Steve: Thanks so much for your help yesterday. It was so great to speak to someone who has so much practical experience making things work. Anybody else out there need help--Steve is definitely a GO-TO GUY.
Hey--quick question: You were saying that you've been able to use the MKTool on your mac using Parallels. I'm wondering how you installed the USB driver. That part (like you said yesterday) is tricky. Let me know if you have any counsel...
The driver should install into Windows under Parallels, just as you'd do it on a Windows PC. You can use your Mac browser to download it, then drag it onto the image of the 'C:' drive on your mac, then switch to Windows and run it. Then when you plug in the MKUSB Parallels should ask if you want to connect it to the Mac or Windows side.
Yeah--I did that. My problem is that on the Windows side it gives me a error screen saying that the kind of installation isn't functional. I don't know enough about Windows to figure out a workaround for that. I'm using Windows 7, btw, on my Mac/VmWare Fusion. I saw that Andy posted that BootCamp/Parallels works far better than other options.
Bootcamp seems to be the "cleaner" of all the possibilities insofar as it's really running Windows with little or no virtualization. When I tried VMWare Fusion I would install USB drivers that would then, a week or so later, suddenly not be there any more. Andy.
I can't speak to anything other than Parallels and Windows XP. That combo has always worked for me for all this copter stuff.
Hi Steve: I am looking for opinions as I saw you upgraded your cinestar8. I am using KW10´s on a Cinestar 8 and I was using 5s batteries 10000mah and was carrying a 5DMKIII and it was ok. Now I would like to start flying the RED + Movi10. I tested a crate with weight (7.5kg) +weight of the octo + batteries.Total weight should be around 12 -15 kgs These were my tests 1st test - KW 10 on CS8 + 14x8 graupner and the flight time was 4mns. Temperature after 2 mns motors 40º and escs 50º 2nd test - Same setup but with 2x 6s Lipo 6000mah and flight time 4mns too. Temperature after 2mns motors 38º esc 65º What can I do from here? Should I increase the size of the props? What size and pitch? What is the normal temperature on these motors and escs? And what should be the expected flight time? Thank you very much for your help Augusto
What ESCs are you using? I don't know much about the KW10 motors. 4 minutes flight time is pretty bad. Can't accomplish much in 4 minutes. And 12-15kg is pretty large. Is this a flat 8 or X8?
flat 8 but it seems I´ll have to go 16inch props instead of 14 and 6s. I was lifting a crate with 18 pounds so way heavier than a RED Will try the new setup as soon as I get the 16x6 props.
I'm using kw10s with soar 15x5 and 16x5 on my x8, only at the 9.2kg mark but I'm getting 12min with 9000 6s. Im hovering just over 50% throttle.
Are the 9.2 including the octo? Can you tell me what temperature the motors/escs are when you land? Thank you
Hey Steve a simple LED Q, i notice that you put the Led on the little side booms red for the back blue for the front 1 are you happy with them there, instead of having them on the booms 2 can you see them LOS the farthest you have gone in daylight what about when the copter is yaw to the R or L I suppose you have other Led on those short booms I just finish a CS8X I been flying it and I really like how it handles I put the color on the booms but was wondering about if I was going to install the Led on the booms or on the small booms
Very pretty build! I would suggest trying a few different locations on the copter for the orientation LEDs. I tested them in different places and came up with the scheme I use based on what felt right for me. I am very nervous about orientation, so I wanted to make sure I could see them at distance, and I can see them at least a couple hundred meters away. The only issue I have with the current setup is when I fly off a high surface (like a rooftop or a cliff) and the copter is at eye level. When that's the case, some of the LEDs are obstructed by the booms. But when I'm less than a hundred meters away (which I am 90% of the time), I've learned to use the LiPos to maintain orientation, and that works great for me.
Not sure if you are still looking for an answer to this question. The only drop in pure static hovering efficiency would be from the (very small) added weight of the longer booms. In terms of maneuverability, you should find that placing the motors further outward reduces the maneuverability somewhat in roll, pitch and especially yaw. From a mathematical perspective, if we treat the CG-to-motor distance (effectively the boom length) as R, the roll, pitch and yaw inertia of the copter caused by the motors' weights increases proportionally to R-squared, while the effective roll and pitch moments you get from each motor increases only proportional to R. The yaw moment is fixed by the propeller you are using and is not dependent on R. So overall the craft will likely become slower to maneuver, unless we are talking about an exceptional case where the motors weigh very little of the overall craft (unlikely). The optimal design should entail short booms with motors and propellers as close to the center of the copter as possible, considering constraints such as adequate propeller separation and camera viewing angle.