Rotorpixel gimbal for Phantom Vision

[streetcreep]

So after reading all that info . Does this mean the release of this is not anytime soon ? Sounds like a lot of stuff still needs to be done , acquired , assembled , and tested. Is this like a mid to end february release ?

I'm not sure that I follow - what info are you referring to? Everything is in place, and essentially ready to go, other than the frame parts which we're waiting for from the machine shop. As soon as we receive them, we'll be able to pump out at least 20-30 units a day, including testing individual units. We're aiming to ship out the first few units in early February, if all goes as planned.

How much additional weight will this add and what are some of the premlim flight times w/ this gimbal?

The final weight has not yet been determined - when we get the sample parts early this week, we'll have a much better idea. If I had to estimate, it would be around 120-140g (45g per motor, 40-50g for the frame, 20g for the controller+case+cables, then subtract the weight of the servo, and existing bottom mounting plate), but I could be off on those numbers.

Flight times with the prototype were between 14-19 minutes, but the design has changed quite a lot since that. I do expect similar numbers though - at least 15 minutes.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Keri

since your lost post post you mentioned that you were awaiting final production info , pieces of hardware , production of mass quantities of those , which would infer that once you have all that in place that you would then begin assembly of first pieces and testing of those . I just guessed at a date of "gold" release to folks who want the product .. Sounds like you may have that done in the next few days .. So the question is .. if order #1 came in , when does order #1 go out at this point . is it end Jan or mid Feb .. which means time to get to customer ? .. Folks just want to know when we can expect locals review of the product

 

[Bigvern]

Thanks for all the info.
If you start to do pre orders for these please put me down for one [email protected]
Thanks Glen.

 

[Scottrod]

Keri thanks for posting. I'm anxiously awaiting your gimbal. Please keep up the good work.

 

[AllanVB]

Any chance you can give us an update as to the timeframe for production?
Thanks

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all of the emails, and excellent feedback so far. I must apologize for the delay in response to some of your messages though - we've been overwhelmed with emails about this gimbal, but are slowly getting on top of things.

Here's a little more information about it:

• CNC machined aluminum parts from 7075-T6 aluminum ("aircraft grade"). Aluminum typically doesn't *snap* when crashed, unlike many plastics, or carbon fiber
• 3D printed Vision mounting bracket which is lightweight, strong, and doesn't interfere with wi-fi signal transmission
• The mounting bracket will either allow the DJI filter holder to be installed, or we will include a 46mm thread on the mounting bracket... in either case, you'll still be able to use filters!
• Protective case for the gimbal control board
• Tilt control maintained through the Vision App (or through X1 channel on the radio... trying to purchase a large quantity of them now...)
• Completely plug-and-play. Just connect the vibration damping balls together, and plug in 2 cables. No soldering or opening the Phantom necessary. You also need to go into the Assistant software and change the gimbal gain settings, since you don't want the standard gimbal correction signals (meant for the stock pitch servo) to be sent to the gimbal control board.
• Uses an official AlexMos gimbal control board (not an open source one with a hacked firmware which can't take upgrades...), and the latest Basecam GUI, which will allow a 3-axis upgrade eventually!
• Hero 2 or Hero 3 cameras can be used with appropriate mounting brackets, with a few minor adjustments.

Regarding the cost - we haven't settled on the price yet, but it should fall in the $300-400 range. The actual price will depend on several factors, including final machining costs, gimbal board prices, quantity of parts that we commit to manufacture, how long each will take to assemble, test, package, and ship, etc.

Regarding quality of components - we are not skimping on anything. High quality aluminum. High quality machining. Industrial quality 3D printers with ABS-Plus plastic (not desktop printers which have low repeatability). Custom cables designed specifically for this gimbal. We're trying to come out of the gates with as high-quality a gimbal as possible.

I asked them what if I want to swap to a go pro later on and a few other questions..

The vibration issue has been theoretically solved - the problem is a particular joint in the gimbal not being perfectly rigid, so it was acting like a spring...

Regarding the quote above - since responding to that email, we have decided to completely re-design our gimbal from the bottom up, specifically for the Vision camera, rather than just trying to adapt the Vision camera to our existing gimbals which weren't strong enough to handle the additional weight of the Vision camera. Now, our new design is MUCH stronger, and eliminates the vibration problems that we were having before.

Regarding the motor magnets being too close to the compass - this has not been a problem at all. It's actually somewhat far from the compass, so doesn't pose a problem for flight characteristics. Our tests confirm this.

We're anxiously awaiting the final production samples so that we can finally get these gimbals shipping!

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns about the design, since we're still able to make changes to the design now.

