V2

Ok, not quite what I meant.

Version 2!

Had the first run of the GoPro rig, and it went pretty well.  Certainly the motor worked as desired, crawling over the length of the wire in 30 minutes (not at the slowest speed).  It took 1700 photos in that time (1/second), so the resulting file was rather large!  I wasn’t as happy how shaky it was though.  The rig swung lightly back and forth, so although it looked pretty stable, it wasn’t enough for my liking.

GoPro on a Wire

I’d already thought about how to modify the setup for extra stability, adding weight that is as low as possible.  After a short while it occurred to me that extra weight didn’t need to be added – the lead-acid battery is already pretty heavy.   I just have to mount it lower.  Also, the closer the camera is to the wire (centre of rotation), the less obvious any movement would be.

So I came up with version 2.

GoPro Fly-Rig Version 2

The motor on top is slightly modified – the original grommet slipped on the shaft of the motor – too much torque.  Instead, I replaced it with the propeller shaft for a model aircraft.  It was a friction fit, but tight enough not to be a problem.

Will be interesting to see how much of a difference it makes – the centre of gravity is significantly lower than it was.

While talking of V2, I met up with a shed supplier today to advance the plans. The design I had is apparently not do-able.  At least not the triangular section.  That won’t make a great deal of difference – having that section walled off just means it is definitely available for the air compressor and dust extractor.

The other main change that was necessary was the loss of half the mezzanine.  That was disappointing, but apparently it couldn’t extend all the way to the front wall because it would interfere with the roller door, and it cannot stop just short – has to stop at one of the main uprights.  Bummer, but it means instead that the shop will have significant height over the front section, so not necessarily a bad thing.  Overall height has increased 500mm, so there is a little more head room above the mezzanine.

Headed down to the council to chat with the building dept, and they were quite comfortable with what I was proposing.  I still have to go through the required permits, but that is more of a cost than a problem at this stage.

Slowly heading in the right direction.