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Vehicle mount Inspire 2

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Feb 11, 2015
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Rainbow Lake NY (near Lake Placid)
Here are some vehicle mounted pics of our new rig. It’s a perfect match to our two inspire 2s that we use in the air and let’s us maintain the same lenses and look for the whole shoot. Works as a two operator hand held rig as well. Working up a large 3rd axis gimbal arm next. This setup is amazingly smooth.I built it to switch from car to bike in about two minutes. The Mercedes was a screen grab from a dang file.....this rig is sort of a car commercial type setup. Remote operated from in car or bike passenger.00B4753F-A93C-41B3-AACF-5D37F298DE61.jpeg2E4051B0-EDD2-4D51-898D-6387D40D782B.jpegD073F64F-C9CD-48CC-86FE-2B1EED7C9CC0.jpeg3C9F4B24-B640-4ADC-AD0C-F3FD673EA719.jpegA5329E83-099E-42FE-B8F7-D30E51A7F04F.jpeg438A9334-EAAA-4324-B84D-409BC8088325.jpeg0FAD739D-0B7F-4D28-A8AD-8BA160DA5C8E.jpeg
 
Dude. That is a fantastic idea! And, a very clean build.
I am a career video Prediter (Producer/Director/Editor) Located just outside Albany, NY. A few years back I spend the day in the Valley of Fire chasing a yellow Corvette for a spot I did for Dolby. We had the rolling police barricades, a very nice Camera car and a great DP operating a stabilized Red Camera. It was so much fun, but It cost me a fortune! Did you build that your self? The build is super clean. I think I might start looking for a wrecked I2 that can still shoot and give this a shot. Also noticed your NY locations. Let me know if you ever need a hand with anything.
 
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Yes this totally my silly brainstorm. We just love the look from the x7 and it’s lens.I just ordered the 9mm loawa for it as well. The ability to record a 6k raw image as well as have remote operation and viewing makes this a cool setup. I am building another that can mount on an extendable pole(super heavy duty painter pole) for filming in crowds and places where a drone can’t fly safely.I am in Key West filming until the spring and will be back up north when the weather is nice and the snow is gone. Yes maybe we can find a project to collaborate on. Thanks
 
Dude. That is a fantastic idea! And, a very clean build.
I am a career video Prediter (Producer/Director/Editor) Located just outside Albany, NY. A few years back I spend the day in the Valley of Fire chasing a yellow Corvette for a spot I did for Dolby. We had the rolling police barricades, a very nice Camera car and a great DP operating a stabilized Red Camera. It was so much fun, but It cost me a fortune! Did you build that your self? The build is super clean. I think I might start looking for a wrecked I2 that can still shoot and give this a shot. Also noticed your NY locations. Let me know if you ever need a hand with anything.
Big vette fan as well, I have a ton of footage from a car mount osmo shot that I had on my 2017 stingray.We spent a weekend driving with other vetts and filming a club poker run down the Keys. Note : the osmo doesn’t enjoy much over 75mph.haha. See my other response above,thanks
 
Here are some vehicle mounted pics of our new rig. It’s a perfect match to our two inspire 2s that we use in the air and let’s us maintain the same lenses and look for the whole shoot. Works as a two operator hand held rig as well. Working up a large 3rd axis gimbal arm next. This setup is amazingly smooth.I built it to switch from car to bike in about two minutes. The Mercedes was a screen grab from a dang file.....this rig is sort of a car commercial type setup. Remote operated from in car or bike passenger.View attachment 24354View attachment 24355View attachment 24349View attachment 24351View attachment 24352View attachment 24350View attachment 24353
Excellent, although a third suction cup assy will definitely make me more comfortable taking this Walker (Star Wars walking machine, isn't ?) for a bumpy ride. I've found that these articulation arms aren't always as rigid as expected, and suction cups may get loose after a while when warmed by immense summer sun. Almost lost my Osmo Pro once ...

Scavenging the CineCore module from destroyed Inspire 2 seems to be a very tempting idea among DIY people recently. I'm building RC controlled camera dolly right now, utilizing 1/5 scale LOSI Desert Buggy vehicle. The vehicle itself is in the process of heavy modifications to tame insanely furious speed it's capable of, but it's very promising concept by far. Definitely much cheaper than Ronin+RED, monitoring issues aside.
 
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Excellent, although a third suction cup assy will definitely make me more comfortable taking this Walker (Star Wars walking machine, isn't ?) for a bumpy ride. I've found that these articulation arms aren't always as rigid as expected, and suction cups may get loose after a while when warmed by immense summer sun. Almost lost my Osmo Pro once ...

