1. when i start some month ago, my first hope was a 'headfree / carefree' mode known form other fc systems was implemented in the aq firmware. but it seems that this feature is not needed by enough people so the priority seems very low, and im not sure it will make its way to the code at all. anyhow this would be the perfect solution to me, it saves me from all the disadvantages like weight and missing functionality the other solutions have.
2. was to put a third axis option to the gimbal and install a second receiver (i use jeti on the camera man tx/rx, so the rx clone mode can be used) and drive the third axis directly by this rx, skipping the aq. the disadvantage is more weight of the copter and lot of time to implement the third axis and stuff. also a big disadvantage was that the cables from the aq to the gimbal servos will prevent a real 360 degree yaw operation.
*EDIT-130626*: After trying this i find out that when the gimbal turns, the directions for pitch & roll are changing. So its a nogo solution.
3. so the last solution (and the worst case in my eyes) was to stop using the aq for gimbal stabilisation and separate the pilot/camera tx/rx systems completely. this means putting a separate fc (eg. nanowii board with modified software 'MultiWii_2_1_nanoWiiGimbal') with its own battery and rx to the gimbal. so the gimbal don't use the stabilisation feature of aq anyway, but can be operated on all axis without limitations. anyhow i doubt the quality of stabilisation of nanowii is nearly as good as from the aq.
if i had the time and skills i would code a solution by my self into the aq firmware but im light years away from doing so
. but maybe some of you have better ideas to share on howto overcome this thing.Michael
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. so i wont be much help in programming, but if you need someone who dares to testdrive a new function on a heavy lifter octo, just leave me a message.