l8braker

Hey guys after being dis-appointed with the lifting capabilities of my first DF SAVS I sold it in march and went through an blade cp pro, align 450, align 600, blade 400, and now I just came back to the DF. While all these other heli's can pickup more weight, none of them were near as stable or easy to fly as the DF. Well actually the align 600 was pretty easy, but it is just so BIG!

The reason behind all that was I am disappointed in the wireless camera quality, so I was strapping a digital photo camera(which shoots video) to all the above heli's. Does anyone else have a non-wireless camera mounted to their DF? If so what is your setup?

jesolins

Welcome back!
A lot has happened with the DF over the last few months, thanks to Old Man Mike and Mike Dammer and many others. See here: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=768115 and here: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_65...tm.htm#6531477 and here: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_65...tm.htm#6581766 and for a good cam mount using the Panasonic FX07 which shoots incredible video for a digicam: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_5967964/tm.htm
Cheers,
Jim

l8braker

Jim many many thanks for those links! I've been reading up on the latest upgrades, which all look great!

Now I can't wait to go out and fly mine tomorrow.

Sky High

Hey l8braker. Did you get another new DF? There seems to be issues with the newer flight boards. Did you ever try using FMA Co-pilot hardware like BB_DF does with his larger helos? [link=http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=806655]Here[/link] is a great video using a larger helo but I believe I detected some slight correction with stabilization software. I hope the DF can fly that smooth some day!

l8braker

Hey Sky High,

I bought one from a fellow forum member who had a new one for sale. I'm not sure of the production date(is there a way to tell?) also what are the issues with the newer boards? I may just get it taken care of before flying it.

No I never tried FMA Co-Pilot...I'll go watch that video now...edit(wow that guy is good and his camera is nice!)


Also is anyone doing brushless conversions? Meaning I send you my DF and you send it back converted? Obviously with a little cash going to the person for the time/effort.

jesolins

If you are lucky then you have the newest board. It will have 12 holes for the ESC pins that indicate it can be modified by Mike Dammer at Spectrolutions. He will do that for $55 for that board. His turn time is about a week. Of course then you will need to get the recommended ESC's and motors and props that will set you back another $130 or so, as in the links above. Pretty much DIY for the frame and motor attachments even if you modify the original frame for this. I would recommend the larger frame if you plan on doing much AP/AV/FPV. The brushless DF version flies very stable with more lifting power especially compared to the brushed versions.
Cheers,
Jim

l8braker

I don't have the 12 pins.....if I'm looking in the right spot. Where are the ESC pins?(just to make sure)

jesolins

The holes are lined up at the front of the board.

FL_PI

Like this, right?

kieranmullen

Why doesnt DF put brushless in them by default? You would think the price of the unit would warranty quality parts. perhaps they tested and it didnt work out well?

l8braker

maybe they will in the future, but for the price you would think it was standard

jesolins

I think it is because Mike Dammer's Spectolutions is a small business and has other irons in the fire. I know he is about to release a brushless version for his pro line at some point in the future. It is a good product and he does support it well. The Mikrokopter, UVAP and X-Bl are all technically much better, but you can't beat the $375 experimental brushless board he is offering in bang for the buck. The quad platform with this board is very stable and can be made even more stable with some mods to the gyros Vout resistor values. Board link here: http://www.spectrolutions.com/brushless_proto.htm
100K gyro pot mod here: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showp...&postcount=941
and here: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showp...postcount=1115
DF experimental board flight video here: http://www.vimeo.com/792992
and here: http://www.vimeo.com/794026
Cheers,
Jim