(7/8) APM 2.5/2.6/3.1 - Autotrim and Autotune
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- Опубликовано: 9 фев 2025
- In this seventh video in the APM series we look at the two functions that will automatically setup your trims and PID settings for you on the APM 2.5/2.6 board.
Thanks for watching please LIKE And SUBSCRIBE.
Happy flying!
Texts are sometimes seems to be complicated. Because you don't know the impact a change will make in action. Your videos make those confusions clear. I think thousands of multirotor beginners like me achieved success for the work you have done. Hope this will also inspire our future generations to build more technicality free flying machines.
I was pleasantly surprised at how close the auto trim tuned my pids on my hex... for aerial photography flying, it truly puts the craft at a righteous spot in tuning.
Thanks for another great instructional vid.
Thanks for the link, sorted my issue , I will now auto trim and tune. You are a great source of information and as i stated earlier your videos are priceless.
Thanks again will continue to watch out for your posts
+Ken “kenno17” stockton Glad it helped, happy flying!
Another excellent addition to the APM series. Many Thanks.
Thanks so much, have done the auto trim...easy....now my X350 Pro flies like a dream!
AegeanGuides Great news - happy flying!
Your videos have really helped me get started in all this, thanks so much!
Gidday painless great vids mate very informative,just a quick one is Autotune ok to use on large frames,say 900mm + with low kv motors in the 400 range 15" to 18" size props,weight 4.5 -5.0 kg range,thanks in advance,regards Steve
MrShadow6292Hi Steve, Ive not tried it myself but I cannot see why not. The forums on RCGroups may have more information.
Sorry I can't be more help. Happy flying!
Painless360 Thanks for the quick reply, I did read somewhere that it is too violent for large frames, but I,m going give it go anyway, still about a month away, but report back when I do,setup will be pixhawk with tiger 4014/9 motors 17" props 900 or 3' foot centres on a quad. It is currently running this same setup with dji wkm version 1,& 15" props flys well but reliability issues with flight controller,Happy flying! to you as well, regards Steve.
I just finished skimming these videos. I have to say that I got a Multwii Pro and feel like I made a HUGE mistake! For only a bit more money, this APM controller seems AMAZING! Just the autotune feature is worth the money!
Brian Terreau I believe that you can flash the MegaPirate NG software onto the pro and use a lot of the features, like Mission Planner, with it. I've not done it myself but there are tons of detail on the forums. Best of luck.
just came across this video , well done a nicely put together video with good info .
I subscribe on the strength of this video alone !
cheers
hi Mr.Bob thanks for the best info ever. Regards from AZ, USA
Thanks for these helpful videos, much appreciated.
At last a fine still day, managed to autotune in one shot, last time corrected wind drift so much it hit the battery limit before completion.
Off-topic comment just in case anyone is looking to reuse parts from a CX-20/Nova -
I put the APM and GPS on to a Chinese whitesheep 450 frame. I used Hobbywing esc's and cheap 935kv motors with DJI type props (to leave the existing ESC and motors in the old config in case I did find a frame). Different beast all together, not better or worse just different, for the extra weight I still get around the same flight times. As it is like a flat plate I find it hard to keep stable when decending unless it is slow or you keep moving to stay out of your own prop wash. Probably too much info but I didn't find out how easy it was to break the CX-20/Quamun Nova until I had read others comments (mine was a two foot high flip on battery fail during RTL) the orginal frame costs more than an aftermarket 450.
Had a perfect dead calm morning so I ran autotune. Everything went as you outlined.. however the result was a quad that flys like a boat. Wallowing (slow oscillations) after control inputs. Up till now I've been using the standard PIDS. I'm flying a F450 3S, 4ah with 980 KV motors and 10x4.5 props. I'm going to try it again in a larger area were I don't have to reel it in.
Hi, I am having problem doing the auto tune setup . I have only six channel rc receiver,so there is now to get ch 7 and select auto tune.Any solutions for those who use 6 channel receiver and want to auto tune??
Yes, simply plug the CH7 wire into one of the outputs on the Receiver that you can use (GEAR/AUX1 etc)... Best of luck!
ich mag deine videos, sie sind sehr hilfreich, danke schön
Thanks for the video. Exactly what I was looking for to sort out my nose happy, wayward apm cx-20. I've had trouble with loiter since I fitted a gimbal. I hope the auto trim will solve it.
Hi. Me again. I tried to do the autotune yesterday, but nothing happened. I assigned Autotune to channel 8 on 'SG' on my Taranis. (Channel 7 is already set up for RTL) I double checked that channel 8 was switching on the Radio Calibration page in APM Planner 2, and yes, it was.
When I took the quad outside to do the Autotune, I went up to about 20', switched to Alt Hold, then flicked 'SG' and... no dance!
Any clues?
Sehr gute Serie, Glückwunsch!
Vielen Dank für den Kommentar. Gerne fliegen!
Great! Thank you very much for posting this video.
Fantastic. Thanks. Can you use the sub-trim instead?
First, Your videos are extremely helpful!!!
I have an APM 2.8 and was wondering if there is a way to disarm quickly. Now it takes several seconds to stop the motors. I am new and once in a while I have an oops and flips over. I try to immediately disarm as the props are still turning and beating themselves on the grass. I have not hurt anything but it can't be good for the motors, escs ect. I am very excited about the APM even though it has been replaced with the Pixhawk. I am waiting for the Mini APM and my new FR SKY 9D plus to arrive.
Again thank you for your videos. I have been following you since the days of my old NAZE32, which I boxed up for the APMs.
Cheers
No fast disarm but this may help - ruclips.net/video/cXSNgCQ9WJw/видео.html
love your vids man!!!!!!!! cheers from Italy!!!
