I want to show you my mistakes in my drone project, which I’ve been working on for about 1.5 years and which will be powered by the Jetson Nano. In this project, I tried to build everything from scratch, without using open-source flight software and hardware, and just jumping into it. Here are my faulty prototypes:
1-)NRF24L01+ Feeding Problem :
Because the current draw increased under load, the Arduino couldn’t power it properly and it couldn’t work over long distances. I think I tried it with 10-15 NRF sensors; it definitely needs to be powered reliably from a power supply.
2-) Dealing With Jumper Wires Instead Of Using PCB :
This was a bad method because there were many instances of bad contact, and the cables were easily damaged after flight tests.
3-) Gathering Equipment Before Researching Well :
I’m using the nrf24l01+ sensors. I chose this sensor because it was the most affordable and had the longest range available online. Before that, I had chosen a less reliable sensor, the one pictured. But there are other more important parameters, such as the voltage range and current draw under load. If I were to choose again, I would select more stable sensors that are compatible with the microcontrollers I use. I would also check if there’s library support, even for well-known sensors.
These frames are my F450 drone frame that I bought online, and the other one I printed with a 3D printer. As the drone body got bigger, the propellers used also got bigger. This increased the testing and the risk of danger. That’s why I printed a smaller frame that I could fly in a room.
4-) Trying To Build A Drone Without Understanding How Drones Fly:
In the beggining , i just wanted to make a drone controlling by arduino . So i jumped into the projects and then learned something called ‘PID algorithm ‘ . :)) I think that learning to make something was not good idea while doing it to use sources well. I should have learned theories and logics first.
5-)Not To Do Step by Step :
I was trying to find a company for doing my intern . So , i decided to print the company’s name on my autonomous drone for showing it on linkedln and getting intern opportunity 🙂 .But it was not even working as normal drone. it would be good to make the drone fly first, then could make special frames for appearence.
Summary :
Actually ,when i started to dealing to make drone, I was just starting to learn electronics. I had different kinds of arduino (nano , r3, leonardo) and wanted to create something that will surprize people around me. I learned a lot working on this so i’m not sad. I worked on 3d modeling and prototyping , c++ coding, linux, PID algorithm and improved my problem solving patience :))