ArkBird OSD and Stabilizer
This little board is quite amazing and could save your plane one day. With features like return to home and simple way point navigation, you would expect it to break the bank. Priced at about $150 and offered by Hobbyking, It's a bargain.
OSD Features:
Compas
Artificial Horizon
Home Direction
Altitude
Speed
Home Distance
Total Distance Traveled
Current Draw
Volts of Flight Pack
mAh Consumed
Flight Time
Satellites Acquired
Current mode Icon
Artificial Horizon
Home Direction
Altitude
Speed
Home Distance
Total Distance Traveled
Current Draw
Volts of Flight Pack
mAh Consumed
Flight Time
Satellites Acquired
Current mode Icon
Stabilization System:
The stabilizer is the real kicker in this unit. It is a full house unit with gyros, accelerometers, gps and a barometer. You have features like autolevel, gyro stabilization and RTH. You can customize your secondary selection on your 3-way switch to be used with many options. I prefer the "gyro" mode buy you could just as easily use altitude and head hold for long straight flights. You also have a great amount of flexibility within the setting. Limiting banking, diving and climbing attitudes in RHT is simple. You can also change your RHT altitude, speed and throttle settings on the fly.
The Cool Factor:
This unit is beyond cool. Simply flipping the switch to RTF and letting the plane keep it's self right above you is amazing. It creates this unreal calm when flying range FPV.
This system would be amazing as a experienced pilots beginner craft to pull out when family or friends come over. Simply throw it into "Fence Mode" and you have a plane that is not allowed to go below or above your preset altitude and has a virtual box it will stay in. It could be very useful for training.
This system would be amazing as a experienced pilots beginner craft to pull out when family or friends come over. Simply throw it into "Fence Mode" and you have a plane that is not allowed to go below or above your preset altitude and has a virtual box it will stay in. It could be very useful for training.
Set up:
Installing this system is not too difficult but does require some patience. Please keep in mind that this system is designed solely for FPV and requires goggles or a tv for set up. There is no USB or computer required with this so it's all visual through the OSD.
Use the manual, it's really quite good and gives you all the info needed to get the job done. All the setting are done through the OSD and you navigate with your transmitter.
Be very careful when dealing with any power going into the board! There is no reverse polarity protection and you will fry the whole thing if you plug your current sensor in reverse.
Everything electronic on your plane will be going through this unit so expect a wiring mess. All servos, your esc, the current sensor and your video out plug in so be prepared.
Once you have plugged it all in, check that your controls are working and get those AUX inputs plugged into the correct RX channels. With a little fiddling on the radio, you should have access to all the modes you set up.
Use the manual, it's really quite good and gives you all the info needed to get the job done. All the setting are done through the OSD and you navigate with your transmitter.
Be very careful when dealing with any power going into the board! There is no reverse polarity protection and you will fry the whole thing if you plug your current sensor in reverse.
Everything electronic on your plane will be going through this unit so expect a wiring mess. All servos, your esc, the current sensor and your video out plug in so be prepared.
Once you have plugged it all in, check that your controls are working and get those AUX inputs plugged into the correct RX channels. With a little fiddling on the radio, you should have access to all the modes you set up.
Using Failsafe
If you intend to use this as a safety device for you plane, you will need a decent receiver. As much as I love my 6ch orange rx's, you cannot use these if you want maximum safety. Only higher end and generally 7 channel or more RX's have the failsafe feature. You need to program your RX's failsafe to tell the ArkBird what to do when the signal cuts out. The system cannot tell by it's self when there is no signal.
After installing and setting everything up, make sure to follow your failsafe procedures for your RX and set your switch to RTH. This way the RX will send out the commands you save during failsafe binding when the signal is gone. Once it cuts out, your RX will go to the saved stick and switch positions you set when setting up failsafe. With out this, you will not return to home!
After installing and setting everything up, make sure to follow your failsafe procedures for your RX and set your switch to RTH. This way the RX will send out the commands you save during failsafe binding when the signal is gone. Once it cuts out, your RX will go to the saved stick and switch positions you set when setting up failsafe. With out this, you will not return to home!
Dislikes:
There are a few things that bug me about this unit. The first is the inability to change my units of measurement to Feet and Miles. I am stuck flying along trying to calculate what 1800 meters is! Now this could be an issue that is fixed with a newer Firmware, and if so, good for you! But I'm stuck with it for now.
The second is the fact that it is a bit bulky and really would only work for larger planes like the EPP FPV and skywalkers. I had it installed in my Bixler 2 but removed it because it took so much room. I was limited to a 2200Mah as my flight pack.
The third is a more of a lack of flexibility issue I see. Once you have spent the hours involved in installing this device, you have committed you plane to FPV limbo. Taking it out for a stroll around the park is no longer a simple task. You need your goggles or gear to really know what is going on. You will have to wait a few minutes to get GPS lock before you fly. You can still fly with no onboard stream but it is less than perfect and more risky.
The second is the fact that it is a bit bulky and really would only work for larger planes like the EPP FPV and skywalkers. I had it installed in my Bixler 2 but removed it because it took so much room. I was limited to a 2200Mah as my flight pack.
The third is a more of a lack of flexibility issue I see. Once you have spent the hours involved in installing this device, you have committed you plane to FPV limbo. Taking it out for a stroll around the park is no longer a simple task. You need your goggles or gear to really know what is going on. You will have to wait a few minutes to get GPS lock before you fly. You can still fly with no onboard stream but it is less than perfect and more risky.
Conclusion:
It's awesome with a few issues here and there. Honestly, most of these issues can and may already be fixed in firmware updates. This unit has given me the confidence to fly further than before. The "pucker" factor of FPV is all but gone for me now and I can focus on enjoying the flight. I highly recommend the ArkBird for anyone who doesn't want to loose their rig or just want's the peace of mind of knowing it can take care of it's self.
From the Author:
If you found this article and corresponding video useful, please purchase the product with my supplied link and like my videos on youtube. Even a small showing of support goes a long way.
Thank you to Hobbyking for offering this product.
Click here to purchase the ArkBird.
Thank you to Hobbyking for offering this product.
Click here to purchase the ArkBird.