Remote controlled flying things-Quads, Hex, Octo or anything

[Mandrake]

Well I got the F450 with APM off the deck ... RTL works !!  As it went straight into failsafe zoomed to 30 metres then came down and landed about a metre from where it took off !!
However I have no idea why it went into failsafe ...
SO - I went home and tried some mission planner changes - took it out again and this time it was surging - no gentle throttle control from the transmitter -
SO - I went home and put it on the "MAYBE LATER SHELF" ...
Took out the Phantom 1 I bought and got it ready for me - removed the iOSD , H3-2D , and some other crap ( GPS and compass ) - mounted a new GPS on the roof and plugged it into
the PC and got Naza all configured along with my Radiolink controller - Will screw the lid on tomorrow and take it for a test failsafe flight .. no camera and no OSD yet ...

So both F450 and Alien are shelved for now - The alien will be built with Naza Lite ( now M ) and the new DYS motors when they arrive - initially will try the Emax 4in1 again - If I can't
figure that out with the Emax programmer I now have then I'll put 4 ESCs in it and hope for the best ...

If anyone wants a H3-2D gopro gimbal let me know as I have no use for it ...

[Crisp Image]

While you lot are playing i am suffering my way through holiday having to read all this stuff. Only another 3 weeks away then home.
Crispy

[CBRK]

Well I got the F450 with APM off the deck ... RTL works !!  As it went straight into failsafe zoomed to 30 metres then came down and landed about a metre from where it took off !!
However I have no idea why it went into failsafe ...
SO - I went home and tried some mission planner changes - took it out again and this time it was surging - no gentle throttle control from the transmitter -
SO - I went home and put it on the "MAYBE LATER SHELF" ...
Took out the Phantom 1 I bought and got it ready for me - removed the iOSD , H3-2D , and some other crap ( GPS and compass ) - mounted a new GPS on the roof and plugged it into
the PC and got Naza all configured along with my Radiolink controller - Will screw the lid on tomorrow and take it for a test failsafe flight .. no camera and no OSD yet ...

So both F450 and Alien are shelved for now - The alien will be built with Naza Lite ( now M ) and the new DYS motors when they arrive - initially will try the Emax 4in1 again - If I can't
figure that out with the Emax programmer I now have then I'll put 4 ESCs in it and hope for the best ...

If anyone wants a H3-2D gopro gimbal let me know as I have no use for it ...

Hi,

Shoot me the Dataflash log from the APM and I'll let you know why it went into failsafe.  Just connect via USB and download the dataflash log from the flight data panel in mission planner.

Chris

Chris

[Mandrake]

Hi,

Shoot me the Dataflash log from the APM and I'll let you know why it went into failsafe.  Just connect via USB and download the dataflash log from the flight data panel in mission planner.

Chris

Chris

If I can find it will do - thanks mate ...

[CBRK]

While you lot are playing i am suffering my way through holiday having to read all this stuff. Only another 3 weeks away then home.
Crispy

LOL, you should have taken one with you    I reckon if you tried that you'd be coming home without a wife.....

Just to make it worse we'll post some video later for you to look at too, just to make you feel better 

[CBRK]

If I can find it will do - thanks mate ...

No probs, we are all here to help each other out.

Here's a help page on how to do it:  http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/common-downloading-and-analyzing-data-logs-in-mission-planner/#downloading_logs_via_mavlink

Chris

[CBRK]

Video of the Motor and Gimbal test has been uploaded:

Emax MT3515 Motor Test

Chris

[Marschy]

Are these the Emax's Chris?

[CBRK]

If anyone wants a H3-2D gopro gimbal let me know as I have no use for it ...

You sure you wont want to put it on one of your future purchases?

If you don't want it I have a possible need in a few months for another gimbal for a competition I'm thinking of entering.  How much are you thinking?  If someone else has a need right now, then I'd give them priority.


Didnt realise that the input is only via a DJI CAN BUS, which is incompatible with the Pixhawk CAN BUS.  Guess it will be up for someone else then.

Chris

[CBRK]

Are these the Emax's Chris?

You bet they are (MT3515's with 12x5.5 CF props - still waiting for my 15 inch props), very nice little motors I have to say.  I'm one very happy customer so far.

Will know how they really are after I put 10 hours on them.  The DT750's seem to get a couple of hours on them and then become inconsistent (ie: fail).

Chris

[Mandrake]

Crispy is gunna cry in his weeties when he sees that video..

[Crisp Image]

Internet is too slow to watch the video here. I might have to wait til I get to PARIS tomorrow to watch it. Oh life is hard.
Regards
Crispy.


