$250~3DPOWER Brushless Gimbal Mount DJI Phantom 2 Vision

SlackerATX · Mar 17, 2014

I went ahead and got one of these cause it's the only real option right now. I'd really like to find the connector to the vision camera so I can connect directly to power there.

This might be it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Xtreme-EA-074-A ... 4ad202a241

GneeChee · Mar 17, 2014

Well, I don't understand that kind of stuff - perhaps that's why I'm (overly?) cautious now

Noël · Mar 18, 2014

To make it truly P&P (plug and play) you will need to get the power from the 3.5mm 4-pole jack plug (the plug connecting to the camera).

To do so you will need to make an adapter for this yourself.

The 4-pole jack plugs are used in AV cables, so if you get an AV extension cable you could cut it, connect the two extra power wires, and put it all together again.

An other way of getting power would be by pulling it from inside the camera.
When doing this make sure that you use as thin as possible wirers so this will not effect the balance of the gimbal.

Same thing for the tilt control.
To make it P&P, you will need to find an adapter that will convert the plug from the cable coming from F2 (NAZA) to the one used by the gimbal.

All the above can be done, but I went for the easy soldering option... Pulling power from the inside of the P2V and using my own cable from the F2 to the gimbal.

I'll post some pictures when I have the new 3D printed parts.

SlackerATX · Mar 18, 2014

From best I can tell from photos I've see the 4 pole in the back of the vision camera connects to the gimbal and is passed through to the camera correct?

The funny three pin adapter that currently connects to the tilt motor provides power and tilt to the current motor. I'm hoping I can use this to power the two servo motors on the and connect the tilt?

One pin for tilt and two for power? I'm just not sure how the power or tilt control connects to new gimbal controller but it looks like the power connects to a standard JST. (Can't tell is male or female.) I have no idea how the one pin tilt control connects to the new gimbal controller.

I believe this is the funny 3 pin connector to the current tilt motor:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/390526566916?ss ... 1497.l2649

Adapt to Jst to power the new gimbal with this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0089R ... UTF8&psc=1

I don't have the **** thing yet so I'm just guessing at this point.

SlackerATX · Mar 18, 2014

It also looks like they've recently started offering a 3D printed camera mount that hold the vision camera much more cleanly:

http://www.taco-rc.com/servlet/the-35/3 ... ell/Detail

I'm not sure if this is going to start coming with all the gimbal kits or this is an upgrade. It looks quite a bit like the rotorpixle mount.

Noël · Mar 18, 2014

re: The funny three pin adapter that currently connects to the tilt motor provides power and tilt to the current motor. I'm hoping I can use this to power the two servo motors on the and connect the tilt?

The funny three pin adapter is called a "Micro 2.0 3-Pin Connector plug"
See: http://e2b.org/9A

I would not use this to power the gimbal!
It's coming from the NAZA's F2 output, and I do not think that it will give enough current (mA) to power the motors.
If this is true you will for sure break your NAZA.. and... I'm not even talking about the voltage from F2, what will probably only 5 volts max.

re: It also looks like they've recently started offering a 3D printed camera mount that hold the vision camera much more cleanly

That's the one I had before I dropped mine :/

SlackerATX · Mar 18, 2014

Good point regarding the juice going to the current tilt motor. I just assumped that the juice going to the tilt motor would be at leasr as much as the camera connector. I wonder how the other after market gimbals are dealing with power? Ill check the readings on both before proceeding.

Did you have to buy the mount seperatly or did it come with the kit?

Noël · Mar 18, 2014

I think that the others are pulling the power from the 3.5mm 4-pole jack plug (the white plug connecting to the camera).

The mount came with the kit!

SlackerATX · Mar 18, 2014

Noël said:
The mount came with the kit!

Well it looks like I'll have an extra mount if anyone needs one. :lol:

SlackerATX · Mar 18, 2014

Noël said:
re: The funny three pin adapter that currently connects to the tilt motor provides power and tilt to the current motor. I'm hoping I can use this to power the two servo motors on the and connect the tilt?