You're an inspiration Painless360. Great videos.
You almost talked me out of installing an old, never used Arducopter 2.5.2 that I dug out of the garage as in your comments, you often imply that the technology is too dated. Anyway, I thought I'd give it a shot as I've got nothing to lose - I've already got the APM.
Initial connection frustrations were overcome when I discovered that my micro USB cable was trashed. Now I'm well on my way. Cheers mate.
One question... I've got a Ublox GPS module v2.0 and in all the videos, you mention GPS and I can see what looks like a GPS unit next to the APM, but I didn't see anything in the videos about the GPS setup. Is is just plug-n-play?
Thanks again from downunder.
PS. I've also got a Pixhawk GPS fc on its way for my next project, a Hexacopter.
Yep, plug and play. Best of luck!
Can channel 7/8 be a knob akt pot. Or does it have to be a on off switch? For the auto tune to work? All the switchs on my transmitter are used an just have a unused pot. Or knob. Thanks best video on RUclips for setting up apm saved me tons..
Richard WEAVER The control can be anything just as long as it changes the value of the channel enough to start the process.
Happy flying!
great videos, easy to learn!
If I understood correctly after the autotrim and autotune I can setup back the loiter mode in MP and disable the autotune switch?
+Raimonds Lug This is all covered in the video and if you're not sure the autotune and autotrim manual pages are excellent. Let me know if you still can't find the answer. Best of luck.
Good day,
Do you have a demo video of autotuning and autotriming of a fixed wing aircraft? Step by step?
Hi Painless360Great series of videos, just finished building my 1st tricopter using APM 2.6.Getting to grips with the tuning, but have an issue, have set up board as per the instructions, but cannot get the motors to fully stop when throttle set to minimum, they do not spin enough to lift the tri off the ground but will continue to spin.have tried setting trims to minimum but no change. Any suggestions ???Kenno 17.
ruclips.net/video/cXSNgCQ9WJw/видео.html might help. Lots of stuff on the channel so worth a search or two, best of luck!
Great video ! Quick question : if you plan on using some auto-trimming, what if you realize in Mission Planner that your controls are not at 1500 at their middle position and you really need to change their subtrims on your radio, would that mean you need to 1) recalibrate your esc an 2) perfrom a tx calibration in MP afterwards ?
Any movement of the subtrims/trims on the radio following radio calibration and autotrim will mean that you need to go through both again. If you don't then the model will see the new 1500 middle channel values as you putting in a control input.
Hope this makes sense. Happy flying!
Hello, in regards to your explanation of autotune, I noticed there is a mode in the Mission planner called autotune. can you use this mode as well to autotune your craft?
This is an old video so check out the Pixhawk 2020 series for the latest tips. Best of luck
hello there.... great videos, very informative.... i have a quick question though for the autotrim feature.....
Can i also trim the throttle to make my quad hover when i put the stick in the middle position? Would this be taken care of by the autotrim?
Autotrim is for drift only, I would always recommend setting the hover point on the Tx - ruclips.net/video/org2d6r6FRQ/видео.html
At 65 Y.O. I guess I came into the hobby a bit late in life, all the how-to's are so old their validity is questionable, nobody seems to replace outdated information with current information, after several frustrating days and hours on each tiny, little tidbit I keep falling back to your "Painless" channel because at least you have a lot of info ( old or not) and have become, it seems, THE Guru to seek for so much, including but not all inclusively: Mission Planner, Ardupilot, Pixhawk and Taranis.
This round it's AutoTune, Arducopter, MP, Configuring Pixhawk and the Taranis
Taranis X9d+2019 SE /Pixhawk/Mission Planner 1.3.77 and (the brand new, just today) Arducopter 4.2.0
Auto tune seems such a straight forward config:
Step 1a: in MP =Config/Extended Tuning/RC7 (or RC8) Opt/AutoTune - - Write Params
Step 1b: in MP=Setup/Radio Calibration - - Check Switch Operation
Step 2 : In the Taranis X9d+2019SE: Setup a switch for Ch 7 or 8.
Inputs/I7 or I8/Input Name/Input Source
Ok:
Inputs/I7 or I8/Input Name/Input Source (I tried SA- and SD-)
(There's a "Switch" line just under the "Modes" line I'm unsure to set it with anything or not)
Problem submitted for solution:
Can't get either SA- or SD- to activate the Radio 7 // Radio 8 slide in MP.
I've tried:
Setting inputs with and without mixes, included setting the name in the Outputs,
Setting Mixes with both Ch 7 and Ch 8 as name ATune, Switch SA- and SD-,
Logical switches with Special Functions to override Ch7 and CH8 (Just as with Modes)
But I cannot get the Radio Calibration test to reflect Radio 7 or 8 switching.
I have not tried sticking my tongue out while wearing my britches backward........yet
Any idea what I missed? Thank you, btw, for all you've helped with so far.
Hi! The modern hobby is a fun place to be but a lot of the cheap (and sometimes free!) technology and software we can use often doesn't come with great manuals and documentation. Many of the projects that create the software we use (OpenTX, Betaflight, ELRS and others) don't put enough thought into documentation to help the new pilot.
These projects rely on channels like this to help others use their stuff and abstract the complexity into easy to follow manuals and videos.
The videos here are unusual in one specific way - I add a date to the title card. The hobby moves so quickly that content from a few years ago (months sometimes!) is out of date.
I don't delete the older content for unsupported hardware and older software as pilots in poorer countries are getting into the hobby and those pieces are what they can get an afford.
