butt ugly camera protection

:) Thanks sidebox. It will be interesting to see your design. GOT !! to be better than mine. LOL
I kind of figured if I threw this out there, we would get a collective discussion and come up with something better.
Now.... will it fly :) :? :p
 
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reginarh said:
Now.... will it fly :) :? :p

That's the conundrum... All this stuff people are doing to prevent damage in a crash ... makes your phantom more likely to crash... and then if the crash is a hard one... The protection doesn't really help.

I dunno guys... it's like Darrell Waltrip says about NASCAR racing... "not enough safety equipment causes injuries... too much safety equipment causes crashes"

Many don't realize how little control they actually have over their drone when flying in GPS mode... it is being "flown" by firmware... we merely issue requests to the drone firmware to go this way and that way and how fast... and the firmware interprets and applies those requests in real time while it "flies" your quad for you... and that firmware version is tuned to the crafts weight and aero characteristics. When you throw off those parameters... The firmware doesn't know what to do with certain situations... for example ... All the enhanced VRS crashes with prop guards on... you issue the request for your phantom to reduce altitude... so it flies that pre - tuned pattern to descend... but then a wobble starts... and there is extra weight out on the arms.. and the firmware doesn't know what the hell to do with that extra weight so the wobble gets worse or even fatal when normally it would smooth itself out.

I'm just rambling on but ... "when will your big camera guards affect the firmware negatively and cause an irreconcilable glitch in the flight control... hope its not 100ft up in the air :?
 
reginarh said:
After replacing the camera/gimbal @ a cost of $679.00 + shipping, I figured I had to figure out a way to give it more protection and still not add more wind resistance. In this case I used cable lacing cord and duct table. :roll: (red neck engineering)
To start with I bought a bottom camera guard from "fastsmiles". It's carbon fiber and very strong. Its adds rigidy to the phantoms legs and protects the camera from the bottom. The back of the gimbal is protected by my LED high intensity lamp (with it on I always know the orientation of my bird. Just rotate until I see the light).
The right side is a hinged door (to get to the gimbal lock, and SD card) it is tied shut before flight.
As you can see, the lacing cord is run back and forth and locked into place with the duck tape.
Will all this work ?? Time will tell, but at least it's something.
From my experience with the gimbal, not too much will help if you have a hard landing, especially, with the bird upside down. The 2nd (Y axis) gimbal motor takes the full inertial weight of the camera and tilt gimbal. The shaft from the 2nd gimbal is only press fit into the mating part. At impact it can and does break free. First sign of damage is camera tilt. If the damage is not too bad, there are threads on this site, on how to repair it.

Now that I have picked myself up off the floor after almost coughing up a lung with laughter, I gotta tell you that is the worst modification I've ever seen done to anything!
have you thought about staying away from trees in order to prevent colliding with them? What's with the police-chopper-like light strapped on the back of it?
 
DBS said:
reginarh said:
Now.... will it fly :) :? :p

That's the conundrum... All this stuff people are doing to prevent damage in a crash ... makes your phantom more likely to crash... and then if the crash is a hard one... The protection doesn't really help.

I dunno guys... it's like Darrell Waltrip says about NASCAR racing... "not enough safety equipment causes injuries... too much safety equipment causes crashes"

Many don't realize how little control they actually have over their drone when flying in GPS mode... it is being "flown" by firmware... we merely issue requests to the drone firmware to go this way and that way and how fast... and the firmware interprets and applies those requests in real time while it "flies" your quad for you... and that firmware version is tuned to the crafts weight and aero characteristics. When you throw off those parameters... The firmware doesn't know what to do with certain situations... for example ... All the enhanced VRS crashes with prop guards on... you issue the request for your phantom to reduce altitude... so it flies that pre - tuned pattern to descend... but then a wobble starts... and there is extra weight out on the arms.. and the firmware doesn't know what the hell to do with that extra weight so the wobble gets worse or even fatal when normally it would smooth itself out.

I'm just rambling on but ... "when will your big camera guards affect the firmware negatively and cause an irreconcilable glitch in the flight control... hope its not 100ft up in the air :?

