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Team BlackSheep Discovery Pro: Building A $3000 Quadcopter
Is it any surprise that PC enthusiasts also dabble in other technology-driven hobbies? Our editorial team recently purchased a high-end quadcopter to gauge the accessibility of first-person-view flight. Follow along as we build and critique the process.
Back when I wrote Nvidia Shield Review: Tegra 4-Powered Handheld Gaming, I had no problem taking the handheld console out to my front yard and flying Parrot’s AR.Drone 2.0 around the cul-de-sac. And while I was eager to start flying TBS’ Discovery Pro as soon as I finished building it, this time was different. The AR.Drone is a $300 multi-rotor. I was in for more than 10 times that on the Discovery. It could fly farther, its motors are capable of doing more damage, and I certainly didn’t want any of my neighbors thinking I was peeking in at them. So, I waited for a nice clear day and took the quad to a local park with plenty of space to learn the nuances of FPV flying without putting anyone at risk.
Source: Team BlackSheep
Really, that’s a great place to wrap any hands-on discussion of multi-rotor hardware. The build process is engaging, the software-based configuration afterward can be challenging and flying from the virtual cockpit rewarding. But the freedom to enjoy this hobby is accompanied by an obligation to respect it. High-flying craft with high-resolution cameras are easy to abuse. Abuse is countered by regulation. And heavy-handed laws have a habit of transcending the good old fashioned common sense a responsible hobbyist should be using anyway. Hearing about pilots flying multi-rotors up to peer through high-rise windows or near commercial aircraft is aggravating; those lapses of judgement affect the rest of us who want to enjoy the hobby responsibly.
Team BlackSheep does a good enough job compiling complementary components and documenting the build process that any PC enthusiast well-versed in searching online forums should surface from a weekend’s worth of work with a functional Discovery Pro. Still, this isn’t the quad-copter you want to start with. It’s a roughly $3000 collection of parts that I’m sure I’ll crash at one point or another. Get your feet wet on the more mainstream side of the spectrum, learn how to fly proficiently and then sink big bucks on top-shelf gear. Given the rate at which TBS introduces upgraded components and fresh recommendations, you’ll end up with an even better setup than what I put together—perhaps for less money, even.
A company in Toronto called DreamQii made one that's around $1000 for the kit and is modular. A much better deal IMO, and it comes with a sturdier gimbal. Can you guys review that one? Kinda want one but not so sure about the whole thing.
I have looked at quad copters quite often but every time I look I come to the same conclusion: To expensive for something I will get bored of pretty soon anyway.
Anyway the last time I was nervous about something I did was when I had to solder a serial connection on a bricked router. It was a first for me but all went far far smoother then I ever expected.
Soo... while this looks like a very cool drone, if you're looking at your first buy you might want to look a bit more modest... like the DJI Phantom 2 Vision+... $1300 buys you a nice quadcopter with a stabilized camera. That's a lot less $$$ to lose when you auger in on your maiden flight.
Really great overview of what it is like to build your own custom quadcopter, one of the most coherent and in-depth ones I've seen so far. To be honest, all the work makes me want to just recommend buying an off-the-shelf ready-to-fly option like the DJI Phantom! Of course, this model is much more capable and for any pro the customization is necessary (and enjoyable potentially too) to be able to get the video results required.
What kind of flying time does the rig have? And could you attach a larger, heavier camera if you swap in a different gimbal or are you limited to the GoPro line?
