They need to be installed in the orientation that you see in the Radian manual for each access. As close to horizontal as you cab get them. So vertical wont work as I understand it from John.
Dave, Gain tuning is a bit of an art that requires some experimenting to get the best possible results. There are a few threads available that discuss the process. In order to tune you first have to understand the factors that can cause video vibration. The Radian is extremely precise. Servo slop, belt tension, frame vibration, copter vibration and camera/gimbal balance all come in to play. The Radian will try to instantly correct for those but if the servo or belt isn't tight etc., there will be some vibration. That's the main difference between a servo operated gimbal and a direct drive. To get you started, what camera are you using? My canon DSLRs with heavier lenses have roll and tilt up in the 140-150% range. On calm days it is almost 100% smooth. Windy days still require a bit of post but not more than 10% usually with Adobe products. Lighter cameras will have better results usually.
Thanks Brad, that rather goes against Tabb's comment!! I'll try and hunt down some of the threads you mentioned. I'm flying a 5d Mkii with a prime lens, so I'll try your suggested settings to see if they get me anywhere near. I much appreciate you taking the time to reply
Ha, I don't think against. The Radian is simple to setup. It's the other factors that are custom to each copter. Like he said, mount it, wire it, program them (30 secs to do each) and your good to go. Getting the gains perfect takes a little time only because there are so many setups. Most of these systems are built by individuals and therefore differ a bit. Not to mention the variety of cameras being used. Always glad to reply! There is almost always at least one of us on here to help at any time.
Hi Kistjan: I'm still waiting to hear back from JohnC I'm afraid. Let me send him another email message right now. Sorry about the delay -- he's usually very prompt in replying -- I suspect we're still fighting email issues because one of the other messages I sent him yesterday bounced back. I'm still pretty certain that the answer will be that you cannot use a different mounting orientation. The documentation for the Radians makes that pretty clear: "It is very important to pay attention to the mounting orientation. The modules must be mounted as shown for proper operation." Thanks Andy.
I think it might be more a limitation of the technology -- namely the Inertial Measurement Unit and/or the accelerometers have to be oriented correctly with the the Earth's gravitational field -- they measure everything with respect to that, so I think that might be what prevents you from having the Radian sensors at a different angle. Gain tuning is certainly as much an art as it is a science. There is a shared document that may be helpful for you to review to see what other people have done. You can find it at: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AvZl8S9wZihWdHBhV3F2ZXZLQm5zM2hfci1tN1pPdlE#gid=0 Andy.
Excellent! Please do remember that this is a public forum so that when folks write answers they try to anticipated that someone will use Google search and find a posting -- so we try to make the postings as complete as possible. JohnC did respond. The short answer is that it would be better to keep the Radian mounted as shown in the documentation. Hope that helps Andy.