Yea-I'm gonna give it to the guy that's installing the new oneOI Photography said:
But-if he doesn't need it or want it-it's yours
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But-if he doesn't need it or want it-it's yours
havasuphoto said:Yea-I'm gonna give it to the guy that's installing the new oneOI Photography said:
But-if he doesn't need it or want it-it's yours
Cool, thank you. I'm not in dire need of another one, it would just save me the hassle of moving the transmitter between aircraft every time I swap the gimbal. I'm still "mission capable" either way
I'll let ya know.
Just an FYI on the AVL58 VTX-that I didn't know; it comes with a plug that goes into the VTX-the other end of that plug terminates in a battery connector(not XT-60), and an 1/8th "stereo" type plug. The purpose of that plug is it goes into the Mark II IOSD.
So-if you're connecting this VTX to an aircraft that has an IOSD mini-you have 8 wires coming from the AVL 58....2 are not used.
You cut the plug and battery connector off at the junction, remove the heat shrink, and you'll have access to all 8 wires.
The 2 wires for Batt +, get soldered together, then to your battery/power supply. The 2 wires marked Batt -, also get soldered together then connected to your ground. Refer to the plug and the back of the VTX...don't go by color, thinking it's the yellow and brown wires for video-it isn't!!
Just look at the back of the AVL58 with the plug in, and all the wires visible, and you can easily see which wires to join(just the Batt ones), and which 2 wires go for Video in, and video ground.
Immersion RC is 2 wires for battery, and 2 wires for video....so the AVL58 is a bit different on the wiring. I didn't know that you need to join those 2 ground and the 2 positive wires. It's a bus type system........
If you have the FPV hub-it's all plug and play
But-we all know an FPV hub won't work to well on an F550....the wires are to short.
Just an FYI on the AVL58 VTX-that I didn't know; it comes with a plug that goes into the VTX-the other end of that plug terminates in a battery connector(not XT-60), and an 1/8th "stereo" type plug. The purpose of that plug is it goes into the Mark II IOSD.
So-if you're connecting this VTX to an aircraft that has an IOSD mini-you have 8 wires coming from the AVL 58....2 are not used.
You cut the plug and battery connector off at the junction, remove the heat shrink, and you'll have access to all 8 wires.
The 2 wires for Batt +, get soldered together, then to your battery/power supply. The 2 wires marked Batt -, also get soldered together then connected to your ground. Refer to the plug and the back of the VTX...don't go by color, thinking it's the yellow and brown wires for video-it isn't!!
Just look at the back of the AVL58 with the plug in, and all the wires visible, and you can easily see which wires to join(just the Batt ones), and which 2 wires go for Video in, and video ground.
Immersion RC is 2 wires for battery, and 2 wires for video....so the AVL58 is a bit different on the wiring. I didn't know that you need to join those 2 ground and the 2 positive wires. It's a bus type system........
If you have the FPV hub-it's all plug and play
But-we all know an FPV hub won't work to well on an F550....the wires are to short.
havasuphoto said:
Very close...that cable with the 1/8 phono plug and the non-XT60 battery connector is to connect to the GCU of a Zenmuse gimbal and/or a separate power supply for the transmitter. If you plug the 1/8 phono plug in to the GCU it will get power and video down that single feed and the extra battery connection is not needed.
The cable to connect the OSD mkII and the AVL58 is actually just the standard 8-pin type that's also used to connect the Zenmuse to the GCU (or mainboard in a Phantom).
Like with several of DJI's components there's more than one way to skin the cat, and as long as you got it working for you that's what matters
Didn't know that. I have a GCU....never even thought to look there. Doesn't matter-the cable isn't long enough anyways. it's going on the far aft end of the F800.....so I'm just having the existing wires soldered into.OI Photography said:havasuphoto said:
Very close...that cable with the 1/8 phono plug and the non-XT60 battery connector is to connect to the GCU of a Zenmuse gimbal and/or a separate power supply for the transmitter. If you plug the 1/8 phono plug in to the GCU it will get power and video down that single feed and the extra battery connection is not needed.
The cable to connect the OSD mkII and the AVL58 is actually just the standard 8-pin type that's also used to connect the Zenmuse to the GCU (or mainboard in a Phantom).
