The thing I like about RChacker are the down to earth DIY solutions and improvements (I already did the extra joystick for Turnigy radio). UA-cam is full of videos about miniquads with +100$ carbon frame. Keep on inventing Mark!
Marc, please continue to tear stuff apart and explain stuff to us. As many already mentioned here, the arduino on KK2 is something of best I have seen! Please just continue do what you are doing, every time you post a new video you make 4600+ of us happy. Martin
Personally I would like to see tutorials for your projects that is step by step exactly everything you need to do. You show so many great projects like stuff with telemetry but I really have no way of figuring out myself. So yea some tutorials and maybe so commentated flying explaining stuff that you have done. Looks promising and keep up the great work - Ryan
Really enjoy all your videos, particularly the ones that combine you going out in the surrounding area and flying. The video up to the volcano was awesome, would like to see you fly up there. R/C and biodiversity sounds interesting. I think the examples of using r/c to accomplish a task in nature would be interesting.
Hey! I think this channel has a lot of potential and you are doing a great job so far! In the future, I think it would be cool if you could do some more electrical engineering and cool builds. Maybe you could make a series where you start with designing a circuit, building it, adding software and adding it to one of you flying machines. Also I like the idea of saving up content to release when you are busy so that there is more of a schedule to your content. All in all, great job, keep up the great work!
Don't change a thing Marc. The content to date has been interesting, thought provoking and most importantly helpful. I'd keep the flying vids on the bio side of things. There's plenty of people doing this stuff in urban areas which is fine but you have a unique and beautiful location. Seems like a perfect synergy. Oh and don't worry about us oldies we just check in from time to time to see if the young'ns have learned to count beyond 1 :-) (digital/analogue joke)
Yeah I love flying in and out of the trees. How cool would a purely analog multirotor board be? I guess the old gyros on helicopters were mostly analog.
I love to see the explanation vids. About fpv stuff, receiver signals and so on... But also the tricopter vids teached me a lot too. In other words keep them coming.
I like some of the ideas you came up with for multirotor, especially the additional engine tricopter for level lateral flight. I think it could be toyed with more and lead to others trying as well. Would love some möbius aerial footage from around your place though. The little hack, trick videos such as your turnigy joystick and 5 engine tricopter are brilliant examples of hacks that have inspired me to think outside the box. Keep bringing those sorts of ideas when you can because they are really cool and add to the hobby. Thanks for all your effort
A great low buck setup that is often overlooked is multiwii airplane with minimosd for long range osd. The flip32 is cheap and available. I know you didn't like APM for the purpose so maybe the ease of code hackability of multiwii would be more up your alley.
You can run cppm, spectrum serial or even sbus from an openlrs receiver into those boards... And you don't need an inverter for sbus since its inverted on both ends ;-)
first of all im so happy to see you're uploaading videos again. been waiting for those. as you said there are tons of "how to for begginers" channels and videos. to my oppinion- medium to advanced stuff will be more suted for your skills. some RC diy projects- with theory explenations. for example- OSD, antenna tracker, diversity system ect. for more convinient survy u can create one with some interesting ideas in your FB page and link to it in the description. that way you'll know what the majority wants...
Thanks Shay, its good to have the time available again to do it. I've got a good idea from reading these comments, I've gone off facebook, seems that they want money to spread your own news to your own fans so they can get stuffed. Follow me on twitter @marclgriffith if you want more than just the youtube.
Some feedback... first of all personally I would prefer 1080P "where possible." It's really useful on a large screen watching close ups of electronics and makes thing clearer. So essentially, "where possible" just meaning when you're delving in to circuit boards. Your mug is fine as it is in 720p ;) The OpenLRS videos have been great, things like the scanner, modification to the Turnigy 9X, the FrSky booster and sidewinder y6 being some of the best. Would love to see things like minimosd hacks, perhaps ways to speed them up to be more responsive. Live FPV out on cameras, GoPro does it but finding ways to do it with other cameras would be great etc. Thanks for a fantastic channel, and I agree pump the videos out as they come no point sitting on great content. All the best.
Most of the macro work I have done previously was at 720p. Trouble is the EOS-m does not have an articulated screen which is a huge pain in the arse when working on the bench, the lens of the SX30is is great for macro too. I left this at 1080 because of the computer screen shots. My mug for this video was 1080 but it is such an old camera and codec it really is more like 720p. One day I will upgrade my SX30 or get an external monitor for the eos-m. Till then I will upload at 1080 but some of the shots will still be upscaled from 720. Sidewinder, I enjoyed that too. A teaser the next version of that will have 12 motors and I hope will get gimbal like shots without a gimbal. ;)
Definitely don't change much! I learn a lot from watching your channel. Problem solving/DIY solutions are great to watch.. Also maybe a vid exploring LUA as implemented in the new versions of openTx... Otherwise keep up the good work!
Thanks for the update Marc! Like the level of geekiness in your projects and your attitude to it. Feels like going on an adventure and like anything is possible - when you experimented with different configurations of that small multirotor, when you experiment with OpenLRS, when you examine circuits eevblog-style... The fact that you're into coding unlike most RC youtubers opens up some doors that most people keep closed. Loved the idea of turning those KK2:s I have laying around into a capable Arduino for example, with onboard IMU, display and buttons (don't even use them for flying since OpenPilot and Naze32 exist). Don't mind flying videos either, whether it's for fun or for the cinematic aspect of it, the latter got me into rc in the first place 3+ years ago... Got a used NEX5 myself recently and thinking of whether I should try to get it airborne or stick to flying GoPro's and Mobius:es. Eager to see what you come up with for carrying the EOS-M. Found your Biodiversity channel a few weeks back through some forum post when googling for EOS-M and Magic Lantern. Some fantastic shots there, keep em coming and good thing you're cross promoting it a bit! I'm into shooting wildlife too actually, but haven't done macro yet. Have you tried filming wildlife using telephoto? Something about 50mm + "crop mode" in the mangrove video, interesting approach... :-) I usually go with Canon's 100-400mm with IS on a 5Dmk2 here, which can be a challenge to handhold but can give great results if you're lucky or try hard enough. Never fully understood that "if you haven't uploaded in a couple of weeks you must have quit or ceased to exist" attitude. Nor do I see the point of people who (in general discussion, not specific to your channel) claim they have an urge to unsubscribe at that point... subscription management OCD?! just stay on and you'll get more whenever there is more to get. The assumption is that regularity helps keeping people engaged which also indirectly helps with growth I suppose, maybe it matters to some extent on a large scale with 100.000:s of subscribers? Think a factor for growth might be that every video you make is a new entry point with a slightly different topic that might event bring some new people on board as regulars. But in that case if you have a mini-hiatus, the people you didn't bring in with a new video can't complain because they don't know what they are missing yet and the existing subscribers will get the next one whenever it comes... And most viewers aren't subscribed anyway - are those reloading your channel every now and then and getting disappointed if you are somewhat irregular? I think not for the most part. Tricky to understand all the mechanics in play there though... If you ask me, keep doing your thing to the extent you want to, upload whenever you have something to share, big or small project - fun or in-depth, silly or serious - and don't feel stressed out over putting your focus elsewhere whenever you need to or feel like. Cheers!
