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Converting my CS gimbal to a brushless gimbal

Discussion in 'Camera Mount Misc' started by Bill Collydas, Apr 14, 2013.

  1. kjetil tønnesen

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    i run 5s at 20.7 and it works great
     
  2. kjetil tønnesen

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    thanks i will tru this
     
  3. Howard Dapp

    Howard Dapp Active Member

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    Ha no misprint! If i'm not mistaken they are selling single metal boom clamps for $25:

    http://www.quadrocopter.com/Metal-Frame-Clamps_p_806.html

    Scope of Delivery:
    2x - Metal Boom Clamp Halves

    So my thinking is you need 2 boom clamp halves to make 1 complete boom clamp correct? So they are selling 1 metal boom clamp for $25! Ok, yes if I don't like the price I can buy elsewhere but seriously W T F!

    Even if it's 2 complete clamps for 25, that is still ridiculously expensive. I have the same exact 7mm thick alum clamps from China $5 pair...same supplier.

    Adam, can you confirm that you're selling these clamps 1 for $25 or 2 complete clamps and why so expensive either way?
     
  4. Jose Luis Ocejo

    Jose Luis Ocejo Active Member

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    Hi Mario thats great would you share a little of what you use to move the zoom gear was it simply a servo motor
    here is some thing you and others may find interesting as far as adding a gear to the lens that is not bulky similar to what you did but cleaner http://www.filmtools.com/half-inch-rails-lens-gear-s.html they come in different lengths and will not harm the lens like others that use set screws
     
  5. Steen Jensen

    Steen Jensen Member

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    I`m using 3S and got plenty of power. Havent tried 4S, but have som 5S if I need it...

    I`m using 2 Alexmos boards Tilt on 1 and Roll and Pan on the other....

    Carry a 5Dmk III or Canon 7D pefect.....

    Next is converting my CS gimbal for the same setup.....
     
  6. Mario de Roos

    Mario de Roos Member

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    Hi Jose,

    This is what I use, http://www.infinity-hobby.com/main/product_info.php?products_id=9535

    Mario

     
  7. Miguel Baptista

    Miguel Baptista New Member

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    Hi guys,

    Anyone knows if there's a way to control a DSRL zoom and/or focus with a rocker switch mounted on a handle, so when using the gimbal handheld the operator wouldn't have to fiddle with the camera lens?

    Thanks
     
  8. Jose Luis Ocejo

    Jose Luis Ocejo Active Member

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    You need to atach motors first on the lens then you need a motor controller unit that accepts a cable rocker switch
     
  9. Miguel Baptista

    Miguel Baptista New Member

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    Thanks Luis, I already knew that. Just don't know what parts to get. I think the switch is the most difficult one. Ideally it would have to be a rocker controller, like the ones used on studio cameras for zooming, so the operator could rest his thumb on it comfortably anb be all times ready to use it. Any ideas where can I get such thing?
     
  10. Kent Snyder

    Kent Snyder New Member

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    Hi Guys,
    im trying to set up the 3rd axis (pan) on my gimbal, but im having trouble. im not sure how to orient the sensor. also im confused on the settings on the second alexmos controller. can someone please help me.
    thank you
    kent
     
  11. michel pet

    michel pet New Member

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    gyro 90 degree standing up and use the nick.
    keep the gyro in your hand and test it keep it 90 degree and rotate it.
     
  12. Howard Dapp

    Howard Dapp Active Member

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    michel, curious why you have your imu setup this way for yaw? Instead of mounting the Imu flat and use yaw output. Are you seeing better results by mounting the imu 90-degrees virtical and using nick?
     
  13. michel pet

    michel pet New Member

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    i use martinez pcb in the software is no yaw so this is the best way.
     
  14. kjetil tønnesen

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    hello again
    i cant get my pan to work

    i have a handheld gimble like the movi
    and now i have the two alexmos board and i have connect them like the manual says to do it
    and i have mounted the imu sensor for pan like you have in the pictures

    now i wounder what to do next

    1:how do i calibrate this pan imu sensor?
    2: what changes do i have to do in the gui
    3:
     
  15. Steen Jensen

    Steen Jensen Member

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    Hi - put the imu totally level and totally still and hit calibrate

    I have the imu for pan/roll mounted on the roll boom (horizontal on top with connector to the right, looking from behind)
    For controlling Pan, in the new software ver 2.1
    go to advanced setting and under Motor outputs, set ROLL - Roll out, and YAW - Pitch out
    connect yaw motor to pitch input...
     
    Kent Snyder likes this.
  16. kjetil tønnesen

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    but when i set pid setting the pan dont stand still it either goes rigth or left
     
  17. Steen Jensen

    Steen Jensen Member

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    Hi Kjetil - What camera are you setting up for ?
    What motor are you using ?
    Do you have balanced the rig c/g ?

    Have a look on this from Fabian:
    -------------------------

    Hi,

    many people asked on how to setup the board as they get stuck in the configuration with motors acting weird, especially on the roll and fight to find the right settings.

    So here are a few indications :

    First of all, use the board as standalone ( don't hook up a transmitter or flight controller for the settings).

    Make sure to upload a firmware in the unit ( version 1.0 or the latest 1.3, just make sure to take also the GUI that has the same revision number).

