Yes folks, i`ve got myself another Skywalker, this time the V5
Ill first start by looking at whats in the box, changes made, then continue the build thread using past experiance to hopefully make the best one yet :)
I`ve learnt a few things with the previous two, firstly to stay away from the sea, and more engineering notes and ways to improve this airframe. Its by no means perfect, but there is plenty you can do to improve it.
I was quite excited to see the new V5, but as you will see below, there are good points which pleased me, but a few Faux Pas which has given me great concerns
First : Whats in the box
Stickers !
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0018.jpg)
Ill get stickers out the way first, just stickers, nothing more, a few extras compared to the previous versions. A few sailors off the north east cost will be more use to seeing these on the plane than myself at this point :)
Now the fuse
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0019-1.jpg)
Pretty much the same as previous moulds, the improvement here which is welcomed is the fatter tail, the previous tails have a lot of flex, this gave tail waggle under power and a potential weak point
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0020.jpg)
This is the thicker section, much better, but the vertical stab is no more stronger than original, so either a carbon rod ( preffered ) or re-inforced tape will be needed to improve the structual strength still.
The Canopy
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0021-1.jpg) (http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0022-1.jpg)
The canopy has ben totally remade, the original was a great design shape wise for a gopro and flight cameras, but lacked strength. After a few lets say premature landings the strength was gone, the screw didnt line up with the blind nut and became a pain. Now a full canopy is provided giving more strength and flexibility for equipment placement. The inside is hollow, but the walls thick enough to raise nose structural strength right up. Very happy with this change. A handy slot has been moulded in to accomedate a keyfob cam i presume
The wings
And here`s where the happy feeling has gone :(
Im not happy with these at all
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0023-1.jpg)
First glance from this picture, all looks well, but taking a closer look :
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0024-1.jpg)
If you flew this with ailerons like that, it would be a very short flight, pretty appauling imo. Reinforced tape / hinges is going to be a must here, you would or should normally on previous models, but the hinge was no where near as sorry as this V5`s is :(
Next up is another BIG point of concern. The Skywalker has had a mixed past, its known to be one of the best FPV platforms going, but has an achillies heel, its wings. Ive had two now, both V3`s and never had a problem, but ive always taped my wings from day one, other owners have had wings fold on them resulting in a written off plane. The reason ? A weak point where the main spars end and the smaller spar from the dyherdial join.
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0025-2.jpg)
In their infinite wisdom, but using logic that ive completely missed, they have decided to do absolutly nothing with the weak point at the joint, make the spars one spar instead of two, effectivly halfing its strength and durability, making the spar covers that were never a problem permenant ??????
Err ......... wtf ?
So they have made wings that have a problem, have the same problem, but now added another problem on top ? I can not fathom what their thinking was with this, which part of the forums did they look at in taking on members suggestions ?
Anyway, suffice to say i will be doing a fair bit of work on the wings to this one, theres no way ill fly it like this, its just asking for trouble. So ill be fitting ply to the dyhedrial joints to strengthen, ill be lso laminating the wings, a first i think on a walker but should improve the flex no end :)
Wing and Tail Spars
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0026-1.jpg)
Same spar for the wing, just one instead of two, madness but there you go. The tail spar remains the same too.
The Horizontal Stab
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0031-1.jpg)
The same as previous versions, a carbon strip to give strength, but doesnt really do a great job. I will be laminating this too as with the wings but may revert to my previous model and spar the tips to the tail, it radically changed the strength with flying and in transit to and from the field, the tail section can easily be damaged
The bag of bits
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0027-1.jpg)
I was pleasantly suprised, that for the first time, the two glue tubes were still in tact after transit, normally i have to spend a while ungluing everything after they went pop in the plane on the way over
Got wood ?
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0028-3.jpg)
The wood was undamaged, the pieces include motor mount, horizontal stab base for blind nut, base plate for horizontal stab, base for canopy screw and base for blind nut for canopy screw.
The canopy screw i wont be using, after a few lessons, firstly its a pain when the modles not bashed, even more of a pain after it has been, so ill be going for an internal elastic band instead for quick lipo changes instead.
Bits n Bobs
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0029-1.jpg) (http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0030-2.jpg)
The two carbon rods for the wing elastic will be used, the servo rods will be hammered, squashed and burnt to make sure they never get near a model ever. These will be replaced with far superior M2 threaded bar and metal clevis`s
Other screws and fixing are provided with the servo horns, the servo horns ill ship free of charge to someone i dont like to ensure their plane falls from the sky much to their dissapointment. These horns are terrible, break easily, and look to be the first cause of my first lost Skywalker a while back. File under "bin"
So that sums up what in the box, now to add my own replacement parts, modify the wings and horizontal stab, then start building her with Fpv kit coming soon :)
Welcome to the V5 club :) I have a V5 also (partially built as I havent had the time to finish it off) And am wishing for the sake of the wings I went for the V4.
