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[ · More CC3D tuning & testing · 29 March 2013 · Post by dem0n1k · ] Another video of me learning to fly my Openpilot CC3D controlled quadcopter at my local park. It was a perfect morning for it.. sun was shining but it had rained the night before so the ground was still damp & mushy. The wet ground keeps other people out of the park :) A slight cool breeze that was perfect because it had no noticable effect on the quadcopter & kept me cool. The CC3D is far from properly tuned.. wild & loose! It was hard to get the rear end to stop swinging around when banking.. probably mostly due to the noob on the sticks :D It was sweet vertical lift though.. around 75% throttle is plenty.. 100% throttle can make it unsteady. This was my 3rd flight using rate mode as previously I was using attitude mode. As I could see the tuning process was going to take a while I decided to concentrate on rate mode as it's the mode tunable. My thinking was that if I could noob rate mode enough for me to control & not hit too many trees then I could just get better from there with more practice & tuning. Settings are... Roll & Pitch : P 0.00450 I 0.00440 | Yaw : P 0.00500 I 0.00400 | No D Full stick angle: Roll & Pitch 55 | Yaw 70 Full stick rate: Roll & pitch 130 | Yaw 180 [ · E-Max 2216-09 1180kV Motorz · 17 March 2013 · Post by dem0n1k · ] A LiPo session from the park today.. out testing the new E-Max motors on my TBS Discovery. So happy that they performed without a glitch as the constant motor twitches & glitches with the Scorpion motors was driving me around the twist! They seemed to have decent power with Graupner 9x5 eprops... but my time with the CC3D has shown me how much the Naza limits the power. I am so tempted to build a CC3D powered TBS Discovery to do a side by side comparison. I am still running 3S on the Naza/Discovery though. [ · Crash Reel 2012 !!@#! · 17 March 2013 · Post by dem0n1k · ] A collection of my quadcopter crashes from 2012 & early 2013... so many older crashes have been deleted due to lack of HDD space :( [ · Hoverthings Flip FPV .. tuning the CC3D· 9 March 2013 · Post by dem0n1k · ] Now I have mounted my GoPro Hero 3 near the back of the Flip's top plate. I kinda like the perspective but I am not going to leave the mount there as it seriously upsets the balance of the craft. I am getting used to the Openpilot controller.. at first it was hard to get used to the lack of altitude holding that the Naza has. It's like in between Naza's Attitude & Manual modes. I am flying in attitude mode on the CC3D too.. I think I will change to rate soon & just noob the settings up so I can handle it. 2 videos! [ · Hoverthings "wobble" Flip FPV · 5 March 2013 · Post by dem0n1k · ] Testing out my Hoverthings Flip FPV with the openpilot CC3D flight controller. It flies a lot looser than my Naza/Discovery but it's a hell of a lot faster with much more thrust. I don't have a GoPro on this frame at teh moment so I am recording the live feed from the 600TVL Sony HAD CCD camera that I FPV with. The bracket that holds the camera is too flexible & the camera wobbles around madly. I made the bracket out fo PVC drainpipe so it's not very rigid. Music is Choke by Skynet. [ · All rain & no FPV make dem0n1k.. something something · 3 March 2013 · Post by dem0n1k · ] It's been raining every day for about 2 weeks.. not solid or I'd be underwater but enough to prevent any outdoor flying so........ [ · Watch that OSD voltage! · 22 Febuary 2013 · Post by dem0n1k · ] I took my Hoverthings FPV flip to the park for a flight but couldn't get the video system working. Went home to test it in the backyard & teh 370mAH LiPo that powered the setup died DEAD! The voltage drops off really quick & the LiPo was really puffed. I have sine desposed of it & use a 12V regulator to power the FPV gear from the flight LiPo. [ · GoPro Hero 3 Black edition · 31 January 2013 · Post by dem0n1k · ] An edit video of some footage from an FPV session at Mungarra reserve with Mephz from the QGL Forum flying his replica R/C planes. This was my first FPV outing with my new GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition so I had to throw in some slow motion as I was recording @ 720p @ 120fps. Only one minor hard landing when