Where do you live? I will come help you to speed things up!:nevreness:
Photohigher skyline rsgs
- Thread starter 1001 Copters
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Where do you live? I will come help you to speed things up!:nevreness:
nicwilke
Active Member
I would strongly advise anybody to avoid anything from Photohigher. Especially the Skyline "RSGS".
There are many people who have thrown good money after bad trying to get these cursed pieces of rubbish to work over the last couple of months. Maybe we are on the verge of a miracle - we've been promised that before.
The whole PH family of equipment is sadly not worth the money.
It works OK if you want a good quality FPV platform or a hobby rig but for acquiring quality video I'd recommend buying something else. Sadly the prices they charge are way above what I would think of as hobby level.
The engineering of the AV200 gimbal is disappointing.
It has poorly fitting bearings, mechanical damping is achieved by tightening a screw against a crappy piece of plastic, the camera tray is drilled in such a way that balancing a 5D (for example) properly is not possible (the 5D is a camera that PH specifically say works with the AV200), the whole mount is so flexible when used with the 360 pan kit that the Skyline is unusable. The camera shakes in the roll axis so much that the gains need to be turned down to the point where there is inadequate stabilisation.
The quality control from the company is next to none existent.
My AV200 arrived with all of the screws loose and the gear on the roll servo was moulded off-centre so ran eccentrically. Kim promised to send me a new one which has never arrived.
My 360 pan kit arrived with a critical piece missing making it useless for a while.
My Skyline was an early one and the wiring loom was assembled incorrectly.
The customer relations are also dreadful.
As I mentioned above, I had an oval gear supplied with my AV200 which was a known issue. Despite a promise of a new one from Photohigher I have not received a replacement.
Throughout the Skyline mess PH have kept a very low profile and not had the decency to keep us updated on how the solutions are progressing. Some messages they have posted either by Twitter or on this forum have accused us - their customers - as fools that can't read the manual or set their "wonderful" product up properly. Great move to insult your customers!
Before anybody criticises me for my views I must say that I think there IS potential in the Skyline and the gimbals CAN produce acceptable results but my point is there are better alternatives in the marketplace that require less faffing time to produce better results.
My experience with this company and their products has not been good and since the problems have been with 3 different products and the dreadful customer service they offer I feel obliged to warn people against wasting their money.
I do like my PH av130, but the skyline is a total mess. The service also is a mess, the mails they reply on, are 2-3 weeks before sent. I am returning the skyline ones they reply to my mail. The hoverfly is allready on it's way, the results I saw are miles better than what you achieve with the skyline.
adarsh_007
Member
Same thing here! Except for I fly a heli with a AV200. What else option do we have?
Totally agree.
Photo Higher OM
Member
Hi Bordhead,
The Skyline was PH first electronic product to be released. We've made 3 small production runs and have paused for the last two months to fix it. We receive a lot of really good emails about its performance with good videos that are "rock solid" from people who don't use forums. You hear about the Skyline problems on these forums because this is where people come for help and discussion. In saying that, we also get many emails of people who have trouble with it (as seen in this forum). We've got back to as many emails as we've been able. Those that have called us up have always been helped and have got it working. Most of us are perplexed why it works for some but not for others. My guess is that every gimbal is somewhat different in it's mechanical properties (e.g. tightness of screws, pressure on roll cage from bearing etc). They are built by hand by a team of 3 so there is some variability in the gimbals.
Whether to buy one or not... depending on your setup and how much your willing to play with it will result in having great footage. My personal opinion is that it is work in progress which gets better everyday. Yesterday we were flying with all 3 axis stabilised (will post video today). If you can wait a bit longer, you will have a really good time with it.
