Arris CM3000 3-axis brushless gimbal

[Hiway]

Tough guy... one of those freaks that wears shorts in snow?
...makes my metal hurt just thinking about it.

Nice to know this thing is performing as advertised... I am holding on to see what options come out this year before buying a 3 axis.

 

[Ksc]

Tough guy... one of those freaks that wears shorts in snow?
...makes my metal hurt just thinking about it.

WTF???

 

[mediaguru]

Tough guy... one of those freaks that wears shorts in snow?
...makes my metal hurt just thinking about it.

WTF???

He must be referring to me. He obviously saw the end of my first CM3000 test video. I wear shorts all year, even in the snow here in northern Utah. I snowshoed in -14 temperatures in shorts, so I figure my limit is at least -15.

 

[mediaguru]

Tweaking...

I've got a setup now where I got rid of the leg extensions which I bought with the CM3000 and went back to my clip-on 3D printed feet.

By getting rid of the platform and the leg extensions I managed to reduce the weight by 1/4 pound, and can now put the phantom back in its case.

I've gone from 1360 grams now to 1247 (estimated with a very rough scale).

Haven't flown yet.

More here: http://www.ambientflight.com/2014/01/15/counting-every-gram-knocked-off-a-quarter-pound/

 

[Hiway]

Tough guy... one of those freaks that wears shorts in snow?
...makes my metal hurt just thinking about it.

WTF???

He must be referring to me. He obviously saw the end of my first CM3000 test video. I wear shorts all year, even in the snow here in northern Utah. I snowshoed in -14 temperatures in shorts, so I figure my limit is at least -15.

Sorry I was out the last day and a half... yes- I was making a feckless comment at the crazed mediaguru and his impervious nature to cold.

...if I did that, you would need a dolly to wheel me back inside as I would just freeze up. Give me that tropical climate- I don't do cold very well.

 

[mediaguru]

After knocking the weight down to 2.75 pounds I've got the CM3000 airborne for exactly 5 minutes, including the unit landing itself as the battery dies. Its a little cold too and a tiny bit of wind.

SO with the current rig I'd be confident filming/shooting for 4 to 4.5 minutes. I'd probably start setting my alarm for 4 minutes and bringing the bird home at that point for safety.

This is the setup

 

[havasuphoto]

Interesting-thanks. Do you have an FPV transmitter?
My rig weighs in on a digital bathroom scale at 2.7 lbs. My flight times are in the 5 minute range. I set my alarm on my remote at 4:30, but regularly hover and don't see the 1st level warning until after 5 minutes.
this is at 70 degree's, GPS mode, no wind.

I'm wondering if you tried one of the 2700 or 2800 batteries?

 

[Gizmo3000]

Interesting-thanks. Do you have an FPV transmitter?
My rig weighs in on a digital bathroom scale at 2.7 lbs. My flight times are in the 5 minute range. I set my alarm on my remote at 4:30, but regularly hover and don't see the 1st level warning until after 5 minutes.
this is at 70 degree's, GPS mode, no wind.

I'm wondering if you tried one of the 2700 or 2800 batteries?

You guys should perhaps consider a dedicated digital kitchen scale. comes in handy for weighing your quad and parts, for weighing packages you might be sending out. .. and occasionally comes in handy for cooking! :lol:
5 minutes is pretty good considering the weight.

anxious to hear how the larger 2800mah batteries work for you guys with this combo.
If I didn't have too many batteries for my Phantom already I would have considered. (but not in need of pushing my Phantom any more now that I have the Tarot back on it. weights 1183g)
put my newly repaired CM3000 onto my f450, which gets me 8+ minute flights with 4000mah batteries.

mediaguru, those leg extensions look nifty, tho honestly, if you're looking to shave even more weight, those could probably be hacked to half the height and you'd still have decent clearance. (they look a bit high)

def do the larger P2 style props or similar.
the lighter you can get, the more flight time you can squeeze, the safer you can fly.

 

[mediaguru]

Yes true. I could cut the landing gear extensions down. They're feather light though.

I've got some Phantom 2 landing gear on the way. Those may be enough to do the trick. The CM3000 with this setup is almost exactly the same level as the gear.

I've actually looked into some kitchen scales. $15 or so. Another $15. A drop in the bucket.

The batteries I have coming in are 2700's.

I do not have an FPV setup. Doubt I will get one, at least for this rig.

 

[mediaguru]

Check this thread for my first fully produced video:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6788

 

[mediaguru]

I'm resurrecting this thread a bit. New issue today.

Yesterday on my Phantom I finally got the tilt lever working. That's pretty slick. The tilt lever I bought on ebay never worked. I had the TX torn apart and found that the dumb tilt lever was set up for the wrong pot. When I turned the pot above it, voila, I saw the movements in the NAZA software. Problem 1 solved.

I had to crank the power level of the motor up from the 80's to around 100 in SimpleBGC in order for it to completely turn the camera the full 90 degrees and point straight down. Otherwise it would get about 80 degrees and shake.

With the motor power up to around 100 I have what I'm calling "motor jello." With the power level of the motor cranked up I can hear/feel vibrations in the gimbal, and they're translating to a jello effect on the GoPro. The effect happens even while the bird is sitting on my desk.

Should I crank the power level even higher in the event that the frequency is interfering with the frame rate of the GoPro?

 

[DKDarkness]

Try lowering your PIDs instead. Take them to 10/0.03/5 and start from there. Set power of yaw and roll to 0 (zero) and work your way through optimal settings for tilt axis first. Then note the value and set pitch to 0, and continue with roll and yaw axis in the same way.

 

[mediaguru]

Try lowering your PIDs instead. Take them to 10/0.03/5 and start from there. Set power of yaw and roll to 0 (zero) and work your way through optimal settings for tilt axis first. Then note the value and set pitch to 0, and continue with roll and yaw axis in the same way.

I didn't see this message but here's what improved it.

I did reduce the PID's which then seemed to allow me to reduce the power level. Once I did that, the motor vibes went away and it still did tilt 90 degrees. Only once when tilting did it shudder a few times.

I'm still looking at the video, but it is looking pretty good. More later.