I forogt to check my OSD & ran too long for the LiPo. The Discovery was performing well with no glitches from the Scorpion motors. [ · Hoverthings FPV Flip · 18 January 2013 · Post by dem0n1k · ] I bought a Hoverthings FPV Flip frame & assembled it with DJI gear including a 2nd NAZA. I am running 4S rather than my usual 3S as I want a rocket! It is disappointingly slow & also had an oscilation that turned out to be the Turnigy Multistar ESCs. I had previously plugged 2 of these ESCs backwards into a KK2.0 board & both the KK & the ESCs seem damaged. I have changed the ESCs over to DJI 30A OPTOs & now it flys without oscillation but it's still slow, even on 4S. The frame is really nice. With a good power distribution method & FPV setup it will rock I reckon. At the moment I am using a Hobbyking XT60 to 4x3mm bullets power cable. It sucks because sometimes when I unplug the battery one of the bullets also unplugs. Too many bullets.. I don't trust them. The weekend after this video was made I was flying the Flip FPV & my GoPro ejected & I lost it in long grass. Low tech rubber bands are insufficient. Farewell ol' faithful GoPro! [ · FPVLABs forum meetup · 13 January 2013 · Post by dem0n1k · ] This is a video I made from footage of an FPVLABs meetup at the top secret FPV site in the dusty forests of Beerburrum! I crashed my KK2.0 quad flying too low LOS & broke some props & didn't have spares. I flew my Discovery for 6 or 7 LiPos & it performed awesome but I wish I had left my GPS on as the Return to launch would have given more confidence to fly more distance. I kept having interference on my video & I would turn back every time it got more than a few lines. It got windier as the day got later & the last couple of batts where just fighting the wind. Discovery was the same specs as below except with graupner 9" props. There was another group of old skewl FPV'ers there up to all sorts of elite shenanagins. LRS! after_two was there with his Discovery & I snooped in on one his flights with my goggles & he did not disappoint with long ranges, low flying & flips. His gopro battery had died though so no footage. A fun day out but I should have brought food as my stomach was rumbling by midday. [ · FPV fun in the park video. · 6 January 2013 · Post by dem0n1k · ] One of my flights today. I got almost 8 & a half minutes from a 4Ah LiPo which I thought was not too bad as the Naza low voltage LED wasn't even flashing when I landed it. I saw 10.1V on the OSD under load though. I was testing out some new vibration dampening for the GoPro with unbalanced hobbyking 8" plastic props. With smooth throttle the jello isn't too bad but with hard throttle it really ripples the middle of the screen. My prop balancer is still weeks away.. till then I will have to put up with jello. Before I left home this morning I tried some hobbyking 8" 3-blade props & although they were very quiet & the quad seemed to fly really smoothly (LOS), the video was terrible with jello. So I tried some 8" 2-blade props & they seemed quite good at home testing in my backyard, but in the park under heavy throttle they flex I think & it causes video jello. My current FPV setup is as follows :- TBS Discovery Frame w/TBS Core DJI NAZA w/GPS DJI 30A ESCs Scorpion SII-2215-1127kV motors Hobbyking 8047 2-blade props GoPro HD Hero TBS69 FPV camera ImmersionRC 600mW 5.8GHz vTx w/ Bluebeam cloverleaf TBS Core OSD Futaba R6208SB Control Rx 3700-5000mAH Lipos Futaba T8FG Super Control Tx Fat Shark Predator 5.8GHz vRx / Goggles I have ordered new grauper 9"e-props as I think they are the best comprimise between performance & video quality. The are expensive though & I order them from a hobby shop in Belgium! They are ludicrously expensive in Australian hobby shops.. AUD$15 per prop. I just gotta only crash when I am using the cheap props & not the graupners, this time. I remounted my GPS module down on the frame tonight so this video is the last with it still mounted on it's mast. A few guys with TBS Discovery's have told me that they still get decent sattelites with the GPS striaght on the top plate of the Discovery. The mast seemed really tough but the module has a crack in the upper casing from a previous crash. Down on the frame it is protected by the prop shafts in inverted