Tarot T-2D gimbal test quad aerial footage

V007. Recording date: 19-10-2013

As I couldn't definitely get rid of vibrations and jello with other solutions (earplugs, moongel, etc), I bought the Tarot T-2D gimbal, also because a camera stabilization system is the only way to go for having good quality aerial (and not aerial) videos.

Comparing this video with my previous tests, the gimbal really makes a huge difference. It makes THE difference. When I saw the video, I was impressed with the results (although they can be much better!), I didn't have to modify the gimbal settings at all, it worked out of the box. I use a 500mAh 3S 20C for the gimbal, lasting around 1h30m.

In one hand I've improved video quality, but on the other hand I've added too much weight to the quad (gimbal + stuff to hold it + gimbal battery + landing gear), going up to 1.7kg, which is a lot, probably for the type of motors and of course for the simple plastic propellers (a few times they broke in the air because of the weight!).

Setup:

Frame Whirlwind FY450
BL-2830/11 1000kv rotors
20A SK ESC
10x4.5 Plastic HK propellers
KK2 controller board
GoPro H3 black, 1080x60, N FOV
3300mAh 3S 20C battery
Turnigy 9XR transmitter
FrSKY V8FR-II receiver
Fatshark FPV camera
Fatshark Predator goggles
ImmersionRC 600mw Tx
1000mAh 3S 20C battery for video Tx
Gimbal Tarot T-2D
500mAh 3S 20C battery for gimbal
Plastic landing gear

TAROT T-2D Gopro Hero 3 brushless gimbal

October 2013. I decided to buy the TAROT T-2D Gopro Hero 3 brushless gimbal. This is a two axis gimbal for stabilizing the GoPro Hero 3. Please find at the end of the post the technical specifications and software.

This gimbal comes half assembled but it's really easy to complete it. In order to have it working I have bought a 500mAh 3S 20C LiPo battery, which gives you enought power to stabilize the camera for about 1h30m. It works out of the box! I've been afraid of connecting it with the software in case I screw it up :)

I've managed to fit it under the quad, being hold by two extra tubes I had, so I can put the gimbal or remove it in a matter of seconds, for flying only FPV or for recording video.

The quad now weights around 1.7kg, depending on the battery I put. I have a 0.5kg 5000mAh one! So it's really heavy now for the plastic propellers that will replace one day with anothers of carbon fiber.

T-2D PTZ is TAROT company for GoPro Hero3 camera was developed, used in photographic film and entertainment, advertising and many other areas of model aircraft photography. PTZ using 6061T6 aluminum alloy full CNC precision machining, brushless direct drive motor, the overall framework designed with the idea of ​​compact, easy installation and other characteristics. Stable head structure allows the aircraft is flying at high speed state, still be able to precisely control the camera mounted GoPro Hero3 remain stable, so that the screen output to achieve the best model aircraft photographic effects.

Gopro two-axis brushless PTZ English software description and download link:

Manual & Assistant Download V1.3 Firmware Download

Product Features:
1, support GOPRO Hero3 video auxiliary output
2, support the supply voltage polarity protection and voltage compensation
3, support the motor drive end short-circuit protection
4, support for custom initial pitch angle
5, support sensitivity parameter adjustment and software 3D pose show
6, the support rocker rate mode and position mode
7, support Receiver: conventional receiver, S-BUS receiver, DSM2/DSMJ/DSMX receiver
8, support for remote devices: PPM/PCM/2.4G
9, the working voltage: DC 7.4V ~ 14.8V (Recommended 12V, three lithium battery)
10, working current: 200mA-500mA (power supply voltage and the motor related)
11, the working environment temperature: -15 ℃ ~ 65 ℃
12, the processor: Dual 32-bit high-speed ARM core processor
13, the sensor: Three rotor MEMS gyroscope rotor MEMS accelerometers and the three
14, the maximum angular rate: 2000°/ sec
15, the maximum acceleration: 16g
16, the control frequency: 2000Hz
17, the motor drive frequency: 20KHz (no noise smoothing driven)
18, the control accuracy: 0.1°
19, the control angle range: -45 °~ 45 °(roll), -135°~ 90°(tilt)
20, pose solver algorithms: PTZ dedicated brushless motor decoupled EKF algorithm
21, for shooting equipment: GOPRO Hero3
Related Part Number:
Head hanging hook TL68A01
GOPRO camera fasteners TL68A02
GOPRO brushless PTZ camera frame assembly TL68A03
GOPRO head roll arm TL68A04
GOPRO PTZ stand arm motor base TL68A05
GOPRO brushless motor TL68A06 PTZ
GOPRO two axes PTZ shock group TL68A07
GOPRO brushless pan rack assembly TL68A08
GOPRO head roll axis brushless motor TL68A09
GOPRO PTZ suspension ball TL68A11
GOPRO two-axis gyroscope ZYX22 PTZ
Specifications:
GOPRO brushless pan rack assembly TL68A08 x1
GOPRO two-axis gyroscope ZYX22 x1 PTZ
Weight: 195g

Hubsan X4 H107C 2.4GHZ with camera

After flying many times the Hubsan X4, and having lots of crashes, the board has been affected somehow. You can also buy the spare board, but I decided to upgrade to the Hubsan X4 with camera, to give it a try, also from banggood.com.

It flights a bit better, and despite being a bit bigger and heavier, it stills hold in the air for 7 minutes or so. It is fast and strongest, as it has been improved to not break easily. It is very rare you need to replace a motor with this quadcopter. The most common fix is replacing the propellers, but you can also buy the propeller protector, really useful.

