Blog 10: The End?
Going subsonic: Why drones have their distinctive hum and how propeller design can help fix it.
Blog 10: The End?
This week, my Drone Experience is starting to come to a close. My propeller tests have gone well, and I’m preparing my final presentation and report. I was unable to assemble my drone this week due to the absence of my on-site advisor from the office. I have collected everything needed for the drone, though, so the only things I need help with are soldering and knowing where pieces should go.
In an expansion to last week’s blog, I realized that my propeller test setup was dangerous, and even worse, imprecise. To rectify this, I built a wooden mount for the entire test assembly and a 3D printed mount for my tester mount (lots of things being mounted this week). This rig means that my propellers were able to exert thrust straight upward and without any variance caused by my hand and arms moving. Being able to leave the stand on its own also allowed me to conduct my tests from behind a sound blanket, finally letting me use my Remote Control for its intended purpose.
I realized another benefit to my testing set up this week when I discovered that the RC receiver I’ve been using was designed for airplanes, not drones. I had a suspicion of this, as most of the throttles did nothing, as if those controls were for non-propeller functions. The upshot of this is that any stray touch on the controller will not have an effect on the testing motor’s performance.
Other than that, this week went by very quickly, and I’ve been able to make good progress toward my final products. Thanks for reading, folks!
Is this the end? Check back next week to find out!
Propeller spreadsheet (much more detailed, but does not contain the measurements I’ve collected) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QnVORPgaP6eOXAQWGW8OxpOkJtlu77fsbD5rLiyG7hs/edit?usp=sharing.