Like with several of DJI's components there's more than one way to skin the cat, and as long as you got it working for you that's what matters
Thanks
Another question for you(or two); does the H3-2D GCU have that "stereo in" plug? where exactly is it located.OI Photography said:havasuphoto said:
Very close...that cable with the 1/8 phono plug and the non-XT60 battery connector is to connect to the GCU of a Zenmuse gimbal and/or a separate power supply for the transmitter. If you plug the 1/8 phono plug in to the GCU it will get power and video down that single feed and the extra battery connection is not needed.
The cable to connect the OSD mkII and the AVL58 is actually just the standard 8-pin type that's also used to connect the Zenmuse to the GCU (or mainboard in a Phantom).
Like with several of DJI's components there's more than one way to skin the cat, and as long as you got it working for you that's what matters
IF we plugged into that..it still looks like I would need to use the battery wires to power the VTX?? I have 2 sets of these wires...1 I didn't use on the P2, and 1 that came with.
Just want to make sure if I plug this into the GCU that I will not need to connect the positive/negative battery power....????
EDIT: and the reason I asked is because I cut into the wire that goes to that 1/8" plug, there is only a yellow shielded wire inside, and then UN-shielded copper wire....so, I'm not sure that it carries the power-just wanna make sure.
Got it-it's on the back. And, it's already wired to the battery......ElGuano said:havasuphoto said:
I'll take the easiest one: You can see the plug schematic on the lower left of the GCU housing.
So-lets assume I just plug this thing in-can I cut off the battery positive/negative leads at the junction block and seal those off?
My plan Today is to take the top off-locate the GCU, plug it in(if I have room), and power up the AVL58-look for video.
I'm pretty sure the cord will be too short. But-I have 2 of these plugs. So, if that works(w/o hooking into the battery), I'll cut the 8-pin connector off the one that's plugged into the GCU and use the 2nd set of gray wires/plug, to make an extension-and soldier all 8 wires to the corresponding wires, heat-shrink each, then heat-shrink the bundle. I hope that's long enough.
If not-I have plan B-which is to just tap into the old VTX-4 wires.
My 550 guy was a bit nervous about doing this project, and rightly so-since he's not done a "complex" VTX before. So, I'm going over there to help him out. I'm going to cut, strip, and braid the wires together then he'll do the solder and heat shrink.
either way-we'll get video out of this thing Today!!
EDIT: just received a PM on another forum from one of the DJI support people, and he told me that the H3-2D does NOT provide power through the 1/8" plug. Also-he told me that the iosd mini information is not provided through that plug either.
So-yes, you can get video out through that plug, but, you would still need to hook up the battery connectors and do w/o iosd mini.
The other solution of course is to use the FPV hub. But-I didn't put this thing together..and I'm not going to start taking things apart just to install that hub. And-the wires are to short anyways.
So-it's back to Plan A-which is just to tap into the existing VTX wires and be done with this.......
Sure learning way more about VTX than I ever thought I would.
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Correct, the headphone jack is for video only, you can't power the Zen off it; any power supplied out of that would be TO the vTX and not to power the GCU. And correct, there is no iOSD from it either. ALL it does is provide raw analog composite video from the GoPro (a passthrough) to whatever device you want (vTX or OSD module). It's the same as if you fashioned a USB composite video-out from the GoPro.
I'm not sure why the H3-2D couldn't get power straight from CANBus, but that's a different discussion I guess.
I'm not sure why the H3-2D couldn't get power straight from CANBus, but that's a different discussion I guess.
I know you have said the connection block doesn't provide enough length for your setup, but you can add longer cables to get it to work. If you are using the AVL58, the easiest no-nonsense solution is to use the solderless route. Get the solderless board from B&H. I have it on two of mine.
Also, if you are going to cut into any wires, then get out the DJI diagrams - they show you what is on each cable. It is too easy to ask the question incorrectly and then mess up the hookup when you get the right answer to the wrong question. The diagrams and pinouts are in the P2 manual for both the mini and MKII.
Also, if you are going to cut into any wires, then get out the DJI diagrams - they show you what is on each cable. It is too easy to ask the question incorrectly and then mess up the hookup when you get the right answer to the wrong question. The diagrams and pinouts are in the P2 manual for both the mini and MKII.
