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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. Mario de Roos

    Mario de Roos Member

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  2. Kristian C

    Kristian C Member

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    Enough said! I agree completely on the don't go cheap statement Bill. Thank you both for the advice. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. Unfortunately for QC and FF, i might have to cancel my M5 pre-order if all goes well with this conversion.
     
  3. Bill Collydas

    Bill Collydas Active Member

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    Believe it will if you balance your camera 100%.
    My clients are very happy with their conversion, even with the RED onboard.


    Bill
     
  4. Ryan McCrae

    Ryan McCrae Member

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    Do two boards still need to be bought if using the Flyduino or Viacopter boards or can the 3rd axis ext support 8017s properly now?
     
    RICHARD DEFARIAS likes this.
  5. Bill Collydas

    Bill Collydas Active Member

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    According to Paul it can handle the 8017 even 2 on the same driver.
    Bill
     
  6. Ryan McCrae

    Ryan McCrae Member

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    Ok so the with the new boards it works fine. Also what length of i2c cable do i need for a cinestar gimbal?
     
  7. Ryan McCrae

    Ryan McCrae Member

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    Also can the v2 board work on 6s? or will we have to wait for the 32 bit board to be released? Does any one know when the 32 bit board is going to be available?
     
  8. Bill Collydas

    Bill Collydas Active Member

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    @Ryan.
    No not yet. I've used mine with 5S but I don't charge the bat to full, I set it at 20 volts and it works. Now, having said that
    The 5S would be a bit heavy for the multi but for the handheld it should be fine.
    You just have to balance the gimbal in all three axis.

    As far as I2C cable you can 35cm or 45cm just make sure you keep it away from motor wires and install a ferrite ring.

    Bill
     
  9. Paul conto

    Paul conto Member

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    I finally pulled the trigger on getting my brushless parts and hopefully will be here by next weekend. I went with the Tiger Motor 8108 motors and AlexMos 3 axis High Power board. For aerial shots I'm only rolling roll and tilt, to keep weight down, and a radian and servo for the pan. Im also building a handheld rig as well and will be using a 8108 for pan on the handheld.
    Does anyone have numbers i could plug in for both aerial and handheld use as a start. Also is there a way a could do multiple "profiles" so it would be real quick and easy to change between setting for multiple cameras. Im mostly going to be using a 5D but will occasionally be using a RED or Blackmagic. Any help is appreciated.
     
  10. Bill Collydas

    Bill Collydas Active Member

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    Hi Paul,
    Switching between profiles is only for the PWM, Analog, Follow yaw, follow pitch, calibrate and reset.
    To change between cameras you have to rebalance the gimbal all over again. The 5D sits on the tilt bar where the RED hangs from the tilt bar, so changing profiles will not do it.
    Anything that you do to the gimbal whether you add anything or remove something you have to re-balance.

    As for the numbers start with the default and go up from there. I start with the pitch first plugged in then do the roll the same way.
    You can use the switch on the joystick to change profiles and the stick on your Tx you have to assigned a channel to it.
    But you can't have both of them plugged in the same time.


    Bill
     
  11. Paul conto

    Paul conto Member

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    Thank you bill, I can understand rebalancing but my main question was a profile to change the PID's for different cameras or once you get numbers down they'll work for most cameras?
     
  12. Bill Collydas

    Bill Collydas Active Member

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    Yes you can create different profiles for different cameras and switch and then do the balancing

    Bill
     
  13. Jonathan Keao

    Jonathan Keao Member

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    This may be a really naive question, but here goes...

    I've been flying with my CS8 and a 2-axis Radian setup for under a year. I'm a little bummed about how well the brushless gimbals work, as it just means I'll be spending more money after just spending a lot of money. It's OK though, I'm well-prepared after years of keeping up with Nikon camera bodies.

    My question is, why do I have to go to other vendors parts bins for my upgrade, or scour the websites of Chinese manufacturers and retailers for the right motor, cage, or controller? I like Freefly and my CS8. I like the 3-axis gimbal I've converted to 2-axis because it's just me flying/filming. I would more like, though, the ability to convert my current gimbal into a brushless driven one with a complete (and reasonably priced) kit from Freefly.

