2024-06-06 Mechanical Director Sync

Tracking Antenna

• Smile spoke with Derek about Antenna Tracker changes

• Things to improve mechwise

  • larger baseplate so Gemini board is not overhanging

  • antenna wires not reaching gemini easily

  • No mounting for eps and small boards

  • stand-offs for GPS and compass (get it away from any magnetic things)

• Questions:

  • Are we okay with having Antenna tracker and VTX antenna as separate?

  • Mechanical headache to incorporate into one

• Need to get started on tracking antenna ASAP, this project may take a while. It already took quite a bit of time to get up to what we have currently.

• ELRS Gemini Rev B

• compass and GPS should be up high above everything

  • use stuff we have already

• 30.5x30.5 mm pattern (current pattern likely matches)

• Tracking Antenna Long Term Vision

• Tracking Antenna Integration 2025

  • TBD for next week’s meeting

• Keeping separate is fine? two separate towers

• Slop in Yaw

  • should be fine, goal is unblock EFS and shoot for MVP

Fixed wing

• We should have one fixed wing program - small EFS fixed wing

• Hesitant to invest carbon fiber and expensive components into a large fixed wing that will not fly at comp., save this for VTOL - Smile

• Do not want to divest too much focus away from Pegasus 2.0, hence I (Smile) strongly want to work on only 1 (maybe 2 small) fixed wing

  • kinda new territory for mech

• Slightly concerned about bandwidth in the fall

  • new members will join but that means more mentorship. Conops unknown

• mostly covered in last meeting

• bandwidth concern here

• timelines should be discussed

  • goal is have a system by end of term

  • CONOPS release september ish

Pegasus 2.0

• leave as it is for the most part, assemble it mechanically

• Top lid for waterproofing is the biggest project for now

• Mechanical assembly for Peggy 2 shouldn’t take long

  • new landing gear

  • Adding waterproofing

• Harnessing for peggy 2 (not mech but yea)

• no big changes required

• no peggy 3 for now

  • wait for conops here

Houston

• ideally minimal mech effort, but solutions for mounting electronics might be interesting

  • working on pixhawk mount

• Small Quad 2025

  • autonomy will want their Pi and 200$ CV camera mounted for testing

    • we have nice mounts

  • Yuchen will do some things system wise

• E7 atrium cleanup

  • vote on leads if we wanna do this or not

    • 2024-06-10 Leads Meeting

  • prop on front and back to make it work

    • counter rotate

  • touching ledge with stick is a large moment