Hi guys,
Had a few queries regarding how I mounted my APM (mainly since I get a compassmot of 0%!). Well here it is. This will only work on side exit APM's!
Step 1:
Screw in 4 x 8mm risers in to the bottom plate, and add one sheet of moongel on top of the core (if you have no core, superglue some risers in the spot. Note: yes, that's moon gel stuck into the FPV camera slots.
Step 2:
Glue a 1mm fibre plate on top of the risers & two drops on the moon gel of the core. You can superglue the whole thing in place, but I chose to use 2 screws, for additional security. I use a battery tray plate from a spare set of quadframe legs.
Step 3:
Add you vibe solution. I've use moongel with good success, but I've decided to try out zeal corners (which i why I dismantled it)
Step 4:
Carefully place the APM in place. Take care to ensure nothing it binding; you don't want vibrations transmitted to the APM via the wires. Insert the battery to make sure it does not press the "out" servo leads. Also try and make sure the "in" servo cables don't torque the board too much, but this can be tricky.
Step 5:
Screw it all back together, but take not of the front starboard mount. This is where and how I placed the DJI riser. It's not exactly over the 4 holes - it only uses 2, This moves it outboard a few mm. Not much, but it might be this detail that separates a 0% compassmot from a 1%...
BUT...THERE'S A MASSIVE PROBLEM...
...take a look at where the USB port is.... You can still reach it with the standard USB cable, by pushing through the port front leg...but it's a really, really tricky, and you are in danger of pulling out a solder!
So find a USB cable with a 90' bend in it. And when you find one...let me know...before the logs fill up and I crash!
Comments
The black rubber thingy is the standard TBS go pro cushion-thingy. Its weight is neglible. I basically fly with the gopro in place all the time, even if I'm not using it. Keep the CoG consistent.
This is the normal disco, and it balances fine with a 4S 4500 or 3s 5000, but I can imagine the problem! Even a small change at the front will affect it.
I heard that a 6000 might help balance it; but will one fit?
My suggestion to solve the USB port problem would come from adafruit.com:
http://www.adafruit.com/products/1099
Cheers k.
Sorry, slow connection, didnt see full image!
Thank you brian.
I've found more complicated than other frame to get off all vibration on the disco. I've used moongel inside without success (but ok, maybe i've make something not correct) But with t-motor and perfectly balanced props i hoped for something better.
Now i hope that my new mount will improve something.
Ps brian, can you share a photo of your setup with moongel? did you use some ciano to let the moongel stay in place? thanks
@micheal: no problem about stability with apm on top? how are vibration?
tbs disco support
I've designed and built a mounting system for the disco after some thought. it uses the kk holes on the frame and provide support for APM (Vr brain board in my case but it almost the same) .
Kyosho zeal is used for antivibration. Now its different from the image (6th prototype version) and i'm designing a pcb board for relaying radio signal from the left of the tbs to the front and 4 esc header at the corner. It's 3d printed in abs (very sturdy)
<a href="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/821/u3vq.jpg/" target="_blank"><img src="http://imageshack.us/a/img821/9181/u3vq.th.jpg" border="0"/></a>
You might be right Brian, but this one flies just fine, from my eyes. Maybe more experienced stick twiddlers can tell, but I can't! :-) I think Steadidrone has theirs forward and off to the side, so I don't thinks it's too much of a problem.
UPDATE:
It's also possible to do this with 6mm risers as well - with 8mm risers, the APM is *very close* to the top plate, depending on your vibe solution.
Only difference is, you skip the moongel part, and glue the plate directly to the top of the Core RF shield.
Cheers guys! I'll look at these USB options today.
@ Brian: My vibe levels are good with moongel - +/-1 when loitering in slight breeze...+/-5 when pushing it around with full sticks in stabilize. I've not tried acro, but I suspect you'll exceed the recommended maximum of +/- 5. But since I never fly acro, that's ok for me!
I took this apart to try out the zeal squares; they are definitely more secure (when you consider the USB problem), and they are better in heat. I will let you know my vibe scores in the next flight. I will be re-running compassmot (since I've moved wires etc) while it's raining and I can't fly!
Re: CoG - Mounting the APM this far forward wasn't really that much of a problem, as it's not really that heavy - the problem was the battery. A 5000 3S is heavy, and it needs to be "right in" for good CoG. So by necessity you need to push the APM forward to allow the battery to move forward.
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