Thanks for the comments Tom. To answer the off topic stuff. I have done some wildlife with telephoto, I mostly use the 70-210 F4 MD Minolta which can focus really close (woodpeckers video), I also have a 300mm F4.5 but neither of which are really sharp enough to use the crop sensor, but are great used normally. I just got a 200mm F2.8 which can be cropped, it also works great with the teleconverter. I compared it to a friends 100-400mm Canon, about as sharp and more contrast. Of course its manual focus and no IS. The 17-50mm Tamron that I shot the mangrove sequence on really wasn't that sharp but not bad for hand held. I did throw away a lot of footage on that one. Next time I will take a tripod. Does the crop video work in magic lantern on the 5dMK2? Weekly is something to aim for at least, seems all the really successful channels have some sort of schedule.
We need more info on antenna´s for FPV and as you understand them you can pass on this, Arduino and the magic of programming!!! just two things to get you started. Whatever you do you have a following.
Hi, First of all, you RChacker is one of the best channel for RC on the net, so keep up your job. For me, DIY and the how to achieve the best result on budget in the "expensive" RC world it sounds a path that you have lot to show in the net. Your Arduino on KK2.0 board it is an outstanding job, that still it is very unknown to the mass, even to the KK2 users and Arduino users. Anyhow. First video that I would suggest to you is: Show us your Hostel in Ecuador, make a nice RC aerial video of it, and give us coordinate how to go there. I guess tons of RC enthusiast will be happy to come to visit you, and maybe learn something directly from you or just fly together. Also I guess you are into a very nice nature, so try to combine DIY with pioneering new technology mixed with nice aerial view of Ecuador. Tchuss. e_lm_70
Thanks for feedback. This video RCHacker #34 - FPV. Pushing it. was all shot from the hostel. Honestly the weather here is so random that coming here just to fly would be disappointing. I do try and keep the hostel and my online presence separate. But if you are in Ecuador and are looking for a place like ours you will probably find us anyway. :)
I would like to watch you fix all my broken RC gear, I don't even want it back, 2 tarot gimbals,knocked a resistor off the board, a 9xr that I have to turn on twice for it to work. 2 or 3 video transmitters. I like the diagnose and fix it stuff, as well as you flying your tri design, and that HK 3d foamy. I'm tuned in
Hi Mark, I've just discovered your channel and really appreciate all the work you have put into it. I've just ordered an open LRS to play with and could do with some instruction on the updater/firmware side of things. You've probably already covered it so I'll look through your videos. Thanks, Pat ;-)
Marc: I just viewed this video for the first time. I'm curious how much your direction may have shifted in one year. I have viewed a lot of your stuff on the hacks of the Turnigy 9x and OpenLRS videos. Just today I viewed a video you did on the Futaba Conquest Tx/Rx, and that was interesting, for me because I just had one donated to me. Your knowledge of electronics, willingness to share and teach are very helpful to guys like me who love gadgets, flying, and FPV, but don't have formal training as you appear to have had. Keep on truckin! Jim
I like the builds and Arduino based projects. Nifty things like the variometer and DIY gadgetry/mods/conversions etc. Keen to see your integration to the biodiversity channel too. How about a cheap, night time, motion triggered, wildlife camera.
Hi Mark, I love your videos with Arduino or Open LRS. Any informations about open source stuff in RC is sometimes good documented and some arent. When I was learning about Arduino, watching yours videos really helped me, so I am proud owner of Arduino Variometer thank to you. So keep doing open source videos. Good luck.
diy telemetry, openlrs, diy multirotor, and really anything you have squirreled away. Have always loved your videos. Maybe some info on a OSD with the naze and minim. I know some folks are using that as a diy osd with gps and stabilization would love to see what you could come up with.
Personally I like weekly videos. Anything DIY is good but I especially agree with elm70, how to DIY on a budget. I'll check your videos in case you've already done this, but I'd love a proper analysis of the FrSky D4R-II RSSI output and what cheap digital to analogue converter gives the best results for displaying on an OSD. I've tried many different resistor/capacitor combinations found from Google searches, but none actually give a full 0-3V output. (Also a 0-1V output would be great for MinimOSD).
This help? forums.openpilot.org/topic/23333-d4r-ii-frsky-rssi-tbs-core/ seems a firmware upgrade might do it. I've stopped using frsky as two of my d8r2 receivers died on me for no apparent reason.
I too find this hobby very expensive and like a lot of the work you have done on systems such as LRS. Without people like you I would find it impossible to get systems like this working, but still find them difficult to get my head around.. How about a video LRS for Dummies, I live in the UK and this system has to work on a different frequency and I have great difficulty understanding the reprogramming of the units. LRS antenna builds would also be helpful. I am interested in brush less gimbals but find them far too expensive, especially the controllers, is their anything you could do with that. Keep up the good work, I suspect I will watch mostly anything you decide to produce and will certainly take a look at your other new UA-cam channel. All the best John.
Thanks John, taken onboard. Openlrsng is a bit of a learning curve, and in a lot of ways it always will be. I guess for beginners, stay away from the HobbyKing hardware (too many quality issues) and go for the Hawkeye hardware which is pre flashed with openlrsng.
I like your video's. specialy the Open LRS. Maybe it is possible to make a DIY antenna tracker? I would love that. Keep on going with your vids. Just saw a couple of videos of your biodiversityshorts, very impressive.
