On 3/5/2014 2:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 05 Mar 2014 14:04:26 -0500, Poco Loco
wrote:

On Wed, 05 Mar 2014 11:09:46 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 3/5/2014 10:26 AM, wrote:
On Wed, 05 Mar 2014 06:30:49 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 3/4/2014 10:59 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 04 Mar 2014 19:33:02 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Tue, 04 Mar 2014 19:27:07 -0500, wrote:

My millionaire Dutch neighbor has a quad rotor that looks like
something the NSA should have.

===

Someone was flying one of those at the Punta Gorda Jazz Fest last
week. Do you know where to get one and how much they cost?

Not a clue but I think he bought it in Germany. I know he still
tinkers with it a lot. This guy designs medical equipment and he was
working on the camera gimbal the last I heard, changing from a stepper
to a closed loop servo so it would pan smoother.



I don't see the advantage of a servo motor over a stepper in this
application.

A servo moves smoother than a stepper since there are no "steps".


I understand but the big advantage of a servo motor over a stepper is
high torque and at higher speeds. This application doesn't require
either. A geared, 200 pole stepper would be just as smooth, IMO, a lot
cheaper, plus a stepper can also be closed loop. Just my opinion having
used both for various purposes in remote actuators and motion devices
over the years.

If the camera is mounted in a helicopter, why would a servo be needed to pan the camera? Just turn
the helicopter.


You need it if you want to able to shoot obliques.
At a certain point you may want to point at a particular spot and have
the camera track it as you descend and fly around it.



My neighbor (who is also a major computer geek) is big into the RC
flying thing. He's the president of a New England group of RC
enthusiasts and is constantly building new and better airplanes and
helicopters. I was joking with him one day and told him if he had
invested the money in flying lessons that he had in RC aircraft, he'd
have his ticket by now.

It looks like a fun hobby but I know absolutely nothing about it. The
realtor with whom we have our house listed is planning on having a video
tour of our property made once the snow cover is gone and the grass gets
green. He's going to have them fly a video camera equipped helicopter
from the road, up our driveway, over and around the barn, house, pool
and horse paddocks. Should be interesting.

On Wed, 05 Mar 2014 15:17:09 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 3/5/2014 2:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 05 Mar 2014 14:04:26 -0500, Poco Loco
wrote:

On Wed, 05 Mar 2014 11:09:46 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 3/5/2014 10:26 AM, wrote:
On Wed, 05 Mar 2014 06:30:49 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 3/4/2014 10:59 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 04 Mar 2014 19:33:02 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Tue, 04 Mar 2014 19:27:07 -0500, wrote:

My millionaire Dutch neighbor has a quad rotor that looks like
something the NSA should have.

===

Someone was flying one of those at the Punta Gorda Jazz Fest last
week. Do you know where to get one and how much they cost?

Not a clue but I think he bought it in Germany. I know he still
tinkers with it a lot. This guy designs medical equipment and he was
working on the camera gimbal the last I heard, changing from a stepper
to a closed loop servo so it would pan smoother.



I don't see the advantage of a servo motor over a stepper in this
application.

A servo moves smoother than a stepper since there are no "steps".


I understand but the big advantage of a servo motor over a stepper is
high torque and at higher speeds. This application doesn't require
either. A geared, 200 pole stepper would be just as smooth, IMO, a lot
cheaper, plus a stepper can also be closed loop. Just my opinion having
used both for various purposes in remote actuators and motion devices
over the years.

If the camera is mounted in a helicopter, why would a servo be needed to pan the camera? Just turn
the helicopter.


You need it if you want to able to shoot obliques.
At a certain point you may want to point at a particular spot and have
the camera track it as you descend and fly around it.



My neighbor (who is also a major computer geek) is big into the RC
flying thing. He's the president of a New England group of RC
enthusiasts and is constantly building new and better airplanes and
helicopters. I was joking with him one day and told him if he had
invested the money in flying lessons that he had in RC aircraft, he'd
have his ticket by now.

It looks like a fun hobby but I know absolutely nothing about it. The
realtor with whom we have our house listed is planning on having a video
tour of our property made once the snow cover is gone and the grass gets
green. He's going to have them fly a video camera equipped helicopter
from the road, up our driveway, over and around the barn, house, pool
and horse paddocks. Should be interesting.


Perhaps this is what he's talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6svIcef5lQ

If you want to go on the cheap and have a few hours to spare, you can build your own.
http://www.stratus-productions.com/frame-kits

Scroll down for the instructions video.

On Wednesday, March 5, 2014 3:17:09 PM UTC-5, Mr. Luddite wrote:


My neighbor (who is also a major computer geek) is big into the RC
flying thing. He's the president of a New England group of RC
enthusiasts and is constantly building new and better airplanes and
helicopters. I was joking with him one day and told him if he had
invested the money in flying lessons that he had in RC aircraft, he'd
have his ticket by now.

Yabut, the ongoing joke is if you fly RC, you get to walk *towards* the scene of the crash. :-) Instead of hopefully away.