Vibration with camera mount, no vibrations without

[Nitrospazzz]

I did the "maiden" flight of the bergen with the camera mount attached this morning. I did one half of the tank without the camera mount to make sure everything was working correctly and to help me wake up a bit (flying at 6 am). After about 10 minutes of hovering and some brief slow forward flight I landed and attached the camera mount.

Spoolup was pretty good with real low vibrations but I went through it pretty quick for that purpose. However as soon as it was airborne the whole mount began shaking violently. The camera and gimbal sat pretty still and I managed to snap a couple of pictures that turned out ok.

I attached a picture to show you what I am running. I was wondering if the pool noodles are causing some turbulence that is causing the shake. I don't know if I will be able to get out and fly much more today. Supposed to be hot, windy and rainy.

http://webpages.charter.net/btennessen/images/Equipment.jpg

[AZ ChopperCam]

sounds ilke a resonance issue rather than a true vibration problem. you'll need to change the resonant frequency of the system. try loosening or tightening the bungees that hold the mount to the chopper.

if that's an Airfoil mount (looks like one) then it could simply be the fact that the Bergen hates the Airfoil being in the same room as it let alone being strapped to it's belly. :twisted: :mrgreen:

but seriously... If the helicopter is smooth without the mount then its definatley a resonance problem and is easily fixed. Do you have a RX/battery/downlink on the mount too or were you just flying with nothing on it? Flying with the mount "empty" can cause those types of shakes. no mass to damp the oscillations

[MarkWebber]

I've experienced the same vibes after attatching a mount. I boost the head speed a bit and it goes away. I think it's like DJ said...you've hit the resonance frequency of your rig.

[Whirly-Girl]

My Bergen EB did the same thing on my HCS mount the first time I tried a flight with all camera gear loaded. I spoke to Gary Travis about it and I had my HS too low. Remember, 1450 at 1/4 stick spool-up always, and I think he said something around 1570 for HS with the mount on.

Jeanette

[Nitrospazzz]

Sounds good, I'll try bumping up the headspeed a little bit. I was flying it with the camera gear onboard. I'll see if I can tighten the bungees a little bit as well

[kelly steed]

yes it your head speed,i run 1800,but i do fly alot on windy days
for me the high head speed gives me a very stable chopper with nice tight controls and i don;t use any expo any where,i also like that the chopper pulls like thers no mount or cam gear under the mechine,my clients get a big grin on thier face when i come'hot,noise in,pull back and give them alittle blade slap.

[kelly steed]

some thing you should also check, if you have been running low head speeds,check your main shaft bearings, they dont last long at low head speeds when lifting,like maybe two hours tops,or fix your control preplem,then change them right away.

[Nitrospazzz]

Sorry I forgot to post here that I got it working a day or two ago. I raised my headspeed, don't have a tach so I have no idea what I raised it to but I did raise it. I also loosened the bungees. This provided me with a good almost vibration free setup. Still some tweaking to do but thats expected