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To the Coast

Posted by Richard Evans on January 23, 2013 at 7:30am

I have an ideal opportunity this weekend to get some good video at the coast. I have been wanting to do this for months but the winds are almost always 15-20 MPH or more.

This weekend they were light and the sun was spectacular.  I used my DJI FW450 with the GoPro Black edition, and used a Sony camera as my flying cam and my fat shark glass's using 5.8 GHZ were my FPV link to the craft.   

here's a short flight around the Marina where I keep my boat "Da Kine". you will see it early in the video as I fly straight to it to see if I can get my better half to come out and say hi!

 

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  • Richard Evans January 24, 2013 at 6:50pm

    Hi Richard.  

    Thanks, I've got another video I will post when it is complete in a few hours that I shot a little further down the coast. I used to live up around Cocoa Beach and Also Jax Beach. Old Florida Boy myself, been down your way many times, even lived in Ft Lauderdale for a few months near Sunrise. in the videoI was flying at the south coast.

  • T3
    Richard Boyhan January 24, 2013 at 9:27am

    Very cool video.  Also, thanks for showing how you have your cameras mounted, very cool.  What coast are you flying off.  I live in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area.

  • Richard Evans January 23, 2013 at 7:19pm

    Hi Eric

    I'm not sure I know what you mean when you say autopilot gears.  I used the word gear earlier in this thread concerning gears, but in the context of stabilization gimbals that use gears. 

    I am somewhat new to this, and am much less knowledgeable about the APM2.5 and arducopter 2.9. and I had 2.9 in the air for about 8 minutes tonight, not enough to tell much except it definitely is able to hold a find loiter!

    I'm excited about that. I'm sure I will run into some things that need to be tweaked and I'll be in here asking for advice etc. So I will be posting my results as you suggest..

    Richard

  • Richard Evans January 23, 2013 at 6:37pm

    Hi Eagle

    On this Copter, I am using a DJI Naza. it is my first drone and I have had it since last summer. I do trust it a lot but I have learned to replace motors as the bearings get notchy, check the tightness of screws before each flight, monitor charge cycles and data with regards to time aloft, and how much charge I put back into the battery on every charge, I check individual cell voltages before each flight, make sure my googles battery is up, Make sure my antennas are straight, solder all motor and ESC connections, always make sure home position has been set in a GPS lock in a suitable landing zone, make sure RTH is properly set  and have taken many other measures to try and insure repeated success.  Still, life teach's me that things happen and I don't expect to have a perfect record. But I will quickly build another if this one is lost and plan to always have at least two.  

    I expect to feel as secure with the Arducopter with the APM 2.5  with the improvement that 2.9 seems to have brought to it. 
    I will see as soon as I have had some time with it and see if it needs any tweaks of revisions.

  • LanMark January 23, 2013 at 3:54pm
    Nice. Thanks
  • Richard Evans January 23, 2013 at 3:14pm

    Hi Mark

    I posted a video that shows how my camera is mounted to the frame below the center hub, and I also wet my field of view to medium to help. 

    Yes, the water is a little scary, but I am obsessive about the checklist and making sure everything is right, one thing about it, if it does go into the drink, at least it isn't falling on somebodys head, or car or house or other property.   Much better to go into the drink.

    I will post a photo later that shows how I added some floaties!

  • Richard Evans January 23, 2013 at 3:07pm

    Note that it is mounted to the frame below and upside down, being below the frame allows it to avoid the propeller view

  • Richard Evans January 23, 2013 at 3:06pm

    Hi Darrell

    I haven't gotten a camera gimbal working without vibration either, I believe it is because the the most stable part of the copter is where the weight is, the frame, the battery pack etc. mounting the camera directly to the frame, the center hub is why I get stable videos. The lightweight camera gimbals have too much give being somewhat frail and connect to rotating parts and servo arms etc. I think the ones with heavier cameras and gears etc probably work much better, but then you need a larger copter. 

    here is how mine is mounted if you can tell in this video.

  • LanMark January 23, 2013 at 9:44am

    yikes.. I would be afraid to drop it in the water.   How do you not get the props and arms in the shot if you are using a gopro on a F450?

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