Twister Quattro-X quadcopter - replacing the body

When I ran my poor Twister Quattro-X into yet another tree, I had one of my "how hard can it be" moments and decided to replace the body.

One new body, a few hours of taking apart and putting back together again, 46 screws and 6 yoghurt pots later - the answer is fiddly but not impossible.  Thanks to the ingenious design, there is no soldering or anything like that. I'm a total novice in these matters but I managed it without too many problems and the quad flew correctly on the very first test. The job needed patience and care rather than expertise. I've made these notes in case I need to do it again or someone else finds them useful.

Essentially my method was:

• Set up a "work station" with a big tray to catch anything I drop and a good light.
• Start undoing anything that looked accessible - i.e. go from outside in.
• Produce as many photos, notes and sketches as possible so I could retrace my steps.
• Divide the quad into areas (North West arm, North East arm, centre etc.) each represented by a yoghurt pot.
• Put anything I removed into the appropriate yoghurt pot.

I used compass directions to help me keep track. With the quad the right way up and the front (orange end) away from me, I set "North" as the front end, then used North West etc. to identify each arm.

Here are my notes on putting the quad back together.  If I need to take it apart, I'll just work backwards.

After transferring electronics from old boldy (right) to new (left)

Having detached everything from the old body and gently moved the electronics to the new one, it was time to start reattaching parts.  I tried to work from the inside to the outside.

1. Thread antenna through hole

First, I threaded the antenna back through its hole.

2. Restore camera connections

Screwing down the camera connection.

When I was working with the circuit boards, I put plastic gloves on. I don't know if this is necessary but I didn't want to transfer salts etc. from my hands to the circuit boards.

I started by putting the small camera circuit board back in place.

3. Put the LEDs back.

Plastic window and LED (with red wires attached).

There are two separate parts, the plastic window and the LED itself. Both had to be slotted into the holder. This was very fiddly and they tended to jump out. Eventually I taped them in place with a tiny piece of sellotape.

4. Screw the central 'platform' back

Power Supply System before I moved it into place over the camera connections.

This is the power supply system. I aligned the holes with the legs and put the four screws back in.

5. Replace the circuit boards in the arms

Notice the plastic column behind the screwdriver.

I slotted the long narrow circuit boards over the little plastic columns and screwed them into place. 2 screws each.

6. Put the Circuit Board back in the 'Tower' and Reconnect

Note: I should have done this later, after I had screwed the motors back. Doing at this time meant that I had a 'tether' between the top and bottom part of the body shell, which was unwieldy.

Opening the tower's lid.

On the top half of the new body, I carefully levered the tower's lid off with my thumbnail. I had to be very careful to avoid damaging the tiny posts that keep it in place.

Fixing GPS module in place.

I threaded the wires and connector through the column and fixed the GPS module in place with the four tiny screws.  Then I put the lid back on.

BEWARE that this was difficult to dismantle as the plastic posts had got stuck in the circuit board holes. 

Reattached black/red/white wire leading to "GPS" (3rd slot).

I reconnected the wires to the port that I had removed them from, with the white wire at the top.  While I was there, I checked that all the others connectors were firmly in place.

For future reference.

I took this photo of the labelling for future reference.

7. Screw the Motors back in

Motor back in place.

For each arm I:

• put the bottom half of the body the right way up
• carefully slotted the round "base plate" into the motor hole
• put the motor in - carefully aligning wires, holes etc.
• ended up getting one screw into place (by standing quad on its slide and fiddling until everything lined up) - just enough to "bite"
• flipped the quad on its back so I could see the four screw holes
• slid the motor a little so the other holes lined up
• put the diagonally opposite screw in until it "bit"
• put the other two in
• tightened them as a group.

BEWARE: Aligning the first screw for each motor was one of the fiddliest parts of the whole replacement.

Note that the screws used for the motor are very slightly different to the ones for the recessed holes in the next step.  From the side, the heads are rounder and more tapered.  The ones you use in the next step are more square looking.

