I believe that I've restarted the IDE because I find the folder under the examples menu, but I can't get it to compile the code, just with the #include libraries.

[@iforce2d]

+Aaron Sonderegger I don't quite follow what you're saying - you mean the examples don't compile? If the examples compile then you just need to play spot the difference with them and your code, change one of the examples a bit at a time until it looks like your program.

[@AryanSharma-iw2ys]

What pin would I use on an arduino uno board that is similar to the raw pin on the arduino pro mini board.

[@AryanSharma-iw2ys]

Nevermind I actually found out look down below: FOR ANYONE WHO WOULD NOT LIKE TO USE THE ARDUINO PRO MINI AND WOULD RATHER USE ANOTHER BOARD SUCH AS AN ARDUINO UNO BOARD, THE PIN (VIN) IS THE PIN THAT IS SIMILAR TO THE RAW PIN ON THE ARDUINO PRO MINI. Thought that would be some useful information :).

[@SKElectronics]

thanks for the reply i hope that will work

[@AndiFalihM]

very glad found this channel.. thank you for the video.. but can you share the code for the transmitter tester? or give some details on the construction like schematics or diagram,, thank you again :)

[@iforce2d]

www.iforce2d.net/sketches look for tx Tester Thingy

[@dineshjain4281]

I don't have a FTDI. So how should I connect the usb cable to the arduino pro mini directly.

[@iforce2d]

+DINESH JAIN You need an FTDI adapter.... why else would I say you need one?

[@ahmedmujahad9999]

hey. can you tell how did you make the receiver with LCD on which you were testing joystick. or if you had made a video, can you share the link...?

[@Penguin-Capybara]

Thanks for the video. Have you ever suffered from current problem? I use 3*1.2V NiMH rechargeable battery as a separate power supply. But the current is only 20 - 30 mA. It's okay for low power mode, but not enough for high power or max power mode. Is it your voltage regulator that solves this problem? Thanks.

[@iforce2d]

+Jichun Qu The regulator should be able to handle 1 amp I think.

[@loicalix-brown6334]

hey, i love your videos and have been following them closely to make my own copter. I have done everything, the codes are all uploaded but it seems that the transmitter and receiver are not communicating, have you got any idea why? please help!!!

[@fedespa96]

Hi, I'm following your tutorials, they're done very well, thank you. But I don't understand if, using "MultiWii_RF24" and "GY-80", for tx , using the joystick modules, I have to use "TelemetryTransitter" or "CheapassTransmitter" with two arduino? Why does the throttle field not change values in MultiWiiConfig? Must it be armed? As? Thanks again.

[@iforce2d]

? There is no sketch called "TelemetryTransmitter" related to this series... If the other channels change values but throttle does not, then maybe it does need to be armed, I don't remember.

[@fedespa96]

Oh sorry, I'm talking about this sketch www.iforce2d.net/sketches/TelemetryTransmitter.zip .in my case should I use cheapassTransmitter and another arduino in which load cheapassReceiver?

[@thecruisnix]

Part of the problem is your voltage regulator isn't decoupled its picking up noise from the battery

[@iforce2d]

What kind of noise would the battery produce? Wouldn't it be negligible compared to the noise generated from the the regulator itself?

[@debashishdas4865]

Sir can you please upload the circuit diagram of the transmitter and receiver for my help

[@iforce2d]

I already explained it in the videos, as I linked you to in the other comment yesterday...

[@debashishdas4865]

@@iforce2d sir can you increase the number of pins or channels of the transmitter and receiver

[@iforce2d]

I explained this here, just change the contents of "MyData" to whatever you want (up to 32 bytes total size) kzbin.info/www/bejne/m4fRqoOJdsqZrrc

[@debashishdas4865]

@@iforce2d thank you sir for your valuable reply

[@sourabhvrm]

my nrf24l01 is unable to set pipe address. when i check it shows 0xFFFFFFFFFF. Also powering the transmitter with arduino is heating its voltage regulator. i have nrf24l01 with PA.

[@iforce2d]

+Saurabh Verma double-check the connections. If it still doesn't set the pipe address correctly the module may be faulty. The fact that it causes the power regulator to heat up is also suspicious.

[@sourabhvrm]

+iforce2d May be my module if faulty. With the normal nrf24l01 . how much range can i get in open area. Also i am willing to use camera. Suggest me any transmitter for direct stream on my remote control.

