Wireless Trainer Port

Saw this linked from RCGroups, but couldn't figure out who did it or where it's written up.

Basic Idea:

• student's Tx is bound to the Rx
• Rx has trainer cable wired to battery port
• PPM signals feed into the trainer port from the receiver
• For simulator, can power from USB

Motor balancing in addition to prop balancing

Old Man Mike posts an interesting note regarding vibrations.  Not only is prop balancing critical, but blade orientation plays an important role as well.  He says:

This chart shows that even with balanced props, there is a sweet spot for mounting that will provide a minimum vibration level. Without testing, it is very unlikely that a low vibration will be achieved and most likely the number will be at least two times greater than the minimum. It could even be much worse. One of the five motor/prop combination had more than 6 times times the minimum vibration for some prop positions and more than 4 times as much even just 45 degrees away from the minimum position!

It typically takes about 10 mins per motor/prop to find the minimum so it adds a bit of time to my quad builds. Since I'm somewhat obsessed with getting low vibration performance with my quads, I think it is worth the effort.

Anti-vibration fasteners

FrozenCPU.com has a lot of grommets, etc, designed to reduce vibrations from hard drives.  Could these be useful for mounting quad controller boards?

Some tiny Futaba Connectors

Coriolan ID's Futaba SH, Pico, and ZH connectors.

Every kind of micro connector imaginable.

rc-connectors.com has just about every small connector ever made, nicely arranged by model.  For example, here's a SMD nan-JST female 3-pin right angle piece.  Just what you need to make a green dot vapor brick AR6400 compatible!

EasyStar Brushless Outrunner

ScrtSqrl has a nifty method using a 30mm medicine bottle to mount a brushless outrunner.

Interesting battery wiring guide

Need to hook up batteries in parallel or serial configurations?  This page has a nice application that will show you just what you need to do.

All about lipo balance connectors

TJinTech has a great article on this, with lots of nice diagrams like this one.

TJinGuy's great website

Here's a website with lots of nice technical details.  Especially interesting are his articles on charging and RC / battery wiring.  Check it out!  Here's a sample of one of his wiring diagrams:

CrazyJ's new FPV all-in-one ground station box

Looks very nice! Self-contained, self-powered, includes a 10-inch monitor as well as fat shark glasses.

Details on RCGroups.

Beacon Foam-Tac Glue

Everybody says good things about this stuff... I'll give it try and see how it goes!  Purchase in at filadelfosrc.com.

They say:

Beacon Foam-Tac Glue bonds Depron, EPS, EPP, XPS, EPO, and many other kinds of foam quickly & cleanly. It does not attack/melt/dissolve foams, and when dry it remains flexible and clear. It's also great for bonding carbon fiber.
SUPER STRONG BOND - FOAM-TAC creates a super strong bond that is like welding the foam together. Make a Butt-Joint and you won't be able to find it later, stronger than the foam itself once it's cured.
LESS IS MORE - Always dries clear, simply apply a thin amount of FOAM-TAC to one side of the joint and gently press together. Pull the joint apart then press together again. That’s it. You don’t have to wait for the glue to get tacky.

My [note: this is filadelfosrc writing] own personal observations about Foam-Tac:

1. It's a thick clear goo, reminds me of shoe-goo in it's consistency, but a little thinner.
2. Even though it's thick, when you pull the bottle away, it doesn't have any stringys to deal with.
3. Once bonded, you will not see the seam line & have no idea that it was ever two separate pieces.
4. Even though it forms a strong & permanent bond, the glue remains flexible & clear. I have used it to re-attach a broken aileron, and the aileron
functions just as it did before re-attaching (I actually glued the aileron straight onto the wing, knowing that it would still flex after Foam-Tac cured).
5. The bottle instructions say it takes 10-20 minutes to form a strong bond, but in my experience it happens in as few as 10-20 SECONDS, so that may be a typo.
6. You don't need to use much glue at all, I use far less of it than if I were to use a foam-safe CA for the same task.... and there's no need for any
accelerator.

Resistor Mod, fix for Turnigy 9x trainer port

Many people have written this up, this page shows two different ways to fix, with nice photos.

Update: I modded my unit so the radio is purely module based;  This lets me just pop out the module, so I've lost interest in doing this.

Trainer Switch mod for Turnigy 9x

Strangely, the 9x trainer switch operates differently than most radios.  By default, control is given to the student, and the instructor must pull the switch up to take control.

You can reverse the switch, but then you'll have one switch backwards for the infamous "switch error" startup mode.  (actually, I'm used to that mode now and rather like it!).

Here's a simple hardware mod using a spring and two pieces of plastic tubing to hold the switch in instructor mode.  It's from a video review by Thomas Lombardi. Trainer switch discussion starts @3:34, the solution starts @4:42.

Update: I installed er9x which allows the trainer switch to be set properly.

ScrtSqrl's cheap pan-only, crazy-simple, zero-drift Head Tracker

Here's the original CGroups link and an update where ScrtSqrl unveiled his nifty head tracker.  Genius!

Basic Idea:

• take a control (e.g. flaps) pot out of your radio
• extend the wires so it will reach your head
• add a lever and attach it to your hat
• add a bungee cord, attach to your radio
• attach cam servo to appropriate channel (e.g. flaps) on radio

Now as you look at the radio, the servo will be centered, and as you move your head to the left or right the servo will follow along. Be sure and check out the update... there's a lot more information on his nicely portable FPV ground station.

Vimeo link: http://vimeo.com/925056

A nice quad stand

Also, a pretty nice quad frame, the Dex.  It's the one that float on water.  From villagepilot on RCGroups.

ZipZepp: pro level AP platform

Need to move a camera from point A to B fast?
1)Aggressive engine thrust for quick deployment of camera systems.
2)Rapid reverse and powerful hover modes
3) High elevation operation. Designed and tested at over 8,000 feet.

Vendor: Monto RC

http://montorc.com/propellers.aspx

lots o' props, including CCW

RadicalRC Stinger Kit

I'm having a bit of trouble bending blogspot to my will regarding captioning and photos... I'll get some more words and pictures up shortly!

Here's the start of the Arcticopter 3, which will be as light and as small as we can make it.  After we get the full-size build flying reliably, I'll try trimming the arms down and see if it will still be stable in the air.