8. Put the Top and Bottom Halves together

Assembled arm showing screws: tiny one at end, 4 motor and 3 recessed.

I fitted the top half of the new body over the motors.  Everything just snapped into place. Then I put the screws in - for each arm:

• a tiny one at the end
• 3 slightly larger ones in the 3 recessed holes.

Battery door open so I can insert the last screw.

I also opened the battery door so I could insert the screw on the South side - just under the tower.

9. Restoring Skids etc.

Once I had tightened up all the screws, I put back skids, propeller etc.

Ashdown Forest - Oldlands

After walking from Fairwarp to the gates of Oldland Hall and slightly beyond, I became very intrigued about the place and did some googling.

Most of the following information is from the splendid article, Alexander Nesbit, a Sussex antiquary, and the Oldlands Estate, by Janet H Stevenson from Sussex Archaeological collections 137 (1999) pg 161-73. Once you have clicked the link, you will need to read and accept the easy-to-read terms and conditions. If you are interested in our local history it is well worth a read. Once you get past the first couple of pages, which focus on Nesbitt's earlier history, it is full of colourful and interesting details about the lands and the people who lived there and has pictures and maps showing Oldlands Hall and its grounds.

The first big surprise was that Oldlands Hall is not a particularly old house. Nesbitt had it built from 1869 in the style of a much older house. Edward Luckhurst, the head gardener, created the huge garden and park.  The garden included a big walled garden and a parterre. He created a highland-style glen and lake from the existing valley and ponds.  Nesbit was clearly a driving force in the area. Among other things he:

• (presumably) contributed money for the National school on the B2026, close to the Fairwarp turning
• was instrumental in the building of Christchurch, next to the school
• with other landowners got into (and won) a dispute with Earl de la Warr over commoners rights.

The house and grounds were occupied and owned by several different people until Frederick Eckstein from Stuttgart bought them in 1920.  The Ecksteins made significant alterations to the house and gardens.

If you visit the church, you will see the grand monuments to Eckstein and family in the graveyard. If you take a look inside the Forresters, you can see a photo of the spitfire that the village bought in WWII. The Ecksteins were big contributors to the fund. After Sir Bernard Eckstein died in 1948, the house was broken up into apartments.

Oldlands Farm.

Following Oldlands Hill past Oldlands Hall gate, leads you to a ford. From here, you can see Oldlands Farm house. According to Stevenson's article, William Levett, may have founded the first ordnance in England somewhere near here.  The farm house is 16th Century with 17th Century additions.  At the beginning of the 19th Century this building was called Oldlands House.

Finally, Stevenson's article contains an irresistible detail:

"A small freehold of Maresfield manor which Maud Oldland held in about 1290 for a yearly rent of two barbed arrows was, as her surname suggests, evidently at Oldlands." This, "Cinderbanks" Estate on the Maresfield (West) side of the Oldlands estate was purchased and added to the estate in 1869.

Mass Observation - One Day Diary - Tuesday 12th May 2016

I wrote this account because I was taking part in mass observation where large numbers of people write about their day.  Last year I wrote about a day off from work, spent in Ashdown Forest.

According to the Mass Observation people's tweet ...

Some great #12May16 diaries coming in! Common themes include: reactions to the #BBCwhitepaper, weather, #SATs, social media, childcare 

Mine focussed much more my journey from Uckfield to Birmingham and back, mixing the way I used technology with observations about the countryside I saw from the train window.

Oxted Station - on the way home

I tweeted some of my observations. My most popular tweet of the day was about a visit to a new and very friendly cocktail bar (Ben's Place) on the way home from Uckfield station.

... had a fabulous Margarita at @Bens_Place

One Day Diary

I live in Uckfield, Sussex with my Mother. I am 53 years old. I am single. I work as a training consultant.  This wasn’t a typical day because I did a round trip to Birmingham to run a virtual session, which means that my day was so much more focussed on travel than usual. Usually  I work at home, or travel to Birmingham and stay overnight in a hotel. 

