E*RaptorCam

[AZ ChopperCam]

wanted to start a new thread solely for discussions on my E*RaptorCam.

I just finished this helicopter a few days ago. My initial test flights were without the camera mount. I was having motor overheating issues. I spoke with Gary at TP Packs for at least 30 minutes on the phone yesterday (thanks Gary) and we decided it best to have Hacker swap the motor for a new one. Fortunately Hacker is a 15 minute drive from my house :D

So... this morning with new motor installed went ahead and mounted up the camera gimbal and figured I'd get some video/stills.

some specs:

Hacker A50-12S
CC85HV ESC
TP 10s2P 4200 battery

AUW is about 11.5lb.

My flight time this morning was about 6 minutes. Not great and the motor is doing much better but still was at 182° at the end of the flight. The previous defective motor would have been well over 200 so I know this motor is good (or better at least). Ambient temp was 82°

It hauled the weight no problem and I did a collective pump to see how she'd climb. Just as fast as a nitro bird.

I shot about 5 minutes of video in the back yard. The gimbal is not complete as I have not yet mounted the horizontal dampers and a few other minor details. I have a vibe coming from the rotorhead but I know it's likely due to me not balancing the blades or accurately checking distance between paddles. Will tweak that stuff next.

Even with the small rotor vibe I can tell you this machine is very smooth! and SMOKE FREE!!


http://www.azchoppercam.com/raptorcam/eraptorcam_1.jpg
http://www.azchoppercam.com/raptorcam/eraptorcam_2.jpg
http://www.azchoppercam.com/raptorcam/eraptorcam_3.jpg
http://www.azchoppercam.com/raptorcam/eraptorcam_4.jpg
http://www.azchoppercam.com/raptorcam/eraptorcam_5.jpg
http://www.azchoppercam.com/raptorcam/eraptorcam_6.jpg
http://www.azchoppercam.com/raptorcam/eraptorcam_7.jpg

two shots from this morning's test flight (low res shot from video)
http://www.azchoppercam.com/raptorcam/eraptorcam_still_1.jpg
http://www.azchoppercam.com/raptorcam/eraptorcam_still_2.jpg

[loewermx]

Does that camera have the ability to take both video and stills? What model is that? (camera)

[DebianDog]

Sweet!!! :noteworthy

I would like to see it actually flying (not the video from the camera)

and/or

a split screen of a flight.

Nic work man!!!

[AZ ChopperCam]

Does that camera have the ability to take both video and stills? What model is that? (camera)

Panasonic GS150.

I've used the GS120, GS150, GS250 and GS300. ALL of them are great cameras. They are all 3CCD and that's something you MUST have if you have an SD camera and want to use it for broadcast.

yes. You can shoot video of the entire flight and then when on the ground play the camera video back. when you see a shot you want a still of hit the "photo" button and it captures the shot as a .jpg. BUT it's a 720x486 NTSC frame grab if you do it that way.

the other way is to put the camera in photo mode only. then it can shoot 2.3 megapixel images. but it's not the greatest solution for still work. where it really shines is in video!

I would like to see it actually flying (not the video from the camera)

hmmm.... never done that before!! :shock: I'll have to round up a helper to shoot it. Maybe this weekend :D

[dreslism]

DJ,

Do you have an accurate wieght of the production front mount gear now that you basically have it done. Everything, all bolts shocks, etc...

I'm slinging my underslung mount right now and would like to compare the weights.

Thanks,

[AZ ChopperCam]

I will weigh it tonight. I suspect AUW of mount (less camera) to be around 1lb. If I could CNC some of the HDPE I could probably shed another 3 or 4 ounces. but no way to CNC (cheaply)

[DebianDog]

Wish I lived a LOT closer :(

I would like to see it actually flying (not the video from the camera)

hmmm.... never done that before!! :shock: I'll have to round up a helper to shoot it. Maybe this weekend :D

[dreslism]

Wish I lived a LOT closer :(

I would like to see it actually flying (not the video from the camera)

hmmm.... never done that before!! :shock: I'll have to round up a helper to shoot it. Maybe this weekend :D

Yeah would love to see it also. Road trip to DJ's house!
Plus I like AZ, your scenery is better than mine!

[AZ ChopperCam]

couple more pics of the rig..

