Multi-Impossible, Mōvi_M5/MK Build and Review

[SleepyC]

M5 rocks... amazing in handheld and does a great job flying as well.

 

[Dylan M]

Bart. In the last 6 weeks or so, you have used your landing gears, built and used some RC Timer Retracts on a Hex, and now have this build going with the Freefly 3 legged landing gear that turns with the 3rd axis on the gimbal.

I'd be interested to hear your opinion on the pros and cons of what you have seen/learned so far between the 2 type of landing gears. I'm going to pull the trigger for a 3rd axis on my x8 which is almost 18 lbs with 2 axis. gimbal. Trying to decide between Freefly type gear with 3 legs or retracts...

I know zilch about retracts, so forgive this possibly dumb questions, but do you think the RC Timer retracts would hold up carrying 22 lbs?

ps. Now that I think about it, I probably won't have a choice. Bottom props would probably hit the cinestar type legs on the 3 pronged legs? More stuff to figure out.

Having flown both, the CS tripod is solid and no mechanical point of failure. It is separated by the vibration isolator so can be 'wiggly' (?) on take off and landing. That said, I like the fact that retracts aren't connected to the gimbal to catch air or any negative effect to the gimbal itself. Also makes it easier to transition the gimbal to handheld mode. Retracts definitely take some getting used to though. Plus on some level they are just kinda cool. Definitely wows a client... You could also check out a company that rhymes with foxtech for their retracts.



EDIT: waiting for pictures of this Movi though....

 

[smartaerials]

You could also check out a company that rhymes with foxtech for their retracts

Where ahah??

 

[Bartman]

Sooo,does it lift todo the shabang??

yes, very well. haven't flown it in a while but when we were flying it is was dead solid and the gimbal did exactly what it was supposed to do.

better than expected to be honest but that is consistent with my Mikrokopter experiences and was happy to see the M5 perform just as well.

 

[smartaerials]

BArt please post some pics or a litle video!You can t leave us half way of your build thrad
I just about to sell my soul to the devil in order to get a copter capable of lifting the MOvi5 and a 5d!
Thanks

 

[Bartman]

I"m sorry! I didn't realize that photos were never posted! I'll try to do this today sometime. If I can find some video I'll post samples also. We had taken it to a golf course a couple of times and did a bunch of flying with it.

 

[Bartman]

Some photos of the completed build. The custom Mōvi mount (the bare aluminum parts) is a little rough so I'll be cleaning that up a bit while the Mōvi goes out for service to replace a wire I broke after doing a firmware update. The pictures are a little crappy because I grabbed my daughter's camera to keep my Canon on the gimbal while I took photos!

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Batteries sit on the ears located on each side of the frame. Connections are easy to reach at the back of the frame.
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Motors are mounted using traditional clamps and motor mounting plates. The clamps are injection molded nylon and the motor mounting plates are aluminum. The arms use two telescoping tubes with a clamp so that the overall size can be shrunk down for easier travel.
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Three views of the frame (front/side/back)
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Mikrokopter makes their own motor speed controllers, called BL's for BrushLess controllers. You can either wire them into a common board that includes power distribution and I2c circuitry or you can wire them individually as I did and use an I2c isolation board (not available anymore). The I2c isolation board is the green board in the center of the electronics stack. Normally and I2c control stream would flow over two wires with a stop at each controller. The isolation board breaks up the I2c stream into individual hardwired outputs making it easier to wire and (supposedly) preventing a bad BL from corrupting the I2c stream.
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[Motopreserve]

Damn good looking my man! Very fine work. I like the mount. Might have to get a cad drawing from you and see if I can knock something like that out on the mill.

 

[smartaerials]

Barts XY
Rock.n.<<<<<<roll
So, down to the facts:
1_what diference using the Bl single stack to Double Quadro?
2_flight times with MTOM?
3-Could get a DJI similar set, why should I go MK?
Thanks for your reserch and dediation Bart!
Regards

 

[Bartman]

Barts XY
Rock.n.<<<<<<roll
So, down to the facts:
1_what diference using the Bl single stack to Double Quadro?
2_flight times with MTOM?
3-Could get a DJI similar set, why should I go MK?
Thanks for your reserch and dediation Bart!
Regards

What do you mean "single stack or Double Quadro"? I know that the BL 3.0's can be bought preconfigured in 4, 6, or 8 unit boards, I opted to buy singles and wire them up myself. Having had a number of bad experiences with the BL 2.0's where they were mounted in an Okto power distribution board, I opted to do singles so repair work would be minimized if/when one burns out.

