M.A.R.S lite parachute kit

[Jbundy63]

As far as I can tell there are 4 mechanisms to choose from. Tilt switches, G sensors, Voltage sensors, and manual operated.

I don't know which type each of these guys have without re-reading the boards but some are DIY, some are X4 hubsan, and then MARS. It would be nice to make a list of these mods in 1 post with pics all lined up for comparison.

Here's mine. It's a Mars Mini V-2 parachute with Mayday system and I'm using 2 Lipo batteries wired in series for a total of 7.4 volts and 680 mah rating, My batteries are a little heavier than Keith's by maybe 12 grams or so.

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[0DRK3RT]

Thanks for the info. I must confess, If I had an Inspire 1 V2.0 (instead of my lowly P3A) I would definitely buy this thing and pray to God it worked.

Crashing a $3100+ aircraft is something i can't comprehend. What a nightmare

 

[Jbundy63]

Thanks for the info. I must confess, If I had an Inspire 1 V2.0 (instead of my lowly P3A) I would definitely buy this thing and pray to God it worked.

Crashing a $3100+ aircraft is something i can't comprehend. What a nightmare

Agreed, it's definitely not a guarantee but if it works then I will be thankful, if not you can't say we didn't try. Like a lot of people here, safety is important so I think this is worth the effort, I agree on the cost of something's like this and being expensive but I do have quite a bit already invested such as 6 batteries which are $149 or so a pop, makes the $300 or so worth it if something happens and it works. I hate to hear of anyone losing there Phantom, weather it's a
P2, P3 Standard, Advanced or Pro. So I hope this helps some people and if anything knowing the options they have if they are.

Safe flying

 

[Keith Lampman]

Mayday IMU ready for flight

Now 100% complete with 300mah 2s/switch

 

[J.James]

Serious question, so don't get defensive on me . How does this thing work? Is there some sort of accelerometer that differentiates abnormal altitude drop, which triggers deployment of the chute?

If you are asking how that mayday board thingy works.

Yes its got some sort of IMU to detect acceleration as well as knowing up from down and forward and backward so it can detect stuff like if the bird is flipping over in some sort of crash situation or sudden drop from the sky.. Its also some how supported to learn what is or is not normal for some ones quad to help keep it from deploying when you don't want it to. like if some one had it on a quad that can do stunts like barrel rolls and stuff like that. Which would set off a system that just detected tilt angle and nothing else. Which would really suck for any one that has a stunt flying drone if a chute went off every time some one fly a loop or made and aggressive turn.

 

[Keith Lampman]

If you are asking how that mayday board thingy works.

Yes its got some sort of IMU to detect acceleration as well as knowing up from down and forward and backward so it can detect stuff like if the bird is flipping over in some sort of crash situation or sudden drop from the sky.. Its also some how supported to learn what is or is not normal for some ones quad to help keep it from deploying when you don't want it to. like if some one had it on a quad that can do stunts like barrel rolls and stuff like that. Which would set off a system that just detected tilt angle and nothing else. Which would really suck for any one that has a stunt flying drone if a chute went off every time some one fly a loop or made and aggressive turn.

Thats why it has an on/off switch, I don't think anyone would want to do stunt's with a Phantom 3, but than, the more I read this forum I guess there might be some........LOL

 

[J.James]

I seen some one ask a few posts back about what would happen if you had an accidantal chute deployment while in flight.

I Guess its all going to depend on what kind of system some one has.. Id picture if its one that the chute shoots or drops down below the craft when its deployed you would just end up having to fly back to the take off point and land with dangling chute below. Tho if its one that launches up towards the props and it stops the props or tangles then Id picture it crashing and some one crossing there fingers and hoping the chute opens and still saves the craft or atleast keeps it from getting totally smashed from hitting the ground at full speed.

On other thing that occurred to me that also needs testing is how much force is exerted when a chute deploys and then a sudden jerk on the sting and point on the craft were the chute connects to it. It seems of the jerk is to violent it could very well just be its self cause the camera and gimbal to fall off a p3 even if them cheesy plastic anti drop pins are in place. I know that rocket and air plan people have that issue and why there is usually some bungy cord at the attachment point so its got some give and can stretch at the point the chute cord gets yanked from the chute opening and catching air.

 

[Jbundy63]

Mayday IMU ready for flight
View attachment 42398
View attachment 42399
Now 100% complete with 300mah 2s/switch

Nice flow chart so some may have a better idea on the setting/ indicator responses from the Mayday [emoji106]

Now that we've got this all wrapped up, go fly the hell out of it. I did at a lot of aggressive flying yesterday, not my normal flying and all went well. Just pray I will never need it and if I do, hopefully it will do me proud [emoji4]

 

[Jbundy63]

I seen some one ask a few posts back about what would happen if you had an accidantal chute deployment while in flight.

I Guess its all going to depend on what kind of system some one has.. Id picture if its one that the chute shoots or drops down below the craft when its deployed you would just end up having to fly back to the take off point and land with dangling chute below. Tho if its one that launches up towards the props and it stops the props or tangles then Id picture it crashing and some one crossing there fingers and hoping the chute opens and still saves the craft or atleast keeps it from getting totally smashed from hitting the ground at full speed.

