After assembling the frame, mounting the brushless motors and connecting the ESCs, the Ardupilot 2.5 Mega (APM 2.5 Mega) has to be installed wired properly. Here are some pictures and drawings which show the correct connections (first pics come from DIY Drones, copyright by www.diydrones.com ):
For the contruction of the quadcopter’s platform I used the free 3D Software SketchUp by Google: www.sketchup.com
I knew that I wanted to build a multicopter and that the ardupilot mega 2.5 should be the platform for stabilization. At that point I did a lot of research work:
That qestion was quite easy. The project had to be cheap and simple, too.
So my first idea was the tricopter. It is cheaper than the other multicopters, because you only need 3 motors and 3 speed controllers instead of 4, 6 or even 8 each. But I thought, it would have been to complex for my first DIY project, because the motor has to be movable by a servo.
So, my decission was building a quadcopter. Only 4 motors and controllers, no moving parts except the props. This makes it an easy platform.