June 6th: Drone Parts Selected + Work On Transmitter Electronics

I looked around at some images prior to starting this project and decided I wanted my drone to have a smaller form factor, similar to a APEX 2" drone.

That inspiration frame looks like this:

After looking around at some other builds of this form factor, I found some similar parts that I could use and created a parts list in this google doc:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UYxp3Jcj_MZBELJUi8HEg_IUyJKEcsd3nflhL_p9VP8/edit?usp=sharing

Finding good parts on AliExpress was more tedious then I expected as the prices seemed to keep changing, but I think I have a good completed list for the drone that should work well together.

I also worked to figure out how I could control the drone with a custom transmitter PCB. I found that the flight controller I selected would work with ExpressLRS, which is an open source radio link protocol that would work with an ESP32 based transmitter. By pairing the ESP32 with an appropriate LoRa module I found, I should be able to create a custom transmitter PCB that can control the drone.

(The Transmitter Electronics list is still a work in progress)

Total time spent: 4.5h

June 21st: Back From Surgery! Finalized Transmitter Electronics

I had to take a massive break from this project due to a surgery I had, but now that I'm back I can continue working on the drone.

I figured out the final parts I would need for the transmitter electronics and found suitable parts on AliExpress. Once again, finding such parts with the specifics I was looking for was more time consuming than I was hoping for.

I wanted to keep the device charging as easy as possible so I am using USB-C for the power input and 18650 battery charging.

I also created a mockup of the transmitter electronics that I will be designing in KiCAD.

Total time spent: 4h