Rotorpixel gimbal for Phantom Vision

[gpauk]

Great installation video

http://youtu.be/obe_QqxuT-g

The wire trick....definitely would have made things easier.

True. You don't need to remove the plate he removed though, to get the camera off...

But as Pull_up pointed out -- he's made a *big* error with the damper screws... It really doesn't work properly like that!
Also it's likely you will trap the pitch control wire and get vibration, as with the screws like that it's too close to the body of the PV.

 

[Dtalbot34]

Order mine just today. Any updates on expected wait times for this product? I know I'm just as anxious as anyone, and jumped at this opportunity before saving a little extra for the Dronexpert gimbal...hope I get a quality product as Dronexpert "appears" to be. But this one has a lot of buzz so I'm riding the phantom pilots train hopefully to the winners circle.

 

[wp6529]

Mid to later May 2014 would be my prediction.

 

[brushlesheaven]

The real answer is no one knows at this point. We need to wait and see what the update with possible shipping numbers will be from Keri. There was non shipped for the past 2 weeks or so if I remember correctly.
So just wait for Keri's update, maybe within next few days....

Order mine just today. Any updates on expected wait times for this product? I know I'm just as anxious as anyone, and jumped at this opportunity before saving a little extra for the Dronexpert gimbal...hope I get a quality product as Dronexpert "appears" to be. But this one has a lot of buzz so I'm riding the phantom pilots train hopefully to the winners circle.

 

[Pull_Up]

They should be shipping out 50+ this week, then another 50, then shifting up a gear to 100 per week after that according to their last update... I think there's about 550 in the queue now, although I've lost track a bit.

 

[Pull_Up]

Great guide. A question, do you recived a tracking number of the gimbal when was sended, or how Keri do?

I ordered mine on 29/03 and so far just have an confirmation of order and order number, I believe you get another email when it's shipped , "Pull Up" will know ,he has his fitted ,[/quote]

Yep, I got an email when the shipping label was created and could track from then on (that was via Canada Post). Once it hit the UK I could track using the same number via the Parcel Force website (which had more detailed info than the Canada Post one).

 

[EricT]

Thanks to all who responded to my question of the z-axis future upgrade to the RP. In that vein, any recommendations to slow down the yaw as one rotates to the left or right? I have tried barely moving the left stick to either right or left but still find the rotation is too fast for my fine motor skills. TIA.

 

[tedw123]

After about a week trying to figure out what was causing a lot of gimbal shake, I finally got it fixed and took it out for a spin on this nice windy day. What better way to test the gimbal in action

http://youtu.be/spfmzXSasvs

Nice video, also awesome spot.

So , what did you find out about the video shaking ?

Geert.

Geert,

The shaking in my videos was caused by the power output going to the motors, it was set too high. I had to download simplebgc 2.2b2 GUI to adjust power output.

I had reached out to Keri before I tried anything. He told me the shake might be caused by 2 things.
1. The solder points on the motors or going to the motors not being solder properly or having solder flux runoff and coming into contact with another solder point.
2. The power output going to the motors

Luckily for me it was #2 and it was an easy fix

How easy? It apparently looks like 90+% of the people receiving these gimbals are going to have to do this unless it is corrected prior to Rotorpixel shipping future gimbals. One would think they output would be properly adjusted for the Vision camera.

 

[FlyingFox]

So how do you adjust the power output?

 

[Vicrimo]

How easy? It apparently looks like 90+% of the people receiving these gimbals are going to have to do this unless it is corrected prior to Rotorpixel shipping future gimbals. One would think they output would be properly adjusted for the Vision camera.[/quote]


Was very easy. For me at least, and I've never had any experience using a gimbal much less adjusting values on it.

Download the simplebgc. Run it on your computer, power up the pv2 with gimbal attached. Hook up the gimbal board to computer via USB. Look at the values for power output and adjust accordingly.

As far as the output being properly adjusted for the vison camera, yes this is very true, but keep in mind some of us have the lens filter kit installed. Also the lens we use with it might be different brands and of course they'll weigh differently too.

 

[DKDarkness]

So how do you adjust the power output?

I'm sorry to desturb the thread, but I have now followed it for a while again. I know it is a big no-no to make any suggestions that in any way could be concieved as criticism of RotorPixel or Keri. Please understand this is neither.

This 3000 reply thread roughly deals with the following:
- what # is the last one shipped
- how do I calibrate the gimbal
- how do I reduce jello
- how do I configure the gimbal / control board
- has Keri gone whale seeing again

The answers often come as: "I wrote Keri, and he said/suggested that..."

Wouldn't it be much more productive and time effective, if RotorPixel updated their homepage with all the information for all to see, instead of using the time to answer the same questions over and over again by mail to individuals?

 

[EricT]

[/quote]Was very easy. For me at least, and I've never had any experience using a gimbal much less adjusting values on it.

Download the simplebgc. Run it on your computer, power up the pv2 with gimbal attached. Hook up the gimbal board to computer via USB. Look at the values for power output and adjust accordingly.

As far as the output being properly adjusted for the vison camera, yes this is very true, but keep in mind some of us have the lens filter kit installed. Also the lens we use with it might be different brands and of course they'll weigh differently too.[/quote]

Which version of SimpleBGC did you use and where can I get it? TIA.