Oti
The Skyline was PH first electronic product to be released. We've made 3 small production runs and have paused for the last two months to fix it. We receive a lot of really good emails about its performance with good videos that are "rock solid" from people who don't use forums. You hear about the Skyline problems on these forums because this is where people come for help and discussion. In saying that, we also get many emails of people who have trouble with it (as seen in this forum). We've got back to as many emails as we've been able. Those that have called us up have always been helped and have got it working. Most of us are perplexed why it works for some but not for others. My guess is that every gimbal is somewhat different in it's mechanical properties (e.g. tightness of screws, pressure on roll cage from bearing etc). They are built by hand by a team of 3 so there is some variability in the gimbals.
Whether to buy one or not... depending on your setup and how much your willing to play with it will result in having great footage. My personal opinion is that it is work in progress which gets better everyday. Yesterday we were flying with all 3 axis stabilised (will post video today). If you can wait a bit longer, you will have a really good time with it.
Oti
Mactadpole
Member
Could you please elaborate on what we are waiting on? Software, firmware, hardware??
I pre-ordered my Skyline RSGS back in May of this year, received it a few months ago, and have left it in the box. I really want to install it and get things going, but I also don't want to waste my time on wire looms and felt washers if a good fix is around the corner.
Should I wait a bit longer?
Thanks!
Photo Higher OM
Member
Progress
So this is where we are at the moment:
-Servo's will be controlled using traditional PWM signal. We thought we were being innovative by controlling it through the potentiometer feedback line however it doesn't seem to work for all.
-Pan is stabilised... we had good results with it yesterday. A bit more testing still required (will post videos as usual).
-Firmware and Software will be one package. Should make it easier to upgrade the Skylines firmware.
Cheers
Oti
So this is where we are at the moment:
-Servo's will be controlled using traditional PWM signal. We thought we were being innovative by controlling it through the potentiometer feedback line however it doesn't seem to work for all.
-Pan is stabilised... we had good results with it yesterday. A bit more testing still required (will post videos as usual).
-Firmware and Software will be one package. Should make it easier to upgrade the Skylines firmware.
Cheers
Oti
Photo Higher OM
Member
Hi Mactadpole,
What is worth waiting for is the next software. It will be more stable for the quirks removed. Seeing the next one will have standard servo control, the H-loom won't be needed. You will still need to have the gimbal setup correctly (some dampening and minimal play) but this goes for any gimbal.
What is worth waiting for is the next software. It will be more stable for the quirks removed. Seeing the next one will have standard servo control, the H-loom won't be needed. You will still need to have the gimbal setup correctly (some dampening and minimal play) but this goes for any gimbal.
Mactadpole
Member
Hi Oti,
Thanks for the reply! I have an AV130, what sort of dampening are you all recommending? Is there a time frame for the next software? I realize you might not want to answer the second question just yet!
Thanks again,
Shawn
Photo Higher OM
Member
You can adjust it by tightening the screw that holds the camera tray against the rollcage. The nylon washer does a good job in general of dampening.
Software timing wise... yea sooner rather later (very vague). We want to restart production (which will only happen once it works 100%) so there is urgency. Our electonic engineer works on it full time everyday.
Software timing wise... yea sooner rather later (very vague). We want to restart production (which will only happen once it works 100%) so there is urgency. Our electonic engineer works on it full time everyday.
bordhead
Member
so is it safe to say YES I can go purchase a skyline and install it and wait for the software update or do i wait for complete new hardware also?
Photo Higher OM
Member
Yes, you can buy it. However, it may work very well or it may not (depending on many variables in your setup).
Ultimately, you will be ok but you may have to wait for the new reconfigured software. I don't think the hardware will change much accept for the wiring harness over the next few months. This is because the servos signal needs to come of different pins on the microcontroller etc. When the reconfiguration is done, it will be safe to buy with guaranteed results.
Ultimately, you will be ok but you may have to wait for the new reconfigured software. I don't think the hardware will change much accept for the wiring harness over the next few months. This is because the servos signal needs to come of different pins on the microcontroller etc. When the reconfiguration is done, it will be safe to buy with guaranteed results.
nicwilke
Active Member
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