I would like to see you make a hack to eliminate blue screen for fpv on a tv or cheap monitor. I think it would be possible to use a cheap osd between you av cables and monitor. I like how you can make things easier and cheaper than everyone else.
Not possible without re-designing the TV or monitor. Its down to the quality of the video-sync components and or the FPGA code which is most probably closed source.
I thought it might work. I have read a dvr in line would over come a blue screen. If an osd will display on its own when wired straight to the tv an osd between the video rx and tv should overcome the blue screen. I do not have an osd or I would try it myself. This osd could display ground station voltage.
M Schaffer I see what you are saying now, good idea. I put a minum osd between my receiver and fatsharks and it made it worse. RCHacker #28 - Prototype diversity testing. RSSI on screen display at the ground station. Question is what chip does the fatsharks use for clock recovery? I think i covered it in the fatshark teardown. RCHacker #30 Fatshark Video Goggles Teardown. Base RCV922.
A little confused. The fat sharks don't blue screen. It would be nice for ground station voltage on fat sharks. The main reason is to use something cheap like a spare tv. Are you saying that it might just work to use an osd to reduce the blue screen on a tv? Like I said if I had one I would try it today . Thanks for taking the time to do all your hard work. Your 9x videos are great.
M Schaffer Thinking about it an osd would not work as it does not do anything to the timing parts of the signal it just overlays on the chroma and luminance. In theory you could make a device that decodes the signal then re-constructs the timing parts of it so you can put it into any TV. An Arduino might just be fast enough to do it. There is an arduino OSD project out there, that would be the place to start. The guy that wrote it might take the project on. Have a look at how NTSC and PAL works and it might make more sense.
Here m8 you need to build some field rc vehicles to get close to animals for video and you could also set up trips and photo cells to capture wildlife. A good rc crawler or tracked FPV rig, whisper queit big multirotor would make exciting video around birds, snakes or lizards etc.
I've used PIR sensors to get the hummingbirds. Do you have any recommendations for a nice slow rc crawler? Seems most that I have seen are custom built.
I think you will find any small animal or bird will definitely be more than aware of anything large just hovering overhead since it seems that is also a pastime of eagles and hawks etc.
i would like to see beginner stuff like flight stabilization and auto level on a budget stuff . Just subscribed have seen some of your stuff on 9xr great work
Your doing an awesome job :) I would be interested in seeing is. RC aerial nadir photograph - as in stitching 100's of photographs together (from gopro or cannon chkdsk time laps photos)
@8:00 my monitor is 4k. youtube won't load anything over 1080@60, but I hope to have that fixed soon. @12:00 I'd suggest subscribing to "Video Creators" and "Amy Schmittauer" They have a great wealth of info on how to expand your channel so that you could do unboxing videos of new equipment if you wanted to.
I want you to design and build a 350mm size vtail hecacopter, with foldable arms please. As far as I know it's never been done and would probably require some coding to account for the v tail section, but I think that's something you are well capable of. I'm thinking of the combination of the supreme stability of a hex combined with the supreme yaw ability of a vtail. I will send you some sketches of you decide to go ahead with it.
Hey Marc! I really like the hacking part, making stuff and changing stuff. I bought a openLRS and so did lots of friends, and comparing the precision and range with others like rangelink, we didnt like it much, could be something we are doing wrong on the setup, I wish you could do a video on setting up openlrs for best performance... we got questions like: If I ditch the telemetry I get more reliable signal and better range?
RCHacker Thanks for replying! I actually use an OSD and I also have Lbeep. thats why I want to ditch the telemetry... I can see all the info on the OSD and hear the lost packages on the Lbeep sent by the FPV TX on the audio channel...
Nagoya should be good, but may loose some range with monopoles compared to a dipole. If you fly low/behind things probably will be affected by fresnel violation, which lower the signal strength. also noise floor, is a bit factor too. should have mentioned those ranges were direct line of sight to plane
I am thinking about purchasing an inexpensive ir kit, to make my own RC shutter for a DSC-h9, for zooming, and shutter. can you do a video using a arduino uno, for capturing the commander ir code, then use the uno to relay through a receiver?
Being in the 0.02% of subscribers.... Meh... whatever; trash, delete and burn the lot. However, I would prefer you to do whatever you have already being doing... which is why I subscribed in the first instance.
i know one. can you do a simple Arduino-lipo-cutoff circuit? Some kind of lipoguard like the one you can get on hobbyking or ebay for cheep only with cutoff. just an idea because im searching for something like that without success. the one i found are very expensive like 30 dollar... i think i killed about 3 lipos caused by undervolting. I know this circuit is not great for Planes but for cars or boats.
Dear Marc, Thanks a lot for your moxon antenna tutorial, it is a very elegant design and was very helpful. Please do a tutorial on how to use the diy headtracker (www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1677559) with the openlrs transmitter. I think it is interesting for everyone using openlrs via cppm and trying to transmit a headtracker signal, possibly without combining the cppm from the transmitter and the cppm from the diy heatracker. Maybe how to setup the openlrs to transmit the headtrackersingnal via i2c interface and to convert it onboard of the rcplane to ppm (pwm) signal. Best Regards, Ruben Hartmann
I like it too, but it is not my design. It was invented by Les Moxon. I have got a small amateur radio following that pointed me in that direction. Thanks for that link, I need to get the IMU but I would like to build this one day. cheers, Marc.
Hello Kitty was Multiwii, that thing certainly had a different feel to the flying characteristics than the KK2. I get the impression that KK2 is faster because it is written in assembler, might be interesting to compare it to a 32bit multiwii controller. Im hanging out for one of those multiwii micro quads but they are always out of stock.
I guess it depends, I have a tri that seems as fast. You have to check the board knows the throws it gets from the receiver. Those micro quads are cool :)
Hi, I see this video now in june 2015. I wonder if you read this. I think you can earn a lot of money if you are able to tweak a mini camera like a 900TVL or better to reduce the latency and get an acceptable 720p image for fpv racing. All the new goggles are HD now, but the primary camera's that are used are 2010 technology because of the latency problem. Solve that and you become rich and famous. You probably have to re-evaluate other components in the chain from camera to eye too...
some flying video fpv also using arduino show us a how to video on how to change the channel on so that you could fly with your buddy with no problems oh and 433mhz antennas orange RX openlrs
I say show off your chops. You have skills in electronics, programming, and are mechanically inclined. You are correct in saying that there are already channels focused on the beginner. Where do we push this hobby to? Long distance stuff is already being done and is kind of boring to watch. What kind of things can this tech do that we haven't thought of? How can it be helpful? Mess around with it. Be creative. Be innovative. That is what I want to see.