6am	Got up. Mum got me coffee. Dressed in reasonably smart office clothes. Blue and white jacket, red white and blue shoes, white top. Breakfast comprised yoghurt and a papaya with lime.
7am	Left home and walked to the station about a mile away.  Got cash from the bank machine on the way. Also bought newspaper (Guardian) and Private Eye from independent newsagent.
7:15am	At Uckfield station purchased ticket from lady at ticket office. Nice that she knows my usual routes as well as I do. £65.80 for return to Birmingham International via London.
7:30am	Caught London Bridge train (Southern). On way, noticed that woods were really blue with bluebells. Think I caught a glimpse of a purple orchid on the embankment.  Browsed through cartoons in Private Eye and browsed through the Guardian. Interesting article on the election of the new London Mayor, Sadiq Khan. It said that Greater London was created in 1963 in the hope that the “blue donut” of the outer suburbs would overwhelm the then “red” centre. Then talked about how control has switched to and from Conservative and Labour. Private Eye cover lampooned the Prime Minister’s scare tactics on European referendum.
8:20am	At Hurst Green, got off train.  Usual crowds of school children needing to get on the train. Two very polite teenagers in wine red blazers got off at the same time as me.  I walked along the platform to get a seat near the front of the train. Noticed that a cherry tree on the other side had dropped pink petals, which were lying in drifts along the platform.  Picked up free Metro newspaper. Main story about  Boris Johnson (former Mayor of London) hitting out at Prime Minister, David Cameron, about Euro referendum. Browsed Facebook and Twitter on my Samsung Smart Phone, noticed tweet about Mass Observation. Tweeted about what I was doing.  Got onto Victoria train.  On the way into Victoria, noticed that Battersea Power Station no longer has its chimneys. It looks very wrong like that.
9:15am	Followed crowd through Victoria. Two heavily armed Police Officers. Both tall and watchful. One had beard.
9:20	Down the steps into the underground. Went through automatic barrier.  Not very crowded.  Went to Victoria Northbound. Train came quickly. Some holiday makers with baggage amongst commuters. A few younger men wearing shorts. Some people listening to music through ear-bud type headphones. A few people wearing the more fashionable chunky headphones. Got off tube at Euston. While on escalator noticed young Muslim woman in robes wearing a bright pink set of the chunky headphones.
9:40	Got on 9:43 Virgin train to Glasgow, in order to get to Birmingham International.
9:50	Fire up laptop and start clearing down inbox. Two business men joined me at table. The man sitting next to me let me plug in on his side of the table. Glance out of the countryside from time to time. Very green and lush. The man next to me bought £8 Wifi access for 24hr.
10:15	Stop at Milton Keynes, group of businessmen opposite leave, an elderly Scottish couple came in with a younger woman. They were helped by Virgin Staff. Fields bright yellow with rapeseed crop. Wind turbines seen towering over fields. Announcement for shop includes apple and contactless payments. People riding horses in the sunshine. At Coventry, start packing up my laptop. Then wait by the door for the next stop.
