Tiny Drone for Less Than $100 in 10 Easy Steps

by pandolasa in Circuits > Gadgets

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Tiny Drone for Less Than $100 in 10 Easy Steps

drone final.png

In this instructable you will learn how to build a drone that can fit
inside the palm of your hand and weighs less than an ounce. This drone will have a live camera feed for you to watch what is happening live like you are in the drone. I will walk you through the assembly of the drone. I will leave links for YouTube videos showing how to pair the drone and how to program it using betaflight.

Supplies

1. Drone Flight Controller https://bit.ly/33DQIjN
2. Motors https://bit.ly/2UbGcNA

3. Propellers https://bit.ly/2UbGcNA

4. Frame https://bit.ly/2UbGcNA

5. Battery https://bit.ly/2UbGcNA

6. FPV Camera https://bit.ly/2UbGcNA

7. Battery Charger https://bit.ly/2UbGcNA

8. Canopy https://bit.ly/2UbGcNA

*** Please note that if this is your first drone build you will need these additional items***

1. Transmitter https://bit.ly/2UbGcNA

2. FPV Goggles https://bit.ly/2UbGcNA

3. (FREE) Betaflight Software (Search on Google)

Opening All Packaging

bat.png
cam.png
canopy.png
charger.png
FC.png
frame.png
goggles.png
motors.png
props.png
transmitter.png

Open up everything so they all look like the images above.

Putting the Flight Controler Into the Frame

FC back.png
FC.png
board in.png

Use the screws that came with the flight controller and screw it into the
frame. The USB Port will be the front of the drone so set it up with that in the front. Make sure the USB port and the connectors are facing down when they are being screwed in. (See Picture)

Put the Propellers on the Motors

prop on motor.png

These are really easy to put on and replace. They just get pushed onto the motor.

Put the Motors in Their Slots

Do this with all 4 motors.png
pushing motor in.png

Just like the propellers these get pushed in. Put each motor into each
space on the frame. If you are having trouble please use tweezers on the motor body. DO NOT PULL THE WIRES TO PUT THE MOTORS IN!

Attaching Motors to Flight Controller

Plug the motors into the appropriate spaces on the board. Use the closest one to each motor.

Attach Camera to Flight Controller

camera on.png

Solder the camera wires to the spaces labelled on the flight
controller. Remember black is ground, Red is Positive and green and yellow are signal. The camera attaches to the canopy and that will be shown in the next step.

Attach Camera to Canopy

Put the brackets on the camera then screw them into the canopy. Now
the camera's wires should be soldered to the board and the camera should be screwed into the canopy.

Canopy on the Drone

Screw in the canopy with the camera facing the front of the drone. This is the last physical step before flying.

Binding and Programming

Eachine QX65 Review | Inspect, Binding, Betaflight Setup and Flight Test | Project Mockingbird Tip

Binding the drone will differ based on the controller you have so you
will need to do your own research on how to do that. Usually there is a button to press on the controller while you press the small black button located toward the black of the flight controller. I included a video that goes into more detail about binding and setting up with betaflight. The drone in the video arrived prebuilt but it is the same process.

Flying

flying drone.png

After you've completed those steps the drone is ready to fly! All you
have to do now is plug in the battery and admire your hard work! Each battery flies for about 3-5 minutes. To preserve the life of your motors please allow 5 minutes between flights for them to cool down. Thank you for checking out and using this instructable!