NAZA V2 and third party gimbals

sentiensx

Member
I have started reading through threads but there are so many!

I am looking to do a build with the naza V2 and 2 or maybe 3 axis gimbal but the DJI gimbal is too expensive and cannot be balanced etc.
I understand the naza has inputs to control tilt and roll.... how does that work with gimbals that come with thier own controllers? Do you get rid of the 3rd party controller and plug the servo's directly into the naza?

If this has been covered please point me to the thread

Thanks!
 

TAZ427

Member
Yes, if you buy a 3rd party gimbal that has a gimbal controller board, you toss the controller board and plug the servo's into the flight control boards camera tilt and roll ports. Calibrate and go.
 

sentiensx

Member
thanks Taz427

Since DJI now has the H3-3D do you know if the naza v2 will control the panning axis on a 3rd party gimbal as well?
 

TAZ427

Member
thanks Taz427

Since DJI now has the H3-3D do you know if the naza v2 will control the panning axis on a 3rd party gimbal as well?

I did a little looking and seem to see some conflicting comments regarding this, some folks are saying that the NAZA-M V2 would only support Servo driven gimbals directly. I thought brush-less gimbals used a brush-less motors that have servo control feeds, if that's the case, then I would think that by definition it would natively be supported.

At this point, I'm not 100% certain on this.
 

Motopreserve

Drone Enthusiast
I did a little looking and seem to see some conflicting comments regarding this, some folks are saying that the NAZA-M V2 would only support Servo driven gimbals directly. I thought brush-less gimbals used a brush-less motors that have servo control feeds, if that's the case, then I would think that by definition it would natively be supported.

At this point, I'm not 100% certain on this.

Most FCs have some type of connection to control servo gimbals based on the FC orientation. Since brushless gimbals have their own controller/sensor to tell it where it should be, the only control you need is to adjust the pitch and/or roll - which is typically done via available channels on your RX plugged directly to the gimbal controller.
 

TAZ427

Member
Most FCs have some type of connection to control servo gimbals based on the FC orientation. Since brushless gimbals have their own controller/sensor to tell it where it should be, the only control you need is to adjust the pitch and/or roll - which is typically done via available channels on your RX plugged directly to the gimbal controller.

Thanks for the clarification. More research on this, and the brushless 'servo' motors do not take direct servo inputs, I think the term 'Servo' put in there is a bit of a misnomer, they are used as servos via the controller which controls the position of the brushless motors. Hence requiring at a minimum an interface board.

So with this, I'd assume a standard FC camera leveling into a brushless gimbal controller is all you need for autoleveling (i.e. I should be able to connect my KK2.1.5 directly to a brushless gimbal controller.)
 

Motopreserve

Drone Enthusiast
Thanks for the clarification. More research on this, and the brushless 'servo' motors do not take direct servo inputs, I think the term 'Servo' put in there is a bit of a misnomer, they are used as servos via the controller which controls the position of the brushless motors. Hence requiring at a minimum an interface board.

So with this, I'd assume a standard FC camera leveling into a brushless gimbal controller is all you need for autoleveling (i.e. I should be able to connect my KK2.1.5 directly to a brushless gimbal controller.)

The boards that we typically use and refer to as flight controllers can be used as the controller for the gimbal. But it's not as simple as plugging it in and heading airborne. I think for the low cost of some of these purpose-built controllers, you might be better off splurging for one of those.
 

sentiensx

Member
I'm not sure I am understanding. I am seeing lots of brushless gimbals with controller cards out there and understand than many Flight Controllers like the naza have some built in gimbal control (auto pitch and roll compensation) as well. What I am trying to put together in my brain before I plunk down my cash is if the brushless gimbal control board plugs into the naza FC or if the brushless motors (servo's) plug into the naza FC (toss out the gimbal control board). Regardless I'm sure there is some calibration. Basically I want to build a unit with a naza m v2 and a less expensive variant of the DJI 3 axis gimbal (H3-3D?)
 

TAZ427

Member
The boards that we typically use and refer to as flight controllers can be used as the controller for the gimbal. But it's not as simple as plugging it in and heading airborne. I think for the low cost of some of these purpose-built controllers, you might be better off splurging for one of those.

I'm sure that's definitely the safest route, but I'm a long way off before I go this route anyway. I hope to be up in the air this weekend, but won't be ordering components for FPV until I'm at least comfortable in advance control of my quad, and then I'll start w/ a fixed camera.

