The CSM 'Heading Lock' Gyro uses a PIC, although I,m not sure which sensors are used. When I'm home I'll see if I can dig out the article that was published last year.

Andy (another one!)

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From: Oyvind Kaurstad <oyvind.kaurstad@NOFAC.ABB.NO>
To:
Subject: Model heli gyros.
Date: Monday, September 21, 1998 4:01 PM

I hate the keybord shortcut for sending a message when it resembles
typing the dollar sign on my keyboard....  :-(
Please ignore my previous message on this subject, as it was unfinished.
This is a complete version....


Hi, all!

I'm flying model helicopters (not so much lately, but...) with
a conventional gyro. (Mechanical, that is)

I have seen and read about the so called "solid state" gyros that
has been on the market for some years now.

I've read that they all use the "Gyrostar ENC" sensors from MuRata.
(This may or may not be true, but at least some manufacturers use this
sensor, else it would probably not have been mentioned)

These gyros are usually very expensive. (more than
twice the price of a conventional one here in Norway)

And now I'm getting to the point.

It seems to me that making such a gyro should be possible
with a PIC and some external circuitry.

The sensor itself is not so expensive (approx 25 dollars) and I believe that
the other components needed besides the PIC will cost approximately
the same (an op amp, probably quad, and an A/D plus some discretes and
probably a temp sensor to compensate drift).

The inputs from the receiver and the outputs to the servo can be connected
directly to the PIC since the signal levels are TTL compatible.

I believe there are other R/C people on this list (at least one of the Andys).

What do you think? Doable or not?

-Oyvind

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