I have been flying the freefly CS6 for almost two full seasons now. With the Radian's on the 2-axis gimbal matched with the Sony CX760, capturing video as a one man operation has been progressing well. Other than one temporary GPS hiccup that occurred once while flying in position hold (disabled GPS on the radio to recover), this system has been flawless w/ over 24 hours of flight time. I am at the point where I want another ship and the CS8 seems like the way to go. After wavering a bit on maybe going DJI Wookong-M with the CS8, i'm back in the camp of don't fix what's working (stick to the standard distro-board and ESC, etc on the CS8). I will probably be flying the CX760 most of the time, but with the CS8 I will be able to fly a full size SLR like a 5D when clients request it (and have a backup system). Can experienced owners chime in with any personal experience on their CS8 setup - both standard CS8 and DJI CS8? I know there may not be any right or wrong, but you can get a lot of insight from other people's experience. Thanks so much for your input! Here's the latest showreel of mine from this season.
I advocate going with a 6s setup. Even on the hottest days this year (100F) my motors are just warm and the escs are a little more than warm. Longer flight times too. With the Sony you can easily get 15-17 minutes with two big batteries. Nice work, by the way.
To go with a 6S setup, I believe that means modifying the Flight Control Board to replace some capacitors, doesn't it? Is there a concise list of what needs to be changed to handle 6S? Also, when you change to 6S, do you lose the telemetry reporting of the correct flight battery voltage? Andy.
Andy you are correct. Upgrade for 5S and 6S LiPo Should be used instead of a 4S Lipo 5S or 6S Lipo must complete the FlightCtrl the RECOM be exchanged for corresponding TRACOS. Also, all capacitors in the input field must (if necessary) will be exchanged for 25V types. A reconstruction of the FlightCtrl at your own risk. Both voltage regulator voltage regulator will have to go through a high input voltage range (eg Traco TSR1-2450 to be replaced), because the RECOM only to 18V input voltage can be accepted. All SMD capacitors in the input field should be 25V. However, the Kerko - subject to availability upon placer - also only 16V. (Yes, the FC is also sold as a max. 4s in store) If in doubt, The large radial leaded electrolytic capacitor "C55" exchange against a 330μF/25V types. I did the RECOM/TRACO upgrade and flew some 5S batteries. Maybe Josh can tell us what he did for his 6S setup.
Thanks for the confirmation, Gary. Was I also correct that the telemetry-reported flight battery voltage is no longer reported correctly, or am I blowin' smoke? Andy.
I think if you do all of the above you will get full telemetry. Seem to remember that some folks that are running 6S didn't do all of the changes. They pull 12v from someplace else, like a Castle BEC, to supply power to the MK Stack and the system would only report 12V.
I believe it was the guys that ditched the MK PDB had to "rig" up a solution the battery reporting? Trying to go by memory.
Josh You are in the boat as myself. I fly a cinestar 8 with a 3 axis gimbal using a Sony 760 but my BL's can easily get pushed to the limit if I have to hover more than 30 seconds in 85 degree or higher weather. We are kinda in a weird spot right now because without a doubt synapse will be the way to go but its release date is unknown. I have been tempted to switch to the tiger motors with the 6S batteries. Can anyone tell me if you can use 4S batteries after you modify the flight controller? It would be nice to easy into the 6S batteries as the budget allows.
Scott only source I know of is to look at the MK site. If you look at the section on MK boards you will see the FC 2.1 where I lifted the text. There really isn't anything more written. QC can get you the TRACO's but I don't know of anyone who has also replaced all of the SMD's. That just sounds like to much specialized work and most folks don't have the tools or skill set. There are a LOT of SMD's caps on the board.
I talked to Adam the other day and he wasn't necessarily sold on the 6S idea for the MK electronics. He thought adding the heat sinks should reduce the temps about 10%. That combined with the XOAR props (they are finally in) should reduce the temps close to another 5-10%. I'm going to try the heat sink and props combination and see if its livable.
I use two of the FF 9000 packs. Love them. Motors are the Tiger MT3515 400kv. They have been great also. I don't have experience with MK electronics, and with all the telemetry and stuff they offer a lot more than what I have, but I have had 0 issues with the Hoverfly pro and castle esc's. I have the FF motor control set ready to go into another build and will see how they do with the same motors.
Just like Tim, I just ordered the Tiger MT3520 400kv motors and Freefly motor control set. Upgrading from Avroto 2814 700kv motors and turnigy 40amp escs. Still using the HFP black controller. Although contemplating on having another ship with WKM. Everything should be in by tomorrow I hope. So we'll see how my new bird flies next week!
I figured out how to use that damn mikrokopter forum and registered. I posted a question about anyone using 6S batteries with the MK FCB.