Hints have been popping up at the RunCam shop site:
http://shop.runcam.com/runcam-split/
Maybe it will have a RunCam micro swift embedded in with a RunCam 3 box. So fast fpv video and HD recording also.
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Will the next RunCam 3 version be the "RunCam 3 Transformer" or the "RunCam Switch"?
Will the next RunCam 3 version be the "RunCam 3 Transformer" or the "RunCam Switch"?
Hints have been popping up at the RunCam shop site:
http://shop.runcam.com/runcam-split/
Maybe it will have a RunCam micro swift embedded in with a RunCam 3 box. So fast fpv video and HD recording also.
Hints have been popping up at the RunCam shop site:
http://shop.runcam.com/runcam-split/
Maybe it will have a RunCam micro swift embedded in with a RunCam 3 box. So fast fpv video and HD recording also.
Thursday, May 25, 2017
I painted my Taranis
So many parts to take apart. They seem to come apart easy. Hopefully they go back together as easily once it dries. I choose Navy Blue. My favorite color. I covered the ports on the back with tape. I meant to cover the charging led light but I forgot it. Maybe I can scrape the paint off it or just survive without it.
And then I washed my cat. I considered using navy blue but decided against it and left her, her natural color.
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
OpenTX 2.2.0 problems
On my FrSky Taranis X9D+ OpenTX 2.1.6 the "Welcome to OpenTX" file is on the SD card at SOUNDS\en\SYSTEM\tada.wav. Delete that file and you don't have to hear that anymore when you power it up.
I just upgraded to OpenTX 2.2.0 to get Multi-Protocal support and the "Welcome to OpenTX" came back and there is no tada.wav. So I looked around and found SOUNDS\en\SYSTEM\hello.wav. That is the new one to delete.
Also, I am using the XSR s.port inversion hack for an F4 processor. Now that I am on OpenTX 2.2.0 it warns be ever 5 seconds that "Sensor is lost". For a split second the sensor is lost and it tells me about it every time. So I had to delete SOUNDS\en\SYSTEM\sensorko.wav also. My transmitter still buzzes when a sensor is lost though. So I will need to find another solution.
Most likely I am losing sensor for a split second because when I did the XSR hack I connected the non-inverted pad to the ppm pin. There seem to be ppm data collisions with the s.port data around once a minute. I didn't mind that tiny bit of unnoticeable inaccuracy but OpenTX 2.2.0 is pointing it out in a loud way. I reused the ppm pin so that I could easily move my xsr receivers between F3 flight controllers with inversion possible on all ports to F4 ports where secondary (after sbus) inversion for s.port is not available. So my F4 flight controllers are wired s.port to ppm and my F3 board are s.port to s.port.
I upgraded the OpenTX firmware on my Turnigy 9XR Pro and Taranis X9D+ in preparation for a iRangeX IRX4 2.4G CC2500 NRF24L01 A7105 CTRF6936 4 IN 1 Multiprotocol STM32 TX Module With Case that is coming in the mail. It will allow either transmitter to control my DSMX and FrSky receivers. If I had any toy quadcopters, they could control those also. Sounds pretty cool. We shall see.
When I purchased this on banggood I searched around for a while and tested many discount coupon codes. I finally found 13hot that gave me 13% off this product. Another one I commonly use is affiliate6 which gives 6% off of most items. I think these codes will cancel out my affiliate commission on my links (yes, I post affiliate links) but that is ok. Save some money.
I watched a great youtube video from Albert Kim on how to install OpenTX 2.2.0 at:
https://youtu.be/-pcMbzzMQ1w
He explains and demonstrates things very clearly and doesn't waste time.
I just upgraded to OpenTX 2.2.0 to get Multi-Protocal support and the "Welcome to OpenTX" came back and there is no tada.wav. So I looked around and found SOUNDS\en\SYSTEM\hello.wav. That is the new one to delete.
Also, I am using the XSR s.port inversion hack for an F4 processor. Now that I am on OpenTX 2.2.0 it warns be ever 5 seconds that "Sensor is lost". For a split second the sensor is lost and it tells me about it every time. So I had to delete SOUNDS\en\SYSTEM\sensorko.wav also. My transmitter still buzzes when a sensor is lost though. So I will need to find another solution.