I see from the pics that the metal sleeve in the wing for the spar is missing on your plane also. I opted to source some larger CF rod for the spar as the rod that came with it was a sloppy fit in the wings. I believe from memory it came with an Ø8mm CF spar and I bought some Ø10mm to beef it up. I have also got a stash of CF ribbon to add along the length to stiffen the wing and was toying with adding tape but have heard so much about it deteriorating in the sun that I havent decided yet. The real biggy I am wanting to do is to cut a channel for a second spar! I dont think it would be hard to make a little hot wire cutting tool, that could effectively be shaped to the form of the slot needed and have it attached to some thin ply so you have it as a depth guage so the slot is constant, then simply glue a second spar in place and then on the section of foam thats been removed by the hot wire method simply cut an arc on the bottom to give clearance for the new spar, then add liberal amounts of your favourite glue and bobs yours mothers brother a version 5 wing with 2 spars... I hope I made sense there lol
have you made any choices about what gear you are fitting to it?
Good idea there, im toying wether to drill out a second spar myself, it would be much much better, but the laminating will probably solve my doubts.
Gear wise i have received my WDR 650 OSD camera. I was more than happy with theWDR 600 so went for the 650 to get the most detailed resolution i could. Its a bit different to the 600, ill document it below.
Ill be using RVOSD eventually, but EZOSD is going in until its bought.
Immersion 5.8ghz vtx for transmission
459 UHF is also gracing it as usuall.
GoPro eventually
I thougth about drilling for a spar but then realised that it could end in tears as it wold be hard work to drill the holes exactly in line and in the right place etc, and any great deviation from where there are intended to be would ruin a wing. hence the idea of cutting out a slot with hot wire as you cen have both wings joined at the time and mark a line across the span and follow it all the way knowing everyting is going to work.
I am hankering for a gopro2 but the price isnt where I want it to be right now, so I'll wait a while.
I'm still waiting for the HD1s to come down in price. that promise hasn't happened yet.
back to the skywalker though. It will be interesting to see how the laminated wings work out, bound to add plenty of tortional and bending resistance.
Quote from: papa_lazerous on December 12, 2011, 06:52:25 PM
I have also got a stash of CF ribbon to add along the length to stiffen the wing and was toying with adding tape but have heard so much about it deteriorating in the sun that I havent decided yet.
Epoxy resin is well known to deteriorate in the sun due to ultraviolet light.
The solution is simple.. Cover it with paint to protect it from the uv. Acrylic seems to work ok on styrofoam.
regards
Andy
Epoxy on EPO :o Its UHU Por, Gorilla glue and CA all the way. I know Epoxy can work on EPO but its not the best glue to use and it doesnt chemically bond to the foam. I know people paint their models but I am thinking of the weight it adds
Quote from: skyscraper on December 13, 2011, 02:49:11 PM
Quote from: papa_lazerous on December 12, 2011, 06:52:25 PM
I have also got a stash of CF ribbon to add along the length to stiffen the wing and was toying with adding tape but have heard so much about it deteriorating in the sun that I havent decided yet.
Epoxy resin is well known to deteriorate in the sun due to ultraviolet light.
The solution is simple.. Cover it with paint to protect it from the uv. Acrylic seems to work ok on styrofoam.
regards
Andy
Ill let you know how the laminated wings go, doing them right now, 30 min wait, then ill be ironing the laminate over the 3m90 and scrim
Fingers crossed :)
I hope your taking plenty of pictures???
Quote from: papa_lazerous on December 13, 2011, 03:27:41 PM
Epoxy on EPO :o Its UHU Por, Gorilla glue and CA all the way.
Carbon tape is usually designed to be wet out with epoxy. CA might ok but would give no working time. and you would need to break the binder to get good. Not sure the other two would work too well with carbon, though admittedly I never tried them
Best way to use carbon with EPO seems to be to use extrusions.
regrads
Andy
Right, lets get started on those wings.