This series you are watching is very old. I'd recommend you watch something a lot newer that will deal with current hardware, software, radios and systems. See ruclips.net/p/PLYsWjANuAm4qJ8Lko-3xiYNGb2Hh22rDw for example. Best of luck with your journey, it can be a lot of fun and there are lots of us willing to point you in the right direction is you get stuck!
Your videos are awesome mate! Big thumbs up from Australia!
Just a quick one: I got a FS i6 running of course 6 channels into the APM 3.1 via pwm. I was planning on using the extra 2 channels for flight mode and perhaps gimbal control respectively. Is there a chance I can temporarily use the gimbal channel as a switch for the Auto tune and then once the auto tune is done I will get my channel back to control the gimbal? Would the APM save the autotune (PID values)?
Cheers
+Wilson Quintero Not that I know of. You could by landing and resetting the Tx configuration via Mission Planner but not in flight..
+Painless360 thanks mate.
Would the APM save the PID values for future flights though?
Thank you so much for the videos. My quad tilts back on take off, so I haven't been able to get it off the ground. Is there a way to trim or tune it on the ground?
What troubleshooting have you done so far?
How can I set all of the modes on two switches? I'd like stabilize, acro, loiter, alt hold, and rtl all at once, but I can't figure out how to set them on two switches.
+joblessalex ruclips.net/video/agjHu-WhCJw/видео.html :)
Thanks for the video . How about autotrim for Pixhawk ? Is it the same as A PM ?
Yes it should be, check out the ardupilot documentation for the very latest. Best of luck
In autotrim first time do we start from stabilize mode?
Hello ! your apm video series is very nice !
I buy f450 with 920 kv motor and 30a esc with apm 2.6 and neo 7m gps can i do autotune with this esc ?
Thanks
To active channel 7 or 8 do we need to plug in a physical cable from Apm into Receiver and do a RC cal to active it too?
+wing hum thomas fung Yes, plug the channel 7 input into the channel on the Rx that you've setup to turn the feature on..Best of luck.
Hi painless360, i know this is an old topic but i just wanna ask if the auto trim and auto tune of an apm (i'm using a cx-20, btw) can be done indoors? does it have any effect when you auto tune indoor and then use it outdoor? the reason i asked you this is because i've done an auto tune indoor but when i flew my quad outdoor... the gps hold seems to be not holding its position. thanks in advance man... hoping to hear from you soon...
I wouldn't, I'd do it with as much height as you can manage! :D
Hi! In the Autotrim procedure, I understand that first you have to set de pitch, yaw and roll to 1500 using the trim buttons in the front of the transmitter, right?
When the 25s flight has been done, am I supposed to set the trims again to neutral position or am I to leave them at the position I had set them at the first step of the procedure?
Thanks!
girarcat once the autotrim process is done then you should have a drift free hover so you don't have to change the trims on the tx again, you can put in a few clicks of trim on the transmitter if you get drift but more than that I would run the autotrim process again..
Happy flying!
Painless360 Thanks for your answer!
I've performed the autotrim process several times, but each time I get a different drift direction (sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left, etc.)
When I release the sticks the quadcopter stays steady for a couple of seconds and then it starts a relatively high speed drift.
Furthermore, during the first 10s of the Autotrim flight, the quadcopter becomes completely unstable, making it almost impossible to control (I've been about to crash it against my house). After the first 10s, it starts to behave as normal, and I can make it hover steadily.
Do you think this is normal?
Thanks!
Do you mean auto trim? That should be an easy process, auto tune should cause oscillations and large movements in the sky.
You need to concentrate and keep the model as still as you can so there needs to be no wind and you need to be focused so that the model learns where the sticks are for a steady hover.
Best of luck with it!
Painless360 Yep, during the first 10 seconds of the auto trim flight it's impossible to make the quad hover steadily. After these 10s, it starts behaving as usual.
Thanks
hi, friend i really appreciate how you work hard and make videos to help people. i'm new to quadcopter scene i built my copter and someone build for me. now problem is that it sliding away going crazy i try to trim from my controller even trim is finish still it drift and one more problem is that i cant use manual mode so scared can u recomend me what should i do?
i'll be very thankful to you.
Coolguy I would recommend that you go back to the builder and ask for help. It could be a number of things (I assume it's an APM?) - recalibrating the accelerometers and checking the trims and sub-trims for your channels on the radio/running the radio calibration again may help.Best of luck..
Painless360
thanks bro i'll ask him to help. and i'll tell you my result. thanks for reply.
Great video's , thinking about getting a Apm board? , I have a spektrum dx6 (new model) could I set the autotune on channel 6 or will I need to get a 7 channel setup ?
A 6 channel radio is loads if you don't need extra channels for head tracking or camera control.
Happy flying!
Cheers :) great videos :)
Hey painless, you have been super helpful to me so far, so I have another questions for you! I finished building a hexacopter with an APM 2.6. It hovers great, but if I make almost any stick input it goes crazy and crashes. I don't think I can get it 10 feet off the ground to put it in ALT hold to do the autotune without crashing it! What should I do?
Check the elevator and aileron channels are smooth with good endpoints and radio calibration in mission planner isn't corrupted. Also check out the model sees any tilt correctly and confirm your motors are plugged in correctly for starters. Good luck with it
Hello I love your videos watched all that you had on the APM board.. Did you make one for us tri-copter people ? having trouble setting up Auto trim and Auto tune for my Tri-copter. .has anyone made setup for Tri-copters
First off. Thanks for the video set. I build my first quad watching them using a 2.6 board. I have done an auto trim to get it somewhat stable and then wanted to do an auto tune afterwards to get it really solid. I have everything programmed properly and have reviewed the settings multiple times. My ESCs are calibrated (did them one by one) and it flies OK. I bring it up, put it into alt hold, then flip my ch7 to auto tune and it does nothing. I thought maybe it had to make very minor adjustments at first but even after letting it hover for 2-3 minutes still no "dance". Any suggestions? I'm using a FS Th9x Tx/Rx combo and have everything set as your video explains. Please help.
