Spartan Vortex info!

[sestcourt]

this was on the freak a while ago re: price

HeliFreak - View Single Post - The Spartan FBL unit makes a strange appearance....

Cheers for the link...

[lee mister]

Don't slag the vbar off on here them boys and girl are very protective of there little over priced blue thing lol

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

[Angelos]

[...] but some answers to my earlier questions would be appreciated What is the cost difference on this sensor to the "el-cheapo" one, and what sort of ball park are we looking at for the Vortex (and also will the datapod be bundled or required for setup)?

It was mentioned earlier as roughly 1200% difference on what I have received as volume prices. So the "el-cheapo" is say for example £3 (£1 per axis) my preferred option is £36. There is a substantial difference in price and I believe the benefits of one and pitfalls of the other justify it. For Vortex cost see here: HeliFreak - View Single Post - The Spartan FBL unit makes a strange appearance....

-Angelos

[Zeeflyboy]

That is already available with the Futaba unit.

Which

a) wasn't the subject, the use of cheap sensors vs expensive ones was.

And

b) isn't much use if you don't use futaba, and the features remain somewhat under developed compared to the likes of vbar.

[jamiem]

Thanks Angelos. I'm genuinely surprised at the still relatively low cost and it does beg the question of why would the likes of BeastX and Vbar go this route, when for an additional £30 odd they could have had the top dollar kit. I guess it's down to release dates, costs at the time, and presumably these sensors must also have extra costs with regards to implementation. Thanks again, now roll on the release so we can see if this fuss is justified

[Angelos]

Thanks Angelos. I'm genuinely surprised at the still relatively low cost and it does beg the question of why would the likes of BeastX and Vbar go this route, when for an additional £30 odd they could have had the top dollar kit. I guess it's down to release dates, costs at the time, and presumably these sensors must also have extra costs with regards to implementation. Thanks again, now roll on the release so we can see if this fuss is justified

The £1 per axis was given as example only. However the 1200% difference between the two is accurate. You also have to consider that costs increase as we put our markup on it, the distributor, the model shop, VAT, etc. So every extra pound in production has a much higher impact on the RRP. That's how the market works whether you buy a car, TV, computer or flybarless.

Within reason (obviously we don't need military grade sensors here) I always choose the best available sensors and parts for my products, even if that places them at the more expensive end of the market.

-Angelos

[xygax]

Its all about customer perception and reliability... if you fit it and it 'just works' they will all say its brilliant... and you will sell loads... you get one that goes up in smoke it will take years to recover your reputation... I have (and still got) a DS760 that was taken off its mount by a breaking blade... its still on a heli and working fine... it dont come better than that...


Steve

[Andy from Sandy]

Which

a) wasn't the subject, the use of cheap sensors vs expensive ones was.

And

b) isn't much use if you don't use futaba, and the features remain somewhat under developed compared to the likes of vbar.

Reference to a unit that can withstand vibration better. Relevant as this is the sensor I believe Spartan are going to use.

Futaba selects PinPoint® - PinPoint®

[garlicfish]

Ease of use certainly gets my vote.
I love the simplicity of setting up a quark.
Vbar needs a PHD to make it work well (without a lot of help and watching many hours of Mr Mel videos)
If the Vortex has the "It just works" factor then it will go in my shopping basket.

[Gixxer]

Reference to a unit that can withstand vibration better. Relevant as this is the sensor I believe Spartan are going to use.

Futaba selects PinPoint® - PinPoint®

If I was building a FBL system, this is the MEMS sensor I'd be using...

ADXRS649 | Fast Starting, ±20,000°/sec Vibration Rejecting Rate Gyro | MEMS Gyroscopes | MEMS and Sensors | Analog Devices

I'd hazard a guess that it's the one Spartan will be using

[Rctintin]

A rough time scale of release would be great, because I am about to buy another V-Bar for the Goblin. If it not far away, I may be tempted.

[Gixxer]

If I was building a FBL system, this is the MEMS sensor I'd be using...

ADXRS649 | Fast Starting, ±20,000°/sec Vibration Rejecting Rate Gyro | MEMS Gyroscopes | MEMS and Sensors | Analog Devices

I'd hazard a guess that it's the one Spartan will be using

I think I posted the wrong link... I'll see if I can find the correct one in my history

[Zeeflyboy]

Not sure if it's changed, but Angelos has previously hinted at a late spring/early summer release.

[KnifeEdge]

Two simple questions : When and how much.?

[Angelos]

Reference to a unit that can withstand vibration better. Relevant as this is the sensor I believe Spartan are going to use.

Futaba selects PinPoint® - PinPoint®

Yes, these are very good sensors. One of the best options for a flybarless system at this time. However you have to look at the package overall. It can't connect to anything else than an SBUS receiver without extra dangling bits, there is just a single power feed for potentially 5 digital servos, you need to decipher the Futaba user guide and try talking to the designer if you get stuck for whatever reason.

If I was building a FBL system, this is the MEMS sensor I'd be using...

ADXRS649 | Fast Starting, ±20,000°/sec Vibration Rejecting Rate Gyro | MEMS Gyroscopes | MEMS and Sensors | Analog Devices

I'd hazard a guess that it's the one Spartan will be using

These are very good sensors too, unfortunately not for RC. They are 5V which is a bit of a pain to produce internally in the FBL... you may be thinking that you give it 5V already but it's not the same. It needs to be an clean internally produced 5V. They don't have orthogonal mounting variants so they need to be soldered to individual PCBs and then solder these vertical to each other which is adds cost. And most importantly... the dynamic range is not good. A helicopter does not yaw much faster than 1200d/s and having 20000d/s range is absolutely no use. In fact it makes things worst as your sampling resolution becomes lower.

-Angelos