Hi,
I am flying my quad and have started planning a Hexa build for FPV, would appreciate some input on a couple of questions. Plans include powering the FPV gear with its own small Lipo battery, separate from the aircraft. A camera mount with 2 axis servo stabilization.
1. Mounting the Ardupilot? What are thoughts on mounting the flight computer on the anti-vibration mount (see the RangeVideo image), then velcro the whole mount to the frame? It would be nice to be able to move the flight computer among different frames, or even a fixed wing. Right now I have the APM 1.4, with an APM 2.0 on backorder.
2. Use of a specific BEC? Are there advantages of using a separate BEC for powering the Ardu (or camera servos)? Instead of using the BEC in an ESC. I seem to recall discussions about this, and how the ground path has to be set up right or nothing works. Just not sure on this one.
3. What is considered the minimal spacing between propeller tips? I want to size the arms such that the bird is an efficient flyer, but takes up no more room than necessary for transport.
Thanks very much,
Mike
Replies
1. mount in the center of gravity. Anti vibration measures vary from frame to frame so there's no golden rule for that. Sometimes using no vibration dampening works better than silicone rings or thick rubber tape. Try a few materials (plastic rings, two sided tape in various thickness/layers, silicone). I use hot glue with success.
2. yes, you want a different BEC because of possible interference, and since you will have a separate battery I'd connect it to that (do not share the BEC with servos, it can cause brownouts). But I think a separate battery is overkill - separate BEC will work just as well.
3. Few inches - I'd say about 1/4 of propeller size. Depends on your props - quadratic props will need to have a larger clearance.