You need to make sire that you are not touching any of the sticks and the midpoints are right - see fpvlab.com/forums/showthread.php?34515-APM-Auto-Tune-not-working
Hope this helps..
I don't touch the sticks at all but maybe I'll try again this weekend. Thanks
Thanks for the great description.
I am the last one to use APM 2.8?
There is a die hard group of pilots out there.. You're not alone..
Ha ha... I've just dug out an unused Arducopter 2.5.2 and Ublox GPS Module V2.0 from my garage. I think I win... (Win???)
I'm going to replace the KK2.1 FC in my home made quad with the above combo. I find flying with the KK like balancing a golf ball on a beach ball... (Now where have I heard that before)
I wasn't even going to try to get it going based on Painless360 often commenting that it is very old technology. But then I thought... "I've already got it. Not going to cost me any more" and made a start.
So far, so good. I'm at the point of removing the KK2.1 and sticking the APM in its place.
Hi mate great vids, helped out a lot from setup right through to flight just a quick question when I go into loiter or alt hold the drone climes very slowly and I have no joy when I try auto tune I follow your vid exactly but does nothing, doesn't twitch or anything when I flick on ch 7 any help pleasethanks
+Graham Hindson Make sure the baro is covered in foam and have e look at the logs to see what the baro and gps are doing when it's climbing.. Best of luck.
Hello Painless360, I finally got my Turnigy i10 remote. I have it installed in my Quad and I have set up the 3 position switch on the right side to do the flight modes. I want to do the autoTune. Can you guide me a little on how to set up the ch 7 to respond to the auto tune? Do I just check it like I did with the other channels? Thank you
Carlos
+Carlos Cameselle That sounds about right. Best of luck with it..
If you don't have enough battery left to complete the tune, can you land it as is, save the settings so far, replace the battery and then send it back up? Will it continue the tune from the where you saved it, thus completing the process quickly on lipo 2,or will it start the whole process again.? I'm concerned my 2200 3s won't last long enough to do it in one go.
mrmurder75 I would re-read the instructions on this. Aim to use a battery that will allow for a complete tune. Best of luck
Hi. Thanks again for your great videos. Just wanted to ask you something....when you select the "autotune" on channel 7/8, do you have to connect a cable from ch7/8 of the receiver to the FC?
mary grace farrugia Yes, we do cover this in the videos. Best of luck!
Painless360 sorry I think I missed that part :)
@@marygracefarrugia7732 Yeah, me too! It's 6 years later and I'm actually going to go have a look because that's a new (to me) concept I haven't come across.
@@Painless360 Which video might that be???
Hi Painles360. Thank you for this good video.
I'm new on build-a-multicopter world and have some questions.
What is difference of actual output from Auto-Trim and Auto-Tune?
From what I learned, they're have same objective to stabilize the aircraft and Auto-Tune did something to P-I-D (Honestly, I still don't know what actually P-I-D setting do to the aircraft).
I have searched on the ardupilot website but don't get satisfying answer :-(
+Alvin Singarimbun Autotrim is to stop drift and does the same job as the trims on your radio. Autotune adjusts the PIDs to give you a better flying model automatically. This is covered in the video. We also have a video on PIDs that you may find useful.. Use the search and playlists on the channel to find content you may find useful..
Thank you for your help. I'm gonna try find it
hey how are you thanks alot for your vids !! im having a small problem when im going on autotune for the PID on my S500 .. i dont know if im doing it wrong im doing it in alt mode and then swichong my autotune one like you said so the problem im having is that wen its doinf the left and right twitching for the autotune all is good and butter smooth but the moment it begins to do front and back it does it like 2 3 time and the flipa and crashes out of nowhere. .. its the 4th time i try and brack a prop or a arm or ... please help. .. and the thing that after it crashes and i repair i have to do a level calib again and the moment i fly a bit and i begin to go front and back few minits of flyghts then it flips and crashes !... and if lets say i fix it and its running smooth when im flying few minits later i begin to see that its chacking and flickering then i predict its gona flip i bring it down very quickly. .. please help
+Michel Maalouf I would have a good luck in the forums and consider using another version of the firmware. The autotune code has had a few 'issues' in a few versions in the past. Best of luck.
another question... can you do the autotrim on Alt. hold mode? as I'm really finding it hard to focus on keeping it stabilized while trying to hold it in the same height at the same time
Have a look at the Arducopter manual on their website. It has a great level of detail on this and the content changes so it's the best place to try first. Best of luck!
Hi,
I'm new to quad copter flying. So when I try to auto tune, flight is very unstable.
Could I tune it with gimbal + camera on it?
+Senal Weerasinghe You should tune the model with the equipment and setup you will fly in as adding a weight under the model after the tune is complete will affect the PID settings with the extra inertia. Be careful with Autotune - it can cause the model to crash occasionally. Use with caution..
Should i perform auto-tune with all my load or minimize load as much as possible (eg: removing gimbal during auto-tune)?
I've read on some discussions online says quad will be responsive on performing auto-tune when there is no load on?
but wouldn't it be more sense to have everything on cause i'll be flying with load on most of the time.
Can you give some input on this? Thanks.
With everything on the model. Even adding a heavier pack to a tuned model will make it fly differently. Tune it in the same configuration as you will fly it - be ready to take it out of autotune at the first sign of trouble though. Some pilots have reported uncontrolled oscillations causing crashes, it's not perfect!
