DC10 CAMERA HAULER

By jdmkramer on Mar 12, 2022

15  702  4

This build is quite a journey, and still ongoing. Here's a video of the current configuration, with a hotshoe mounted FC+OpenLager setup. Everything below is how I got to this:

Last test with G7 before switching to P4K:

I first built this frame before I'd bought the DJI system. Originally it was equipped with iFlight Xing 2814 motors, a Matek H7 Slim FC and a Skystars 65A 4in1 ESC. I'd used a Runcam Eagle and a random AKK half 30x30 style VTX mounted off the rear stack standoffs for an FPV system. The Crossfire Diversity Nano RX was perfect for the RC link as at that time I intended this frame to be the testbed for a head tracking FPV gimbal idea I'd been working on and the RX had plenty of PWM outputs I could directly control the gimbal with. More on that project another time. ;) This configuration only saw a few short test hops in the RDQ parking lot after work before I finally purchased my own set of DJI Goggles and a couple of Air Units. One Air Unit made its way into the DC10, and I gave it a few more timid flights. The SkyStars ESC did fine for gentle flying but what I assumed may have been an overly generous amp rating and my general unfamiliarity with the brand did not inspire confidence enough to "let it rip."
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I worked on converting my gimbal quad idea from analog to digital, and from off an off the shelf gimbal to my own custom design. Something with a wide range of balance adjustment because I was having a hard time visualizing where the thing would actually balance. I'll eventually make a build page for that thing, but there's still much to do before it is ready.
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Fast forward several months and several builds. When RDQ took delivery of our first batch of 6S 6000mAh LiPo and I held one of these beasts I knew it would be an ideal pack for this project if my DC10 was ever to be anything but a sluggish sky truck.

I'd been keeping an eye on GyroFlow since seeing a reddit post at least a year ago where someone had announced their intention to make their own stabilization software as a learning experience (IIRC) and the idea of being able to stabilize any footage ested me. I love aerial video, but for the most part what we see comes from Mavics and GoPros. I've always

I wanted to fly my Lumix G7 and play with gyroflow, so I upgraded to Brotherhobby Tornado 3115 motors and APD 80F3 individual ESCs and a Radix 2 PB. I designed some TPU ESC mounts with carbon PLA covers to protect my most expensive ESCs ever.
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After a few test flights with a Gopro, I designed a 3d printed plate to interface the Shen Drones Universal Camera Mount with my 6S 6000 pack, or directly to with the top plate. I tried strapping the camera mount to the top mounted LiPo, and it was flyable but ridiculously tall.
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I designed a LiPo protector plate so I could bottom mount the battery and not crush it when landing on uneven ground.
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I replaced the simple interface plate for the Shendrones universal camera mount with one that connected to all 6 dampers and bolted to the dc10 top plate.
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The temporary DJI cam standoff mounts were causing some jello, so I designed a heavy duty TPU front and rear for the build. The camera mount is set at 20 degrees, as is the rear GPS mount.
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The Bardpole vertical antenna is mounted to the immortal T antenna so it can be folded down and under the quad when not in use. The rear mount needs a revision to tighten up the locking mechanism of the bardpole. I forgot to model in a place for a horizontal standoff to tie it all together, so it's got a ziptie on right now.
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The air unit antennas were overcrowded by the camera mount, so I used 90 dergree MMCX to SMA extensions attached to the camera mount, and upgraded the antennas to TrueRC 90 dergree SMA Long Singularities. Now the TX antennas have plenty of room to breath, and can be folded down when not in use. Both the air unit and antenna mounts will be revised to purpose built designs...eventually.

I took it out to my spot at the lake for test flights. It's not nearly as loud as I thought it would be! It has a nice smooth low pitch to it. I've been testing different setups using gopro gyro and eventually my own hotshoe mounted fc case design. It started with an matek fc I had collecting dust, but I've currently got a Radix Li in the box with an openlager and a switch. I've got the FC configured to start logging on boot, and the openlager configured to deal with abrupt power loss.
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Last BMPCC4K Flights with internal gyro data used in Gyroflow:


Before & After:

Here are some of the first GyroFlow test flights. There's more info in the video descriptions about what changed for each flight.

Here's the first test of hotshoe mounted FC as gyro logger:

This flight was 18 minutes long! I didn't think I could expect this sort of fly time with a big camera on board!
Unfortunately 32mb onboard flash was not enough for an 18 minute flight, so I ended up just warp stabilizing the entire thing to try to reduce the bumps. It took like 6 hours to render, but it came out...okay.

The next test was with the openlager installed. 15 Minutes was no problem for a 32gb sd card and it felt great to see everything working :)

Another test flight, this time just seeing how the G7 / Laowa 75 combo looks at dusk. There were 2 guys at my spot flying mavics! I've flown here for years and never seen another drone, so It was cool to meet some other aerial sightseers. They'd both come out just for sunset.

As of right now I'm waiting for some alphagel dampers and other bits to arrive. I'm learning more about tuning and also working on my Thicc build. Once I've got some hours on this build I'll be putting my pocket 4k onboard and should be making some gorgeous footage down at the lake. I hope to be updating this build several more times as things get more dialed in. If you actually read all this, thanks :)

Photos

Part List

Frame

DC10 V2 10 inch Macro FPV Frame Kit 7.5mm Arms (2 builds)
Pyrodrone.com
$96.99

Flight Controller

RADIX 2 Flight Controller - brainfpv (11 builds)
Brainfpv.com
$99.00

ESCs

4 x APD F-SERIES 80F3[X] V2 X-Class 8S 80A ESCDefault Title (3 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$239.96

Motors

4 x BrotherHobby Tornado T5 3115 Pro Motor (3 builds)
Brotherhobbystore.com
$183.96

Propellers

2 x Gemfan 1050 Reinforced Carbon Nylon Tri-Blade 10" Prop 2 Pack - Black (2 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$19.98

FPV Camera

Siccario Universal Cam Mount (2 builds)
Shendrones.myshopify.com
$100.00

FPV Transmitter

Caddx DJI Air Unit (2 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$189.00

Antenna

TBS Crossfire Immortal T V2 Antenna (149 builds)
Pyrodrone.com
$5.95

Antenna

TrueRC BARDpole 900MHz RC Antenna - U.FL (Crossfire / R9) (3 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$12.99

Receiver

TBS Crossfire Diversity Nano Rx - FPV LONG RANGE DRONE RECEIVER (96 builds)
Team-blacksheep.com
$49.95

Batteries

RDQ Series 22.2V 6S 6000mAh 100C LiPo Battery - XT90 Anti Spark (2 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$99.99

Power Distribution

RADIX 2 Power Board - brainfpv (3 builds)
Brainfpv.com
$34.99

Misc Parts

Laowa 7.5mm f/2 MFT - LAOWA Camera Lenses (2 builds)
Venuslens.net
$499.00

Misc Parts

GoPro HERO10 Black - Waterproof Action Camera with Front LCD and Touch Rear Screens, 5.3K60 Ultra HD Video, 23MP Photos, 1080p L (18 builds)
Amazon.com
$249.00

Misc Parts

Panasonic LUMIX G7 4K Digital Camera, with LUMIX G VARIO 14-42mm Mega O.I.S. Lens, 16 Megapixel Mirrorless Camera, 3-Inch LCD, D
Amazon.com
$24.67
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Discussion

Sign in to comment

WizzX   Mar 14, 2022  
2

piece of art

draj   Mar 13, 2022  
1

yeesh.

jdmkramer   Mar 13, 2022 
1

tell me about it

denofhay   Mar 12, 2022  
1

keep feathering it

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