Page 29 - Build Your Own Quadcopter_ Power Up Your Designs with the Parallax Elev-8

8 Bu il d Y o ur O w n Q u a d c o p t e r

Figure 1.7 HoverflyOPEN controller board.

attached on the left. The red decals serve a very important purpose: they show the forward
travel direction for an X configuration quadcopter. Forward is always between the red
checkered tubes. The X configuration as well as other configurations will be discussed in
Chapter 2.
Figure 1.10 is a picture of the first Elev-8 that I built in early 2012.
Every Elev-8 built will be unique to some degree. They all start from a basic kit of parts
available for purchase from Parallax Inc., Rocklin, CA. Users can, and probably should,
modify their kits to suit their personal preferences. Modifications can include adding items
such as LED lights, video cameras, GPS trackers, and so on. For example, I added a separate
Basic Stamp II microcontroller on my first quadcopter, which allowed me to independently
program the display operation of the four LED strips attached to the underside of each of the
four boom tubes. Figure 1.11 is a picture of a Basic Stamp II development board mounted