I think my setup now has to be upgraded. .
sunnysky x22 12 980kv..
carbon fiber 1047
Simonk 30Amp esc
5000mah 20-30 c
bgc 2d gimbal
xiaomi yi cam
total weight with battery and all is around 1700 grams. .
so which motor shud i go for
emax 650 kv?
or DYS ?
Greetings! What is your f450 apm pids if I may ask? I'm having trouble stabilizing mine. Thanks!
Ryan9316 Hi, I will chack next time I am in by the model - in the mean time make sure that the ESCs are calibrated and the props balanced. Also make sure that the board is on an anti-vibration mount.You can use the logs to see how much vibration the board is seeing to - see the logfile video in the series..
Hi, thanks for posting. I am trying to bench test auto-tune first, but I am not sure how to do that?! I mapped channel 7 in MP to be Auto-tune. I power up my Pixhawk and arm it. After arming it, I increase the throttle to around 30%. After that, I switch to Alt-Hold. Once on Alt-Hold, I flip my channel 7 switch (SF on my Taranis) and I get a message on MP saying "Auto-tune stopped"??? Flipping the switch back doe not make the message go away?! Any ideas?! Thanks, G.
Autotune is designed for use in flight, I would recommend getting the model in the sky and turning it on so it can do its job. Autotune expects to be able to pulse the motors and measure the result through the accelerometers and gyros.
Best of luck..
Painless360 Thanks for the fast reply. I understand that it is meant to be used in midair, but what about testing if it even works, BEFORE you fly!? I know you flipped through all your flight modes, on the ground, to make sure that mission planner indeed changes the mode, before you even maiden the bird. Right!? There is nothing wrong with bench testing certain features... no one seems to know how to test Autotune on the ground though!? Once again, I am taking about seeing if the procedure is initiating, but going through with it. Thanks anyway.
***** Hi, i read your post, and to me it looks like maybe your auto channel is reversed. This would result in the apm thinking that you were imediately in auto tune once you went into alt hold, and when you hit the switch, it would come out of auto tune. I use mission planner to check before i fly since it will tell you when you are in auto and have stopped auto. Since this post is a few months old, you have probably figured that out already.
Nate Moss Thanks for the input. I figured it out. Thanks, G.
hy
i have try setting up autotrim but the wind pick up & now i would like to get it back to the same setting i had before
is there a way to do dat?
thnx
+Freddy Beko Not sure - what does the documentation say?
I am under the impression that the Cheerson CX-20 uses the APM 2.5. Do you know if these work with the CX-20?
Ken Adams If it's an APM then this will work..
That will be awesome! Thank you for these videos! Now for it to come in the mail!
I have a quadcopter and i'm using pixhawk, i calibrated esc like 3-4 times, but still all four motors don't rotate at same speed. I found out that the motor's rotation can be fixed by using mission planner. I tried, but couldn't figure out which one to change. Can you tell me how it can be done? And also its an informative video, will try this after my drone get up and running.
Ashesh Rana The rotation cannot be changed in Mission Planner. Rotation of the motor is all done by the ESC not the APM.
I would try and manually calibrate the ESCs and try again - ruclips.net/video/OOplk52R4no/видео.html
Best of luck.
Painless360 Thank You for your quick response. I'll stop messing up with mission planner and try manual calibration. Your video are really helpful though.
Can I somehow bind channel 6 to either alt. hold or autotune. I only have a 6-channel transmitter (spektrum DX6i) and I'm using PPM.
The only option I've found is "Altititude hold kP" in the standard params, but I'm not sure that's what I'm looking for.
Thanks!
Mosbror plug channel 6 into input 7 on the APM. Make sure you can see it move when you flick the switch in Mission Planner.
Best of luck.
Painless360 Can I plug it into channel 6 into input 7 and use PPM at the sametime? Maybe I can just try it and see what happens :)
Thanks!
Ah! I missed the fact that you had PPM!
You can remap the PPM channels on the APM but I've not done it. Have a look on the wiki and forums to see If there is an answer, sorry I can't be of more help..
Painless360 I'll look it up and post it here if I find anything!
For all your +10.000 to see! Congrats on that!!
While i have not tried the autotune yet, the documentation says:
6. When the tune completes the copter will change back to the original PID gains.
7. Put the ch7/ch8 switch into the LOW position then back to the HIGH position to test the tuned PID gains.
You said in the video, once it stopped, it will run in new settings? So, which is which? Can you confirm this?
We did it the way we cover in the video. Things may have changed since it was filmed so always review the latest documentation for the version of the software you are using.. Best of luck!
what should be the initial position of the trim buttons while doing the autotrim?
+shyam Saravanan you should ensure that the radio is calibrated and so is level on the model. If you're using autotrim then you leave all trims in the neutral position and the stick inputs you need to use for a stable hover are automatically stored as part of the process.. all covered in the Arducopter manual..
Hello. As always, thank you for this videos. I have done the Autotune on my Pixhawk, it did it well. I read the documentation in Ardupilot webs too. But there are two things that I don't know how to resolve, so if you can help me, I'll be very happy. First, I read that I have to change the value for the attitude over throttle response to 0.9, because I have a large prop drone (12 inches on a 490mm quad), but I still see some strange behaviour like pendulum effect, sometimes during a stop when it's flying, and this is after running the autotune and changing the attitude over throttle value.
The other thing is an oscillation when is landing or descending in a vertical line.
Can you please help? How can I solve this?
