Mikrokopter Is mikrokopter finished??

[Macsgrafs]

I'll just throw in that I am a happy MK user too. Although I wish there was a different solution (=more economical) to the ESC situation. I have tried the converter for using regular ESC's and it was a huge waste of time.

I use a convertor board with regular ESC's...no problems here!

 

[Bartman]

I use a convertor board with regular ESC's...no problems here!

it seems to me that the heavier you go, the better the FC handles the std. ESC's.

 

[Macsgrafs]

it seems to me that the heavier you go, the better the FC handles the std. ESC's.

I tend to agree with you Bart, though I find my octo does occasionally try & do 1/8th turn (yaw).

 

[jdmagoo]

Well thanks all for your incite-full replies lets keep this thread going.

i was very close to purchasing a reasonably cheaply price WKM and datalink yesterday but with your replies on MK I'm not sure. Also having just looked at the past release cycle of firmware updates for the FC there was a six month delay at one time between releases then a monthly update thereafter. So now we are around six months after the last update I'm guessing there will be new firmware soon or hopefully a new flight controller soon. The last thing I want to do now is jump on board and a week later a new version of flight controller is released.

time will tell if MK is on the decline, 2013 will be judgement year for MK. I true believe if MK is to survive they need to grow allot bigger very quickly and take on board some of what DJI have done. The market is growing and moving from the hobbyist to the general sector (law enforcement and here in Australia surf life savers to name just a few). These sectors don't want something that requires consistent tinkering but something that is plug and play. Perhaps MK should be releasing different categories aimed at different markets, but anyway just my 2 cents

 

[jdmagoo]

Also too,

I had a knee recon Wednesday week ago and since then I have been laying either in bed or on the couch reading pages after pages on various threads the pros and cons of both the wookong m and MK. I have watched so many youtube and vimeo vids its amazing. My fiancé is sick of me talking MR, she gets home from work and asks how was your day and I reply 'look at this MK or DJI vid', then I justify the potential purchase by incorporating the MR into things I know she likes doing together hehehe. She does see through that though.

However after all this research the one thing I haven't found is a video review of both the WKM and MK operating at the same time. I mean it would be pretty good to see the S800 (or equivalent) loaded with a wkm going through all its features (GPS accuracy, PH, AH, failsafe, auto land, POI, waypoint flying etc) with the MK I guess the Hexa XL ( or equivalent) doing the same in the same conditions.

by doing the above you would have a fair and accurate comparison of the two.

 

[Mactadpole]

I use a convertor board with regular ESC's...no problems here!

Have you compared MK Bl-crtl's with the converter board/reg ESC's. Mine flew with the converter/reg ESC's but was very sloppy. Changed to BL-crtl's and it was perfect. I was flying at a weight around 3kg.

Just my experience.

 

[Tahoe Ed]

I have a S800 and a MK Hexa, not the XL, and have flown both under similar conditions and I prefer the WKM over the MK for several reasons. Ease of build is one of the top ones. I can set up a WKM in an hour. My first MK build took me weeks. Bad esc's, two, and just a lot of fine soldering skills. In the wind, I think the MK has a slight edge. Software, the last MK update with the quick start guide made the process much easier, but still not as easy as the WKM. I have pro photographer friends that have both and use each for different purposes. In the end, it is what works for you and your goals.

 

[Mactadpole]

I have a S800 and a MK Hexa, not the XL, and have flown both under similar conditions and I prefer the WKM over the MK for several reasons. Ease of build is one of the top ones. I can set up a WKM in an hour. My first MK build took me weeks. Bad esc's, two, and just a lot of fine soldering skills. In the wind, I think the MK has a slight edge. Software, the last MK update with the quick start guide made the process much easier, but still not as easy as the WKM. I have pro photographer friends that have both and use each for different purposes. In the end, it is what works for you and your goals.

I have ordered everything pre-soldered so that saves a lot of time and stress. I rather spend the money to know that someone else did it right. And then if it is broken or breaks shortly thereafter I just send it back. I had an issue with a bl-ctrl going bad on an okto xl pdb and I sent it back to quadrocopter and they repaired it.

