crewchief
03-27-2008, 07:22 PM
So how many helicopters does a guy really need? I've got the first of the 2 Benzin Vario gassers set up for HD video, plus I've got a full-backup TREX 600. Seems like I can barely turn around in my shop anymore, so I'm going to cut loose this 600, since I haven't used it in a few months. This was my "bread and butter" ship last year and it's in immaculate condition - never been crashed, or even landed hard. It's always flown incredibly smooth and is super reliable.
Basically this is a one-man system with a Canon S5 IS (Image Stabilization) and a standard Canon wide angle lens and adapter, and a 4GB memory card. The image from the Canon is fed out through a Range Video 2.4 GHz feed and I watch the image through a pair of high quality video goggles. I can wear these goggles with my glasses on, and can look above them at the heli, and look under them at the Tx if I need to. When I'm going to land I just remove them, since the heli will be passing through the mid visual range on landing. All the video stuff is mounted in a vest.
I designed and built the super-lightweight camera mount and landing gear. The camera is tucked up under the fuselage to keep the C.G. where it should be, and the camera is self-leveling for hover tilt. The heli actually flies more stable with the camera on (not like the typical boat-anchor designs you see). The camera is operated via a servo on the Gear Aux2 Channel. There is a Spartan RC AP2000i installed, with the Gear switch set up to control it. The Gyro Remote Sense line is attached to the 4th channel on the AP2000 controlled, which frees up an Rx channel, since all 7 are needed.
I'm also throwing in a Coby 40 GB hard-drive audio/visual recorder that you can use to record a video downlink from the S5 or any other video source...
...plus an 8000mAh MaxAmps flight battery for 12 min flights + landing time (>$400)
...plus a 4200mAh MaxAmps Rx battery - you'll only need to charge occasionally
...plus 2 TP 2200mAh batteries to run the video Tx & Rx
...plus Greg McNair's book "Aerial Photography", $50
I've got a DX7 Tx I've only used twice, and I will copy the programs from my primary DX7 if you need a Tx. Otherwise I'll document all the curves and settings. Either way, the TREX comes with the AR7000 Rx installed. This is all going up on my eBay store, if one of you guys isn't interested. $2999 shipped - PayPal - no haggling, please. $2799 w/o the DX7. U.S. only.
Basically this is a one-man system with a Canon S5 IS (Image Stabilization) and a standard Canon wide angle lens and adapter, and a 4GB memory card. The image from the Canon is fed out through a Range Video 2.4 GHz feed and I watch the image through a pair of high quality video goggles. I can wear these goggles with my glasses on, and can look above them at the heli, and look under them at the Tx if I need to. When I'm going to land I just remove them, since the heli will be passing through the mid visual range on landing. All the video stuff is mounted in a vest.
I designed and built the super-lightweight camera mount and landing gear. The camera is tucked up under the fuselage to keep the C.G. where it should be, and the camera is self-leveling for hover tilt. The heli actually flies more stable with the camera on (not like the typical boat-anchor designs you see). The camera is operated via a servo on the Gear Aux2 Channel. There is a Spartan RC AP2000i installed, with the Gear switch set up to control it. The Gyro Remote Sense line is attached to the 4th channel on the AP2000 controlled, which frees up an Rx channel, since all 7 are needed.
I'm also throwing in a Coby 40 GB hard-drive audio/visual recorder that you can use to record a video downlink from the S5 or any other video source...
...plus an 8000mAh MaxAmps flight battery for 12 min flights + landing time (>$400)
...plus a 4200mAh MaxAmps Rx battery - you'll only need to charge occasionally
...plus 2 TP 2200mAh batteries to run the video Tx & Rx
...plus Greg McNair's book "Aerial Photography", $50
I've got a DX7 Tx I've only used twice, and I will copy the programs from my primary DX7 if you need a Tx. Otherwise I'll document all the curves and settings. Either way, the TREX comes with the AR7000 Rx installed. This is all going up on my eBay store, if one of you guys isn't interested. $2999 shipped - PayPal - no haggling, please. $2799 w/o the DX7. U.S. only.