Awesome video as always! Thanks for making it. I used your other QAV500 videos for building my pixhawk quadcopter and this will help me complete the build. Your videos are well organized and very informative.
Hall Fatherofthree Thanks so much for the kind words. Glad the videos are helping and best of luck with the QAV500 build. It's really an awesome platform.
Cheers!! I have quadcopter with APM 2.8, was doing test flights stabilize mode at low height 5 feet and all very well, when I climbed up say 10 feet when the buzzer began to make many beep, the engines accelerated and lost the Tx total control and crashed. I returned to do the same procedure, and within 10 feet had the same behavior this time went away and crashed, stand as if entering automatic mode. which is the failure.
Dennis, Thank you for your video. I have a question I recently purchased a px4 kit from holybro. I have connected everything and started my drone. However, when I apply power my drone rapidly spins. I have tried applying trims but either it spins to the left or spins to the right. It sometimes confuses itself and wants starts to yaw... any help?
Howard Bardwell From right here: www.thingiverse.com/thing:258146 If you don't have a printer check out www.makexyz.com and you can probably find someone with a 3D printer near you. Good luck.
You should check out the upgraded slider of the Taranis Plus. I bought them for my Taranis and they are much smoother to operate. A must upgrade if u use them often.
David Kaden I appreciate that tip. I haven't pulled the trigger on the Plus but have heard great things about it. Good to know the sliders are smoother. These ones on the Taranis are a little too jumpy.
what were the alerts you were getting while in flight? I know one is GPS glitch and thats because you're indoors. But another audio alert/tone played that I've received myself but I haven't found out what it is.
Nathaniel Chambers That's a great question. I've been looking around to figure out what it means. You're right about GPS, but not sure about the other. Maybe it's somehow related. I'm going to take it to the field tomorrow and will report my findings. Thanks.
Dennis Baldwin Thanks for the response. One more thing, really don't intend to criticize, but the switch/nob(assuming your radio is mode 2) you used for tuning, won't it be easier to control and tune with a switch on the left side instead? You wouldn't have to temporarily let go on the sticks to change pids. Right hand would be able to constantly have control, while your left has throttle and the tuning to operate.
Was wondering if I could message you and maybe get your help with a problem Im having with my apm on my quadcopter. I think the apm is somehow limiting power to my motors I used to be able to fly for about 15 mins now I cant get 30 seconds. anyway if you are willing to help Id appreciate it
Dustan Webb Interesting. Not exactly sure what's going on without more info. perhaps you'd be willing to post in the forums at www.garagepilots.com. Either myself or someone over there will help you troubleshoot. Best of luck and hope to see you there.
Hi, do you know if I can have a problem if my quad weight less than the recommanded weight for the motor (I want to put a dji e800 system rated for 3 to 5 kg on this quad)?
Keven Qc The only real problem that I can see is that your quad may be too responsive. If so, I'd recommend setting your throttle curves so you that you don't run the risk of it shooting up too quickly.
tehn39 You can download and print it from here: www.thingiverse.com/thing:258146 If you don't have a printer check out www.makexyz.com and you can probably find someone with a 3D printer near you. Good luck.
Brandon Kalinowski I wonder if it has to do with the props and motor sizes that I'm flying with vs yours. Very interesting that yours was uncontrollable. Appreciate you sharing that bit of info and hope all is well.
Dennis Baldwin Maybe so. My combination is Tiger 4006 740kv and 10x4.7 props. Everything is well and that was a while ago when I switched to Pixhawk. After taking off it started flying forward and even full back command did nothing. I remember being surprised at how long it took to tune especially coming from Naza.
would you say the same base settings would be good to get my big optocopter up ? i am having trouble with tuning. cant get into air always flips over. so my base setup sucks any thoughts on defalt for optocopter? thanks
+warren williams I've never setup an octo with Pixhawk. Only a hexa, but it handled fairly well with the defaults. I did a autotune to get everything dialed in. I've never had a case where it flips over though. It should just be relatively hard to control if your gains are out of sorts. Good luck and let us know what you figure out.
