Powering the Martinez Control Board

[UAVP]

Hi there,

I have ordered a V3 Martinez controller for a gimbal however I am not sure what the options are in terms of getting power to it.

1. Can it run off the stock battery?
- If so what kind of connection is needed?
- Would it have a dramatic effect on the flight time (as opposed to a separate battery with the added weight)?
- Is this recommended?

2. If it needs its own battery, what is the best type and what connection is required?

Thanks,

P

 

[Gizmo3000]

Hi there,

I have ordered a V3 Martinez controller for a gimbal however I am not sure what the options are in terms of getting power to it.

1. Can it run off the stock battery?
- If so what kind of connection is needed?
- Would it have a dramatic effect on the flight time (as opposed to a separate battery with the added weight)?
- Is this recommended?

2. If it needs its own battery, what is the best type and what connection is required?

Thanks,

P

You can power it off the Phantom aux power cord. or from the balance plug off your lipo
using any connection you want. (JST is a good one)
the battery power it uses is minimal
flight time will be reduced (to 6-7 minutes give or take) merely for the fact that the gimbal will add 150-200g of weight

it does not need it's own battery.
adding an additional battery will merely add more weight, causing flight times to decrease even more!

 

[Racklefratz]

flight time will be reduced (to 6-7 minutes give or take) merely for the fact that the gimbal will add 150-200g of weight

Wow. If that's the case, I'd be seriously rethinking it. Loading the Phantom up with camera equipment implies some kind of intent to get some pictures, and 6-7 minutes sure doesn't give much "loiter time" for the shoot.

 

[UAVP]

flight time will be reduced (to 6-7 minutes give or take) merely for the fact that the gimbal will add 150-200g of weight

Wow. If that's the case, I'd be seriously rethinking it. Loading the Phantom up with camera equipment implies some kind of intent to get some pictures, and 6-7 minutes sure doesn't give much "loiter time" for the shoot.

What are the alternatives?

 

[Racklefratz]

What are the alternatives?

In my mind, the alternatives would be as follows:

1) Just use the Phantom with a GoPro, as it was designed, with the attachment provided, for the optimal compromise between flying time and video quality
2) Get a more capable platform to heft the load and get more flying time to accomplish the task
3) Load down the Phantom with all the proposed equipment and try your best to get anything done in 6-7 minutes

I just wouldn't personally want to bother with it if I had to take all the time and trouble to get out to a place to fly, only to be up for such a short flight. I find the usual 10 mins or so "normal" flight time minimally acceptable.

 

[Gizmo3000]

Back in the days of film, you'd get perhaps 5 minutes for a roll of Super8, (and 24-36 exposures on a Instamatic)

It's no doubt a compromise, but I'd take 5 minutes of sumer stabilized and useful footage over 10 minutes of un stabilized and barely useable footage any day. Just takes careful planning and flying.. and a few more extra batteries.

 

[Gizmo3000]

Back in the days of film, you'd get perhaps 5 minutes for a roll of Super8, (and 24-36 exposures on a Instamatic)

It's no doubt a compromise, but I'd take 5 minutes of sumer stabilized and useful footage over 10 minutes of un stabilized and barely useable footage any day. Just takes careful planning and flying.. and a few more extra batteries.

5 minutes is a rather long time when you actually sit down and watch it.

 

[Racklefratz]

Back in the days of film, you'd get perhaps 5 minutes for a roll of Super8, (and 24-36 exposures on a Instamatic)

Yes, I was there. We paid through the nose to get that garbage developed, a long time before the digital revolution. But those were the bad old days in photo/video.

It's no doubt a compromise, but I'd take 5 minutes of sumer stabilized and useful footage over 10 minutes of un stabilized and barely useable footage any day.

It's personal preference. IMO, if I'm loading a platform down so much that flight time is that short, I'm looking for something more substantial. It's a compromise I won't make. YMMV

 

[Gizmo3000]

It's personal preference. IMO, if I'm loading a platform down so much that flight time is that short, I'm looking for something more substantial. It's a compromise I won't make. YMMV

Well, guess it's a bit like the "glass half empty vs glass half full" kind of things.

It's too bad they don't make gimbals and such easily interchangeable so that users have quite options on what to fly with.
(and a shame they don't make the Phantom battery case larger like they'll be doing for the Phantom Vision)

 

[Racklefratz]

Well, guess it's a bit like the "glass half empty vs glass half full" kind of things.

I suppose you're right. But how much is too much? There's a limit to how much "stuff" that can be hung on to an airframe and still have a flying machine.

As a licensed pilot and (former) aircraft owner, gross weight issues get my attention quickly. With specs that limit the Phantom's payload to 400 grams, a gimbal here, a camera there, a transmitter here, an oversize battery there, etc, etc, and it doesn't take long to get to max gross, with its concomitant performance issues. That goes to my earlier comment about a bigger platform.

I'm only getting started, but I think this aerial videography thing could become addictive. And I've needed fresh material to use for video production a long time. It will be interesting to work through this stuff.

 

[martcerv]

What are the alternatives?

In my mind, the alternatives would be as follows:

1) Just use the Phantom with a GoPro, as it was designed, with the attachment provided, for the optimal compromise between flying time and video quality
2) Get a more capable platform to heft the load and get more flying time to accomplish the task
3) Load down the Phantom with all the proposed equipment and try your best to get anything done in 6-7 minutes

I just wouldn't personally want to bother with it if I had to take all the time and trouble to get out to a place to fly, only to be up for such a short flight. I find the usual 10 mins or so "normal" flight time minimally acceptable.

I would probably just buy a bunch of spare batteries and do multiple flights, batteries arent that expensive and if you pay for all the rest of the setup I dont see why you would go anywhere with just one battery. Even without all the extra gear If I wanted to shoot video with the phantom somewhere that was a bit more of a trip then stepping out the front door, a single 10 minute flight seems bit silly to me. If you want to shoot decent video anything that helps improve this quality is a good thing if its reasonably possible with the phantom and so making that same trip with one battery only to come home and realise your footage is complete crap is just as big a waste of time I think. If you have invested in a gopro and phantom would you not want to get the most out of both? More batteries means more flight time all up so your skills also improve quicker but maybe my thinking is wrong?

 

[Racklefratz]

I dont see why you would go anywhere with just one battery.

I don't do that. At present, I take 3 batteries with me every time I fly. I'll probably buy more, now that I have a charger that can charge 4 at once.

More batteries means more flight time all up so your skills also improve quicker but maybe my thinking is wrong?

There's no right or wrong here. I was simply stating my opinion that the flight time of an unloaded Phantom is marginal at best, IMO, and anything that significantly reduces it is unacceptable to me. Others can/will feel differently.

 

[antonioteixeira]

Hi Guys
I new to this. Anyone have a diagram about how to connect the board to a Phantom?
My Gimbal have a big black cable (connected to a 3 points on board - GND, 5V and a 2nd left/down pin little chip) and I dont know where I connect it on Phantom. And about the power - where I found the extra power cable on Phantom?

Regards

 

[windcharger]

Hi Guys
I new to this. Anyone have a diagram about how to connect the board to a Phantom?
My Gimbal have a big black cable (connected to a 3 points on board - GND, 5V and a 2nd left/down pin little chip) and I dont know where I connect it on Phantom. And about the power - where I found the extra power cable on Phantom?

Regards

you can check how I worked the Martinez board here
http://www.phantompilots.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=822