Brushless gimbal first tets video (in a gale!)

[SimonS]

First test of my RCTimer GoPro brushless gimbal in less than favourable conditions.  The wind was gusting up to more than 30mph.  There is a bit of shaking in parts but this is down to the RCTimer suspension balls.  They are a bit too soft so I might try firming them up a bit.

Brushless gimbal test

CarborCore H6-950
TigerMotor 2814/10 motors
Cheapo 11x4.7 props
Naza with GPS (in GPS mode)
RCtimer Gimbal
Viacopter AlexMos controller (1.3beta firmware)
Controller settings: R 15/0.2/5/100 P 4/0.2/5/80
2x 4s 5800mAh

Total weight 4.1kg

[Balders]

Thats looking really impressive given the conditions.

[Gaza07]

Very good and very windy 

[eyeflying]

Very impressive considering the wind!

I';ve just had a delivery of a few these Gimbals and Control Boards and will be listing them in my ebay shop over the next couple of days or so. But I';ll be testing one myself first 

[coastersteve]

How much will you be selling them for?

Thanks
Steve

[rickp]

Very impressive considering the wind!

I';ve just had a delivery of a few these Gimbals and Control Boards and will be listing them in my ebay shop over the next couple of days or so. But I';ll be testing one myself first 

Where';s your shop and how much?

[shaktar]

I sent you a pm eyeflying, i';m also interested in one of these

The video is really good also considering the wind it was in to.

[eyeflying]

I';m still playing with these and I want to be certain that they';re 100% before I sell them. I';ve found a few config/setup issues so far but I';m hoping to get them resolved later today. There';s a definite lack of documentation and setting them up is a real hit and miss affair at the moment. I';ve managed to collate most of the info/instructions needed so hopefully I can tell you more later

[shaktar]

ah cool,

I read some reviews of them when they first came out. Seams RCtimer rushed their production to fulfill demand so there were screws missing and some holes not threaded.

Also the shocks were really too soft too people were saying.

How are the ones you got ?

[eyeflying]

I read some reviews of them when they first came out. Seams RCtimer rushed their production to fulfill demand so there were screws missing and some holes not threaded.

Also the shocks were really too soft too people were saying.

There are no screws missing on the couple I';ve checked but a couple of the screws are on the short side - I just countersank the holes a bit more to compensate.  On one of the kits, the grub screws which connect the gimbal to the motor shaft are a bit of a pain to install, the thread didn';t go all the way through. I drilled this, re-tapped the hole and used a larger screw. The other kit was fine though although I wouldn';t like to rely on just the grub screw to hold the thing together - I added a bit of epoxy too.

Yes, the shock absorbers are very soft. I';m going to remedy this with a long adjusting bolt through the two mounting plates so I can adjust the ';softness'; - I';ll post some pictures and a video later - after I';ve had a fiddle!

[powerlord]

Hmm. I dunno if the bolt is a good idea.

I agree they are a bit soft - I put some harder ones on.

But any solid connection between the two plates allows the transmission of vibration negating the point of the isolating grommets. So tie wraps, bolt etc are not a good idea IMHO.

Ideas that would still keep the isolation:

-Elastic bands between the two
-fill the grommets with silicone sealant
-use stiffer grommets

Tbh though they are not -that- soft. The gimbal is so good at x and y movement anyway, that its just the z movement (yaw) coming through (twisting off the gimbal).

Stu

[eyeflying]

Hmm. I dunno if the bolt is a good idea.

I agree they are a bit soft - I put some harder ones on.

But any solid connection between the two plates allows the transmission of vibration negating the point of the isolating grommets. So tie wraps, bolt etc are not a good idea IMHO.

Yes, you';re right but to try and prevent transmitting vibrations, I was going to try inserting a couple of rubber grommets through the large holes in the centre of the mounting plates and then slide the bolt through these. I';ll do a test with and without and see which gives the best results - just got to get the thing stable first! - I think I';ve found a dodgy motor connection that';s been giving me some issues. Just off to re-solder it now...

[SimonS]

Id just like to clarify that the video that started this thread was shot with the RCTimer gimbal but not the RCTimer controller.  The controller used is the AlexMos board from Viacopter. It uses different firmware and is well supported with information and instructions from Alex and others.

As for the soft balls, I have sorted the problem by running a bead of silicon around the edge of the ball/plate interface.  This has solved the problem.