Parts
Because I’ve never built anything like this before, I had to do quite a bit of research to figure out what components I need to buy. There are endless options and matching everything with everything else can be a challenge. I ended up settling on the list below. I listed approximate weights and prices.
Could I do it cheaper? Absolutely. I could build my own frame, find cheaper parts, not use power distributor board, use an old power supply for battery charger, get smaller battery, do much more of my own soldering and wire-cutting and on and on. But because my main interest is in making software part of the project work, I wanted the hardware part to be as painless as possible. Also, I wanted to give myself some wiggle room, in case I was off in some of my calculations. So this can be done cheaper and better for sure. But this is what I’m going forward with for now.
I decided to use Raspberry Pi Sense HAT for my IMU sensors (gyro, accelerometer, magnetometer and barometer). It’s larger than necessary and has components on it that I don’t really need, but it comes with a nice Python library, that I hope will make my life a little easier. Unfortunately, Sense HAT is still on backorder, but I have plenty of other work to do, so I can move forward without it for now.
In any case, the list below is what I will be working with:
| Part | Actual Part | Qty | OnBoard | Weight | Flight Weght | Price |
| Frame | HobbyKing™ Totem Q330 Quadcopter Kit | 1 | 1 | 150 | 150 | $17.00 |
| 4 x motors | Multistar Elite 2204-2300KV Set Of 4 | 4 | 1 | 24 | 96 | $46.00 |
| 4 x ESC | Afro Race Spec Mini 20Amp Opto | 4 | 1 | 11 | 44 | $32.00 |
| Props | DYS BN6040-G and DYS BN6040-O | 4 | 1 | 5 | 20 | $2.00 |
| LiPo Battery | Multistar LiHV High Capacity 5200Mah 3S Multi-Rotor Lipo Pack | 1 | 1 | 318 | 318 | $25.00 |
| UBEC | Turnigy 3A UBEC with Low Voltage Buzzer | 1 | 1 | 14 | 14 | $3.00 |
| Power Splitter for ESCs and UBEC | Hobby King Quadcopter Power Distribution Board Lite | 1 | 1 | 20 | 20 | $4.00 |
| Rasoberry Pi | Raspberry Pi 3 | 1 | 1 | 50 | 50 | $35.00 |
| microSD | 16Gb Sandisk Extreme | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $12.00 |
| Sense HAT | RPi Sense HAT | 1 | 1 | 20 | 20 | $30.00 |
| Battery charger | Turnigy Accucel-6 80W 10A Balancer/Charger LiHV Capable | 1 | 0 | 270 | 0 | $30.00 |
| Battery monitor/balancer | Turnigy DLUX LIPO Battery Cell Display and Balancer (2S~6S) | 1 | 1 | 20 | 20 | $12.00 |
| Power Supply for battery charger | Turnigy Reaktor Pro 240W 16A Power Supply (100~240V AC) | 1 | 0 | 680 | 0 | $20.00 |
| Pimoroni Black HAT Hack3r Mini Kit | Pimoroni Black HAT Hack3r Mini Kit | 1 | 1 | 50 | 50 | $13.00 |
| (Optional) GPS (USB) | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
| (Optional) 4G modem | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total: | 802 | $281.00 |