11:00	Leave the station through automatic barrier, which swallows my ticket. Must remember to keep the other half for expenses. Walk past taxi rank and pause to look at the flowers on a small grassy area. Daisies, Cowslips, buttercups and forget-me-nots. Walk quickly along to business park. Very hot.  At entrance to business park, I notice fabulous blossom on tree.  Blossom very good this year.
11:15	Get into office. Exchange a few words with colleagues.  Mainly about the issues that stopped the Customer’s virtual conferencing software working with my home broadband. Then go to meeting room so I can do a test run on virtual conferencing software.  Deal with new emails while waiting.
11:30	Test run successful. Also discussed next steps.
12:00	Go to get a snack lunch at a nearby garage. On the way noticed lovely Hawthorn blossoms and green alkanet.  Took photos and tweeted one. Lunch comprised Salmon sandwich, mango chunks and a Can of Coca-Cola. It cost £4.59. Tweeted picture of lunch for mass observation.
12:45	After eating lunch, I print out some training materials and prepared for this afternoon’s virtual session.
2  pm	Ran the virtual session to share information about changes to computer system with offshore trainers.
3:45 pm	Finished virtual session; sent reference guides to one of the participants and sent an email with a query to one of our own experts. I gathered up my stuff and walked to the station. Noticed blue flowers by the roadside.
4:25 pm	Just managed to catch the 4:20 Virgin train to Euston, which had been slightly delayed.  Shared a table with people connected with the Open University.  I opened my laptop and started working through questions that people on the virtual session had asked.
5:05 pm	Stopped at Milton Keynes. The Open University people got off. More people got in. Only just enough seats so much shuffling and getting in and out of seats. Later, I look up and see narrow boats lined up alongside a canal.
5:40 pm	Got to Euston. Escalators to Northern line are being refurbished so very crowded getting down to the platforms but not too bad once there. A Busker was playing an electronic harp. Gave him a pound.   Tube train not too crowded. Nearly everyone had a seat.
6.08pm	Got to London Bridge main line a couple of minutes after the Uckfield train left. Waited for the next East Grinstead train.  Bought a snack to eat on the way home. A roll with bacon, brie and cranberry plus a bag of crisps cost £5.  Waited for some time, then the boards showed the East Grinstead train was coming into platform 10.
18:23	As train drew out of the station, ate roll while looking back at the buildings. Could recognise the Gherkin and the Walkie Talkie. Saw top of Tower Bridge.  Seems that the old, familiar landmarks are being swamped. Read the Evening Standard until Oxted where I got out.  News full of politicians bickering about EU referendum.
6:30pm	Waited at Oxted until 18:37 Uckfield train.  While on train completed the questions I had been dealing with earlier.  When I finished, enjoyed looking over countryside in gold light of low sun.  Noticed progress had been made on lengthening some of the platforms.
7:21pm	Got off train. Strong smell of wild garlic as I left the station.  Walked up hill as far as Ben’s Place, a new cocktail bar, Ben’s Place. Had a Margarita before walking home. Staff very friendly.
9pm	At home, greeted Mum and we went into the garden to look at her new plants. Loved walking on the damp grass in my bare feet.
9:15pm	Used personal laptop to check some TV info for mum. Checked train times for Sunday. Tweeted about my cocktail, which was retweeted by bar. Played round with Twitter and Facebook for a bit. Had a chocolate drink.
11pm	Went to bed.

