F550 - where shall I put everything?

[congo181]

Hi all.
Just bought my first Hexa from eBay and am now in the process of stripping it and rebuilding it to make it as I want.

Its an F550 Arducopter, with an APM 2.6, telemetry, and a Tarot 2D Gimbal.

Now the problem is that the original guy hung the battery underneath, so never got around to fitting the gimbal.
I have fitted the gimbal but would now like the battery to live on the top for ease of changing and to protect all the electronics between the frames.

Problem is, I cannot fit the APM on its mount between the frames, and I cannot seem to get a good way of slotting the battery in there either.

Can people give me some ideas of how they solved this problem on their machines?

Ta,
Jim in Kent

[richardg6paj]

This is what I got for my f550 frame.
http://www.aeroxcraft.com/landing-gear-c-13/dji-f550-landing-gear-set-p-20.html

Richard

[PropsToYou]

I can vouch for the AeroXcraft landing gear as well. It';s fantastic, I';ve tried a couple out there and this is by far the best I';ve come across and also allows you to put your battery on the landing gear which means you can counterweight your camera and gimbal which is great.
Also, if budget allows, I';d recommend getting their isolator kit too, really helped me with vibrations on the camera.

[Jazzz]

I always go have a look on google images to see how others have done things

[PropsToYou]

I always go have a look on google images to see how others have done things

Some pics of mine, kind of shows where everything is. I can take some more pics in a bit.

[congo181]

Thanks for all the comments guys.

I like the look of the AeroXcraft landing gear.  Will it work with just 1 Lipo?  It looks like it would be best with 2.
If I use 2, do I just parallel them up?

Jim

[PropsToYou]

Thanks for all the comments guys.

I like the look of the AeroXcraft landing gear.  Will it work with just 1 Lipo?  It looks like it would be best with 2.
If I use 2, do I just parallel them up?

Jim

I thought that when I ordered it too but actually it';s designed for use with just one Lipo really, but would work with two :)

[Nige8021]

This is the landing gear I started with http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281464101412?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT  you can fit two lipos and a gimbal, I';ve since modified mine to have Tarot (copy) retracts and extended the two 10mm rails so the gimbal is further forward (out of prop sight)

[congo181]

Thanks guys.
I just ordered the AeroXcraft one with the soft mount.

Jim

[PropsToYou]

Definitely a good call!
By soft mount do you mean you got both the vibration isolator kit or the silicon spacers or both?
Here';s a little video before/after review I did of them all together:

! No longer available

[congo181]

I bought the landing gear and the isolation kit, but just couldn';t justify spending £24.90 for 4x bits of silicon to myself :-)

I was also a bit miffed that their site doesn';t include VAT on its posted prices and you have to wait till the checkout to find the final cost of everything.  So actually, it was going to be £29.88 for 4 bits of silicon!!!  Really?

Still, should all arrive in a couple of days so fingers crossed.

I have tidied everything else up now and just need these bits to get it all running again.

[congo181]

So it all arrived and is installed.
However...
My Tarot gimbal is on a soft-mount and is quite deep.  As a result it is too deep to fit under the landing gear.
I looked at inverting the camera mount on the rails, but the soft mount is too wide to fit between the rails.

I think the only option is to remove the soft mount from the Tarot, but has anyone else had this and come up with a better solution?

Cheers,
Jim

[steve fh]

I bought the landing gear and the isolation kit, but just couldn';t justify spending £24.90 for 4x bits of silicon to myself :-)

They are not cheap but they work very well.  I use the same spacers on my large Y6 frame to isolate the landing gear and load rails from the main frame. Never a hint of jello even with un-balanced props.

[congo181]

So you';re saying if I use the silicon isolation to the undercarriage, I wont need the soft mount to the tarot?
If so, its a bit annoying to be swapping one soft mount for another :-)

[PropsToYou]

Do you have more photos of how you';ve fitted it there?

[congo181]

I';ve bitten the bullet and removed the Tarot soft mount from the gimbal.
Ive drilled the universal plate from the aeroXcraft mount and fixed the gimbal arm and PCB directly to it.

I guess if I get any vibration I';ll have to fork out £30 for some silicon although I don';t believe they are in stock at the moment.
Maybe I will look at the HK ones.  Could someone make a note of the dimensions of the silicons for me at some point?

Hopeing now that the standard rubbers will be enough.

Cheers all,
Jim