crashes. Totally loving the FPV at the moment & the Futaba is giving more & more confidence each flight. Fear of aa technical problem bringing the quad down made me stay low in the past but I feel like it's OK to go a bit higher now. [ · Scorpion Motor wire fail. · 1 January 2013 · Post by dem0n1k · ] A decent day for FPV today, only a mild breeze so it was hot & humid. The sky was overcast with grey clouds most of the day but there was enough light for the GoPro to function OK. I packed up my FPV gear & drove to Mt.Mee with grandios ideas of awesome footage of the rolling green hills from high above. But being new years day everyone was out in force & everywhere was packed with too many people for me to operate in confidence. I breifly entertained the idea of stopping under a shady tree on the side of the road & flying over the farm pasture below... but firstly I lose concentration when I hear cars drive by so close to me. Secondly, It's someone's land & I really should ask permission but I couldn't be bothered with that hassle. Thirdly the wind was picking up!@# It was close to my sister's place where my parents are staying, so I stopped in for a visit. Also to fly my Discovery :) Video reception at my sister's place is terrible. Bursts of static are regular & sometimes prolonged enough to get panicy. I did an awesome high altitude run on my first battery but didn't have my GoPro turned on !@# Then 2 boring runs as I probed the video black spots.. they didn't seem consistent.. I could get a bad burst & hover in the spot & the static would go away & not return when I would fly through the same spot at the same orientation (or so it seemed). I am still suspicious that the cheap cloverleaf antenna on my vTx is a bit dodgy. I've got a new bluebeam set on order. I did my last run (3rd battery) with a low speed run down an old track with lots of trees in between. Video was shakey but not too bad with the amount of trees between the quad & I. Did a couple of fast passes down the driveway & then hit a long burst of video static & when vision returned the quad was oscilating wildy across a diagonal axis & soon hit the ground hard & flipped. On viewing the GoPro footage & examining the damage it seems one of the phase wires on one of my Scorpion SII-2215-1127kV motors has snapped where it was soldered into the 3.5mm bullet & must have been making intermittant contact causing the oscillation. Easy to resolder the bullet once I got home. Total damage was 2 x graupner 9" e-props broken, another small scratch on my GoPro lens protector & scuff marks on the top of my Naza GPS module. That GPS module post is damn tough for all it's fragile looks. I think I better remove the post & mount it down on the frame though. It might acquire sats quicker but it's in harm's way in an inverted crash, & I do them a lot. I used to think these Scorpion motors were the awesomeness, but the wires are very thin & stiff. They are still multi-strand wire but feel stiff like solid core. This is the 2nd time a wire has broken off just near the bullet connector on a scorp. I can forgive the first time though because the wire hooked on a branch which put a lot of force on it. This one seems to have just snapped from vibration. I gotta get into the habit of checking all the connects before flights. If it happened while the quad was 100m up there wouldn't be much to salvage I reckon. I got some RCTimer pancake motors on order that I am going to swap the scorpions over on the Discovery when they arrive. I might put the scorpions on a KK2.0 controlled X-Quad running 4S LiPos for the craziness. Chargin' mah batteries! [ · Another windy day in Brisbane · 1 January 2013 · Post by dem0n1k · ] A windy day with all the parks full of picnic'ers, how I hate them. I drove for about 1.5 hours from Taigum to Somerset Dam via Mt.Glorious but found no parks without people &/or gusty wind. On the drive back I stopped briefly in a truck fatigue stop but was too timid to go far with the wind buffeting my quadcopter around a lot. Flew most of one 4Ah LiPo then continued my way back home when an actual truck stopped in. I stopped a bit later at Red Cedar park in Northbrook. There were about 4 families of picnic'ers & a couple of park wardens. I wondered if the park wardens would give me any trouble about flying my quad in the park but figured only way to find out was to do it. All of them were down the far end of the park away from the entrance. I parked at the entrance & setup at the end fartherest away from the picnic'ers. I started flying low & staying out of their side of the park but it got boring & I had to whizz over a couple of times. 