    Also, make sure to have an external power supply ( lipo , dc power supply...) at all time. do NOT leave the USB cable connected to computer without the additional power supply hooked up onthe board when motors are connected as the USB port might just get disabled by windows or Mac Os if the current requested is too high in that particular case)

    Then put the following values for each motor for starting the settings :

    Roll : Proportional at 15 / Integral at 0.20 / Derivative at 10 and power at 100
    Pitch : Proportional at 4 / Integral at 0.20 / derivative at 5 / power at 80

    Indicate manualy the number of magnets, write the values and then proceed to the calibration of the IMU.

    Make sure that the gimbal is perfectly balanced. If not, no need to move to the next steps, it will just not work ( especially on the roll). Also make sure there is not hard point or whatever that could bother the motors job.

    Once done, your board will reboot and after a few seconds ( make sure IMU does not move during boot sequence), your motors will start to move, correctly, or not..

    You need to onserve the behaviour of the motors and gimbal first of all to know how to proceed then. Each behaviour " sign" is a helper for you

    The reason why we put a bigger startup gain and a bit more power on the roll is for a valid reason, the roll is much harder to control for the motor. This is also why we put a bit more of power ( much more inertia on the roll on a go pro gimbal).

    Now, let's see what we can have :

    1) The gimbal is moving from one direction to another, and is " chewy" (it makes some kind of ondulations) : Proportional gain is too low. Rise it a bit,
    you will see that at some stages the gimbal will start to move like if it had some bit steps and then it should come to a behaviour that starts to look like something ( lol ).

    2) Once you have something pretty decent on the position holding,the motors can vibrate / oscilate : If it oscilate, you need to reduce the I gain.
    If it vibrates ( kind of jittering), you need to lower the D gain. If you proceed step b step ( don't forget to write the values each time you change them),
    the gimbal should finaly be able to stay in position.

    3) Now that the gimbal is keeping it's horizon( if you have violent shaking / jitter during the setup you will need either to reboot or to recalibrate
    and too violent moves will simply bring the IMU values to drift away..), its time to fine tune.

    4) On the pitch axis, give a small light pinch to the camera / pitch with a finger. If the camera comes back veryyyyyy slow, you need to rise a bit the I gain.
    After some time, it will come back to position faster, and now you need to check the D gain: if when it comes back to position it " searches "
    for fixing the position by oscillating like a spring, you need to reduce the D gain. If it comes back and reduces spped to much and get on position,
    then rise the D gain a little. Once done and with good resutls, you can finalise fine tuning with Proportional and power. But each time you will play with the Power value,
    you will need to fine tune as more power = more rectivity = more disturbances in the IMU = more reaction.. Just repeat the procedure since step 2.
    It is not necessary to put to much power, or motor will just heat up. The best is to keep as low value as possible with the camera keeping
    it's position when moving the gimbal on smooth moves. If it is well balanced, it will accept even some fast moves...

    5) Roll axis: that one is the worse to setup, because the axis is underpowered compared to the pitch, when using same motors. But this won't avoid it to work OK once it's setup.

    Proceed with the same method as pitch, but you must kep in mind that back to neutral when giving a small pinch to roll will be much slower than the pitch,
    which is normal due to the additional inertia. With a more powerful motor, P gain will be much smaller and come close to pitch P gain .

    The values changes are much more sensitive because of this additional torque " drain". On Roll, it is common to get some values like 120 on power due with 22 to 25mm stator diameters.

    Finally, once all will be setup, check the graphs of the IMU in the GUI. the Roll and Pitch Gyro and Accelerometers lines must be all in the same height or very close,
    and disturbances must be minimal ( check attached picture). If you see some pikes, there is too much I or D gain somewhere cuasing mini jittering ( start with the D and reduce a bit, then the I).

    Once done, it's time to fit the gimbal ont the frames and get a flight.

    Do not forget that the principle of a simple direct drive motor is to keep the gimbal in a state of self balance all time. This is why perfect CG /rotation centers are so essential,
    as long as you don't have a decent mechanical behaviour, just forget about rushing in the settings. The more time you wil spend to have effortless movement onthe gimbal
    and perfect centerings / cg's, the best the gimbal will work. It is absolutly normal to have the gimbal getting back slowly to neutal on roll after a forced "hand" input ( it's a bit faster on pitch).
    That kind of thing will NOT happen in flight except if you fly with a crap or wrongly setup machine

    I will make a video in 10 days or so to show the complete settings from start to end and show the various behaviours of the motors in different conditions and wrong gains settings

    Best regards,

    Fabien


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  18. kjetil tønnesen

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    hello
    i have setup my first gimble with this alexmos and that work perfect

    now i am setting up a hhandhelp gimble like movi in look
    and i ude 3 5208 ipower motor and 4s lipo
    my camer is a 5D MARK 2 with 24-105 lens

    my roll axe is perfekt balanced ,i can stopp the camera at any position and the camera stays there,so that is good
    my pitch axe is also perfeck balanced

    the only thins how is not perfekt balanced is the yaw axe? how do you guy do this to get it balanced??

    i have also connect the two alexmos like it says in the manual for two board

    my roll/ tilt sensor is on the tiltbar right under the camera
    and my sensor for yaw is on the rollbar

    then i have the lastest firmware 2,1 and board version 1 is this correct?

    i get sometimes alot off 12c error,maybe this is because i plugg in the lipo after i have plugg in the usb
     
  19. Tom Wadsworth

    Tom Wadsworth New Member

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    sorry been away, sorry for delay, I still get confused at to the motors but its the thicker in depth of the 2, between 5206 and 5208 :p
     
  20. kjetil tønnesen

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    and one more thing
    can i use the follow mode on my handheld gimble,and don´t connect my radio?
     

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