Simon Dale - Firstpersonview.co.uk Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 Hi Tony, Regarding your no motor/ESC situation you’ve probably either got the throttle open or the throttle reversed (so it is open when you think it is closed). If the throttle is open the ESC won’t start the motor for safety reasons. Try closing the throttle fully first of all. If that doesn’t work try opening the throttle fully to see if the channel is reversed. Regarding your Pan and Tilt; You must have your end points on 5 and 6 set to a ridiculous level for it to have stripped the gears in the servos (we have never heard of this in 3+ years). Particularly if it was the tilt servo and so therefore no servo extender was in use. As with all servos you need to carefully set the end points so that the maximum travel stops before the servos start to bind. On a T7CP 5 and 6 are proportional. It is just that the switch on 5 only gives two positions. We use 3 of those radios and we’ve never had any problems. The pan and tilt unit is assembled using hot glue so that there is a chance that it will come apart in a bad crash, rather than destroy your camera/ etc – you should be able to prize it apart. I’m sure you can get a replacement gear set but, if not, a replacement servo is about £10. All the best Simon Dale (FirstPersonView.co.uk) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyS Posted February 21, 2010 Author Share Posted February 21, 2010 Simon, Thanks for this - very helpful. The motor works as you correctly identified the channel was reversed. Still no luck with the pan/tilt. Unit bleeps and clicks at centre but no response through the Rx to Channels 5 or 6. Any other thoughts please..? T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Dale - Firstpersonview.co.uk Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 Hi Tony, I'm glad you've got the motor working. For the Pan and Tilt there are a couple of things to check: 1) Have you activated the buddy port and assigned channels 5 and 6 to it in the trainer menu on your T7CP? It explains how to do this in the manual. 2) You can confirm that the head tracker is set to be on channels 5 and 6 (which is the default) by going into the TrackR2 beep menu and letting it tell you its channels. How to get into and understand the beep menu is explained in the manual also. As you said before you do have to have the trainer switch held down for the head tracker to work. When the trainer switch is not activated you should be able to move the pan and tilt servos with the switches/ knobs on your TX. Is that the case? All the best Simon Dale (FirstPersonView.co.uk) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyS Posted February 21, 2010 Author Share Posted February 21, 2010 SUCCESS!!! As it transpires the Headtracker unit wasn't set to Channels 5 & 6 so a couple of runs through the beep menu later and it finally works. I've detached the tilt servo from the pan servo mount using a razor saw in the gap where the hot glue was. I'll now dig out a new servo glue it to the mount and hopefully, Robert's my mother's brother...... The FINAL step in this process seems to be centering the pan tilt servos and setting the limits which is yet another deep dive into the mysteries of the Futaba menus..... A big thanks Simon for the patience and the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyS Posted February 21, 2010 Author Share Posted February 21, 2010 Aaah! Spoke too soon. I have just about every size of servo but for one that will fit back into the pan/tilt mount without lots of mods. Guess this isn't going to happen for a few days, particularly as I've yet to find the web-site that gives accurate dimensions for servos (some web browsing to do tonight) So near, but yet...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Dale - Firstpersonview.co.uk Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 SuperTec Naro MAX BB is available here for £10.95: http://www.servoshop.co.uk/index.php?pid=STECNAROMAX&area=Servo Edited By Simon Dale - Firstpersonview.co.uk on 21/02/2010 19:33:27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyS Posted February 21, 2010 Author Share Posted February 21, 2010 Thanks again Simon - one on order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyS Posted February 28, 2010 Author Share Posted February 28, 2010 Latest progress.... Finally sorted out the stripped gears on the camera tilt servo (well, I replaced the servo to be honest). I've installed all the various gubbins, tidied up the wiring, glued in the motor (taped a strip or two and glued the tape to be more accurate). I didn't tape the entire motor as that would impede the cooling. Pic of the interior before I glued the fuselage.... The LHS of the fuselage has the camera battery and the elevator servo lead only. The RHS has everything else. Cooling for the ESC should be good. Theres plenty of airflow into and back out of the fuse and all of it passes over the ESC. Once I'd fastened it all together I tarted it up with a bit of Blue Solartrim to the nose. The wings are yellow under and silver on top. I've sanded all the mould bobbles off to give them a better look. Bizarrely, after loading all the camera equipment in etc etc the CG was a shade too far back! Luckily I left room to shift the flight battery further forward. If it'll take it I'll put in a slightly higher capacity flight battery. (I'm used to flying my old Easystar with a whopping 3,700 mAh battery which would give me 45 mins) the one I have in it it's only 1100 mAh with a more powerful brushless motor. I just need a spinner to mount my prop, a video splitter so I can video the flight and a new Tx battery (both ordered) and it should, in theory be ready to take to the skies....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyS Posted February 28, 2010 Author Share Posted February 28, 2010 Forgot to attach pic of 'finished' plane.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheldon Holy Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 This looks great. I wish i had the money to get FPV. I'd get the 900mhz (1.2ghz) setup from hobbywireless.com so i could stick with my 2.4. Tony, do you have a futaba radio? I got my 10C over the jr pcm 9x2 as it can have channel inputs (i think...). Do you go onto the AUX-CH menu and choose any of the 'LS' channels? Sheldon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyS Posted March 2, 2010 Author Share Posted March 2, 2010 Posted by sheldon holy on 02/03/2010 19:50:31: I got my 10C over the jr pcm 9x2 as it can have channel inputs (i think...). Do you go onto the AUX-CH menu and choose any of the 'LS' channels? Hi Sheldon, Sorry to be such a dipstick but I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about My wifw bought me the FPV kit, I made up an Easystar, bought a Futaba Tx because that's what Simon recommended then, with lots of assistance managed to put it all together. I'd love to know what you are talking about though.....sounds really technical! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Dale - Firstpersonview.co.uk Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Hi Sheldon, 900Mhz (which is different to 1.2GHz) is illegal to use in this country and is a frequency band reserved for Vodafone and O2 mobile phones - so you would have very poor results if the unit got through customs. 1.2GHz is VERY illegal to use in this country because it is reserved for "Aeronautical Navigation Systems" and would not only land you in trouble with Ofcom but most likely the CAA as well. What is more likely to happen is that customs will seize the illegal transmitter when you try to import it and then you won't be in trouble with either of those agencies About your Futaba: you're quite right that the Futaba (T7 upwards) can support "Selective Channel Assignment" and can therefore be used with the head tracker. The manual for the head tracker shows how to set it up on a Futaba Tx (with screenshots from the Tx here): http://www.firstpersonview.co.uk/myfiles/file/FPVTrackR2manual.pdf All the best Simon Dale (from FirstPersonView.co.uk) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheldon Holy Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Ohhh. Ok. Thanks Simon. It seems i really dont know what i'm talking about (regarding the frequency buisness) LOL .I'd definatley like to get FPV, but if i did i would not get it without the headtracker, as i wouldn't be able to cope with just a forward view, if you understand what i'm getting at. Also, does the headtracker have to have another pilot on a buddy lead? I know the BMFA want's a person in view of the plane all the time, but:A. I would only fly FPV in my field, down the garden, and so would not have anyone else there to be on another transmitter. B. I dont have another Tx.C. Whats the point of FPV if you are just doing circuits around a field?I'm not angry, just giving a point. Cheers,Sheldon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyS Posted March 3, 2010 Author Share Posted March 3, 2010 Hi Sheldon, The head-tracker doesn't need another pilot on the buddy lead. It connects via the buddy lead port as the head-tracker signals control channels 5 & 6 in my case as if they were a student being allowed control of those channels whilst the trainer keeps control of the others. It seems complicated until you plug all the bits together then it gets much more obvious. I have the same issues as you in that I live on a farm and because my nearest club is a good 15 miles away I tend to do most of my flying over the farm fields, farmhouse and holiday cottages. The whole farm is 200 acres so I've got plenty of room and if I get too wild I'm off over other farms (not a lot of danger there!!). I don't have anyone around that flies RC models except my cousin and he's a complete beginner - even less experienced than me. The good thing is that he's got an Easystar to practice on so at least I've got someone who can fly the plane if it was necessary. I intend to use him as a spotter though, rather than buddying up as he only has a Spektrum Tx. The way I see it is that if I fly within line of sight with my cousin spotting for me, if I have a problem I can take off my goggles, my cousin can't point out where I am and with luck it should be straightforward getting back. The worst that should happen is that I have to walk over the sprouts to get the plane back! If I get better and want to fly farther then the club's my best choice and there are plenty of members itching to have a go so finding a buddy won't be a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheldon Holy Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Ok. That sounds good then. I have just designated, definately, this xmas and my birthday next year to an fpv setup...Well, lets hope anyway...I've decided that i'm going to get the 2.4 setup for FPV and get the 35 mhz module for the 10C. I'll get this at my birthday in may anyway as i'm going to get my Panic going with a .91 and have 4 servos in the wing. I'm going to use 35mhz with that as a 2.4 rx that can support 9 channels is about £150 or something stupid like that.Anyway, Tony, when are you going to get this thing in to the air!? Sheldon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyS Posted March 3, 2010 Author Share Posted March 3, 2010 As soon as I get the time during daylight hours is the answer....oh, and there is the small matter of the prop adapter that hasn't arrived. I've also invested in a Diversity box a second receiver with a patch antenna and an SD card video recorder. The diversity box basically takes the feed off the two receivers (one on the normal antenna and the second with the patch antenna) and feeds the best of the two signals to the goggles and will also boost and feed the signal to the DVR recorder. Oh, and a B&Q toolbox and a 12V 10Ah lead acid battery to power everything in the field. My wife will kill me when she finds out what the whole kit has cost to date. Still, it was her fault for buying me the basic kit in the first place........ and we could do with a few weeks of not eating. It is Ramadan isn't it..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheldon Holy Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 LOL I was thinking you must have spent an arm and a leg buy now (awful pun intended). Yes, although expensive, the price of the basic kit is very attractive.Then you think... "Oh, i'll just add the headtracker, oh and the diversity box thing, oh, i've just doubled the price..." You try again, but it's impossible i say. The price is putting me off atm, as i dont actually have any money, well, maybe 1p in my pocket... I saw that P-47 vid on i think page 4, out of all the FPV vids i have seen that one has to be one of the best! Sheldon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyS Posted March 4, 2010 Author Share Posted March 4, 2010 Yes, there are some excellent videos of FPV flying but that is quite special. There are quite a few from France and the Scandinavian countries. I thought this was impressive....Long distance FPV Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyS Posted March 4, 2010 Author Share Posted March 4, 2010 OK chaps, I need HELP......again......!! I've just been out to test fly the Easystar prior to attempting FPV flying. The set up is: Wasp B2835 2200Kv brushless inrunner (250W) 6x4 electric prop 30A ESC 3S LiPo Flying with a Futaba Tx and Rx On test it's drawing 22A. The power seems almost the same as my stock Easystar running a brushed 400 motor and lugging a massive 3,700 mAh LiPo around. Worst though is that the motor keeps cutting out. I throttle back and it starts again, then it cuts out.In the end I had to bring it down........ Ant thoughts? I did wonder whether the ESC was overheating but it's easily big enough and there is plenty of ventilation. Loose connection? Possibly but it's all 3.5mm or 4mm gold connectors which don't easily come apart....Edited By TonyS on 04/03/2010 16:58:22 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheldon Holy Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Today would have been perfect for testing this! Loverrrlyyy weather.Whereabouts in the uk are you Tony? I'm just near brighton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyS Posted March 4, 2010 Author Share Posted March 4, 2010 Hi Sheldon. Yes it's fantastic weather. I'm near Stratford upon Avon so a fair way off I'm afraid. As you will see from my last post however - not much chance to test it until I can sort out the glitch with the motor.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mackey Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Obvious things first...Prop on the right way around, battery fully charged, motor free to spin, etc.Have you run it through the wattmeter and if so, what are the figures? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyS Posted March 4, 2010 Author Share Posted March 4, 2010 Hi Timbo, Thanks for the help. I'm beginning to think this project's jinxed! This is how the prop is mounted.. It rotates clockwise as you look at it from the back of the plane. I've run it through the Wattmeter and I'm getting 22A and 230 Watts at WOT. Battery is fully charged, motor is free to spin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mackey Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Cant tell from the picture for sure....but is it on the right way?As viewed from the front of the model the prop should spin anti-clockwise, and the letters and numbers should be facing you also.Watts and Amps seem to tally up for a 3s pack - and the AUW of the model is? Edited By Timbo - Administrator on 04/03/2010 18:06:05 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyS Posted March 4, 2010 Author Share Posted March 4, 2010 Well, from the FRONT of the model the prop spins anti-clockwise but the numbers are facing to REAR of the plane?! Swapped it over and now I'm getting 20-21A and 220W @ WOT. AUW is 1 lb 14.4 oz or 870 ish g Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.