My First...........

[tourerjim]

Video, the camera is mounted on front of my 500 its stuck down well but got few vibes so if anyones got any ideas.??? even just little better be something.

2012-12-31 11.03.37.jpg2012-12-31 11.04.09.jpg

[sp4rky-m4rky]

Wow shame about your canopy and I didnt notice the whole world has gone to jelly. What is it mounted to exactly? straight to the canopy or to the air frame? Its hard to tell if it is vibes through the frame because it isnt insulated from it or whether it is not fixed rigid enough to stop it resonating. I just taped mine to the underside of my 450, sure the Cof G was way off but there didnt seem to be much vibration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7U4...nbUg2Q&index=1

[tourerjim]

Got it mounted on plate to main frame with adhesive pad, all nice & secure but perhaps it needs something more, your video is perfect

[maddog7]

Got it mounted on plate to main frame with adhesive pad, all nice & secure but perhaps it needs something more, your video is perfect

Hi Jim,
Make a mount for your camera using something like earplugs between two plates with the camera mounted on top/bottom and the other side mounted to the heli.

Something like (but probably neater than :-) this:
IMG_4068.jpg

I found by trial and error it's best to use the GP without the case, the weight does weird stuff to the handling of the heli since it's kinda free to wobble about.
:-)
D

[dillwhacker]

Hi Jim,
Make a mount for your camera using something like earplugs between two plates with the camera mounted on top/bottom and the other side mounted to the heli.

Will posta pic in a bit.
D

Yep, agreed, you need a heavy (mass) mount well isolated from the frame by the foam - its like an RC filter.
Use soft foam for the isolation, and make the mount as heavy as you dare, maybe 6mm thick ali or even steel to add mass and reduce the resonant frequency.
Balance your blades the best you possibly can, as blade speed is close to camera frame speed, so produces these ripples.

[asomaro]

I've built a special GoPro mount and it's being tested now. The plan is to use it on multi rotor craft for amateur videography (I plan to use it for small scale professional work but it ought to work just as well on helis).

So far it seems work very well and proved to have removed any vibrations, I will post some pictures and details soon after a bit more testing.

Cheers,

[helimadness]

Hi,
I used a Q5 Mini DV cam so a little smaller than the go pro. I tapped it to the skids and also tried tapping to the top of the canopy as that was rubber mounted. The canopy was better but still a little wobbly. Vibes and maybe just a cheap camera. Weight that is rubber mounted would be the go. What about taking the canopy off and attaching the gopro to the lipo. Its the heaviest thing on the heli. Could put a couple of hard rubber pads under the lipo and strap it down hard.
Also the Gopro I have used with sailing normally have a fairly long stork that the camera is attached to. Maybe need to get rid of that if you are using it and try and attach the camera box directly to something solid.
Here is a couple of vids I took, One on the skid and one on the canopy.
Trex 500 Skid Cam mpg - YouTube
T500 On Board - YouTube

Maybe interesting to try different head speeds as well. My heli had a strange tail oscillation at a certain RPM. If I go above or below that seems ok. Was doing some hover practice the other day at 2000 RPM, over 9 mins with nearly 30% left in the pack :-)

Also noticed your head speed seem to change a lot during rolls. Are you using any sort of Gov?

Cheers
Mark

[sp4rky-m4rky]

I think I would stress checking blade tracking balance etc again to see if you can reduce and vibration and that's only going to help. Again as said worth trying a different head speed sounds like a great idea, hopefully you were just unfortunate that is was the natural frequency of your mount. Taking the gopro out of the case and mounting it will reduce the distance the mass is from the mounting point.

A quick attempt would be to fix between the back of the gopro case, back to your canopy if you haven't already done so. Use something sponge like, like double sided tape. It may be enough to dampen the vibrations and would be quick and easy.

[tourerjim]

Thanks for all your replies I've obviously got more work to do,
2012-12-31 11.01.53.jpg2012-12-31 11.02.18.jpg
Perhaps i should be looking to mount it without the cover.

[helimadness]

Why don't you make a little triangle wedge out of rubber or hard ish foam so you mount the camera solid to it and not use the go pro bracket. Can go one side one the bracket, one side on the lipo and one side on the camera. Not sure if I explained that very well. Having the weight of the lipo to suck up the vibes would have to help. I think the go pro bracket is likely to amplify vibes as well.

Cheers

[tourerjim]

Looking at it now its like sitting camera on a pedestal
2013-01-11 09.09.32.jpg a bit of thinking is needed now.!

[helimadness]

Looking at that you could maybe leave as is but fill the gap inbetween the camera and lipo with foam or rubber wedge and tape the camera firmly to the lipo to help deaden the vibes.

[sp4rky-m4rky]

Looking at that you could maybe leave as is but fill the gap inbetween the camera and lipo with foam or rubber wedge and tape the camera firmly to the lipo to help deaden the vibes.

I would agree, that is similar to what I was suggesting earlier. Your mount looks very but with the gopro mounted like that it looks as though it will be able to resonate from side to side with the vibration. Tethering the gopro case to your lipo will dampen this side to side movement with any luck.

Have you had a chance to take it up at a different headspeed yet?

[mc_clean_david]

Try removing the Go Pro from the case and stick it direct to a mount with double sided tape! Also fly slower circuits - if you fly too fast the picture will distort! Look at my video from my Gaui 500X Quad with go pro and you will see what I'm talking about

It is nice, steady and smooth until I fly fast then the picture distorts - go to 3:40!

Gaui 500X @ Omagh MFC

[PorscheBoy]

I am working on a design (for a while now ) using a strong retract servo (controlled using the AUX 2 variable pot on my DX7s) to a link fixed to the GoPro housing and using one of the "GoPro 3" hinged supports fixed to the underside of the frame of my 550e DFC.

At take off and landing my GoPro 3 camera would be looking straight down, once in the air you can hinge the camera by turning the AUX 2 knob anywhere from straight down to straight ahead (90degs). With the GoPro 3 it has a wireless function so you (or more likely someone else !) can view what the camera is seeing. I am also working on (as you can see, there is a theme developing in this thread ) a two position mounting capability a) directly below the main shaft and b) further forward (so that you wouldn't see the skids/canopy in the forward looking shot if you didn't want to). You can get a decent anti-vibration pad and security bolts through the bottom of the frame (and a lightweight tether directly to the camera, just in case). There is room to mount the servo inside on the frame. I want to be able to easily remove all of the paraphenalia when I do not need it to return the heli to stock, and that is something I am working on . As I say, work in progress. Once done I will post installation pic's and hopefully a video or two.
This way gives some protection to the camera as it is enclosed within the imaginary confines of the heli (when in the retracted position anyway). Grand plans take time, and I'm working on that

Paul