Sent using fat fingers on the iPad thingy

[CBRK]

Internet is too slow to watch the video here. I might have to wait til I get to PARIS tomorrow to watch it. Oh life is hard.
Regards
Crispy.


Sent using fat fingers on the iPad thingy

Sounds tough, someone had to do it.  I think they have a ban on drones at the Paris landmarks, so you wouldn't have been able to use one there.

[Mandrake]

Here's the beast thats giving me grief ... finally got all together as I like it ...


These are the new tri-blades -they got a little bent in the post !! BUT they spin out nice and flat .. can't see any vibration - Brand name on them is A-MEN - hope that's not an O_MEN !!

[CBRK]

Another quick session today, I finally think I have a well matched system.  The EMAX MT3515's are just the right motor for this, just need those 15 inch CF props to arrive to improve the efficiency, the gimbal is working nicely.

I took it for a spin in 50km/h gusts today (I'd say that was with 15-20km/h sustained wind), man it had to work hard on those gusts but it stayed in the air, only once did it have some trouble.  The gimbal did a brilliant job, you'd think it was a calm day from it's footage, only the props going up and down give the true picture.  I am a big fan of the Alexmos 32bit gimbal (with two IMU's), only annoying thing is that I have to occasionally adjust the camera yaw center position.

I did have some trouble with a telemetry radio, I have to see if it's fried or not, the antenna came loose and I didnt realise till I got home and I had no telemetry data, huge gaps in what it captured.  Lesson learnt, add this antenna to the checks that I do.

Chris

[CBRK]

Here's the beast thats giving me grief ... finally got all together as I like it ...


These are the new tri-blades -they got a little bent in the post !! BUT they spin out nice and flat .. can't see any vibration - Brand name on them is A-MEN - hope that's not an O_MEN !!

Hi,

Looks good.

Just wondering why you went with 3 blades?  I understand they produce more lift for the same size but they also take more energy to turn.  Most that jump up to 3 bladed props do so because their frame cannot support a prop any bigger (eg: will hit there frame if they go from 5" to 6" props).  You generally get better efficiency by going up a prop size, if you are already at max prop size for the motor, the 3 bladed version may go over what it's able to do (saying this without knowing what motors you have on it).

I've got a few for the mini quad but haven't had a need to switch to them.

Chris

[Mandrake]

Impulse buying - first ones I've seen with threaded fitting .. Haven't flown with them yet ... That might happen tomorrow ... If I can get the RTL business sorted ...

[CBRK]

Impulse buying - first ones I've seen with threaded fitting .. Haven't flown with them yet ... That might happen tomorrow ... If I can get the RTL business sorted ...

Hi,

Ah, no probs, I've done that more than once :-(.

I just emailed you the results of my analysis.  Long answer in the email, short answer is you'll need to try a fresh battery (and if it was then you'll need to calibrate the power module).

If the batteries are all good and you don't have time to calibrate it then for the short term disable the battery failsafe (or change it to land rather than RTL).

Regards,

Chris

[Marschy]

Hi,

Ah, no probs, I've done that more than once :-(.

I just emailed you the results of my analysis.  Long answer in the email, short answer is you'll need to try a fresh battery (and if it was then you'll need to calibrate the power module).

If the batteries are all good and you don't have time to calibrate it then for the short term disable the battery failsafe (or change it to land rather than RTL).

Regards,

Chris

Great advice, also, 3DRobotics recommend a minimum 1000mAh per motor.

[Crisp Image]

Hi Chris,
So I am in Paris now and have watched the video. That gimbal is very good. You can see just how hard it has to work. All you have to do is get rid of the props in the pic and also the landing gear. I can see some self retractors coming here!
When I return i have to spend some cash on new batteries and some other gear but for now I am spending my cash on the holiday. We didn't spend all our GBP so may have some in reserve when we get home. Hopefully we don't spend all our euro as well. I still have a trip to the USA in July so my daughter can dance on Broadway so have to keep some cash for that.
Keep up the good work.
Regards
Crispy
Ps the photo is the view from our window.

Sent using fat fingers on the iPad thingy

[Mandrake]

Interesting name for a Cafe - Le Voltigeur - means The Outfielder Baseball connection ??

[CBRK]

Hi Chris,
So I am in Paris now and have watched the video. That gimbal is very good. You can see just how hard it has to work. All you have to do is get rid of the props in the pic and also the landing gear. I can see some self retractors coming here!
When I return i have to spend some cash on new batteries and some other gear but for now I am spending my cash on the holiday. We didn't spend all our GBP so may have some in reserve when we get home. Hopefully we don't spend all our euro as well. I still have a trip to the USA in July so my daughter can dance on Broadway so have to keep some cash for that.
Keep up the good work.
Regards
Crispy
Ps the photo is the view from our window.