Scavenging the CineCore module from destroyed Inspire 2 seems to be a very tempting idea among DIY people recently. I'm building RC controlled camera dolly right now, utilizing 1/5 scale LOSI Desert Buggy vehicle. The vehicle itself is in the process of heavy modifications to tame insanely furious speed it's capable of, but it's very promising concept by far. Definitely much cheaper than Ronin+RED, monitoring issues aside.
Haha that’s awesome..... I am building a traxas x max mount as well. Not sure how it will work just yet but I have had a Gh5s mounted on it with a suspension arm with great success. I mounted a DJI ocusinc system on it so I can use the DJI goggles and drive it fpv. I have a ton of motorcycle fabrication skills developed over the 30 years that I have raced dirt bikes and will love to hear how you work out the vibration of your buggy. The gas Motor should prove interesting.
The double “tri” suction cup mount works great, I tested it at 75mph on the hood of the Jeep. I always take care of making sure they are very clean and moist. I also rig it with two tethers so to keep it safe even if it were to loosen.We have only done warm weather filming and might worry about it in the cold.
Yes it totally looks like a Star Wars “AT AT”
I have been pretty darn careful about the way this works and mounts, I love the look of the x7 so much. It will be just fine until I have “Red Helium” money(soon). This is no cheap rig but for 6K raw it’s a great bang for the buck. More to follow.....I have several more applications dreamed up. Just ordered that 9mm and can’t wait to see how it looks in the air as well as the ground. Thanks
 
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Here are some vehicle mounted pics of our new rig. It’s a perfect match to our two inspire 2s that we use in the air and let’s us maintain the same lenses and look for the whole shoot. Works as a two operator hand held rig as well. Working up a large 3rd axis gimbal arm next. This setup is amazingly smooth.I built it to switch from car to bike in about two minutes. The Mercedes was a screen grab from a dang file.....this rig is sort of a car commercial type setup. Remote operated from in car or bike passenger.View attachment 24354View attachment 24355View attachment 24349View attachment 24351View attachment 24352View attachment 24350View attachment 24353

Hi BlackSky,

I just made a new account here to exactly try to build the same thing as you already have accomplished !!!

Do you have any guidance how to remove the arms ?

the light bridge antennas are in the legs - where did you put those ?

is the image transmission still as good when the antennas are closer together ?

please let me know !
 
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U
Hi BlackSky,

I just made a new account here to exactly try to build the same thing as you already have accomplished !!!

Do you have any guidance how to remove the arms ?

the light bridge antennas are in the legs - where did you put those ?

is the image transmission still as good when the antennas are closer together ?

please let me know !
Yes its quite an ordeal. I actually have four inspire 2s so that made it easier.
I have modded many inspire 1s with waterproofing,laser light shows and 360 filming platforms.
The way I went about this one was to buy a pair of replacement arms and antenna. I removed the whole leg,arm motor and arm actuator assembly set it aside( back in its travel box for putting back on to become a drone again someday) so nothing is ruined. I removed the antenna whires from the purchased backup arms. Added the new antennas. Yes they have to be separated carefully but can operate close to one another. I did a bunch of testing. I added an old inspire 1 fan to keep all cool as in hand held mode it may get warmer as there is a lack of airflow.
The second setup I have is a very modded version and had a remote battery so the weight loss is awesome. I am still perfecting that one. The pic is of my second ground rig. This one should have almost no limits to where it can go......with exception of wet areas.
The rig has adjustable handles so it can be carried in any fashion and changed if you get tired. All camera operation is done with a second operator in a comfortable chair.In this way shots are smoother and better setup.
I have a pole mount now so the whole rig can be 15ft up and do crowd work or whatever is needed. Great for when the drone would be unwelcome.
My next project is a “black arm” suspension system for the super rough areas. I have built a great buggy mount and will be testing that soon. No the buggy pic is not my final setup. It will get way more aggressively suspended.
This system is very hard to work with....the inspire has a ton of sensors that all have to be shut down and removed. This has been a fun project but has has many sleepless nights of wondering why it was not working right. It is now polished and works perfectly every time. It is also expensive to just keep buying parts. I had a bunch of image transmission issues in the beginning. It’s a amazing rig....I would love to see what other people are building and thinking up. Thanks
 

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thanx for the fast reply ! not sure if you attached the right picture of your second ground rig ?

do you have any more pictures of your build you can share ? showing the extra fan etc ?

thanx a lot !!!
 
