FY G3 for GoPro - Newbie Questions

Help
1

I will be purchasing the FeiyuTech G3 2-Axis Brushless Gimbal for GoPro soon, but as I’m new to all this I would like to ask some questions. I have chosen this system because it is lightweight (<180g) and can be used upside down, attached to flat surfaces for remote presentations and interviews. I also only need the tilt movement to control.

Question 1:

I will be connecting our GoPro Hero 3+ to the GoPro Combo cable, which is connected to an external battery and external microphone. Our external battery (Anker Astro M3) has two outputs. The 1A output is being used to power the GoPro, whilst the other, a 2.1A output is free.

Is there any way through the use of an adaptor to connect the FeiyuTech Gimbal to the 2.1A output of the external battery? Any custom solutions? I can make the 1A output available if necessary.

Question 2:

I need to be able to control the tilt movement remotely from a distance. What is a simple receiver that would be best used for this purpose, controlling it with one hand? Around 10m range is fine.

Thank you.

2

The FY G3 is a great gimbal:-) Here are my answers to your questions

Answer to Q1:

Yes its possible as long as your battery is between 7v-14v (2-4s Lipo). Although I would suggest you go for something around 11V battery (a 3s Lipo), The FY G3 comes with a power cable with a loose end, so you can solder whatever type of battery connector you want to it. We usualy use JST style connectors.

Answer to Q2:

To control this from a distance I suggest you try look around ebay or something for a super cheap RC transmitter/receiver. Otherwise the actual gimbal itself has some push-buttons to adjust the pitch, or you could consider the handheld grip accessory

Hope that helps!

3

Thank you for your quick reply. I just checked and my Anker battery is only 5V so is unsuitable. Therefore all options are open. Can you recommend a brand that is portable enough to carry on a belt or in a pocket that can last a minimum of 3 hours?

4

There are no particular brand of battery I prefer over another one, but I suggest you shop around for a 3S 2200mah lipo battery as the should last enough for 3 hours,although I admit I have never tested this for a solid 3 hours as I only use gimbals with quadcopters. But I have used a 500mah 2S lipo and it lasts several flights so another option would just be to buy a couple of them (they are less than £5 each.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/141137690269?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=108&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108&ff19=0

5

Thanks again. A few more questions please:

  1. When the FY G3 is inverted, which way is its maximum tilt? I need it to still have the ability to face the floor 90 degrees, rather than face the roof.

  2. What is the maximum angle in the inverted position can you have the FY G3 base before it starts alarming? I may have to angle it on a tripod.

  3. When connecting the FY G3 cables to the receiver, do I need to do anything special or do they just slot in?

  4. If I was to buy the FY G3 from your shop, would you be able to attach a DC connector plug on the end of the power cable? I’m thinking of using a single battery to power both my GoPro and FY G3 simultaneously (XTPower MP-S12000). I don’t have any experience with a solder that’s all.

I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. Thank you.

6
  1. When you say inverted, do you mean like the image below? If so then you will not be able to look down, so it can look 180 away from the mounting plate (in the image below that’s directly up), and 60 degrees towards the mounting plate (in the image that’s 60deg downwards)
  2. I am not quite sure what you mean by this.
  3. The cables just slot in, but you will need to provide power to the receiver (you could use the spare 5V you have for that.
  4. I should be able to do that for you if you let me know exactly what connector you need.

7

Thanks again. Yes. the above image was the orientation I was after, however I do need it to point directly down, so this kit is probably not the best option afterall which is disappointing.

I did some more research this evening and may go with a simple solution to begin with of using one of the simple tilt platforms with a single servo. As the single servo runs on 5V and the receiver is 5V, can I plug my 5V battery directly into the receiver without an ESC? I have tried to locate a USB battery cable that plugs directly into a receiver for the past couple of hours but have been unsuccessful. What cable do you suggest would work in this situation?

8

Glad I could be of help. Always good to start off simple and at a later stage if you need the better stabilisation of brushless gimbals then there are always other options too like building your own gimbal!