Scaynes Hill in WWI

I was thrilled to find one of the Verdun oaks in Scaynes Hill, just a few miles from where I live. Now I want to find out more about Scayne's Hill during WWI.

1915 Trade Directory

Kelly's Directory of Sussex, 1915 (pages 523/4] available from Leicester University special collections says:

SCAYNES HILL is about 2 miles south east [of Lindfield] The mission church of St Augustine is an unconsecrated edifice of brick, and has a tower with spire containing a clock and one bell : there are sittings for 220 persons; service here is held by the vicar of Lindfield. There is also a Baptist chapel. Walstead and Enfield commons are in this parish.

Public Elementary School - Scaynes Hill (mixed), built for 100 children; Mrs. Lavinia S. Button, mistress.

Browne Duncan David, The Neale, Scaynes Hill
Button Mrs, St. Augustine's House, Scaynes Hill
Clarke Septimus, Inces, Scaynes Hill
Gibbons Sills Clifford, Scaynes Hill
Harrison Robert Thomas, 2 Clifton Villas, Scaynes Hill
Margesson Misses, Scaynes Hill House, Scaynes Hill

Commercial

Awcock William, Sloop Inn, Scaynes Hill
Burtenshaw Alfred George, wheelwright, Scaynes Hill
Cox George H, builder, Ham Lane
Cox Jessse, farmer, Hamlyns, Scaynes Hill
Dann David, farmer, Hammonds Farm, Scaynes Hill
Jensen A. W. Orchid Grower, Scaynes Hill
Kember Edwin, Butter Box, Scaynes Hill
Knight Stephen, beer retailer, Snowdrop Inn
Lindfield Ada (Miss) dressmaker, Scaynes Hill
Luckens Joseph John, shopkeeper and sub-postmaster, Scaynes Hill
Mann Robert, farmer, Awbrooke Farm, Scaynes Hill
Marsh Henry, Farmer, Scaynes Hill
Matthews Charles, Anchor Inn [Now the Inn on the Green] Scaynes Hill
Merrick Sydney Herbert, farmer, Scaynes Hill
Nunns Alfred Earnest, insur. agt, Hill View, Scaynes Hill
Taylor William J, Market Gardener, Scaynes Hill
Tingley William, Boot maker, Scaynes Hill
Washer Thomas, farmer, Freshfield Place

The roll of honour website lists those on the war memorial.

WWI Verdun Oak - Scaynes Hill

I was intrigued by the Woodland Trust's call for information about Verdun Oaks. They say:

• More than 400,000 French and German lives were lost in the longest running battle of the First World War.
• After the fighting ended, acorns were collected from the battlefields and planted in our towns as a tribute to the fallen. Why and how the acorns came to the UK is an unfolding story and one we would love to complete.

They also have pictures of some of the oaks in Coventry, Pembridge, Lichfield, Southwold, Leominster.  I found myself wondering more about the battle, which I'd never encountered.

The battle of Verdun

The East Sussex WWI web site explains that Verdun was a fortress town. They say:
The German artillery opened fire at 7:15am on 21st February 1916 and over the course of ten hours fired over one million shells before the German infantry attacked.

They go on to describe a lengthy war of attrition. Meanwhile the Battle of the Somme was starting.
... the effort required from Germany to defend against the British to the north whilst also fighting the French at Verdun proved almost impossible to maintain.
... By the time the battle ended on 20th December 1916 the Germans had lost all of the territory they had gained earlier in the year and the area around Verdun had been utterly devastated by nearly ten months of constant fighting.

Verdun: A Field Kitchen © IWM (Art.IWM ART 3342) - shows trees in the background.

 The Keep the Home Fires Burning web site quotes from a contemporary publication, which said:

When Lord French visited Verdun he picked up a handful of chestnuts and announced his intention of planting in his grounds an avenue as a perpetual souvenir of the city. When this became known the authorities at Verdun were besieged with applications for acorns and chestnuts. They could not supply all the demand but a quantity was sent to the L&N.W.R., and were put on sale in aid of the War Seal Foundation (L.&N.W.R. Section.) This aims to provide homes for employees of the company totally disabled in the war. Boxes containing specimens are available from 7, Euston Square, London, for 2s 6d. The acorns are from the forests of Vaux and Douaumont, and the chestnuts from the Place de la Madeleine, at Verdun.

Having seen the Woodland Trust piece, I did a bit of Googling and found a couple of mentions of a Verdun Oak in Scaynes Hill.  In 2009, the council replaced the plaque explaining what the tree is. The newsletter says:

This is a call to local historians to tell us more about the “Verdun Oak”. There was a plaque on the Oak Tree in Ham Lane that it had been agreed we should replace. This is however a potentially expensive exercise so before we sally forth we would like to find out more about the history of the tree and its relevance to Scaynes Hill. It is reported that the acorn was brought back from Verdun after the battle in 1916. If you know anything about the history of the tree please contact our Parish Clerk, Karin Milne in the office.

The plaque was subsequently installed.  I visited some years later, on Saturday the 21st of February, 2016, exactly 100 years after the battle of Verdun started.  A gentleman walking his dog pointed the tree out and I took a photo.

Verdun Oak, photographed 21 February, 2016.

I hope to find out more about this tree.  I have connections in this area and am wondering if they are connected with this tree in some way.  I've started collecting some information about Scaynes Hill in the WWI era.