TBS Discovery with Fat Shark

[eyeflying]

I';ve just finished putting together a Team Black Sheep Discovery with Fat Shark FPV - I used the Naza';s settings as suggested on TBS';s website and it flew perfectly first time, although I didn';t venture too far due to the snow (didn';t want to loose it so soon!).

I';ll post some video as soon as I get a good flying day.

I fitted TBS';s Own Brand 750Kv Motors and their Own Brand 30A Opto ESC';s. Just waiting on some Graupner Props though - I';ve just fitted some temporary ones for now.

[Rappy Freak]

Nice very nice.   ::)

[Smeagol]

That looks really nice, look forward to seeing the video.

[Gaza07]

+1 Very nice 

[Jumpy07]

Can you fit the GoPro in the housing on these frames ?

Thanks

Craig

[eyeflying]

Can you fit the GoPro in the housing on these frames ?

The GoPro fits on the front as shown in the pics. There';s a cut-out notch (which you can see just behind he GoPro) where you attach a rubber band to hold the GoPro in place. Simple but very effective.

[RS]

Very nice!  One  of the  best looking copter  ever.
Probably this  is  going  to be  my  next build :)

[eyeflying]

I particularly like the integrated wiring - it goes much further than just power for the ESC';s. There';s a built-in 50A current sensor, there';s connectors for FPV camera inputs and TX outputs, The RX connections are also embedded and there';s also connectors for a backup battery - they seem to have really thought this through.

I also installed the TBS Core - this is a regulated power supply which also incorporates an OSD for Power and signal strength monitoring if you use the RSSI connectors

The Power Module is selectable and you can independently choose either 12v or 5V for the Camera and Tx - the supply is filtered and remains constant regardless of whether you choose a 3 or 4 cell Lipo

[RS]

Yes, thats why I like it a lot.
I wish  the OSD was a bit more informative .
Is there any chance to connect  GPS  to it?

[maddog7]

Spooky,
I';ve just been directed here from my fave UK rc Heli addicts forum and I find this!

I too am just putting the finishers on my Disco with the TBS core.

I thought it was expensive at first (I suppose it still is) but it';s extremely well thought out and I';m very pleased with it.

I';m using the GP1 with live out at the minute until I can get a decent FPV cam.

Also trying to get to grips with the Ardupilot Mega with GPS and telemetry, so far, so good. 

Using the Fatshark attitude kit on 5.8 ghz.

[maddog7]

Yes, thats why I like it a lot.
I wish  the OSD was a bit more informative .
Is there any chance to connect  GPS  to it?

I don';t think TBS intended GPS to be used with the Core but you could maybe use something like the eagletree logger and OSD/GPS and overlay it. Otherwise I think you';d perhaps need the advanced features of a FC to handle the number crunching?

[eyeflying]

I wish  the OSD was a bit more informative .
Is there any chance to connect  GPS  to it?

TBS say that there are no plans to add GPS functionality to the Core. They want to keep it simple

[RS]

TBS say that there are no plans to add GPS functionality to the Core. They want to keep it simple

Yeah , I know that, but
I  wondered is  there still remains a possibility to do this  by someone ,who knows electronics.
I';ve got some  friends, who make their  own  esc';s , flight controllers  and  write their own code... maybe adding a  gps  would not be  a big problem

[maddog7]

RS,
What would you need the gps to do?
Just show speed and direction? or do alt hold and RTL etc?
I think it would be simpler and a lot faster (than designing/building/writing code) to buy a APM?
D

[Jumpy07]

I really like the TBS Discovery frame.. its well thought out for FPV and great quality..

The TBS Core is also a great idea, its an OSD, voltage regulator, filtering for video,  it interfaces with the current shunt....... and I think TBS';s attitude to the OSD  is to keep it simple.. all you need is Rssi, Voltage and Current. on your OSD as a min.