I decided to go for lamination, not uncommon on wings, but not common on Skywalkers, hopefully it will increase the strength a lot more than stock and be a bit more crash resistant :)
First off i meshed the wing, running from root to tip, i covered the lot and overlapped each piece. For this i used standard plastering Scrim found in all good DIY stores. I was happy to find the sticky on this roll was pretty good :)
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/Mesh1.jpg)
Then using 3m90, i filled the mesh untill its level with the top of the tape, using a credit card to smooth it over and get the best coverage. This is where i found i`d not have enough 3m90. One whole can will only cover half i wanted it too, so another on order
Next i layed the laminate, dull side down over the wing and cut it to length, let the 3m90 go off for 20 mins first if your in a heated house, 30 mins + if your in a freezing cold garage
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/Laying1.jpg)
Next i began tacking the edges down of the laminate, using an iron on silk setting gav enough heat to do the edges fine. Once i had that done i started from the middle to the outside shrinking the laminate down
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/Iron1.jpg)
The laminate stopped shrinking after a while so i stepped up the heat and went back over again, its slowely getting there now :)
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/Iron2.jpg)
I finally got up to wool setting on the iron, but it was a little high so dont do that if your thinking about it :) Luckily i tried a test piece first at that temp and it blew the foam up real bad so you have been warned.
Anyhoo, after a few more minutes of going over and over, eventually it started to straighten out nicely, not perfect by any means but im happy with the result
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/Finished.jpg)
I like the look of this technique. Apparently EPO can be hot wire cut, and so it looks like the technique would lend itself quite easily to DIY projects. Should be fast and clean to do.
Where did you source the laminating film?
And BTW does anyone know where you can get EPO sheets, ideally in 50 mm and 100 mm thicknesses, in the UK?
Finally wonder how much weight is added by the spray, tape and laminating film, e.g per square metre of surface?
regards
Andy
The company i got mine from is based near Darlington called Mr PK-Surfing :) Maybe he could help you out there with soucing it
Ill weight the wings when they are done and then get someone else to weigh their stock wings
looking good Ian wings looking much nicer. and the whole plane looks beefed up..
I now retract my previous statement of the wings not being as strong as i thought after lamination. Now ive excercised some patiance and actually left the glue to go off.............. daaaayyyymmmm !!!!! They are now strong as hell, no flex at all, think this was a real good move now, very impressed
Still needs a second spar though imo for sure
Good Idea on the wings Ian, might do this to my new skywalker if I ever loose the present one I have
Lets hope you can keep this one this time :P
No honest good luck
Haha, cheers Simon
I got the material from Paul ( PK-Surfing ) so maybe he can shed some light on the source. I followed stealthworx guide on doing the Stealthwing a while back, but he has closed his youtube account.
Ill do a video if you want of the underside of one of the wings if you want, its traight forward enough, the seems bond to each other when overlapped just like laminate does in the heat machines :)
I had to add the extra spar, one was just not going to cut it for me.
I cut the carbon rod to just under the same length of the original, put it in a drill, used a file to sharpen one end and set about drilling both sides of the wings.
I have not glued the spar in, so if there are any breakages then they can be replaced easily enough
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0038-2.jpg)
That seemed the most obvious and strongest place to put it in
And yes ones a little wonky :) But it really makes them nice and tight so wonky actually paid off in the long run lol
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0039-1.jpg)
Nice work Coyote
The extra spar looks good! I'm glad you done it first as I have more confidence in doing mine lol
look, they sell the V3 wing set separately http://www.lowpricerc.com/product_info.php/xen-skywalker-wing-set-p-1390 (http://www.lowpricerc.com/product_info.php/xen-skywalker-wing-set-p-1390)
Cheers guys, best mods coming soon ( at the mercy of the postman )
Great find and noted Chris :)
Right, i had some time onmy hands ( 2 hours ) and some of the gear has turned up, so i set about work :)
Heres the rc side of the build
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/1-9.jpg)
Tower Pro MG90S servos all round
AX-2814C 980 kv Motor
Turnigy Plush 40 amp ESC
9x6 Prop
M2 threaded bar and Metal clevis`s
I cut the rudder off to insert plastic hinges instead of relying on tape or the naff stock efforts
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/2-9.jpg)
Glued the servos in and ran the leads down the carbon tube ready.
Because of the canopy change ill be fitting the gopro there, so elected to go for the stock position for the tilt servo
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/3-8.jpg)
I then set about positioning the equipment, this time ill be running a single lipo setup, and i also wanted to hard wire the cameras joystick in as well. The Telefly OSD has turned up so that could go in as well
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/4-8.jpg)
Ive elected to mount the Telefly GPS right down the front away from any interference
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/5-7.jpg)
I began soldering the audio and video wires to the cameras joystick wire and vtx, then set about routing the power cables to keep noise down to a minimum too, ive ran all the 12v wires to the input pins of the Telefly OSD
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/6-7.jpg)
Ive also elected to go for a much larger BEC this time as well. I went with the Hobbywing 8 - 15 amp unit, much bigger but able t cope with a lot of servos :)
The hardest part so far was to cut the multicore wire from the cameras joystick and remove a few meters of it so its a neat fit, once that was done theres only the connection of a LC Filter and XT60 to go on the video side :)
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/7-6.jpg)
Theres plenty of room for teh RVOSD coming soon to fit in as well, but a bit of forward thinking needed so i dont run short on cables once the fuse is glued and the RVOSD is added later
Ian, a few questions if thats ok...