Most likely I am losing sensor for a split second because when I did the XSR hack I connected the non-inverted pad to the ppm pin. There seem to be ppm data collisions with the s.port data around once a minute. I didn't mind that tiny bit of unnoticeable inaccuracy but OpenTX 2.2.0 is pointing it out in a loud way. I reused the ppm pin so that I could easily move my xsr receivers between F3 flight controllers with inversion possible on all ports to F4 ports where secondary (after sbus) inversion for s.port is not available. So my F4 flight controllers are wired s.port to ppm and my F3 board are s.port to s.port.
I upgraded the OpenTX firmware on my Turnigy 9XR Pro and Taranis X9D+ in preparation for a iRangeX IRX4 2.4G CC2500 NRF24L01 A7105 CTRF6936 4 IN 1 Multiprotocol STM32 TX Module With Case that is coming in the mail. It will allow either transmitter to control my DSMX and FrSky receivers. If I had any toy quadcopters, they could control those also. Sounds pretty cool. We shall see.
When I purchased this on banggood I searched around for a while and tested many discount coupon codes. I finally found 13hot that gave me 13% off this product. Another one I commonly use is affiliate6 which gives 6% off of most items. I think these codes will cancel out my affiliate commission on my links (yes, I post affiliate links) but that is ok. Save some money.
I watched a great youtube video from Albert Kim on how to install OpenTX 2.2.0 at:
https://youtu.be/-pcMbzzMQ1w
He explains and demonstrates things very clearly and doesn't waste time.
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
RunCam3
I got 1 of the 2 RunCam3's I ordered. It is great. It is much lighter and easier to mount on my quadcopter than I thought it would be. It isn't like a heavy battery that you have to strap in for dear life. It is much lighter. Velcro can easily hold it in place. Here is the way I decided to mount it on my 2 quadcopters.
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I crash landed directly on top of the camera 3 times in the first day and it is still ok!
5/27/2017 update: I've been flying and recording with the runcam3 on 2 quads and it is awesome.
WARNING! There are a few problems with the RunCam3 options / firmware they should fix. If you set auto-record, when you plug in any micro usb (power with or without data) to charge it, it turns on and starts recording. I came back an hour later and it was super hot. It was recording the whole time. It probably could have destroyed itself over a few hours from over heating if I hadn't come back.
Also I setup loop recording. The option is 3,5,10 minutes I think. I set 3 minutes. So every 3 minutes it writes out the video file. If it is running out of space it overwrites the oldest files. The problem is that the audio is broken after the first video it creates. So first 3 minutes have audio but the following video segments do not.
These 2 problems were even after I upgraded to the newest 1.1 firmware.
5/31/2017 update: I just received my second RunCam3. This one came with firmware 1.2. The first one came with 1.0 and I upgraded it to 1.1. I just tried to upgrade the first one and no upgrades are available yet. Soon I will test to see if the 2 problems above have been fixed in firmware 1.2.
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Taranis 9xd plus M9 hall effect sensor gimbals
I got the M9 hall effect sensor gimbals for my Taranis 9xd plus. They are very smooth. It is taking a little while to get used to the change. At the same time I am trying out dshot 600 for the first time. So it might be hard to tell how things are going. They are going well though. I need to get on a race track to tell for sure. Soon I will get getting the wraith 32 dshot 1200 32 bit escs from myairbot.com to test. Even more smoothness on it's way.
I also decided to remove 6 switches. 4 of them have long arms that get caught on many things in my backpack and I have never used the funky side switches so I removed them too. Now there are "just" 4 3 way switches and 2 pots. That is plenty. I set the remaining 6 up on channels 5-12.