Hey Denis! Tnx for the video :) Why don't you use one of the rotary knobs instead of sliders? You'd get more resolution and precision with that. Or it's because sliders are easier to reach when flying within a limited space of garage? :)
Hey man, I am trying to tune a tarot 650 with 390kv motor and 17" props. I don't want to to be agile at and want it to be very sluggish to start because I'd rather work my way up with how it Flys so I don't crash it. I have flown it with 3.8 for the stabilize and .98 for the p gain. Is flying it down at 3.0 for stabilize and .8 for a p gain safe to start with? I have been flying toy quads well for about 4 months now and just don't want to crash this beast. Sloe and steady.
badd99 Good question. I'd definitely suggest stepping it down slowly from where you are. Go from 3.8 to 3.6 and work in increments of .2 down to 3.0. I really don't see it being a problem to jump all the way down, but better safe than sorry. Good luck and hope you get everything dialed in.
Hey Dennis! I've been working on a quadcopter senior design project for undergrad and I was wondering if you could go over compatibility of the the PIxhawk and arduino. Thanks and keep the videos coming!!
Yemi Lediju I'll see what I can do. I'm still learning about the hardware side of things so I'm relatively new to all this. As I learn more I'll be sure to share what I can. Good luck with your senior design project. Sounds fun!
Really great stuff Dennis, can't wait to get my machine dialed in using this method. Have you tried the new Turnigy Multistar batteries? I'm currently getting 15-18min flight times on a setup almost identical to yours but with their 5200mah 6S 10C battery. I'm also using 475 KV motors which aren't as efficient as the 380 KV's you've got. I know 10C sounds ridiculous compared to what most people use, but the max amp draw from my machine is only around 55 amps (and I'm assuming yours is less, probably around 35amps with the motors you've got). I realize that's leaving 3 amps on the table for me, but my rig is mainly for autonomous missions so will probably never even use full throttle. The batteries are quite a bit lighter because of the low C rating, so I'm thinking about putting two of the 5200's in parallel on the QAV540. I'm thinking 25 to even 30 min flight time might be possible. They also make 6600mah 8000mah and 10000mah 10C batteries if you want more breathing room. I'm in no way associated with any company that sells these batteries, just thought you might want the tip since it doesn't sound like you'll be flying this machine extremely hard. I'm not a huge fan of hobbyking, but I am extremely impressed with these batteries.
ChaseBrumfield Great stuff man! Yes, I've been using the Multistar 5200mAh batts on my Firefly6. I run two of them in series and they work nicely. I'd love to upgrade to some of the larger capacity ones, but the setup is designed around those batteries and I don't think I'll be able to get larger ones in there without modifying the bay. I appreciate the feedback and am in agreement that these batteries are impressive. Thanks and keep in touch.
Hi Dennis, Great video as always. I saw your video after someone on DIY Drones referenced it. I recommend people start with Rate D, increase it as high as possible without any sign of oscillation. Then do the same with Rate P and make Rate I equal to Rate P. Then do the same again with Stab P. Then Autotune is a good option if your copter doesn't have too much flex or a gimbal that messes with the Autotune results. After this I then use the ATC_ACCEL parameters and RC feel to get the handling characteristics I want. I would be happy to help you if you have any questions on this approach, especially if you would like to make a video on the subject. I am LeonardTHall over at DIY Drones.
+Leonard Hall Many thanks for the useful bit of info regarding tuning. I'll definitely give this a try on my next tune. I'm working on a Pixhawk build and will let you know how it goes. If all works well I will definitely do a howto vid and give you credit for the technique. Thanks again and keep in touch.
No need to give me credit Dennis. I am the dev that designed the control systems of Arducopter and the approach I described has been well known for a number of years now. The first person to make it widely known was Dave C using a RUclips video.
