Picloc 3x setting experience etc.

[MombasaFlash]

Jesper,

What about the camera lens? Was that a stock Sony lens? Did you switch the OIS on?

I ask because I am thinking about getting an FS-100 to use in place of the 5D - a weight saving of 0.5 kg - and possibly even the Panasonic P2 on the big heli. Both cameras do a good job but the MR has more critical payload limitations and the 'little' cameras just do not cut it. The GH2 is about the only one and they have suddenly become difficult to find.

 

[Skysurf]

Mombasa,

we are using the Sony 18-55mm lens and the IS was turned on. I really like the FS100, much easier to use, the picture is sharper and it does 1080/60p. We are using a very large 6600 mAh battery on it and the weight is around 1550g - saving a few hundred grams compared to the 5D/16-35 that we used to fly. However, the platform can handle up to about 4kg camera payload, so the weight really is not an issue with it.

/Jesper

 

[ssjheli]

Hi
I finaly got a flight with my home build Hexa and homebuild gimble. The film is raw with a Nex 5. I have some problems with servo jittering but it is getting better but it is hard.
Pic loc is 56.70 FW.
http://youtu.be/HNG50st9-WY

Søren Jørgensen

 

[flybee]

Hello George!

Where are you? What´s about the next firmware?
I have tested all versions and I think it is possible to improve your development with the next firmware.
The 56.70 is good but the horizontal problem by using PAN and NICK is the problem (see my post 782 on page 79).
This problem does not exist at 56.43 (but with this version I have problems with servojittering again).
I know you will do it!!!

Best regards
Bernhard

 

[tammo]

Usable?

Hi!
At the moment i have a MK Cinestar with AV-200 360 Gimbal and FS-100 Cam.
Controlling the 360 gimbal is done with a second transmitter and another MK FC.

I have a picloc 3x pro sitting on my desk and dont know what to do after reading a lot of pages in this thread.

Would you change the working setup with the Picloc?
My next commercial flight will be on 28.04 or a week later.

Greetings from Germany,
Tammo

 

[shone]

This is a test picloc 3x pro fw 056.70 frame cs 8 360 nikon d800e lens 14mm f2.8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rF0e...DvjVQa1PpcFMSU1eO7qz_-F3n_nP8pIN_WVBzAiKBlVg=

Best regards
Nenad

 

[MombasaFlash]

This is a test picloc 3x pro fw 056.70 frame cs 8 360 nikon d800e lens 14mm f2.8....

Well, the CS8 is flying nicely and kudos for getting v.56.70 to work but, with the combination of the ultra wide 14mm and jello at the frame edges, the Nikon D800 doesn't really look any better than a GoPro!

 

[MombasaFlash]

Hello George! Where are you? What´s about the next firmware?....

Go and have a look HERE Bernhard. Something to do over the weekend.

 

[flybee]

Hello MombasaFlash!

I hope the weather will get better . If it´s possible I´ll test it!
Thank you!

 

[fritz99]

Go and have a look HERE Bernhard. Something to do over the weekend.

Does anybody know, what the difference is between the "X1" and the "X3" versions ?

 

[EricH]

Does anybody know, what the difference is between the "X1" and the "X3" versions ?

Check the quoted rotorpic link, Read me

E

 

[fritz99]

Check the quoted rotorpic link, Read me

E

Thank you !

 

[sean911sc]

Is the PicLoc 3X compatible with the JR 9303/9503?

 

[yeehaanow]

Raw flight.
PASSWORD is: picloc

Y6 with Picloc on roll and tilt. As you can see, the tilt is working quite well, as well as being aided a little bit by IS on the lens.
Tilt: Gear ratio is 4.3:1 with a 3-turn pot that is geared to about 11:1 Spektrum 6040 servo running at 8v.
Roll: Gear ratio now about 7:1 with a 3-turn pot connected to the servo shaft. Going to try a larger drive gear to get below 5:1 drive, and then gear a 5-turn pot to around 15:1
Running E55 firmware.
Sorry, forgot to put any music. Play your own

http://vimeo.com/40913173

 

[tammo]

Hi Tim!
Thanks for uploading the testvid.
It looks very promising.
I would love to see how it handles some faster flights and direction changes.
You are flying so smooth, i bet it would look good without any stabilisation at all (like Beuregard does).

greetings from germany,
tammo

 

[Skysurf]

Towards the end of this video (around 2:35) I maneuver the helicopter a little bit more aggressively and I think that the Picloc does really well. This footage has not been stabilized. Using firmware version 0.55.

