[Search for users] [Overall Top Noters] [List of all Conferences] [Download this site]

Conference vmszoo::rc

Title:Welcome To The Radio Control Conference
Notice:dir's in 11, who's who in 4, sales in 6, auctions 19
Moderator:VMSSG::FRIEDRICHS
Created:Tue Jan 13 1987
Last Modified:Thu Jun 05 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1706
Total number of notes:27193

532.0. "Chopper gyro details questions." by SNDCSL::SMITH (William P.N. (WOOKIE::) Smith) Fri May 06 1988 13:54

    I've been wondering about helicopter gyros for a while now, would
    someone who knows about the intimate details of them care to give
    a few pointers on them:
    
    What do they use for a sensor?
    
    Where do they hook up (in terms a non-chopper pilot can grok)?
    
    I'm thinking of adding something to Tycho so he will stop and await
    further instructions if pitch or roll angle get beyond a certain
    point.  I'd also like to get feedback from him in terms of roll,
    pitch, and heading, and thought a chopper gyro might be a good place
    to start.  Any other ideas?
    
    Willie
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
DateLines
532.8SPKALI::THOMASThu Oct 15 1987 15:427
    
    	To continue the chopper talk I,ve decided to run two batteries
    in my set up. I have a spare 800ma. pack at home so I plan to run
    the gyro on the 800ma pack and a 500ma. pack for the radoi.
    COMMENTS?
    
    						Tom
532.1Gyro answers.MDSUPT::EATONDan EatonFri May 06 1988 16:0329
    
>    What do they use for a sensor?
    
>    Where do they hook up (in terms a non-chopper pilot can grok)?
    
>    I'm thinking of adding something to Tycho so he will stop and await
>    further instructions if pitch or roll angle get beyond a certain
>    point.  I'd also like to get feedback from him in terms of roll,
>    pitch, and heading, and thought a chopper gyro might be a good place
>    to start.  Any other ideas?
    
>    Willie

Hi Willie,
I've never had mine apart to look at the gory details, but from the pictures
I've seen and the sound it makes I think  there's a small motor driven gyroscope
inside.

Their use on helicopters has been to correct the large swings in the tail boom
caused by changes in torque on the rotor head. At least on the GMP unit you 
hook them up by pulling the plug for the tail rotor servo out of the reciever,
plugging in the gyro in it's place, and then plugging the servo into the gyro.
Note that the gyro reacts to changes in position.

From your description of what you want, it sounds like you need something more
in the order of a ball-in-track tilt indicator than a gyro. That would let you 
know the bank you are starting down is getting steeper. 

Dan Eaton
532.2I know, a marine autopilot! :+}SNDCSL::SMITHWilliam P.N. (WOOKIE::) SmithSat May 07 1988 11:077
    Thanks Dan.  I was thinking worst-case I could just hang a weight
    on a Radio Shack joystick (held upside down of course) and read
    roll and pitch from the pots, or just encode them with a standard
    R/C encoder chip and ship them back to the base.  Any ideas for
    a heading indicator?
    
    Willie
532.3Another (simpler) idea...RICKS::MINERWed May 11 1988 12:5927
    Willie,
    
    As I was drifting off to sleep last night I got an idea that should
    work great for your needs: use mecury switches for the tilt sensors.
    
    Mecury switches are a little glass tube with a wire sticking in
    each end and a ball of mecury inside the tube.  It looks something
    like this:         ________________________
                      /                        \
    		---------      -------------------------
                      \________________________/
    
    Note that the gap between the 2 wires is NOT centered but is near
    one end.  Thus, when the tube tips to the left, the merury ball
    makes contact and when the tube tips right, contact breaks.
    
    These switches could be mounted at the angles you want to safeguard
    against.  They could be set up to be normally "closed" and wired
    in series and used to cut motor and/or Rx power.  Or, the could
    be set normally "open" and wired in parellel and fed into whatever
    electronics you planned to use for the joystick.
    
    Of course, my idea is only good for the "Stop_If_Too_Steep" idea
    is the only one that you are interested in.  If you actually want
    to send the angle data back to base camp then the joystick is best.
    
    				- Dan Miner
532.4Clever!SNDCSL::SMITHWilliam P.N. (WOOKIE::) SmithWed May 11 1988 18:139
    Dan,
    
    	Thanks, I like it!  I'm familiar with mercury switches, just
    never thought of them for tilt/pitch limit switches.  I'll have
    to look into it.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Willie
532.5The price was right!SNDCSL::SMITHWilliam P.N. (WOOKIE::) SmithMon May 16 1988 19:2611
    Someone gave me a gyro and it is indeed a motor-driven flywheel in a
    springloaded mount with one axis of freedom.  Essentially it ends up
    being a yaw rate sensor.  The one I have is a Kraft Systems, Inc. gyro
    with a magnet mounted on the motor and what looks to be a hall-effect
    bridge for reading position.  It has a separate box with most of the
    electronics in it (one chip, 6 transistors, 4 pots and 'several'
    passives).  One pot is externally adjustable and labeled "sensitivity".
    I haven't hooked it up to a servo yet (wrong connectors), but I kind of
    doubt this is what I'm looking for... 
    
    Willie
532.6A Kraft byany other name...MDSUPT::EATONDan EatonTue May 17 1988 12:137
    Hi Willie,
    The gyro you have is the same one I have. It used to be known as
    the Kraft gyro. GMP now imports it so of course they renamed it
    to the GMP gyro. If you can't use it and its up for sale let me
    know.
    
    Dan Eaton 
532.7Noisy little thing!SNDCSL::SMITHWilliam P.N. (WOOKIE::) SmithTue May 17 1988 19:3312
    Dan,
    
    	I tried it out last night and it doesn't seem to work.  I tried
    various combinations of input/output cables (I had to change the
    connectors and I wasn't too clear on what which was which) and it
    doesn't do anything.  I'm not sure what I should do with it, if
    I could get schematics I'd probably try (someday) to fix it but
    maybe I'll just toss it on the shelf.  It was a donation and I'm
    not sure I can dispose of it....  Maybe I only blew out the output
    driver, so I might be able to use the motor and sensor...
    
    Willie