Description
Aerialpixels.com is proud to present the AlexMos BaseCam SimpleBGC controller for brushless camera gimbals
AlexMos brushless Gimbal controller EU version.
This is the latest version that will support all the new features of the next upcoming firmwares.
3rd Axis can be directly plugged / soldered.
In addition to the new features of Base Flight different modifications where done to allow for safer operation.
The performance of this board is strong enough for virtually all cases, even large engines like the 8017 does not really draw much power, about 1A at 4S, so even here a parallel operation of two motors is possible.
Want the headers soldered by us?
Click below to add the service for the latest 2-axis board
$15.00
3rd Axis Add-on Board Now Available
News – Software Update
2.3b4, 2.3b5
Firmware: SimpleBGC_2_3b5.enc.hex
(84Kb 9.11.2013)
GUI: SimpleBGC_GUI_2_3b4.zip
(5Mb 7.11.2013)
(To remove Alexmos SimpleBGC GUI and Firmware from your system, please delete the downloaded files)
User manual: SimpleBGC_manual_2_3_eng.pdf
(407Kb 7.11.2013)
IMPORTANT NOTE: you will loose all previous setting after upgrading to this version.
!!PLEASE, SAVE SETTINGS TO FILE BEFORE UPGRADING!!
- Bug fixed: multiple YAW turns caused variable overflow and instability
- Bug fixed: if the system starts in the YAW lock mode, the camera can accidentally rotate to fixed angle.
- Bug fixed: in Follow PITCH mode, if camera is pitched by 30-50 degree, ROLL looses horizon level if panning by YAW.
- (2.3b5) Bug fixed: some parameters are always keept their default values regardless of GUI setting
- Follow PITCH mode extended by the new setting to configure the ROLL axis lock-to-follow transition.
- If Flight Controller (EXT_FC) is connected and calibrated, the system becomes more stable in the bigger range of inclination angles (even pitched +-80 degrees)
- Battery monitoring and buzzer:
- Voltage drop compensation (PID becomes stable during whole battery lifecycle)
- Low-Voltage alarms and motor cut-off
(This feature will be supported on some newest boards or old ones with the hardware mod. See user manual for details.)
- RC mapping improved: Any of PWM, Sum-PPM, or Analog modes may be set for any of RC inputs separately.
- it lets to use YAW-encoder or joystick together with RC control or External Flight Controller
- it may be required to re-configure RC inputs after firmware upgrade
- RC mix option: you can mix 2 inputs together before applying to any of ROLL, PITCH or YAW axis. It lets to control camera from 2 sources (joystick and remote for example)
- Serial API extended by the ‘C’ command (camera control). Example written in C++ for Arduino is provided in doc.
- New option to limit angular accelerations in case of hard RC or Serial control (useful to prevents jerks or skipped steps, smoother camera control, less impact on multirotor’s frame)
- PID settings: I-term internally multiplied by P-term to increase I response when P is high.
- “Compensate acceleration” algorythm removed to free up program space for more important features
- (GUI) New Full-screen mode available to better fit GUI in small displays
- (GUI) Bug fixed: firmware upgrade fails if working path contains spaces.
- (GUI) New button to switch motors ON/OFF
- (GUI) Italian and Czech translation (thanks to Iacopo Boccalari, Lubos Chatval)
- (GUI) 2 new high-contrast themes for outdoor usage
- (GUI) New red marker: shows RC controlled angle that gimbal should maintain
2.2b2
Firmware: SimpleBGC_2_2b2.enc.hex
GUI: SimpleBGC_GUI_2_2b2.zip
User manual: SimpleBGC_manual_2_2_eng.pdf
- New camera control mode: “Follow Pitch” mode (video tutorial)
- New tab in the GUI to configure this mode
- Smooth switching between modes on-the-fly
- User manual for v.2.2
Version 2.1 Released
What’s new
- New option: skip gyro calibration at start-up. With this option checked, board starts working immediately after power ON.
- New menu command and GUI button for manual gyro calibration
- RC Map, RC Source moved to profiles. It allows to change RC control setting by switching profiles.
(warning: after firmware upgrade, old RC Map setting will be lost) - RC YAW axis control may be inverted now by specifying Min.angle > Max.angle, like for other axis (but this setting not used for limiting, just for inverting).
- I2C errors monitoring: LED will blink when I2C error detected
- New option: gyro high sensitivity. It doubles sensitivity of the gyro, that equals to multiplying gains in the PID controller by 2.
It may be useful for big DSLR cameras. - Translation to Chinese (thanks to Max) and Polish (thanks to Tomasz Ciemnoczulowski) language versions done.
