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Mikrokopter's new flight controller: V3.0

Discussion in 'Electronics' started by Ozkan Erden, Feb 19, 2016.

  1. Ozkan Erden

    Ozkan Erden Distributor

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    I know there are plenty of guys using Mikrokopter with their trusty Cinestar frames.

    MK announced their new FC: Flight Controller V3.0:

    http://wiki.mikrokopter.de/en/FlightCtrl_V3.0

    * Navi Ctrl is now integrated into the FC.
    * Integrated camera controls
    * 6 servo outputs
    * Redundant flight control system is now fully integrated
    * Up to 7S support
    * A new version of GPS is available also: V3.5
    * GPS is now connected to the main FC with a better cable. Old 10 pin standard ribon cable was just a pain.

    Mikrokopter is concentrated on mapping, inspection business where waypoint and extensive camera controls are a must.

    I am not sure if they come up with a new BL controller.

    As of 2016, I would expect at least 12S support on this new FC since we have some very efficient motors which runs on 12S.

    No words of flight performance. I'm sure it will fly the same; since MK flies very well already.

    Is it worth upgrading? For me, definitely no. For aerial videographers, I can't see any new feature set which we will benefit in practice.
     
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  2. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
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    Oh, yeah, Mikrokopter....those were the days... :)

    Thanks for posting that, Ozkan.

    For the Cinestar, Quadrocopter pioneered the placement of the Navigation Controller and GPS unit out on boom #1 to get it away from the high current/electromagnetic fields of the Power Distribution Board -- I wonder whether one should mount the FC V3.0 in the center of a Cinestar or out on boom #1?

    Andy
     
  3. Janne Hoglund

    Janne Hoglund Member

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    Hi Andy, this is what Ingo says;
    The compass is now on the MKGPS and not on the FC.
    If you still have any problems with magnetfields, you can use the small external compass and mount it somewhere else.
     
  4. Janne Hoglund

    Janne Hoglund Member

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    What are you flying today Andy, only Altas or Cinestar with DJI FC?

    Regards.

    Janne
     
  5. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
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    I'm flying primarily ALTA, Cinestar (with old FC/NC, I confess), Inspire 1, Phantom 3 Professional.
    The ALTA for serious stuff, the Phantom when I'm joking, and the Inspire 1 for when I'm not sure... :)

    Andy.
     
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  6. MIke Magee

    MIke Magee Active Member

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    Andy, respectfully, despite your shrewd humour, I've never known you to joke. I MUST have missed a post.
    -m
    <
     
  7. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
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    The Phantom is more of a run'n'gun aircraft that you can travel around with -- open the case, iPhone on the remote control, ready to go.
    The Inspire 1 needs a tad more setup....


    Andy
     
  8. Janne Hoglund

    Janne Hoglund Member

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    And the Alta?
    Is it superior to everything else?
     
  9. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
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    It's a bit like pondering which is more useful: a knife, a fork, or a spoon? :)
    It depends what you're trying to eat! (e.g. Consider soup!)

    The ALTA is the platform of choice for me whenever I need to get decent glass into the air and have the luxury of the time to manage the aircraft and gimbal systems.

    The Inspire 1's most useful as an integrated system but where the quality of the image needn't be as high and I need to get airborne more quickly. The X5 camera has some serious problems with magenta fringing which I suspect might be internal reflections from the sensor. The X3 is a prosumer camera lens and sensor -- it works "OK" both on the I1 and the Osmo.

    The Phantom 3 is useful for run'n'gun or just quick-look imagery to show a producer/DP what's available. It's also easier to drive around with and get airborne a few seconds after opening the case.

    ANdy
     
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  10. Shaun Stanton

    Shaun Stanton Active Member

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    I found that the magenta fringing is the stock glass. I switched glass with the Olympus Zuiko and it went away. Which sucks because I was hoping that the DJI glass was a Lumix Sumilux Leica lens relabeled, but its apparently not, even though its the same price with the same specs. We did some tests and stuck the DJI lens on a GH4 and the same fringing as you noted occurred. According to DJI the sensor is the same as the one used on a GH4 or G7. I guess proving the point that glass matters. Also here is the other odd thing. The aberration seems to go away with a higher stepped ND like a ND32 for 5 stops. So it appears that if you can open the iris a bit to like f/8 or f/5.6 it is not as noticeable. So it seems that the stock lens does not like small slit diffraction physics. I get it with that lens stepping down to f16 with the ND8 on. Also it mostly noticeable on the highlights on bright objects like a white truck.

    I have been talking to DJI reps about it and they are looking into it. My thought is that they did not coat the lenses properly.
     