 

[jdmagoo]

I guess for me the setting up isn't a worry am quite good with soldering, electronics and computers. If I do go down the MK route, I would buy one of there standard frames and use the default settings for that frame. (Is there such a thing?). Later when they are released I plan to purchase a brushless gimbal and use that for my aerial photography needs. My real concern I guess is flight performance between the two and future support.

Anyway hoping MK will say something soon. - funds are ready

The other issue I have is I have to purchase over the Internet, there are no local dealers in my area. Now given my issues trying to get my 3x DJI motors, 1x speed controller, bullet connectors and broken f550 arms and landing gear replaced under warranty from DJI was impossible. Yes I did purchase from an eBay dealer but even so, I am very wary of DJI.

 

[Macsgrafs]

Have you compared MK Bl-crtl's with the converter board/reg ESC's. Mine flew with the converter/reg ESC's but was very sloppy. Changed to BL-crtl's and it was perfect. I was flying at a weight around 3kg.

Just my experience.

but do MK supply 50A BL's?

 

[Bartman]

I guess for me the setting up isn't a worry am quite good with soldering, electronics and computers. If I do go down the MK route, I would buy one of there standard frames and use the default settings for that frame. (Is there such a thing?). Later when they are released I plan to purchase a brushless gimbal and use that for my aerial photography needs. My real concern I guess is flight performance between the two and future support.

Anyway hoping MK will say something soon. - funds are ready

The other issue I have is I have to purchase over the Internet, there are no local dealers in my area. Now given my issues trying to get my 3x DJI motors, 1x speed controller, bullet connectors and broken f550 arms and landing gear replaced under warranty from DJI was impossible. Yes I did purchase from an eBay dealer but even so, I am very wary of DJI.

with MK you can start with their beginner settings, never change them, and still fly in 30 kt winds. you'll likely never be unhappy with the flying qualities and you'll learn to use the features as you go. MK camera control can be flaky with lateral motions inducing roll in the mount. this can be improved but the adjustment causes slight undesirable changes to flight qualities. DJI isn't any better though so it's a wash.

@Tahoe everyone's first MK build took two weeks! today I can do a complete MK build in under a day depending on the frame, maybe more if there's camera set-up and such. it takes me about three hours to disassemble an Okto to remove a power board, repair the board, and reinstall it ready to fly. granted this is more than it would take to swap out one ESC with a DJI rig but familiarity improves building times, is the point.


with the I2C to PWM converter board, it appears that the Mikrokopter will overcontrol and induce a wobble. it's as if it sends a control to a motor, doesn't get a fast enough reponse, so it sends more. by that time the motor has started to respond and the second command is too much so it overcontrols and we see that as slight wobbles. I've used the same converter at heavier flying weights and the wobble, if it's still there, isn't perceptible. so while Mikrokopter doesn't supply 50A ESC's, it is possible to use standard Turnigy Plush ESC's with the Mikrokopter flight control. THe actual I2C to PWM converter is a small PCB that converts the MK motor commands to PWM format that standard ESC's can understand. THey seem to work fine, I've never heard of one crashing a helicopter, macsgrafs has been using his for over a year now.

Kopterworx also makes a higher amperage motor controller board for use with MK. I haven't tried it, check out kopterworx.com for more info or search the archives for past discussions.

Bart

 

[crcr]

I have a S800 and a MK Hexa, not the XL, and have flown both under similar conditions and I prefer the WKM over the MK for several reasons. Ease of build is one of the top ones. I can set up a WKM in an hour. My first MK build took me weeks. Bad esc's, two, and just a lot of fine soldering skills. In the wind, I think the MK has a slight edge. Software, the last MK update with the quick start guide made the process much easier, but still not as easy as the WKM. I have pro photographer friends that have both and use each for different purposes. In the end, it is what works for you and your goals.

I'm also very happy with my MK but have thought about trying the WKM. How long does it take to set up a new WKM from scratch including all the radio setup?
Not sure if you meant your first WKM setup?

