You Really Can’t Control Anything without a Controller

With this nugget of wisdom and incredible awareness of the obvious, we continue….

PROF: You really can’t control anything unless you have a controller. (DAH!) That is like on page 2 of the scratcher’s manual, right after the disclaimer about these not being toys. So, if you don’t already have one, go buy a good transmitter controller. There are several noble manufactures to choose from. I like Spektrum and more recently the Turnigy X9D Plus. It is extremely programmable but once again get ready for a steep learning curve.

The reason I suggest getting a good generic transmitter is because the ones that generally come with an RTF are propitiatory and specific to one flying device. If you intend to build other quads or anything really, you need to invest up front in a flexible Tx.

However, there advantages to the radio controllers that come with the Ready to Fly quads.

PROF: That’s right. They are designed for just one quad and therefore have simple controls and in the case of DJI, these radios are continuously being upgraded through DJI’s website. Another advantage for the DJI gear is that both controller and the quad are calibrated through DJI’s online site.

OK, where was I, once you find that you enjoy this sport and really want to build your own quad it’s time to start laying out a plan, something I didn’t do.

You should decide what you are going to do with this quad. Is it going to be for 3D flying, racing, a camera platform or just to entertain your friends? That decision will affect every choice you make going forward.

How do you find the right components?

PROF: At first I just blindly threw money at what I thought would work not giving it any serious thought. After all, how difficult can it be?

After that mistake,I did lots of research to try and find the best components I could. I asked lots of stupid questions on the forums and read everything I could find on the web. This didn’t necessarily get me all the right components but it gave me a good start.

While forums are a great source of information it’s also another one of those slippery slopes. Not everything you read can be believed, not everything you read is correct and you have to sort through some attitudes that are not constructive to the question at hand.