Thanks,

Keri

 

[JustJames]

Ha some one as eager as I. :lol:

+1

 

[LeoS]

@Rotorpixel: any introductory promotion of any sort for the first batch? you can even start a preorder list

 

[AllanVB]

Rotorpixel,

Why is it so hard to give your fans an update a couple time a week. I know you're busy, but we are the buyers. Let us know if you have something to sell.

Thanks
"A FAN"

 

[Pull_Up]

If you're working hard getting it down to nearer $300, don't listen to him - keep working!

 

[AllanVB]

If you're working hard getting it down to nearer $300, don't listen to him - keep working!

I guess this means if its more than $300.... don't communicate till you're done!

 

[wat17]

Why is it so hard to give your fans an update a couple time a week.

Let's just leave him to develop the gimble. A couple of updates a week is a bit excessive.

It will come. Give him time.

 

[arinvideo]

Why is it so hard to give your fans an update a couple time a week.

Let's just leave him to develop the gimble. A couple of updates a week is a bit excessive.

It will come. Give him time.

What he said

 

[rfernandez]

id'd definitely e interested when they come out.

 

[Rotorpixel]

Why is it so hard to give your fans an update a couple time a week. I know you're busy, but we are the buyers. Let us know if you have something to sell.

Unfortunately, I don't really have any further updates worth mentioning yet - except for the updated render (attached) which shows that the Vision camera mount allows the DJI filter holder to be installed.

As I explained a couple of days ago, we're expecting production samples to be arriving any day now (we were told early this week). The parts were apparently finished yesterday just past the shipping deadline, so they're shipping out today (Thursday) to arrive tomorrow. Once we have the samples, we'll assemble them (only 2 gimbals-worth), put them in the air, and then will update everyone on the status. If all goes well, then we'll have around 100 sets of parts by Feb 10.

It's not hard to share updates, but please understand that we are a small, relatively new company, and have been completely overwhelmed literally with hundreds of requests for these gimbals already - we're doing our best!

@Rotorpixel: any introductory promotion of any sort for the first batch? you can even start a preorder list

Once we know that our design is working perfectly, we may start taking pre-orders, but that is a slippery slope. Just look at the other people making these gimbals... they've taken plenty of money, but haven't delivered anything on time yet. We like selling our products, but only when we have something to ship out immediately.... however, we're being somewhat bombarded with pre-order requests, so we may give in to the demand. We'll have more information on this very soon. Stay tuned!

Keri

 

[Shrimpfarmer]

As always its great to see you speaking to your potential customers directly like this. It is much appreciated. I for one don't expect you to constantly be feeding us updates and I understand that providing feedback often leads to unreasonable requests for more and more information. Good luck with your testing and by all means give us an update when you can but don't let that slow the delivery of the product.

 

[Pull_Up]

Yep, thanks indeed. Noted that you've gone for the "upside down" camera holder to clear the mounting holes for the lens filter - that's a nice touch.

Are you watching the "other gimbal" as closely as we are for how they have activated the 7th channel to control tilt as well as the app?

 

[Bunyarra]

Once we know that our design is working perfectly, we may start taking pre-orders, but that is a slippery slope. Just look at the other people making these gimbals... they've taken plenty of money, but haven't delivered anything on time yet. We like selling our products, but only when we have something to ship out immediately.... however, we're being somewhat bombarded with pre-order requests, so we may give in to the demand. We'll have more information on this very soon. Stay tuned!

Keri

Keri,

Thank you for the time to do such posts. For one, I'd far prefer you to concentrate on getting the product ready than posting umpteen updates for no real purpose. I'm sure you'll only be too excited to share stuff when there really is new material.

And can only endorse your sentiment on pre-orders. Those asking for it are the very first to criticise should the ETA be ever so slightly missed - usually due to factors well outside direct control. Sometimes patience seems the attribute in least abundance these days

 

[jg technology]

Ahh - I see the estimate of the price there. Is that in EUR or USD? I'm in AUD and trying to think again of the conversion.

 

[Pull_Up]

They are aiming for between 300 and 400 US...

Hopefully nearer 300!

 

[FPV col]

They are aiming for between 300 and 400 US...

Hopefully nearer 300!

+vat and custom's handling charge into uk :shock:

 

[Pull_Up]

Yeah, I've calculated that as part of the total true cost to me, landed in the UK. With the £to$ rate at the moment, and assuming I get stung for everything HMRC can get, then it should still arrive at about the £300 mark, delivered.

The dronexpert gimbal is coming in at around the £450 mark, delivered.

Of course, if only there were some trustworthy and friendly people I could somehow find in the US who could buy it, find that they didn't really like it, then send it to me as low-value, used gift the day after I coincidentally sent them some US currency in appreciation of how much I like their use of the word "drone"...