Galloping Ghost in the 21st Century - current state of play
Posted: 18 Feb 2018, 00:33
As with much of the project work lost when 'reunited' was unexpectedly closed, the original 'GG on 2.4ghz' thread is gone, with no accessible backup. Here's an attempt to recreate the detail of the thread.
Without rewriting a whole load of history, I'll try to summarize where we are with Galloping Ghost today.
Whilst the concept of "New age GG" isnt new, this is our take on it - a joint project (Tobe & me) which has developed into a dependable, repeatable GG setup using any modern transmitter & receiver.
It consists of a "Rand clone" actuator, designed, 3D printed and assembled by Tobe, driven by PIC re-coder electronics which convert conventional rudder & elevator channels into a variable mark/space and rate pulser with a high current FET bridge to drive the actuator. Tobes "Rand clone" is superb and emulates the original in every way other than it has no throttle mechanism - that comes direct from the receiver throttle channel.
Considerable effort goes into these units and they are passed on almost at cost - there is no profit as such, hence if anyone wants to fly GG again after 50+ years, first you need to convince Tobe that yours is a worthy cause and that it will actually be used - in fact a GG flight video should be the 'final installment' of his fee
For those who wish to DIY, maybe with an original Rand, a bare Tobe-GG or a Mighty-Midget/birdcage arrangement (as perfected for the second time in history by a member of the Lovegrove family!) then here is a vero recoder layout, actually two, a flat, easy one and a piggy-backed compact one thats a bit harder to make.
Tobes version which he supplies with the plug-&-play version is even smaller, barely larger than the PIC chip, and is neatly integrated into the actuator moulding. Whilst Tobe's P&P actuators are complete and ready to fly, the recoder PIC chip itself is available for DIY fans, email me, and the DRV8838 bridge comes from Technobots or Hobbytronics in the UK. US members try Mouser, Digikey or Pololu.
Baby-brother to the GG actuator is Tobe's rudder-only Adams replacement, not a clone as it works on a different principle using a geared motor - so whilst its far more powerful than any Adams, in practise it works in exactly the same way as its ancestor. It uses a similar PIC recoder circuit (but with different firmware) to provide the necessary pulsing, driven by the rudder (ie aileron) channel of any conventional propo radio.
The end product is a totally convincing Adams installation, just like the old Ace sets!
Here's one of my favourite GG videos, courtesty of Otto (Mr Flyguy!) Do check his channel for more!
.
.... and the Tobe GG actuator itself:
Please note that when the piggy-back layout was devised, I had to slightly change the PIC pin assignments used in the original 'flat vero' layout, so although software 'b' and 'c' are identical in function, the PIC pinout is different. Having two versions is a pain, so I've changed the 'flat' layout so both 'flat' and 'piggyback' layouts use the same pinouts and therefore the same software version. Bear this in mind if you're comparing last-years 'flat' layout with the 'new' diagram:
Here's the preferred 'piggyback' layout. Both function the same - whilst the 'flat' layout is easier to make, the piggyback layout is much smaller & neater:
EDIT:
Since this was posted we now have a choice of Re-coders - the original PIC version,
Martins GG Recoder for ATTiny85 &
Phils GG Recoder using the DigiSpark
I just ordered some more DRV8838 bridges and while I was on the Technobots site I checked my previous orders, adding up all the bridges... & was surprised to find that I've made at least 60 GG recoders!
This is in addition to the (many more) P&P actuators Tobe has supplied !
and Martins recoder also has a strong following, dont know how many...
Seems there are quite a few GG flyers out there, more than I ever expected!
Without rewriting a whole load of history, I'll try to summarize where we are with Galloping Ghost today.
Whilst the concept of "New age GG" isnt new, this is our take on it - a joint project (Tobe & me) which has developed into a dependable, repeatable GG setup using any modern transmitter & receiver.
It consists of a "Rand clone" actuator, designed, 3D printed and assembled by Tobe, driven by PIC re-coder electronics which convert conventional rudder & elevator channels into a variable mark/space and rate pulser with a high current FET bridge to drive the actuator. Tobes "Rand clone" is superb and emulates the original in every way other than it has no throttle mechanism - that comes direct from the receiver throttle channel.
Considerable effort goes into these units and they are passed on almost at cost - there is no profit as such, hence if anyone wants to fly GG again after 50+ years, first you need to convince Tobe that yours is a worthy cause and that it will actually be used - in fact a GG flight video should be the 'final installment' of his fee
For those who wish to DIY, maybe with an original Rand, a bare Tobe-GG or a Mighty-Midget/birdcage arrangement (as perfected for the second time in history by a member of the Lovegrove family!) then here is a vero recoder layout, actually two, a flat, easy one and a piggy-backed compact one thats a bit harder to make.
Tobes version which he supplies with the plug-&-play version is even smaller, barely larger than the PIC chip, and is neatly integrated into the actuator moulding. Whilst Tobe's P&P actuators are complete and ready to fly, the recoder PIC chip itself is available for DIY fans, email me, and the DRV8838 bridge comes from Technobots or Hobbytronics in the UK. US members try Mouser, Digikey or Pololu.
Baby-brother to the GG actuator is Tobe's rudder-only Adams replacement, not a clone as it works on a different principle using a geared motor - so whilst its far more powerful than any Adams, in practise it works in exactly the same way as its ancestor. It uses a similar PIC recoder circuit (but with different firmware) to provide the necessary pulsing, driven by the rudder (ie aileron) channel of any conventional propo radio.
The end product is a totally convincing Adams installation, just like the old Ace sets!
Here's one of my favourite GG videos, courtesty of Otto (Mr Flyguy!) Do check his channel for more!
.
.... and the Tobe GG actuator itself:
Please note that when the piggy-back layout was devised, I had to slightly change the PIC pin assignments used in the original 'flat vero' layout, so although software 'b' and 'c' are identical in function, the PIC pinout is different. Having two versions is a pain, so I've changed the 'flat' layout so both 'flat' and 'piggyback' layouts use the same pinouts and therefore the same software version. Bear this in mind if you're comparing last-years 'flat' layout with the 'new' diagram:
Here's the preferred 'piggyback' layout. Both function the same - whilst the 'flat' layout is easier to make, the piggyback layout is much smaller & neater:
EDIT:
Since this was posted we now have a choice of Re-coders - the original PIC version,
Martins GG Recoder for ATTiny85 &
Phils GG Recoder using the DigiSpark
I just ordered some more DRV8838 bridges and while I was on the Technobots site I checked my previous orders, adding up all the bridges... & was surprised to find that I've made at least 60 GG recoders!
This is in addition to the (many more) P&P actuators Tobe has supplied !
and Martins recoder also has a strong following, dont know how many...
Seems there are quite a few GG flyers out there, more than I ever expected!