Ok Guys, so I have been flying the my little tri and quad for a while and while I do have a flite test camera tray its not built and intended for another build. I have included a picture of the last mount I made in a hurry as a for what was my back up quad while filming a car rally and it actually worked well if the battery had a more stable place to sit.
This is tray is a mimic of the flite test tray available but I needed to build it in an afternoon and with what I had sitting around the house, so it is a little rough but it performs great for me and thats what matters !
Being so easy to build just like the original I wanted to share it for everyone.
> Wood for the tray came from a small crate top but any sturdy sheet of ply is fine.
> Metal strips are just what sits in wiper blades to hold the rubber in place.
Frame I am mounting this to is a Hobby King 550
Measurements do not have to be exact, below is the dimensions for my build, cut lengths that suit your need requirements.
Bottom tray is 55mm (2.25") wide x 260mm (10.25") long, clamping tabs are 25mm (1") long from the same 55mm (2.25") strip (as seen in pictures below, wire strips 14mm long (mark before bending)
Tools needed for my build;
2 pliers, small flat bladed screwdriver, thin or medium super glue, craft knife, round pipe (I used butane torch base), multi tool or wood saw, ruler, right angle, dremel, Drill and drill bits.
To save on cutting I was able to use this ply wood strip stapled to the main sheet, using a screw driver as a pry bar it was broken free and remaining staples pulled out with pliers.
Each metal stip is bent at the end, either cut off or straighten with pliers. Because the strips are flat this changed how it is secured int the wood.
I do have a right angle but "MrJig" works well if you don't have one available.
Outside is my workshop, If you don't have a saw or powered tool, a craftknife or scalpul will do however it is very time consuming. Be sure to include the cutting gap the saw makes when marking out the wood, typically the cut will be approx 2mm thick, so 3/8 to 4mm would be sufficient reserve for the cut.
For a quick reference of distance between the front and rear location of wire I used the kit.
Bend as one piece around anything round, I used the base of a butane torch. Before bending the wire, mark with permanent marker at lengths of 140mm (5.5 inches)
All I have for a work bench, customised with LED strips for help
On the bottom tray, using reference points marked previously for the wire arms, drill a 1mm hole on either side of the centreline, then I used the drill bit and wiggled it back and forth gently untill both holes make one large hole, ( I should point out this is not what drill bits are made for and expecially 1mm bits can brake easilly ). A craft knife is also a good option to clean out the hole.
Mark out the clamping tabs centre line and 10mm (0.5") in from the edge
This centre section on all of the tabs now needs to be recessed, I used the multi tool while clamping the wood firmly down. I would suggest marking guiding lines on either side of the centre line to assist with cutting, this is only a shallow cut approximately 1mm deep so don't go crazy.
The inpromtu mount was made from coffee shop paddlepop sticks, hot glued together. located and dampened by velcro and secured by the 3 cable ties. Video quality was fine with this mount, however props are in the shot and there is not enough space to mount the battery.
A better recess tool is a dremel with a rotary grinding wheel, repeat this on the main ply strip also.
If the cut is not enough, use a flat bladed screwdriver wide enough for the cut and press down while dragging along the cut
I use a Snap-on pocket screwdriver for this, ( I give this screwdriver a beating at work and still haven't broken one )
Now you can cut the wire spiral that was bent earlier, cut at 140mm (5.5") strips, then mark 20mm (0.75") from either end and bend both tips in towards the centre. The aim is to resemble a 'Z' bend, as my ply wood is 6mm thick, the next bend will be 15mm from the ends of each wire tip, this time bending away from the centre.
Lightly force the wires up from the bottom and the ends will meet in the centre like this.
As with the kit, the tabs form a sandwich, super glued in place. Before mounting, test fit pieces and score the surface with a craft knife, I find scoring horizontally to the grain works best.
The same process for mounting the bottom plate to metal wire is followed on the top tabs. Holes are drilled in only 2 tabs for the wire to pass through and then sandwiched on the inner side with the other recess tab. on the top mounts the wire passes through from the top, because the wire is not bent perfectly it protrudes so for a clean install on the frame I glued paddle pop sticks on
Gopro mount with velcro to locate it, secured with one cable tie at front of the camera tray.
I used double sided tape to stop the tray sliding about as I am not using bolts for this frame.
Tray is secured with 2 cable ties.
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