Yeah after re-examining my Zenmuse output cable with the phono plug on it I see that the power leads are not live, so the answer from DJI was correct that you'll need to connect a battery to the other lead on your cable. I was confused because the lead from the iOSD mkII to the AVL58 does feed power along the same cable as the vid.
The battery cable on your AVL58 cable is called a Deans connector, I would just remove it and replace it with an XT60 or even a little red JST tap depending on your current power grid.
The battery cable on your AVL58 cable is called a Deans connector, I would just remove it and replace it with an XT60 or even a little red JST tap depending on your current power grid.
It's installed and working!!! We went the soldier route, cutting off the end of the DJI connector and using their colored wires, and then twisting them together with my wires, some solder, heat-shrink on each wire, heat shrink on the whole bundle, then a bigger piece of heat-shrink(because the other wasn't long enough-and it was baby blue, so went with black).
Mounted on an carbon fiber plate between 2 Xaircraft X650 camera mounts that fit the 2 rails on the back of the aircraft.
The interesting thing is; I can mount the VTX down, with antenna down, OR, I can mount it up, with the antenna straight up-no clearance problems with the props. Sooooo, if I mount it down, probably going to need to use one of those extensions so the antenna is long enough to clear everything. BUT-if I mount it on top-with the antenna pointed straight up...no issue's??
That-and I have a box full of antenna's.....so many choices. But-it's done, it works, video looks fine. Batteries on the charger, and it will probably be windy as hell for a week now.....
Here is the color code for the wires, from DJI;
Battery (-) - yellow
Battery (-) - black-combine yellow and black
Battery (+) - green
Battery (+) - white-combine green and white
Channel - red Not Used
Channel - brown Not Used
Video Ground-IN - purple
Video IN - grey
Basically, you combine both battery negatives and positives. Then-video in is grey, and ground is purple. Like everything is normally brown/yellow/black...funny, how none of those colors are used here.
But-we went the easiest way, IMHO..using the old power and video wires, because we knew what they did-checked them twice, and now I just need to see how far I can fly and how much better the video is.
I'm going to the exact same field I tested in before-I know to the exact fence post/sign, where the video started breaking up.
Gonna try some different antenna's. Not sure if I will test the antenna pointing straight up.....has anyone done that?
I only have the GPS antenna on top......so I don't know if the VTX transmitter signal would interfere with that, or not?
R/C control is UHF(433mhz), so no issues there.
And-I'm going to do the testing before changing my engines and going to 4S..so nothing over 7 minutes total flight time. But-I don't want to be out in the field tuning engines, etc, and also changing antenna's and messing about. The aircraft flies fine now-just not for very long.
OH-1 last thing; I have the Sunnysky motors-and in the instructions it says "add a drop of oil to bearings every 10 flights". I have the "magic oil", and the big needle to oil the bearings. I've done maybe 16? flights-should I put a drop of oil on the engines before I fly? Going to replace the engines anyways......but, I'm wondering if it's needed....?
Mounted on an carbon fiber plate between 2 Xaircraft X650 camera mounts that fit the 2 rails on the back of the aircraft.
The interesting thing is; I can mount the VTX down, with antenna down, OR, I can mount it up, with the antenna straight up-no clearance problems with the props. Sooooo, if I mount it down, probably going to need to use one of those extensions so the antenna is long enough to clear everything. BUT-if I mount it on top-with the antenna pointed straight up...no issue's??
That-and I have a box full of antenna's.....so many choices. But-it's done, it works, video looks fine. Batteries on the charger, and it will probably be windy as hell for a week now.....
Here is the color code for the wires, from DJI;
Battery (-) - yellow
Battery (-) - black-combine yellow and black
Battery (+) - green
Battery (+) - white-combine green and white
Channel - red Not Used
Channel - brown Not Used
Video Ground-IN - purple
Video IN - grey
Basically, you combine both battery negatives and positives. Then-video in is grey, and ground is purple. Like everything is normally brown/yellow/black...funny, how none of those colors are used here.
But-we went the easiest way, IMHO..using the old power and video wires, because we knew what they did-checked them twice, and now I just need to see how far I can fly and how much better the video is.
I'm going to the exact same field I tested in before-I know to the exact fence post/sign, where the video started breaking up.
