Mini Drone Problem with lift

[amyCC]

Posted on behalf of family
Project: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... uch-weight

(Or this activity: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-act ... ini-drones )

------------------------
Hello, my son and I just completed the DIY mini drone and it’s not taking off. I was careful with the instructions and at first it did rise up about 6 inches and now won’t even leave the deck. Is there something I’m doing wrong? We need to do this experiment with weight and it’s not possible due to not lifting up. I have poseted pictures of the wire and propellers. Thank you.

tzGteXIRvOYagRbzG1gvTrCqLrKE_Q7frw.jpeg (3.54 MiB) Viewed 3537 times

[DauntlessDog12]

Hi there,

Without a clear view of the wiring system or the connections between wires, I can't exactly tell what seems to be the issue from the electrical system. However, something quick that you could figure out is that if the battery is the issue. You may want to try switching out the battery for two fresh AA batteries to ensure that the drone is getting the power it may need. You can also look at the propellers to make sure that none of the wires are getting tangled in the drone. Otherwise, it may be helpful to send a diagram of the wires. Hope this helps.

[bfinio]

Hi - I wanted to add that this project has an FAQ for common issues if you haven't seen that already:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... weight#faq

However, echoing what DauntlessDog12 said - this project kills batteries pretty quickly. If it was lifting off initially but isn't anymore, you may need fresh batteries. However, if it was only going up about 6 inches and then getting stuck, you should make sure the drone can easily slide all the way up and back down the dowels by hand, as described in the FAQ.

[Anotherone]

Thank you for the reply. However I have addressed the battery side and have over looked the wiring as well multiple times. The drone does slide freely I can manually lift it up and it automatically drops. I had taken the bread board out of the equation. As well with the same result. I’m not sure what else to do as it is too late to change projects at this point and have hours invested into this. Please see attached on how I have it wired. Thank you!

[bfinio]

Hi - just to confirm, since it's hard to trace all the wires from a photo, you are 100% sure all four propellers are spinning in the correct direction? If you hold your hand under each one individually, you should feel air blowing down.

Also, sometimes off-brand batteries aren't as good as Duracell or Energizer - I haven't tried this project with Amazon Basics batteries, but it might be worth trying with name-brand batteries if you have access to them.

[Anotherone]

Sure I will try name brand batteries, I did try lithium batteries as well, and I will explain the wiring how I have it. Also yes I have made sure the motors are spinning in the right direction and all the air blows underneath the drone.

I have red wires connected to white wires going to positive and CW rotation, and black wires connected to blue wires negative terminal CCW rotation.

[bfinio]

If you can feel the air blowing down under each propeller, then we know the wiring is correct.

Another thing you can try in addition to name-brand batteries is holding the wires with your hand as the drone moves up, so the wires are not holding it down too much.

[Anotherone]

It works great now with name brand batteries, thank you for the help.

[bfinio]

Good to know, glad you got it working and sorry for the hassle! I guess this is a good lesson about off-brand batteries. They can be significantly cheaper but may not last as long or be able to provide as much power.