I think there are already too many flying videos, they can be fun too watch but you don't learn much from them. I would like to see videos on hacking, designing, programming and electronics. Ideas on how to build flying machines, comparison of different approaches, with their pros and cons. One blog I always enjoy to read and see its videos is the one of the main developer of the taulabs firmware: buildandcrash.blogspot.com I would like to see something similar but more broad in the focus. Just to give you an example of something I would like to see, is RF interference. I've see a lot of discussions on forums, on how critical or unimportant RF interference is. For instance, the iron cores you see in ESC, some say they are unnecesary, some say they should be closest to the esc, others say they should be closest to the board. When it comes to VTX common knowledge is that RC RF should be lower than VTX because of harmonics, then there is also discussion on the effects of 1.2Ghz VTX affecting GPS, on filters, etc. Any chance you could make a video showing and explaining all that and doing some real tests?
Yes, I've got a tool coming that will help investigating RF problems. I was not aware of this blog, thanks for the link, pure gold. I was looking forward to an OpenPilot that got lost in the mail. (ecuadorian post) Id even set up the development environment (what a royal pain in the bum that was), I kind of lost interested because the codebase seemed to have forked so much. When I'm ready to move on again perhaps TauLabs will be it. Your thoughts?
Thought you lived in Australia, because of the english like accent and the wierd enviroment. Yes, setting the development enviroment is painfull. I tried to set it on Windows and then I gave up and downloaded a linux image with everything ready for development. Just try Taulabs, they support many different platforms, including the STM discoveryf3/f4 board that costs 15 usd, and also the old openpilot classic boards plus new ones like Quanton, Sparky and others being developed; they are also constantly adding new features.
ChantaFlaite I'm from Australia, the work I was doing had me constantly travelling, then was lucky enough to find this place. Sweet, I have a discovery board. Thanks for the tips.
RCHacker Sweet, check this page on info on how to set those boards github.com/TauLabs/TauLabs/wiki You also may want to check taulabs.org there is a forum and an irc channel were some developers hang out. I can assure you, you will enjoy flying a taulabs, the GCS is full of features, an being an open source project you can always add whatever features you feel are missing.
Hey! I think this channel has a lot of potential and you are doing a great job so far! In the future, I think it would be cool if you could do some more electrical engineering and cool builds. Maybe you could make a series where you start with designing a circuit, building it, adding software and adding it to one of you flying machines. Also I like the idea of saving up content to release when you are busy so that there is more of a schedule to your content. All in all, great job, keep up the great work!
I like the builds and Arduino based projects. Nifty things like the variometer and DIY gadgetry/mods/conversions etc. Keen to see your integration to the biodiversity channel too. How about a cheap, night time, motion triggered, wildlife camera.
matthmbg I messed around with the minimOSD on the ground station a while back, RCHacker #28 - Prototype diversity testing. RSSI on screen display at the ground station. my concept had some issues but the minimosd is definitely hackable.
The thing I like about RChacker are the down to earth DIY solutions and improvements (I already did the extra joystick for Turnigy radio). UA-cam is full of videos about miniquads with +100$ carbon frame. Keep on inventing Mark!
Marc, please continue to tear stuff apart and explain stuff to us.
As many already mentioned here, the arduino on KK2 is something of best I have seen!
Please just continue do what you are doing, every time you post a new video you make 4600+ of us happy.
Martin
Thanks Martin. I'll do my best.
Personally I would like to see tutorials for your projects that is step by step exactly everything you need to do. You show so many great projects like stuff with telemetry but I really have no way of figuring out myself. So yea some tutorials and maybe so commentated flying explaining stuff that you have done. Looks promising and keep up the great work
- Ryan
Sending the battery voltage back for instance, that is all i really use the telemetry for.
Really enjoy all your videos, particularly the ones that combine you going out in the surrounding area and flying. The video up to the volcano was awesome, would like to see you fly up there. R/C and biodiversity sounds interesting. I think the examples of using r/c to accomplish a task in nature would be interesting.
The aerial parts would only be a small part of an BIo episode. but I could do a whole making of for it in RCHacker.
Hey! I think this channel has a lot of potential and you are doing a great job so far! In the future, I think it would be cool if you could do some more electrical engineering and cool builds. Maybe you could make a series where you start with designing a circuit, building it, adding software and adding it to one of you flying machines. Also I like the idea of saving up content to release when you are busy so that there is more of a schedule to your content. All in all, great job, keep up the great work!
Thanks heaps, once I get a new project like that i might just do a step by step, good idea.
cheers.
Don't change a thing Marc. The content to date has been interesting, thought provoking and most importantly helpful.
I'd keep the flying vids on the bio side of things. There's plenty of people doing this stuff in urban areas which is fine but you have a unique and beautiful location. Seems like a perfect synergy.
Oh and don't worry about us oldies we just check in from time to time to see if the young'ns have learned to count beyond 1 :-) (digital/analogue joke)
Yeah I love flying in and out of the trees. How cool would a purely analog multirotor board be? I guess the old gyros on helicopters were mostly analog.
RCHacker the early ones really were gyros too. None of that piezo voodoo :)
I love to see the explanation vids. About fpv stuff, receiver signals and so on...
But also the tricopter vids teached me a lot too. In other words keep them coming.
I like some of the ideas you came up with for multirotor, especially the additional engine tricopter for level lateral flight. I think it could be toyed with more and lead to others trying as well. Would love some möbius aerial footage from around your place though. The little hack, trick videos such as your turnigy joystick and 5 engine tricopter are brilliant examples of hacks that have inspired me to think outside the box. Keep bringing those sorts of ideas when you can because they are really cool and add to the hobby.
Thanks for all your effort
Teaser: I want to go back that way with an EOS-M payload...
A great low buck setup that is often overlooked is multiwii airplane with minimosd for long range osd. The flip32 is cheap and available. I know you didn't like APM for the purpose so maybe the ease of code hackability of multiwii would be more up your alley.