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thanx for the fast reply ! not sure if you attached the right picture of your second ground rig ?

do you have any more pictures of your build you can share ? showing the extra fan etc ?

thanx a lot !!!
Let me see later.not sure I have pics of that. New pics up now.i built two rigs. One with a full battery setup and one with as stripped down and lightened as possible. Remote battery...no sensors....just a brain and camera with a few antennas.
 
**** you are a boss ! thanx a lot !

on a scale from 1 to 10 how difficult do you think it is to remove the arms ? i would not care about putting it back together later on ...

i tried to research on the web but there is very little information on inspire 2 tier down , especially the legs/arms. Would you say it is similar to the inspire 1 as I can find more documentation on that.

... and stoked you like pirates brother!
 
Let me see later.not sure I have pics of that. New pics up now.i built two rigs. One with a full battery setup and one with as stripped down and lightened as possible. Remote battery...no sensors....just a brain and camera with a few antennas.
So, what you did so expertly is stripping down perfectly flyable Inspire 2 to a camera and video transmission components, right? Very brave approach, indeed! Kudos for you. I'm trying to recycle these components from a carcass of destroyed bird I purchased for parts, still trying to figure which elements I can discard to get just the camera working. So far I determined that ESC's and motors not need to be wired to a system, but what else can be ignored and still get fully operational image recording system? What obstacles did you encounter pursuing this goal? Any tips will be greatly appreciated.

In exchange, I'll gladly share my vast experience in building RC controlled camera dolly, If you're interested.

Matthew.
 
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**** you are a boss ! thanx a lot !

on a scale from 1 to 10 how difficult do you think it is to remove the arms ? i would not care about putting it back together later on ...

i tried to research on the web but there is very little information on inspire 2 tier down , especially the legs/arms. Would you say it is similar to the inspire 1 as I can find more documentation on that.

... and stoked you like pirates brother!
Let's stay in touch, we're on the same mission! I just received the Inspire 2 carcass to bee dismantled ... Removing motor arms is actually much easier than with Inspire 1 since antenna boards aren't soldered anymore. You have to remove landing gears, ESC's, motors etc. to unplug antennas. Once you do this, start removing arms linkage clamps and links. That much I figured so far ...
 
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So, what you did so expertly is stripping down perfectly flyable Inspire 2 to a camera and video transmission components, right? Very brave approach, indeed! Kudos for you. I'm trying to recycle these components from a carcass of destroyed bird I purchased for parts, still trying to figure which elements I can discard to get just the camera working. So far I determined that ESC's and motors not need to be wired to a system, but what else can be ignored and still get fully operational image recording system? What obstacles did you encounter pursuing this goal? Any tips will be greatly appreciated.

In exchange, I'll gladly share my vast experience in building RC controlled camera dolly, If you're interested.

Matthew.
Yes I took a perfect brand new drone with cineDNG that I flew up a few feet for about a minute to see that all worked well......and tore it apart. Haha yeah sounds crazy. My first unit can have the arm,motor assembly reattached and fly in an hour or so,the other is as assembled from new parts. I do have two perfect DNG birds for aerial work.
The one assembled from parts:
Needed a DNG. Core if you want to run the x7......if not I would not see the point.
I used a lower main frame that has the cooling fan for the DNG core. It also has a sensor that is needed but should be turned off. There is more in this than I understand but it is needed.
I used a new nose cone and top cap to keep the clean look.
A top body assembly is used if you want to use a battery compartment.
The battery compartment is needed for the SSD holder.
You will need the GPS....not sure why but it wouldn’t do an proper firmware update with out it.
A power control board is needed . Antenna whires as well as new antennas. Make sure to understand direction. I was careful to separate front from rear.
Full x7 camera mount needed. Don’t need most of the sensors.....all get turned off.
Now we have found we need stock controller but just start it and leave it in master mode.
We use one of our credence controllers( slave mode) with the 7in crystal sky mounted.....not necessary but easier to work with. Great transmission as well. We have had this mounted on a motorcycle and ran the cam from the passenger seat of a corvette about a quarter mile away.
Here is a fun fact......two batteries will run this rig for about 4 hours! Haha insane!
We tried it in so many different situations that we killed the controller battery and the crystal sky batteries and had to change them.we now have many extra.
We use the DJI charging station for our 10 batteries. Great when using the drones on the same day.