100++
 
DBS said:
reginarh said:
Now.... will it fly :) :? :p

That's the conundrum... All this stuff people are doing to prevent damage in a crash ... makes your phantom more likely to crash... and then if the crash is a hard one... The protection doesn't really help.

I dunno guys... it's like Darrell Waltrip says about NASCAR racing... "not enough safety equipment causes injuries... too much safety equipment causes crashes"

Many don't realize how little control they actually have over their drone when flying in GPS mode... it is being "flown" by firmware... we merely issue requests to the drone firmware to go this way and that way and how fast... and the firmware interprets and applies those requests in real time while it "flies" your quad for you... and that firmware version is tuned to the crafts weight and aero characteristics. When you throw off those parameters... The firmware doesn't know what to do with certain situations... for example ... All the enhanced VRS crashes with prop guards on... you issue the request for your phantom to reduce altitude... so it flies that pre - tuned pattern to descend... but then a wobble starts... and there is extra weight out on the arms.. and the firmware doesn't know what the hell to do with that extra weight so the wobble gets worse or even fatal when normally it would smooth itself out.

I'm just rambling on but ... "when will your big camera guards affect the firmware negatively and cause an irreconcilable glitch in the flight control... hope its not 100ft up in the air :?


Except that MANY phantom owners have used and continue to use fastsmiles camera guard without incident. I am not speaking for the cardboard and yarn contraption.
 
'cats cradle' world champion 2014 REGINARH !!! YAAAAAaaaaaaaay, the crowd went wild... :mrgreen:
 
Phantom_Menace66 *****

You are right.!!! Worst mod ever done.. Will it protect the bird. time will tell. Accidents do happen, even to the best pilots.
Loss of control, unexpected wind, etc, etc AND yes I do stay away from trees.
If you read my full post, you would see that the rear light (hi intensity LED, which can be seen in full sun light) is used for orientation and location. Just rotate (yaw) the bird until the light is visible. Then right hand stick, left, right, forward & back, is orientated to the phantom. There are times when the phantom is 300 ' up and 500' away it's hard to see. The LED light helps.
 
reginarh said:
After replacing the camera/gimbal @ a cost of $679.00 + shipping, I figured I had to figure out a way to give it more protection and still not add more wind resistance. In this case I used cable lacing cord and duct table. :roll: (red neck engineering)
To start with I bought a bottom camera guard from "fastsmiles". It's carbon fiber and very strong. Its adds rigidy to the phantoms legs and protects the camera from the bottom. The back of the gimbal is protected by my LED high intensity lamp (with it on I always know the orientation of my bird. Just rotate until I see the light).
The right side is a hinged door (to get to the gimbal lock, and SD card) it is tied shut before flight.
As you can see, the lacing cord is run back and forth and locked into place with the duck tape.
Will all this work ?? Time will tell, but at least it's something.
From my experience with the gimbal, not too much will help if you have a hard landing, especially, with the bird upside down. The 2nd (Y axis) gimbal motor takes the full inertial weight of the camera and tilt gimbal. The shaft from the 2nd gimbal is only press fit into the mating part. At impact it can and does break free. First sign of damage is camera tilt. If the damage is not too bad, there are threads on this site, on how to repair it.

That is some brutal handiwork. I wouldn't fly my bird with that crap on it. :shock:
 
a ballistic parachute like some aircraft have fitted would a nice option, something with enough area for around 1m per sec decent, and airbags on the skids like some heli's have for floatation on water in emergencies, they would act as airbags for the landing.
 
NYG ****

IT FLY'S JUST FINE. !!! A ND PROTECTED.
Why don't you come up with a better idea, and build it. Let's see what you can do.
I agree it is "ugly" better that than another $679.00. Accidents happen even to the best pilots.
 
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locoworks said:
a ballistic parachute like some aircraft have fitted would a nice option, something with enough area for around 1m per sec decent, and airbags on the skids like some heli's have for floatation on water in emergencies, they would act as airbags for the landing.


and whilst searching info on the tali h500 i come accross 'drop safe' from DJI for the 800, just an airbag to go then?!!
 
reginarh said:
NYG ****

IT FLY'S JUST FINE. !!! A ND PROTECTED.
Why don't you come up with a better idea, and build it. Let's see what you can do.
I agree it is "ugly" better that than another $679.00. Accidents happen even to the best pilots.

