A solid Zenmuse alternative

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I do not promote products- I also am not out to take money out of the company's pockets that manufacture the product that we all are here over... but I am a bit of a populist, and I am sure the lot of you also work hard for what you have- not many folks have the disposable income for a hobby this pricey, so I offer this anecdotal, and soon to be youtubed evidence of a great option to the current Zenmuse gimbal on he market:

DJI Phantom Gopro 2 3 CNC Metal Brushless Camera Gimbal with Motors & Controller
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dl ... rid=229466

It is plug and play out of the box- it comes with a gimbal pitch control wire that will connect to the naza (with a slight mod) and allow v1.1.1 owners to control the pitch via the gimbal lever on back the transmitter.

It is a nice, and very smooth little device- it is absolutely silent. It comes with a connector that plugs into the balance plug on the battery- it is less than $100 ($103 shipped to me)

My only gripe- and I cannot be sure it is valid yet is twofold:

1. No instructions (but then I don't many who need them)
2. The rubber grommets may be too soft- hard to tell as it is cold so everything is hard now when in flight- but they feel soft)

Best of luck- this specific vendor and gimbal should not be confused with the "goodluckbuy" or others that look the same- some others have not come with the wire, or bgc software configured properly, or are missing the balance plug connector, or all 3. I can verify this vendor and device.
 
hurseyc said:
The product pics even say goodluckbuy???

What's the game here?
Not sure but l am sure it is nothing sinister- too many bought to be a scam. All I know is I am a happy flier.
 
I just bought this from goodluckbuy. It was the same price. I didn't pay shipping on goodluckbuy and so the total was the same (actually a few pennies less). I literally was just woken up by the mail man bringing it to me. Now I get to try and figure out how to get it to work.
 
do you have instructions on what to do, you said its a slight mod on the connection to the naza, please explain more.
 
Ksc said:
do you have instructions on what to do, you said its a slight mod on the connection to the naza, please explain more.

It seems (according to others as I have not connected mine yet to the pitch port on the naza) that the connector that comes with the gimbal is to squared off on the end where it connects to the naza- hence a slight sanding of the connector will get it on- that is the mod.

Now- keep in mind that the pitch cable and function are not needed- the gimbal comes out of the box pre-programmed (simple BGC 2.0) to keep level- all you need to do is connect to the balance plug on the battery, or put a connector onto the aux power wire, or attach an aux power wire and run it out. If you want to use it right away, you can take a dremel tool and make a small notch in the battery cover as I did for the gimbal power lead to run to.

The pitch cable is clearly marked where it needs to go on the board.

Install the top plate- put the grommets in, then put the bottom plate on, and it is done.

As for instructions- none needed really- the unit gets powered up- wait a minute, and it sets (be sure it is free to move- no obstructions- and also be sure to drop it into place from the shipping state as it is folded up and will not pull itself apart- just drop the arm down- put power to it, and go.
 
That`s the one I`m using, I`m not too happy with it to be realistic. After a few flights it becomes severely affected by forward throttle, sort of unreliable ( works well on and off ). I just ordered the $151.00 Tarot gimbal ( that low at rangevideo.com )to try it, before landing the $369 new price of the Zen Muse ( yep, there`s a deal now on the ZenMuse, finally). When the ZM reaches the low point of $250 or less, I`ll buy it.

img_2878.jpg
 
rotorhead42 said:
That`s the one I`m using, I`m not too happy with it to be realistic. After a few flights it becomes severely affected by forward throttle, sort of unreliable ( works well on and off ). ...

Please clarify? I have 4 flights in now with no issues whatsoever- but that is not very much air time.

Also- the pictured gimbal you posted- is that your desired? Because that is not what I have. I am thinking that I would prefer carbon fiber for the weight advantage- and I have no issues with springing for the Zenmuse at it's current price- but I get the impression it is not any better than the rest of the current brush-less motor offerings- other than the specific designed for Phantom thing.
 
I will add one more gripe on this gimbal I bought: it cannot withstand club fingered handling by a reprobate pilot who is impatient and cannot pull the connectors apart with any finesse: the black power lead broke this morning as I was swapping batteries.

I am grounded on aerial footage until later when I can solder it back on (my solder gun is currently borrowed)

Other than that- I want to reiterate: this little inexpensive gimbal is hittin and stickin like popeye's chicken!
 
Seems we are all waiting for the newest, cheapest, most simple gimbal. I have the Tarot and still tweaking ....mixed feelings there. But....all other issues aside, the ZenMuse has one issue that really trumps all others, for the Phantom anyway....and that is its weight, or lack of. DJI seems to understand just how weight sensitive the Ph is and designs with weight issues foremost in mind. All others START in weight...without camera, where the ZM WITHH3 camera tops out. That translates into more than a MINUTE of extra flight time each and every flight, regardless of props or batteries.

Soooo, in MY mind, this is a cheaper and maybe (?) better Tarot alternative...(which is saying something).......NOT truly a ZenMuse alternative.

Gimbal-wise I will stay where I am until the ZM gets cheaper OR someone really cracks the code and matches it weight-wise and beats it price-wise.

Oh...and offer a quick, light, fast disconnect.
 
Very good points Peter- but semantics aside, perhaps I should have just titled it: A cheap gimbal option.

I am sure the zenmuse is light due to materials- that is all there is to any "code" in design- the motors and guts are all pretty much the same.

I was unaware at just how much lighter the zenmuse was, and that is a major factor as you pint out and will have me standing by for the H3-2D to drop some more in price- somebody will create a better option forcing them too- or they will upgrade- it's the game of planned and perceived obsolescence in modern marketing and manufacturing.

Thanks for your input.
 
Just for the sake of future resource, I am posting the firmware and gui/user manuals for the BGC software here: http://www.basecamelectronics.com/downloads/

The link I posted earlier is using the BGC 2.0 (b3 and b4 are the same to save your confusion)

I noticed a very slight lilt to the left on the roll setting- I adjusted it using the gui on this page- all instructions and documentation are there for any diy types who want to tweak.
 

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