Remote controlled flying things-Quads, Hex, Octo or anything

[Marschy]

There could very well be a calibration process to zero the gimbals on the control board. That is where I would start.

[Mandrake]

Have to pull it apart and fit the roll control cable !! Bugger !

[Marschy]

This reminds me of putting my quad together with no instructions, lots of trial and error.

It also reminds me of the movie "Those magnificent men in their flying machines" with the German officer standing in the cockpit of the plane and reading the instructions from the flying manual, the first one reads "Sit down". Hilarious.

The old instruction manual is a good place to start, if you got one with the gimbal that is. A lot of these things for quads require hours of trolling forums to work out.

[Mandrake]

Think I got it...looks straight now...better leave that cable attached now...

[Mandrake]

This is 2 small sections from todays video using the Phantom with Chinese GoPro and Gimbal...

Let me know what you think of stability and film quality ( NOT content etc as I am still learning the flying bit !! )

Cheers

Mandrake

PS - Turn speakers down as there is a bit of engine whine ... Music comes later when the film is worth it !!

http://youtu.be/NN4t32JLX-E
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[Brett B]

Looks ok to me 

[Marschy]

Gimbal is certainly doing a fantastic job, video quality is bloody good too. What is your assessment of the flying quality of the new quad?

[Marschy]

The prop savers certainly give you a good idea of how much pitch and roll the camera gimbal is correcting

[Mandrake]

Gimbal is certainly doing a fantastic job, video quality is bloody good too. What is your assessment of the flying quality of the new quad?

Never having flown any R/C thing before its bloody easy and because of the GPS thingy when you let go of the sticks it just stops and hovers
until you get it to move again ... If I can learn to fly this thing in forests etc then I'm going to get some really good footage I hope ..
Very happy with the gimbal ... M

[Myst]

been following this thread for quite some time, and rather envious of some of the toys here!!

Silly question - do the cameras transmit to a recorder unit on the ground, or just record to camera? The reason i ask is i am looking at getting a similar set-up but i need to know where the camera is pointing/ recording.

Also, how much noise do they make?

Many thanks!

[Marschy]

Hello Myst,

The recording bit depends upon your setup. I have a Fatshark FPV camera with onboard DVR. It also transmits video via a 250mW transmitter to a ground receiver built into head goggles but records at the video source.

Go-Pro's and the like allow live video feed via a 3.5mm AV socket on the earlier models and via the mini USB on the gopro 3 models upwards. So they can feed video back to a ground station whilst simultaneously recording on the actual Go-pro.

If you transmit the video directly to a ground station recorder, the resolution suffers due to the analogue video transmitter loosing resolution, so the better option is to record directly at the video source.

Mandrakes video gives you a good indication of the noise generated by the motors and propellors. It's actually pretty quiet in his setup but can get noisy depending upon how poorly balanced propellers and motors are.

Cheers, Marschy

[JGM]

Hi Myst

There is a different unit to the one Marschy described.  It's basically the same DJI Phantom helicopter / drone but with a DJI camera already installed, it's called the Phantom Vision.
It has it's own Wi-Fi which transmits the picture to a normal smartphone to which you have downloaded a DJI Phantom app.  You can "see" what the camera is seeing and take still photo's or videos all operated by you and the phone.  You can then send the photos to your phone (even while the drone is still up in the air) or you can remove the micro sd card from the back of the camera when it lands and upload the photos to the computer.
The picture quality is probably not as good as the go-pro ones, but at 14 mp it's plenty good enough for me!
The app also gives you other handy info, like amount of satellites the unit is picking up, altitude, heading, distance from you and battery %.  It also has a feature to find the drone using GPS / google maps if you lose it.

Cheers
JGM

[Marschy]

How good is the range of the Wi-Fi for transmitting video? The parrot AR Drone uses WiFi as well

[JGM]

Marschy

I get about 300-400 meters out of the Wi-Fi.  There are plenty of mods that can be done to get way further.  That is far enough for me at the moment, too much further than that and you cant see it and severe puckering sets in!  Once I get more confident with it I might start flying it out of sight.

Cheers
JGM

[Mandrake]

Here's a photo I took earlier -
I'm using the FC40 camera for FPV and possibly extra footage from different angle --
Landing gear has been extended with long hex nuts and the gimbal is also suspended by two
long hex nuts...
Total mass is now up at 1340 grams - 140 over limit ...
Cheers
Mandrake

[Marschy]

Have you got yourself some googles for FPV yet Mandrake?

