A drone is a system of parts that have to work together under real flight conditions. This section covers airframes, motors, propellers, batteries, flight controllers, navigation hardware, cameras, sensors, payloads, and supporting equipment, focusing on what each component does, how the pieces interact, and what changes when the mission changes.
Topic
Drone Hardware: Airframes, Propulsion, Batteries, Sensors and Payloads
Latest topic news
QGroundControl adds proposed USB recognition for ZeroOne M9 and X9 boards
QGroundControl PR 15437 proposes recognizing the ZeroOne M9 and X9 by USB vendor/product identity and classifying them as Pixhawk devices during connection.
Read newsArduPilot reviews bidirectional DShot decode bounds on F1 IOMCUs
ArduPilot PR 35036 proposes fixing an out-of-bounds read in the F1 IOMCU bidirectional DShot telemetry decoder when the sampled buffer ends before a complete 21-bit packet.
Read newsArduPilot OSD proposal closes a backend-index gap that can crash startup
ArduPilot PR 34497 reports a crash if one OSD backend is disabled or fails to start while a second backend initializes. The proposal removes the hole left in the backend list.
Read newsSkydio says Controller 2 is reaching customers after its October introduction
Skydio CEO Adam Bry said on 8 November that Controller 2 is shipping. Skydio's documentation calls its October 12 software release General Access and describes a seven-inch display, selectable cellular connectivity and support dependent on compatible X10 or R10 drone software.
Read newsBetaflight evaluates an ADIS1657x precision IMU driver
Betaflight PR 15632 proposes SPI support for the Analog Devices ADIS16575, ADIS16576 and ADIS16577 inertial sensors, combining gyro, accelerometer and temperature measurements in a burst transaction.
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Analog, DJI O4, Walksnail or HDZero: how to choose an FPV video system in 2026
The video system is the hardest part of an FPV setup to change later. Goggles are usually the biggest single expense, and the systems mostly do not talk to each other: DJI goggles show only DJI video, a Walksnail camera needs Walksnail goggles, and so on. Pick one and every new drone you build gets the matching camera and transmitter.
Read articleAM32 ESC settings: what each option in the configurator does and what to leave alone
BLHeli 32 shut down in June 2024, and AM32, an open-source firmware for 32-bit ESCs, has taken its place. Betaflight's own ESC firmware page now recommends it for 32-bit ESCs, and it supports bidirectional DShot for RPM filtering and EDT (extended DShot telemetry). The first time you open the AM32 configurator, though, you get a wall of switches and sliders with names like "Complementary PWM", "Stall protection" and "Sine Mode Power". Some of them matter on a quad. Several are meant for RC cars and crawlers and only get in the way on a quad.
Read articleDJI battery auto-discharge: why a full pack drops to 96% and how to store it
You charge all your DJI batteries on Wednesday for a weekend shoot, and on Saturday morning the app shows 96% instead of 100%. Leave them another week and they sit at 60%. The batteries may also feel warm in the bag even though nothing is connected. None of this is a fault. DJI Intelligent Flight Batteries discharge themselves on purpose when they are left full, and the timing depends on the model.
Read articleExpressLRS Backpack: set the goggles' video channel from your radio
At a group session, someone tells you to fly on R2. You then change the channel twice: once on the quad, through the OSD menu or a button on the VTX, and once on the goggles. ExpressLRS can do both from the radio. The VTX side goes through the receiver and the flight controller. The goggles side needs an extra piece called the Backpack.
Read articleFPV motor bearings: when to clean, when to oil and how to replace them
A motor that feels gritty when you turn it by hand usually still spins up and flies. That is why bearings get ignored until the quad starts to sound rough or one motor comes down hotter than the others. By then the question is whether to clean, oil, replace the bearings or throw the motor away, and the guides you find online do not agree on all of it, especially on oil.
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