Settings advice: Mounting Fatshark Camera to Arris Gimbal

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Aloha everyone. Please be gentle with me as I ask this newbie question. Hehe. :lol:

Now that I have my Fatshark + Arris CM2000 Gimbal. My goal was to have the Fatshark as a video montior/FPV so that I can frame my shots better instead of guessing the shots. My wonderful brain thought it was a good idea to slap a velcro on top of the gopro camera and have the CMOS camera directly on top of the gopro! That way, I can have the most accurate shot frame possible since the CMOS too was on the gimbal. I actually have juuuust enough clearance while its mounted and it doesn't interfere with pitch at all, however...

Once the Arris is powered on and the CMOS is "mounted" to the gopro, it does this weird bouncing/oscillations thing on the ROLL axis; just bounces down-up, down-up, down-up, until of course I take it off....and its perfect again!!

I checked all wire clearances and theres nothing tugging the CMOS at all. And the CMOS seems light as a feather (seems is the keyword). Its hard to believe something that light could affect the roll stabilization.

Since I am new to "tweaking" the Arris software settings, I only know the basics. Mabye anyone with experience with the Arris software (or similar) can give me a few settings tips or pointers? I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks!
 
Re: Settings advice: Mounting Fatshark Camera to Arris Gimba

My DJI Phantom, Arris Gimbal, GoPro 3 and Fatshark arrive today via FedEx. Can't wait for the doorbell. Give me a few days and I may be able to help. In the meantime, I'll be watching for other replies to your post.
 
Re: Settings advice: Mounting Fatshark Camera to Arris Gimba

That might not be such a great idea bearing in mind the additional strain you'll be putting on the gimbal motors. At a minimum, I'd think you'd need to balance the setup with some counterweights somewhere so that the gimbal is neutrally balanced.

I've got a dedicated FPV camera on the front of my Phantom, I feed the video from that, and the Gopro footage to a video switch (controlled by a spare channel on my Receiver), so that I can flip between the fpv camera, and the gopro at the flick of a switch on my transmitter.
 
Re: Settings advice: Mounting Fatshark Camera to Arris Gimba

I'm sure somewhere in the Arris thread it has been posted that the oscillations you experienced is directly due to camera balance. Even before powering up your gimbal, the balance on both axis has to be checked and adjusted if needed.

Most hard mount an FPV camera, personally if you really plan only to do AP work it isn't needed. Every gram you add shortens your flight time, so the key is to reduce any and all weight you can.

The Phantom is a great learning platform, keep that in mind when making upgrades. If you decide you need more after, then getting a bigger multirotor should be the next step.
 
Re: Settings advice: Mounting Fatshark Camera to Arris Gimba

bradders said:
That might not be such a great idea bearing in mind the additional strain you'll be putting on the gimbal motors. At a minimum, I'd think you'd need to balance the setup with some counterweights somewhere so that the gimbal is neutrally balanced.

I've got a dedicated FPV camera on the front of my Phantom, I feed the video from that, and the Gopro footage to a video switch (controlled by a spare channel on my Receiver), so that I can flip between the fpv camera, and the gopro at the flick of a switch on my transmitter.


You got a great setup there. And you definitely got a point about the additional strain. I was just "daydreaming" and seeing if I can get that perfect shot and utilize the gimbal. I'm also assuming that the CM2000 was specifically designed for the Hero3 weight in mind and nothing extra, hence the bounce. I'm not surprised to be honest, just thought I'd ask.
 
Re: Settings advice: Mounting Fatshark Camera to Arris Gimba

bradders said:
That might not be such a great idea bearing in mind the additional strain you'll be putting on the gimbal motors. At a minimum, I'd think you'd need to balance the setup with some counterweights somewhere so that the gimbal is neutrally balanced.

I've got a dedicated FPV camera on the front of my Phantom, I feed the video from that, and the Gopro footage to a video switch (controlled by a spare channel on my Receiver), so that I can flip between the fpv camera, and the gopro at the flick of a switch on my transmitter.

What kinda radio are you using with such a spare channel? Also, what are the benefits of having an FPV camera as well as a gopro. I just have a gopro and use that for fpv, is this terrible? (well of course I have the fpv stuff too)
 

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