I would never let my quad leave the house wearing that thing. You turned a beautiful piece of technology into a flying crack whore. :lol:
 
sidebox said:
Here is the quick and dirty job. This is designed to fit inside the actual landing gear. The 4 holes at the sides are big enough for sizable zip ties. The notches at either side match up with the the small support brace inside the crease of the landing gear. I will try it out later today. I suspect I may need to beef up the cross-bracing, but we'll see.



Sidecar,
I would contribute $ to try your bottom protector as well as the sides, I'm not found of carbon fiber in flying aircraft (due to possible frequency interference)
FRED
[email protected]
 
Alright, folks: https://www.etsy.com/listing/197995974/ ... m-2-vision?

il_570xN.633286545_ljb6.jpg


il_570xN.633178202_8mf0.jpg


il_570xN.633286499_6ctq.jpg


I setup the side guard job files today, but I haven't had a chance to run the job as my laser was booked all day. I'll have them tomorrow and will test them before listing them for sale (can't sell something I haven't tested in flight!). I'll take photos and post a link to a new post, then they should be available for purchase in a couple days. I will also send to those I promised already by Wednesday. Thanks for your support, Turbo.
 
NYG ********

I'm sure this site was set up for the exchange of information, to help other phantom Pilots help each other. Your comment is your opinion. OK... I do think it was uncalled for, and In the spirit of this site I will not use this site to answer it.

Sidebox ***** Looks like you do nice work. I will be more than happy to trade in my "ugly" camera protection for your side protection panels, if the wind resistance is low. Look forward to seeing them. thanks
Reginarh
 
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sidebox said:
Acrylic costs me $4 for a 24 x 12 sheet. I can get 16 "camera guards" out of a single sheet. This makes my cost per camera guard $.25. This laser job will take 2 minutes per guard. This means that you are being charged about $17.50 PER MINUTE of laser work. There is nothing wrong with this. Laser work can cost a lot. The method the person who makes these is using may be different and he may have different overhead expenses. That's not for me to judge. I think camera protection can be done for way cheaper. I wouldn't charge more than $15 for this piece with my material and methodology.

LOL, have to give you a hard time Sidebox. You were saying $35.00 shipped was way to much to pay for a carbon fiber part.

Your checkout. Guess you changed your mind :)
 

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rrmccabe said:
sidebox said:
Acrylic costs me $4 for a 24 x 12 sheet. I can get 16 "camera guards" out of a single sheet. This makes my cost per camera guard $.25. This laser job will take 2 minutes per guard. This means that you are being charged about $17.50 PER MINUTE of laser work. There is nothing wrong with this. Laser work can cost a lot. The method the person who makes these is using may be different and he may have different overhead expenses. That's not for me to judge. I think camera protection can be done for way cheaper. I wouldn't charge more than $15 for this piece with my material and methodology.

LOL, have to give you a hard time Sidebox. You were saying $35.00 shipped was way to much to pay for a carbon fiber part.

Your checkout. Guess you changed your mind :)

The guard is $21.95. If you invent a cheaper method than USPS small flat rate, I'll give you a big prize.

My overall price did end up being more than the $15 I was shooting for, so you have me there, for sure. Unfortunately, these things take time to do precisely, and I had to use a stronger material than the cheaper extruded acrylic (I used cast). I allowed that fastsmiles methodology might be different, and could easily account for his pricing structure. I do appreciate the call out, as you are correct. My initial thoughts were not fully fleshed out.
 
Yea just giving you crap.

I have a small product that I ship USPS too. There is a cost you have to build in for shipping as well as messing around with it packaging it up.

Nothing wrong with your price, nor his.
 
rrmccabe said:
Yea just giving you crap.

I have a small product that I ship USPS too. There is a cost you have to build in for shipping as well as messing around with it packaging it up.

Nothing wrong with your price, nor his.

I definitely appreciate the ribbing. We all need to be held accountable. I hear that USPS Flat Rate is going up soon too...
 

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