1. Why (and I've seen this in many Skywalker builds) are you using a separate BEC instead of the built in one in the ESC? (genuine question, there's probably good reason)
2. Where can I buy a LC filter?
3. How much were your MG90S servos?
Cheers
Hi Chris,
1. The original Becs built into Esc`s are limited to 3amps max, the skywalker can use two servos for aileron, 2 for flaps, pan and tilt as well as rudder and elevator. So thats 8 servos that the bec needs to power before the rx ect. If the ESC for any reason gets too hot it will go into thermal shutdown, this includes shutting down the onboard Bec also. With the RVOSD as with the DOSD ive used previously you never ever want the Bec to shut down, if at some point the ESC is over driven, it will leave me with no motor, but control of the servos still.
2. I think LC Filters up to 1 amp can be bought from Rangevideo, but they are only a glorified ferrite ring and capacitor, its very very easy to make your own
3. Giantcod do them at £4.31 : http://www.giantcod.co.uk/towerpro-mg90s-22kg-torque-ball-raced-micro-servo-p-403863.html (http://www.giantcod.co.uk/towerpro-mg90s-22kg-torque-ball-raced-micro-servo-p-403863.html)
But if your ordering in a hurry i wouldnt hold your breath, my order from the week before last with remaining parts for this build is no where to be seen yet
Coyote, thanks for all the pics n stuff, this is going to help massively when mine turns up in the new year.
Definetly going to have to look into the technique for laminating the wings like you did, hopefully something on you tube
Glenn
Thanks for the info Ian :)
Hi Ian, I thought you had gone off using Turnigy Plush ESC's?
I gotta ask... What's the deal with the antenna right infront of the motor mount? I have mine all the way back on the tail plane to avoid RF noise, I am wondering if this is a tried and tested location with it being that close or if you are just waiting to see what the range is like? Otherwise it looks like a really tidy installation :)
Hi Ian, yeah ive gone Plush again, ive always used them, but then had nothing but chew with them with the first DOSD ( ground loop ). Im not using DOSD anymore though so its fine to use again now.
Hi Papa, i normally have my UHF antenna where the camera now is, but because the canopy is totally different ive put it there instead. I could put it right down near the tail though, and im considering it before i close the fuse
Bit more work tonight on her, i re-laminated the horizontal stab, im still not 100% happy with it, i think its a case of the foams too thin, but it was much better than the first go so its fine :)
I went for my simple pan and tilt rig ive used from the start, no nonsense rig, consisting of a servo and arm for pan, a servo, arm and link for tilt, that it, pretty simple but has always been fine
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0078-1.jpg)
The blue switch is the "Set Home" for the Telefly OSD btw, instead of having to open it or anything, just click home and done :)
Motor, prop and ESC fitted. The Turnigy Plush 40amp looks tiny in there :)
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0079-1.jpg)
I fitted an AV out for the plane so i can fire it up, see what its going to transmit and lock its sats without potentially sitting a vtx there in the burning heat to destroy itself
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0076-1.jpg)
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0077-1.jpg)
So nearly there, fitting servo on ailerons, all the horns to fit, linkages, hinge the rudder and hatch and its basically there i think
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0075.jpg)
*Note the Vtx position, i always mount my vtx`s on a Skywalker further back towards to tail to give good clearance between the prop and the wires*
I cant get the reasoning of why they put it where it is so close to a swinging prop. Surely the mould of the vtx base ould go just 1" further away and solve this. If the tail flexes at all, no more picture
looking really good Ian.
I think building an FPV plane from scratch is definitely the best way to do it.
When I bought my Bixler, FPV wasnt part of the plan (I didn't even know about FPV) I just wanted to learn to fly a plane. With hind sight, buying the kit version would have been better so I can route all the cables properly without taking big gashes out of the foam lol :)
good work, keep it up. I'm watching this thread with great interest (and a view to getting a Skywalker in the future also)
Chris
Its nearly done, ive added the stickers, here a nearly complete job, few things remaining
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0081.jpg)
A few things noted :
1) The dyherdial has gone, the wings step up at the joint, but dont curve out on this v5
2) Even with the thicker stronger tail, its still crap :( Waggles like hell, wish i`d added a spar afterall, but having said that its never failed before so should be fine
3) The tail mould, even though they have changed it is still is mis-alligned when you meet the seams up \0/
Looks good Ian :)
So if the UHF antenna is infront of the Motor, what is the one on the tail? Is it a Diversity RX?
