Zeek

And now this http://www.xtremepowersystems.net/xtremelink.php Seems like everyone is watching everyone else..... Zeek

I have had a lot going on since returning from my vacation, not much extra time for continuing my testing. I have installed the electromagnetic shield that Mr.RC-Cam sent me. (Thank you) I have also started the process of shortening up some of the extra wiring I have on the wireless video system. So far I have removed 13 inches of extra wire with some more to go. I have ordered a new Archos AV-500 Pocket Video Recorder with a 30 gig hard drive to replace my Sony camcorder to record the movies. Quality should be much better than converting from VHS tape for posting the movies for downloads. By the way, the link to the test flight of the OSD board is up and running and has been for a while. I posted it a 3rd time on Putfile while I was in Mexico at an Internet cafe and it stayed there this time. Mr.RC-Cam, the photo of the new production model really looks good. I like the way it will be covered on both sides to help protect the innards without adding much weight. Zeek

I just uploaded it again and changed the link in the above post, try it again Zeek

I will try to upload it again tonight. It will be my last chance to do it for a week as I am heading out in the morning for 1 week. sorry Zeek P.S. It was there really

Yesterday I finally got my plane in the air and was able to get a couple of flights recorded with the Gecko OSD board. After a few PM's to RC-Cam Man I was able to work through some of the ground range issues I was having. I installed a temporary electrostatic shield and was able to increase the ground range. It still is not 100% but better than it was. I also need to shorten up some of my wiring as there is quite a bit of extra length going to some of the components of the video system. I need to take more time to try and isolate what is causing most of the EMI/RFI problem. It can definitely be time consuming to do so as I have already found out. I don't know a lot about electronics but am learning more as I deal with this issue. My first flight was around 12 minutes in duration with 5 glitches showing on the glitch counter field of the screen. The second flight was 10 minutes in duration and showed 4 glitches. None of which where noticed by me while I was flying. The flights where recorded on VHS tape on a 9in TV/VCR. I have yet to replace my Sony camcorder that died. The videos look great on TV but after they are captured on the computer and compressed they don't look anywhere near as good as the original. I was not going to post the video because of its poor quality but I will anyway. If it is viewed in the 320 x240 size it does not look as bad. Everything around here is still very drab looking and will be for a few more weeks. It is nice to be able to see all the information on the screen when reviewing the videos. It would be great tool for those that use their video downlink to frame aerial pictures or to fly First Person View with video goggles. Being able to monitor battery status, altitude, speed, prop RPM, heading, glitches, ect. while you are flying via video and having the option of turning the OSD on and off for an unobstructed view would be ideal. This Gecko OSD board offers many useful functions for any AP pilot. It is relatively small and will add only minimal weight to your AP setup. All set up mine came in under 3oz. with the shield. Here is the video link, click on OSD-Board-test-flight-2 http://www.putfile.com/zeek Zeek Edit: new link

The following features are what I have set my Gecko OSD board up for.. Timer set for elapsed flight time. R/C Control of the OSD information (able to turn all fields off and on for unobstructed video) R/C Glitch counter Photo/Event Counter Altitude and Speed Tachometer GPS Heading GPS Coordinates Motor battery and amps Aux Voltages =R/C receiver voltage At some point I would like to hook up the RSSI to be able to see the signal strength of the receiver. I did run into some ground range issues this past weekend. I am hoping an electrostatic shield will take care of the problem. Zeek

This evening I finished up the installation of my beta Gecko OSD board. Tomorrow I will do some range checking and if the weather cooperates will send it skyward. Forecast says partly cloudy with 2 to 4mph winds. I had a small issue with the little (and I mean little) rare earth magnets. I had one installed backwards. After turning it around everything is fine. I will report back after the test flights are complete. Wish me luck. Zeek

Update I got the Gecko OSD installed on my Slow Tabria on Sunday. It installed easily with a bit of Velcro and some clear packing tape to hold some of the wires in place. I had to make up a couple of new connectors to hook the board to my wireless video system. The part that did take me a fair amount of time was figuring out how to install the Hall Effect tach sensor and small rare earth magnets. I am using a HiMaxx 2025-4266 brushless motor with a 6.6/1 gear ratio. The idea I came with was to install the magnets on the inside of the spur gear with a drop od CA and the sensor was placed on a small shim made out of wood on the gearbox frame to line it up with the magnets. I used Goop Household glue to keep them in place. The glue remains flexible so if I should the need to remove it at a later time, it should come off fairly easily. You have to maintain a 1/8 to 1/16 in gap between the two in order for it to work properly. (Picture below) The only thing left to do is hook up the battery voltage and amperage line to the Gecko OSD. I ordered a set of Deans ultra connectors that were shipped on Monday. I was hoping they would be here today, maybe tomorrow. I am setting it up so that this connection will plug inline with the battery and ESC without having to modify the connectors on either of these items. If the weather cooperates this weekend I will be sending it aloft for a test flight. I will record a couple of flights and post a link to the videos. I have to revert to recording the flight the old school way with my 9in tv/vcr combo unit that I use to use as I have not yet replaced my Sony trv 33 that gave up the ghost last time I was out.. Zeek

Yesterday I received my fully assembled, beta Gecko OSD board from Mr. Rc-Cam. It is nothing short of a work of art. It arrived in a small cardboard box that was shipped Priority Mail. The contents where completely wrapped with bubble wrap and the OSD board was in a sealed antistatic plastic bag. Power, video, tach, and receiver cables were all soldered to the board and labeled. In my opinion this Gecko OSD board is what I would consider APAP (Almost Plug And Play) If I were not aware that this OSD board was handmade, I would swear it was completely machine made. The craftsmanship is truly unbelievable. Tonight I hooked up my wireless tx and video camera to it on my computer desk for a test run. I used a 2s 1200mah lipo to power it and an Airtronics receiver powered with a standard 4 cell nicad pack for testing of the photo/event counter and the video on/off control. Upon powering up the unit, the on screen information came right up on the TV that I had my video rx hooked up too, followed by the live video feed. The GPS coordinates started to show up with the unit sitting on my desk. (My handheld Magellan GPS wont receive any satellite signals unless it is sitting on my windowsill.) All the fields show up nicely on the TV screen. I flipped through the menu screens using the small joystick and made a couple of changes, The menus are very user friendly and easy to move through with the joystick. I tested the photo/event counter with my gear retract channel and setup the rudder channel to be able to turn the onscreen display on and off which is a nice feature. All appears to be working well. This is going to be a fun unit to use. This weekend I will start the process of installing it on my Slow Tabria so when the first opportunity comes around to give it a test flight it will be ready to roll. The weather needs to warm up and the wind needs to cooperate. 19 deg out right now. Zeek

I was hoping to have heard more input from the beta testers by now, or even some testing videos of it in operation. Zeek

Me too! Zeek