My 2208 DD Brushless gimbal kit

[DomKane]

I got this gimbal kit, which arrived today:

Carbon Fiber 2208 Brushless Motor DD Gimbal Kit for DJI PHANTOM GOPRO 3
http://r.ebay.com/L5sM24

Only £130 so not expecting miracles... Got some magazine deadlines to make today so will start building tonight/tomorrow.

Follow this thread for my notes/review/videos/etc

 

[DomKane]

OK putting together the gimbal without any real instructions (just some photos) to work from wasn't too bad.

I've now soldered some of the pins to the controller board, and the sensor, but unfortunately, I wasn't sent the sockets and cables for it so will have to head to the local Maplin store tomorrow.

I've also had to fashion my own XT60>2PIN socket connector to power the board from a 3s lipo.

Oh, and they also sent me way too many nuts, and not enough bolts, but w/ever. :roll:

 

[Gizmo3000]

I imagine you can just use the Aux power cord from the Phantom to get 3s power to the gimbal. (rather than fashioning a XT60 connector)

 

[DomKane]

Yeah I'm contemplating that, but the gimbal has a plate sticking out the back where strapping a battery to it would balance the phantom a bit smoother, so I'm gonna try both options.

 

[Gizmo3000]

Yeah I'm contemplating that, but the gimbal has a plate sticking out the back where strapping a battery to it would balance the phantom a bit smoother, so I'm gonna try both options.

neat option you have being able to strap on an extra battery.
..scary to think how heavy Phantoms get tho with that extra battery.
imagine it'd be ideal to find a lightweight 3s that has a bit fewer Mah than to stick with a heavier 3s

 

[DomKane]

Yeah definitely... I'll probably use the Phantom power TBH, but the option will be good to have a 3s when I use it on my F550. )

 

[jumanoc]

Yeah I'm contemplating that, but the gimbal has a plate sticking out the back where strapping a battery to it would balance the phantom a bit smoother, so I'm gonna try both options.

I use this lighter NANO for FPV and works for gimbal. No mess with flight power batt

 

[DomKane]

I use this lighter NANO for FPV and works for gimbal. No mess with flight power batt

Good call, I did have a few of those ages ago, so might buy some more, cheers!

 

[DomKane]

OK I'm slowly getting there.

motors in place, and starting to resemble a gimbal now:

It's a Martinez Controller, so I've booted the firmware on:

It's been a LONG time since I did some soldering this small (IMU Pins):

 

[tvpopta]

Nice work so far, Dom! Looks like some precision work there..
My Arris 2000 v2.0 is on its way, so I hope to share some goodies after the weekend

 

[windcharger]

looks good dom. let me know how the PID tuning goes, hopefully default 048 settings works fine for you.

 

[DomKane]

Well, what a nightmare!

I've had to literally make my own cables, and shrink wrap them into place for now, but everything is connected.

I've loaded the 048.ino to the Arduino, and booted up the PID Tuning software, plugged it in, saved settings to both the board and to flash, and now I'm stuck.

Everything seems to work until I unplug the USB from the controller and plug in the 3s... It's like it's trying to boot (blue flashing LED) but not actually doing anything.

Crap

 

[auck]

don't know much about gimbals myself, but i thought you could just plug the motors directly into the phantom's IMU and use the NAZA to control the motors of the gimbal. i read somewhere that supposedly that's how DJI's new gimbal works.

 

[DomKane]

don't know much about gimbals myself, but i thought you could just plug the motors directly into the phantom's IMU and use the NAZA to control the motors of the gimbal. i read somewhere that supposedly that's how DJI's new gimbal works.

Yes, but for testing purposes I'm not connecting anything to the Phantom. I'm just using the gimbal, controller, sensor, and battery.

But unfortunately it's not working yet... Everything seems to be connected up fine, all cables with good resistance, motors powering, but somethings not right and I can't work out what.

 

[DomKane]

Ooops!! Got the trusty old multimeter out and saw I didn't have the GND soldered properly.

Fixed that, and now getting a reading from the GUI software... But now when I plug in to the 12v supply the motors start going crazy on me, so still lots more work to do :/

 

[Gizmo3000]

don't know much about gimbals myself, but i thought you could just plug the motors directly into the phantom's IMU and use the NAZA to control the motors of the gimbal. i read somewhere that supposedly that's how DJI's new gimbal works.

Servo based gimbals plug straight into the NAZA without much hassle.

but most brushless motor gimbals are a bit more complex, requiring their own controller board with their own gyro's,, only connecting to the NAZA to retrieve additional manual pitch/roll control.
the DJI gimbal tho, apparently has much more interaction with the NAZA tho

 

[windcharger]

Ooops!! Got the trusty old multimeter out and saw I didn't have the GND soldered properly.

Fixed that, and now getting a reading from the GUI software... But now when I plug in to the 12v supply the motors start going crazy on me, so still lots more work to do :/

ahh, welcome to my nightmare,
some people get lucky with a martinez board, and the rest hop onto the forums. hopefully I can get the gimbal I purchased in working order soon

 

[DomKane]

ahh, welcome to my nightmare,
some people get lucky with a martinez board, and the rest hop onto the forums. hopefully I can get the gimbal I purchased in working order soon

Damnit! I was hoping you'd have yours sorted by now! lol. Everywhere I read, I gather the conclusion it's a case of jamming in random numbers until something starts to work... Fun! :evil:

 

[Gizmo3000]

Well, what a nightmare!(

Sorry to hear.
but sounds like once you figure things out, it should work for you.

that's kinda why it's best to hold off on new technology unless you're really tech savvy, and let the pioneers (like yourself) work out the kinks and figure out how to get things working.

that's what makes the Arris so appealing, as it should work right out of the box
..and why some will spend so much on the DJI, because that should be even more trouble free

 

[DomKane]

Breakthrough! I've got the basic figures worked out now... Attached the gimbal to the Phantom (only to find out my cable sockets are a little too long and stick out further than the landing legs!).

Next step is to feed the power from the phantoms 12v cable, then give it a test flight and fine tune.

Tomorrow is another day.