Bought a FC200 China gimbal from ebay and need some help
- Thread starter bernek
- Start date
Ok I've found the version that works: "SimpleBGC_GUI_2_0b3" and I've got the following screenshots:
The problem is I don't know where to start and how to calibrate. The messages in GUI are a little vague for my knowledge and I tried to read the manual but I'm a little tired since its 2 AM here.
I only tried to calibrate ACC and I was holding the gimbal with my hand but I had to adjust pitch and roll everytime from Assistant and now I don't know if that is the right way. From these screenshots it looks not calibrated if you ask me
All the screenshots from BGC GUI where taken with the gimbal somehow level (I really stared at it from different angles). Something seems wrong with both pitch and roll axis here... shouldn't the blue arrow point for roll vertical and blue text 0.0 and for pitch horizontal and blue text 0.0 ?
The problem is I don't know where to start and how to calibrate. The messages in GUI are a little vague for my knowledge and I tried to read the manual but I'm a little tired since its 2 AM here.
I only tried to calibrate ACC and I was holding the gimbal with my hand but I had to adjust pitch and roll everytime from Assistant and now I don't know if that is the right way. From these screenshots it looks not calibrated if you ask me
All the screenshots from BGC GUI where taken with the gimbal somehow level (I really stared at it from different angles). Something seems wrong with both pitch and roll axis here... shouldn't the blue arrow point for roll vertical and blue text 0.0 and for pitch horizontal and blue text 0.0 ?
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Yes in screen shot 3 mine is different than yours but next to calibrate ACC ( accelerometer ) I have calibrate GYRO as well, try a different tab like advanced tab, let me look later as it been a while since I messed with it, I'll be back around a bit later as it is 7pm here and dinner time, lol.
J Dot
J Dot
Its ok I have a few days left until I leave on vacation
so enough time to calibrate it (I hope lol). The problem is I don't see calibrate GYRO anywhere. I think I should upgrade to the latest version of firmware since they are offering a version for CLONES: "New! Firmware for clones (see instructions above): SimpleBGC_2_40b8.hex (80Kb 16.01.2015)"I hope it will help and not brick it
Also while I played around with it I figured out that if the movements that I make with the Phantom are fast the stabilization is ok if I move slowly the roll axis tends to remain in an ackward position... also if I move it above limits its freaks out and doesn't come back to a central spot even if I unplug its power and plug it back. Maybe I should remove the inputs from the Naza F1 F2 until I have it calibrated ?! There is also some double sided tape where the small pcb is mounted on the bottom of the camera holder. Not sure if that is 100% leveled out.
The cables are soft but you really need to make sure they are in the right position otherwise they can get tangled and the gimbal freaks out again
I had a really busy day at work and finished mounting the gimbal at 10-11 PM and its 2 AM here so I will go get some sleep.
I would like to thank you for you help and I will read further tomorrow and look on youtube maybe I find a way to calibrate this little crazy monkey of a gimbal.
A lot of values (PIDs for example) are 0 (zero) ? I long pressed the button once and it started blinking red (but it worked after a power cycle) I also tried 1 2 3 presses
L.E. I think a lot of values are not loaded or zero since I didn't hit Load Profile button ... guess I have to load a profile first !
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I've found that the gimbal firmware is newer and found the right application for it ! Everything is good now I see all values and options. Can perform any calibration that I need and I already saved my existing profile like J Dot advised me. Now I can freely experiment and tweak the settings. One important thing was to completely disconnect cables from naza F1 and F2 and did a handheld calibration of gyro acc and axes tilt. Thing are much better and I reconnected naza pins. Just have read the bgc manual and adjust all settings. Should I upgrade to the clone version available on bgc basecam site ? Its latest for 8bit boards and it's specially made for clone boards !
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On my current firmware the MOTORS ON/OFF function is not available you think I can try to calibrate with only the gimbal plugged in USB (Phantom turned off) ? the gimbal receives power but beeps at short intervals due to not sufficient power for the motors. If I can calibrate this way it would be nice since I can lock the gimbal in place then execute the ACC and GYRO calibration. I'm thinking about making a piece of foam/wood that I can balance using a spirit level so both axis are correct.
