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New toy – Blade 350 QX

September 19, 2013
By admin in Uncategorized

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This is a brand new compact size quadcopter. It is available as Ready to fly (RTF) or Bind and fly (BNF).
I choosed the BNF version that includes a pre-built quad, LI-PO battery, charger, Gopro camera mounts (that is the olny thing you need to assemble) and spare props.
There are three different flight modes:
Smart mode – Ensures that the quad don’t get too near the pilot, and also offers a Relativity functionality that follows the directional input from the pilot regardless of the orientation of the quad (similar to Intelligent orientation mode on the Dji Naza).
Stability mode – Uses the GPS and altimeter to maintain stability, including a hold function.
Agility mode – A freestyle mode for more experienced users that allows acrobatic flying.
My first impression is that it´s extremely stable and has the most advanced control unit i have tested. I was also impressed by the flight time. I flew for over 12 minutes with the 2200mAh Li-Po and there was plenty of juice left.
I can highly recommend this quad for both beginners and more experienced pilots.

P9190201 P9190203 P9190205

Blade Nano QX

August 23, 2013
By admin in Gadgets

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This tiny quad is really fun to fly. It has a weight of only 18 grams, and the fligt time is about 8 minutes with each of the two provided 150mAh Li-Po batteries.
The smart USB charger lets you charge the battery in any USB port.
There are two flight modes: Stability mode and Agility mode for more advanced flying.
I have crashed a number of times into furniture and stuff, but this litle $69 quad is tough.

Blade_nano_qx P8230092
 

 

Going FPV

August 9, 2013
By admin in Gadgets

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Got my Fatshark Attitude goggles and tried some First Person View flying with the quad copter.
Your first few FPV flights are pretty scary but awesome. It feels a bit like actually flying a real aircraft.
I had to sit down to keep my balance and concentrate on the flight :)

 

And here is a clip when testing the RCtimer Gopro Gimbal…

Flying quad

June 29, 2013
By admin in Gadgets

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Multi rotor flying looks fun, so i wanted to try my self and ordered a Dji F450 kit with Naza V2 flight controller and GPS.
It was quite easy to assemble and after reading lots of manuals and tutorials i managed to do the configuration and calibration correct.

  

Replacement battery pack for the Gavin Mini DPV

May 25, 2013
By admin in Diving gear, Hillbilly/Backyard projects

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NI-MH batteries are quite sensitive to both exterme heat and cold. I left the battery pack for my underwater scooter in the garage during the winter. I think that is the reason why it never reaches full voltage during charge. I ordered 20 Tenergy F Size 1.2 V 13000mAh NiMH cells from http://www.all-battery.com/. It cost me about $260 + shipping and local tax.
A ready to use battery pack costs about $800 so you can save some bucks if you assemble your own.
The new battery pack is about 2.2 kg lighter than the original so i need to add some weights before diving.

I used PVC pipes and hot glue to make a stable pack The batteries came with soldering tabs. However i found that i needed 40Amp heavy duty soldering bars instead.

I used PVC pipes and hot glue to make a stable pack
The batteries came with soldering tabs. However i found that i needed 40Amp heavy duty soldering bars instead.

Burn testing the battery pack with two 3 ohm 300W resistors to simulate the Scooter. 50 minutes burn time and still over 20V

Burn testing the battery pack with two 3 ohm 300W resistors to simulate the Scooter.
50 minutes burn time and still over 20V

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The battery pack is ready and charged

The battery pack is ready and charged

Gavin Mini DPVs - Time for a dive

Gavin Mini DPVs – Time for a dive

Video light

December 20, 2012
By admin in Diving gear

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I was looking for an affordable UW Video Light kit for the GoPro camera and I decided to try two Archnon D32VR LED lights:

Each light is equipped with a powerful Li-ion battery and has four LEDs: Two white CREE XM-L U2 LED (max 1400 Lumens) and two Red CREE XP-E LED N3 (max 200 Lumens).
It is depth rated to 100 meters and has a Radiation angle of 120 degrees.

Baltic sea at it’s best

November 21, 2012
By admin in Uncategorized

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Most “cocktail divers” thinks that the Baltic sea is just a mud hole with bad visibility with nothing to see. But if you are interested in history and like well preserved wrecks pickled in green water, this is the place to dive.
November could be the best time for diving there. The water is still not to cold, ant the visibility can be quite amazing. Here is a footage from a great dive last weekend with stunning visibility.

October photo fest

October 18, 2012
By admin in Diving gear

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Finally i got my Nauticam underwater housing for the Olympus OM-D E-5d including the dome port that i ordered some time ago.
Due to popularity it has been on backorder for more than a month.
The first impression is that the housing is really solid and well thought-out, and the controls are really ergonomic for such a small housing.
How ever, on a smaller housing the buttons get smaller as well and the main dial for shutter speed on the housing is quite tiny, so i’m not sure how well it will work when using thick dry gloves which i use for most of my dives.
I use a Panasonic 8mm lens, and the dome port is really small as you can see on the images. The housing is attached to a Nauticam Flexitray.

Here are a few images of the housing compared to my Sea&Sea MDX300:

Front with dome

◄ Back
Picture 1 of 4

Goodbye DX – Hello m43

September 12, 2012
By admin in Gadgets

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My work horse the Nikon D300 is a great camera that i have been using for almost five years now. The only reason why i exchanged it was the lack of video capability, and perhaps the need for even better performance in low light at high ISO:s
The gap between DSLR and smaller mirrorless cameras is getting narrower, and after reading Alex Mustards review of the Micro four thirds Olympus OM-D i was convinced that this is the right camera for me.
The OM-D is small and performs well using high ISO. The 5-axis stabilization is also great when shooting video. Still waiting for the Under water housing and 8mm Fisheye lens….

20120913-004328.jpg
My Nikon D300 and the new Olympus OM-D E-M5

Do you believe in Open Source?

April 3, 2012
By admin in Diving gear

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If you don’t you should probably think twice before buying this dive computer with the following tagline:
“An experimental platform for all experienced divers who are interested in the theory of diving and who value maximum transparency and individual adaptabily .”
After reading this i was first a bit sceptical about if this was a fully developed product.

But this dive computer is really amazing. It’s robust, has a simple user interface with menues and functions that is easy to configure and adapt for you own needs. The OLED display is crystal clear with a battery capacity of approx 40 hours run time when fully charged using the USB connector.
The computer can handle up to 5 pre-configured Trimix gases. It’s also quite simple to simulate dives and test different scenarios.
The only drawback i see so far is that it’s a bit heavier and bulkier than my old fashion Suunto dive computer.
But the best thing is that even an old fart like me can read the digits without any problems 8)