Adding two pounds to an X650

[Bartman]

The AHRSs on the XAircraft X650 is a very small and lightweight little module that does the work of adding stability to the quad. It sits on four squishy foam double sticky squares at the top of the components stack. I saw somewhere on the internet where it was mentioned that adding a coin to the AHRSs will help the quad to be even more stable as the AHRSs can vibrate sitting on the stack where it does. I'd guess the coin reduces the resonant frequency of the AHRSs by adding weight which should make it less vulnerable to high freq vibrations.
I chose to add two pounds (someone thank Her Majesty for the coin when they see her) between the mounting plate and the AHRSs itself. I'm using latex caulk to bond the coin to the plate and the AHRSs to the coin. I began by scuffing the mounting surfaces with sandpaper and then glued everything in place. If I ever decide to undo this, the caulk should peel off the surfaces pretty easily.
I'll mount a brace over the top of the AHRSs when the caulk dries so it can't ever come loose and cause a crash (again).
Bart

 

[Bartman]

I've been thinking, why does the AHRSs have to be mounted to a plate above the flight controller? Why can't I just stick the AHRSs to the FC itself and do away with the plate and extra hardware? I'm going to try to figure this out before I go any further.
Anyone?
Bart

 

[RTRyder]

If there any gyros or other bits of electronics that are sensitive to vibration it probably does need to be isolated from everything else. Is this box the main gyro setup for the quad or is it just an additional stabilization device? I don't see any reason to have a redundant system if the main gyros are working right and I've never seen a controller where the gyros are completely separate from the main board but I suppose anything is possible.

Ken

 

[Bartman]

I removed everything to expose the flight control and stuck the 2 lb. coin to the FC and then the AHRSs to the coin. On top of the AHRSs I put two small dollops of caulk and put the AHRSs mounting plate over the AHRSs to make sure it never comes loose in flight again. I had 5 and 10mm stand-offs from McmasterCarr and used those to hold the plate over the AHRSs.
The only reason I could see for not doing this is that it covers up the lights on the FC and AHRSs but you can't see them anyway when everything is together.
My replacement arms came today so it's all back together and we'll see how it flies as soon as the winds die down.
Bart