Sent using fat fingers on the iPad thingy

Hi Crispy,

Just image how much better that picture would look from a quad looking down.... :-)

On the gimbal, I'm pretty happy with it so far.  Took a while but damn she's steady.  If you think it worked hard that day, the next was much worse, I had 50km/h gusts and it's still extremely steady.  I almost got blown to the ground one time (convinced it was localised wind shear).  I pulled the plug after just 1.5 packs, I just got it flying nicely I didn't want it back in the workshop too soon.

I use the KISS method when it comes to clearing the FOV.  The plan is to drop the gimbal another 2cm down, this will remove the props for 80% of the time.  The next change change once my CNC cut frame arrives is to switch to slightly shorter arms using round 22mm tube, this will remove them even more.  Lastly the landing gear is out too far, I'll move it closer in to the frame (using those clamps HK stuffed up on - I found a use for them) and put them out at an angle (to reclaim some stability when it's on the ground).  Should mean I'll see them only when I have the gimbal turned 90 degrees to the side and I bet I'll see the arms at the top as well.  Cant drop it too far, it will only just clear the grass with 2 cm drop.  Fingers crossed.

Good news is I start work extra early tomorrow (3am) so I should be able to get some flying in tomorrow if it's not raining or blowing a gale.  Have to get some sleep in there too.

Chris

[Spartan]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a reputable Sunnysky seller?

I've had a gutful of the NTMs I've got so I think I'll replace them with the X2212-980kv from Sunnysky if I can find somewhere to get them.

Any positive or negative experiences with Sunnysky?

[Marschy]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a reputable Sunnysky seller?

I've had a gutful of the NTMs I've got so I think I'll replace them with the X2212-980kv from Sunnysky if I can find somewhere to get them.

Any positive or negative experiences with Sunnysky?

Goodluckbuy would be my recommendation, but get them via Aliexpress as the buyer protection offered on Aliexpress tends to keep the store more honest. My experience with dealing with Goodluckbuy and other stores directly is they generally charge more for postage, and miraculously the post is very slow at the exact moment you make the purchase on their website and the good money you spend on expedited postage is wasted. Whereas because of the buyer protection on Aliexpress, if it is legitimately late, you could potentially get your shipment for free.

I've not had any experience with Sunnysky, bit of a Emax fan myself with 2 quads and a tri all mounting Emax's. Have a chat with CBRK about his new Emax motors.

Low KV motors are more efficient due to being able to swing a bigger prop at lower RPM. I would not be so hung up on the 980kv notors, personally I would look for 600-700kv motors, these seem to be the motors of choice in regard size for tri-copters. And with only 3 motors, the outlay is not too bad.

[CBRK]

Goodluckbuy would be my recommendation, but get them via Aliexpress as the buyer protection offered on Aliexpress tends to keep the store more honest. My experience with dealing with Goodluckbuy and other stores directly is they generally charge more for postage, and miraculously the post is very slow at the exact moment you make the purchase on their website and the good money you spend on expedited postage is wasted. Whereas because of the buyer protection on Aliexpress, if it is legitimately late, you could potentially get your shipment for free.

I've not had any experience with Sunnysky, bit of a Emax fan myself with 2 quads and a tri all mounting Emax's. Have a chat with CBRK about his new Emax motors.

Low KV motors are more efficient due to being able to swing a bigger prop at lower RPM. I would not be so hung up on the 980kv notors, personally I would look for 600-700kv motors, these seem to be the motors of choice in regard size for tri-copters. And with only 3 motors, the outlay is not too bad.

I'd agree with Marschy on the way to buy the emax motors, worked for me.  Just be prepared to wait.....  Mine took around 3 weeks from memory (was a very long 3 weeks).  Same method for sunnysky should pan out too.

In terms of how I'm liking my new motors, I really like them, very solid, robust motor.  Very little vibrations coming through (my FPV cam has very few signs of vibration - none on the 3 axis gimbal :-) ).  Loving the T-Style props.  Unfortunately I've only just  had over one hour of flight time on them, so too soon to know for sure.  I should get to 10 hours over the next few weeks (I plan to fly for an hour or two tomorrow and then every couple of days after work).

In terms of sunnysky, they have a very good reputation, not quite a T-Motor or AVRoto but still not bad.

I've given up on HK motors, my DT750's are so flaky.  I can't even guarantee 10 or 20 hours of hassle free flying.....  They are for proof of concept stuff right now.

Having said that I do have some multistar elites which are still going strong after about 10 hours of use and a hard life (my miniquad has had a few accidents).

Chris