wjglynn

I happened to be back on that site getting circuitry ideas for video switching when I saw JP's post. I thought he might enjoy reading the article about the Goof Proof patch as overall it does a great job of explaining what is really inside of those square patch antenna's. Steve's tuning efforts are merely an extension of the bottom element inside of the patch to a length that optimizes performance. I was intrigued enough by the plans that I built one but have not yet tested it. By the time you pay freight on the SMA connector and purchase the other parts you are so close to the price of a patch it does not make a lot of sense to build instead of buy unless you want to squeak a little more gain out of the antenna. I suspect that all of the gain inprovement is in the fact that there is no lead-in. The SMA screws right onto the reciever. For now my little Omni disk on the plane and a patch affixed to the top of a metal rod 6' off the ground is sufficent for what we are doing.

I have my hands full rebuilding the E-Stik and probably will not get back to the antenna tuning topic for a while. When we crashed the E-Stik the camera was pointed skyward and the only indication of pending doom was the tail wheel swinging back and forth as the plane tip stalled. I want to be able to flip a switch on my 9303 and switch from the camera on the PTZ mount to a stationary one pointing forward.

JettPilot

My Feedback: (6)

Thanks for the replys on the Patch antenna ground plane. 19 inches is also what I calculated, but that is pretty big to haul around and put on a tripod [:@] I wonder how much difference the extra ground plane would make ??? I have manufactured patches, both 14 dbi and 8 dBI, dont konw if its worth trying or not. It would take a pretty big gain to justify hauling something 19 inches square around along with everything else.

JettPilot

S_Dave

Hi, JP,

The ground plane size is absolutely not critical. Make it as big as you want and anything bigger than what is already included in the antenna will be better. Aluminum foil, foil-backed foam construction insulation board would all work. It would help to electrically connect your add-on to the antenna, but I don't think that matters too much. Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Dave
Hey, how cold does it get in HI?

JettPilot

My Feedback: (6)

Thanks Dave,

I will make something as big as is practical to transport. I am thinking of something with hinges on it, so I can fold the sides in, then it would be 19 inches long, but only 6 inches wide when folded up. That would fit with my gear just fine. I could electrically connect it to the patch, is the 1/2 inch height of the patch above the plate critical ? Or can I just mount the patch directly onto the plate which would be easier.

JettPilot

S_Dave

Hello, JP,

If you want to connect your extension of the ground plane to the factory antenna, you can electrically connect it to the factory ground plane. Or, you could just mount it as close behind the factory antenna back side as possible. I got excited when I first thought you were going to connect something to the radiating "patch" part of the antenna (the front part that the center contact of the coax connector is soldered to). Then I realized that you were referring to the whole antenna as the patch. It's okay, it's okay... Yes. just mount the antenna assembly to the ground plane extension. Hey--the folding sides idea is pretty clever.

To stay with the original thread topic--I tried to order a "Liftmeister" last month and Cedar Hobbies was out of them until December, they said. I guess everybody is realizing what good airplanes they are.
Am I the only one who's happy that Friday is almost here??

Cheers,

Dave

S_Dave

Hey, JP,

Thanks for the thumbs up about Range Video. I placed an order with them Thursday (yesterday) and it came this morning at 10:30am.
I'm looking at getting some video goggles that they have maybe next week. I've got some building to do--ordered two of their pan & tilt kits.
Have a great weekend!

Dave

wjglynn

Ok guys, I don't have any great pictures of my Stik reconstruction but I did shoot this picture last week. How can I convince you it was from my RC plane?

Bill[img][/img]

S_Dave

Bill,

Are you the same man that 20-20 reported on, who was selling those mountain top lots in Kansas?
Looks good to me.

Dave
"I'll believe anything....twice."

S_Dave

Bill,

I've been meaning to post something from our aerial photography project. The picture is a mosaic of several images shot from a Telemaster-electric plane. The camera was a Pentax point-and-shoot 5 MP looking straight down and triggered about every 3 sec. They were then made into a mosaic image using "autostitch" program. You can see the program tried hard but didn't get it perfect. Rooftop of the helicopter shed (top of image) appears to be influenced by a Kansas tornado. On the right, the road is not joined straight and appears to be zig zag. Altitude was about 600 ft and it was a little breezy that day. This is also the field where Steve flies when he's in town.

Hoping to make some video from another plane this weekend--last try, the servos all decided to jitter even before turning on the video transmitter. Murphy was an optimist.

Was the above really shot from your RC plane??
Cheers,

Dave
p.s. if this picture appears twice, you can view it in stereo...

wjglynn

Dave,

Great picture! I don't have any experience with autostitch programs but it does look like the stitching algorithm performed a couple of cross stitches.