Gonna try some different antenna's. Not sure if I will test the antenna pointing straight up.....has anyone done that?
I only have the GPS antenna on top......so I don't know if the VTX transmitter signal would interfere with that, or not?
R/C control is UHF(433mhz), so no issues there.
And-I'm going to do the testing before changing my engines and going to 4S..so nothing over 7 minutes total flight time. But-I don't want to be out in the field tuning engines, etc, and also changing antenna's and messing about. The aircraft flies fine now-just not for very long.
OH-1 last thing; I have the Sunnysky motors-and in the instructions it says "add a drop of oil to bearings every 10 flights". I have the "magic oil", and the big needle to oil the bearings. I've done maybe 16? flights-should I put a drop of oil on the engines before I fly? Going to replace the engines anyways......but, I'm wondering if it's needed....?
Went out for 3 flights Today with the new VTX, and got to 600M w/o any issues. There is still some electrical noise or interference going on, and I need to find the source. It's not gimbal noise...and may be coming from the UHF transmitter being near the monitor? But, the video is no where near how crisp and clean the video is from the Phantom 2.
Also-I'm thinking of mounting the VTX with the antenna pointing straight up. going to hook the aircraft up to Naza and check compass values and GPS numbers with it in that position to see if there's any interference. I'm using a Spironet CP antenna, with an RP-SMA adapter on it.
The 3 zippy batteries I have now(3S 8000Mah), are junk!!! They run out of volts way before they run out of amps. Guess I'll be using those to power my monitor-should last a month between charges
So-when the winds die down(they were 10-15mph, no problem this morning), I'll try again...change to different antenna's and move things around a bit.
I hit 51mph in Attitude mode!!! Had a great tail wind-and the video was incredibly stable for a 2D gimbal. Love how smooth and stable this big aircraft is.
New AUW is 2763..so I lost 10 grams somewhere....probably the engine mount that was being use to hold the old VTX....dunno.
Also not sure just how accurate my "fish scale is". seems to be within about 10 grams-I'm guessing.
I also ended up putting a drop or 2 of engine oil on the top bearings of my motors. Figured it couldn't hurt. I couldn't even see the bottom bearings through the holes-so they got nothing.
the engines didn't appear to run any hotter or cooler. But-it was 95 deg. F out....and that was just after Sunrise!!! Even in the shade, I had sweat running down onto the Goggles.
Hard to do any "range" testing, when the 1st level warning kicks in at around 5 minutes...and because I'm such a Wuss, the aircraft has to be within 100M of me, at 10.9 volts.
Can't wait for the new engines/props/good 4S batteries.
BTW-Can someone tell me what you're using for the default values on voltage, on a 4S Hex, in Naza for 1st level, load, and 2nd level? Just need a conservative baseline. OR-does it just default when you change over? Can you set it to 4S, with a 3S battery powering it?
OH, and I figured out how to test the motors in Naza!!! Gee-All I had to do was hook the aircraft up, go to the motor page, hit test, and push the button of which engine I wanted to turn....pretty cool, and simple.
OH, OH....I notice my yaw gain is set to 300% INH. Does that sound high to you guys? I don't get any yaw wiggle-and the aircraft seems to yaw smoothly. But-it yaws around the camera, which is mounted to the nose, not around it's center point. Kinda strange......
I have P/R gains on a knob-so I can change those at will. But, I'm wondering if my Yaw gain is what's causing the aircraft to pirouette around the camera-and not the center of the aircraft.
Also-I'm thinking of mounting the VTX with the antenna pointing straight up. going to hook the aircraft up to Naza and check compass values and GPS numbers with it in that position to see if there's any interference. I'm using a Spironet CP antenna, with an RP-SMA adapter on it.
The 3 zippy batteries I have now(3S 8000Mah), are junk!!! They run out of volts way before they run out of amps. Guess I'll be using those to power my monitor-should last a month between charges
So-when the winds die down(they were 10-15mph, no problem this morning), I'll try again...change to different antenna's and move things around a bit.
I hit 51mph in Attitude mode!!! Had a great tail wind-and the video was incredibly stable for a 2D gimbal. Love how smooth and stable this big aircraft is.
New AUW is 2763..so I lost 10 grams somewhere....probably the engine mount that was being use to hold the old VTX....dunno.