On other thing that occurred to me that also needs testing is how much force is exerted when a chute deploys and then a sudden jerk on the sting and point on the craft were the chute connects to it. It seems of the jerk is to violent it could very well just be its self cause the camera and gimbal to fall off a p3 even if them cheesy plastic anti drop pins are in place. I know that rocket and air plan people have that issue and why there is usually some bungy cord at the attachment point so its got some give and can stretch at the point the chute cord gets yanked from the chute opening and catching air.

Had been a big thought about the chute deploying while flying because of a malfunction since I started messing with this but now that I have flowed this in a really aggressive way ( sharp turns, stop, go, ascending and descending) that I do not normally fly. Once I was comfortable with that than low voltage was my only issue. Me and Keith wanted to be able to fly off and on for a full day or even two without worrying about low battery voltage. Below 3vdc the servo would just move to the open position, with the 2S Lipo that will not be an issue.

As far as the chute deploying and the chute system you have ( falls lose or shoots out the bottom) if for some reason it did deploy is a question to be answered and hopefully won't be an issue. Flight time and personal testing will tell the story. I definitely know it deploys as designed with a sharp drop and at very few feet and also with a quick turning/ tumbling motion.

On the gimbal camera as far as the jerk affect is just another aspect, I zip tie two of my gimbal holders without drop pins to help the shock transition. The way the chutes are mounted I don't have a concern It seems to be mounted at a very sturdy point on the craft.

 

[Ian Welsh]

Can anyone say if this device having deployed can be reset or is it a one time only use?

 

[Jbundy63]

Can anyone say if this device having deployed can be reset or is it a one time only use?

Yes it can be reset and the chute is reusable as well.

 

[J.James]

On the gimbal camera as far as the jerk affect is just another aspect, I zip tie two of my gimbal holders without drop pins to help the shock transition. The way the chutes are mounted I don't have a concern It seems to be mounted at a very sturdy point on the craft.

thats how I do it on my p2s only with a tiny loop of string and the knot pulled down in to the inside of the rubber balls to hide the knotted end just for extra pcs of mind so the cam dont go flying in a crash.

But I would think it would be extra important to take the tiny step of adding 2 zip ties or the sting thing to the cameras mounts if using a chute.

 

[J.James]

Can anyone say if this device having deployed can be reset or is it a one time only use?

can be used over and over.

 

[Keith Lampman]

On bottom of this web page it will fully explain what the Mayday can and can not do
This unit, unlike most others, doesn't use a "tilt" switch or a "rolling ball" to deploy a chute, this is a computer IMU and can be firmware updated
Mayday Parachute | North UAV

 

[J.James]

I was going to post this in another thread that was going that was more about chutes in general and not in this thread with is the mars lite thread. But we were talking about it here so I figured it should be ok. But now that I finely got that DIY 3d printed tube launcher thing redesigned to be printed in PLA with out having to be as big and blocky like it was so it could be printed in abs and be strong enough.

But here are the new parts which now for the 3 parts that need to be printed instead of being 29.1 grams for just them parts. They now weigh in at just 12.2gr and good amount of space to being that the tube part thats used is 2 inches wide so every inch length in the tube part is about 3.14 cubic inchs of space. and a full tube with the spring and stuff in the bottom still has about a 3.5 inch tall area for the chute to go. which works out to about 10.99 cubic inches of space if using the full tube or if less space is needed it can be made shorted and also would cut down more weight on the tube which is about 20 grams on a full tube with the threaded screw top cut off of it.

DIY Multirotor Parachute System redesign by smutboy420





and here is a link to the original design by AvengerRc DIY Multirotor Parachute System by AverageguyRC

 

[Keith Lampman]

WOW ! Thanks for posting here, don't worry I don't "flame" anyone, (that doesn't start on me first.....lol) What do you have the costs down to ? Of course I have a million questions, I think in would be nice to share this with everyone here, most are on this thread for "parachute" infor anyway and I like learning new stuff on UAV recovery. What about the spring ? I see that one can be made on a jig.

 

[Keith Lampman]

Old School built around 7 years ago, one of my electronics "tester", for G force and altimeter stuff, I'd like a "Mars" type, spring loaded launcher on this craft. This has an early DJI flight controller, no GPS

 

[J.James]

Keith I still need to find some thing better for a spring then what I had on hand to use for making one yesterday. I used some kanthinal wire to try and see if that would make a good light weight spring but not as good as I had hoped it would be Id like it a bit stiffer then it is and going to try and pic up some music wire and see how that works and if it weights less then the 16gram home made spring I tried.

If not then I'm going to go back to the drawing board and see how well the idea of using some thing like rubber bands instead of a spring works.

 

[ScopeTech]

Just curious, how are you thinking of actually deploying it?

 

[J.James]

With a mayday board to move the servo that holds the lid closed.