Hello from Maine!

[dannyzic]

Hello everybody!


My name is Danny, I live in western Maine USA. I am 25 years old. I do not have any experience with multi rotors. In the past I have owned a few mini and micro walkera helis, along with many radio controlled cars, trucks, buggies, and planes. I studied CNC machining in college and am now working as a volkswagen tech.


I have decided i would like to buy/build a multirotor specifically for filming video. I am not looking to cheap out, but i am trying to take advantage of any resources aswell as my own skills to get a great rig for the right price. I am thinking I would like a 6 rotor but don't know if there is a great benefit to having 8. I would be using mostly the hero 3 but also BMPCC and possibly DSLRs. I am interested gimbals and dual operator setups aswell.

I know there are many companies making this stuff, what are some of your recommendations for airframes, electronics and gimbals? I was originally looking at the DJI s800 until i found the flip of death videos on youtube. Is this a real concern?


Thanks!

 

[Bartman]

Hi Danny,

Welcome to the site! There's a lot to learn and we could polish off at least a twelve pack (each) trying to get through all of your questions. Check out the beginners' area and maybe surf through the Group Build thread that has been going on the last couple of months. Start with something small as a first build and then go from there. Maybe invest in a better radio and flight control system for your first build but definitely keep it small and try to learn as much as possible as you get started.

A Volkswagen tech, huh? So you're familiar with an '09 Passat 2.0T wagon? We'll get along just fine!

Bart

 

[COMike93yj]

Hi Danny!!!!!

Warmest Welcomes!!!!!

I will be up in Maine visiting my folks in Freeport in July! I grew up in Mass just outside of Lowell (granted not in Lowell or at the end of the Lowell Connector LOL)!

Very cool you are a VW Techie! I am a HUGE Volkswagen Auto Group fan! I traded in my Lincoln Navigator for a 2005.5 VW Jetta TDI when the FIRST rolled off of the assembly line and have a ton of friends in the industry. I still have it and shamefully after the camshaft went (VW messed up on the design)....It is still trucking and getting 48-50 MPG here at 8000' MSL!!!! I love it! I also have a 2013 Audi A5 and that is my baby on the track....tons of fun and my wife is ready to kill me after watching my videos up at High Plains Raceway!.....New brakes (brembos soon I hope) and fluid are my next upgrades!

Bart is 100% correct in telling you to check out the Group Build thread....there are a few of us that were/are in a similar situation as yourself. If you have ANY questions let us know! We WONT bite

I personally am starting with an F450 just as the Group Build is doing. I have experience in RC Helis but to be honest I couldn't connect the dots when it came to multis....still learning. I have to be honest on that one!

My goals are to get some great videos of us wheeling in the Rockies in our jeeps and taking shots of us at our shooting competitions. I AM NOT THERE YET!!!! I have to get the basics down.

The F450 is a GOOD starting platform and there are folks in the community that take AMAZING videos of their escapades. I hope to achieve somewhat similar results in a year or so.

Any questions just ask away!!!!

Mike

 

[dannyzic]

Thanks guys!

I am going to take your advice, i have been reading the group build thread and i think this will be a great way to start.

Feel free to pm me with any car questions but i will tell you i don't work for a dealer. I work for a private repair/salvage buisness. We mostly work on pre 2005 models of golf, jetta, and passat.


Danny.

 

[Jim in Massachusetts]

Hello Danny,
I'm in Saugus MA and built a DJI F550 in OCT of 2012. I fly mostly to shoot stills with a rigid mounted Hero 2. I need to fly a camera better than a GoPro to get the large print quality I want.

So I too am looking for something with a Gimbal that will lift my DSLRs, maybe in the Spring.

I can't help but lean only toward a Cinestar 8 from www.quadrocopter.com.

The expensive 3 axis, servo based Radian stabilized gimbal is all the rage but brushless gimbal technology is changing fast...and I don't know much about it.

If you acquire a multi-rotor we could get together for some dogfighting. I'll be flying in Acton Maine in July.

When the weather warms up I usually do photo flights every weekend.

Jim

https://google.com/+JimHarrington/posts

 

[jbrumberg]

Welcome Danny. Post freely and often.

 

[Bartman]

Thanks guys!

I am going to take your advice, i have been reading the group build thread and i think this will be a great way to start.

Feel free to pm me with any car questions but i will tell you i don't work for a dealer. I work for a private repair/salvage buisness. We mostly work on pre 2005 models of golf, jetta, and passat.


Danny.

i just saw your response, no worries, welcome to the site!

 

[dannyzic]

Hello Danny,
I'm in Saugus MA and built a DJI F550 in OCT of 2012. I fly mostly to shoot stills with a rigid mounted Hero 2. I need to fly a camera better than a GoPro to get the large print quality I want.

So I too am looking for something with a Gimbal that will lift my DSLRs, maybe in the Spring.

I can't help but lean only toward a Cinestar 8 from www.quadrocopter.com.

The expensive 3 axis, servo based Radian stabilized gimbal is all the rage but brushless gimbal technology is changing fast...and I don't know much about it.

If you acquire a multi-rotor we could get together for some dogfighting. I'll be flying in Acton Maine in July.

When the weather warms up I usually do photo flights every weekend.

Jim

https://google.com/+JimHarrington/posts

Jim, sounds good! I know some really amazing places in Maine we could fly and get good content.



So i have been on a road trip in florida for the past week or so. I really wanted to build an f450 I just haven't had time to do it. I ended up buying a phantom down here from some friends of friends who own a hobby shop. I must say i have been very impressed with the way it flies. In the past 4 days i have racked up more flight time with the phantom than with all my past rc aircraft combined.

I mounted a hero 2 to the bottom using the solid mount and did some time lapse photography of the places we have visited so far on the trip. I am so happy with the outcome that i decided to get a gimbal and a hero 3. Its a torot 2 and i have it mounted nicely I just need to pick up some connectors so that i can wire up the pitch control.


I think that i will use this phantom for now and when i get home i am going to start building an f550.


Here are some of the shots i got with the hero 2 and solid mount.

http://s1061.photobucket.com/user/dannyzic1/library/

 

[dannyzic]

After I got the gimbal operational I was unhappy with the height of the legs and how they were getting in the shot to often. To remedy this I moved the gimbal forward with a mounting plate. I also extended the landing legs with the risers from a dual battery kit to keep the camera off the ground. I also moved the battery to the bottom to balance out the weight distribution. After all the modifications I was getting much better footage out of the gopro only to find my flight time was down to 4-7 minutes the red light would start blinking. I tried running 2 packs in parallel and using a low voltage warning beeper. This brought the flight time up to 10+ minutes.

I realize this is a bit of a risky loop I made (and the park officials informed me that this was illegal in a state park). I had sight of the phantom the whole time and it was only after i landed and watched the footage that I really thought about what would have happened if i lost it in the mangroves.

Here is the video of my loop over pennekamp state park key largo. Enjoy!

Danny.

 

[NeilM]

Looks great !