problems....

[pilotnbr1]

Is it possible for tare to change in flight?
I was flying around in manual and got out to about 100 meters and could not bring the quad back- it was as if it was fighting me or caught in a strong wind. I went to position hold to try and sort it out. It seemed to hold position I then was able to get orientation of the quad and manually try and fly. To make a long story short the quad would fly forward with the sticks neutral and with the stick all the way back it would barely tilt backwards. I managed to get it back. On the ground in qgc on level surface the quad was showing its nose up in the air. I did a quick tare and it leveled correctly and then flew normally. Prior to the whole event I was manually flying around with no abnormalities...

Later that day I flew a mission and on the second waypoint it just kept going straight. I tried to take manual control but it wouldnt respond. I tried position hold and it seemed to hold position (speck not getting smaller) but in a steady descent. I tried return to home, and nothing. I then went manual and just turned the transmitter off. All the while it is just a speck and descending. I got the coordinates off my hud and know where the quad is but its going to take an expidition to get the stupid thing...

One problem I am aware of is that I have very limited radio transmitter range. I use the m4 onboard reciever and a DX6i. Beyond about 100 meters my telemetry logs have shown radio errors and I have momentary loss of control. Starting to think I need a real reciever but I would like to keep this 250 quad light.

Thanks for any comments!

Luke

[pilotnbr1]

Reviewing my mission and the hud telemetry (aq telemetry is still on the quad out in the woods) on a map it is obvious that the m4 continued on a straight course through the waypoint it was tracking towards and ended up about 150 meters beyond on an almost straight line. The target radius was set at 1 meter. My gps is not the most accurate- I would say hacc for me is around 1.2 meter most of the time. My impression was that if the quad misses a waypoint it will turn around and try to find it. Is that assumption correct? With an average hacc around 1.2 meter what do you recommend for a target radius? Thanks!

Luke

[Max]

Hi Luke,

Sorry for your (hopefully temporary) loss. Sounds like something(s) went wrong, but it's hard to diagnose w/out more info. FW version, logs, settings, mission plan...

The quad loosing it's sense of "level" could be due to error buildup in the UKF (filter) over time. I've never seen it that drastic, except in the simulator. Typically it should get better as you fly, not worse. But with sketchy GPS reception and/or erratic vibrations it could theoretically get worse. AQ does rely on the GPS fairly heavily if it thinks it is getting good reception. Sometimes the HAcc numbers don't provide a very good indicator.

The "auto landing" event sounds like radio failsafe kicking in after reception is lost. It would hover in place for ~15s and then perform the "stage 2 action" as per settings. Do you have that set to just Land, or RTH & Land?

-Max

[pilotnbr1]

Thanks Max! My return to home settings are to climb,rth, then land. Sorry I don't have more substantive data at the moment. I will follow up when I get the quad.
I am pretty pleased that my wifibroadcast fpv hud saved the day with the location! This will just be a fun story later

[pilotnbr1]

Here is the mission. The quad went straight to the northeast past that northeast waypoint and landed 300 meters from the very first waypoint (home).

[pilotnbr1]

Update: still have not retrieved quad. This is turning into an epic quest to get this quad. I was able to get to the crash site after blazing a trail, however the quad is above my head in kudzu that has grown over small trees/bushes. I know its there, but I just cannot see it because the vines are so dense.
I have tried a super long selfie stick to take pictures above the vines but it is not long enough. Might try to extend that. I may try a metal detector but the range is only about 2 feet from the sensor head... I am building a new quad and could use it to take some pictures but the location is not the problem as I know I am in the right area with about a 6 foot accuracy.

Its not about the quad and its value anymore- its about the challenge! lol