Hoverfly Camera tilt control on HF Pro

[Photo Elevate]

I have just fitted a 2 axis roll and tilt gambol to my HP Pro + GPS system

I am using a Spektrum DX7 radio with no spare channel for tilt control

Having tried to set it up using the setup client roll works perfectly. But no response on tilt control.

My guess is that tilt channel needs to be connected for it to work. Which unfortunately I do not have.

Is there a way to put a resistor jumper across the pins to enable the tilt to be controlled via the board?

Any advice welcome.

 

[Bartman]

have you changed any of the settings under the tilt tab? sometimes the travel limits are up against each other and need to be opened up to give it a range of motion through which to move. the calibration and acceleration values also have to be set to give it an idea of what it supposed to do. out of the box it will usually remain fixed.

as I'm continuing to think about this, there isn't a way to set a tilt position without the radio so i'm not sure if it defaults to level or if it actually requires an input as you've suggested. if it defaults to level and then will compensate from there you can just set the tilt of the camera tray using the mechanics of your gimbal and let the HF PRO think it's level.

 

[JZSlenker]

Yes you must have a rx channel plugged in. You could use a servo tester to do this. There are small ones available that wouldn't add too much weight.

 

[Bartman]

well, there you go!

 

[Efliernz]

As an aside here... I use the slider on the side of my Fut 10CAG radio to change the tilt. I didn't like the instant/fast tilt transition so I added an " adjustable servo slower" from Hobbyking to make the tilt transitions nice and smooth.

Yes it worked... but the "servo slower" only like analog servos. With digital servos (that you must use with HFP boards) you get a contant but minor jitter on the servo with a tick every second.
I went through several $75 servos before I found the cause was a $5 speed reducer!

If you get funny results from a servo tester - it may be a similar issue... "just saying... "

Pete

 

[JZSlenker]

As an aside here... I use the slider on the side of my Fut 10CAG radio to change the tilt. I didn't like the instant/fast tilt transition so I added an " adjustable servo slower" from Hobbyking to make the tilt transitions nice and smooth.

Yes it worked... but the "servo slower" only like analog servos. With digital servos (that you must use with HFP boards) you get a contant but minor jitter on the servo with a tick every second.
I went through several $75 servos before I found the cause was a $5 speed reducer!

If you get funny results from a servo tester - it may be a similar issue... "just saying... "

Pete

Can't you just adjust the servo speed in your transmitter? I have that option on my Aurora 9. It's quite handy for adjusting tilt speed.

 

[Efliernz]

Can't you just adjust the servo speed in your transmitter? I have that option on my Aurora 9. It's quite handy for adjusting tilt speed.

The 10CAG doesn't have a speed control. It's about the only thing it wont do...

Pete

 

[Bartman]

and if you adjust servo speed it won't stabilize the mount at the speed it needs to to keep it level. the best option is to have the tilt speed controlled by the FC. MK does it as does the Hoverfly GIMBAL, PRO doesn't though which is unfortunate (hint, hint.....ahem, Al!)

Bart

 

[Efliernz]

I ran the speed control between the rx and the HFP tilt input.

 

[Bartman]

I ran the speed control between the rx and the HFP tilt input.

that would make sense then Pete. good idea, too bad it didn't work.

 

[JZSlenker]

Yeah, I have the servo speed turned down on my tilt control. It doesn't effect the correction speed. - Love our Hitec Aurora

 

[Efliernz]

Yup... cost me hours of frustration, 2 new servos, swapping HFP boards, swapping UBECS...

That is why we love this obsession so much! So many options that we never get bored!

I'm lucky that I'm a comms engineer. I would hate to be playing with this stuff with no electronics knowledge. Some (as we know) never really get up to speed with electrons... which is why we have people that make turnkey systems for others

Pete

 

[Bartman]

well, I'm going to have to go check my JR 9503, I seem to remember seeing a servo speed control in there somewhere.

 

[Bartman]

you guys are so freakin' awesome i can't stand it!

apparently you can slow the servo speed in the radio with the 9503. i'm a happy camper because that really bugged me.

Al, you're off the hook (for now).

 

[Efliernz]

you guys are so freakin' awesome i can't stand it!

apparently you can slow the servo speed in the radio with the 9503. i'm a happy camper because that really bugged me.

That's not enough to get me to swap back to JR! ... but that is another debate

 

[workshop]

This is an AstroFlight servo tester cut down and shrink wrapped.

I cut the PCB with scissors to remove the pushbutton and current resistor thereby eliminating the BEC tester circuit. I cut about 1/2" off the other side to reduce size even more. The big pot was swapped out for the tiny 10k shown in the photo.

My attempts at a 555 solution did not produce the exact waveform required by digital servos and other electronics so carving out the PIC from the servo tester seemed like a good idea. It works great and is really small and light.

Jeff

 

[Efliernz]

Great job. Digitals certainly like a better waveform than analogs... hence the jitter issue from the servo-slower above.

Pete

 

[Bartman]

Nicely done Jeff. I have to say, I'm still smiling today to know my tilt is so much slower and smooth. As a predominantly single-man operator, sometimes I need a slow smooth tilt motion and it's nice to know it's there now.

Bart

 

[workshop]

Speaking of single man, I just hooked up a NTSC flycam on a simple tilt gimbal to my rig and cabled it to the tilt output of the radio (I.e. pre HFP) and split the signal back into the HPF. Now I get a non-stabilized view for FPV from a camera that is tilt synchronized with the gimbal (using GoPro 2 & 3 for now).

I get the positional feel and feedback I need to discern craft orientation AND I can frame shots from the HFP tilt/roll stabilized gimbal camera.

I'll give it a go tomorrow morning.

Jeff

 

[Photo Elevate]

Many thanks to you all for some brilliant advice. This is what this forum is all about.

I have ordered a servo tester as sugested.

This will also have the advantage to adjust camera angle before take off.

Eventually the plan is to have a seperate radio and operator to control the camera.:tennis: