At first I thought that that a gimbal was made of a couple of motors simple frame and a camera plopped right on it.  And then I read a discussion or two and had my illusions burst sharpish.

So, what are the design principles needed to create a home-made gimbal or to look for when buying a gimbal?

I have tried not to specify a particular camera as I'm after general universal principles.

Cheers

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  • I have now splashed the cash and bought a "BGC 3.1 MOS Two-axis Large-Current Brushless Gimbal Controller Driver Alexmos #1" from fleabay and it should arrive some time this month from China.

    I have no idea what to do with it or what I need to buy next.

    Could somebody please tell me what kind of battery and motors I would need for my proposed self build gimbal.  I intend to use a Mobius camera weighing in at 38 grams?

    Could somebody also point me in the right direction about how to use and  configure the Gimbal controller?

    I've never done this before but I am willing to give anything a try.

    Cheers

  • If I buy a gimbal controller and two brushless motors what else do I need to know or learn to make a gimbal?

    I have no electronics skills but I'm willing to give anything a stab.

  • you may be wasting your time doing a scrach build unless your trying to emulate one of these $2000+ dollar gimbals. cause you can get a frame for $100 to $200 that will carry a Nex5 to 5D . you could spend the same amount or more in DYI parts alone. You need to know what camera you will be using ?

    • A few people have suggested a Mobius Action cam and youtube footage suggests that they are as good as a Go Pro, so this is the camera that I will use when choosing or building a gimbal.

      I would also like to make a hand-held gimbal so that I can film stuff while on the move such as biking or climbing.

      Getting back to gimbals for quads, is it possible to have a front facing camera on a gimbal who's only purpose is to film what is in front of the quad?

      I don't want to have the camera on the quad moving around via the transmitter on the ground.  I'm hoping that a simple design gimbal of facing forward will keep weight down and battery time up.  IS such a thing possible or even worthwhile?

      • yes for sure ! 2 axis is what you need but no gimbals for mobius on the market only Go-pro. so a DYI solution is best for you. other issue is motors! small motors support gopro are over kill for mobius they are the smallest available on the market so you will need to wind your own motors as well. 

  • most important:  you want it to be perfectly balanced - however you mount a camera, it should not "prefer" to roll or pitch.

    Then - you want some open source controller, like BruGi  - instead of those ridiculously priced controlles like Alexmos - both are completely depending on perfect tuning anyway - and having tried both, It's hard to justify the price.

    • Having never been up close and personal with a gimbal, are there any off-the-shelf DIY or home-made designs that I could use or adapt?

      I will also follow your advice of learning how to balance my project.

      • I 3D print most of myself.

        Custom made, when done correctly is best, because each camera is different.

        If you use universal mounts for a camera - you need extra adjustments, extra material to expand/crimp the camera holder so the camera is balanced - and then you carry the extra weight.

        If you build a holder for a camera, you can get it as small as possible(less influence from wind), yet balanced, and light.

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