Ok, I'm busted. It was not from an RC plane but the boom operator did have to elbow me away as I fired continuously with my D70. There is a local National Guard program for employers to go on courtesy refueling missions. I was fortunate enough to score a ride. We were over NE new Mexico last Tuesday and our "Recievers" were a couple of B1Bs.

Bill

S_Dave

Hello, Bill, and JP,

Since the Liftmeisters were out of stock at Cedar Hobbies, I've gone to the Sig Senior Kadet instead. It's a nice and roomy plane and should hold lots of electronics. It's almost finished, so look for some photos from me after Christmas.

A friend of mine helped me with some aerial video tests early in the month. I made a mount for a small camera--it looks down and left from the fuselage side of a Lanier Explorer 40. A 25mW transmitter was used and it gave marginal results until we had somebody track the plane with the antenna (didn't have time for one of those cool-looking antenna helmets, JP). A couple of photos are attached here showing our crude setup.

We had some really great weather a couple of weeks ago here in Georgia--it was over 70 and clear. I took off several days and did some more video flying. We taped a small 2.4 GHz camera/transmitter (2 mW) to my Mini Ultra Stick and flew all over our club property. One flight was pretty high and we could see a long ways. One of my friends tracked the plane with the receiver/antenna. I recorded it but don't yet have the computer setup to post the video. That's coming soon, too.

It's currently 45 F, cloudy and windy here in GA, but I hope it's nice where you guys are. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and I hope Santa Claus brings you plenty of R/C and aerial photography goodies....maybe even a Liftmeister ARF.

Best wishes,

Dave

wjglynn

Dave, (and all the rest)

Happy holidays to you too! We had a huge ice storm a couple weeks back and as soon as it melted we got nailed with about 8" of snow and 25mph winds. No outdoor flying going on here. Supposed to snow again today. Unfortunately I seemed to have lost my givash*&#@+ since about Thanksgiving. The E-GBS rebuild is at a standstill. Got some goodies for xmas that should relight the fire. It is good to see that someone is carrying on the AP faith when others are at an idle! My workbench has the Photo E-GBS, a Funtana X100, a Flybaby, and the gas stik to repair/rebuild to prepare for the 2008 season. And I want to put pontoons on my rat Alpha. If only I could afford to build as fast as I can crash and had time to do it!

Were you really just transmitting at 2milliwatts? That seems to be about the amount of rf generated by rubbing a nickel and a penny together.

Bill

oilyamps

Great thread fellas, I just started doing videos, and will continue watching, but what caught my attention was very early in the thread.....I have HL Senior Telemaster, and I saw that the advert was easy to remove. Can you let me know how to remove the advertising please? It's been there long enough!

I started my airborne video experiments with a camera feeding a 70cm ham band (Oz) ATV transmitter. It still works fine, and the ST had space & weight capacity for the transmitter and 12v power pack

Thanks,

Adrian

S_Dave

G'day, Adrian,

Welcome! Steve started this thread and he travels a lot, so I wanted to jump in and comment on your question about removing the advertising from the Telemaster. I have one that's electric, and it's transparent red w/white "HOBBY LOBBY" all over. The experts told me to warm it with your monokote heat gun and it should lift off. Try at your own risk, since I personally have NOT yet tried this. But it sounds plausible...

Good luck and happy New Year to you. Does the new year start on your side of the date line or the other?
Cheers,

Dave
W4QDV

oilyamps

Hi Dave, thanks for that! A certain amount was lost when I re-covered parts after taking off once with reversed ailerons! One of the reasons I went to computer RC gear...

Yeah, our year starts a few hours before yours I reckon!

A good night for a drink at home.....it's currently 44.5 C, and even us Aussies can't handle that for long! Gunna try go out to the field for a quick fly in the morning, before we hit the same temp tomorrow! 2 hours left at work, then home!

Adrian
VK5AW

steve_molmer

Hello all…. I am back… rumors of my demise have been greatly with out proof and or documentation…lol.

Sorry I have been gone so long from the forum. Work has finally slowed down a bit so I can now get back the important things like this…LOL. I hope everyone has had a good year…. a pleasant Christmas and new years.

I have looked at all the post up to this point. On the issue of ground plane of a receiving antenna…. When you are working with transmitted and received frequencies set below 800Mhz the standard rule is to have as large of a ground plane as possible to obtain good signal and lower back ground noise. However the closer you get to 1Ghz the standard rules and calculations are complete rubbish due to the degradation of the signal that the receiving antenna is picking up that is generated by the issue of multi-path reflections. If you make the ground plane reflector (this is for using a flat panel type ground plane reflector) to large it will begin to reduce the level of the signal you are receiving. If you look over the entrees in this post, you will find a set of modified calculation for making the ground plane for a 2.450Ghz patch antenna. Note that you should only use a patch that has a wide beam angle H and Z of at least 60degs unless you plan too have someone point the antenna at the plane during the entire flight…lol. You can use the same equations for making a ground plane for a 900Mhz patch antenna by substituting the wave lengths. However, you will need to add ½� to the back spacing between the patch antenna and the ground plane.