Not sure what you mean by pendulum. low frequency oscillation are usually related to P gain. High frequency vibrations (almost like a thrumming) are usually D gain. Falling in a straight line will cause it to oscillate as it descends into it's own dirty air.. More details here - ardupilot.org/copter/docs/stabilize-mode.html
Painless360 thank you so much! the pendulum effect is like when you are flying the copter in loiter mode, then you make a stop and the copter make first a movement to stop, but that movement is to strong so it make another movement to correct it, and then another and another until it completely stop. so it is like moving a pendulum and then stop it in some point, it will oscillate. so my copter is doing this. I stop moving it, and then the copter oscillate like 3 times trying to correct the movement until it stop completely. I think it's correcting too much. but I'm going to see the video that you send me, thank you again.
Sorry if I'm not good explaining, if I can't resolve the problem, I'll try to make a video of it
Hi, i'm having a small problem with my APM, it will only fly with full up and left trim on the right stick, is it possible to have that trim in place when I fly in autotrim? Will autotrim even fix this?
Has it ever flown normally? I'd first check that you haven't accidently installed one of the props upside down (I've done this once!). If that's all ok then recalibrate the ACC and failing that I'd re-flash the code in case there is a corruption...
Best of luck..
Painless360 It flies just fine with full up and left trim, but without it, it won't take off without the rear right prop slamming into the ground, thanks for replying by the way!
Mr. Churros please check the things I've suggested and then hopefully it will be ok. Something is very wrong if it can't fly level on its own..
Best of luck with it..
please provide the link of 8/8 final of this series video asap :) thanks for sharing the video brother !!
Hi! I am vers disappointed how the APM 2.8 flies my copter. And I am familiar with electronics and PID adhjustment (job. hardware / software with STM32 ARM). The NAZA I have flies the same copter much more gently. With the APM 2.8 glichtes appear, aggressive climbing/falling for a few milliseconds and overall the copter is not very stable in wind. Do you think Pixhawk with the STM32 CPU is better?
+Chris The Explorer is check for vibration and look at the logs first to see what's going on.. best of luck!
when on the air, shall i use the trim button or the stick to hold it stable?
If it's drifting then check the accelerometers are set for level and that the middle value on the radio reads 1500. Once they are good most models will be spot on and may need a click of trim if you move the COG. Best of luck!
There is one major problem. I am using 6 channel radio and I cannot set channel 6 for auto tune. my 5th channel is selected for flight modes. is it possible to do autotune from my radio?
Only if you sacrifice one of the other channels for the tune ;)
+Painless360 I cannot select the 6 channel for auto tune. there is no option for autotune on the drop menu of channel 6.
Plus the CH7 input from the APM to ANY channel you can use for a switch on the Rx. If that's not clear then see the website for booking a chargeable support call. Best of luck.
Very good this video. Can we try this on APM 2.8??
Yes, the process is the same. It's still very similar too - check out the PixHawk 2020 series to see how much! :D
Thank you , bro i want make RTL
after you disarm for autotune do you put the trim on the transmitter back to the middle?
The trims and PIDs are not the same thing so I'd check it after tuning and use the trims to correct any drift. Happy flying!
Painless360 sorry I meant after autotrim oops
+Michael Kyle shouldn't need to..
Hello Painless
First I enjoy your videos, they are very instructive. Now I'm on Chapter 7 and you're on channel 7 and 8 for the Auto-Tune but I have no channel 7 and 8 , I only have six channels , how do I solve this . Is there another way to do the Auto-Tune ? Thank you
Greetings
Henk
Although it's channel 7 on the APM, you can plug that into any of the available ports on the receiver. Doesn't have to be the 7th output on an Rx.. Best of luck!
Is it imperative that I should use a dedicated channel/port for autotune? May I just assign autotune for one of six flight modes on channel 5.
You need autotune and another flight mode on at the same time.. Best of luck!
You can plug channel 6 from your reciver to channel 7 on the apm. You use channel 5 for your flight modes.
Great video mate, Will the same setup work for Pixhawk too?
Yes it will
Hi Painless, As you might remember, I have just successfully done the Autotrim to my X350 Pro. Is this also compatible with the Walkera Scout? Thanks again.
AegeanGuides Hi, not sure as I can't tell what the flight controller is on those. If it uses an APM/PX4 or Pixhawk then this process with work.
Best of luck.
I was working on this tonight, it was dead calm. I ran it for about 5 minutes and it was still going left/right, never did finish the routine. Is there a way I can do it in less time, I only have seven minutes on my battery time and I used the first 1.5 minutes playing with Auto-Trim.
***** Sadly it takes as long as it takes. I am not aware of any ways to speed it up..
Best of luck with it.
So maybe I will have to use a larger battery so it will stay airborne longer. I did have to use the sticks on occasion to bring it back from the edge of where I was flying. Does that influence how long it takes other than the short time I was on the sticks. Does it have to start over or something if you move the sticks?
Any movement on the sticks will 'pause' the process and it should resume as soon as you let go..
Best of luck.
hi bro.. very pleased with ur informative apm videos. .
thanks 2 u i got my apm flying osmm... but after 2 weeks I now face a new problem with altitude hold. .
my quad jumps up and down when I use the barometer. .
it also effects loiter mode.. but no effect in position hold mode... i tried replacing foarm inside the apm 2.6 hardcase but no use .. tried giving it an external cover and even tried resetting it to defaults and programmed it from the beginning. .
please help me ..
my setup..
.dji f450 frame
sunnysky x2212 980kv
carbon fibre 1047
simon k 30A
5000mah 3s 20c
apm 2.6 with external gps and power module
flysky fs-th9x
my quad is flying superb in stablise mod... i have been trying hard to find a solution but found none working. .
hope ull help. ..
thanks in advance. .
What do the log files show?
I have no idea how to use them .. do u have any of ur videos demonstrating how to use them..
