Gimbal Test

[Y0urDaddy]

I had been looking to get a Gimbal for a while. They are kind of expensive and all, but I saw one on Amazon for just under $50, so I thought I would give it a try:

This was the first test, I had basically just mounted it and charged up a battery. Since I re-cal'd and balanced the quad it is more stable.

I plan to take it out in to the open desert and see what kind of shots I can get.

 

[Motopreserve]

That's a pretty damn good first test - especially for a $50 gimbal.

Make sure you always do the FC cal, regardless of whether there is a gimbal on there. Just safe practice.

Do you know which firmware the gimbal is running? Do you have a program to adjust/save settings etc?

 

[Y0urDaddy]

Hey Moto...

I don't know too much about the software on the gimbal. The only documentation it came with was a single sheet that said what connection was pitch and what was roll to connect to the Naza. It does have a USB port but no software to use with it.

The product had mixed reviews on Amazon, but mine seems to work as advertised. Main downside to me is that it is kind of heavy. The gimbal came fully assembled but it is made of metal.

There is a local UAV group here that also does some 3D printing. I was going to see if the main parts could be mapped and printed to reduce the weight a bit.

YD

 

[Motopreserve]

Most of the gimbals work on one of a few basic firmwares. Depending - yours could be alexmos, Martinez etc.

You might be able to snoop around to find some answers. Do you have a link to the Amazon sale page?

The weight, while lessening the flight time, may be working in your favor. Some gimbal motors/controllers like a little more weight.

 

[Y0urDaddy]

Hey Moto...

Here is the link to the product page: http://www.amazon.com/Brushless-Cam...a_nav_t_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0ENQY9SYFDVNBQ5A0A65

for the price I did not think I could really go that wrong.

This gimbal was supposed to be for a Phantom, but I was able to modify my landing gear to fit it on my F450. I don't really like that you can see the gear in the video, but I don't think there is too much I can do about that right now.

If I ever finish my F550 I may move it over to that multi-rotor.

YD

 

[Motopreserve]

That seems to be an alexmos v2.2. I am pretty sure you would not be able to upgrade to a newer version or it might brick it. But you can download the GUI and make adjustments if need be.

When I messed with an f450, I made a platform to hang a similar gimbal from between the 2 front booms to get the props/LG out of the picture. Then I used the battery in the back to balance it out.

There used to be a member here who made some aluminum parts for these frames that did the same thing. Maybe it was called the batwing???

 

[Y0urDaddy]

Hey Moto...

I seem to recall something about the batwing, perhaps something to look in to.

What are you flying now? I put the F450 together, it has to be a year if not two years ago now. It is basically what I fly. I had intended to do a lot of FPV with it but I normally don't have a spotter with me to use my fatshark gear. An F550 has been planned for a while, but all I have for it is the air frame.

Recently I found out about a local club in my area: http://www.meetup.com/Phoenix-Area-Drone-User-Group-GPA-DUG/

They seem pretty active but most of what I saw folks with were 250 FPV racer frames. I have been thinking about putting a racer together if I can find a good parts list. Plus I think I could put a racer together for what I would spend on motors for my F550.

YD

 

[Motopreserve]

I still have my f450 for testing new FCs. I fly a Vulcan 900mm hex and a CineTank XL mostly now.

Sounds like you could probably have a good time at that meetup regardless of whether you had a 250. I'm sure your 450 could hold its own

 

[Y0urDaddy]

That Vulcan looks like a pretty serious hex copter! I have yet to fly a hex at all, so far I have just tired various quads. I do think a hex will be a better choice for video and photos and all. I have not yet put too much time in to researching stuff for the 550 at all. I know I want to go with the next level Naza. I have the lite in my 450 and it does the job. For the 550 I would like a version that works with the ground station software.

I looked in to some motors, and it looks like you will spend at least $300 for any kind of decent motor kit for it.

It is a work in progress I guess. Right now I don't really have a strong motivation to build it out.

 

[Motopreserve]

If you're happy with your 450, you can always wait until some parts become available used. I've gotten some great deals here on the classifieds. Not sure how much they cost, but the new DJI propulsion systems look pretty slick.