Where can I get 4v-9v out of the Phantom?

[adam12hicks]

On my NAZA v2 there are some unused pins. I have the Turnigy Be Found RC locator / adjustable beeper used in RC planes. The idea is for it to go inline with a servo and it will start beeping when radio control is lost. I don't know if that will work with a phantom, since it doesn't have the same concept of servos (maybe the X1 connector for the Gimbal control qualifies?)

I'd like to install this in the Phantom, and had planned on just hard wiring / soldering it until I realized that it only accepts a max of 9v input.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated! My sister-in-law borrowed my multi-meter so I'm without voltage measuring capability right now.

Thanks!
Adam

 

[ElGuano]

On my NAZA v2 there are some unused pins. I have the Turnigy Be Found RC locator / adjustable beeper used in RC planes. The idea is for it to go inline with a servo and it will start beeping when radio control is lost. I don't know if that will work with a phantom, since it doesn't have the same concept of servos (maybe the X1 connector for the Gimbal control qualifies?)

I'd like to install this in the Phantom, and had planned on just hard wiring / soldering it until I realized that it only accepts a max of 9v input.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated! My sister-in-law borrowed my multi-meter so I'm without voltage measuring capability right now.

Thanks!
Adam

This is a real WAG, but mainboard is just a PDB with a BEC. It throws 5V to the NAZA so you could probably tap the positive lead on the middle pin to X1. The LED also runs +5V and you can find the positive lead on that to tap. The Naza is obviously 5v too, and it has a ton of + and - output pins which are presumably 5V (i.e., to power the LED) so you can run servo wires to the top (ground) and middle (+5v) and ignore the signal pin.

I would feel safest tapping the BEC, but definitely verify before you try any of this but hopefully it points you in the right direction.

 

[OI Photography]

On my NAZA v2 there are some unused pins. I have the Turnigy Be Found RC locator / adjustable beeper used in RC planes. The idea is for it to go inline with a servo and it will start beeping when radio control is lost. I don't know if that will work with a phantom, since it doesn't have the same concept of servos (maybe the X1 connector for the Gimbal control qualifies?)

I'd like to install this in the Phantom, and had planned on just hard wiring / soldering it until I realized that it only accepts a max of 9v input.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated! My sister-in-law borrowed my multi-meter so I'm without voltage measuring capability right now.

Thanks!
Adam

This is a real WAG, but mainboard is just a PDB with a BEC. It throws 5V to the NAZA so you could probably tap the positive lead on the middle pin to X1. The LED also runs +5V and you can find the positive lead on that to tap. The Naza is obviously 5v too, and it has a ton of + and - output pins which are presumably 5V (i.e., to power the LED) so you can run servo wires to the top (ground) and middle (+5v) and ignore the signal pin.

I would feel safest tapping the BEC, but definitely verify before you try any of this but hopefully it points you in the right direction.

I was guessing it would need to go in-line between the Rx and the NAZA (the NAZA = the "servo" in this case), and would need to read the signal lead as well to be able to know when signal is lost...?

 

[adam12hicks]

Thank you guys for the replies! Of course the +5v would be perfect. I don't even care about the signal wire. I just want the craft to emit a beep when I'm flying it (this particular add-on allows you to control the timing between beeps with a potentiometer) any time I'm flying. So I'll just hardwire the + / - for now and give it a shot. I might need to drill a small hole with the dremel and mount the speaker so that it isn't muffled by the body of the phantom. No big deal.

I'll check it out today and report back on the results. Thanks guys!

 

[adam12hicks]

Well that was easy enough! I'm not sure what all of the free 'lettered' connections are on the NAZA, but they have +/- on the top two pins, so I simply clipped the third wire (probably didn't matter, but I didn't want to risk anything funky happening if the NAZA sensed something it shouldn't from the beeping device) and connected it. Was able to adhere to an empty area on the main board of the Phantom and reassemble the shell. Now I get a pretty pronounced, timed beep all of the time that it's powered up. It's a little annoying - yes. But when it's in the air it helps locate and determine altitude, and if I lose it again, I'll be glad it's beeping! Of course I can always easily unplug it if needed since it's not hardwired.

Besides, it's not like the Phantom is very 'stealthy' anyways, so a little beeping won't hurt anything.

Adam