Micro Hexa with steady cam

I am short before the finish line to bring up a micro hexa with steady cam in Full HD. So the setup will be frame made of hard strength carbon fibre carrying a Gopro Hero 3 black, a lightweight gimbal and for now it looks like a long time flyer/racer. The measurements will be around 300mm diagonal motor size, it will be really duty and lightweight – the name is THE TICK (even a tick has 8 legs LOL)

The plan is to make the first flights in 2 weeks but it depends on when all the parts arrive I ordered. The future plan is to make a full capable hexastyle copter in miniature size with a brushless controlled camera to make movies on the go and for travelling. So the TICK has to fit in a backpack without anything (foam or disassembling) to care for it and it should be capable to make really steady videos (!!! without propellers inside the viewing angle)

The research is ongoing since I was in Hongkong one month ago. I hope I did the right decision to bring this beast to life. At the moment I am fighting with the gimbal and the free space it needs to get. Further I decided to go with a DJI Naza V2 because it is really easy to setup even for beginners, easy to control and holds the UAV in good position. For more the Naza has features like coming home or landing in the worst case, gimbal control and a really nice OSD to see where it is and a light overview of the battery stats. I know it can be much lighter with a different IMU but at this time it fits best for this project because there are so much variables not set to go on with everything.

Don´t throw stones at me now but it is the best and easiest way to give the TICK a try in the world out there. Maybe later versions will come in different setups but for now the most exciting thing is to bring it to the sky soon.

If there are some interests for it please feel free to contact me…

Daniel

The Tick research on the way

Today the shipping marathon started. I already get the DJI IOSD mini and a few different kind of propellers. The next days there will be arriving a brand new FRSky Taranis X9D+ and in my opinion one of the best video TX the Boscam TS832. So the last things are missing are the motors and the ESC for that I am not made a decision yet.

FPV choices to go

There are two options you have as beginner or fpv enthusiast. The easy way to go for an fpv rtf (read to fly) model like a DJI Phantom or the hard way for a custom made model with much more benefits. The hard way can bring you to hell for spending a few times more money like the rtf thing but can bring you more flight time and much more options in the end. For my opinion I want to go the custom way. This is not for everyone but with my future project everyone can benefit for the advantages of a lightweight and versatile FPV UAV. At the moment I am fghting with y new Xaircraft Stella gimbal which is the most conceived part for flying I ever had in my hands. Stay tuned there will be some photos here soon.

New Poject – The Tick (German: Zecke)

Because of the shape of the new hexa style copter. I gave it the name of an insect – The Tick.(EDIT – Comment from Ronny: ticks have 8 legs not 6 =accepted but the name is branded right now)

tick

First parts arrived already. The flight control was ordered from second hand and is a DJI Naza V2.

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The next parts should arrive Monday.

Stella-Web_4

Its one of the latest and the lightest gimbal to purchase at the moment – a xaircraft stella gimbal, which will be modified to fit the UAV. Plans are ongoing to make everything the most lightweight and versatile hexacopter the world has seen until today 😉 .

To start everything from scratch I decided to go for a complete new setup. My old and heavy used Turnigy 9x transmitter has already some defects from all the travelling around the world so I am hunting for a Taranis X9D+ remote. (See the cable ties to hold it together)

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The time will tell me where the journey will end but I think I am on the right way to bring „The Tick“ to life.

New Project in work

So while is stayed in Hongkong and flying around with my quad I decided to go for a new project.

Plans are at the moment for a hexa style multirotor, lightweight, versatile, long flight time (15mins+) and equiped with a 2-axis gimbal which will carry a gopro for full video experience. For this I am actually finding back in to CAD-development. So FreeCAD is an open source solution for me to make 2D and 3D drawings to bring the successor of the Django into this world.

Here are the first ideas for getting the thing lifting up to the sky:

  • DJI Naza V2 + Mini OSD (Naza already ordered)
  • Gopro Hero 3+ or higher
  • hexa layout with 6 Motors from T-Motor
  • ESC below 10A
  • 5.8Ghz VTX for sure(>= 25mW)
  • Full 3S-Setup @ 11.1V
  • Gimbal maybe the lightweight Xaircraft Stella
  • around 15 mins flight time per battery
  • carbon fiber folding nano frame (custom made because there is nothing on the market for these ideas)
  • setup smaller than one A4 paper and carryable in a backpack
  • no propellers or parts inside the view of the gopro
  • gopro should be safe within a crash

I hope I can manage all points mentioned above. If so I am sure this will be the best setup for travelling and filming so far.