Well this info was learned after about a month of late nights......this is not easy or cheap.
It may seem easy until you put it all together and have no image transmission......this happened about 10 times. Make sure all is on the same firmware. Even if it is not flying it is an issue. Remember gps is needed.

So impressed that Dobmatt is showing an interest ,I have read many many of your threads over many years and see you as one of the great sources of info on this site. So happy the mod has not booted me for silly ramblings haha you guys can be a tough crowd at times. This site has taught me so much and I really need to share more of my projects.....I have a few like a m600 with a xm42 flame thrower......haha not even going to finish that sentence. I have a lot of land at our northern location so I can build crazy stuff and do as I like.
Mostly want to film epic stuff.thanks
 
So, what you did so expertly is stripping down perfectly flyable Inspire 2 to a camera and video transmission components, right? Very brave approach, indeed! Kudos for you. I'm trying to recycle these components from a carcass of destroyed bird I purchased for parts, still trying to figure which elements I can discard to get just the camera working. So far I determined that ESC's and motors not need to be wired to a system, but what else can be ignored and still get fully operational image recording system? What obstacles did you encounter pursuing this goal? Any tips will be greatly appreciated.

In exchange, I'll gladly share my vast experience in building RC controlled camera dolly, If you're interested.

Matthew.

Hey we both joined in 2015. Yeah I am interested in your build.....keep up with pics. I would like to see the dolly build as well. Thanks
 
I am a few steps behind you on the same path. We had one of Inspire 2 meet with an immovable object and it was beyond repair but the Cinecore, FC, power, and SSD all survived intact. I tore it down, removed the arms, fixed broken wires and it works nicely for both X5S and X7 recording ProRes and RAW CDNG.

What I haven't done is figure out the mounting mechanism yet. And it looks like you did a good job. Can you share any details of the parts you used? Ideally, I want to find a dampening system for vertical motion like a FlowCine Black Arm but I may settle for something more like a suction mount.
 
Hey we both joined in 2015. Yeah I am interested in your build.....keep up with pics. I would like to see the dolly build as well. Thanks
Thank you for your reply and tips. I like your craziness, for the lack of better description :) ,,, C'mon, it takes a lot of desperation to cannibalize perfectly fine bird, but it makes perfect sense to anybody who understand the advantages of X7 camera and CineCore system.
Anyway, standing ovation delivered, let's go back to the business of making crazy things ...

IMG_0914.jpg

This is one of my creations, based on 1/5 scale LOSI Desert Buggy XL-E (electric, not gas). This vehicle is providing more than enough oomph to carry professional filming camera of any size, here with DJI Osmo Pro customized rig. Unfortunately WiFi video transmission protocol doesn't cut, hence my urge to follow your steps. Otherwise the system works flawlessly with Osmo in either upright or flashlight position. As you for sure know by now, the trick is to employ properly tuned vibration damping suspension, and this one is perfect. Needless to say, it took several hit-and-miss modifications to tune the suspension just right. Traxxas X-Max was considered as well as a vehicle, but Baja buggy style offered better options to modify drivetrain mechanism. To tame insanely furious speed and acceleration of this racing class I had to build custom gear box, reducing it by 50%. Recently working on much more portable dolly version for Osmo Pocket camera, but that's on the toy-ish side of this business ...

Here's another one ... Fully equipped Osmo Pro rig ... Without it the entire setup was a PITA to carry. Well, this rig is almost obsolete anyway due to limited talents of X5 camera, at least in terms of modern filming industry ...

_DSC0064.jpg
 
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Let's stay in touch, we're on the same mission! I just received the Inspire 2 carcass to bee dismantled ... Removing motor arms is actually much easier than with Inspire 1 since antenna boards aren't soldered anymore. You have to remove landing gears, ESC's, motors etc. to unplug antennas. Once you do this, start removing arms linkage clamps and links. That much I figured so far ...

Great to find more people interested in that ! Let´s stay in touch an share knowledge on this thread ! stoked !
 
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I am a few steps behind you on the same path. We had one of Inspire 2 meet with an immovable object and it was beyond repair but the Cinecore, FC, power, and SSD all survived intact. I tore it down, removed the arms, fixed broken wires and it works nicely for both X5S and X7 recording ProRes and RAW CDNG.

What I haven't done is figure out the mounting mechanism yet. And it looks like you did a good job. Can you share any details of the parts you used? Ideally, I want to find a dampening system for vertical motion like a FlowCine Black Arm but I may settle for something more like a suction mount.


some smaller kind of blackarm or suction mount with larger vibration isolator would be siiiick - let´s share pics on this thread !
 
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