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By dbotos
#394572
Anyone have any footage with just roll-axis stabilization? Curious to see what that would look like versus 2-axis (pitch and roll) stabilization. I've seen some 2-axis video and the glider bobbing up and down in frame makes me feel like I'm on a boat. Can you unplug / lock out one axis on a typical 2-axis gimbal? Assuming a 1-axis would be lighter and simpler if that's all that was wanted.

Thanks,
David
#394751
David,

Here is a link of a video using a 1-Axis Gimbal (FY-WG-LITE) mounted at the crossbar using GoPro The Strap (Hand + Wrist + Arm + Leg Mount) and GoPro 4 @ 1080p

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv0EJ0yheA0[/youtube]

I'm not sure if it is the mount I'm using, but it add a lot of instability when using the gimbal. Next time I'm flying I'll try to use a different mount to see if it is any better. The other thing that could help is the image stabilization from a newer model.

-mb
User avatar
By dbotos
#394782
MB,

Nice to see some gimbal footage from the side - definitely gives a good sense of the flare angles. That FeiyuTech WG Lite single-axis gimbal is one that came up in my searching. Someone else sent me a keel-mounted video taken with that:

https://vimeo.com/193580273

Also came across this Wenpod X1:

http://darewarelabs.com/wenpod-x1-gopro ... for-bikes/

For now, I'm going to attempt a DIY gimbal. I ordered a GY-521 board today (3-axis accelerometer + 3 axis gyro). That was a whopping $4 and it looks like a brushless motor might be in the $10-$15 range. My first inclination is to use some variety of Arduino as the controller (which should be relatively cheap - I have a few Uno clones on hand already) and might also need some type of driver board for the brushless motor. I have it roughed out in my mind how the controller will move the motor to minimize error from some balanced setpoint via PID control. We'll see how tricky the details are to make something work in real life...

Thanks,
David
User avatar
By Nicos
#395085
I assume you can tweak those settings such that one axis has no travel or whatever, PID settings and the like. All I can tell is that after building and setting up mine I never again want to fuddle with PID settings and such malarky!

There sure is a place for 1-axis but gosh I'm loving the perspective of pilot movement and seeing how the wing flies through the air, especially for folks who have no idea about flying.
Attachments
REC_0010_01crop.jpg
REC_0010_01crop.jpg (468.28 KiB) Viewed 5277 times
User avatar
By dbotos
#395105
Nicos,

You should be able to lock one or more axes of a multi-axis gimbal either programatically (motor torque holds axis from moving) or mechanically (unplug motor and put some sort of bracketry or linkage in place to keep axis from moving).

Do you have any details on your build?

I got the GY-521 hooked up to one of my Uno clones the other night and barfing out raw yaw, pitch, and roll values to the serial monitor. Also installed Processing and did the "teapot" demo where it has a little stick figure airplane in the display window and it mimics the yaw, pitch, and roll of the sensor as you move it around in real time.

Next I need to figure out what brushless motor to get along with any additional driver circuitry and how to get the Arduino to be able to tell it to do position-based motion (either absolute or incremental).
Attachments
GY-521_wired_to_Uno.jpg
GY-521_wired_to_Uno.jpg (261.58 KiB) Viewed 5232 times
User avatar
By Nicos
#395144
Cheers dbotos, it was a cheapo Mobius-specific hobbyking kit.

The idea of going into those settings again makes my brain hurt, but I really like the 2-axis perspective just now :)
User avatar
By dbotos
#395166
Cool.

I've been flying with my SJCAM M10, which is a cube-style camera similar to the GoPro Session. I made a mount for it from aluminum channel and an EXMAX mini ball head. Edges of the channel have split silicone aquarium tubing on them (glued on with silicone sealant) for grip and the velcro straps are some 1" x 12" ones I found on Amazon (each riveted on with a single rivet).
Attachments
aluminum_channel_mount_on_Condor.jpg
aluminum_channel_mount_on_Condor.jpg (137.11 KiB) Viewed 5103 times
User avatar
By dbotos
#398407
Dusting off the idea of building a roll-axis gimbal. I had looked around for info on how to build one with a brushless DC motor, but it seems like everyone doing that is using some pre-made gimbal controller board (which are 2 or 3 axis). I wanted something a little more ground level that I could write my own code for. So, I've come back the idea (which I had briefly at one point) of using a stepper motor instead. Plenty of open-source knowledge out there for steppers and the driver modules are pretty cheap (sub $10). This video I found shows a good demo of stabilizing with a stepper:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EUpXIWNCvE[/youtube]

That motor is probably overkill for a small action camera, but I saw they make some pretty small steppers down to size 8 in NEMA format:

https://www.pololu.com/product/1204

or something like these pancake style ones:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-Ship-Short-B ... 1619261745

I have a standard NEMA 17 right now that is probably overkill, but I may get a driver for that and start playing with it and figure out a more optimal motor size later.
User avatar
By DMarley
#398412
why not just use an appropriate sized RC servo motor? Super simple, AdaFruit sells a servo control board for like 9 bucks. I haven't tried mine yet as I'm working on another part of one of my projects, but that's the route that I'd take. Though, if you're just reading from the gyro, then just a simple boarduino could translate the pwm signals for the servo as well.
Sounds like a fun little project.
DBotos, where do you live?
User avatar
By paicolman
#398428
Two axis on the side is definitively a no-go. I tried it once, but depending on the curve direction, you see only sail:

http://youtu.be/ulGwAVzA744?t=825

I think there is a one-axis version of the FeyYuTech gimba I use - for the not-so-DIY pilots...
User avatar
By dbotos
#398429
DMarley wrote:why not just use an appropriate sized RC servo motor? Super simple, AdaFruit sells a servo control board for like 9 bucks. I haven't tried mine yet as I'm working on another part of one of my projects, but that's the route that I'd take. Though, if you're just reading from the gyro, then just a simple boarduino could translate the pwm signals for the servo as well.
Sounds like a fun little project.
DBotos, where do you live?
Doug,

An RC servo may be an option. I recently found this build of a roll-axis gimbal for a GoPro:

http://revenanteagle.org/checksix/gopro-gyrocam/

http://revenanteagle.org/checksix/gopro ... /parts.htm

The footage looks pretty good.

