Getting started with the Crazyflie 2.1 Brushless

Unpacking the Crazyflie

Start by unpacking the box. It should contain the following items:

• 1 x Crazyflie Brushless control board
• 1 x 350mAh LiPo battery
• 4 x Brushless motors
• 5 x Legs (1 spare)
• 5 x Legs/propeller guards (1 spare)
• 14 x Short (black) screws
• 4 x Longer (silver) screws
• 1 x Foam battery pad
• 5 x CCW propellers (3 spare)
• 5 x CW propellers (3 spare)
• 1 x Battery holder deck
• 2 x Short male deck connectors
• 2 x Long male deck connectors
• 1 x Micro-USB cable (48cm)
• 1 x Screwdriver
• 1 x Propeller tool

mount the motors

Position the motor above the mounting holes, the motor cable should run along the arm. Use 3 black screws in the corner holes of the motor to fasten it. There is a screwdriver in the kit you can use to fasten it.

Attach the motor cables to their connectors and twist the wire 180 degrees to attach to the connector.

attach the propellers

Now it’s time to attach the propellers.

Note: There are two types of propellers, the clock wise (CW) and counterclockwise (CCW) propellers. They need to be mounted on the correct arm. As a guide, you’ll find arrows next to each motor on the PCB. When determining the direction of each propeller, make sure to note the following:

Here’s a detailed view of where to attach CW and CCW propellers.

attach the propeller guards or landing legs

Choose between using the propeller guards or the landing legs. We advise you to always use the guards if it is possible in your use case. These will protect the drone and you if something goes wrong.

Slide the legs/guards on from below hooking the little plastic part on the circular part just below the motors. Snap the straight part of the legs/guards on the arms of the Crazyflie.

attach the rubber pad

The rubber pad should be attached to the Crazyflie between the expansion headers. This will create friction, keep the battery from slipping out and also protect the electronics.

attach headers

There are two types of headers in the box, long and short ones. Find the long ones and insert them into the expansion connector from below.

attach the battery

Place the battery between the headers you just inserted and insert the battery holder board onto the headers. Watch out for the pins that can be a bit sharp when inserting it. The friction should hold the battery in place so tighten it until it does.

The battery wires can preferably be bent and placed underneath the PCB to be out of the way.

Now connect the battery and you are finished with the assembly.

Your Crazyflie 2.1 Brushless is now assembled!

power on!

The assembly is finished, now it’s time to power it on! Note that the power button is a push button, not a sliding button. During the power-on self-test all the propellers will spin in sequence. Make sure they all spin, if they don’t then check the motor connections.

getting to know your Crazyflie

First of all, lets look at what is front and back, this is important when flying and also when mounting expansion decks. The small “bump” (the antenna) is on the front and the blue LEDs are at the back.

Start up sequence

When the Crazyflie is powered on it will automatically go through a short sequence of events to get ready for flight.

1. Run self tests - the Crazyflie checks that the hardware is OK
2. Calibrate sensors - the Crazyflie reads its sensors to get base values. It must be absolutely still to do this, so it’s best to put it on a level surface for a second.
3. Ready to fly!

Understanding LEDs

You also need to understand what the LEDs mean.

• Power on and all is good: The blue LEDs (2 and 3) are fully lit and the front right LED (1) is blinking red twice every second (see the video in the Power on! section above.).
• Power on and all is good but sensors are not yet calibrated: The blue LEDs (2 and 3) are fully lit and the front right LED (1) is blinking red with 2 seconds interval. Put the Crazyflie on a level surface and keep it absolutely still to calibrate.
• Radio connected: The front left LED (4) is flickering in red and/or green.
• Battery low: The front right LED (1) is fully lit in red. It’s time to land and re-charge the battery.
• Charging: The back left blue LED (3) is blinking while the right back blue LED (2) is lit.
• Boot loader mode: The blue LEDs (2 and 3) at the back are blinking approximately once every second.
• Self test fail: The right front LED (1) is repeatedly blinking five short red pulses with a longer pause between groups.