Will have to give a try and see ! so far the handheld calibration improved quite a lot the functionality of the gimbal. Haven't flow yet to test it due to rain and strong winds. I hope to test fly it in the weekend !
Will have to give a try and see ! so far the handheld calibration improved quite a lot the functionality of the gimbal. Haven't flow yet to test it due to rain and strong winds. I hope to test fly it in the weekend !
Great I will calibrate with no power to the motors then ! Can't wait to see the actual footage with the gimbal in action
Ok first flight quite disappointed from the default settings. I calibrated ACC and GYRO and didn't have P2 Naza connected just the power from egg camera. Here is video:
Quite excessive shaking and horizont stabilization was quite good not perfect. I did select the moments where it is very visibile !
Anyone any ideas where to start tweaking ? Do the motors have enough power ? Please take a look at the video sequence. (the wind was a little stronger than usual).
Quite excessive shaking and horizont stabilization was quite good not perfect. I did select the moments where it is very visibile !
Anyone any ideas where to start tweaking ? Do the motors have enough power ? Please take a look at the video sequence. (the wind was a little stronger than usual).
After talking with J Dot about my issues he recommended the following to begin with:
- new rubber mounts (original H3-3D)
- original props only
- balancing of props
I tried to put some ear plugs in the rubber mounts (black china ones that came with gimbal) and with stock 9443 and 9450 props the video was MUCH better.
In the near future I plan on buying a prop balancer and balance my props also to buy the original H3-3D rubber mounts (really cheap and worth the money !).
With some future tuning of the PIDs and motor power I'm pretty sure I will obtain what I want.
The rubber mounts are much more stiffer now ! and the aircraft is not vibrating anymore. The original chinese ones were so bad that the small vibrations from the weight of the gimbal was shacking the entire frame !
This is a quick temporary fix only. I'm pretty sure the original H3-3D ones will give even better video combined with balanced props !
P.S. I think I've lost around 2 minutes of flight time with this gimbal compared to P2V servo stock. I'm not 100% sure but its pretty close. Also using the wider and taller landing gear (China) its quite annoying and its so weak I'm afraid to hand land it since I might break a leg ... I need to somehow find some raisers for the old legs and still make it fit in my case
Also removing one antenna from the egg camera (the one covered by the motor) and mount it on the case of the pitch motor. Haven't tested my range yet but I'm pretty sure its suffering also :S
I remember someone saying save some bucks and buy P2V+ part and transform the P2V into a P2V+
- new rubber mounts (original H3-3D)
- original props only
- balancing of props
I tried to put some ear plugs in the rubber mounts (black china ones that came with gimbal) and with stock 9443 and 9450 props the video was MUCH better.
In the near future I plan on buying a prop balancer and balance my props also to buy the original H3-3D rubber mounts (really cheap and worth the money !).
With some future tuning of the PIDs and motor power I'm pretty sure I will obtain what I want.
The rubber mounts are much more stiffer now ! and the aircraft is not vibrating anymore. The original chinese ones were so bad that the small vibrations from the weight of the gimbal was shacking the entire frame !
This is a quick temporary fix only. I'm pretty sure the original H3-3D ones will give even better video combined with balanced props !
P.S. I think I've lost around 2 minutes of flight time with this gimbal compared to P2V servo stock. I'm not 100% sure but its pretty close. Also using the wider and taller landing gear (China) its quite annoying and its so weak I'm afraid to hand land it since I might break a leg ... I need to somehow find some raisers for the old legs and still make it fit in my case
Also removing one antenna from the egg camera (the one covered by the motor) and mount it on the case of the pitch motor. Haven't tested my range yet but I'm pretty sure its suffering also :S
I remember someone saying save some bucks and buy P2V+ part and transform the P2V into a P2V+
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I used the earplugs in the rubber trick, helped mine a lot, also I put cable ties through the rear rubbers and pulled them slightly tight to reduce movement on the rubbers
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Is there a real improvement after using cables ties on the back ones ? or you made it for safety ? I'm also considering ordering the H3-3D original rubbers and sticking them with ear plugs also...
I could run a small screw with some washers and a nut in each rubber mount so I can tighten them even further a bit and use some nail polish to lock the nut.
I suppose the cable ties do both, security and some extra stiffness, I started with them slightly tight and adjusted them until the gimbal shake was much improved
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