You can run cppm, spectrum serial or even sbus from an openlrs receiver into those boards... And you don't need an inverter for sbus since its inverted on both ends ;-)
first of all im so happy to see you're uploaading videos again. been waiting for those. as you said there are tons of "how to for begginers" channels and videos. to my oppinion- medium to advanced stuff will be more suted for your skills. some RC diy projects- with theory explenations. for example- OSD, antenna tracker, diversity system ect. for more convinient survy u can create one with some interesting ideas in your FB page and link to it in the description. that way you'll know what the majority wants...
Thanks Shay, its good to have the time available again to do it. I've got a good idea from reading these comments, I've gone off facebook, seems that they want money to spread your own news to your own fans so they can get stuffed. Follow me on twitter @marclgriffith if you want more than just the youtube.
Some feedback... first of all personally I would prefer 1080P "where possible." It's really useful on a large screen watching close ups of electronics and makes thing clearer. So essentially, "where possible" just meaning when you're delving in to circuit boards. Your mug is fine as it is in 720p ;) The OpenLRS videos have been great, things like the scanner, modification to the Turnigy 9X, the FrSky booster and sidewinder y6 being some of the best. Would love to see things like minimosd hacks, perhaps ways to speed them up to be more responsive. Live FPV out on cameras, GoPro does it but finding ways to do it with other cameras would be great etc. Thanks for a fantastic channel, and I agree pump the videos out as they come no point sitting on great content. All the best.
Most of the macro work I have done previously was at 720p. Trouble is the EOS-m does not have an articulated screen which is a huge pain in the arse when working on the bench, the lens of the SX30is is great for macro too.
I left this at 1080 because of the computer screen shots. My mug for this video was 1080 but it is such an old camera and codec it really is more like 720p.
One day I will upgrade my SX30 or get an external monitor for the eos-m. Till then I will upload at 1080 but some of the shots will still be upscaled from 720.
Sidewinder, I enjoyed that too. A teaser the next version of that will have 12 motors and I hope will get gimbal like shots without a gimbal. ;)
Definitely don't change much! I learn a lot from watching your channel. Problem solving/DIY solutions are great to watch.. Also maybe a vid exploring LUA as implemented in the new versions of openTx... Otherwise keep up the good work!
Cool, I did not know about this. I used to use Lua quite a bit, trouble is I don't have a 32bit radio.
Thanks for the update Marc!
Like the level of geekiness in your projects and your attitude to it. Feels like going on an adventure and like anything is possible - when you experimented with different configurations of that small multirotor, when you experiment with OpenLRS, when you examine circuits eevblog-style...
The fact that you're into coding unlike most RC youtubers opens up some doors that most people keep closed. Loved the idea of turning those KK2:s I have laying around into a capable Arduino for example, with onboard IMU, display and buttons (don't even use them for flying since OpenPilot and Naze32 exist).
Don't mind flying videos either, whether it's for fun or for the cinematic aspect of it, the latter got me into rc in the first place 3+ years ago... Got a used NEX5 myself recently and thinking of whether I should try to get it airborne or stick to flying GoPro's and Mobius:es. Eager to see what you come up with for carrying the EOS-M.
Found your Biodiversity channel a few weeks back through some forum post when googling for EOS-M and Magic Lantern. Some fantastic shots there, keep em coming and good thing you're cross promoting it a bit! I'm into shooting wildlife too actually, but haven't done macro yet. Have you tried filming wildlife using telephoto? Something about 50mm + "crop mode" in the mangrove video, interesting approach... :-) I usually go with Canon's 100-400mm with IS on a 5Dmk2 here, which can be a challenge to handhold but can give great results if you're lucky or try hard enough.
Never fully understood that "if you haven't uploaded in a couple of weeks you must have quit or ceased to exist" attitude. Nor do I see the point of people who (in general discussion, not specific to your channel) claim they have an urge to unsubscribe at that point... subscription management OCD?! just stay on and you'll get more whenever there is more to get. The assumption is that regularity helps keeping people engaged which also indirectly helps with growth I suppose, maybe it matters to some extent on a large scale with 100.000:s of subscribers? Think a factor for growth might be that every video you make is a new entry point with a slightly different topic that might event bring some new people on board as regulars. But in that case if you have a mini-hiatus, the people you didn't bring in with a new video can't complain because they don't know what they are missing yet and the existing subscribers will get the next one whenever it comes... And most viewers aren't subscribed anyway - are those reloading your channel every now and then and getting disappointed if you are somewhat irregular? I think not for the most part. Tricky to understand all the mechanics in play there though... If you ask me, keep doing your thing to the extent you want to, upload whenever you have something to share, big or small project - fun or in-depth, silly or serious - and don't feel stressed out over putting your focus elsewhere whenever you need to or feel like. Cheers!
Thanks for the comments Tom.
To answer the off topic stuff.
I have done some wildlife with telephoto, I mostly use the 70-210 F4 MD Minolta which can focus really close (woodpeckers video), I also have a 300mm F4.5 but neither of which are really sharp enough to use the crop sensor, but are great used normally. I just got a 200mm F2.8 which can be cropped, it also works great with the teleconverter. I compared it to a friends 100-400mm Canon, about as sharp and more contrast. Of course its manual focus and no IS.
The 17-50mm Tamron that I shot the mangrove sequence on really wasn't that sharp but not bad for hand held. I did throw away a lot of footage on that one. Next time I will take a tripod. Does the crop video work in magic lantern on the 5dMK2?
Weekly is something to aim for at least, seems all the really successful channels have some sort of schedule.
We need more info on antenna´s for FPV and as you understand them you can pass on this, Arduino and the magic of programming!!! just two things to get you started. Whatever you do you have a following.
Hi, First of all, you RChacker is one of the best channel for RC on the net, so keep up your job. For me, DIY and the how to achieve the best result on budget in the "expensive" RC world it sounds a path that you have lot to show in the net. Your Arduino on KK2.0 board it is an outstanding job, that still it is very unknown to the mass, even to the KK2 users and Arduino users. Anyhow. First video that I would suggest to you is: Show us your Hostel in Ecuador, make a nice RC aerial video of it, and give us coordinate how to go there. I guess tons of RC enthusiast will be happy to come to visit you, and maybe learn something directly from you or just fly together. Also I guess you are into a very nice nature, so try to combine DIY with pioneering new technology mixed with nice aerial view of Ecuador. Tchuss. e_lm_70
Thanks for feedback. This video RCHacker #34 - FPV. Pushing it. was all shot from the hostel.
