I just bought my first cinestar 6 for 1500$ cnd. cinestar 6 running mikrokopter Flight computer. Cinestar 3axis gimbal but needs a controller. Has Graupner radio. batteries and lots of spare props as well as a bunch of other items, Any words of advice. I do landscape photography, farm mapping. Hoping to get into NDVI and such.
Hi Sven, welcome to the forum. If it's not too much trouble, would you be kind enough to change your user name to your real first name and last name, please? The reasons for this (and how to do it) are explained here: http://forum.freeflysystems.com/index.php?threads/real-names.497/ Thanks Andy
You're asking an entirely proper question, Sven, but it's very broad. I would urge you first to really read the documentation for the Mikrokopter ("MK") electronics. There is a lot of it online, and MK has it's own Wiki page. Some of it is machine translated from German so can be a little challenging to read in places. You'll find that you can ask Google a question and get relevant answer if you merely put the word "mikrokopter" as the first word of the search term. For example: mikrokopter flight control board mikrokopter use vario By the above means you can also find out a lot about the Mikrokopter software tool, usually called MK Tool. See http://wiki.mikrokopter.de/en/Software If you have the MK navigation control board, the copter will create flight log files ("GPX files"). Learn to use MK_GPXTOOL (do a Google search) and learn to read these files really well. They will tell you everything you need to know about the Cinestar's performance -- and you'll learn to recognize the symptoms of potential problems before they happen. (If you don't have the navigation control board and GPS, I would recommend you get them!) MK TOOL allows you to preprogram very sophisticated missions that will be used for Ag. and survey work. There is a vast amount of information out there, but you will need to learn to search for it. The same is true of this forum. Learn how to use the "Search Forums" link at the top left-hand corner of this page. Of course, feel free to post questions, but you'll find you get a better reaction from forum members if you have at least made the effort to search for the answer first! If all else fails, and as an entirely self-serving act, consider: http://rathergoodguides.com/videos.html They're done by someone I know quite well and he tells the truth some of the time. If you have not flown the Cinestar before and would rather learn with out crashing it, buy a copy of AeroSimRC (http://www.aerosimrc.com/en/home.htm). I worked with the program's author to create a flight-simulator of the Cinestar 8 (but it will be close enough to the 6 to save you from lots of broken carbon fiber). Fly the sim for, oh, maybe 10 hours. Be sure to practice "nose in," "nose left," and "nose right" flying. You have two choices. Practice it on the simulator, or scare yourself so badly trying to handle the Cinestar in real life and most likely crashing it and regretting that you didn't put in enough time on the simulator. Knowing that you have read this posting will only make you feel bad. When you crash it, you will notice that Steve Maller's forum title is UAV Grief Counselor. He asked for that title for a reason. Andy.
It has full gps, it comes with a laptop antenna for any Windows pc that has full read out and nav control including way point to Way point. So this is a plus. I will do some reading, Thank god i'm german by birth, Translation won't be hard for myself. Thank you for the insight and i will definitely do the flight sim,
Glad to hear that you can read German -- I'm kicking myself that I only studied English, French, COBOL, Fortran, etc. Also glad that you have GPX file creation capability. Have you flown any other copters before the Cinestar? Andy.
I have flow RC heli's before, But i run a P3 Pro, And I'm debating on a inspire1 if this is to large for my application.
If you've flown RC Helis and a P3P, you should have no problem with control reversal. The CS6 is just a little more "sedate" than you may be used to. Bigger, heavier, slower to respond. I fly an I1 with X5 camera too. It's nice imaging platform until you need customer support. Andy.
Yes, I have heard DJI has pour support lately, but also DJI makes a nice toy. I'm looking for better imaging quality for mapping. I have been watching your preview videos andy and Hats off to you!. Those look very detailed and very well put together, I will have to get these asap. I hope I made a good purchase and don't regret the CS6 , Not a lot of people run these in canada, and MK not even most shops know of this in my area(edmonton, calgary alberta). I'm looking to strap my nikon d3200(1000ish grams) onto the CS6 for better imagine then the I1 or P3P could ever give me.
It works well ....until it doesn't. Glad you like them. It's a complex machine and has numerous subsystems. MK electronics have the advantage that you can see and control everything. They also have the disadvantage that you can see and control everything. I've not shot enough footage with the X5 to be able to comment on the image quality, but it's a MFT camera so you have some choices in lenses, although no easy way to balance the gimbal. Andy
Andy, You make programing, assembly, and flight seem like nothing. I hope this is as easy as you make it sound. I'm making a big leap from what i've been researching going for a P3P to a cinestar6 with MK
Programming, assembly, and flight are relatively easy. It's the landings that are hard. Seriously it is a leap, so proceed with caution. I presume you're only under self-imposed pressures to fly the CS6, so you may have to talk sternly with yourself into not rushing into the air. Andy.
Yes, I plan on getting this bird this weekend for 1500$ cnd with a demo flight and such. but i PERSONALLY don't plan on flying it till 2016, gives me a full winter to understand and review equipment.
Northern alberta. we are already at -5C today. usally beginning-mid novermber to may is winter here.. this is a flown and tryed and true bird. one of my friends friends have it and i have seen it in action
You might want to invest in a small cooler and some chemical hand-warmers -- you'll need to keep your LiPos warm if you need to fly in the cold. Some folks also devise small thermal "socks" to put around the LiPos on the aircraft -- they do get warm as they discharge, but not "Alberta-winter-warm." Andy
Well, Got my cinestar 6 last night. Went to the local big hobby shop picked up a DX6 for the gimbal control, aswell as some 5500mah batteries(2 of them) the cinestar came with 2 4400mah. Andy He gave me your dvd#1 and dvd #2!!! I'll be watching these tonight. I'm very nervious to fly this even tho we did a test flight yesterday.!
Hi Sven: Being nervous to fly is a very normal -- and some would argue appropriate -- reaction. Glad to hear that another set of DVDs found a good home. They should certainly help you maintain the CS6 and understand the systems -- I have heard that they can also act as an excellent sleep aid during long Albertan winter nights. Or maybe they only work in Saskatchewan? Depending on your payload you may find that 5500 mAH LiPos are not large enough capacity, even if you fly with dual batteries, but with your RC Heli experience you'll be the first to know that! I'd just practice with some short hops -- takeoff, get to about 2m AGL, hover, and practice landings -- there's quite a ground effect "bubble" that you have to gently push through..... There is a reason why I just registered the domain name TheGroundIsTheLimit.com. Andy.
Hello Andy, Yes i'm looking to increase my battery size, I was going through some of the stuff that the Previous owner did. He has the V2 of MK soft ware, He labelled the remote for me aswell, I'm looking at getting a FPV camera for myself(the operator) as the 3 axis gimbal will likely end me up in places i don't wanna be. I'm looking for my best camera control right now(what do you recommmend). I bought the DX6 for gimbal, but i haven't got anything for my video control and such. I'm still a little lost and searching how this works(how to take pictures and videos, adjust the focus and such in the air with a DSLR)