[@iforce2d]

+Saurabh Verma I would expect about 50m in an open area with the PCB antenna. More details here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/naWwaWZoj5WooKc Here's an example of one setup you could use for video streaming: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rmGVmYCJhdR3rNE (that video is a bit old now though, there are better options)

[@SKElectronics]

hey i like your video but i don't want to convert the signal into ppm so can you post a code comment which don't use ppm

[@iforce2d]

+Piku Sk What do you want to convert it to? PWM and multiple wires? I've never done that so I don't have any code to do it, but there is some in the multiwii source code. But why not PPM, all the common FC's can use it (kk2, multiwii, cleanflight, apm etc)

[@CamzTouchStudios]

At 11:59 my adress is 0xe7e7e7e7e7. I have changed nothing in the Code. How can i change this?

[@iforce2d]

Check your connections.

[@CamzTouchStudios]

Something intresting happened. When i connect the arduino to the pc and open the Serial Monitor, the adress is 0xe7e7e7e7e7. When i press reset now, the ardess changes...

[@CamzTouchStudios]

Okay, i have solved the Problem. You can't use the Arduino Nano's 3v3 Pin for the nRF24l01 PA. With the UNO's it works just fine.

[@jeffbluejets2626]

Hi, Went through your sketches and found the one for the "Tester Thingy" and built the hardware as I believe is the same. Problem when I come to compile the software, it comes up as "Error compiling for board Arduino Pro or Pro Mini ...exit status 1" ....Any idea what this problem may be caused by? ...Thanks Jorgo

[@iforce2d]

There should be more to the error message than that.... like a specific line shown in the code where the problem is. Scroll up and look at the whole error message....

[@jeffbluejets2626]

Yes, you were correct. Problem was the library for RF24 was not actually installed. Throws one a bit when scrolling through the libraries and seeing it there BUT pressing "more info" makes it obvious that is is actually NOT installed. Also found I needed to change the size of the screen or rather, uncomment the correct size in the library SSD1306 using "word program". Screen had address as 0x78 which did not work but I found the reason why in other areas of the web ( shifted left 0x3c becomes 0x78)mmmm...anyhow, thanks for your work, great inspiration and motivator.

[@dineshjain4281]

i had a doubt in the code. in the fourth line of your code (const unit_t pipeout = E8E8F0F0E1LL) what is this ? and should i use this line in my transmitter?. And in your video number 12 you have used a different code. and when i verify my code (latest in video 12) it shows that there is no library like nRF24L01.h so what shall i do

[@iforce2d]

arduino-info.wikispaces.com/Nrf24L01-2.4GHz-HowTo

[@ramilamrahov8808]

hi.when i change throttle down,all motors being rotate small rotation.what is proble.?

[@iforce2d]

Maybe you need to calibrate the ESCs www.multiwii.com/wiki/?title=ESC_Calibration

[@ramilamrahov8808]

iforce2d i have already calibrated.

[@iforce2d]

Then I have no idea. Is your throttle stick giving the correct values to the flight controller? It should give about 1000 when throttle is fully down.

[@ramilamrahov8808]

iforce2d my throttle stick full down show 1011.and full full top 2014.is this normal?

[@iforce2d]

Ideally a little lower is better, but that's probably ok.

[@dineshjain4281]

Instead of a arduino pro mini can I use a arduino nano

[@iforce2d]

+DINESH JAIN Yes. The nano has an FTDI adapter onboard, so you would not need a separate FTDI adapter.

[@sibikannan4113]

When i verified the code for your transmitter i got error saying that no file such as nRG24L01 exists......wat is the reason for it?

[@iforce2d]

github.com/maniacbug/RF24

[@palkeshagrawal2703]

Hey dude..You are awesome bro...I need your help. When i uploaded the tx source code and checked the pipe out address, it was showing like this (RX_ADDR_P0-1= 0xe7e7e7e7e7 0xc2c2c2c2c2) instead of the pipe which you have mentioned in the source code. the data rate is showing correct i.e 250kbps. What will be the solution for this.

[@palkeshagrawal2703]

+Palkesh Agrawal Problem is solved dude. the connections are so much compressed that they are not transmitting the signal, but loosing them solved my problem. Now i am getting correct pipe out address.