Yep, see the APM playlist.
ok thank you bro
+Ashish Faustine I believe you should go through complete para-list. Might work! Cheers
Is it okay to use simple is checked in althold when activating auto tune ?
Sameera Thilakaratne Check on the APM website in the Autotune pages - copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/autotune/
These pages have a wealth of detail..
Best of luck.
Should i perform autotrim or autotune on the APM if my quadcopter is moving towards its left?
+MC7 FIFA Gamer make sure the clue of the aileron and elevator channel are settling at 1500 and run through autotrim. Best of luck!
Painless360 thanks for your time.
I am using APM 2.8 with a DX6i. How do I get the channel 7 autotune to work with a 6 channel radio?
It's channel 7 on the APM not the radio ;) You can plug CH7 from the APM into any spare channel on the Rx.. Best of luck!
Can i ask how many minutes it takes for apm to auto tune itself while in the air? btw im using apm 2.8
I'm not sure. The autotune process has been improved and sped up in modern Ardupilot. Best of luck
@@Painless360 Okay thanks. another question. how can i know the battery remaining of my drone like i only have the radio controller and i dont know how can know the battery remaining. Is it like required another component to use to read battery percentage?
ruclips.net/video/d1ejhtPQrao/видео.html may be worth a watch... Best of luck
Hi,i am looking to build a f450 quadcopter,as base frame has a pcb board for the esc,s and battery i was wondering can i add a
Matek Mini Power Hub also to run leds of?Also where would i run it of the base frame pcb?Any info would be great.thx
Depends on how it needs it's power. We normally always add an extra JST connector to the PDB when we solder it up so that we can plug FPV/LEDs etc into it later. Best of luck!
Hi can u please help when I try to select auto tune in mission planner the CH7 opt has no options in it it's just blank
I've not used APM for a long time. I'd check the online forums to see if others have seen that. Best of luck!
Is it safe to adjust the trim using the Tx or best to use the autotrim feature?
***** You sure can, autotune will get it very close though. See @wiki/tuning/ for more detail. Happy flying!
Painless360 Cheers!
And thanks again for the vids, been a great help!
hey its me again, I have seen many videos on youtube of pixhawk autotune getting a bit hyperactive and actually flipping copters over, My f550 is very twitchy and i am scared that a similar scenario will come about with me? are these videos just flukes or are my worries reasonable? Thank you very much for your help!
+TheDIYGuy btw do you have a degree in teaching or something? your videos are really helpful, thanks!
+TheDIYGuy I've not seen that myself. the APM and Pixhawk are two of the most calm, stable platforms I've ever flown.. Best of luck with it..
I have a quick question for you or any of your subscribers who can answer... How do I get Terminal and all the other screen options for Mission Planner? I have an APM 2.8 and latest version of Mission Planner, but when I watch your videos and other youtubers, it seems I am missing a lot of available sub-menus for Mission Planner. Can you or anyone please help. Thanks a bunch!
+Aerial Drone Ops this video is quite old now, months after it was made the command line interface wa's retired as they're simply wasn't enough space on the board to support it. You have to go back to a very old firmware version to make it work now. Last version supported on the APM is 3.2.1. See the APM video series. Best of luck
Painless360... you're the best my friend. Thank you! By the way, you have an awesome channel my friend and tons of noteworthy videos and information.
Hey Lee, This video is pretty old, I know Autotune is still a thing, but is autotrim? This is the first mention of it i have seen, but interestingly my drone does seem to need it. Also some say the autotune takes as long a 15 minutes, but i only get about 9 minutes of flight time? Anything i can do? This may be an issue. I have tried to run AT, and it did its thing for the duration of the flight, but didn't seem to finish before it RTL. Now it doesn't seem like it will go into AT at all?
Check out the Pixhawk 2020 series for the modern update for this... Best of luck
HELP HELP HELP!!!!! spent all day setting it up and it flys but the gains are too high and the thing shakes like mad!! so i need to do auto tune but my version of APM Planner doesnt have the screen or option to enter that screen a 8:48. Its version 2.0.15 of the software :) please help lol
First thing is to update the version of the Mission Planner to the latest version. I'm building an APM setup at the moment and flashed a board today - Mission planner is at V1.3.17 and the firmware is now V3.2 or later.
I'd try it again with the latest version and see if that helps. The firmware and Mission Planner are evolving and improving all the time so an update before you start is always recommended. It will usually prompt you if you are out of date anyway.
God luck.
hi there i put the apm 2.8 on a 280 quadcopter and no matter where i pot the roll setting it wobbles like crazy.... any ideas???
Depends on what you have already tried..
+Painless360 I don't have channel ch7 or 8 how can I do this on my apm
I know its outdated, but I'm running an apm 2.6 in a plane because the goal of this build was cheap and nothing else. Does APM 2.6 support autotune for plane as well? I can't seem to find a clear answer anywhere and just assumed it didn't, this is the first video I've seen of an apm using it. Is it just for copter, though?
for reference I have been running an older version of mission planner for compatibility, and it doesn't have an autotune option. I also have a current mission planner for my other builds and when connected to the apm it gives the option to enable autotune, but seeing as its not listed in the apm era MP i am scared to try it lol.
I honestly can't recall. This is a very old 8 bit flight controller that stopped being activity supported years ago (v3.2.1)
the autotrim works with apm 2.8?
A doubt about this step:
STEP 4: Immediately take off and hover (as still as you can) for at least 25 seconds...
what flight mode i must use? POS HOLD? STABILIZE?
***** Should do, APM 2.8 is the same as a 2.6 with a few different power electronics. See copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/autotune/ for full instructions.