The camera has low resolution and forget about watching in full screen! You have to keep the quad really quiet on air to have some kind of smooth video, otherwise it seems a bee holds the camera! :) There's a new version with 2MP camera though.

I'll try to upload my own video, but in the meanwhile you can check the video quality here.

Gimbal for camera stabilization

It's time for purchasing a gimbal, it is really difficult to get rid of all the vibrations and jello effect! and I also want smooth scenes independently of the quad movements, so this is the only way to go.

I've been reading about the gimbals for the last couple of months, and there are a lot of models you can buy, it's a mess! Firstable, I'll go for a 2 axis one to reduce complexity. Secondable, an affordable one, I've seen some very very expensives!

Someone tells me to take a look to goodluckbuy.com, there are a lot there, coming from China, and they normally work well.

So, I get this Aluminum Brushless Gimbal Camera Mount w/ Motor & Controller for Gopro2 FPV Aerial Photography

 After a couple of weeks I have it home, but to my sorprise I have received two pieces of the AX1, and I have NOT received the piece BX1 (following the instructions manual) :s.

Noooooooo.... So I complained and they were very quick to answer and agree to send me the correct piece. Another two or three weeks until having it home.

However, in the meanwhile, I start trying to make it work. The manual says no much about how to connect the wires of the motors to the board. There are three black wires per motor, but no labels on them, so I have no clue which one is positive, negative... And I'm afraid to connect it to the wrong position and burn the board :s, if that can happend :p 

After some tests, it seems to be stabilizing the camera. But as it is not doing it perfectly fine, I go for an upgrade.

I donwloaded the driver and the software (SimpleBGC_GUI_2_0b3) to check the version and upgrade it if that's the case. Mmm a new version available! let's try..., it says "installing"... great... why is this taking so long?... still "installing"?... I think something goes wrong, let's just disconnect the usb from the computer and start over. Mmmm why this thing is not making any sound at all? why the software is not recognizing the gimbal! why there's this red permanent light on all the time!! :(

Disconecting the usb while updating/upgrading is not a good idea at all. After reading in some forums, I discovered I've damaged the bootloader! Here you can find instructions about how to fix it. However, I don't understand more than the basics of electronics and have no clue about how to start with this, and I also need to buy some components but don't know for sure which ones...

As I really want to record nic shots soon, I'm thinking of ordering a well known gimbal, and while it arrives trying to fix this one.

Second FPV distance test. After the failed first FPV distance test I go again to try in a flatter terrain to avoid as much obstacles as possible.

This tests make me really nervous! When I start having some noise on the video I start trembling thinking that at any time the screen of the goggles can become white and crash, and probably lost, the equipment.

On this ocassion, I successfully covered 1550 meters without having too much noise on video. I'm pretty sure I could have continued for a bit more, but from that distance I was not able to hear the voltage alarm, so I prefered to come back save and sound!! :)

I would like to time it next time, I'm insterested of knowing the speed the quad can reach.

Setup:

Frame Whirlwind FY450
BL-2830/11 1000kv rotors
20A SK ESC
10x4.5 Plastic HK propellers
KK2 controller board
GoPro H3 black, 1080x60, N FOV
3300mAh 3S 20C battery
Turnigy 9XR transmitter
FrSKY V8FR-II receiver
Fatshark FPV camera
Fatshark Predator goggles
ImmersionRC 600mw Tx
1000mAh 3S 20C battery for video Tx
Plastic landing gear

Welcome GoPro Hero3

Welcome GoPro Hero3! I sold the Hero2 for buying the Hero3. When flying multicopters, and I guess RC in general, every extra gram of weight matters. You don't normally have too many minutes of fligh time, so reducing it to the limit is something to have in mind.

The GoPro Hero3 is not only smaller and lighter. It allows also to record at 1080 and 60fps, or if you need to really slow down the footage, 720 and 120fps is a great choice! There's plenty of info about the rest of the spectifications of the camera on the Internet, the weight and the recording modes were my main reasons

This article of Abe Kislevitz about the GoPro Hero 3 is really worth it. 

This is an example of how to place both the FPV camera and the GoPro in the wood stick I put on the front of the quad. This is an easy way of getting rid of the motors on camera, and facing it down or any other direction.

I still have to replace the propeller of the last crash :) As you can see, these are cheap and also very resistant, but after some crashes they finally brake! :)

Picture from above :)

Aerial footage chasing MTB rider

September 2013. Re-edited video, sorry about the quality. This time I try to follow for the first time a moving objective, a mountain bike rider, using the FPV camera, the goggles, and recording with the GPH3. The challenge here is controlling the speed of the quad so the camera points to the rider at all times, even if he speeds up or slows down while riding up the slope. Also being careful with the low side shots, because as it wasn't a flat scenery it was so easy to crash against the bush.

Using moongel to get rid of jello.

Setup:

Frame Whirlwind FY450
BL-2830/11 1000kv rotors
20A SK ESC
10x4.5 Plastic HK propellers
KK2 controller board
GoPro H3 black, 1080x60, N FOV
3300mAh 3S 20C battery
Turnigy 9XR transmitter
FrSKY V8FR-II receiver
Fatshark FPV camera
1000mAh 3S 20C battery for video Tx
Fatshark Predator goggles
ImmersionRC 600mw Tx
Plastic landing gear