Honestly the weather here is so random that coming here just to fly would be disappointing. I do try and keep the hostel and my online presence separate. But if you are in Ecuador and are looking for a place like ours you will probably find us anyway. :)
I'd like flying videos of your environment.
If something breaks, show us exactly how you fixed it, and what it's like after you fix it.
I would like to watch you fix all my broken RC gear, I don't even want it back, 2 tarot gimbals,knocked a resistor off the board, a 9xr that I have to turn on twice for it to work. 2 or 3 video transmitters.
I like the diagnose and fix it stuff, as well as you flying your tri design, and that HK 3d foamy.
I'm tuned in
Those gimbals sound interesting, but I've got enough junk in my little workshop. Way too much...
Hi Mark, I've just discovered your channel and really appreciate all the work you have put into it. I've just ordered an open LRS to play with and could do with some instruction on the updater/firmware side of things. You've probably already covered it so I'll look through your videos. Thanks, Pat ;-)
Thanks. New sotware: OpenLRSng configurator makes it a lot easier than the way i do it in some of those old videos. Just remember 3.3V FTDI only.
Thanks everyone, So many ideas, I better get making.
Marc.
Hello, continue as before and it is great to open LRS and telemetry and antenna 433 and 5.8g. many greetings from Norway
Thank Erik.
Marc:
I just viewed this video for the first time. I'm curious how much your direction may have shifted in one year. I have viewed a lot of your stuff on the hacks of the Turnigy 9x and OpenLRS videos. Just today
I viewed a video you did on the Futaba Conquest Tx/Rx, and that was interesting, for me because I just had one donated to me.
Your knowledge of electronics, willingness to share and teach are very helpful to guys like me who love gadgets, flying, and FPV, but don't have formal training as you appear to have had.
Keep on truckin!
Jim
James C Eastep Thanks Jim, really appreciate your comment. Heading back to Australia soon. new work area, fresh start and more content coming, cheers.
Videos about how you tune your multirotor would be cool. Stuff like pid tuning and prop balancing for instance. Random teardown videos are fun too.
This guy has some good stuff on the kk2. Here: ua-cam.com/channels/EIB8GWz-ToKXqrm69EwU9Q.html and
www.rcmanchild.com/kk2-heaven.html
I like the builds and Arduino based projects. Nifty things like the variometer and DIY gadgetry/mods/conversions etc. Keen to see your integration to the biodiversity channel too. How about a cheap, night time, motion triggered, wildlife camera.
Is a modified mobius cheap?
RCHacker Definitely, would it be possible to reconfigure a Mobius to capture in the IR range?
yes, it is not reversible however.. publiclab.org/notes/cfastie/04-22-2014/mobius-ir-conversion
RCHacker I had no idea it was so simple, I'm going buy one and give it a go! Thanks for all your ideas, I'll be watching down the line.
Hi Mark, I love your videos with Arduino or Open LRS. Any informations about open source stuff in RC is sometimes good documented and some arent. When I was learning about Arduino, watching yours videos really helped me, so I am proud owner of Arduino Variometer thank to you. So keep doing open source videos. Good luck.
That vario design is awesome, stupidly I left mine in australia.
RCHacker I bought a new tx/rx (only needed the rx) for $2 and am using it thanks.
I will be watching the antenna videos.
Multirotor DYI videos are good too.
Yep, turnstile is up next in that series.
diy telemetry, openlrs, diy multirotor, and really anything you have squirreled away. Have always loved your videos. Maybe some info on a OSD with the naze and minim. I know some folks are using that as a diy osd with gps and stabilization would love to see what you could come up with.
Personally I like weekly videos. Anything DIY is good but I especially agree with elm70, how to DIY on a budget.
I'll check your videos in case you've already done this, but I'd love a proper analysis of the FrSky D4R-II RSSI output and what cheap digital to analogue converter gives the best results for displaying on an OSD. I've tried many different resistor/capacitor combinations found from Google searches, but none actually give a full 0-3V output. (Also a 0-1V output would be great for MinimOSD).
This help? forums.openpilot.org/topic/23333-d4r-ii-frsky-rssi-tbs-core/ seems a firmware upgrade might do it.
I've stopped using frsky as two of my d8r2 receivers died on me for no apparent reason.
I too find this hobby very expensive and like a lot of the work you have done on systems such as LRS. Without people like you I would find it impossible to get systems like this working, but still find them difficult to get my head around.. How about a video LRS for Dummies, I live in the UK and this system has to work on a different frequency and I have great difficulty understanding the reprogramming of the units. LRS antenna builds would also be helpful.
I am interested in brush less gimbals but find them far too expensive, especially the controllers, is their anything you could do with that.
Keep up the good work, I suspect I will watch mostly anything you decide to produce and will certainly take a look at your other new UA-cam channel.
All the best John.
Thanks John, taken onboard. Openlrsng is a bit of a learning curve, and in a lot of ways it always will be. I guess for beginners, stay away from the HobbyKing hardware (too many quality issues) and go for the Hawkeye hardware which is pre flashed with openlrsng.
More diyable opensource projects related to rc are definately on my wish list :-)...since you have the programming skills..
Please keep up with this awesome tutorials on opensource hardware / software! great job! I also would like to see some Juz70-Style flight vids ;)
Thanks, I might try and do one or two for fun. Ill be recording it anyway. :)
I'd love to see a flying video up near Cotopaxi or other Ecuadorian beauty spots, pref fixed wing for range, altitude and flight time.
Outback UAV The weather and finding the time is a killer on that one, but I will get up there.
RCHacker Thanks Mark, appreciate it. I guess workshop stuff is 'easier' but the Ecuadorian angle is your unique selling point!
I like your video's. specialy the Open LRS. Maybe it is possible to make a DIY antenna tracker? I would love that. Keep on going with your vids. Just saw a couple of videos of your biodiversityshorts, very impressive.
Thanks, I don't think I will ever have a need for an antenna tracker, I'm happy to plan my flight and point manually.