  11. Shaun Stanton

    Shaun Stanton Active Member

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    It would be nice if they put it in a case or something. I kind of hated the old MK bird that looked like someone's senior thesis project with the exposed shit. It just screamed homemade science project.

    I do like their controllers and the info they gave you. If they do a 12S setup, that will be no brainer. I would consider going back to MK at some point.
     
  12. Jose Luis Ocejo

    Jose Luis Ocejo Active Member

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    I agree its too bad that MK still is ok in having exposed boards complicated interface, complicated manuals in german with less than ideal english translation, even if you do the conformal coating on the boards to protect them they are exposed to the elements
    you fly great for some time until I component fails with out warning
     
  13. Derek Cooper

    Derek Cooper Active Member

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    Has anyone jumped to FC3?

    The ability to write out a separate log file with with each MK trigger is just wonderful.
     
  14. Dave King

    Dave King Well-Known Member

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    Yep, those were the days. MK GPS is by far the worst of anything I have ever used. They need a completely new design and system and a way to have individual ESC's like everyone else.
     
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  15. Derek Cooper

    Derek Cooper Active Member

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    I'm guessing that's a "No," Dave? LOL

    We've never had any problems with their GPS units and are quite pleased with their performance, actually. But then, we are Canadian and always have nice pretty things to say about most everything.
     
  16. Dave King

    Dave King Well-Known Member

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    Derek: I wouldn't say that's completely true. ;) I remember you asking me to talk to your pilot last year about a GPS anomaly that started when you went into a waypoint flight. The MK GPS system is very sensitive and more susceptible to other wireless environments. I've built 4 different Mikrokopter rigs using 3 different generations of navigation boards and 2 different generation GPS boards. IN a 2.5 year time frame I tried many different combinations and modifications to see if it would improve and it never did. I've had the GPS mounted out on boom 1 and in the center stack. I"ve played with the height of the boards on the center stack as well. I've made deliberate concise wiring adjustments to keep all power cables/battery cables below the GPS board. I've run on numerous versions of firmware and I have always had positive and negative wires taped together. I would always have the GPS spaz out and go haywire every 50 flights or so. It would cause a steep copter attitude and fast ground speed in a direction that you were not commanding it to go. After a while I just got used to it and would instinctively switch it off to save it.

    I have not seen that behavior from the DJI or ALTA rigs.
     
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  17. Derek Cooper

    Derek Cooper Active Member

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    Ah, that! LOL

    Yah, typically related to solar activity we've found. Those *hold your shorts* moments are fun!

    Hope you're having fun!!!
     
  18. Shaun Stanton

    Shaun Stanton Active Member

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    I completely agree with that. I remember when I first tried MK, it was very stable under whatever firmware it had in early 2012. Then after I believe two iterations of firmware upgrades the thing got Turrets Syndrome. It seemed to always have some weird quirk up there. It was like some day it flew with no issues other days even with a fresh calibrated compass and low Kp index it would do some odd stuff some times.

    With the WKM, I have not had a single issue with it. It has always flown very stable. Its not perfect and DJI has their faults. At the end of the day I want a system that I can feel is reliable and is not going to do strange things. I think MK blew it. In my mind they were not approaching their product for a business user. They seemed to have approached it from a hobbyist perspective and I think that is their downfall. They tried to over-engineer too early IMO. It was neat that they tried to integrate a bunch of systems, but at the end of the none of the systems really worked that well. Really if your stuff cant do the basics like stay in one spot or just fly reliably multiple times. Than your racing to the bottom of the food chain. Which has happened to them. 5 years ago MK was the only real competitor to DJI. Now they are not even mentioned in any of the industry case studies. Its unfortunate because I think they had a lot of potential.
     
  19. Dave King

    Dave King Well-Known Member

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    Shaun you said it perfectly. Holger went more for gadgets than meat & Potatoes and failed to realize what the average
    Aerial guy needed the most. Those power boards are just ridiculous and were a throw away if anything happened to them. Plus they still to this day never recognized flyers that need to carry more than 25 pounds. They marketed those BL's as if they were ultra heavy duty but in all reality they were for mid sized loads at best.
     
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  20. Shaun Stanton

    Shaun Stanton Active Member

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    Those damn power boards:mad: That was another thing that made no sense. I am convinced having all those ESC's connected to each other is the reason why the stupid thing would heat up and cause failures. Yup one BL fails and the whole board is trashed. Why on earth did they not solder the female motor leads like every other ESC on the planet, even the cheap $9 HK ones?

    I went DJI right at the same time when BL 3.0 was entering the market. It was a tough decision at first, but now looking back I am glad I made the switch.
     

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