Nope just another UHF antenna, if the range check sucks on the one in front of the motor, then ill plug in the tail one instead and remove the first :)
Ahh, good idea, or ifyou had a CL Dare RX, you could use both :+
Im still a patch antenna short for the ground station, but the plane will be finished in a few days hopefully if the last giantcod shipment arrives
It's looking great Coyote
Mine turned up from HK today, Pretty impressed with the delivery time tbh.
However my lovely wife has thrown a spanner in the works. It's going under the tree!!!
She's a treasure.
Motor, esc, and battery should also arrive today, just need to beat her to the front door.
I think I'll be coming into some money at Christmas/New Year time, so a skywalker from HobbyKing seems like the way forward. love these build threads, so much valuable info :)
I agree Chris
Just for info I will likely be starting a Rebuild thread shortly after I maiden mine.
Ian, do you use hotglue to tack down your wires along their routes? to keep them away from each other?
Quote from: 6lennn on December 23, 2011, 12:48:57 PM
It's looking great Coyote
Mine turned up from HK today, Pretty impressed with the delivery time tbh.
However my lovely wife has thrown a spanner in the works. It's going under the tree!!!
She's a treasure.
Motor, esc, and battery should also arrive today, just need to beat her to the front door.
lol, are we married to the same person?
When do you think you'll be doing a maiden, Coyote?
Cheers lads.
Only two more sleeps Glen :)
Yes Chris, just s dab of hotglue here and there for the wires.
I'm an aileron servo and rudder hinge short Steve so ill be expecting them after the new year I think now with the post.
On a side note, I haven't pictured this as yet, but my esc wires going to the look are wired in the other half of the fuse as close to the side as possible. This is to keep the high current flowing cables away from video and audio signals and away from power cables going to nec and vtx.
The result wad absolutely no motor interference in the video picture at all, so no LC Filter was needed even though they share the same XT60 connector between them.
how many cells LiPo u gonna use for this motor Ian?
Im using both depending on mood :)
ggrrr, the BEVRC site is down. want to order it with the motor from bevrc. rest of the stuff from GC
Ian, Thats a nice build. ;) Think i need a v5 in my life!
Lol, thanks Chris, but I really would not recommend one, a V4 sure, but still really not confident with these wings yet
I forgot to mention, i cut the tail section again this time after i found last time, for swapping bust servos, its a great mod
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0103.jpg)
Ive used pinned hinges on the rudder you can just make out, then fixed the M2 threaded bar to the clevis`s so now i have the controls sorted :
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0104.jpg)
Last time the catch was a bit hit or miss, the pin would slide up so it wouldnt open sometimes,it was ok but could be better. This time ive put on a much more simple catch that doesnt let the door push in, and has no moving parts :
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0105-1.jpg)
Before the Gopro is bought and graces the canopy, i still wanted HD footage, so i got a #11 HD keyfob cam
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0098.jpg)
This is where it will be mounted, but im going to make the angle steeper so it gives a much better view and not 80% sky.
One of the things with these keyfobs is the random and sometimes very short recording times, im doing the same as last time and providing an external power source for the cam so this doesn`t happen. To do this you use the Usb wire supplied with the camera that is only two core, the other Usb you leave complete for file transfer
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0101.jpg)
Cut the lead to the desired length, identify the+ve and -ve, then solder the corresponding ends to a servo plug.
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0102-1.jpg)
The plug can now plug into any spare receiver channel and give the keyfob cam a permenant 5v supply and never miss any part of your flight again :)
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0106.jpg)
Ian, have you got the latest firmware for the #11HD keychain cam? I found that after loading the new firmware (latest available) it now records perfectly fine until you get to the capacity of the micro-SD card. It also fixes the light balance issues (hunting in gradual steps, not smoothly), and completely removes the date/time stamp.
