I want to cover why I have been designing gimbals with wire linkages, and discuss some of the potential advantages and disadvantages of some of the best alternate design options, and why I may start to adopt them. Wire Linkage: The main advantages of a a wire linkage are durability, flexible application, good performance, andContinue reading “Gimbal Design Options: Wire vs. Steering Linkage vs. Direct-Drive/On-Servo vs. Geared Drive”
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Waterproof and Weather Resistant
The LDX-218 seems to be fully waterproof and can handle freezing temperatures, extreme heat hasn’t been tested yet but it will likely not be affected by it.
Flight Tips – First Flights with FPV Gimbal
This is a set of tips and recommendations for trying out a head tracking gimbal for the first time. Before actually flying with it I suggest going into the simulator and messing around with different camera angles including negative camera angle. Other than this simulator none currently support head tracking, but Liftoff (and probably others)Continue reading “Flight Tips – First Flights with FPV Gimbal”
Do You Need a Head Tracker?
No, there’s a limitless selection of alternatives that will work to control the gimbal/servo, and you can also set up a switch that changes control of the gimbal from various inputs. For example, a three-position switch can change control between the head tracker, a slider on the transmitter, and a constant value. What else wouldContinue reading “Do You Need a Head Tracker?”
DJI Digital – FPV Gimbal
I finally have built and tested a FPV gimbal with DJI digital. I have not adopted DJI digital and have so far stuck with analog, for many reasons. However, it has become very prevalent in the FPV community and industry, so I have included support for it in my designs and am testing with it.Continue reading “DJI Digital – FPV Gimbal”
FPV Gimbal – Camera Mount Options
Many of the open source gimbal designs share the same 20mm bearing housing, this means that for most designs the only frame-specific part is the base, while the top/camera mount is cross-compatible between all designs that share the 20mm bearing housing. This doesn’t mean that they will all work perfectly on any base/frame, this justContinue reading “FPV Gimbal – Camera Mount Options”
3D Printable Accessories
This post will contain an assortment of accessories related to head tracking gimbals for FPV drones. Servo Wire Bending Jig for 1mm Servo Wire (20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, and 32mm): https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4957904 Apex RC Servo Horn Sleeve/Insert for 1mm Servo Wire: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4983071 Camera Cap for GoPro-specific designs: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4957902 Gyroflow – Cold Shoe GoPro TabContinue reading “3D Printable Accessories”
My Setup and Gear
The head tracker doesn’t add much to the overall system once it’s set up and working, I use the same carrying cases and bag. Your gear doesn’t need to match this to use a head tracking gimbal, the only thing you need is to verify that your transmitter supports a trainer function via an auxiliaryContinue reading “My Setup and Gear”
New Capabilities of FPV Drones with Head Tracking Gimbals
FPV drones have been limited in the types of footage they can capture, unable to replicate what standard cinematography drones can create. The addition of a gimbal on a FPV drone allows it to seamlessly transition from dynamic “proximity” flying into more traditional (non-FPV) drone shots, and vice versa, as well as a whole newContinue reading “New Capabilities of FPV Drones with Head Tracking Gimbals”
Early Testing
Initial testing was more for the viability of a head tracking gimbal on a FPV drone than anything else, I had the idea several months back and after finishing some work on my home it was time to give it a shot and see if it would be flyable. For initial testing I used theContinue reading “Early Testing”
