OpenPilot Forums

Alex's Video FPV Build Log * VC-450 * Suppo A2212-13 *

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:49:45 +0000

The Alex Building Experience

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Parts:

-VC-450 Kit (Camo)
-Custom Aluminum Camera Tab
-Howeverthings new Power Distribution Board.
-Suppo A2212-13 1000KV
-Turnigy 18A ESCs
-Gaui 8" Props
-Copter Control FC
-1.3mhz 500mw video transmitter
-GoPro Hero2
-ReadyMadeRc's GoPro video out cable.
-EzUHF 4ch Rx (still reading on getting PPM in working) (This will be changed to the new 8ch lite since I’m borrowing it)
-3s2200mAh Turnigy Nano-tech

AUW= 1,119.4 Grams

I Feel this is a great combo for portability and great durability as proven by Pete,Juz,Kevin, and Dave.

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Hoverthings new distrobution board, makes setups so much nicer!

Nylon stand offs with servo thingys as anti-vibration padding.

Testing build. Getting a feel for CC board. So far its amazing!

More photos: http://s388.photobuc...%20fpv%20build/

Hexa Y6 with Camera Stabilization

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:48:58 +0000

Today i am testing the camera stabilization. It is a hexa y6 and this camera mount:
https://www.mikrocontroller.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=110&products_id=598&zenid=cc1e82727c0dce94552e585d0516dda3

This was the first flight:

And this is my configuration:

So it works. But i am not shure about the configuration.

What do you mean?

Thanks for comments.

Claus

OpenPilot T-shirt!

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:45:32 +0000

Hello to all. Today i made t-shirt!
How about that?

Attached Thumbnails

Inspired by Juz and wanting to build

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:44:49 +0000

So ive seen a bit of videos on here posted by whom I understand, is known here as Juz. The guy with many FPV videos.

Origionally I had planned to buy a cheapy blade mxq quadrotor. But....Then i saw his videos, and wondered...
-Why by 1, then another down the road, when i could just buy a single thing?
-The idea of first-person like view, through glasses? Oh my....

Now. I am a bit restricted on money to blow off. I want this to be a progress thing. I would LOVE to clone his machine based off his information here:
http://forums.openpi...fpv-quadcopter/

But, its very...very expensive. I'm confused (as this is new to me) how to break it apart, so I can have JUST the machine, with no cameras and stuff that relates to them. What I want to do, is just build whats needed to fly, yet at the same time, have whats needed to later on, upgrade to the cameras. What stuff do I need..? can i have coptercontrol with no cameras, and just a remote such as the Spectrum DX6i?

I know theres many here would would beg to differ, that someone with no flight experience at all shouldnt even consider spending so much on their first quadrotor, let alone RC flying anything. I rather take that risk. start easy... low.. over soft surfaces like grass.. etc. I see coptercontrol has many features such as stabilization, which helps beginners fly easier.

Quiet honestly i never had a care into the world of RC anything...but...I have always wanted a quad copter...and after seeing Juz's videos, well, I want to slowly buy parts over time to build a similar experience. But I dont want to pay $1000+ at once. I just want to build the quadcopter it self. Fly in 3rd person, learn it, and slowly add. I just need to know what to buy. Wiring? Cant be too bad. I build 1.5KW 7ft tesla coils. How hard can it be....

Help would be nice! I'm rather inspired and eegered to learn

Joystick buttons

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:43:44 +0000

So now the basic joystick plugin is working, I know my game-pad has maybe 15 buttons that I'd like to do something useful with. I'm soliciting thoughts for the inputs. Here are some I'm cosidering:

Toggle arm - or should there be a separate arm and disarm button to avoid confusion
Zero throttle - not quite disarm so safer to recover in air
Stabilization mode buttons - also probably easier than toggling through three

I'm sure I'll add more as we get a more powerful flight capabilities. Things like moving the magic waypoint when in position hold or returning to home. Also regarding the throttle input, my sticks are all sprung so I plan to make it an option that throttle is actually deltaThrottle.

Camera Stabilization (20110819-f85ae84e)

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:37:36 +0000

So we finally are releasing camera stabilization from the testing phase. Sorry about the long delay. If you are flying the 20110814 release and don't plan to use camera stabilization then there is no need to upgrade.

OSX: http://wiki.openpilot.org/download/attachments/2457605/OpenPilot-20110819-f85ae84e.dmg
Windows: http://wiki.openpilot.org/download/attachments/2457605/OpenPilot-20110819-f85ae84e-install.exe
PPM: http://wiki.openpilot.org/download/attachments/2457605/fw_coptercontrol-20110819-f85ae84e-ppm.opfw (for direct PPM only)

I think this video from SeismicWave is a great demonstration (here is his RCG thread on this):

Basically this release is the same as the previous one but with camera stabilization.