+Leonard Hall 10-4. Kudos for all your hard work. Love the platform and hope that I can spend more time with DroneKit and bringing some ideas to life. Would you mind sharing your email? I'd like to follow up with an idea related to SOLO and hear your thoughts. You can reach me here: db at unmannedairlines dot com. Many thanks.
Gerald McGivern Yes and I will share that soon. I had one of the ESCs catch on fire out of nowhere. Thankfully it was on the ground and happened when I powered up. I'm a couple days out from getting it in the air again and I will definitely finish up the series. Thanks for the question.
Hey Dennis, will the rate roll and pitch help for a more stable loiter in windy conditions? I don't have an issues when it's dead calm it's very solid, but in the wind it gets moved around a lot. I hate to make the comparison, but my phantom is rock solid in the same conditions.
devveldogg That's a good question. I'm not entirely sure so will have to experiment with it. You can read about Loiter tuning here: copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/loiter-mode/#tuning and apparently it tunes the altitude positioning from AltHold: copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/altholdmode/#Tuning If I find out more I'll be sure to let you know.
Dennis, Another great video! Well done! Can I ask, what flight mode were you in whilst tuning? It looked like Stabilise whilst doing both rate and stabilise tuning. Is that correct? Cheers.
Dennis, I have a question about connecting APM to 3DR Telemetry Kit. I recently purchased a 3DR 915MHZ telemetry kit from Amazon (knock-off I'm sure). It came with a 4 wire cable (DF13 style I think). One end has a 4 wire 5 pole connector and the other end has a 4 wire 6 pole connector. The APM "TELEM" port is 5 pole and the 3DR is also 5 pole. Am I missing something? Did they send me the wrong cable? The 3DR website offers several DF13 cables. store.3drobotics.com/products/df13-5-position-connector-10-cm-1-2-3 I have returned it but I want to set up telemetry. Which one did you buy? I am digg'n you new quad! I want it :)
tptwk With the 3DR telemetry kit for APM this is the cable I have (just checked on one of my wings): store.3drobotics.com/products/df13-6-position-to-5-position-connector-15-cm The 6 position 5 pole connector plugs into my radio and the 5 position 5 pole connector plugs into APM telemetry port. I hope this helps. It does sound like something is up with your cable, but not 100% sure. Good luck and keep us posted.
Dennis Baldwin Thanks Dennis. It look like the problem was the radio I bought. It also has a 5 position 5 pole. I sent it back and will try another seller.
Awesome video as always! Thanks for making it. I used your other QAV500 videos for building my pixhawk quadcopter and this will help me complete the build. Your videos are well organized and very informative.
Hall Fatherofthree Thanks so much for the kind words. Glad the videos are helping and best of luck with the QAV500 build. It's really an awesome platform.
Does the new mission planner has the option for ch6 to do adjustment in mission planner? I do not see that in my computer. Thanks for any help.
Cheers!!
I have quadcopter with APM 2.8, was doing test flights stabilize mode at low height 5 feet and all very well, when I climbed up say 10 feet when the buzzer began to make many beep, the engines accelerated and lost the Tx total control and crashed.
I returned to do the same procedure, and within 10 feet had the same behavior this time went away and crashed, stand as if entering automatic mode. which is the failure.
+junsonic67 Sorry to hear that. Not sure what is going on there but if you find out please let us know.
Great video Dennis. I'm enjoying it especially because I go trough the same tune up phase with my Pixhawk
Flavius Lupu Cool. If you see anything I missed please let me know. Thanks for tuning in.
Very informative as usual Dennis.
jimmy gray Thanks man. I hope you're doing well and getting ready for some warmer weather.
i'm ready for warmer weather but Florida just banned "drones" last week..you want to buy a hexacopter?
Dennis, Thank you for your video. I have a question I recently purchased a px4 kit from holybro. I have connected everything and started my drone. However, when I apply power my drone rapidly spins. I have tried applying trims but either it spins to the left or spins to the right. It sometimes confuses itself and wants starts to yaw... any help?
Where did you find the antenna holder
Howard Bardwell From right here:
www.thingiverse.com/thing:258146
If you don't have a printer check out www.makexyz.com and you can probably find someone with a 3D printer near you. Good luck.