Client installation

There are a few options of how to run the PC client

• Native install (recommended)
• Virtual Machine

The supported way to install and run the client on a computer currently is to install the Crazyflie client using the python package manager pip.

You can follow the prerequisite and instructions to install the latest release on the Client installation instruction page.

When you have set up the client, insert the Crazyradio 2.0  or Crazyradio PA and your gamepad in your USB-ports and start the client. Continue reading about how to configure the client

We have set up a virtual machine (VM) designed to assist you in getting started with flight and development. The VM includes essential software for your needs, all pre-installed to simplify the setup process.

Running on a virtual machine allows for compatibility across various operating systems. However, please be aware that the VM may not have been regularly maintained, and there could be some issues present.

Note: Since the VM is an AMD64 install of Linux, it does not work on Apple-silicon Mac (M1/2/… processors). On an apple silicon mac you need to install the tools natively.

Installing on VM

To help you get into the air as quickly as possible, the virtual machine (VM) has all the software you need for flight and development already installed. .

Setup virtual Machine

Check-out the readme of the bitcraze-VM repository for installation and setting-up instructions and tips.

update source code

In the virtual machine double click the “update all projects” icon on the desktop. This pulls down the latest source code from GitHub for all projects.

install hardware

• Insert Crazyradio 2.0  or Crazyradio PA in a USB port.
• Insert game controller in a USB port.

configure USB on the virtual machine

• Windows
• Linux
• OS X

• Install the Crazyradio Windows USB driver.
• In the bottom right corner click the USB icon and choose “Bitcraze Crazyradio PA USB dongle”.

• Now choose your game controller in the same list.

• In the bottom right corner click the USB icon and choose “Bitcraze Crazyradio PA USB dongle”.

• Now choose your game controller in the same list.

• In the bottom right corner click the USB icon, then click “USB settings”.

• Click the USB filter “+” icon.

• Choose your game controller from the list. Click OK.

• Now click the USB icon again and choose the “Bitcraze Crazyradio PA USB dongle”.

• Now choose your game controller in the same list.

start the Crazyflie client

Double click the “Crazyflie client” icon on the VM desktop

Continue reading about configuring the client

configure your controller

In the client, open the input device settings. Check if the correct device mapping is chosen, otherwise pick your device type.

For more detailed information on input devices, see the client user-guide.

connect to the Crazyflie

• In the Crazyflie client click the Scan button in top left corner. The radio settings for your Crazyflie is displayed in the drop-down list.
• Choose your Crazyflie from the drop-down list.

• Click the Connect button.

Now that you have connected your Crazyflie to your client, telemetry data is continuously sent from the copter to the client. When you move the Crazyflie around you will see the flight data being updated in realtime, as well as battery status and the link quality.

orientation

First of all, it is much easier to fly when the copter is pointing away from you. The blue LEDs are on the back, so keep them pointing in your direction when starting to fly.

maneuvering a quadcopter

When flying a quadcopter there are four main dimensions of controls; roll, pitch, yaw and thrust.

• Roll - is the rotation around a horizontal axis going through the quadcopter from back to front. This literally rolls the Crazyflie and moves it left or right.
• Pitch - is the rotation around a horizontal axis going through the quadcopter from left to right. This tilts the Crazyflie and moves it forwards or backwards.
• Yaw - is the rotation around a vertical axis. This rotates the quadcopter left or right. Yaw is used when changing flying direction by pointing the front of the Crazyflie in different directions.
• Thrust - adjusts the altitude, or height, of the Crazyflie.

the ground effect

When the copter is flying close to the ground (less than a few decimeters above the ground) it is effected by what is called the ground effect. The feeling is that the air is slippery, almost as if it is gliding on ice. To avoid this, particularly when learning to fly, use a lot of thrust just when taking off and then ease off for level flight.

charging the battery

To charge the battery of the Crazyflie, just plug in a micro USB cable. Make sure the Crazyflie is powered on. While the battery is charging, the back left blue LED will blink. When the LED is fully lit the battery is charged.

go fly!

Have fun!