- The “Firmware Upgrade” tab in the GUI is working now and allows to upload a new firmware.
.
Specifications:
50*50mm size with 45*45mm mounting hole pattern for M3 screws
Onboard USB
Access to serial port, so a Bluetooth can also be hooked for easy tuning.
L6234 Motor drivers
2 motors can be driven with this board
Atmega 328P with Alexmos Bootloader preinstalled
Controller weight: 15 grams
MPU6050 IMU included
This price includes royalty fee for Alexmos software and the Bootloader is licensed
Whats’s New in V2.0
- Completely new GUI, cross-platform and multilangual.
- New serial protocol with error correction and ajustable speed (to use with wireless modems)
- New control mode: Follow frame (FPV) mode for every axis. RC control is possible, too.
- Support of I2C-expansion board to control 3rd brushless axis (HW will be announced later)
- Configurable RC input mapping from 4 inputs to 6 channels
- Sum PPM RC input (up to 8 channels via one cable) with configurable mapping
- Analog control mode, thats allow to connect analog joystick (up to 4 axis).
(GND, +5V connected to potentiometer’s fixed outputs, signal pin connected to sliding contact. You may need to solder +5V jumper on controller board) - New RC channel ‘CMD’ – 3 position trigger is used to remotely switch functions
- RC input mapping to extend available channels.
- Optional ultrasonic PWM mode for noise-sensitive application
- Profiles support: All setting stored in 3 separate profiles in memory, switched by RC or menu button.
- Saving/restoring profiles to files
- Sensor board may be mounted in any orientation, configurable in GUI.
- Ajustable gyro/accelerometer sensivity to get optimal stability for your preferred flight style.
- Motor output mapping, that allow to use controller in PAN-TILT mode or as separate 3rd axis driver
(see connection diagram) - New setting: I2C pullups enale/disable. Unlike 1.x firmware, default is DISABLED!. If sensor is not working, try to enable it.
- New setting: control stick neutral position trimming and deadband. Used for joystick or RC in speed mode.
- It may be required to re-tune gimbal, because range of some settings was slightly changed.
SimpleBGC Firmware & GUI Downloads
Tuning Guide
Note about brushless gimbals & Controllers
Brushless gimbals and controllers are very new to the market and is an emerging technology. You will need some patience and effort to get it to work as seen on youtube. THIS IS NOT A PLUG AND PLAY DEVICE!
You will need some understanding of Microsoft windows drivers, software settings and tuning the gimbal software to your liking and to suit your multirotor.
We will try our best to answer your questions and point you in the right direction but getting things to work the way it’s supposed to will be YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. Please understand this before you purchase any Brushless Gimbal Related Item.
HREFAB (verified owner) –
I can confidently say that the Alex Mos controller and IMU is PROBABLY the best way to start with a brushless gimbal setup. Having originally started with an RCTimer board (an excellent board in and of itself), I did find myself running into some problems in getting things setup. Of course, there was a learning curve (and blowing up chips is an expensive, but fast way to learn what NOT to do!). Through it all The people at AERIALPIXESL (Thanks Kavi) were extremely helpful and patient.
When I decided to make the leap to the Alex Mos system, Kavi steered me in the right direction and provided straightforward and clearly understandable instructions on setup. What had taken me days to accomplish with the Open Source system (of course, most of that time was due to my complete ignorance of the system), the Alex Mos system was so easy to setup that I actually thought I had gotten smarter!
If you’re looking for a very robust and straightforward system to get your Gimbal Project sorted out, you can save yourself a lot of time by simply getting the ALEX MOS variant.The extra couple of dollars that it will cost you is more than compensated for in the ease of getting up and running.
The people at Aerialpixels are as knowledgeable as they come and are a pleasure to do business with. This board will simplify your project so that you can spend more time filming rather than adjusting trims.
sthompson@mac.com –
I couldn’t agree more with the previous post. I purchased an Alexmos board from Kavi after struggling with a Martinez board for a few weeks. Kavi let me pick it up personally and was always helpful with tips and troubleshooting advice.
patrick (verified owner) –
I purchased the Alexmos SimpleBGC board to replace a Martinez board that came with a brushless gimbal from another company. The Alexmos board is so much more advanced. The software / UI is clean and easy to understand. With a bit of experimentation, tuning the PID’s becomes second nature. Great stability and so many great features like follow mode. Also I appreciate being able to run the board at high speed to eliminate the high frequency whine that is audible at the slower speed. Great product, hard to find in the US but made easy by Aerial Pixels. Recommended.