FIRST CHOCOLATE QUADCOPTER - delicious!!!

I couldn't believe what I am seeing - an edible quad - what an idea!!

Beautiful , stable and Delicious !!

Lego It: Internet of Things Maker Kit

Lego It: Internet of Things Maker Kit

Its great !!

Just how I want kids to learn the electronics - easy way!

New drone from Parrot corp.

I was amazed by the Parrot AR drone 2 and its predecessor - they introduced multicopters accessible to non-RC enthusiasts.They can be controlled easily using a iPad / iPhone /Android smartphone.

Now they have introduced a new version V3.0 which has the gimbal (sort of) stablised camera and FPV with oculus rift and a long range control over 2km.

Flite test crew got a first hand view of the V3.0 and a good review as soon as it was launched by Parrot corp.

Arduino day - Sparkfun

On the Arduino Day - Sparkfun was giving the arduino boards at throwaway prices.I saw some of them and wanted to give a try.I chose the Arduino Pro mini with Atmega 328 - 5V -16MHz and placed an order.
My bad luck it was out of stock.But they were allowing orders to be placed and they will honor all the orders.The arduino pro were @ $3 each and $2.75 as handling charger.

My order was shipped on 2 May and got it today 15 May - not bad for a post.When I opened the parcel , i was shocked by the size of the arduino mini so small, so powerful, so cute!

The packaging - super

Inside the box - two small PCBs

The arduino pro mini 

Whats my plan with these ? maybe a multiwii , i already have a MPU6050 (accelerometer + Gyroscope ) board , connect it with arduino and upload the multiwii sketch - thats it board ready!

The math behind Logo

Ever wondered about the weird shapes of Logos of popular companies like apple , Toyota ,pepsi ...
These logos have a little math behind them ,these logos are not just created by hand but also can be made using mathematical equations.
You would have seen the film' A beautiful Mind ' in which the John Nash see all the pictures and illusions as a complex mathematical pattern.

The famous Apple logo - featuring an apple missing a bite

Batman - a complex shape created using parabolas

iCloud - also a logo of circles in the golden ratio

PepsiCo

Toyota

When you look at a Logo don't just see them as an artistic piece but a masterpiece of maths with them.

Repairing the FS-R6B Rx

I had  spare FS-CT6B radio with myself if anything happens to my Spektrum Dx6i.
But when I was trying to make a RC controlled robot using Arduino ,I accidently connected the powersupply to the Rx in the reverse polarity and damaged the Rx.

I was sure that the regulator(LDO) might be the only thing damaged inside the Rx.So I decided to take apart the Rx and diagnose what is the problem.

Damaged Rx

Remove the screws

The PCB and case

Bare PCB - no visible damages

Connected a 5V supply from a BEC and checked the output of the LDO,but it was just 1.21V instead of 3.3V

Now it is confirmed that the LDO is the problem.Now looking at its part number and its datasheet for Pinout.

The LDO is CA33

The datasheet on the internet

The LDO was originally a 3.3 V regulator capable of delivering upto 300mA.Searching for replacements ,I came across the AMS1117-3.3 that I had in my components box.Compared the Pinouts and spec.

The AMS1117 was capable of delivering upto 1A .Its huge when compared to the 0.3A of CA33

Comparing the datasheets

Comparison of the packages

Made a small breakout board for the AMS1117

Connect the AMS1117 to PCB and turn ON power

It works

To make the AMS1117 fit inside the case ,cut the tab on the top of AMS1117

Desoldering SMD components is a hell of a job without SMS rework station

Just cut the legs and pry it

The IC removed 

A clean removal of the CA33

Now attach the AMS1117 in the place of CA33

Testing -It works

'Use hot glue to keep the AMS1117 in place

Put together the case and PCB 

Another Test - working great

Vola! Saves Rs.600 by a Rs.15 replacement and some 15mins time.

My quadcopter - RCTimer 450 V2 kit

Completed my quadcopter from the 450V2 kit from RCtimer ,

450 V2 Kit - 

http://www.rctimer.com/index.php?gOo=goods_details.dwt&goodsid=786&productname=

Landing gear for 450 kit -

http://www.rctimer.com/index.php?gOo=goods_details.dwt&goodsid=966&productname=

Nanowii FC -

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__22322__MultiWii_NanoWii_ATmega32U4_Micro_Flight_Controller_USB_GYRO_ACC.html?strSearch=nanowii

Complete quad -