 

[Pull_Up]

So how do you adjust the power output?

Wouldn't it be much more productive and time effective, if RotorPixel updated their homepage with all the information for all to see, instead of using the time to answer the same questions over and over again by mail to individuals?

Certainly would - but then I get the feeling some people would say "Why have you spent all this time putting pretty FAQs and troubleshooting guides and video tutorials on your website and haven't been putting my gimbal together?" I am hoping that given the forthcoming big batch going out and the upturn in weekly deliveries the "Resources" section is being put together as we speak - because it's certainly going to be needed when there are 100s of them in circulation...

(Still, at least we got installation instructions in the box, which is one up on some!)

 

[Vicrimo]

2.2b2

Found here http://www.basecamelectronics.com/downloads/8bit/

 

[Xcopter]

2.2b2

Found here http://www.basecamelectronics.com/downloads/8bit/

How do you know if the board is an 8bit and not a 32bit?

I'm thinking if Keri is making this gimbal upgradable with a 3rd axis then the board would need to be a 32bit.

 

[DKDarkness]

2.2b2

Found here http://www.basecamelectronics.com/downloads/8bit/

How do you know if the board is an 8bit and not a 32bit?

I'm thinking if Keri is making this gimbal upgradable with a 3rd axis then the board would need to be a 32bit.

There is a 3rd axis upgrade board for the 8bit version: http://www.basecamelectronics.com/simplebgc3axis/

The 32 bit is 3 axis by design, but so expensive that I doubt RotorPixel has gone for that solution: https://viacopter.eu/multirotor-shop/ca ... pter-store

Again, simply going to rotorpixel.com and reading up on the specifications would have been too easy :-(

 

[EricT]

2.2b2
Again, simply going to rotorpixel.com and reading up on the specifications would have been too easy :-(

Terje, some of us are not electrical engineers hence the noob questions. Considering the P2V is a turnkey fly out of the box solution, when it comes to SimpleBGC, I am sure most of the forum readers do not really understand the details of tinkering with the guts of the Phantom's programming. I suspect most of us are trying to learn and make our RP purchase pleasant and fulfilling and not have crashes or a poor performing RP.

Eric

 

[streetcreep]

They should be shipping out 50+ this week, then another 50, then shifting up a gear to 100 per week after that according to their last update... I think there's about 550 in the queue now, although I've lost track a bit.

I sm still amazed at that number not because of rotor pixel ... but man how many DJI Phantoms (don't care which model) have been sold ?? is it like more than 10000 ? Don't know why I picked that number anyone have a better guess than that

 

[iDrone]

2.2b2
Again, simply going to rotorpixel.com and reading up on the specifications would have been too easy :-(

Terje, some of us are not electrical engineers hence the noob questions. Considering the P2V is a turnkey fly out of the box solution, when it comes to SimpleBGC, I am sure most of the forum readers do not really understand the details of tinkering with the guts of the Phantom's programming. I suspect most of us are trying to learn and make our RP purchase pleasant and fulfilling and not have crashes or a poor performing RP.

Eric

Eric, point well taken, and keep in mind this is a brave new world for everyone as new gimbals spring onto the marketplace every few weeks.

All gimbals use servo motors to position & fix an object in 3D space. Detecting the position of the object in one, two, or three axes within that 3D space is the job of sensors attached to the object being positioned & the servo electronics which drive the motors by feeding them variable current (power) to move them into position & keep them there.

It's a "closed feedback loop": If the pilot, a gust of wind, or vibration causes the object to shift position, the sensors detect the offset and the servo amplifiers drive the corresponding correction current to the servos to move it back into position. After getting rid of the mechanical variables which contribute to instability (vibration, gimbal structural wobble, looseness) the servo may need to be adjusted to help it do its job. If misadjusted, the gimbal may shake when repositioning, shake when holding, or drop out of servo lock and let go of the object (drops pointing to the ground or drops & drifts hard left or right or floats between)

Think of adjusting the gimbal's servos like adjusting microphone feedback... Too much gain (power) and it oscillates and you get screeching feedback. Too low a gain and people have trouble hearing you. In gimbaleese too much gain/power induces oscillation (shaking) kind of like a nervous Chihuahua. Too little gain/power and the right gust of wind will knock it out of servo lock and the gimbal will drop/drift until you reboot it again. Vicrimo's video a few pages back is a perfect example of a properly tuned gimbal system:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spfmzXSasvs[/youtube]
http://youtu.be/spfmzXSasvs

Most gimbal adjustment software I've used has not only gain/power adjustments but also many other adjustments for advanced users to optimize. In most cases there's no need to tweak them as their default settings usually work fine out-of-box. But no worries, when you get your gimbal and tune its servo (if even necessary) you'll get the hang of it right away once you see what the adjustments do right in front of you.

iDrone :ugeek:

 

[Seahorse]

I sm still amazed at that number not because of rotor pixel ... but man how many DJI Phantoms (don't care which model) have been sold ?? is it like more than 10000 ? Don't know why I picked that number anyone have a better guess than that

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdSLSoqd1X4[/youtube]