Controlling the camera
This section describes how to control the camera gimbal.
Last updated
This section describes how to control the camera gimbal.
Last updated
The Deploy Gimbal button (8) on your controller is used to deploy and retract the gimbal. The button can be pressed once to deploy the gimbal when the vehicle is flying. The light around the button will light up indicating it has switched the mode to Deployed. If the vehicle is not flying the command will be ignored to prevent damage to the camera.
For ground testing purposes you can force deploy the gimbal. This is achieved by pressing and holding the deploy button. The light around the button will blink fast indicating the Force Deploy mode is active. Make sure you place the vehicle in such a way that the gimbal can safely deploy before using this function.
When the vehicle has transitioned into fixed-wing mode you may deploy the camera gimbal using the deploy gimbal button. It is recommended not to deploy the camera gimbal until the vehicle has passed its takeoff waypoint.
NOTE: Never deploy the camera gimbal while the vehicle is sitting on the ground. This may damage the camera gimbal.
When the camera is deployed the video feed will be visible either in the main screen or in the small video screen in the bottom-left section of the FLY view. You can switch the main screen between the satellite map and video feed by tapping on the small screen in the bottom-left corner.
On the right side of the fly screen, the camera controls are displayed. These controls allow you to change the mode of the Nighthawk2 camera system. The controls can be hidden by pressing the arrow inside the circle above the controls window.
The camera controls window allows you to set the following camera modes:
OBS: In this mode, the camera will hold its position relative to the vehicle's movement. The joystick controls the camera.
GRR: In this mode, the camera will hold its position relative to the ground. This is the recommended mode for camera control. The joystick controls the camera.
STOW: In this mode, the camera will point toward the nose of the vehicle. The joysticks are disabled in this mode.
DAY: This activates the RGB (normal color video) mode of the camera
THERMAL: This activates the Infrared camera for night vision and seeing between foliage.
NUC: After engaging the THERMAL mode, the IR camera needs to be calibrated for a clear view. NUC performs this calibration which takes about 3 seconds.
Color.P: This activates the color palette mode for the thermal camera
B/W.P: This activates the black-and-white palette mode for the thermal camera
RETRACT: This retracts or deploys the camera gimbal. It is recommended to use the deploy button on the controller instead of this function.
REC ON/OFF: This activates or deactivates onboard SD card recording. This function only works when an SD card is installed in the camera control computer which is located next to the camera.
The DeltaQuad Controller can be used to control the camera gimbal. For a full overview of the available joystick controls and switch functions, please read the DeltaQuad Controller section.
The video feed of the camera gimbal is equipped with On Screen Display (OSD) telemetry information. This information contains the following:
Name
Location
Function
MODE
Top right
Current gimbal mode
TRACK: Actively tracking an object
For other modes see above
REC
Top right
Onboard recording active
T.LAT
Bottom right
Target latitude (can be set to MGRS)
T.LON
Bottom right
Target longitude (can be set to MGRS)
T.ALT
Bottom right
Target altitude MSL
SR
Bottom right
Slant Range (distance to target in meters)
SAT
Bottom right
Number of satellites
FOV
Bottom center
Field Of View
3.0 is fully zoomed in
62.3 is fully zoomed out
D
Bottom left
Distance from home in meters
While the camera is deployed, the satellite map on the FLY screen will display the current Field Of View for the camera. The blue area in the map shows the current viewing area of the camera based on its position and zoom.