Also not sure just how accurate my "fish scale is". seems to be within about 10 grams-I'm guessing.
I also ended up putting a drop or 2 of engine oil on the top bearings of my motors. Figured it couldn't hurt. I couldn't even see the bottom bearings through the holes-so they got nothing.
the engines didn't appear to run any hotter or cooler. But-it was 95 deg. F out....and that was just after Sunrise!!! Even in the shade, I had sweat running down onto the Goggles.
Hard to do any "range" testing, when the 1st level warning kicks in at around 5 minutes...and because I'm such a Wuss, the aircraft has to be within 100M of me, at 10.9 volts.
Can't wait for the new engines/props/good 4S batteries.
BTW-Can someone tell me what you're using for the default values on voltage, on a 4S Hex, in Naza for 1st level, load, and 2nd level? Just need a conservative baseline. OR-does it just default when you change over? Can you set it to 4S, with a 3S battery powering it?
OH, and I figured out how to test the motors in Naza!!! Gee-All I had to do was hook the aircraft up, go to the motor page, hit test, and push the button of which engine I wanted to turn....pretty cool, and simple.
OH, OH....I notice my yaw gain is set to 300% INH. Does that sound high to you guys? I don't get any yaw wiggle-and the aircraft seems to yaw smoothly. But-it yaws around the camera, which is mounted to the nose, not around it's center point. Kinda strange......
I have P/R gains on a knob-so I can change those at will. But, I'm wondering if my Yaw gain is what's causing the aircraft to pirouette around the camera-and not the center of the aircraft.
prop adapter or not?
I have a dilemma. I have Tiger Motors, and 12X3.8 Gemfan props. I got the Tiger Motors prop adapters that have the reversed threads(engines aren't here yet). I can see that I can mount the prop directly onto the shaft and it goes down to the base. but when I put the washer on top and the nut-it feels to me like the nut runs out of threads before it tightens the props.
I have 1 prop adapter that fits-but it raises the prop up about 1/8"? or so from the base of the prop holder. If I use this adapter-I have no problem tightening the prop.
So-do I use the adapter, or not? The prop doesn't really move much side to side when it's on the shaft w/o the adapter.
Pictures
I have a dilemma. I have Tiger Motors, and 12X3.8 Gemfan props. I got the Tiger Motors prop adapters that have the reversed threads(engines aren't here yet). I can see that I can mount the prop directly onto the shaft and it goes down to the base. but when I put the washer on top and the nut-it feels to me like the nut runs out of threads before it tightens the props.
I have 1 prop adapter that fits-but it raises the prop up about 1/8"? or so from the base of the prop holder. If I use this adapter-I have no problem tightening the prop.
So-do I use the adapter, or not? The prop doesn't really move much side to side when it's on the shaft w/o the adapter.
Pictures
Attachments
No adaptor. When you put the prop on without that, the nut should screw all the way down to the washer with the washer resting on the top of the prop hub. Are you saying the nut just won't screw down that far? You might just need a new one. I use M6 Nylok nuts on mine and I usually tighten with a socket wrench (it can take a little torque to get them down the threads).
Question: have you tried balancing those gemfan 12x3.8's yet? I haven't flown with mine because they're driving me nuts trying to get them balanced. I can get the blades balanced with no problem, but I'm not getting anywhere with the hubs. I'm using a combination of adding weight on one side and shaving some on the other, and I still can't get them right. I suspect it's due to that very thick section around the hub which contains a lot of material, but I may just give up on getting the hubs balanced and try them as they are.
Question: have you tried balancing those gemfan 12x3.8's yet? I haven't flown with mine because they're driving me nuts trying to get them balanced. I can get the blades balanced with no problem, but I'm not getting anywhere with the hubs. I'm using a combination of adding weight on one side and shaving some on the other, and I still can't get them right. I suspect it's due to that very thick section around the hub which contains a lot of material, but I may just give up on getting the hubs balanced and try them as they are.