Good stuff Dennis. Cheers
Eric William You bet. Thanks for tuning it.
You should check out the upgraded slider of the Taranis Plus. I bought them for my Taranis and they are much smoother to operate. A must upgrade if u use them often.
David Kaden I appreciate that tip. I haven't pulled the trigger on the Plus but have heard great things about it. Good to know the sliders are smoother. These ones on the Taranis are a little too jumpy.
what were the alerts you were getting while in flight? I know one is GPS glitch and thats because you're indoors. But another audio alert/tone played that I've received myself but I haven't found out what it is.
Nathaniel Chambers That's a great question. I've been looking around to figure out what it means. You're right about GPS, but not sure about the other. Maybe it's somehow related. I'm going to take it to the field tomorrow and will report my findings. Thanks.
Dennis Baldwin Thanks for the response. One more thing, really don't intend to criticize, but the switch/nob(assuming your radio is mode 2) you used for tuning, won't it be easier to control and tune with a switch on the left side instead? You wouldn't have to temporarily let go on the sticks to change pids. Right hand would be able to constantly have control, while your left has throttle and the tuning to operate.
Was wondering if I could message you and maybe get your help with a problem Im having with my apm on my quadcopter. I think the apm is somehow limiting power to my motors I used to be able to fly for about 15 mins now I cant get 30 seconds. anyway if you are willing to help Id appreciate it
Dustan Webb Interesting. Not exactly sure what's going on without more info. perhaps you'd be willing to post in the forums at www.garagepilots.com. Either myself or someone over there will help you troubleshoot. Best of luck and hope to see you there.
what is that red aircraft in the background?
It's called the FireFLY6: www.birdseyeview.aero/products/firefly6
Hi, do you know if I can have a problem if my quad weight less than the recommanded weight for the motor (I want to put a dji e800 system rated for 3 to 5 kg on this quad)?
Keven Qc The only real problem that I can see is that your quad may be too responsive. If so, I'd recommend setting your throttle curves so you that you don't run the risk of it shooting up too quickly.
Dennis Baldwin Ok thanks you, and would you recommand me an 8000 mah 6s (like you've show in an oldrr video) or something more small (+- 6000 mah)?
Which frame layout is selected in MP for this? Also what about Rate I tuning?
Thanks Dennis - very helpful. Where can I buy one of those X8R antenna mounts from, or is it something you made?
tehn39 You can download and print it from here:
www.thingiverse.com/thing:258146
If you don't have a printer check out www.makexyz.com and you can probably find someone with a 3D printer near you. Good luck.
Dennis Baldwin Great - thanks. I've found a place nearby (in New Zealand) who should be able to do this.
Interesting. My QAV500 was uncontrollable on default gains. It took a ton of trial and error.
Brandon Kalinowski I wonder if it has to do with the props and motor sizes that I'm flying with vs yours. Very interesting that yours was uncontrollable. Appreciate you sharing that bit of info and hope all is well.
Dennis Baldwin Maybe so. My combination is Tiger 4006 740kv and 10x4.7 props. Everything is well and that was a while ago when I switched to Pixhawk. After taking off it started flying forward and even full back command did nothing. I remember being surprised at how long it took to tune especially coming from Naza.
what mode u fly while tuning?
Hello can you help me with kk2 boards
Paul Antonucci Check out www.garagepilots.com and post in the forums. Maybe we can help you over there. Thanks and good luck.
would you say the same base settings would be good to get my big optocopter up ? i am having trouble with tuning. cant get into air always flips over. so my base setup sucks any thoughts on defalt for optocopter? thanks
+warren williams I've never setup an octo with Pixhawk. Only a hexa, but it handled fairly well with the defaults. I did a autotune to get everything dialed in. I've never had a case where it flips over though. It should just be relatively hard to control if your gains are out of sorts. Good luck and let us know what you figure out.
Excellent. Very clear to understand.