Also curious about your camera. You mentioned it wasn't a Go-Pro, but a knock-off. But from the looks of it, it is based on a Go-Pro platform. Any links to where you got it as I'm in the market for a Go-Pro shaped camera as there are so many gimbals made specifically for Go-Pro and none for my AEE Magicam. Good as my camera is, it may be relegated  to other duties simply for lack of a suitable gimbal mount.

Cheers, Marschy

[Mandrake]

Got the camera here - The WiFi is crap but might get better when I get the WiFi extender gizmo....
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-5-0MP-Full-HD-1080P-Underwater-Action-Sport-Camera-CAM-WiFi-DV-Camcorder-WDV5000/1518008545.html
Here's the link for the gimbal if you need it -
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Silver-DJI-Phantom-Brushless-Gimbal-Aluminum-Camera-Mount-with-Motor-Controller-for-GoPro-Hero-1-2/1568692513.html
Comes with waterproof case - stand - head band ... spare batteries are US$11
Cheers
Steve

[Marschy]

Cheers,

My quad should look a bit different after Easter, getting it geared up for gimbal and new flight control board with GPS. Also looking at either making a delta wing or buying a HK Tek Sumo. Should be a bit of fun for under $100. Trying to find foam insulation board and cut my own wings, shouldn't be that hard to make.

Cheers, Marschy

[Myst]

Sweet, thanks mate... we're looking at one for commerical filming so need the highest res we can get, but its a good place to start!!

Hi Myst

There is a different unit to the one Marschy described.  It's basically the same DJI Phantom helicopter / drone but with a DJI camera already installed, it's called the Phantom Vision.
It has it's own Wi-Fi which transmits the picture to a normal smartphone to which you have downloaded a DJI Phantom app.  You can "see" what the camera is seeing and take still photo's or videos all operated by you and the phone.  You can then send the photos to your phone (even while the drone is still up in the air) or you can remove the micro sd card from the back of the camera when it lands and upload the photos to the computer.
The picture quality is probably not as good as the go-pro ones, but at 14 mp it's plenty good enough for me!
The app also gives you other handy info, like amount of satellites the unit is picking up, altitude, heading, distance from you and battery %.  It also has a feature to find the drone using GPS / google maps if you lose it.

Cheers
JGM

[JGM]

Myst

For commercial filming you'd be better off going for the Phantom 2 with the go-pro, gimbal and all the extras.  There is a mob in Sydney that can supply and install all the extras for you and put it in a Pelican type case for transporting it.

If you watch a few instructional video's on the DJI site, you'll be able to unpack it, put the props on and fly it within 10 minutes!

PM me and I'll give you their contact details if you like.  I found them very helpful when I bought mine.

Cheers
JGM

[Myst]

Thanks mate, PM inbound!

[Sawed-Off]

If you do any of this for money, you need to be licensed, and the UAV needs to pass some specific requirements of CASA. Do some research before plunking down any money.

HTTP://www.casa.gov.au/scripts/nc.dll?WCMS:STANDARD::pc=PC_100374

[Marschy]

This guy is an amazing quad pilot

http://youtu.be/fYtw17i_CXU
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[Mandrake]

That's amazing .!!!!

Sent from my AML-MX REF using Tapatalk

[itchvet]

Funny you guys started this thread. I had a 25cc Whipper Snipper that the starter spring jammed up in so I did this


And now I have got this far and am not quite sure what to do next....


All of the surplus casting has been milled away and you can see the flywheel has been heavily trimmed on my lathe and mill to save weight.

The 14"  prop is a bit small but it was the biggest the hobby shop had.

I was going to mount it on a stand and wire in a kill switch to see if I could start it by flipping the prop before getting carried away.

Any help or guidance will be appreciated. I think it needs to go in an 80" wing span plane.

 I have just the plane for you, Fiberglass fuse, lite ply balsa sheeted wings ready to cover/paint, fit engine/radio gear and away you go. Too bad your not in W.A. I'd probably give it away real cheap. Gave the hobby away 10 years ago, got shed full of stuff collection spiders.
Props, crikey got heaps all big ones too right up to 22 " that should give some idea of the motors I used to run.
BTW, I'd advise most definitely fit a  kill switch to the magento, this prevents ignition when some idiot walks past and tries to flip the prop while your not looking.
Last but not the least, I have a gas turbine plane collecting spider webs, every body expects me to give it away for nothing.
IF, I was to ever receive a GENUINE offer, I'd probably sell it very cheap.
Maybe some one would be interested in buying just the turbine for a show piece ?
I'm open to offers.