The funny three pin adapter is called a "Micro 2.0 3-Pin Connector plug"
See: http://e2b.org/9A

I would not use this to power the gimbal!
It's coming from the NAZA's F2 output, and I do not think that it will give enough current (mA) to power the motors.
If this is true you will for sure break your NAZA.. and... I'm not even talking about the voltage from F2, what will probably only 5 volts max.

re: It also looks like they've recently started offering a 3D printed camera mount that hold the vision camera much more cleanly

That's the one I had before I dropped mine :/

I'm getting 12 volts from the av cable in the back and 4.5 from micro 3 pin.

rfernandez · Mar 20, 2014

I received my new 3DPower gimbal today. It only took five days to arrive, I had it installed in just short of an hour. If you guys are still wondering about the leads, here is what I did. I made a short extension to the enclosed wires and soldered them to the power board where the battery lead connect to the board( I could have soldered to the battery blade terminals, but i didn't)
I completely removed the original gimbal cable and installed the enclosed cable from F2 and ran it through the original path and out the hole and onto the board. Installed the camera and powered it up that simple. I took it for a quick and dirty flight to test out of the box installation. And I am very happy with this gimbal set up, I just have to make some minot tweaking and its done. And I didn't have to wait months like the other people with Roropixel.

best seen in HD
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F5NsD-LqZk[/youtube]

Drone-Outlaw · Mar 20, 2014

SlackerATX said:
It also looks like they've recently started offering a 3D printed camera mount that hold the vision camera much more cleanly:

http://www.taco-rc.com/servlet/the-35/3 ... ell/Detail

I'm not sure if this is going to start coming with all the gimbal kits or this is an upgrade. It looks quite a bit like the rotorpixle mount.

With this mount you should be able to use the lense filter mount.
Moose

Brew · Mar 20, 2014

rfernandez said:
I received my new 3DPower gimbal today. It only took five days to arrive, I had it installed in just short of an hour. If you guys are still wondering about the leads, here is what I did. I made a short extension to the enclosed wires and soldered them to the power board where the battery lead connect to the board( I could have soldered to the battery blade terminals, but i didn't)
I completely removed the original gimbal cable and installed the enclosed cable from F2 and ran it through the original path and out the hole and onto the board. Installed the camera and powered it up that simple. I took it for a quick and dirty flight to test out of the box installation. And I am very happy with this gimbal set up, I just have to make some minot tweaking and its done. And I didn't have to wait months like the other people with Roropixel.

best seen in HD
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F5NsD-LqZk[/youtube]

Good News indeed!
Any images of the connections you made?
Looking forward to some more in-flight video.
TIA

wklee · Mar 20, 2014

Moose said:
SlackerATX said:

It also looks like they've recently started offering a 3D printed camera mount that hold the vision camera much more cleanly:

http://www.taco-rc.com/servlet/the-35/3 ... ell/Detail

I'm not sure if this is going to start coming with all the gimbal kits or this is an upgrade. It looks quite a bit like the rotorpixle mount.

Click to expand...

With this mount you should be able to use the lense filter mount.
Moose

I think you need to add counterweight to rebalance the pitch axis if you add a filter mount.

wklee · Mar 20, 2014

More test video

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUNwLF86lv0[/youtube]

rfernandez · Mar 20, 2014

I should be doing another video from my favorite place this weekend I will put it up soon after.
As for the pictures of the installation i did not take any. but trust me is that easy. I will be converting my friends Vision when he receives his gimbal i will make full detailed instructions

JustJames · Mar 20, 2014

rfernandez said:
I should be doing another video from my favorite place this weekend I will put it up soon after.
As for the pictures of the installation i did not take any. but trust me is that easy. I will be converting my friends Vision when he receives his gimbal i will make full detailed instructions

Im looking forward to seeing more from this gimbal. I am not opposed to opening up my Vision as some are (already have done it at least 8 times) so if its not hard to instal...it works well.. and its less expensive than the Rotorpixel...i may convert. I am waiting (feels like forever) for the RP I already paid for so in the mean time I am going to watch this one.

Would love to see a couple instal videos from those who have already done it..or at least a some tips on it.

thanks ahead of time..

JJ

GneeChee · Mar 20, 2014

Well, being one of those that isn't comfortable opening up his P2V ... I have to admit that I'm rather curious about it all, anyway.

If the installation video convinces me that it's a no-brainer (for somebody experienced with electronics, soldering, etc.), then perhaps I will take it down to a local hobby shop and see if they can help me. As it turns out - an ex-coworker of mine recently quit our company to go manage one of the local hobby shops ... I never even considered him as an option LOL

Also, I would like more information about the fuse that Noël mentioned ... is that something I should be thinking about, too?

Lastly (and apologies for being a bit off topic) - is there any sort of schematic/diagram of the innards of the Vision, and what all the various parts/wires/connections are?