One question. When you tuned stab P where you in stabilize mode? And Rate P in acro mode? Or doesn't it matter.
kentuckyfrier Good question. I was in stabilize mode when tuning both gain types.
Hey Denis! Tnx for the video :) Why don't you use one of the rotary knobs instead of sliders? You'd get more resolution and precision with that. Or it's because sliders are easier to reach when flying within a limited space of garage? :)
always look forward to your videos.
Highteckhobbies Thanks so much. I greatly appreciate you following along.
Hey man, I am trying to tune a tarot 650 with 390kv motor and 17" props. I don't want to to be agile at and want it to be very sluggish to start because I'd rather work my way up with how it Flys so I don't crash it. I have flown it with 3.8 for the stabilize and .98 for the p gain. Is flying it down at 3.0 for stabilize and .8 for a p gain safe to start with? I have been flying toy quads well for about 4 months now and just don't want to crash this beast. Sloe and steady.
badd99 Good question. I'd definitely suggest stepping it down slowly from where you are. Go from 3.8 to 3.6 and work in increments of .2 down to 3.0. I really don't see it being a problem to jump all the way down, but better safe than sorry. Good luck and hope you get everything dialed in.
Hey Dennis! I've been working on a quadcopter senior design project for undergrad and I was wondering if you could go over compatibility of the the PIxhawk and arduino.
Thanks and keep the videos coming!!
Yemi Lediju I'll see what I can do. I'm still learning about the hardware side of things so I'm relatively new to all this. As I learn more I'll be sure to share what I can. Good luck with your senior design project. Sounds fun!
Really great stuff Dennis, can't wait to get my machine dialed in using this method. Have you tried the new Turnigy Multistar batteries? I'm currently getting 15-18min flight times on a setup almost identical to yours but with their 5200mah 6S 10C battery. I'm also using 475 KV motors which aren't as efficient as the 380 KV's you've got. I know 10C sounds ridiculous compared to what most people use, but the max amp draw from my machine is only around 55 amps (and I'm assuming yours is less, probably around 35amps with the motors you've got). I realize that's leaving 3 amps on the table for me, but my rig is mainly for autonomous missions so will probably never even use full throttle. The batteries are quite a bit lighter because of the low C rating, so I'm thinking about putting two of the 5200's in parallel on the QAV540. I'm thinking 25 to even 30 min flight time might be possible. They also make 6600mah 8000mah and 10000mah 10C batteries if you want more breathing room. I'm in no way associated with any company that sells these batteries, just thought you might want the tip since it doesn't sound like you'll be flying this machine extremely hard. I'm not a huge fan of hobbyking, but I am extremely impressed with these batteries.
ChaseBrumfield Great stuff man! Yes, I've been using the Multistar 5200mAh batts on my Firefly6. I run two of them in series and they work nicely. I'd love to upgrade to some of the larger capacity ones, but the setup is designed around those batteries and I don't think I'll be able to get larger ones in there without modifying the bay. I appreciate the feedback and am in agreement that these batteries are impressive. Thanks and keep in touch.
Hi Dennis,
Great video as always. I saw your video after someone on DIY Drones referenced it.
I recommend people start with Rate D, increase it as high as possible without any sign of oscillation. Then do the same with Rate P and make Rate I equal to Rate P. Then do the same again with Stab P.
Then Autotune is a good option if your copter doesn't have too much flex or a gimbal that messes with the Autotune results.
After this I then use the ATC_ACCEL parameters and RC feel to get the handling characteristics I want.
I would be happy to help you if you have any questions on this approach, especially if you would like to make a video on the subject. I am LeonardTHall over at DIY Drones.
+Leonard Hall Many thanks for the useful bit of info regarding tuning. I'll definitely give this a try on my next tune. I'm working on a Pixhawk build and will let you know how it goes. If all works well I will definitely do a howto vid and give you credit for the technique. Thanks again and keep in touch.
No need to give me credit Dennis. I am the dev that designed the control systems of Arducopter and the approach I described has been well known for a number of years now. The first person to make it widely known was Dave C using a RUclips video.
