The Return of the Haunted Kwad

In July, I purchased the hottest quadcopter on the market at the time, the Armattan Chameleon. No matter what components I put in the kwad, nothing would work. While struggling to fix all the issues, I lost two quadcopters to the ocean an trees. Broke and needing a working drone, I sold the haunted kwad to buy something new and different.

Months later, I have a two working drones and an assortment of components that are just shy of 100 percent functionality. I have a flight controller that I shorted out the USB connection, motors that are several years old, a vtx that I cannot change power levels or channels, a camera that is a combo of a working lens and case from one broken cam and and the internals of a night vision camera that was smashed in a crash, and a radio receiver that need both antenna replaced.

It complete the project, I bought 4 DYS ESC that are way over spec'd for the build. They serve as on-hand backups for the other two kwads. I also have an ugly, green Foxeer VTX antenna that was getting no use after I switched to TBS antenna for the other kwads.

So what do I do with a kwad that won't be as fast as the others or be able to switch channels? One that does not handle shifting from bright light to shadows well? I am making it a phantom of the night. The birthday cake looking props? Well they bring a bit of the clown element to the party.

EDIT
So, I think I miss communicated here. I definitely left out a major point. The haunted kwad had some issues that just could not be fixed at the time. I sold it because I needed some cash to keep flying. I sold it because sometimes it is better to start from scratch to clear the head.

Months later, the person I sold it to needed some cash. I have two kwads that fly very well. I have smashed more kwads to pieces in six months than I can count. I have piles of half working parts. Normal for what we do.

Here is the real point of the story: I was unable to get rid of the half broken junk I had sitting around. I pieced together this Frankenkwad from parts I never intended to use again. I rarely fly at night, but these parts, which are useless to my butterkwads, work great for the dedicated night flyer.

As my two brothers in FPV note, this hobby can get frustrating. It was terrible when I lost two kwads and my only remaining kwad had ghosts in the machine. There are also times like now, when I have multiple kwads and junk comes together to form a new life.

@doserfu said it best, this is for the mentally tough. @kaliber is right as well. The learning curve is steep: mechanical, electrical, video, editing, art, style, filming, photography,piloting....it goes on. That is why I stay in it. It doesn't get boring. The people in the sport are intelligent, brave, and artistic. Find me another hobby that requires so much talent!

#drone #fpv
#quadcopter #fpvlife #freestyle