I have to be honest and say I'm nto too impressed with the performance of the power package I am using currently. very hot motor temps 180-200°, 6 minute run times. To be fair I will say that I am in AZ where the summer is hotter than Hell itself so this could be a major contributing factor. I will continue to work on this rig, but moving to something like a Joker is not out of the question.

nevertheless a RaptorCam mount on a Raptor E conversion that is either working in cooler ambient temps or carrying cameras less than 10oz. would most likely work great.

http://www.azchoppercam.com/raptorcam/raptorcam_4.jpg

http://www.azchoppercam.com/raptorcam/raptorcam_5.jpg

http://www.azchoppercam.com/raptorcam/raptorcam_6.jpg

http://www.azchoppercam.com/raptorcam/raptorcam_7.jpg

http://www.azchoppercam.com/raptorcam/raptorcam_8.jpg

http://www.azchoppercam.com/raptorcam/raptorcam_11.jpg

http://www.azchoppercam.com/raptorcam/raptorcam_10.jpg

http://www.azchoppercam.com/raptorcam/raptorcam_9.jpg

[AZ ChopperCam]

some news...

I am probably going to try a Hacker A50-12L on Flightpower 12s packs. This should help reduce temps and bring up duration.

It looks as though the TP 10s2p 4200 pack I have been using may have a bad cell. It's consistently .3v or more out of balance on one cell after only 1 or 2 cycles. I am sending it to Tp for them to inspect. so for now the ship is grounded.

[Motions]

How is the vibration on that mount? Is the video stable?

[AZ ChopperCam]

at first I had some vibes. but once I tracked and balanced the blades the vibes are almost non-existant.

[GJestico]

The flightpower evo packs are great. Great for high draw apps. They tend to be heavier per capacity than some "other" brands. watch the weight on that baby before you know it it'll be 14 lbs.

[GGoodrum]

I think the bad cell is what caused the bulk of the heat and short duration problems. When a cell goes, it usually stresses the other cells and makes it even harder to hold the voltage up. Since the load hasn't changed, the system tries to pull even more current to handle the watts required. The heat losses go up as a square function of the current so the bottom line is that everything starts breaking down and the motor gets hot as Hades.

I think the A50-12S is going to like the new FP pack just fine, even in those insanely hot AZ summer days. :)

[AZ ChopperCam]

well... flew today with the new Flight Power packs. hover only.

(2) FP 5s2p 5,000mah
AUW 11.8lb
660 semi-sym blades
ambient temp 104° ( I know... hot!)
run time 11:45 (much better!)
motor temp 205° (uggghhhh)
pack temps 117° & 115°
ESC temp 122°

batt voltage at rest at end of flight was 36.2v

haven't recharged so I do not know how much mah I took.

Even though the motor temps got up there the machine had plenty of power. Did a couple full collective/power punches and even at nearly 12lb it shot up quickly.

The FP packs are great! If I can solve the motor heat issue and get temps to around 170-180 on 104° ambient days I think I could get 13 minutes which would be awesome.

hey Gary... should we try an A50-16s or 12L on 10s pack??

[Tabbytabb]

Headspeed??

Tabb

[AZ ChopperCam]

not sure... but I estimate maybe 1650?? I need an optical tach and to teach my lovely girlfriend how to use it.

[AZ ChopperCam]

ok.. just charged the packs. they took in 4425mah

[GGoodrum]

hey Gary... should we try an A50-16s or 12L on 10s pack??

I think so. The 16S has a much lower kV, so on 10s, I think you will need to use the 85T/10T gearing, becauswe even with these, the h/s will be down to about 1600-1650. With your curent setup, the 100% h/s is around 1850.

I"m still interested in your test tomorrow, in the morning lower ambients. Anyway, go see Kyna tomorrow, and I'll arrange for her to get you an A50-16S.

-- Gary

[AZ ChopperCam]

this morning

ambient 82°
time 11:10
motor 187°
esc 119°
batt 101°
batt 102°

I dialed down the headpseed a little lower today. could have flown longer but I hear taking too much out of the packs when they are new can be bad. I think I could have gone over 12 minutes easily maybe 13. will charge them today and see how much they take back in.

Shot some test video of my back yard and my neighbors back yard in the process :D good video but there's a small high prequency vibration that comes and goes every second or so... wierd.

[dreslism]

Morning report already??

Your neighbors must love to hear that at 5:30-6:00 in the morning :shock:

Motor temp is not down much for being 82. When I flew in 85 temp the other day, my motor was 167 after 5 minute flight. Maybe 10 minute flight heats it up more?

Your batts are definately cooler than mine. MIne are sandwiched together and reach about 120.

[GGoodrum]

Hmmm, that still seems too hot. Must be because it is being dialed down so much. Motors run the coolest when they are at 100%.

Well, the A50-16S should run quite cool, as it will be coasting on 10S.

-- Gary

[AZ ChopperCam]

I'm anxious to see how that 16s will do. If all goes well and I pick it up today I should be able to do a flight tomorrow AM :lol:

[GGoodrum]

Remember, you need to use the 85T/10T gearset with the 16s in order to get a h/s around 1600. With the 86T/9T combo, it'll only be about 1450.

[AZ ChopperCam]

yep... I've got a few sets of 10/85 around here