Best of luck
Painless360 thanks! this is what says from arducopter page:
Auto TrimWith auto trim the roll and pitch trim are captured as you fly in a stable hover.1. Find a wind free environment with sufficient space to fly your copter without crashing into something.2. Hold throttle down and rudder right for 15seconds or until you see the small red, blue and yellow leds flash in a cyclic pattern.3. Fly your copter for about 25 seconds in a stable hover4. Land and put your throttle to zero and wait for a few seconds (the trims are being saved to eeprom)5. Take off again in stabilize mode and check if your copter is flying level now. If not repeat steps 2, 3 and 4.Note: you can also test these procedures above are operational on the ground with your battery disconnected. Connect your APM to the mission planner and observing the Flight Data screen as you simulate completing the steps aboveSTEP 3 SAYS TO FLY IN STABLE HOVER... MAYBE IT MEANS STABILIZE MODE?
No, it means as still and stable as a hover as you can manage. The FC is learning how much persistent control input you need to use it in order for the hover to be in one place. It then saves that to memory so you don't have to do it next time.
Best of luck with it.
Painless360 perfect! i will try it soon! thanks! =)
But why we need auto tune
The flight controller needs to be optimised for your model. Every one is different.. happy flying
hi ... am still stuck with altitude problem. . have balanced props, cg ,motors even added foam inside and outside of apm still no use ..quad jumps when in alt hold mode
+Ashish Faustine I would download and check the logfiles to see what the baro can 'see' when you are flying.. Best of luck.
+Painless360 that's done. . vibration are in control
What to do :(
no more info anywhere on RUclips
Book a chargeable support call...
+Painless360 to whom?
problem solved bro .. thank you. .
in loiter mode tuning. .p and i doesn't have much influence had to increase d so much to get it where I wanted ... maybe this is just my problem. ..and also don't know y loiter tuning is effecting others like altitude hold and stablise mode.. anyway am kinda satisfied. ..
+Ashish Faustine Every copter is different, if they weren't then we'd never have to worry about PIDs again. Glad you got it flying well.
Mm ya I can see that.. anyway thanks bro
Altitude decrease in altitude hold mode while moving around. ..
Mmm now this is my new problem
There is a setting that you can change to alter how much it compensates, you can also make sure that the baro isn't being affected by stray air currents.. Best of luck.
+Painless360 which setting is it?
and my apm is inside a hard case and that case is inside the 450 frame
Excuse me, how can I use the Autotune with a Mod flysky i6 with 10 channel, FSiA6 receiver no PPM and flight controller Apm 2.6 ?
Thank you.
So long as you follow the steps in the Wiki I don't see why not. Best of luck
Morning..if I update my mision planner will this affect my quad?
It shouldn't do, we run some old versions of Arducopter with the latest Mission Planner without problems..
Hello can I auto tune my APM 2.8 in position hold mode rather than altitude hold mode. Will it work please reply thanks in advance
If you can it'll be in the documentation ;) ardupilot.org/copter/docs/autotune.html
Okay thanks for help
need some more help ...
now my 450 quad flies so good in stablise mode and also in altitude hold mode. . but very sluggish slow and least responsive in loiter mode. .
tried to Tune loiter pid settings but it's not responding much...
please help..
thanks in advance
happy flying
+Ashish Faustine The APM isn't a controller for racing (not by any standards! ;) ) so if you've used other controllers then the APM and Pixhawk can feel very 'safe'. Great detail on copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/tuning/ and I would check that you don't have too much expo on the Tx and the radio is calibrated in Mission Planner.Best of luck.
Bro am not racing with it but I just wanted loiter mode to be more stable in windy condetion. .
Now I don't use loiter mode much due to this problem. ..
Its dancing like it has bad pid tuning. . Only in loiter . ..
Does sounds like a tuning issue, I would check for vibration before you start and reset the PIDs to default then follow the outline in this video - ruclips.net/video/fNYu5coR6Sg/видео.html
Hope it helps. Best of luck.
Hello your videos have been the most help to me for Auto Trim and Auto tune I need your help and advice my tri copter has 2.8 APM with power module .Ch 7 is used by servo .ch 8 is used for 5 volts input to servo. how can I set up . my radio is Futaba 8J.
William Booth You need to figure out a way to either power the board and power it using the PM connector, or fly without the servo connected. Is it a Tri?
Painless360 Yes it is tri. copter. so I will need a different channel to power my tilt servo.
Hi there,
what is to do, if i have only a transmitter with 6 channels?
Greetz
+PantherMadCat
God Painless answers All, and did already
Hook to chan 7 on the FC and lose a few FM's
just for the procedure, just make sure one is Alt. Hold
please read all comments b4 posting + hit (Show More)
he IS God U know, See How he Stops the Branches from swaying?
Hello sir I have a quad with specification
920kv motor
30a esc
Dji f450 frame
Fsi6 ts and rx
1045 propeller
Currently iam using 11.1 2200mah 30c rating
It gives me flight time of just 3min
I want to build a li ion pack I got full confidence after watching ur video ur just awsome
Pls suggest which is the best lithium ion cell and in which configuration should I arrange them
thanks for reading
See my endurance build from a few years ago that will help you figure out what you need.. I hope they help..
@@Painless360 thanks for ur reply sir
hey.can u help me...i forgot how to connect the receiver to the apm 2.5.and how to arm..:-( i have orange rx dsm2
Marcel van Middendorp You are not using the playlists to find what you need are you? ;)
You can find the full APM playlist here - ruclips.net/p/PLYsWjANuAm4oswLMu9OU8yOm-9J6y30XW
The answers you are looking for are in the first and third video.
Best of luck.