- Plug-N-Play - No soldering, no disassembly of the phantom frame
http://www.taco-rc.com/servlet/the-40/3 ... unt/Detail
This gimbal is 3D printed with PLA. Is is relatively inexpensive at $259.90. The gimbal usually ships next day and is usually delivered in 5 to 7 days. It is based on the Simple BGC/Basecam controller. The controller comes loaded with 2.2b2 firmware. Here is the user manual from the Basecam website. This firmware is about 10 months old and there has been 3 firmware releases since. You will not be able to upgrade the firmware because the controller is not an official controller from Basecam.
After you've installed your gimbal there are a few things you'll have to do to configure and calibrate it.
Balance the gimbal
With the P2V powered off your gimbal should sit pointing as straight and horizontal as possible. If you have a lens kit or other mods that have affected the balance of the gimbal you should add counter weights on the camera mount so it sits straight. If you don't do this the gimbal motors won't have enough power by default to hold the camera straight. Just to hold the camera straight you'll have to increase power to the motors causing the gimbal to be less smooth in flight.
Update the gimbal gains in DJI assistant software
You've got to essentially turn off the gimbal controller built into the phantom so it's managed by the new Basecam controller by setting the tilt gain to 0. You also have to adjust the center point and range of the tilt control and slow down the speed of the tilt. Here is an exampled with a good starting point.
Load the default profile onto the controller
Before powering on the P2V connect the Basecam controller to a PC with a micro USB cable. There is a micro usb port on the Basecam controller. Next, install the usb drivers and Simple BGC GUI. From inside the SimpleBGC GUI connect to the com port the controller is connected to, load the Taco Supreme profile linked below and write the profile to the controller. If you have a V3 with the IMU mounted on top of the camera you must use the V3 profile. The only difference is the top axis is Z and the right axis is -Y.
You can now power on the phantom and the gimbal should be stable.
Calibrate the controller and possibly adjust the IMU
Do a six point calibration of the IMU. Here is a good IMU calibration tutorial on youtube.
Depending on what version of camera mount that came with your gimbal you might have to slightly adjust the alignment of the IMU. If your IMU is mounted on the side of the camera mount you probably have to adjust the alignment of the IMU so the camera will set correctly horizontal. Moving the IMU a bit a little hot glue should do the check. Here is a good thread with pics and all.
If you have a V3 with the IMU mounted on top of the camera you shouldn't have to adjust the IMU alignment.
Tweak the BaseCam profile to improve performance
amrflyingdude posted some profile changes that might work better for you.
Roll: P=10, I=.1, D=16, Power=120
Pitch: P=10, I=.0.08, D=17, Power=100
At certain angles my gimbal has high frequency oscillations (vibrations) that show up in video if you're really paying attention. If the PWM frequency is set to LOW the vibration goes away and the gimbal seem more smooth in general. Unfortunately, set to low the controller emits an annoying high pitch hum. I included two profiles one with the PWM frequency set to HIGH and a second PWM frequency set to LOW. I configured the button click on the menu button tab in the SimpleBGC GUI to load one profile and 2 clicks to load another. If I want it to shut up I just click the button the on Basecam controller once then click it twice before I fly. Again, remember if you have a V3 mount with the IMU on the top you must use the V3 profile. The zip file below includes 4 profiles 2 for v2 and 2 for v3.
Adjust motor gains to compensate for added weight
Because your P2V is heavier with the new gimbal you should probably make more power available to the motors to maintain altitude. I found with the gimbal my P2V was having a hard time maintaining altitude. I adjusted the Basic Vertical gain to 190 and the flying characteristics are much more like they were before the gimbal was added. Here is a thread with more info about adjusting gains.
http://www.taco-rc.com/servlet/the-40/3 ... unt/Detail
This gimbal is 3D printed with PLA. Is is relatively inexpensive at $259.90. The gimbal usually ships next day and is usually delivered in 5 to 7 days. It is based on the Simple BGC/Basecam controller. The controller comes loaded with 2.2b2 firmware. Here is the user manual from the Basecam website. This firmware is about 10 months old and there has been 3 firmware releases since. You will not be able to upgrade the firmware because the controller is not an official controller from Basecam.
After you've installed your gimbal there are a few things you'll have to do to configure and calibrate it.
- Balance the gimbal
- Update the gimbal gains in DJI assistant software
- Load the default profile onto the controller
- Calibrate the controller and possibly adjust the IMU
- (optionally) Tweak the BaseCam profile to improve performance
- (optionally) Adjust motor gains to compensate for added weight
Balance the gimbal
With the P2V powered off your gimbal should sit pointing as straight and horizontal as possible. If you have a lens kit or other mods that have affected the balance of the gimbal you should add counter weights on the camera mount so it sits straight. If you don't do this the gimbal motors won't have enough power by default to hold the camera straight. Just to hold the camera straight you'll have to increase power to the motors causing the gimbal to be less smooth in flight.
Update the gimbal gains in DJI assistant software
You've got to essentially turn off the gimbal controller built into the phantom so it's managed by the new Basecam controller by setting the tilt gain to 0. You also have to adjust the center point and range of the tilt control and slow down the speed of the tilt. Here is an exampled with a good starting point.
Load the default profile onto the controller
Before powering on the P2V connect the Basecam controller to a PC with a micro USB cable. There is a micro usb port on the Basecam controller. Next, install the usb drivers and Simple BGC GUI. From inside the SimpleBGC GUI connect to the com port the controller is connected to, load the Taco Supreme profile linked below and write the profile to the controller. If you have a V3 with the IMU mounted on top of the camera you must use the V3 profile. The only difference is the top axis is Z and the right axis is -Y.
You can now power on the phantom and the gimbal should be stable.
Calibrate the controller and possibly adjust the IMU
Do a six point calibration of the IMU. Here is a good IMU calibration tutorial on youtube.
Depending on what version of camera mount that came with your gimbal you might have to slightly adjust the alignment of the IMU. If your IMU is mounted on the side of the camera mount you probably have to adjust the alignment of the IMU so the camera will set correctly horizontal. Moving the IMU a bit a little hot glue should do the check. Here is a good thread with pics and all.
If you have a V3 with the IMU mounted on top of the camera you shouldn't have to adjust the IMU alignment.
Tweak the BaseCam profile to improve performance
amrflyingdude posted some profile changes that might work better for you.
Roll: P=10, I=.1, D=16, Power=120
Pitch: P=10, I=.0.08, D=17, Power=100
At certain angles my gimbal has high frequency oscillations (vibrations) that show up in video if you're really paying attention. If the PWM frequency is set to LOW the vibration goes away and the gimbal seem more smooth in general. Unfortunately, set to low the controller emits an annoying high pitch hum. I included two profiles one with the PWM frequency set to HIGH and a second PWM frequency set to LOW. I configured the button click on the menu button tab in the SimpleBGC GUI to load one profile and 2 clicks to load another. If I want it to shut up I just click the button the on Basecam controller once then click it twice before I fly. Again, remember if you have a V3 mount with the IMU on the top you must use the V3 profile. The zip file below includes 4 profiles 2 for v2 and 2 for v3.
Adjust motor gains to compensate for added weight
Because your P2V is heavier with the new gimbal you should probably make more power available to the motors to maintain altitude. I found with the gimbal my P2V was having a hard time maintaining altitude. I adjusted the Basic Vertical gain to 190 and the flying characteristics are much more like they were before the gimbal was added. Here is a thread with more info about adjusting gains.