I'll probably go from there to a servo controlled gimbal (I'll 3D print the gimbal) and then eventual I'll probably go with a Brushless Gimbal setup.
 

sentiensx

Member
I found this "Tips:NAZA supports servo center 1520us." on the DJI wiki which would indicate the naza is not acting as a servo controller for your brushless motor gimbal. So you would need to plug the brushless motor gimbal controller into the naza FC. The naza will tell the gimbal controller to compensate for pitch and roll using 1520us protocol and the gimbal controller will intern actuate the brushless motors to move the gimbal.

-am I right?

http://wiki.dji.com/en/index.php/Naza-M_Camera_Gimbal_Control

A servo then is an actuator with controller, thats why they are typically little motors in little plastic boxes, there is a controller in there that interprets the signals and converts them to motion.
-am I right?
 

Motopreserve

Drone Enthusiast
I'm not sure I am understanding. I am seeing lots of brushless gimbals with controller cards out there and understand than many Flight Controllers like the naza have some built in gimbal control (auto pitch and roll compensation) as well. What I am trying to put together in my brain before I plunk down my cash is if the brushless gimbal control board plugs into the naza FC or if the brushless motors (servo's) plug into the naza FC (toss out the gimbal control board). Regardless I'm sure there is some calibration. Basically I want to build a unit with a naza m v2 and a less expensive variant of the DJI 3 axis gimbal (H3-3D?)

the naza (and many other FCs) has pitch/roll compensation for Servo driven gimbals. These are gimbals that compensate for pitch/roll using belts or gears, run by servos etc. A 'brushless gimbal' is driven by brushless motors, so you need a brushless gimbal controller board.

The FC connections for the "gimbal" will not be used, and instead the brushless controller will handle the balance/level of the gimbal.

for all intents and purposes, the gimbal acts alone, unrelated to the the FC.
 

questech

Member
I found this "Tips:NAZA supports servo center 1520us." on the DJI wiki which would indicate the naza is not acting as a servo controller for your brushless motor gimbal. So you would need to plug the brushless motor gimbal controller into the naza FC. The naza will tell the gimbal controller to compensate for pitch and roll using 1520us protocol and the gimbal controller will intern actuate the brushless motors to move the gimbal.

-am I right?

http://wiki.dji.com/en/index.php/Naza-M_Camera_Gimbal_Control

A servo then is an actuator with controller, thats why they are typically little motors in little plastic boxes, there is a controller in there that interprets the signals and converts them to motion.
-am I right?


Hello,

You can, I did run your connectors from the NAZA Pitch and Roll ports directly to your gimbal controller. You can adjusts aspects of your gimbal through the NAZA GUI.

The NAZA manual covers this operation lightly, but is worth reading.

I only used the pitch control connected to the pitch port of my Martinez gimbal controller board, so using other Gimbal controllers may be different.

Anthony
 

David ayre

New Member
Hi I am building a quadcopter with a naza v2 and spektrum reciever and the gimbal I am using is a gb200
There were no clear instructions on the wiring.... So this was my solution... After considering a hammer.
There are 2 leads needed
The 5v power lead which took from a ubec into the top right.. Small 2 wires
And from f2 on the naza to the blade input... Which is the middle just below the power in. Again this lead needs to be the one that is supplied with the gimbal but does not have 3 wires just the signal and the ground.
Hope this helps someone.
 

NHCarl

New Member
David, I just wanted to thank you for this info. I have been extremely frustrated trying to get my GB200 to function with my Naza Lite F450 quad. The trick, as you point out, is to power it through the 2-pin port and use signal only at the Blade port. I had been trying to do both power and signal through the Blade port or the PWM port. I still don't know why powering in this way doesn't work (it does on my Blade 350) but am very happy to have it working. Thanks again!

Hi I am building a quadcopter with a naza v2 and spektrum reciever and the gimbal I am using is a gb200
There were no clear instructions on the wiring.... So this was my solution... After considering a hammer.
There are 2 leads needed
The 5v power lead which took from a ubec into the top right.. Small 2 wires
And from f2 on the naza to the blade input... Which is the middle just below the power in. Again this lead needs to be the one that is supplied with the gimbal but does not have 3 wires just the signal and the ground.
Hope this helps someone.
 

Divad

New Member
David, I just wanted to thank you for this info. I have been extremely frustrated trying to get my GB200 to function with my Naza Lite F450 quad. The trick, as you point out, is to power it through the 2-pin port and use signal only at the Blade port. I had been trying to do both power and signal through the Blade port or the PWM port. I still don't know why powering in this way doesn't work (it does on my Blade 350) but am very happy to have it working. Thanks again!
Thanks for the info, very useful. I am wondering if this also enables both the pitch and the roll function?
 

Top