Multirotor, multicopter and quadcopter discussion - The Drone thread

The_Abyss · 8 Jan 2017 at 00:20

A first test of the Mavic's optical active tracking. Works very well - nice and smooth follow - but the real test will come later this year tracking faster moving objects on two wheels

. A bit of messing around at the end, so ignore that.

n30_mkii · 8 Jan 2017 at 09:56

I've just entered the world of quadcopters as I've just purchased a second hand Phantom 3 Pro. I needed a spare set of props so ordered some cheapish 9450 carbon fibre ones of ebay, however the phantom complains that the props are loose or missing when starting to throttle up. I don't have a prop balancer at the moment, but I'll check them over. Are most people using genuine or third party? If anyone has purchased third party with good results could you point me in the right direction. If not I'll get some genuine ones

Cheers,

Jase · 8 Jan 2017 at 15:15

My Mavix should arrive in a couple of weeks, what memory cards are recommended for 4K and whats the average size for a 20 min 4K file?

also are there any decent ND filters etc available for them now?

Draeger · 8 Jan 2017 at 18:43

n30_mkii said:
I've just entered the world of quadcopters as I've just purchased a second hand Phantom 3 Pro. I needed a spare set of props so ordered some cheapish 9450 carbon fibre ones of ebay, however the phantom complains that the props are loose or missing when starting to throttle up. I don't have a prop balancer at the moment, but I'll check them over. Are most people using genuine or third party? If anyone has purchased third party with good results could you point me in the right direction. If not I'll get some genuine ones

Cheers,

I prefer to stick with genuine props as well as batteries. One possible issue with the carbon props, genuine or otherwise, which has put me off fitting them is that if you are unfortunate enough to have a crash, carbon props are so strong that a lot of the impact force is driven/transmitted through the motor arms and mounts which can cause damage. The plastic props however, usually don't result in this as they bend or flex instead.

n30_mkii · 8 Jan 2017 at 18:47

Draeger said:
I prefer to stick with genuine props as well as batteries. One possible issue with the carbon props, genuine or otherwise, which has put me off fitting them is that if you are unfortunate enough to have a crash, carbon props are so strong that a lot of the impact force is driven/transmitted through the motor arms and mounts which can cause damage. The plastic props however, usually don't result in this as they bend or flex instead.

Thanks for the response, I'll keep that in mind. I have six batteries which are all genuine, and a single full set of genuine DJI plastic props currently. So just looking to have a couple of extra decent props as backup. I've heard the carbon ones can be a little quieter too, which would be nice

Draeger · 8 Jan 2017 at 18:52

I've heard a few folk say they are quieter, yeah. And a bit more efficient too apparently.

The_Abyss · 8 Jan 2017 at 22:31

Jase said:
My Mavix should arrive in a couple of weeks, what memory cards are recommended for 4K and whats the average size for a 20 min 4K file?

also are there any decent ND filters etc available for them now?

You need good speed but not top - the bit rate is only around 60 IIRC. 32gb should easily cover you for 20 minutes, but you soon get used to the good controller controls to only record what you really want to.

These filters get good results and you can put them on before powering up: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01MRT7OJ9/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The new firmware is pretty good. I took mine out this morning and although it was really murky still got some reasonable results

opstrat · 8 Jan 2017 at 22:49

Draeger said:
Knocked this up this afternoon after I got back from a club meet. Not great but hey....!!! Does the job.

are you on the scottish multirotors page on facebook? saw someone saying that guys were getting interference from the phantoms from the falkirk club

Jase · 9 Jan 2017 at 00:19

The_Abyss said:
You need good speed but not top - the bit rate is only around 60 IIRC. 32gb should easily cover you for 20 minutes, but you soon get used to the good controller controls to only record what you really want to.

These filters get good results and you can put them on before powering up: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01MRT7OJ9/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The new firmware is pretty good. I took mine out this morning and although it was really murky still got some reasonable results

Thanks, I had my eyes on the PolarPro filters but they are not available yet, have you tried the ones you linked?

What did the new firmware do?

Also in prep for when I get the drone is there any Drone Sims I can use on my Mac as a little practice ?

The_Abyss · 9 Jan 2017 at 09:17

There have been reports that the Polar Pro ones have to be put on after the Mavic is powered up, otherwise the gimbal can't cope with the extra weight and it records an error. The ones I linked are being delivered today so I'll try them over next weekend.

The new firmware added in additional camera and video options, changed the behaviour when the Mavic needs to switch to the secondary compass, more reliable connection between Mavic and the controller and, I think, gives a more realistic GPS lock on satellites (it feels like it only links to satellites that it can use rather than just see). The latter might be nonsense but it feels like that's what it is doing.

Isn't there a simulator in the DJI Go app? You really won't need it though - read the manual before flying and spend a good amount of time learning the controller and app for your settings. On GPS mode (all I've used, to be fair) the Mavic is very, very simple to control.

Musty Pie · 9 Jan 2017 at 21:24

Andy321 said:
Went for the Hubsan X4 H501S Advanced version in the end. Been looking at reviews for a while and most seem to say it's decent as a step into GPS, and I like the look/size of it.

