GPS

The day started with an hour working on the airframe. Doubled the mounting tape to try to stabilize the round rods.






But this time, GPS dropped from 9 to 7 satellites in a roll, causing her to fly into the sun. This module dates from when patch antennas were the gold standard & no-one knew omnidirectional antennas were required. Also note we didn't have the standby power cable, so GPS reset during battery changes.



There's the sudden trademark S-N shift of a GPS glitch.


Noted with the A480:

1) Auto exposure is disabled in continuous shooting mode.

2) GPS Patch antennas are going away for a reason. We've done everything possible with the patch, but angles of attack in the wind are too steep.

Another camera joins the crash graveyard.





That brings this flight to

battery: $100
camera: $100
GPS: $50
Props: $6

Just going to keep driving to Sunnyvale & repeating the mission until it works. It seems to be the unique weather.

Now the low bandwidth preview cam was the only thing that got some video.









Then, started thinking about re-enabling the accelerometer. 3 DOF IMU flight was intended for indoor vehicles. It worked real well & it felt more like a space program, so it got used for everything. The problem is the angle of attack is too steep & GPS too slow to get fast turns or tight hovers. Also want an attitude hold mode.

Finally, started thinking again about upgrading to the mighty rangevideo system. Analog video is so ancient & capturing it is so expensive, it's not really worth it. Despite being over 10 years old, 802.11 video is still insanely expensive & there is no digital 900Mhz video.

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Comments

  • I was talking about you, not everyone else. I didn't forget, I just didn't know.

    Peace dude ;)
  • We have always advised buying from the diydrones store & not rolling your own. Since you have forgotten, here it is again. Buy from the diydrones store & don't roll your own.
  • And whats wrong with analog video any way? I jiggled the tubes and tuner on my dad's 1966 color Zeneth to watch Batman. Ya, I was very young then. NTSC still works. I watched the moon landing live. One small step!!
  • Jack, why don't you just use the DCM with an on board arduino based system and I2C sensors? You take the DIY part to seriously. Stop reinventing the wheels with your soldering iron. The future will come. It is here. And always will be. Carry on solder.
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