Gimbal wiring

joe671 · Jul 21, 2015

ok so i wanted to figure out the gimbal wiring and this is what i found. Any inputs on what each of them mean and what they control?

Solo4Me · Jul 21, 2015

They seem pretty self-explanatory...From right (top) to Left:

Gimbal bat would be related to the gimbal battery if used
UART RX is the serial line that is providing data from the Gimbal to Solo.
UART TX is the serial line that is providing data from the Solo to the gimbal.
Gimbal gnd is the ground for the gimbal motors
Gimbal 5V is the positive 5V for the gimbal motors
Go Pro D+ and D- is probably a data line between Solo and the camera
GoPro GND is the ground for the camera (the Gimbal gnd and the GoPro are not grounded together in the gimbal. They would be electrically isolated from each other via the design of both parts).

Earldgrayjr · Jul 21, 2015

The gimbal also powers the GoPro

Dirby · Jul 21, 2015

when will we see this?

Solo4Me · Jul 21, 2015

You can see the gimbal wiring today. It is inside your Solo.

joe671 · Jul 21, 2015

Dirby said:
when will we see this?

The picture above is the gimbal wiring

joe671 · Jul 21, 2015

I'm assuming you can't control an aftermarket gimbal through this besides providing power?

rrmccabe · Jul 21, 2015

joe671 said:
I'm assuming you can't control an aftermarket gimbal through this besides providing power?

Not yet.

Sent from my SM-T700 using Tapatalk

joe671 · Jul 21, 2015

Not my pic but can I go through the bus pin out and control a gimbal that way?

rrmccabe · Jul 22, 2015

Even if you could wire it up, what programming to do you plan to use to control it? Seems to me until 3DR releases a SDK for developers there is no way to do anything with any gimbal thats connected.

Jubalr · Jul 22, 2015

rrmccabe said:
Even if you could wire it up, what programming to do you plan to use to control it? Seems to me until 3DR releases a SDK for developers there is no way to do anything with any gimbal thats connected.

That was my thought as well. Having the wiring is a small part of the equation. You could power up and get basic stabilization, but no control. Kind of like putting together a computer but not having an OS.

Earldgrayjr · Jul 22, 2015

I actually think you could control it just fine, with some likely trial and error of course... After all, this is based on the Arducopter stuff, and at it's basis is built to control various gimbal technologies.

http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/co...s-and-gimbals/#gimbals_and_gimbal_controllers

So while the Solo has a specific electrical configuration, you should be able to control gimbals serially assuming you can get the electrical parts of the equation right

http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/co...on-cameras-and-gimbals/common-storm32-gimbal/

rrmccabe · Jul 22, 2015

Earldgrayjr said:
After all, this is based on the Arducopter stuff, and at it's basis is built to control various gimbal technologies.

Is it though? We also have a linux computer on board controller for the smart shots. So not sure if the gimbal is talking to the Linux system or the arducopter. I am sure they are both involved but the question is who is handling the final output.

Earldgrayjr · Jul 22, 2015

rrmccabe said:
Is it though? We also have a linux computer on board controller for the smart shots. So not sure if the gimbal is talking to the Linux system or the arducopter. I am sure they are both involved but the question is who is handling the final output.

I haven't done it (and probably won't) so it is a 'bit" of specualtion on my part, in that I haven't seen it with my own eyes, but not to much.

Given we have a PixHawk2, it already does MAVlink and PWM for gimbals etc. and they intend on open source, It would be silly not to take advantage of the gimbal capability and start from scratch. They haven't done that elsewhere, and software that relies on that work (such as mission planner) work fine.

That is in fact the beauty of open source, and the results of this is why I am interested in Solo as a tool. Mission planner doesn't work because they adapted an API. It works because Solo has the same brains as the others the software was already built for

If you look closely at the Smart Shots, they are mostly specific configurations of the PixHawk2 with just some scripting and interface on top of it at the controller and app. Arducopter is doing all the heavy lifting.

Again, as I haven't dug into it specifically, it is "possible" they redid the gimbal control from scratch, but I seriously doubt it, as if nothing else, with the way I discuss the work is already done, it is tested and will be updated by a whole community, and worked on continually.

rrmccabe · Jul 22, 2015

Very well good be. All beyond my pay grade !

Be nice when we don't have to speculate so much

Earldgrayjr · Jul 22, 2015

rrmccabe said:
Very well good be. All beyond my pay grade !

Be nice when we don't have to speculate so much

Boy ain't that the truth!!!

I have had my share of issues with Solo/3DR but the more I understand it, the more I get excited.

The open source aspect is something that is going over a lot of peoples heads right now. I know you mentioned it earlier and see the potential, but It is even more amazing when you dig in to PixHawk2 and Arducopter and see what is actually already there.

Dealing with Sonar, cameras, etc. etc. etc is built in, you just have to get the right things and hook it up. So in the case of Solo, having something like optical flow (or a gimbal) is a matter of plastics, interface, and production. You really don't have to start from scratch. That is pretty amazing looking forward.

Said the guy tapping his fingers on the table waiting for a gimbal

czrlaker · Feb 2, 2016

Im reviving this thread, I saw someone's review of a Feiyu gimbal claiming he has it working and can control it. Is it possible to control it if you wire it right?

First review, guy claims it's working.
Amazon

Jubalr · Feb 2, 2016

czrlaker said:
Im reviving this thread, I saw someone's review of a Feiyu gimbal claiming he has it working and can control it. Is it possible to control it if you wire it right?

First review, guy claims it's working.
Amazon

I'm sure its 'working' in the sense that is stabilizing the camera and controlling tilt from the controller. I don't believe it can be controlled by Solo for smart shots.

czrlaker · Feb 2, 2016

Not re

Jubalr said:
I'm sure its 'working' in the sense that is stabilizing the camera and controlling tilt from the controller. I don't believe it can be controlled by Solo for smart shots.

Not too worried about the smart shots tho.

HawkEye · Sep 17, 2016

Hi, I am integrating a FLIR VUE PRO gimbal into the SOLO aircraft.. I have the power, video feed and stabilization problems taken care of, but I still need camera pitch control through the 3DR Controller. Is there a signal converter available to take care of Tx to PWM? Not worried about smart shots integration at all right now. Really want to use the existing gimbal control cable without any soldiered wiring to the SOLO main board. I saw the Feiyu video as well.