More miscellaneous meanderings

Various progress notes as things go ahead --

Jeremy has reproduced my setup, gotten a far better Arduino program than mine working, and is re-designing the PCB! Impressive progress!

I have been busy with my day job but have been noodling around with a 3D printed version of the Citabria mount. This is the form that's out to the printers right now:

Stay tuned for more progress. I got some test prints in ABS (white) and PLA (black) that are teaching me the limits of what to expect for tolerances in commodity 3D printing:

Furthermore, I've been slowly acquiring some new antennas for more testing down the line. I expect I will be able to handle low-wing airplanes by building a "spike" that puts the antenna ahead of the leading edge so it can be seen from the cockpit. This is for later but I have these antennas and U.FL extension cables to try out:

And finally, I continue to have trouble getting my Dynamixel servos to talk to my computer, after having gotten a dud USB2AX and having to get another one sent to me. Still trying....

Mounting options

I'm re-examining my probe mounting options.

I tried putting the probe where it would be under the wing of a low-wing metal aircraft, just to see how the wireless stuff works. But with the 60 mW XBee, and the small Taoglas self-adhesive antennas I'm using, I do not have reliable enough connectivity.

So it's back to high-wing airplanes. And I was not happy with the way my Cessna strut mounting worked out so I'm considering going to a Citabria. I tried the wireless with a Citabria and it was just fine.

The great thing about Citabrias is that they have 2 struts, giving me the option of a 2-point support rather than just having to clamp really hard on just one strut. So I'm messing around with a design for a "twin vee block" mount for these.

I'm also trying out OnShape, and finding it mostly ok but different enough from SolidWorks that it's a fair learning curve. But with OnShape, I can easily share designs online! So here is a link to my design, and this is what it looks like:

I just figured out how to use the OnShape "Mass Properties" tool and the above weighs 0.5 pounds, assuming the vee blocks are made from hard maple.

Stay tuned!