PS. Jetpilot…. I have ordered the bits to build the 900Mhz receiver so I can look at the blurred video issue you are seeing first hand. I will let you know as soon as I get it all together.

Also Dave, Bill, JP and Jetpilot…. thanks for keeping the thread alive during my absence.
I promise I will be quite a bit more timely in my posts.

Best regards

Steve

rc34074

My Feedback: (5)

Last time I looked at the cedar hobbies site they don't even show the liftmeister any more. Do they still plan to sell this plane? anyone know? I have a liftmeister that's flyable but wondering what kind of support to expect from cedar hobbies- anyone tried to get spare parts form them lately?

I was starting to look for an alternate plane to the liftmeister - the great planes 80 inch stick looked like a possibility, and the sig senior kadet. which looks better to you guys?

thanks

Ed

S_Dave

Hello, Ed,

I really, really wanted to buy a Liftmeister back in October and Cedar said that they were out until late December. I made an alternate choice in the Sig Senior Kadet. It's a nice plane and very roomy. Steve found it less robust than the Liftmeister, but I had to have a plane. The people at Cedar Hobbies were very nice, but I guess they don't have control over their suppliers. We had a student team build a heavy lift plane from the Senior Kadet, and with 15 lbs, the two-piece wing was a little too flexy and we suggested they glue it. The only failure they had was in the firewall coming off. I'm planning to reinforce mine with epoxy and triangle stock.

You might call Cedar and ask them what the status is since the Liftmeister is a very nice plane. Oh! Somebody has one on eBay right now. Price is $255 buy-it-now with $55 shipping.
Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Dave

steve_molmer

ED

What parts do you need?

Steve

rc34074

My Feedback: (5)

Thanks for your replies. Right now I don't need any parts but I wanted to know if anyone knew if they were selling spare parts. I assembled and flew b my liftmeoster last summer, with no damage. but I was thinking of getting some backup parts or a backup plane in case this one got damaged.

I think the great planes stick should be well built as the 40 and 60 size sticks I had from them 8 years ago were well built, but I haven't had one of them since. nor have I hever had a senior kadet. So I was asking about them as possible replacements if Cedar Hobbies abandoned the Liftmeister. I see that Cedar has their own giant stick but if they abandon the Liftmeister I would go to another source that would be more reliable.

My first choice would tend to be the Great Planes stick based on my previous experince, but was looking for your comments.
Also, one of the local hobby shops has the stick as a combo with a super tiger 2300 for a great price right now.

Ed

ustas

My Feedback: (13)

Can anybody please post a link to the Cedar Hobbies web site?
Thanks!

S_Dave

Bill, JP and friends,

I've been fooling around with a little Pentax point-and-shoot camera slung under one of my medium-sized electric planes. Attached is a photo of our flying site near Douglasville, GA made by my camera box under the plane. Triggering is via an IR photodiode that fakes the camera into thinking it's being fired by a hand-held IR remote. Shoots every 3 seconds as it flies by, and most shots are just trees and such, but sometimes you get a good one. It was 55 F here today and windy, but everybody came out to fly. Hope your weather is mild enough for flying. Happy New Year!

Dave

rc34074

My Feedback: (5)

the cedar hobbies web site seems to now be www342.outtech.com/cedar/Default.htm . they don't show the liftmeister on this site.

Ed

wjglynn

Ed,

I am flying the Great Planes Giant Big Stik for AP presently. Have flown it with both a Zenoah G-38 and an E-Flight 160 motor. After numerous flights with the G-38 no signs of abnormal stress even with the engine hanging out in front of a spring starter. Have the 160 out in front of the firewall about 7 inches. Both planes with camera gear weigh in at nearly 20lbs. Maximum lift capacity is nowhere in sight at 20 lbs. but it will obviously stall easier with that much weight. The thickness of the symmetrical wing on this plane makes it a great floater at about 15lbs but at 20lbs when you get out of the throttle it wants to come down right away. Still haven't needed to use the flaps. Don't use the stock landing gear with a load. They will not handle the slightest hard landing.

I am very pleased with mine!

Bill

wjglynn

S_Dave,

Great picture! Your photodiode almost puts you up there with the McGiver guy who used salt water on a Q-tip to fake out his I-Phone into taking an aerial picture. Good Work!

The 15" APC prop on my Saito 125 bit me yesterday during break in runs. It was a user head failure stunt. Now I get to work with seven stitches on the middle finger of my right hand. It kicked back and sliced right through my glove. Never had my hand off the prop. It just sliced in as it fired. Ouch-stupid pilot! But back from the Emergency Room two hours later we ran several more tanks of fuel through the engine before the anesthetic wore off. At least I was smart enough to quit when it was time to take the Lortab.



Bill