    Unless I'm totally clueless (guilty as charged, sometimes), I don't see how a conversion kit like on from brushlessgimbals.com can't come from a brand I know and trust... Freefly. I just would like to see a little more loyalty to customers that have budgets where Freefly was pretty close to the top of the expenditures list when this began for each of us.

    Please pardon my frankness, and yes, I am still new to this wonderful work of aerial video. If i'm way off base, please feel free to put me in my place.

    Aloha,
    Jon
     
  14. Bill Collydas

    Bill Collydas Active Member

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    I agree with you 100%
    If you don't want to deal with the Chinese vendors or Brushlessgimbals
    Why don't you invest in the MoVi is made by FreeFly.
    It will cost you a bit more and is made by FF

    Bill
     
  15. Jonathan Keao

    Jonathan Keao Member

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    I'm thinking of the M5 for handheld work, but just threw a bunch of money towards a new editing workstation for all the great video I'm getting from the air. :) The upgrade kit... I just want it for my current gimbal. The bones of my 3-axis gimbal have a lot of life left (barring any crashes)... just need to do a knee replacement and I don't wanna go to different hospitals and donor houses to get it done.

    In the end, I know I'll probably end up at brushlessgimbals.com, but I guess I'm just wondering why Freefly doesn't try to keep loyal customers happy by extending the life of their investments with kits to keep up with the brushless technology movement.

    Thanks for the reply, Bill.

    Jon
     
  16. RICHARD DEFARIAS

    RICHARD DEFARIAS New Member

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    ok guys, sorry for the delay,
    I nee some help here, i am building a gimbal from scratch , i have almost avery piece to start building the BL gimbal,
    but i need to decide the motors that i have to buy

    i see some guys using 2 motors for the tilt,is that better than only 1 8017?, i was plannig to use 3 8017- 120T motors, i already have 3 alex mo boards, i want to use 2 for the tilt and roll, and 1 for the pan, is that ok?

    i bought all my parts from AliExpress, good price and fast shipping, but i see that they don't have the roll and tilt cage, so i have no choice and buy from brushlessmotors.com

    can some one give some advice please?

    Thanks

    Rchard
     
  17. RICHARD DEFARIAS

    RICHARD DEFARIAS New Member

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    I forgot to mention it, i will use the gimbal on a OCTO, with my Sony A65, if i like it i will buy a Canon,

    Richard
     
  18. Bill Collydas

    Bill Collydas Active Member

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    What kind of a machine will lift that weight?
    3 huge motors and 4 motor cages do you have any idea how much they weigh?
    Plus you have all the other stuff plus batteries and camera.
    You can use the 8017's on the roll and pan and go twin 5108's on the tilt.
    But Brushlessgimbals does not have the cages for the twin motors...I do
    Plus I can supply you with any other Carbon stuff that you might need.

    Regards
    Bill
     
  19. Bill Collydas

    Bill Collydas Active Member

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    I am working on a gimbal now getting it ready to go to Nepal on the 4th.
    That monster is heavy, he will use a ultra prime 24 or 62mm and a mudbox.
    Of course this is a handheld so weight is no issue.
    Is just an example of how heavy they can get.

    Bill Img_1875.jpg Img_1876.jpg
     
  20. Howard Dapp

    Howard Dapp Active Member

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    Looks like the Brushless Gimbals dot com or Aliexpress special. At least 90% of it is ;) as for double 5208 cages for tilt all you need to do is tell Grayson at BrushlessGimbals you need two cages and he'll sell them to you.

    All the parts anyone would ever need to build a Red Epic gimbal can be found here:

    http://www.aliexpress.com/store/top-rated-products/109347.html

    Or here:

    http://www.brushlessgimbals.com

    Grayson at BrushlessGimbals is awesome to deal with. He's very busy but is very helpful and offers great deals if you ever need special orders on bulk parts or specialty combos that are not on his site.
     

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