2 times new couples turned up & tried to sieze the middle of the park but the tbs discovery scared them off! This is why I need to fly only in parks with no people. My view in the FPV camera is limited & I see something, go closer to get a better look & end up scaring the crap outta someone who thinks the Skynet has taken over. It was still windy in Red Cedar Park but just a bit gusty, not as ferocious as it had been at the truck stop. I got a couple of good runs but again was too timid to go very high due to the wind. At one point the video broke up so bad I couldn't see where I was going for a few seconds but control was still good. Rock on Futaba 8FG + R6208SB. I have uploaded the following video to the youtubes. I am probably going to be the first guy to decapitate himself with a quadcopter. I think tomorrow I will try my 7" monitor again as I really need my glasses to see clearly & they don't fit under my Fat Shark Goggles. I've read that the Foxtech AIO goggles can fit spectacles under them which would be ideal but I'd hate to order a set & find my glasses don't fit. I'll have to research that more. Dunno, it's late & I'm tired. Maybe a ski-mask mod. Maybe I could use my old WW1 gas mask! I should sleep. [ · Another windy day in Brisbane · 31 December 2012 · Post by dem0n1k · ] I woke up late & can hear the wind howling outside. It's a bummer but I've already missed one day of FPV'n on my holidays because of the wind.. so I am off to Mt.Glorious to see if the wind is less in the valley on the other side of the mountain. All LiPos & NiMh's charged & ready to rawk! :D [ · New mount for my Futaba R6208SB Diversity Antannas · 30 December 2012 · Post by dem0n1k · ] I need one. My current one made of fishtank airtube 90 degree elbows & cable ties is super dodgy. But for now it's gonna have to do.
That prompted me to buy a Futaba 8FG locally. Normally I would buy online & pay about 60-80% of local prices but getting it local meant I could start learning the new Futaba setup straight away. The Turnigy 9X is a feature packed radio for the amazingly low price but it's quality is likewise low. I reckon it will be the same for the new Turnigy 9XR that has just come out at HobbyKing. They are a great radio for a beginner though. I recommended one for my nephew that is trying his hand at R/C quadcopters. I will still use mine for my cheapy KK2.0 contolled quadcopter projects. I have about 5 T9X receivers. I read online that the Futaba radio can be tricky to setup & the counter guy at RC Mild to Wild said the same. He assured me it would be a lot of documentation reading & more difficult that the Turnigy. But I found it relatively easy to get it all hooked up & sorted. The S-BUS system rocks! The setup of the 3-position switch on the Turnigy 9X was a nightmare & even though I got it working I am still not 100% sure how it worked! I never got the forced failsafe working with it. With the Futaba I watched one youtube tutorial on the setup of the 8FG for the DJI NAZA & had all the modes including forced failsafe from any other mode. orrrjeh! :D The switch setup on the Futaba 8FG is how it should be. None of the switches have a predefined purpose, they all have a designator so you can assign them to whatever function you want & nearly all the switches are 3-position! In yer face Turnigy! I also now have a throttle activated timer that will sound 6 minutes after I first go over 50% throttle. A good reminder to check the voltage OSD. At the moment I only have my GoPro HD Hero & My Dad's Panasonic Camcorder.. so just taking snaps to upload.. like of the melted 9X.. is a pain at the moment. When I get a happy snaps camera I will upload more pics.
Below is an image I had on my computer of my TBS Discovery when I was still using the Turnigy-9X Tx/Rx.. which will be the subject of a rant post. I am using a Futaba 8FG Super now, it's awesome. 
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