As most people use the Discovery frame with the Naza M, and the Naza doesent have an OSD output, so either you need to use the TBS Core a simple OSD our a standalone OSD with GPS. Downside of this is that you get no info from the Naza as its standalone..     to do this you would need to use a Wookong.

My head tells me that is a limitation compared to APM with MinimOSD etc, which passes all info the OSD info and data from the FC.. Armed / Unarmed / Flight modes all appear on the OSD.. but it can be a little overloaded depending on how you have configured it.

The Naza just does what its says on the tin, so maybe you don';t need the extra confidence of seeing what';s under the covers..... on the OSD.... if that makes sense.
You can configure the TBS core with another OSD by disabling  the onboard OSD.. think most use the standalone Cyclops Easy OSD for this purpose..

[RS]

RS,
What would you need the gps to do?
Just show speed and direction? or do alt hold and RTL etc?
I think it would be simpler and a lot faster (than designing/building/writing code) to buy a APM?
D

Id love to have direction to home just in case you flying in the  area you dont know well.
Thats  all:)
And sure it would be  easier to get another OSD

[maddog7]

RS,
One of the reasons I went for the APM as the FC was the GPS and telemetry and associated features it offers, especially when combined with a laptop with video in.

I';m also concerned about getting lost and possibly losing vtx or RC connections. Whilst my understanding from reading about on the forums is that none of these features are even remotely (hehe geddit, remotely, ho well, nevermind) a certain get out of jail free card, it is possible one or more of them might just bring back what will be an expensive platform if it all goes wrong.

I think the the GPS sensor itself is about half the cost of any GPS system so by the time you sort out an OSD or APM your probably looking at about the same sort of money and the APM has a huge feature set. Only issue with the APM is the learning curve.

D

[RS]

Yea you';re right.
But Im just starting FPV, so still dont know which way it will take me:)
If I get hooked on FPV  I will definitely need something different than Naza.  Naza is  a great  FC for learning fpv, aerial filming,its very smooth and  stable, but I dont like how it behaves in fast or  acro flying. And  Im more in to acrobatics.
So I may need something like APM, or MultiWii  Pro ,   or something  very very simple like CC3D or  simplest mwc. I dont know yet which way its going to be:)

[Jumpy07]

Found this amazing Wiki on the TBS Discovery.. everything you ever need to know

http://beta.ivc.no/wiki/index.php/TBS_Discovery

[maddog7]

RS,
I feel your pain, it';s really difficult to know which way to go, we don';t really know where FPV will ultimately take us.

Jumpy07,
Thats a great resource, thank you.
D

[mickyt]

can i ask what your settings are in dji assistant as im putting a discovery together at the moment, currently my naza has setting that were used by my dji f550 hex as this hex has been stripped to build my discovery  ive no idea how it will handle with these current settings once i reconfigure as a quad.

[Jumpy07]

Micky have a look at these... 

Still waiting on my TBS.. Quadcopters are a bit slow in responding to my emails.. should hopefully get mine ordered today at some point...

Flight controller settings
A few links to NAZA and CopterControl stabilization settings suitable for the TBS Discovery. List format: pitch/roll/raw/vertical and pitch/roll. For DJI NAZA, expect the gain to be between 100 and 160 after calibration.
 

   
• Trappy';s DJI NAZA MT4006-13 740KV 10x5 settings - 150/155/120/100 and 125/125
• Trappy';s DJI NASA 750KV 10x5 4S3300mAh settings - 134/109/93/198 and 183/143 [104]
• Trappy';s DJI NASA 900KV 9x5 4S3300mAh settings - 166/135/131/179 and 188/176 [105]
• mechnan';s DJI NAZA fine tuned settings - 117/101/200/180 and 110/110
• rcschim';s DJI NAZA settings - 125/125/125/125 and 110/110
• MidwestRob';s MT2216 900KV DJI ESC settings - 150/135/125/125

[mickyt]

Hi Craig thanks for the info that gives me a couple of setting to play with based on my motors and esc';s . Re Geoff sometime';s the emails end up in his spam folder i know mine have before now but he did apologize and since then he has always replied in the same day, and even over the weekends when ive had a problem he has replied which i think speaks volumes for his customer support.