If you want to get some, you can get them from BangGood:
"2 PCS Frsky M9-Gimbal M9 High Sensitivity Hall Sensor Gimbal For Taranis X9D & X9D Plus" for $48.98
"Frsky M9-Gimbal M9 High Sensitivity Hall Sensor Gimbal For Taranis X9D & X9D Plus" for $25.99
If you want to get some, you can get them from BangGood:
"2 PCS Frsky M9-Gimbal M9 High Sensitivity Hall Sensor Gimbal For Taranis X9D & X9D Plus" for $48.98
"Frsky M9-Gimbal M9 High Sensitivity Hall Sensor Gimbal For Taranis X9D & X9D Plus" for $25.99
or GearBest:
Friday, April 28, 2017
Cheaper FPV camera
I bought 5 Turnigy 1177 FPV cameras from HobbyKing for around $28 each. I found the exact same camera unbranded on sale on BangGood for $18. I should have bought some. Now they are around $23 and out of stock. Apparently others noticed. I hope in a week they will come back at the sale price.
600TVL 2.8mm Lens 1/3" Super Had II CCD Camera IR Sensitive for FPV Racing Drone PAL/NTSC
Micro 1/3 CCD 600TVL PAL 2.8mm FOV 120 Degree FPV Mini Camera 25*25mm For FPV Racer
This camera uses the excellent 1/3 inch Super HAD II CCD sensor that most $40 FPV camera's use. It has amazing Digital Wide Dynamic Range (D-WDR). The mounting bracket and camera case are bad though. The screws go into plastic that gets stripped out after screwing them in and out a few times. I found 2 foxeer arrow replacement cases on banggood for around $3.26. It says 1190 only but it worked great with my 1177s.
Replacement Case For The Foxeer HS1190 Arrow Camera Case Only
It also has a 2.8mm convex lens which is ok but not great. Some companies sell it with a 2.1mm lens which is also not great because it is too wide of a view for fpv racing and has fish eye effect around the outside. The perfect lens seems to be the (effectively) 2.5mm lens from a gopro2. It is meant for a 1/2.5 inch sensor. That means that the edges of the lens do not get captured on the 1/3 inch sensor. That cuts out the fish eye effect! Sorry for mixing mm with inches, but that is how lens and sensors are measured. The fish eye effect is caused by the convex lens curving more at the edges and less at the center. This lens costs $9-$14. So I'll say $10.
Replaceable camera lens for Gopro Hero 2 ST-35
170 Degrees Wide Replacement Camera Lens For GoPro Hero 2/1 Camera
So $18 for the cam, $10 for the lens, $2 for a new case. That makes an awesome FPV camera for $30. Those $40 cams still need a lens upgrade so they become $50 cams.
Oh it looks like HobbyKing now has a new Turnigy 1177 v2 with improved case for $29 but the banggood one is still a better deal.
600TVL 2.8mm Lens 1/3" Super Had II CCD Camera IR Sensitive for FPV Racing Drone PAL/NTSC
Micro 1/3 CCD 600TVL PAL 2.8mm FOV 120 Degree FPV Mini Camera 25*25mm For FPV Racer
This camera uses the excellent 1/3 inch Super HAD II CCD sensor that most $40 FPV camera's use. It has amazing Digital Wide Dynamic Range (D-WDR). The mounting bracket and camera case are bad though. The screws go into plastic that gets stripped out after screwing them in and out a few times. I found 2 foxeer arrow replacement cases on banggood for around $3.26. It says 1190 only but it worked great with my 1177s.
Replacement Case For The Foxeer HS1190 Arrow Camera Case Only
It also has a 2.8mm convex lens which is ok but not great. Some companies sell it with a 2.1mm lens which is also not great because it is too wide of a view for fpv racing and has fish eye effect around the outside. The perfect lens seems to be the (effectively) 2.5mm lens from a gopro2. It is meant for a 1/2.5 inch sensor. That means that the edges of the lens do not get captured on the 1/3 inch sensor. That cuts out the fish eye effect! Sorry for mixing mm with inches, but that is how lens and sensors are measured. The fish eye effect is caused by the convex lens curving more at the edges and less at the center. This lens costs $9-$14. So I'll say $10.
Replaceable camera lens for Gopro Hero 2 ST-35
170 Degrees Wide Replacement Camera Lens For GoPro Hero 2/1 Camera
So $18 for the cam, $10 for the lens, $2 for a new case. That makes an awesome FPV camera for $30. Those $40 cams still need a lens upgrade so they become $50 cams.
Oh it looks like HobbyKing now has a new Turnigy 1177 v2 with improved case for $29 but the banggood one is still a better deal.
