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FMA no longer carrying Z sensors

Posted by Chris Anderson on May 28, 2009 at 8:30am
I'm sorry to report that FMA is no longer carrying Z sensors. They ran out of existing stock and because their basic Co-Pilot doesn't require them, they won't be making any more. They will continue to make XY sensors, which the Co-Pilot does use, and those should be back in stock in a few days. We're currently exploring alternative sources for the Z sensors, but in the meantime, I suggest you buy them from Dean Goedde for $40 including cable (scroll to bottom for price list).[Update: Turns out that those may not be totally compatible (they're 3.3v and require special wiring to our 3.3v shield). Stay tuned....we're looking at other options.] [Update 2: Dean writes and says that they are compatible: "My Z head is 100% fine at 5V. The analog output will be 1/2Vdd for a balanced horizon view, and skew away based on tilt. After all, myself, FMA, and Paparazzi are all using the same components and design. The AD8551 OpAmp is being used in all 3 of our Z heads and is fine to at least 5 volts.]
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Comments

  • Gustavo Mezza September 17, 2009 at 1:30pm
    Jordi, do you think if I change these two resistors the Z sensor from Paparazzi could work fine? I mean, have the same gain.
  • Tom in NOVA July 2, 2009 at 9:49pm
    For those who are DIY types. There is an old post on RC Groups about FMA clone XY thermopile sensors. Do not know how good/bad it is:

    http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=732783&highligh...
  • Developer
    Jordi Muñoz June 5, 2009 at 9:38am
    Only one suggestion. i just discover that you need to have XY and Z with the same gains in order to work correctly. Otherwise the range scaling will be unbalanced... Paparazzi THemopiles will work but the gain is 1100 and the original FMA gains are set to 1960. In other words the paparazzi IR have less resolution, approximately 40% less resolution (because was intended for 3.3v), and yes have the same components but the Opamp uses different resistors (510 ohms instead 1k and 1M ohm instead 820k). But will work if you buy the xy and z modules! But please do not mix FMA with paparazzi.

    In the other hand i just made another IR boards, using the FMA connectors and with the same gains (1960). But i will sell only the board (without the thermophiles), i will provide the sensor separately but you will need to solder them manually (easy).
  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson June 4, 2009 at 11:12pm
    Dean says his are compatible, so I've modified the post to recommend those again.
  • CheBuzz June 4, 2009 at 9:46pm
    Z sensors are also available in my store I(http://chebuzz.com/paparazzi/) to those who do not live in a country where FMA has a patent.
  • Developer
    Jordi Muñoz June 4, 2009 at 9:34am
    @David Conger
    Wow, my respects about making all the cables manually (never mind).
    =====================================================================

    Today suppose to arrive the nice cables for ArduPilot, so only minor soldering is required (easy).
  • Developer
    Jordi Muñoz June 4, 2009 at 3:05am
    Sean,

    Yes you can do that... We only need the extreme difference of temperature, to fit the scale.
  • Moderator
    Brian June 3, 2009 at 9:21pm
    Chris - Thanks.
  • T3
    steve kloppenburg June 2, 2009 at 11:37am
    i think you should cancel your z axis order and I will call them up shortly after ;-)

    so I assume this means we don't get to program our waypoints with the nice GIU interface that the 2.1 and above guys do? I have still to hook everything up but I am curious if the interface is different with each version.

    thanks all!
  • Sarel P. Wagner June 1, 2009 at 2:11pm
    On enquiry to FMA I received an email back today saying that they will ship my Z sensor and the XY sensor when the XY stock arrives. They predict later this week, lets live in faith :)
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