I ordered a DRV8825 driver board for my NEMA 17 stepper to play with. I'm wondering if the power consumption of a stepper at no/low speed will kill its practicality as a battery-operated solution, though.

I'm in the New River Valley, about equidistant from Eagle Rock and Big Walker (drive-time-wise). Hopefully will start flying those sites this year when I finish my H2. Waiting for the weather to start cooperating - I've only been able to fly once so far in 2017. Let me know if you want to collaborate on an open-source HG gimbal design - that'd be cool to have out there for folks to build their own.

David
User avatar
By dbotos
#398430
paicolman wrote:Two axis on the side is definitively a no-go. I tried it once, but depending on the curve direction, you see only sail:

http://youtu.be/ulGwAVzA744?t=825

I think there is a one-axis version of the FeyYuTech gimba I use - for the not-so-DIY pilots...
Jorge,

You just need to sell ad space on the bottom of your sail to advertisers on YouTube. :mrgreen:

The WG Lite is FeiyuTech's roll-axis gimbal:

http://www.feiyu-tech.com/index.php/Pro ... id/62.html

Some moto footage from YouTube:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=195ToVcgj4E[/youtube]

Currently ~$90 US on Amazon.

David
User avatar
By paicolman
#398432
dbotos wrote: You just need to sell ad space on the bottom of your sail to advertisers on YouTube. :mrgreen:
TRUE! A big "Eat at joe's" in neon colors, right? :lol:
User avatar
By dbotos
#398445
paicolman wrote:
dbotos wrote: You just need to sell ad space on the bottom of your sail to advertisers on YouTube. :mrgreen:
TRUE! A big "Eat at joe's" in neon colors, right? :lol:
There used to be a strip club in South Jersey on Admiral Wilson Blvd that had 9-foot tall pictures of some of the girls in their tall narrow windows. One could argue that they were clothed, but not exactly church attire. At some point the city made them frost the windows and after that you just saw the provacative silhouettes. Glider sails are pretty large... 8)
User avatar
By DMarley
#398447
Funny how they indicate the stall torque of the servo as 'kg/cm.'
I suppose they mean 'kg cm.'

Next time you purchase a servo(s), find a local RC / hobby shop and support them just a bit. Additionally, if you strip the gears somehow with your experiments, it's super simple to purchase replacement gears and rebuild the servos. HiTec servos are reliable, sturdy, everyone has them and is familiar with them, and everyone has parts for them.
Similar for Spektrum servos. Stick with known names so you can rebuild those suckers.... experimenting and over-stressing (crashing) nearly always requires modification and/or rebuilding.
Plus with HiTec you have the option of replacing their cheaper nylon servo gears with steel or even titanium gear sets.
I hate throwing my money at china, but if I have to I try to help out the local establishments as well. Plus there is a real, live person behind the counter just hoping and waiting for someone to ask him/her for suggestions to help solve fun problems!
My local hobby shop is a good half hour away from me, but I find myself walking in their front door at least a couple times a month. Lot's of information in that place.
Dave, check your PM's
:)
Last edited by DMarley on Sat May 20, 2017 11:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
By mlbco
#398448
I made a 2 axis servo stabilized gimbal system for a Gopro in 2014. It was bulky but worked OK. I used a cheap RC unit to control the aim point. The attached photo shows a 1-axis version using an Eagle Tree gyro module. The single axis unit was tested on my dirt bike and the dual axis was flown many times on my rigid wing. The dirt bike video isn't that great, it was a bumpy track and not too much leaning going on.

Steve

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFz1dP4hGCg[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C09_eM92TA[/youtube]
Attachments
Gimbal_2.jpg
Gimbal_2.jpg (348.36 KiB) Viewed 4257 times
User avatar
By dbotos
#398449
DMarley wrote:Next time you purchase a servo(s), find a local RC / hobby shop and support them just a bit.
That could be a slippery slope - I might walk out with hundreds of dollars of toys. :shock: But I probably should check out what we have locally.
DMarley wrote:Dave, check your PM's
Will do. My thread and PM email notifications have stopped showing up. I need to check my settings and make sure something hasn't gotten hosed up.
User avatar
By dbotos
#398450
mlbco wrote:I made a 2 axis servo stabilized gimbal system for a Gopro in 2014. It was bulky but worked OK. I used a cheap RC unit to control the aim point. The attached photo shows a 1-axis version using an Eagle Tree gyro module. The single axis unit was tested on my dirt bike and the dual axis was flown many times on my rigid wing. The dirt bike video isn't that great, it was a bumpy track and not too much leaning going on.
Steve,

Cool! Got any more details on your builds?

Thanks,
David
User avatar
By DMarley
#398452
Steve,
You are a stabilization god! V-Bat and everything else. Impressive!
Were you able to sell your V-Bat tech?