What I'm saying is if I put them on the way you told me-the nut runs out of threads even with the washer on top of the prop....maybe I just need to turn the washer upside down or add another washer? they're brand new adapters fresh out of the package.OI Photography said:
As for the Gem's...I got 1 balanced perfectly. Took 2 pieces of black electrical tape on 1 blade. As for the hub..yea, that's fun. Put a drop of CA on one side, and let it dry(need to buy new super glue and a spray can of that "activator"....anyone know what that's called?). then I sanded down the other side of the hub....took about 40 minutes or so..but it holds any position now.
so yea-they're difficult to balance hub wise.....try the super-glue on the light side.
I only have 11 more props to balance!!! 5 more gems, and 6 E-graups...I'm hoping those will be pretty close. I've only checked 2 of the gems so far, and both are out blade wise and hub wise....so this is gonna be fun...not!! but, they're huge blades..
Thanks, I'll try the glue on the light side of the hub, I have some CA that should work good for that.
What you want is to have the prop like in this pic, then the washer on top of it, and the nut screwed down to the washer. If the nut doesn't screw down that far (there's enough threads from what it looks like in the pic) then something is up. Can you show how far down the nut will go?
What you want is to have the prop like in this pic, then the washer on top of it, and the nut screwed down to the washer. If the nut doesn't screw down that far (there's enough threads from what it looks like in the pic) then something is up. Can you show how far down the nut will go?
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Keep in mind this is the reverse threaded rod/self-tightening, so I can't use an M6 nylock. I haven't tried to tighten it down all the way yet-because to me it feels like even with the washer on top, at it gets finger tight, it feels like I run out of thread.
should I turn the washer the other way around?
also-do you use blue loctite on the prop holder bolt and engine mount bolts?
EDIT: I figured out this problem. with the washer and the nut at the bottom of the threads, the gap is 1/4". I measured the prop at the hub, and it's a bit more than 1/4".
So, put prop on, washer, and screwed nut down-looks like it will hold the prop. There are not a lot of extra threads to really tighten the nut anymore.
I'll probably get some M6 Nylock...I seem to remember they don't have threads in the plastic, until you start them-so reversed thread shouldn't be a problem?
should I turn the washer the other way around?
also-do you use blue loctite on the prop holder bolt and engine mount bolts?
EDIT: I figured out this problem. with the washer and the nut at the bottom of the threads, the gap is 1/4". I measured the prop at the hub, and it's a bit more than 1/4".
So, put prop on, washer, and screwed nut down-looks like it will hold the prop. There are not a lot of extra threads to really tighten the nut anymore.
I'll probably get some M6 Nylock...I seem to remember they don't have threads in the plastic, until you start them-so reversed thread shouldn't be a problem?
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Engines are here!!! I now have all the parts I need to convert to the bigger engines and 4S. So, I'll be busy Tomorrow.
Anyone ever try 12X3.8 Gemfans? Having one hell of a time with 2 out of the first 4 that I've tried to balance. The blades balance pretty easily-usually just 1 piece of tape-done. but then, it just sits there horizontally. When you move it vertically, it falls to the heavy hub. I've got 2 that I just cant' balance the hubs!! Have big globs of CA on the light side, and sanded the hell out of the heavy side. I spent over an hour on 1 blade Today-and it's still not hub balanced.
Gonna go through the rest of them and get the easy ones balanced. May just need to send them back. Also-it's the CW blades, so far that are impossible to get the hubs balanced.
Anyone try APC? These are just taking up way too much of my time.
I know the E-graups will be pretty close....but, waiting on adapters for those, and really wanted to try the 12's....don't see that happening anytime soon with the Gemfans. Never seen hubs this far out.....
Anyone ever try 12X3.8 Gemfans? Having one hell of a time with 2 out of the first 4 that I've tried to balance. The blades balance pretty easily-usually just 1 piece of tape-done. but then, it just sits there horizontally. When you move it vertically, it falls to the heavy hub. I've got 2 that I just cant' balance the hubs!! Have big globs of CA on the light side, and sanded the hell out of the heavy side. I spent over an hour on 1 blade Today-and it's still not hub balanced.
Gonna go through the rest of them and get the easy ones balanced. May just need to send them back. Also-it's the CW blades, so far that are impossible to get the hubs balanced.
Anyone try APC? These are just taking up way too much of my time.
I know the E-graups will be pretty close....but, waiting on adapters for those, and really wanted to try the 12's....don't see that happening anytime soon with the Gemfans. Never seen hubs this far out.....