 

[DennyR]

Why is everyone so sure MK is dead? Because they haven't released a new firmware update is a good sign...shows it does what it's supposed to!
Here is an MK octo flown by Holger (the founder of MK) shot in October 2012...4 months ago!

The fact is that there are quite a few jerks and vibration issues in this video, it is not great. Given that the CX730 has smoothed most of it out. I doubt that the footage from that machine would have been anywhere near acceptable if the lens was not doing an incredible job. It is hardly Zen quality.

I'll wager that the new alexmos line of gimbals in conjunction with the new Panasonic TM40 with it's built in 5 axis stabi lens, (not GoPro) will produce rock steady Full AVCHD footage at 40x zoom. In any weather that the model can fly in.

 

[BorisS]

I'm also very happy with my MK but have thought about trying the WKM. How long does it take to set up a new WKM from scratch including all the radio setup?
Not sure if you meant your first WKM setup?

If you have everything prepared and ready ESCs distribution finished and just mount the WKM onto the bird, its doable in a couple hors less than half a day for sure !

Boris

 

[Bartman]

The fact is that there are quite a few jerks and vibration issues in this video, it is not great. Given that the CX730 has smoothed most of it out. I doubt that the footage from that machine would have been anywhere near acceptable if the lens was not doing an incredible job. It is hardly Zen quality.

I'll wager that the new alexmos line of gimbals in conjunction with the new Panasonic TM40 with it's built in 5 axis stabi lens, (not GoPro) will produce rock steady Full AVCHD footage at 40x zoom. In any weather that the model can fly in.

c'mon Denny, he's using an MK mount. i think the video is demonstrating that the helicopter isn't even breaking a sweat to fly and maintain position in the weather. the DJI would be flipped over and in the neighbor's yard in storm winds like that.

the new gimbals are pretty damn incredible, i'll agree with that. with an MK or Hoverfly (flies better than MK but features/GPS are still a work in progress) FC the product would be incredible.

 

[DennyR]

In my experience the DJI controllers were way ahead of anything that I tried. But if you want an alternative try the latest DIYDrones stuff. But for one issue with 5.12 DJI was trouble free and it has the most advanced robotic algorithms in the business. I cant even begin to count the numerous problems with MK, it is outdated crap and I would even put Multiwii ahead of it. In fact I switched to Minsoo Kims KK boards after all of the MK issues and it always served me well as the benchmark with which to judge the others. The production quality of MK is the worst in the business. And dear old Holger was quick to point out that if you put a soldering iron on it your warrantee was gone. Nice get out because you cant run it without some soldering.

There are a lot of cheap boards out there like the All-in one and a few others and they all work as well as MK if you set them up correctly. Stabilisation is no longer the issue, most have it.

 

[Bartman]

In my experience the DJI controllers were way ahead of anything that I tried. But if you want an alternative try the latest DIYDrones stuff. But for one issue with 5.12 it was trouble free and has the most advanced robotic algorithms in the business. I cant even begin to count the numerous problems with MK, it is outdated crap and I would even put Multiwii ahead of it. In fact I switched to Minsoo Kims KK boards after all of the MK issues and it always served me well.

i'm actually trying to get my hands on an APM 2.5 as I've heard good things about it. MK's days might be numbered but it still works great. i've got a KK board as well just haven't tried it yet.

the thing with MK is you build it and make the sign of the cross before you put battery power to it the first time. you're either good or you're not. if it's good, it last a long time. if not, you're in for some fixin'.

DJI has its strengths but it doesn't check all the boxes any better than any other system does.

 

[BorisS]

nah dji only good experiences in the wind ! One might not like the way its levels but in times of gimbals that can actually correct the copter movement instead of just hunting after staying level, it doesnt really matter anymore.


check out droider being blown away

 

[Bartman]

gotta share while we're sharing

heli is my XY8 with my EOSc camera mount, MK electronics. the screen grab at the beginning shows the winds reported at the time of my flights. the wind sock is a calibrated 20 kt wind sock

 

[Mactadpole]

but do MK supply 50A BL's?

Nope! I didn't know what weight you were flying but I see now it is an SJ8, so now I see your need for something besides the BL's.