[usnooz]

Mines ready for its maiden after waiting 2 months for my motors :)

[benchmark]

Micky have a look at these... 

Still waiting on my TBS.. Quadcopters are a bit slow in responding to my emails.. should hopefully get mine ordered today at some point...

Actually i found out the hard way that Quadcopter.co.uk are slow in everything, they answered only one of my mails, sent my items via normal post even though they charged me £35, one would think they would have used DHL or some other kind of express mail, it took 7 days for my items to get her after they posted it. With firstpersonview my orders are dispatched same day or next and 3 days to get to me.
Sorry for the rant but i was very unhappy after my last order from quadcopters.

[Jumpy07]

Well.. they offered me a deal in the end I couldn';t refuse...  so will give them benefit of the doubt...
So..

   
• TBS Discovery with Black and Red Arms
• Tiger 900KV Motors
• DJi 30amp Opto ESC';s
• DJI Naza M & GPS
• Cyclops OSD

The OSD is out of stock .. so will be end of next week I think before it arrives..

[Gaza07]

Look forward to seeing the test flight Phil 

Mines ready for its maiden after waiting 2 months for my motors :)

[eyeflying]

I have just fitted some TBS 900Kv (Tiger) motors and Graupner 10" props to a Discovery and took it for its maiden flight today and I';ve got to say, I was really impressed. Naza controller and TBS 30A ESC';s. Very stable in the hover and very quick and decisive responses to stick movements. Totally recommend this setup .

Disappointed with video from my Gopro though - severe Jello - I spent a some time balancing the props before the flight and really took care in isolating the camera - but the quality was bad (hence no video to show you).

From what I';ve found out, even though the quad may be perfectly balanced, the motors still generate high frequency vibrations that directly affect the camera';s CMOS sensor due to and the way it scans the image and its virtually impossible to prevent with this type of setup.  This is particularly a problem when recording at 1080p with a standard frame rate of 25fps or 30fps. I';m told that filming at 720 with 50fps will greatly reduce the Jello - so I';m going to give a go and I';ll keep you posted. I';m determined to fix this though!

I';ll be honest, this is the first quad I';ve built where the camera is ';hard mounted'; to the frame - I normally use gimbals and isolation mounts so have never really experienced the Jello problem to such a degree as this.

[maddog7]

I have just fitted some TBS 900Kv (Tiger) motors and Graupner 10" props to a Discovery and took it for its maiden flight today and I';ve got to say, I was really impressed. Naza controller and TBS 30A ESC';s. Very stable in the hover and very quick and decisive responses to stick movements. Totally recommend this setup .

Disappointed with video from my Gopro though - severe Jello - I spent a some time balancing the props before the flight and really took care in isolating the camera - but the quality was bad (hence no video to show you).

From what I';ve found out, even though the quad may be perfectly balanced, the motors still generate high frequency vibrations that directly affect the camera';s CMOS sensor due to and the way it scans the image and its virtually impossible to prevent with this type of setup.  This is particularly a problem when recording at 1080p with a standard frame rate of 25fps or 30fps. I';m told that filming at 720 with 50fps will greatly reduce the Jello - so I';m going to give a go and I';ll keep you posted. I';m determined to fix this though!

I';ll be honest, this is the first quad I';ve built where the camera is ';hard mounted'; to the frame - I normally use gimbals and isolation mounts so have never really experienced the Jello problem to such a degree as this.

eyeflying,
Have you tried the laser or seismometer app methods of balancing your motors?
Made a huge difference to mine.
D

[eyeflying]

eyeflying,
Have you tried the laser or seismometer app methods of balancing your motors?
Made a huge difference to mine.
D

Nope, I just use a standard magnetic spindled prop balancer - tell me more...