Ive not got the newest, have you a link Chris ?
here are the firmwares for it, choose the one you need :)
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=18166806&postcount=3531 (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=18166806&postcount=3531)
Thanks Chris :)
no Probs, let me know how it goes :)
Ok time for some tweeks, ive uploaded the new firmware thanks to Chris, it seems fine, so next the angle its at. If you point the camera straight forward, you will get a recording of 80% sky and 20% land, visually unappealing. The last build had a different canopy, so this one i`d do different
I took the bit of packing foam they give you in the keyfobs packaging, its great, its low density, like mini bubble wrap, no idea what its really called, but its fantastic for vibrations
I cut several pieces from it and placed the camera on and recorded a few seconds, played it back to see if the nose was in shot still, when it wasnt, theres the right amount of layers :)
I then stuck the velcro on and i have an anti-vibration mount :
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0107.jpg)
See the camera lens just clears enough to not vibrate
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0108.jpg)
And finished, a before and after, the difference between a good video, and a great video angle
Before After
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0106.jpg) (http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0109-1.jpg)
Coyote looking very good :D
May i ask regarding the new software for your camera how do you go about updating it?? u see dizzy is not that savey on these things :D
and i suspect it may help others on the forum too ;)
dizzy
Here's a link to the drivers:
http://tinyurl.com/6pb572w (http://tinyurl.com/6pb572w)
Instructions on how to flash are also on the techmoan site.
I'll post the link up when I get in, its on my laptop.
You download and unzip the file, then switch on your keyfob camera, while its on plug it into the Usb.
Windows will give you options, select open.
Copy the firmware file from your pc into the cameras root folder.
Unplug the keyfob cam, it will power down. Power it back up and wait for the led to light, it will only light up after its loaded its new firmware.
Once its lit up, plug it back into the pc, select browse files and delete the new firmware from the root directory. This is so it doesn't write the firmware each time you turn it on.
That's it, all done, use your camera as per usual
Thanks coyote will be doing this shortly myself :D
dizzy
Heres the link to firmware Zip file
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showatt.php?attachmentid=4293060 (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showatt.php?attachmentid=4293060)
did this to mine earlier, it was a breeze, takes less than a minute from start to finish
Glad I could be of help :)
After a few tests with the MFD i became aware of a small problem, the MFD regulator board would cut supply to the OSD if anything came into contact with it, or vibrations got to it.
Not really a great thing :( Half way through your flight you loose video, then if you get it back, home is lost and the OSD has no idea where you are !
I removed the regulator board, tried resoldering the connections incase it was a bad joint, but the problem still persisted. The remedy i hoped was a BEC. The onboard BEC was capable of running 6v, and my UHF max voltage was 6v also, so i removed the regulator and tapped onto the now switched to 6v BEC supply instead :)
Here`s the offending little bugger : (http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0110.jpg)
One of the things that worries me, is having the plane sat with Vtx on and not moving. Vtx`s can burn themselves out really easily if sat. What i like to do is have my vtx off, but be able to see the Osd, Camera etc on the ground before the flight. The longer the plane is sat locking sats the better for the OSD and tracker.
What i did was add an RCA socket to the video one on the fuse :
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0111-1.jpg)
Now i can have the plane sat there, all systems on, apart from vtx, letting the OSD gather sats, and i can plug in my MFD Tracker to the audio out and confirm the MFD is getting a signal,telemety and picture while others fly on the same frequency and without chancing the vtx in the heat
Hi Coyote
Have you contacted the retailer about this problem, I will have to do the same thing when I set up my MFD.
I will need to do a similar thing with my VTX on my new mini Skywalker, the GPS takes some time to fined all the Sat's.
:) G
No ive not contacted Charles G, its easier to run it off the BEC ( as long as its set to 6v ) instead of waiting for another regulator
Not been on the forum for a few days Just wondering if you got a maiden in yet or not?
Quote from: Coyote on January 05, 2012, 06:29:49 PM
After a few tests with the MFD i became aware of a small problem, the MFD regulator board would cut supply to the OSD if anything came into contact with it, or vibrations got to it.
Not really a great thing :( Half way through your flight you loose video, then if you get it back, home is lost and the OSD has no idea where you are !
I removed the regulator board, tried resoldering the connections incase it was a bad joint, but the problem still persisted. The remedy i hoped was a BEC. The onboard BEC was capable of running 6v, and my UHF max voltage was 6v also, so i removed the regulator and tapped onto the now switched to 6v BEC supply instead :)
What i did was add an RCA socket to the video one on the fuse :
Now i can have the plane sat there, all systems on, apart from vtx, letting the OSD gather sats, and i can plug in my MFD Tracker to the audio out and confirm the MFD is getting a signal,telemety and picture while others fly on the same frequency and without chancing the vtx in the heat
Do you think the fault with the 6 volt regulator is a 1 off or inherant? Ive just started with the MFD and have 4 of these I am about to test when the weather improves, no faults noted on the ground.
Nice idea with the seperate video socket on the side of the fuss, are you plugging the video direct into the MFD to get telemetry? More details would be interesting.
Quote from: papa_lazerous on January 07, 2012, 03:00:23 PM
Not been on the forum for a few days Just wondering if you got a maiden in yet or not?