Flight times with two 6000 mah 6S packs should be around fifteen minutes but it depends on the camera. the heli should be good to carry much heavier cameras though it hasn't been tested. i have access to a 5DMkIII so I can plan to fly that as soon as the weather breaks.

My XY8 frames have been flown with NAZA and WKM (and Hoverfly which flew it dead nuts perfect) and both did fine. I happen to really like Mikrokopter, it's what I started with and when it works it works really well. MK has been doing waypoints and GPS (and carefree, return to home, points of interest, follow-me, etc.) for eons at this point. The flying qualities have been the blue ribbon standard since around June of 2010 and their system is very mature at this point. DJI is appealing because you can use standard ESC's and save some money but I'm planning to build another heavy lift XY8 for possibly another Mōvi and I think I'm going to go KDE on the motors and ESC's and 3D Robotics Pixhawk for the flight control system. It's neat to me to think I can fly a pro level rig using motors, ESC's, a flight control system, and gimbal all manufactured by US based companies. Not everything is US made but I like the idea of a hometown supply chain for the next big heli project.

 

[Bartman]

Might have to get a cad drawing from you

sorry dude
http://multirotorforums.com/threads/multi-impossible-mōvi_m5-mk-build-and-review.18070/#post-166434

 

[Dylan M]

Looks really good, I like the mount.

 

[smartaerials]

What do you mean "single stack or Double Quadro"?

I also wire the Bls my self exactly for the same reason, and I see that you can get it very neat stacking them in pairs and conecting the IC2 through that board.

 

[Motopreserve]

sorry dude

. That's awesome!

 

[Bartman]

for anyone surfing through this build thread wishing they could have the capabilities of a two-operator heli, chances are for a small amount of money and some time, you can! FWIW, the MK/Mōvi makes a cameo appearance in the video

And the discussion thread here
http://multirotorforums.com/threads/2-axis-to-3-axis-conversion-simple-light-weight-and-cheap.22620/

 

[smartaerials]

Bart,
Whats your flight times with 2x 8000??
Just about to get a big stock of batteries and a bit uncertain if to get 8A or 10A packs.
My rig has 8x Tmotors 4014 400KV coaxial and the AUW is abot 10kg, looking at 10 min flight times.

Regards!

 

[Bartman]

I can't honestly say as it's been a long time since it's flown! The gimbal was damaged after the last firmware update late last year and I just recently sent it in for service (1 week turnaround, FWIW, nice job Freefly!) so it hasn't flown since last summer.

It's currently on its way to the NAB show and will be on display in the Rushworks booth (#SL7627). The heli will demonstrating that a live HD video stream can be fed to the console via an HD wireless video link like the Teradek Bolt 600 for use during live broadcast and streaming productions. It's not an entirely new concept but it's an added benefit for customers of Rushworks.

The helicopter will be flying again when I get it back home as I've teamed up with a new production team in the NYC/Philly area, DAP Media, LLC. As soon as I can get you good performance data I'll post it here.

Bart

 

[Pumpkinguy]

you look much younger in video than in your picture

Looks like you are big on wood props. I don't own any nor have I tried them. Since I started researching and learning it seems all the guys are saying Tmotor CF are the only choice. They drill this in so much I was starting to think they were the only good choice.

 

[SleepyC]

you look much younger in video than in your picture

Looks like you are big on wood props. I don't own any nor have I tried them. Since I started researching and learning it seems all the guys are saying Tmotor CF are the only choice. They drill this in so much I was starting to think they were the only good choice.

They are, wood warp and change with humidity. Bart just owns like 22,000 pairs of them so he is still using them.

 

[Bartman]

They are, wood warp and change with humidity. Bart just owns like 22,000 pairs of them so he is still using them.

that's incorrect Sleepy, wood that is sealed properly doesn't warp or change with humidity. wood does naturally dampen vibrations though and it splits and shatters dissipating energy as it does keeping the motors from being damaged in crashes.

plus it balances the yin and yang in my aircraft, allowing the electronics and carbon fiber to be in spiritual harmony with the wood.