[@yxhankun]

Dtr Data transmission ready?

[@jammip]

I was looking at the test receiver you've shown in this video, and I thought of building something like that myself... The only question I wanted to ask you, is if you've used any kind of regulator or step-down converter to power the Arduino Pro Mini + NRF24L01 from the 4.2-3.7V LiPo, or have you been powering them directly from the battery itself?

[@iforce2d]

+James Game I'm powering it directly from the battery, to the RAW pin of the pro-mini. It's a 5V pro-mini but it still seems to work when powered from a 1S lipo. Keep in mind the nRF24 is not supposed to have more than 3.6V maximum, so I guess I'm kinda lucky that this works. It would be safer to use a step-down regulator,, or a 3.3V arduino maybe, so that the VCC will be 3.3V

[@joeallison2k]

Hey, I noticed that in one of the later videos you mentioned that you needed to use the Hobby King Transmitter to 'Arm' it. I may be being silly, but does this mean that you can't fly the quadcopter with the self made transmitter without setting up the Hobbyking transmitter?

[@iforce2d]

Joe Allison I think that was because the movement of these gamepad-style joy sticks is restricted to a circle, so I couldn't get the stick to go completely down and right, which is the default position to arm. You can change the setting for that somewhere, eg. throttle down and roll right will arm etc. to get around that situation. Search for ALLOW_ARM_DISARM_VIA_TX_YAW in config.h

[@joeallison2k]

***** Thanks, I'll have a look. I had a bit of trouble aduino'ing the HK transmitter, so i'm going to try and make your version.

[@MlodyGra]

test joystick not work

[@Jay_Seven]

how did you make the tester for the transmitter?

[@iforce2d]

www.iforce2d.net/sketches/ Second one in the list

[@Jay_Seven]

is there a parts list ? thanks

[@shayandutta638]

sir,the serial monitor is displaying certain unfigured characteristics in a horizontal line....i am unable to check the values...what's the problem?

[@duynguyenhoang9191]

circuit diagram for me okay?

[@iforce2d]

watch all the videos okay?

[@duynguyenhoang9191]

I'll watch all the videos,but I mean is you can give me a circuit diagram okay?

[@iforce2d]

and what I mean is, if you watched the videos you would see the diagram already

[@duynguyenhoang9191]

oh,thank you

[@haytapot]

i don't touch joysticks but values of throttle are not still, yaw and Pitch are very good, Roll is ok. i use your TestJoysticks.ino what should I do? what is the reason? I hope you can help me. www.bilder-upload.eu/show.php?file=1fec8a-1449707540.jpg

[@iforce2d]

+hayta haytapot Looks ok to me. The values are an analog sample, they are not likely to be perfectly still, you can even see in the video 1:42

[@haytapot]

+iforce2d thank you for your answer, I saw that, your values oscillate only one value my throttle values swinging between 1014 and 1023, I thought this is not to tolerate. as well after map the values to between 0 and 255, the swing is smaller. I tried to avoid that with this code: www.bilder-upload.eu/show.php?file=2730d7-1449746665.jpg the result is very good but I'm worried because of delay. what do you think about this code?

[@shubhamsaxena508]

joystick link please.......

[@iforce2d]

search for playstation joystick on ebay or similar sites

[@shubhamsaxena508]

www.banggood.com/2Pcs-3D-Controller-Joystick-Axis-Analog-Sensor-Module-Thumbstick-for-Xbox-One-p-1062627.html?rmmds=myorder

[@shubhamsaxena508]

just got them, they have dead spots. www.banggood.com/2Pcs-3D-Controller-Joystick-Axis-Analog-Sensor-Module-Thumbstick-for-Xbox-One-p-1062627.html?rmmds=myorder

[@iforce2d]

try this: goo.gl/16Bp54

[@shubhamsaxena508]

these are nice but i don't wana spend too much money. just tell me where can i find cheap joysticks with no dead spots.

[@PhilipStubbs]

It is your fault. My old DigiFleet Tx has been hacked! kzbin.info/www/bejne/gaeaeWt6fdR7b6c Now to start build the quad. Thanks for all the videos.

[@iforce2d]

haha... oops! That video is private btw.

[@obadaobada4535]

please what the arduino library name did you use