Not long been on the quad scene but wanted something with GPS, RTH and FPV. Really would like a Mavic Pro, but thought it best be safe not to spend in the 1K region for my first "more expensive" quad.

Did your quad come in the end mate?

Keen to hear your thoughts on it?

Draeger · 9 Jan 2017 at 21:47

opstrat said:
are you on the scottish multirotors page on facebook? saw someone saying that guys were getting interference from the phantoms from the falkirk club

Yes m8, that's me. Small world. Guys flying FPV were getting interference on their goggles as the P3 Standards that were flying at the same time transmit on 5.8Ghz which is the same as the video feed to the FPV goggles unfortunately. :cool:

Also on the Falkirk Drone Club FB page. We only started as a club a few months ago but already have 25 members.

Bigpops · 9 Jan 2017 at 22:33

Draeger said:
Yes m8, that's me. Small world. Guys flying FPV were getting interference on their goggles as the P3 Standards that were flying at the same time transmit on 5.8Ghz which is the same as the video feed to the FPV goggles unfortunately.

Also on the Falkirk Drone Club FB page. We only started as a club a few months ago but already have 25 members.

I've flown FPV at the same time as my Dad flew his P3 standard with no interference in the goggles. He was up videoing me and a mate going around our FPV track. He was about 20 meters away and 40 feet up, not on an entirely different site.

Draeger · 9 Jan 2017 at 22:45

Bigpops said:
I've flown FPV at the same time as my Dad flew his P3 standard with no interference in the goggles. He was up videoing me and a mate going around our FPV track. He was about 20 meters away and 40 feet up, not on an entirely different site.

Both of us flying Standards were standing about 6 feet away from the FPV guys. This weekend we are going to try spacing out further away to see if that helps.

Bigpops · 9 Jan 2017 at 23:15

Draeger said:
Both of us flying Standards were standing about 6 feet away from the FPV guys. This weekend we are going to try spacing out further away to see if that helps.

Oh right. Somehow I had got it in my head the P3s were on a field down the road.

Nameless_87 · 10 Jan 2017 at 08:45

So... tried a simulator yesterday... connected my controller (FlySky TH9X) with an auxiliary cable to the line-in in the pc. Downloaded smart propo plus. I had a pretty rough time setting it up for some reason the signal was weak.

Downloaded Drone Racing League Simulator and was trying to set up a controller after calibration, still a bit jerky so cannot control the drone very well.

Also, I crashed so many times... which confirms i have no skill yet lol

Now I'm kind of worried to fly around with the real drone since i haven't done it yet

agnes · 10 Jan 2017 at 09:00

Got the last of my stuff coming, team black sheet antenna and vtx, Runcam swift, piggy OSD and Fat Shark attitudes, I think I've done enough LOS and sim flying lol.

Annoying, the Diatone v2.2 PDB is cack and burnt out a channel after I found out it can't handle more than 500mA through it's 5V channels... So, I've upgraded the regulator on it for a tasty 2A with a huge heatsink which will be used for the naze and the rx. Then I've bought a adjustable regulator (2A output, 3A with a heatsink) purely for the OSD.

I'll fly this ZMR frame for a bit longer, but I think I'll do a new build in the summer. Probably a smaller 220mm X build.

My next purchase however, is a tiny whoop

n30_mkii · 11 Jan 2017 at 20:18

Draeger said:
Both of us flying Standards were standing about 6 feet away from the FPV guys. This weekend we are going to try spacing out further away to see if that helps.

I'm starting to go with a few guys who fly with FPV goggles, and my P3Pro I was getting some interference on auto channels, do either of you use the manual channel selection on its own or with the 32 channel mod?

Draeger · 11 Jan 2017 at 21:34

n30_mkii said:
I'm starting to go with a few guys who fly with FPV goggles, and my P3Pro I was getting some interference on auto channels, do either of you use the manual channel selection on its own or with the 32 channel mod?

When I asked about this on Scottish Multirotors the general consensus from some very knowledgeable pilots was that changing channels wouldn't make a huge degree of difference simply because the Phantom would still be operating on the 5.8 ghz band and the power output is substantial.

agnes · 12 Jan 2017 at 15:12

Sooooo, turns out my OSD is dead

Spoke to the shop and ordered a new one (PIGGY OSD, fits on the back of the Runcam Swift) and will return the broken one. Took ages to troubleshoot! It blew the standard reg on the Diatone v2.2, replaced that with a 2A 5v reg (previously was a 500mA), that reg got INSANELY hot when you ran the OSD from it...

Fine, maybe I blew a channel on the PDB, but the Naze and rx worked fine... So, I buy an adjustable regulator board (about the size of the naze), set it to 5V, it's max amperage is 3A. Instead of the reg getting hot, the OSD instead got to the point within a few seconds it burnt my finger to touch it. So yea, it's got to be the OSD.

The Runcam Swift turned up. Now simply waiting for my FatShark Attitude V3's, Team Black Sheep vtx and antenna. Then I should be flying! Hopefully by this weekend! Not flown LOS for a good couple of weeks either