The maiden sucked lol, a slight crash after 1 min of fighting with it, it was flying real tail heavy despite the cg being the same as my other walkers
Quote from: Ian F on January 07, 2012, 06:00:16 PM
Do you think the fault with the 6 volt regulator is a 1 off or inherant? Ive just started with the MFD and have 4 of these I am about to test when the weather improves, no faults noted on the ground.
Nice idea with the seperate video socket on the side of the fuss, are you plugging the video direct into the MFD to get telemetry? More details would be interesting.
No i think it was a one off, on the maiden i had diagonal barring though, it seemed to be the vtx, but ive tried another vtx and same thing, once i removed the mfd telefly osd from the equation the barring has now gone
The video socket and audio socet are soldered to the vtx video and audio inputs, the telemetry is carried down the audio channel so i can plug the plane into the mfd to get both vid and telemetry now :)
[/quote]
The video socket and audio socet are soldered to the vtx video and audio inputs, the telemetry is carried down the audio channel so i can plug the plane into the mfd to get both vid and telemetry now :)
[/quote]
COOL
Quote from: Coyote on January 07, 2012, 06:47:54 PM
Quote from: papa_lazerous on January 07, 2012, 03:00:23 PM
Not been on the forum for a few days Just wondering if you got a maiden in yet or not?
The maiden sucked lol, a slight crash after 1 min of fighting with it, it was flying real tail heavy despite the cg being the same as my other walkers
That sucks :( I have been wanting to take my SW up but the only days I havent been working we have had that extreme wind
Ive stripped it apart over yesterday and today. Strengthened the horizontal stab a bit more, i still have a wonky tail though that im open to suggestions for :)
Im not happy with this WDR650 camera, ive used the vtx`s many times before and never had any chew, but with this new camera it just really doesnt like the vtx transmitting.
So ill fit a WDR 600 that i know is fine and that should solve that. Ive removed the MFD for now to fit on my tri, but another MFD will be on its way over soon to go back in the walker.
Im also getting a couple of Gopro`s next week as well so ive done the Tri`s gopro gimbal already so set about fitting a case to the walker. I have previously flew before without the case, the £300 Gopro lasted i think it was 7 days from brand new to throw away :(
Although the case is unsightly and large and cumbersome ill be using it on all my planes from now on for damage limitation :)
One thing about the new Skywalker canopy is it doesnt lend itself to house a Gopro, teh flight camera will for the most part be blocked by the case if you fitted it normally, so i decided to sink the case into thge canopy.
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0126-1.jpg)
To remove it i just unscrew the pivot screw
The base plate was glued inside and holds it really well in place
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0127-1.jpg)
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0128-1.jpg)
Ok, had a re-maiden CoG set to servo slots ( 75mm ) from LE and she flew miles better.
On reflection though, the gopro would have got a great shot, but i used my smashed one just in case :) My flight cam however was just getting most the picture taken up looking at the rear of the Gopro. Some wouldnt mind, as long as the gopro got the money shots, but for me the fun is in the flying and thats gonna spoil it.
So at 2.30am sat chatting to Bignose i figured i best do something about it, without effecting too much. I wanted strength still, the Gopro dropping, none of the plane in the Gopros view so i came up with this :
A spare bit of ply laying around was cut and the nose tip sanded, the foam tehn cut to sink the ply into
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0139-1.jpg)
Epoxied a gopro foot to the ply and cut the foam away
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0140-1.jpg)
Ill fill in behind the camera where it was previously located
Now it sits much much lower, the pods still strong and no nose in gopro shot :)
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0141-1.jpg)
A bit of Depron tarting up and it looks pretty good now :)
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0142-1.jpg)
Today i had a nice flight, but the Gopro was still prominant, so i figured I`d give the Gopro live feed one more go. Im not expecting much after previous attempts proved the Gopro`s live out is dismall in low light
So, anyway, first mark and drill a hole corresponding with the 2.5mm jack live out of the Gopro :
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0143-1.jpg)
Next, buy the lead from Simon and cut to length and in this case i soldered a servo plug to the yellow and shield ( Video out and Ground )
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0144-1.jpg)
I have already put a servo socket next to the WDR600.
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0145-1.jpg)
Two reasons for this :
1) Incase i wanted to try the Gopro out again
2) The most common wire to break when your camera has pan and tilt is the 3 pin camera wires mollex plug. Instead of ging home and making a new wire, i carry spares, just unplug dodgy wire and plug in replavement in seconds :)
So, i unplug the main cam wire, and plug the Gopro out feed wire in and your ready to rock n roll
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/cayote64/IMAG0146-1.jpg)
Will be interesting to see how you get on with it Ian. In the last hour, I have just purchased a GP2 (should arrive Friday) and am also wondering how to mount it.