Here is another clip that we shot this weekend using the Picloc.

/Jesper

 

[GeorgeM]

WoW .. Jesper !!!! really like these two clips !!!

What I really appreciated, and when auto level comes in handy.. is that after the tilt downs, when you go up again, the horizon doesn't come "on the piss" ... !!LoL!! <- as my friend DennyR used to say..!!

 

[GeorgeM]

On a separate reply, I want to apologize for the lack of comms during this month... it was a freak month !!

Like everyone else, I had my eyes on NAB2012... and what's coming out.
Competition is nice, and motivates one to work even harder !! More info laters )))

Back to the den....

 

[Lanzar]

@MombasaFlash

DID u correct the twichinig ?
Did u go back to 55HD.

I tried to go back to 55 but it seems i cant get it to flash right. Everytime i do it when i open the software i get to high value then. Any solution??

With this unreliable weather I decided to see how the 3X would handle the 2-axis mount on a Raptor 50. I decided to use FW v.E055 as HD55 has known issues with proportional servos and v.56 just isn't behaving.

The 3X had to be mounted lengthways due to lack of space. I knew this would not present a problem as Toolz has selectable orientation under OPTIONS. I have to assume that EVERYBODY mounts their 3X horizontally because I have never seen any reference in this thread to the following 3X behaviour.

Basically, the Arrow towards Tilt orientation option does not work at all. Something does change but whatever it is, it is not useful. PL gets totally confused over which axis is which and is always at odds with the Tx sticks. It compensates the Roll when it should be compensating the Tilt, and vice-versa.

So I tried HD55. No change. Next up was v.56.

Aha! the Tilt and Roll panes under SERVOS swap positions, with Roll now being listed first. But other than that it still compensated the wrong axis. AND ... it TWITCHED AND HUNTED. WTF?

Why the hell is nobody else reporting this hunting and twitching with FW v.56 ? I have it regardless of the camera mount. The Copterworks gimbal, the AV200 and now the 2-axis Raptor mount as well.


Yesterday I had another go at v.56 on the CW mount. Just always the same. One other really annoying 3X habit is that occasionally when saving to EEPROM the Tilt axis suddenly goes for a 360. This chafes and damages the roll axis servo cable if you don't get to the power switch AND yank out the USB in time.

 

[MombasaFlash]

@MombasaFlash

DID u correct the twichinig ?
Did u go back to 55HD.

I tried to go back to 55 but it seems i cant get it to flash right. Everytime i do it when i open the software i get to high value then. Any solution??

The latest beta firmware is 56.72. I tried it and there was no change. All three axes twitched occasionally, but predominantly Tilt and Roll, and Roll kept gently moving around.

HOWEVER, following a suggestion from George, at one point the camera mount was powered up WITHOUT the Tx. This results in Picloc stabilising the mount using its saved parameters, although obviously the mount cannot be controlled. Under these circumstances there was no twitching and pretty much no hunting. But, as soon as the Tx was turned on ... Twitch'n'Hunt came back to town.

A total mystery, as this does not happen with any of the versions prior to v.56.

So, it was back to HD55. But even then a new issue arose in the form of the mount wandering off-centre and then freezing. This was whilst airborne. Switching PL off and back on again with the AUX1 switch jerked everything back to centre and all operated normally for a while until the same thing happened. Wander off and freeze.

This is new. I have not seen this behaviour before.


As to your request for a solution, if I understand your question correctly you are getting the Error Message about such and such parameter being too high? Don't forget that there are several FW v55 variants and that each has its own respective Toolz application, but this Error Message can appear if you go backwards and use an earlier firmware version without doing a Factory Reset. In such instances, open Toolz, deselect Continuous Updates, click Connect and wait for the blue or orange line to appear briefly, and then click Factory Reset/Restart.

It is always prudent to have settings noted down for quicker programming after a Factory Reset. Although, I have found that, after trying countless firmware versions with Factory Resets, I can run through the basics in less than two minutes from memory! It reminds me of the earlier Piclocs that were programmed using a single push-button. I became so fluent that I could zip through the sequences of push-button clicks in next to no time!