New F550 build

[Jody Arnott]

In case anyone is interested, I finally got my DJI F550 up and running today. It uses a Zenmuse H3-3D 3-axis gimbal which gets some incredibly smooth video, even compared to the original H3-2D gimbal.

I've got a 600mW video transmitter attached to it which feeds video to my goggles or a 7" monitor. I've only flown it once but initial thoughts are it's extremely stable compared to the Phantom.

I'm hoping to have some decent test footage up soon, but we're having some pretty crappy weather here at the moment. If anyone's interested to know what gear I used and how I set it all up, feel free to ask :)

Cheers

[Enrique Orozco Robles]

Im very interested in your setup... currently flying a phantom 2 / zenmuse H32D with gopro.... and looking for a better aircraft...

[Jody Arnott]

Here's a list of the gear that I have used. I'll admit that it's all a bit of a mission to get set up, but it's a lot of fun.

Hexacopter:
- DJI F550 ARF kit (comes with the frame, motors, speed controllers and props)
- DJI NAZA-M V2 flight controller (with GPS)
- DJI Zenmuse H3-3D gimbal (the hobby version, not the P2 version which doesn't come with the GCU)
- Aeroxcraft F550 landing legs (allows the gimbal to be mounted forward of the props)

Radio gear:
- Spektrum DX7s 7-channel transmitter (I'd recommend the DX9 as it has several 3-position switches which come in handy for IOC)
- Spektrum AR8000 receiver (supports fail-safe mode if connection is lost - not all receivers do this)

FPV gear:
- Fatshark 250mW v3 5.8GHz transmitter with circular polarised antennas
- Fatshark Dominator FPV goggles
- 7" Lilliput IPS monitor with built-in 5.8GHz receiver

Other:
- 5500mah 3-cell lipo battery (flight time unknown, I haven't done a proper test yet)
- FPV monitor mount for the DX7s
- GoPro Hero 3 black edition
- Polar Pro ND Filter (eliminates jello by reducing shutter speed)

Happy to answer any other questions.

Edit: The rain stopped for about 10 minutes today so I managed to get it up into the air for a few test shots from my backyard (in 20-25kph winds). The hexacopter was being thrown around up there but the footage doesn't show it. There's a little bit of jello but an ND filter should sort that out.

DJI F550 Hexacopter H3-3D Test Footage - YouTube

[Nate Haustein]

Looks excellent. Could you go into a bit more detail on how you attached the gimbal to the multirotor? Also, does the 3D gimbal run on its own once plugged in to a power source, or does it really require the processing power of the NAZA-V2?

[Jody Arnott]

Originally Posted by Nate Haustein

Looks excellent. Could you go into a bit more detail on how you attached the gimbal to the multirotor? Also, does the 3D gimbal run on its own once plugged in to a power source, or does it really require the processing power of the NAZA-V2?

The Aeroxcraft landing legs I purchased came with a universal gimbal mount. This allowed me to bolt the gimbal directly to the mount. The only issue I ran into was clearing the top gimbal motor from the bottom of the mount. Some longer screws solved this.

The GCU (gimbal control unit) controls the gimbal. It has 2 wires which need to be connected to a power source, and it also has to be plugged into the NAZA if you want remote control of the pitch.

[Bruce Dempsey]

Congrats Must be thrilling

[Jody Arnott]

Another quick sample clip to show off how ridiculously good the 3-axis gimbal is:

DJI F550 Hexacopter H3-3D Test Footage #2 - YouTube

This time in 25-30kph winds. The F550 was being thrown around but the GPS kept it in the same spot quite nicely. The only jerking you can see is me not being overly smooth with the controls.

The landing legs snuck into the shot a few times, but they can be moved towards the back of the craft.

Shot in 2.7k and conformed to 1080p.

[Enrique Orozco Robles]

Could we get an idea of the total price for your setup ?

Regards

[Jody Arnott]

Originally Posted by Enrique Orozco Robles

Could we get an idea of the total price for your setup ?

Regards

Mine was about $2500 NZD (excluding GoPro). But it is obviously going to vary a lot between countries.