I would like to see you make a hack to eliminate blue screen for fpv on a tv or cheap monitor. I think it would be possible to use a cheap osd between you av cables and monitor. I like how you can make things easier and cheaper than everyone else.
Not possible without re-designing the TV or monitor. Its down to the quality of the video-sync components and or the FPGA code which is most probably closed source.
I thought it might work. I have read a dvr in line would over come a blue screen. If an osd will display on its own when wired straight to the tv an osd between the video rx and tv should overcome the blue screen. I do not have an osd or I would try it myself. This osd could display ground station voltage.
M Schaffer I see what you are saying now, good idea. I put a minum osd between my receiver and fatsharks and it made it worse. RCHacker #28 - Prototype diversity testing. RSSI on screen display at the ground station. Question is what chip does the fatsharks use for clock recovery? I think i covered it in the fatshark teardown. RCHacker #30 Fatshark Video Goggles Teardown. Base RCV922.
A little confused. The fat sharks don't blue screen. It would be nice for ground station voltage on fat sharks. The main reason is to use something cheap like a spare tv. Are you saying that it might just work to use an osd to reduce the blue screen on a tv? Like I said if I had one I would try it today . Thanks for taking the time to do all your hard work. Your 9x videos are great.
M Schaffer Thinking about it an osd would not work as it does not do anything to the timing parts of the signal it just overlays on the chroma and luminance. In theory you could make a device that decodes the signal then re-constructs the timing parts of it so you can put it into any TV. An Arduino might just be fast enough to do it. There is an arduino OSD project out there, that would be the place to start. The guy that wrote it might take the project on. Have a look at how NTSC and PAL works and it might make more sense.
Here m8 you need to build some field rc vehicles to get close to animals for video and you could also set up trips and photo cells to capture wildlife. A good rc crawler or tracked FPV rig, whisper queit big multirotor would make exciting video around birds, snakes or lizards etc.
I've used PIR sensors to get the hummingbirds. Do you have any recommendations for a nice slow rc crawler? Seems most that I have seen are custom built.
I think you will find any small animal or bird will definitely be more than aware of anything large just hovering overhead since it seems that is also a pastime of eagles and hawks etc.
Gonna subscribe to BDS right now! Good luck Marc
ATB Malc
RCTV-UK
i would like to see beginner stuff like flight stabilization and auto level on a budget stuff . Just subscribed have seen some of your stuff on 9xr great work
Mum says she wants to see some videos of her grandchildren!!!
Your doing an awesome job :) I would be interested in seeing is. RC aerial nadir photograph - as in stitching 100's of photographs together (from gopro or cannon chkdsk time laps photos)
Id probably start with Hugin and treat it as a big flat panorama, although I'd image there are other programs out there.
I an VERY interested in the technical side of how you do the biodiversity shorts videos.
That would almost be another channel. I might get myself established with these two first.
Would love to see any videos about osd hacks, ie minimosd to use standalone.
@8:00 my monitor is 4k. youtube won't load anything over 1080@60, but I hope to have that fixed soon.
@12:00 I'd suggest subscribing to "Video Creators" and "Amy Schmittauer" They have a great wealth of info on how to expand your channel so that you could do unboxing videos of new equipment if you wanted to.
How about fpv footage of canyoning where we went?
Or the bridge swings?
If foot the bill for the crashes..
some more theory stuff would be cool.
I want you to design and build a 350mm size vtail hecacopter, with foldable arms please. As far as I know it's never been done and would probably require some coding to account for the v tail section, but I think that's something you are well capable of. I'm thinking of the combination of the supreme stability of a hex combined with the supreme yaw ability of a vtail. I will send you some sketches of you decide to go ahead with it.
Hey Marc! I really like the hacking part, making stuff and changing stuff. I bought a openLRS and so did lots of friends, and comparing the precision and range with others like rangelink, we didnt like it much, could be something we are doing wrong on the setup, I wish you could do a video on setting up openlrs for best performance... we got questions like: If I ditch the telemetry I get more reliable signal and better range?
It wont be more reliable because you will not know when it is going to fail. But you certainly get more range. How much I am not sure, good question.
RCHacker Thanks for replying! I actually use an OSD and I also have Lbeep. thats why I want to ditch the telemetry... I can see all the info on the OSD and hear the lost packages on the Lbeep sent by the FPV TX on the audio channel...
What antennas did you have on the openLRS?... it makes a HUGE difference. 500m stock antennas,,, to easy 10km with home made dipoles
Len d I got a dragonlink nagoya antenna on the TX and a sander style monopole antenna on a mini quad RX... when I fly low I lose a lot of packets...
Nagoya should be good, but may loose some range with monopoles compared to a dipole. If you fly low/behind things probably will be affected by fresnel violation, which lower the signal strength. also noise floor, is a bit factor too. should have mentioned those ranges were direct line of sight to plane
flying flying flying and some flying
Yeah, I'm getting itchy too. :)
I am thinking about purchasing an inexpensive ir kit, to make my own RC shutter for a DSC-h9, for zooming, and shutter. can you do a video using a arduino uno, for capturing the commander ir code, then use the uno to relay through a receiver?
hi
i would like to watch more on the LRS , and miniosd and maybe some remote triggers using arduino etc..
cheers
make some more jungle fpv vids
Sure, jungle is my backyard.:)
Being in the 0.02% of subscribers.... Meh... whatever; trash, delete and burn the lot. However, I would prefer you to do whatever you have already being doing... which is why I subscribed in the first instance.
RCHacker I like this sharing of ideas. Why don't you put online some sort of wiki where to better share your development?
My website is my wiki, but I'm not really interested in others editing it.
Sorry, it might work but I just don't have the time to manage something like that either.
Hey Marc, I have a question, where did you print your circuit boards?
Itead studio.
ok then do a how to video on how to change the channel on the orange RX openlrs and yes you dont have much flying videos lets see you fly some fpv
As in UK channels?, I've had a few requests for that. I wonder if the openlrs configurator boys could put some options for it in.
Flying vids like juz70 that would be great.