Documentation on how to configure it is here. It also allows you to use transmitter inputs to control camera gave but that's not in the easy UI yet.

Quadrixette 30 frame for Open Pilot Copter Control

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:29:38 +0000

Hi guys,

as the other thread concerned the Nano-version of the frame, this thread is supposed to belong to the Q30-version. With the available adapter board the CC can be easily mounted.
Here are some pictures of the frame with the CC onboard:

Weight:

GFK-parts: 45g
Rods: 60g
+ screws, nuts, bolts (metal): tbd

As with the nano, this frame was build with the following idea:

- getting the propellers out of the way for camera flight
- to be as sturdy as possible
- in case of a crash the arms can be easily homemade and exchanged with minimal costs
- flexible balancing point for different setups
- to look great!

A GoPro-housing is shortly before it's release. I can't show the looks yet, but here is a small preview-video recorded with the Quadrixette 30, the CC and the housing:

(watch it at Vimeo in HD for best impression)

Suggested hardware:

Battery: 3s (1300mAh - 2200mAh)
BECs: Plush 10a
Motors:
1) for agile flying even with a GoPro: Strong Power 2208/17 1200kV
2) for camera flights: Keda 20-50s (or directly from Keda, just write a mail)

Just like the nano-frame the frame is available for purchase in black and white at eyefly.info. The GoPro is supposed to be available until the end of next week (02.12.). If you have any questions, please post them here. I'll do my best to answer them asap :-)

Best regards,
Nic

Rate Ki Vs Attitude Ki

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:24:56 +0000

I would like to start off by saying everyone who answered my last thread has been a huge help. And the documentation was great to.

So I have the quad real dialed in. My setting with Ki in Rate is doing well (I left Attitude Ki at 0 like the documentation suggests. This is set up to fly in Rate more often then Attitude. The settings for this is in a file is called : "Most stable #2" See attached.

Then I tried to set things up so I can fly in Attitude more, for photo work. This time I left Rate Ki at 0 and applied values to Attitude Ki.

I got this setting real dialed in to, except the quad keeps pirouetting to the left. Yaw left is stronger than right when I try to yaw right to counter the pirouette to the left I have to push the stick further than left stick as well. (Of course, Right?) I know I missed something, but i just can't figure it out. Can someone look at this file and see where I messed up? This file is called "(NEEDS WORK!) Attitude mode"

I hope my description is clear enough.

Thanks in advance.

Attached Files

Most stable #2.uav 8.95K 10 downloads
(NEEDS WORK!) Attitude mode.uav 8.94K 4 downloads

Warthox hides his Flyduino Quad in an AR.Drone

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:24:01 +0000

Freakin' Warthox. Why must you tease us mortals?
He has a great sense of humor but this little stunt takes the cake. This vid is gonna circulate into the Parrot forums and everybody is gonna think that this is actually the new AR.Drone. Haha.
It's pretty funny for me, since I started with and still have an AR.Drone. This is what I imagined I could do... Now i finally have something useful to do with my old drone that is collecting dust!

Oh, and if you are new to the multirotor world, you might not want to watch this because it will either make you insanely addicted (like me) or you will want to quit immediately.

VC-450 FPV with Simple Backpack GS

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:22:05 +0000

So I guess it is time that I made my own thread now. Little back round on myself, I am 21 years old, living in Southern California pursuing a career as a Firefighter/Paramedic. I have been flying rc aircraft for around 10 years. It has been a passion of mine for half of my life. I first started getting into Multirotors last November and got hooked instantly, did the research and acquired funds (sold off my 3D plane). Then I discovered FPV (thanks Juz) and that was my goal.

Had my first real FPV flight today after getting good at LOS flying for a month and a half. What an experience! First flight was in attitude mode, which I am not used to (usually rate), but rate mode was making the quad drift left. I am theroizing it is due do my TX and Video battery being mounted east and west on the quad and not being balanced.

More to come.

Here is my settup
Quad:
VC-450 by hoverthings.com
Ntm Prop Drive 28-26
Open Pilot CC
Spectrum AR7000 w/DX7
Exceed RC Proton 30A
Turnigy Nano-Tech 3S 4000mAh
GWS 9x5x3
Video:
RMRC-480 camera
RMRC 400mW TX
RMRC 3s 460 mAh battery
LP Filter
GoPro HD Hero
BackPack Ground Station:
Freebie Planet Eclipse Backpack from my sponsored paintball days
Optimized 1.3 GHz 8dBi Patch Antenna
1.3 GHz Receiver
HeadPlay Liberator Googles w/Protector running off 2s 2200mAh Nanotech
All attached to foam core board (lightweight)