I used to be a fairly happy and satisfied sort of pilot. I could fly OK, had a few nice quads and what I thought was a nice ground station. Not a brilliant one you understand, but functional nevertheless and it did all I wanted it to. Then I start looking at the ground stations section of this forum. Bignose is in the process of building a flash carbon covered thingy, Dizzy with a very tidy box of tricks and there are others like Shikra and Coyote with contraptions that look like the product of people who've spent too much time studying Jodrell Bank or advise GCHQ on how to pick up a signal from a 1 mW transmitter 200 miles away.
So, I get dissatisfied with mine and spend God knows how many hours re-modelling and tweaking it instead of doing something useful like going to Sainburys, washing the car or sorting out my office – which now looks more like a workshop. Does it work any better? – don't think so, will it do anything more than before? - nope, is it prettier? - well yes it is a bit neater due to using a "Wago" junction box to tidy up the wiring, but that's about it. So please don't post any more photos of fancy ground stations that give me ideas or at least rename the section "Pimp my GS". :P
Some photos of it. Just got to add the DVR when Hobbyking finally get it to me so I can review the data back home or use it to locate the last known position :o.
It's a pretty simple GS but it suits my purposes. I've gone over half a mile and it's still perfect. I know it isn't a great range, but it keeps me happy.
The WAGO box is really useful as it contains 2 terminal blocks (one for + and one for -) each with 5 terminals. Each terminal has a little lever and all you do is put in the main feed + or - into any one of the holes and the others will all be ready to accept connections. Very simple, quick and reliable - clever these Germans. Also easy to swap out any wires. Best place to get them is TLC Direct and the're not expensive.
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Manufacturers/Wago_Connectors/Wago/index.html (http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Manufacturers/Wago_Connectors/Wago/index.html)
The switch is for the main + feed and is also used to attach the box to the alumimium L section. The aluminium section also has a slot so you can vary the angle of the antennae.
Hi Heliotrope I thought your comment was quite funny :D actually my gs is very basic inside a a pair of 5.8 vrx.s a pair of 2.4 vrx.s a eagle tree gs and a 5/8 vtx plus recorder lipo and swichs but i prefer something easy to set up, ie clip together i had two years of loose wires seperate bits an bobs etc this sort of fits the bill for me, but i still have my previous GS units i keep one for recording only on 5.8 becouse that has a nice size screen for watchers, and can be used in conjunction with my goggles as i keep my gs transmission always on the same channel at very low power :)
I think Coyote is really an undercover cia operative but ill keep quiet about that :laugh:
Like your idea of the connectors i have never used them myself tbh also your gs looks fine to me we all have priority needs which are as indivisual as our flying plateforms LOL ;)
dizzy :)
Thanks for your kind words Dizzy. My first post was meant as a bit of fun to brighten up the miserable weather although it's a bit brighter in S Wales today. Bignose has promised me a preview of his Noseystation soon - there's been a big build up so it had better be good - TBH I'd be amazed if anyone who can build top notch skews would disappoint. :)
QuoteShikra and Coyote with contraptions that look like the product of people who've spent too much time studying Jodrell Bank or advise GCHQ on how to pick up a signal from a 1 mW transmitter 200 miles away
:)
Yours is looking just fine bud, looks fit for purpose
Looks fine before Richard
Not sure why you try to improve
As for the nosey station, all covered in sexy carbon vinyl and doing the finish soldering bits next week, I'll pop up a demo vid when she's finished
Still like yours though
still better then this ;D
(http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/1609/ua97.png) (http://img822.imageshack.us/i/ua97.png/)
Marcin, you need a shave and to go not so nuts with the cable ties next time.
Apart from that I can`t see anything wrong with that :)
Ooo - I don't think you could hang around a park looking like that for too long :laugh:
:goofy:
What makes that picture all the funnier is that hes started developing "FPVers droop", where you involuntarily lean to one side to "compensate" for the rolling aircraft. It starts in the neck and progresses to the body. Bless ;)
Actually, I think it looks a lot like SteveW unshaven, is he masquerading around using a tracker and UHF without us knowing ? :)
this is more like it.
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There's something wrong when the worst part of your outfit isn't the huge antenna stuck to your forehead, but your disastrous jacket. :laugh:
Just as a final (serious) point about my GS, I've since added an aluminium support bracket for the patch attached to the diversity receiver (there are very small threaded brass holes on the back of the patch). The patch aerial connector is all that was holding it in place before and it was vulnerable to damage with any leverage or careless handling (like chucking it on the back seat of the car when you've had a long day!). The best way to mount the patch from the performance point of view is of course direct to the receiver - aerial connections degrade reception so the fewer joints the better. It would have been possible to screw on the patch each time I set up, but with the present arrangement the GS simply needs to be placed on the ground, pointed in the direction, switched on with one switch and that's it, ready to go with no faffing. The whole thing is designed for quick reliable deployment.