I cannot fly that good, I'll need to practice a lot. :)
Practice makes perfect, and with 250 quads you can crash without worrying too much :)
i know one.
can you do a simple Arduino-lipo-cutoff circuit? Some kind of lipoguard like the one you can get on hobbyking or ebay for cheep only with cutoff. just an idea because im searching for something like that without success. the one i found are very expensive like 30 dollar... i think i killed about 3 lipos caused by undervolting. I know this circuit is not great for Planes but for cars or boats.
How about a single motor 3d quad...using kk2 board. you will need your oscilloscope due to esc burn out? apparently.
I tend to go the other way with multirotors, currently I am flying with 9.
Dear Marc,
Thanks a lot for your moxon antenna tutorial, it is a very elegant design and was very helpful.
Please do a tutorial on how to use the diy headtracker (www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1677559)
with the openlrs transmitter.
I think it is interesting for everyone using openlrs via cppm and trying to transmit a headtracker signal, possibly without combining the cppm from the transmitter and the cppm from the diy heatracker.
Maybe how to setup the openlrs to transmit the headtrackersingnal via i2c interface and to convert it onboard of the rcplane to ppm (pwm) signal.
Best Regards,
Ruben Hartmann
I like it too, but it is not my design. It was invented by Les Moxon. I have got a small amateur radio following that pointed me in that direction.
Thanks for that link, I need to get the IMU but I would like to build this one day.
cheers, Marc.
@Spoif I still have plenty of surprises.
when will you come back?
+rc-wingman back!
when will you come back?
Teach us more about multiwii :)
Hello Kitty was Multiwii, that thing certainly had a different feel to the flying characteristics than the KK2. I get the impression that KK2 is faster because it is written in assembler, might be interesting to compare it to a 32bit multiwii controller. Im hanging out for one of those multiwii micro quads but they are always out of stock.
I guess it depends, I have a tri that seems as fast. You have to check the board knows the throws it gets from the receiver. Those micro quads are cool :)
Hi, I see this video now in june 2015. I wonder if you read this. I think you can earn a lot of money if you are able to tweak a mini camera like a 900TVL or better to reduce the latency and get an acceptable 720p image for fpv racing. All the new goggles are HD now, but the primary camera's that are used are 2010 technology because of the latency problem. Solve that and you become rich and famous. You probably have to re-evaluate other components in the chain from camera to eye too...
please do beginners stuff
This is probably the best beginners series of videos out there: ua-cam.com/play/PL6IuSFWz4ktvupu_gxw1vn-sjBGOkJFHV.html
some flying video fpv also using arduino show us a how to video on how to change the channel on so that you could fly with your buddy with no problems oh and 433mhz antennas orange RX openlrs
really don't think you have anything new to add to the RC hobby, only copy of other peoples stuff or links to their work.
I say show off your chops. You have skills in electronics, programming, and are mechanically inclined. You are correct in saying that there are already channels focused on the beginner. Where do we push this hobby to? Long distance stuff is already being done and is kind of boring to watch. What kind of things can this tech do that we haven't thought of? How can it be helpful? Mess around with it. Be creative. Be innovative. That is what I want to see.
Invent more stuff, keep with the theme. No problems.
I think there are already too many flying videos, they can be fun too watch but you don't learn much from them. I would like to see videos on hacking, designing, programming and electronics. Ideas on how to build flying machines, comparison of different approaches, with their pros and cons. One blog I always enjoy to read and see its videos is the one of the main developer of the taulabs firmware: buildandcrash.blogspot.com I would like to see something similar but more broad in the focus. Just to give you an example of something I would like to see, is RF interference. I've see a lot of discussions on forums, on how critical or unimportant RF interference is. For instance, the iron cores you see in ESC, some say they are unnecesary, some say they should be closest to the esc, others say they should be closest to the board. When it comes to VTX common knowledge is that RC RF should be lower than VTX because of harmonics, then there is also discussion on the effects of 1.2Ghz VTX affecting GPS, on filters, etc. Any chance you could make a video showing and explaining all that and doing some real tests?
Yes, I've got a tool coming that will help investigating RF problems.
I was not aware of this blog, thanks for the link, pure gold. I was looking forward to an OpenPilot that got lost in the mail. (ecuadorian post) Id even set up the development environment (what a royal pain in the bum that was), I kind of lost interested because the codebase seemed to have forked so much.
When I'm ready to move on again perhaps TauLabs will be it. Your thoughts?
Thought you lived in Australia, because of the english like accent and the wierd enviroment. Yes, setting the development enviroment is painfull. I tried to set it on Windows and then I gave up and downloaded a linux image with everything ready for development. Just try Taulabs, they support many different platforms, including the STM discoveryf3/f4 board that costs 15 usd, and also the old openpilot classic boards plus new ones like Quanton, Sparky and others being developed; they are also constantly adding new features.
ChantaFlaite I'm from Australia, the work I was doing had me constantly travelling, then was lucky enough to find this place. Sweet, I have a discovery board. Thanks for the tips.
RCHacker Sweet, check this page on info on how to set those boards github.com/TauLabs/TauLabs/wiki You also may want to check taulabs.org there is a forum and an irc channel were some developers hang out. I can assure you, you will enjoy flying a taulabs, the GCS is full of features, an being an open source project you can always add whatever features you feel are missing.
no sound how annoying
works for everyone else.
Hey! I think this channel has a lot of potential and you are doing a great job so far! In the future, I think it would be cool if you could do some more electrical engineering and cool builds. Maybe you could make a series where you start with designing a circuit, building it, adding software and adding it to one of you flying machines. Also I like the idea of saving up content to release when you are busy so that there is more of a schedule to your content. All in all, great job, keep up the great work!
I like the builds and Arduino based projects. Nifty things like the variometer and DIY gadgetry/mods/conversions etc. Keen to see your integration to the biodiversity channel too. How about a cheap, night time, motion triggered, wildlife camera.
There is new Mobius firmware out that has motion detection, I'm yet to try it out but I will pretty soon.
Would love to see any videos about osd hacks, ie minimosd to use standalone.
Like minimosd without the ardupilot attached? Feeding just a couple of basic signals into it.
Biodiversity Shorts Exactly. I knownit can be done but no idea where to even begin! Looking forward to your new channel as well. Cheers!
matthmbg I messed around with the minimOSD on the ground station a while back, RCHacker #28 - Prototype diversity testing. RSSI on screen display at the ground station. my concept had some issues but the minimosd is definitely hackable.