http://www.sparkfun.com/products/11115
A board that has gyros built in- says that the board by itself can be used
as a 3 axis controller.
Vibration resistant enough for a model RC helo. If they can stand that
much
vibration, they have to be tough.
What do you think?
Kevin Alderman
We had a big discussion about this a while back. Gyros are built into some
cell
phones and tablets. There is some software for the tablets that use SS
gyros to give
the pilot synthetic vision.
Paul Lamar
I ordered a board, and after I play with it for a bit I will try to build a
3 axis autopilot. The board also has provisions to mount a GPS chip. My
boat has NMEA 2000 GPS signal output, and a simple hydraulic motor drive
steering. I can outfit the boat with the system by interfacing the motor
drives from the unit to the steering pump. I will try to slave the unit to
the output of the built in GPS, and compare the board GPS chip performance
to the built in GPS. The advertisements said that the software for an
autopilot was already available for download, which should give a good
starting point and save a lot of time.
I will try it on my boat first, if it can navigate the boat at 12 knots in
6 foot seas for 12 hours, it should work in the plane if it can update fast
enough.
Just a thought- after reading over the info, this system with an on board
GPS chip can be programmed with a destination, degree of rotation limits, G
limits, and using tables on an SD card, a flight profile. Meaning for
around $300.00 for board, chips, and 3 servos, I can program my plane to
take off, fly somewhere and "land" within a few feet of its target. It is
unlikely that I would get to use the plane again.
I will let you guys fill in the blanks regarding the implications.
Kevin Alderman
I did some work on reading a GPS back in 1990. Here is my Kitplanes
article.
I'll send some of the info on the NEMA 0183 interface as soon as I find it.
Paul Lamar
On my boat I have dual VHF radios and a Single Side Band radio. (SSB for
long range com- VHF is just like in a plane- line of sight) My GPS is
linked to both VHF radios. On the bottom of the front of each radio is a
big fat red button. It has a red cover. Lift the cover, press the button
and hold for 3 seconds and it transmits a distress call complete with
updating GPS position, theoretically updating until the boat sinks.The
radios read the GPS location via NMA 2000 protocol. I had to register the
MMID number with NOAA so that when my radio transmits the distress call,
they know who it is, and how many people the boat typically has, etc. The
registration info includes size, color, type etc. for the boat so that they
will know what to look for.
My marine EPIRB also has a built in GPS. At 15' underwater it releases from
the boat, or if I manually deploy it, it floats to the surface and
broadcasts the registration number with all of my info, and my GPS position
for up to 48 hours or until the battery dies.
This miraculous technology cost me $200.00 per radio, and $800 for the 406
mhz epirb. Why can't we get this same affordable technology in an airplane?
The same old style Bendix-King VHF that is in my 1968 Viking is $4,300.00.
Absurd. The marine VHF in the boat is subject to a salt water bath multiple
times each trip, and vibration, voltage surges, etc. that the plane never
sees. After 8 years, still going strong.
If you were so inclined, one could install a marine VHF inside the cockpit,
link it to a handheld GPS output, and have a push button come get me
device.
I fly over water a lot- in my "ditch bag" for the plane I keep life jackets
and a marine VHF radio, along with my waterproof EPIRB spare from the boat.
The FAA approved EPIRB in my plane would work for about 20 seconds until
the plane sinks. The VHF radio is to contact all those boats that I can see
from the air. Contacting MIA and telling them I am going to crash is one
thing, but telling that cargo ship that I can see that I am going to ditch
really close to him seems like a better plan.
The ditch bag in the boat has a waterproof EPIRB (also one that auto
deploys on the boat) and a waterproof marine AND aviation handheld. At the
water surface, the line of sight range for a marine handheld is only about
5 miles. However, with my aviation radio, I could conceivably talk to
passenger jets at 40,000 feet.
As always, its the little things that make the most difference. With
today's technology, you can get a Spot personal beacon and push the button
as soon as you think you are going to crash, and everyone will know who,
where and why- and come looking much sooner. There is no way I would rely
solely on the EPIRB in the plane.
Kevin Alderman
--
The Rotary Engine News Letter. Powered by Linux.
ACRE NL web site.
http://www.rotaryeng.net
You Tube key word PaulLamar2
Copyright 1998-2012 All world wide rights reserved.