+Leonard Hall 10-4. Kudos for all your hard work. Love the platform and hope that I can spend more time with DroneKit and bringing some ideas to life. Would you mind sharing your email? I'd like to follow up with an idea related to SOLO and hear your thoughts. You can reach me here: db at unmannedairlines dot com. Many thanks.
Any links to this Leonard? I looked for Dave C in youtube under pid programming, but nothing.
Hi Shaun,
It was quiet a while ago now so I am not sure where it is.
Dennis, did you ever get to complete the tuning outdoor ?
Gerald McGivern Yes and I will share that soon. I had one of the ESCs catch on fire out of nowhere. Thankfully it was on the ground and happened when I powered up. I'm a couple days out from getting it in the air again and I will definitely finish up the series. Thanks for the question.
Hey Dennis, will the rate roll and pitch help for a more stable loiter in windy conditions? I don't have an issues when it's dead calm it's very solid, but in the wind it gets moved around a lot. I hate to make the comparison, but my phantom is rock solid in the same conditions.
devveldogg That's a good question. I'm not entirely sure so will have to experiment with it. You can read about Loiter tuning here:
copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/loiter-mode/#tuning
and apparently it tunes the altitude positioning from AltHold:
copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/altholdmode/#Tuning
If I find out more I'll be sure to let you know.
Great video. I always look forward to them. Quick question, what kind of flight time are you getting with that setup?
Great video :) , is this quad built for racing or av ? I am trying to get parts list together to build a quad for stable video. Thank you.
alan york More for AV although it would be quite the racing machine. Has a lot of thrust.
Dennis,
Another great video! Well done!
Can I ask, what flight mode were you in whilst tuning? It looked like Stabilise whilst doing both rate and stabilise tuning. Is that correct?
Cheers.
Jim Burton Yes. I should have mentioned that! I was in stabilize mode while tuning.
Man that wav 500 looks nice liked
The Beast Dw Thanks for following along.
Dennis, I have a question about connecting APM to 3DR Telemetry Kit.
I recently purchased a 3DR 915MHZ telemetry kit from Amazon (knock-off I'm sure). It came with a 4 wire cable (DF13 style I think). One end has a 4 wire 5 pole connector and the other end has a 4 wire 6 pole connector. The APM "TELEM" port is 5 pole and the 3DR is also 5 pole. Am I missing something? Did they send me the wrong cable? The 3DR website offers several DF13 cables.
store.3drobotics.com/products/df13-5-position-connector-10-cm-1-2-3
I have returned it but I want to set up telemetry. Which one did you buy?
I am digg'n you new quad! I want it :)
tptwk With the 3DR telemetry kit for APM this is the cable I have (just checked on one of my wings):
store.3drobotics.com/products/df13-6-position-to-5-position-connector-15-cm
The 6 position 5 pole connector plugs into my radio and the 5 position 5 pole connector plugs into APM telemetry port. I hope this helps. It does sound like something is up with your cable, but not 100% sure. Good luck and keep us posted.
Dennis Baldwin
Thanks Dennis. It look like the problem was the radio I bought. It also has a 5 position 5 pole. I sent it back and will try another seller.
what's your frame dude, I'm loving it
This guy... www.lumenier.com/products/multirotors/qav500
Cheers and merry Christmas ☺
Great tutorial for manual tuning Thanks.
Bush Block Homestead You're welcome. Thanks for watching.
Pretty sure the hex I'm building will use a pixhawk instead of the naza.
Luke Messmer Sounds good. I think you're really like it.
Great. Thank you.
great thanks
Highteckhobbies No problem. Thanks for watching.
great video, can't wait for you the following chapter of Autotune
老米之家 Thanks so much. I hope to do this in the next few days.
Lol your lipos getting bigger and bigger. Next time you put a car battery size one on this small things :P
Hulla Dek So true. That's exactly what I was thinking too :) These things are getting so big and adding too much weight to the platform.