[done] autoleveling GPS gimbal

[o_lampe]

Hi there,
I don't know how important this is, but it seems to me GPS Signal strenght is depending on the tilt angle.

Wouldn't it be great to have a GPS gimbal that automatically keeps the antenna level, no matter how hard I'm wrestling with the sticks?

This gimbal wouldn't need servos or motors, it would work with gravity.

I made a quick&dirty sketch to show what I mean, but this drawing is just a concept and needs a bit engineering to make it work by gravity.

Anybody feel free to come up with a sellable solution. I'm just asking for a free sample.

[waltr]

Interesting idea.
However, I see that some amount of damping would be required so it does just keep swing after a quick angle change.

[o_lampe]

You're right waltr,
I hope the gps cable and cheap bearings would add some damping. The design should prevent a complete flip of the antenna too. ( cable lenght?)
If I had a 3D-printer, and a CAD program.....

[o_lampe]

Instead of waiting for Santa to send me a 3D Printer, I decided to go the classic balsa_glassfibre_sandwich jigsaw puzzle way.

To make the gimbal fit onto my crius AIOP FC, the frames get pretty small.
I came up with the idea to solder a single brasstube onto the copperside of the glassfibre. This way alignment is easy.
The intermediate frame has to be perfectly square and will be rotated 90° after sawing it out.

[o_lampe]

I finished my " McGyver"-Version of the gimbal.
It still needs some adjustment, like CoG-adjustment and some shims to avoid friction between the frame parts, but it works pretty neat
Where are those chinese copycats, when you need one?

[waltr]

Look good.
Now for some testing and a video on response and damping.