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
HGLRC F4 V5 Pro All In One Post #1
"F4 V5PRO Flight Controller 5.8G 40CH 0/25/200/600mW Switchable FPV Transmitte w/ 5V BEC OSD PDB" "BetaFlight OSD / Current Sensor / 5.8GHz 40CH 25mW 200mW 600mW FPV Transmitter".
I bought 2 "F4 V5PRO Flight Controller 5.8G 40CH 0/25/200/600mW Switchable FPV Transmitter w/ 5V BEC OSD PDB" on Apr 08 2017 and 1 showed up on Apr 21 2017. I am still waiting for the second one. It is from HGLTech or HGLRC. It is an amazing All In One Flight Controller, VTX, PDB, OSD.
It came with no documentation. There is text screened onto the board but is nearly impossible to read. It is tiny, unclear, and sometimes covered by components. BB+ and BB- look like 88+ 88- and they are the buzzer pins. The motor signals are only available as through hole connections on the 4 corners. Everything else is only available on the 3 ports. The antenna adapter is MCX male to RP-SMA. It is not U.FL like with the V4. I didn't know that and ordered a bunch of U.FL antennas. I ended up making my own super light dipole antenna that connects to MCX. No 7 grams of SMA or RP-SMA connectors. I couldn't find the cam pin until I found THIS documentation online.
I bought from BangGood:
F4 V5PRO Flight Controller 5.8G 40CH 0/25/200/600mW Switchable FPV Transmitte w/ 5V BEC OSD PDB.
Also available at GearBest:
HGLRC F4 V5 PRO Flight Controller
I setup the first one with a 4-in-1 esc. I have test flown it in my kitchen and it seems good. Very compact, very simple wiring. I run the power into my 4-in-1 esc as the bottom board then into the FC. I skipped using the current sensor and XT60 connector. I didn't want to run the XT-60 power connector from the second board in the stack although I think it could work. I will probably try that later. I wish it had a motor signal port and uart 3 or 6 on the same port as sbus so I could get sbus and smart port telemetry from just one port. I haven't hooked up the buzzer yet. I don't know if I will like having the buzzer on a port instead of direct soldered to the board. It might work better. I will setup the second with 4 individual escs. I will write more about it soon.
I bought 2 "F4 V5PRO Flight Controller 5.8G 40CH 0/25/200/600mW Switchable FPV Transmitter w/ 5V BEC OSD PDB" on Apr 08 2017 and 1 showed up on Apr 21 2017. I am still waiting for the second one. It is from HGLTech or HGLRC. It is an amazing All In One Flight Controller, VTX, PDB, OSD.
It came with no documentation. There is text screened onto the board but is nearly impossible to read. It is tiny, unclear, and sometimes covered by components. BB+ and BB- look like 88+ 88- and they are the buzzer pins. The motor signals are only available as through hole connections on the 4 corners. Everything else is only available on the 3 ports. The antenna adapter is MCX male to RP-SMA. It is not U.FL like with the V4. I didn't know that and ordered a bunch of U.FL antennas. I ended up making my own super light dipole antenna that connects to MCX. No 7 grams of SMA or RP-SMA connectors. I couldn't find the cam pin until I found THIS documentation online.
I bought from BangGood:
F4 V5PRO Flight Controller 5.8G 40CH 0/25/200/600mW Switchable FPV Transmitte w/ 5V BEC OSD PDB.
Also available at GearBest:
HGLRC F4 V5 PRO Flight Controller
I setup the first one with a 4-in-1 esc. I have test flown it in my kitchen and it seems good. Very compact, very simple wiring. I run the power into my 4-in-1 esc as the bottom board then into the FC. I skipped using the current sensor and XT60 connector. I didn't want to run the XT-60 power connector from the second board in the stack although I think it could work. I will probably try that later. I wish it had a motor signal port and uart 3 or 6 on the same port as sbus so I could get sbus and smart port telemetry from just one port. I haven't hooked up the buzzer yet. I don't know if I will like having the buzzer on a port instead of direct soldered to the board. It might work better. I will setup the second with 4 individual escs. I will write more about it soon.
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