My ZII Zephyr 2 Wing Build (ETA Jan2012)

[MileHunter]

I didn't want to sacrifice the investment of expensive FPV gear, so I have ordered and the Zii Zephyr from Tim, to arrive in the days or weeks to come. I began dropping hints of the impending build, but want to record any suggestions properly so all can benefit from my success and ... well you know. So pl

ChainLinkDare UHF433 Long Range System TX/RX
Band Pass Filter for UHF transmitter
CE OSD V1.6(support ChainLinkDare Rx, 100A current sensor)

BEV 0.9GHz Patch antenna
BEV 900M 800mW Video TX/RX
BEV- Low pass Filter LPF1200
BEV- Platic Pan-Tilt
BEV-2.8mm board lens
BEV-WDR700 Sony High Resolution OSD Color Camera 550 Lines NTSC
Fatshark RCV922 BASE Edition wired
Fatshark Dominator HeadTracker module
BEV- high sensitivity microphone for FPV
BEV-180°digital servos with metal gears

Ruby by Uthere flight assist and recovery/landing

Detrum 60A ESC 80A (10s)burst

Build stuff: 3M 90, Gorilla, 10-25 Super-glue,
Build stuff toget list: CA

Remaining: not ordered yet.
Motor 1300KV or the motor/esc kit?
BEC 5A to 10A?
Servos?
Servo rods?
GoPro or like?
PSU?

Forgot these:
Futaba or Aurora Controller
9x6 prop or Folding prop
I am sure I have missed, or over ordered something.
I am inpatiently waiting for this to arrive (ETA Jan2012)

[brosius85]

pan and tilt are always the first thing to break, you may get sick of it.

im not going to hassle you on the chainlink...... im sure you have read about it and its competitors :/ if that is your choice good luck :)

if this is your first FPV ship i would not advise trying to set up RUBY, if you take small steps you are less likely to get in over your head

do you need suggestions for the gear you did not order yet?

[ssassen]

You won't have much luck with what you've just picked.

[MileHunter]

@brosius85 & @ssassen. I am glad I am here on this thread, and not trying to accomplish the impossible on my own. Thank you, I appreciate the many tried and tested recommendations now and to come. I wish it was easier for a new person to FPV ofmaking the right choices and having a source for what and where to get the right equipment. From a newbie perspective, we need a thread that a new person asks for PM lists of items, and which webpages and a general cost that if requested, a private message could be sent to the individual with the recommendation. Then multiple recommendations come in, the new person does research from one list, as if that list is what bought. My problem was not knowing what system did what, and the implications of a pro or con of each system. If I could simulate owning a set of gear from a list when I begin my research, I would have something solid to compare, without the cost of buying what could have been a wrong choice. What do you think?

I am leaving the Ruby setup to Jim and Uthere. He will be doing a lot of Zephyr testing prior to sending to me. I am really going to enjoy that support.

I will give this choice of gear my best support, and may end up replacing systems here and there. Even the month of reading and researching is not enough to get it right. I hope the CE OSD V1.6 has made some improvements. After I ordered my system, I read and watched a lot about 900Mhz in urban settings within the US, and see now that 2.4G or 5.8G (Dragonlink) may work better.

[MileHunter]

Question: I have 2x4000mA 40C 3S LIPOs. I know they won't be speed demons, but I want to know if they are adequate for flight? What speed could I expect with my 1300KV?

[brosius85]

http://www.ecalc.ch/motorcalc_e.htm?castle

this tool will help you get some good preliminary numbers.

if you use a 9 or 10 inch prop count on the airspeed being about 20% lower than pitch speed

flat and level maybe 70mph i would guess with a 10x6

[MileHunter]

pan and tilt are always the first thing to break, you may get sick of it.
I will not be starting with a pan & tilt installed, though would like to use the weight for CG purposes


if this is your first FPV ship i would not advise trying to set up RUBY, if you take small steps you are less likely to get in over your head
do you need suggestions for the gear you did not order yet?
Can you elaborate on this. Do you mean don't install it? or Don't try to do it alone? I have heard 1. do all the ground checks to identify any short comings. 2. fly LOS first close range and get any bugs worked out, range, cg, etc. 3. test vtx close range and become familar with the feel of FPV. (Is this best done at higher altitudes? When do I know it is time to test the more advanced systems?

Ok, My build is progressing very slowly. Taking my time to make sure the equipment is functioning properly alone, have yet to test all systems whether they play nice together, but will get to that. Still fumbling with my build. I took some pics to share, sorry I haven't been doing any thorough documentation of the build. These pics are just an attempt to see where the CG and LR balance is. The chainlinkdare has an ppm output, and if I understand that is fed to Ruby, then can I put the UHF out at the wing tip and it just takes one servo cable to power rx and fed ppm to Ruby? Instead of nine or servo cables?

Many items in at this time are substitutes.:o I forgot to bring the elevons, the motor is a standin, and the tape measure represents LR balance right of center. The batteries can slide back from where they are to assist in cg adjustments. The tilt/pan won't be used for initial flighttests.

59905991

[MileHunter]

After untwisting the knots in my stomach, I committed to flying yesterday only to have a few glitches in preparation and a late flight.
I can only go up from this poor quality 3 minute video (Even the OSD wasn't cooperating yesterday.)
I will bribe you to watch with a song (but not a dance, no)
Sorry in advance, not much to view. Thank you to Mbeeson, he is at the controls today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QC6zYlgL1U

[brosius85]

good job! looks like it is working pretty well.

only problem was the time of day! poor lighting. if you want to fly in low light you are better off with a camera like the TBS69 or maybe a RMRC OSD cam.

[MileHunter]

Right, and I hate working days, cause I can't fly until it is getting late, makes me sick and more apt to force me into sick leave or something, lol. Today wasn't much better, with a hard landing, boy that Zephyr is a tough plane.