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Mike Sosa
Mr. Cuttrell and Ms. Green
Systems Engineering 2
23 January, 2015
Quadcopter Electronics and Programming: Plan of Procedures
Our Systems Engineering 2 group looks to produce a Quadcopter capable of collecting
water samples from hard to reach areas. My role in the group is to design an electrical system
that will control the quadcopter and allow the quad to fly.
Tables of Components

Referenc

Part Name

Quantit

Parts
Description

e
P1

PcDuino

y
1

Microcontrolle

Size

Use

121mmx65mm

Used to

r running

process data

LUbuntu

from

Linux

electronics

Distribution

and navigate
the

P2

P3

Brushless Motor

Electronic Speed

800kv

64mm (Length)

quadcopter.
To spin

brushless

x 37mm

propellers and

Motor
12a ESC

(Diameter)
21 x 22 x 4mm

provide lift.
To control the

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Controller

amount of
current being
provided to
the motor and
to prevent

P4 and

LiPo Battery

P5

Lithium

One Large(105

overheating.
To power

Polymer

x 33 x 24mm)-

quadcopter

Batteries

P4 and One

electronics.

small
(5.7x12x28mm)
P6

Breadboard/Perfboar

2 or 3

P7

P8

IMU

GPS Module

Boards

-P5
47 x 35 x

To allow easy

allowing

10mm

connection of

electrical

electrical

connection.
Inertial

components.
Provide

38x23x3mm

Measurement

sensory data

Unit with 10

for the

Degrees of

microcontrolle

freedom
Global

25.5x35x6.5m

r to interpret.
Provides

Positioning

location data

Unit
P9

RF Receiver

Radio receiver

for the
19 x 30 x 9mm

quadcopter.
Receives

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signals from
the
P10

Transmitter

Handheld

47x32x16nm

Controller

transmitter.
Used to
control the
quadcopter

P11

FPV Camera

Camera

30 x 30mm

remotely.
Used to
provide real
time footage
of the
quadcopters

P12

Radio Transmitter

Wireless

55*26*17mm

transmitter

surroundings.
Connects to
the FPV
camera and
sends footage

P13

Radio Receiver

Wireless

75*54*15mm

receiver

wirelessly.
Receives
footage from
transmitter
and displays

P14 and
P15

Bullet Connectors

24

Male and

4.5x.5mm

on moniter.
Allows easy

Female

connection

connectors

between ESC

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and motors

Tool Name
Soldering Station

Multimeter

Tools
Description
Hot iron used for melting

Involvement
Used to solder wires from the

solder to create an electrical

microcontroller to the sensors

connection between

and other parts together.

components.
Used to test for electrical

Used to test for electrical

connection

connection

Step 1: Motors
1. Take each motor (P2) and find the connection pins at the end of the protruding wires.
2. Find your bullet connectors and find the male components (P14).
3. Connect the male bullet connectors (P14) to connection wires on each motor (P2).
Motors

Bullet Connectors

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Bullet Connectors on motor

Step 2: ESC
1. Take each ESC (P3) and find the connection pins at the end.
2. Find your bullet connectors and find the female components (P15)
3. Connect the female bullet connectors (P15) to the connection wires each ESC (P3).
ESC and Bullet Connectors

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Step 3: ESC to motor

1. Group the ESC (P3) and Motors (P2) in pairs (1 ESC (P3) to 1 Motor (P2).)
2. Connect the male bullet connectors (P14) in the ESC (P3) to the female bullet connectors
(P15) in the motors (P2)
3. Solder the connections together using the soldering station (T1)
a. Start by taking your solder in one hand. The solder metal should be solid at this
point.
b. Touch the solder metal to the connectors.
c. Turn on the soldering station and when the soldering iron reaches desires
temperature touch the soldering iron to the solder.
d. Melt the solder around the connectors to form a connection.
Connection

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Step 4: Step 4: ESC-Motor System to PcDuino

1. Take the ESC-Motor system and find the ESCs (P3) input wires.
2. Connect these wires to the PcDuino (P1) Digital Output pins. (The PcDuino (P1)s board
schematic is the same as the Arduino, so it can be used for reference.)
3. Connect input voltage to the large LiPo battery (P4). The ESC (P3) has a built in voltage
stepper so dont worry about a larger voltage that needed.
Arduino Schematic

PcDuino Layout

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LiPo

Step 5: Sensors to PcDuino

1. Take the IMU (P7), GPS (P8), and Receiver (P9) and find their output pins.
2. Wire these pins to the PcDuino (P1) Analog input pins. The pin number does not matter.
Refer to the Arduino comparison if you are lost.
3. Connect the input voltage pins of the sensors to the positive long terminal of the
breadboard (P6) shown below denoted by the red plus.
4. Connect the output voltage pins of the sensors to the negative long terminal of the
breadboard (P6) shown below denoted by the blue minus.
5. Not in steps 3 and 4 where you place the pins does not matter.
Breadboard

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IMU

GPS

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Receiver

Step 6: Power for PcDuino and Sensors

1. Take your large LiPo Battery (P4) and connect the positive output pin to the red terminal
of the breadboard.
2. Take the negative output pin and connect to the negative terminal of the breadboard
3. Take one of the LiPo (P4) power outputs and connect to PcDuino (P1)
Step 7: FPV System
1. Take your FPV Camera (P11) and connect to your transmitter (P12) via provided cables.
2. Attach your small LiPo Battery (P5) to your transmitter (P12) via power cables provided.
3. Attach VGA cables to receiver (P13) and a monitor.
FPV Camera

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FPV Receiver and Transmitter

Works Cited
Arduino Schematic. Digital image. Thietbichetao. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Jan. 2015.
Boscam Transmitter plus Receiver. Digital image. Amazon. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2015.

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Breadboard. Digital image. Adafruit. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2015.
Brushless motor. Digital image. Dhgate. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2015.
Brushless motor with connections. Digital image. Sabest. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2015.
Bullet connectors. Digital image. Helifreak. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2015.
Bullet connection. Digital image. Cycleterminal. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2015.
ESC with connections. Digital image. Wiki.ardupilot. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2015.
GPS Module. Digital image. Adafruit. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2015.
GY-80 10 DOF. Digital image. 4tronix. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2015.
FPV Camera. Digital image. Team Black Sheep. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2015
LithiumPolymer Battery. Digital image. HobbyKing. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2015.
PcDuino. Digital image. Sainsmart. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Jan. 2015.
Spektrum Receiver. Digital image. Amazon. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2015.