As the batteries sit below the canopy lip, I may even make a U shaped plate so that the GP sits another half inch lower than yours. Do you think that will make enough difference?
Not much tbh, but you will get the nose in shot all the time then, which for me spoils it totally
Update time !
I tried to try a few things out, one of which was try the camera up closer to the Gopro to avoid looking at a whole lot of its rear :
(http://s11.postimage.org/4btqxnkfz/IMAG0178.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/4btqxnkfz/)
I flew with it yesterday and to be honest, it sucked ! I could`nt see enough below me, could`nt see very well how close to thing i was getting, so i skipped that idea and went back to mounted further back and added a tilt servo to help locate Mr Paul when flying together :
(http://s13.postimage.org/skal1i5df/IMAG0179.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/skal1i5df/)
I also received the new Version 2 Immersion 5.8ghz vtx`s. Its sooo much smaller than the version 1, i was very impressed. The most important thing was though getting rid of the horizontal banding displayed by my other vtx`s.
I fitted it, and to my horror found the same banding was on my monitors again ! :(
Ive got shielded cables, separate video lipo, but still banding !!!!!!!!! LC Filter did`nt work either. So i sat for a bit thinking about whats in there, what i could do etc.
Then it came to me :) The Immersion vtx could be powered from 6v or over, I know the camera will work down to 7v, and the Telefly OSD can work on 6-9v soooo...........
Enter this little gadget >>>> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230698024555?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230698024555?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649)
Basically its a variable power supply, you set the output and within 4.5v - 40v it will keep the output constant for you, very clean power :)
I fitted this and set to 2S lipo, 7.4v That way the Immersion vtx is powered and runs a hell of a lot cooler instead of wasting power through heat, the Telefly gets a super clean 7.4v and the camera gets the same.
The result ?
All working perfectly with no more damn banding :) :)
It also meant that i could sink the vtx into he tail, I provided a cooling channel in case, but really it runs that cool now its just fine :)
(http://s13.postimage.org/ihihcx38z/IMAG0180.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/ihihcx38z/)
So win win, every things happy, cameras now got pan and tilt, no banding and i can see better for flying. While all this was going on, I had a shuffle with components and made the installation much neater and less wires too to boot :)
(http://s15.postimage.org/iakzh79af/IMAG0181.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/iakzh79af/)
Finally time to knock some flight hours up
I get the banding as well Ian, teach me for buying an El Cheapo ESC, just ordered one of these babys, hope it's a winner or I want my cash back (off you)
For the love of god Simon, dont just solder it in and turn it on cos you might put 40v though your kit :)
Set the output voltage first before adding it to the plane
So 40v no good then ??
I know, I know
Yep I'll check first, or rather shakira will :)
Hi Ian
I looking at my build and I thinking most of it will be setup similar to your build, I have the MFD, how did you fined the positioning of the GPS on the nose under that wooden plate, dos it affect the signal strength.
I'm still ifing and butting on whether to use my FY21 and AP117, or stick with the MFD OSD.
;) G
I get Sat locks just as quick as normal, the wood has no effect on it, normally around 11 Sats throughout the flight :) Only carbon and metal will effect GPS signals
Today some special wire turned up, its pretty cool, 50 ohm shielded and even better, you it stays in whatever position you leave it in :)
First the antennas made
(http://s7.postimage.org/v6l6jk1vb/IMAG0115.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/v6l6jk1vb/)
Then you can bend it how you want :
(http://s18.postimage.org/w8qmq7rh1/IMAG0116.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/w8qmq7rh1/)
But in this case its for my skywalkers tail, so to the left or right of the tail, still facing upwards, but lower than the tx, just like this :
(http://s16.postimage.org/eyj20ja9t/IMAG0117.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/eyj20ja9t/)
Result :) I can now bend the antenna while on the plane without making any rig to hold it where i want
(http://s14.postimage.org/8ha9b9cj1/IMAG0118.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/8ha9b9cj1/) (http://s14.postimage.org/jhdu5twh9/IMAG0119.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/jhdu5twh9/)
Very cool. i saw one of the other shops with same in. Where did you get?
Ebay Gary, not cheap though, £26 for 10 meters
Got a linky mate?
Here you go :)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RF-Coaxial-Semi-Rigid-Cable-Flexible-RG405-086-50ohm-/290381738979?pt=UK_Computing_Networking_SM&hash=item439c19b3e3 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RF-Coaxial-Semi-Rigid-Cable-Flexible-RG405-086-50ohm-/290381738979?pt=UK_Computing_Networking_SM&hash=item439c19b3e3)