Version 2.6 of the ArduCopter code is now available in the AP Mission Planner and in the downloads area!
Updates to MavLink 1.0 means you will need to use "ArdupilotMegaPlanner10.exe" to connect. If you've updated your mission planner recently you should find this executable in the directory where the mission planner is installed.
The above video is done using a prototype 3dr ublox GPS which seems to have better accuracy than the standard mediatek.
Improvements over 2.5.5 include:
- MavLink 1.0 support (use with ArdupilotMegaPlanner10.exe) [Tridge, Craig]
- Stability improvements especially during level hover [Jason]
- throttle range improvement (higher min and max) [Jason]
- improved standard Loiter PIDs [Alan, Heino, Jason, Angel]
- dataflash erase speed up ('+' messages removed but it only takes 6 seconds now) [Tridge]
- Copter LEDs [Robert Lefebvre]
- RTL loiter stage target set to home to improve final landing position [Jason]
- flip & acro improvements [Jason]
- circle mode target improvement for ground station [Jason]
- Auto Approach [Adam Rivera / Marco]
Bug fixes include:
- UBLOX driver fixes (lock should now be more reliable) [Tridge]
- enable mavlink messages during dataflash erase which resolves issue in which new APMs fresh from the factory appeared unresponsive [Tridge]
- proper printing of lat/lon values in dataflash logs [Randy]
- removed duplicate GPS reads [Jason]
- resolve flooding of telemetry link with low-battery warnings [Tridge]
- RTL bug would land if rtl_approach_alt was more than 1 [Jason]
- WP Radius could not be set larger than 1.3m [Jason/Randy]
Tuning:
PIDs are optimised for the 3DR/Jdrones quad with 850 motors and 10" props. If you're using more powerful motors/props and are seeing bad flight behaviour in stabilize, start by turning down Rate Roll P in 25% steps.
This time we spent some time optimising the loiter PIDs. Tuning loiter can be tricky so please refer to the discussions which will appear below for more community feedback on what parameters work best.
All feedback welcome below. Enhancement requests and bug reports can be put into the arducopter issues list. When possible please include logs (tlog and/or dataflash) and tell us whether you're using APM1 or APM2 and what version of the software you're using (presumably 2.6 but tell us anyway!).
Happy flying!


JohnB: You can also reset your EEPROM in the CLI, which will take you back to the default parameters. One good trick is to save a config file with the default parameters and then use the Mission Planner's "compare" function to compare it with your current parameters.
Permalink Reply by JohnB on July 21, 2012 at 11:48am Thanks.. I saved what I had 'pre-reset config' and then reset. Then saved the defaults in a different file 'defaults'.
Now I can pick and choose what it was from the old config I want to keep. Love this compare feature.

Permalink Reply by Mike Mac on July 21, 2012 at 9:28am I agree about the search. This is the worst forum I have ever seen when it comes to finding information. They definitely need to get better forum software.
I always use the clear EEPROM method and reload the firmware. After that you can save all the parameters to a file so you will always have a reference. It’s an easy to read text file.
.
Permalink Reply by Gustav Kuhn on July 21, 2012 at 10:23am Mike, I wouldn't put it quite so harshly, but I too would like to see the forum split along the different airframes, and maybe now also the different APM's.
I have three APM1's, two that I've upgraded to 2560 boards.
One quad, one conventional airplane, and a third that is to go in either an X8, or a 2.8 meter powered glider type UAV :-)
No way I'm going to dump those, and get APM 2 :-(
The 1280 board flies my foamie perfectly well.
Permalink Reply by Gustav Kuhn on July 21, 2012 at 10:13am Surely you just need to reload the firmware via Mission Planner ?
When I do that, the software asks/tells me that it will overwrite previous settings, not so ?
Permalink Reply by Paul Emous on July 21, 2012 at 11:22am
Permalink Reply by Eddie Weeks on July 22, 2012 at 8:44pm Most my post here, I complain about something.. had a crash… loiter did not work..
Well today is different.. Built a new Hex and everything with the flying was perfect. !!!
Super stable, nothing new there… Loiter worked, can you believe it !!..
(my loiter has never worked right because the GPS popped of my AMP2 a while back so I installed an external one MP shows the GPS working, but Loiter was dumb)
But today… with a new APM2…. I did a mission at 1m/s… 120 foot out and back and auto land… Perfect !!!!.. nice and slow
Oh and Loiter… not much wind… flip the switch… bam.. stays within 10 foot Radius..
Good job guys…. I built and coded an autonomous boat for my research work to survey 24 hours non stop… So I know what it takes...
Eddie Weeks
Permalink Reply by Paul Emous on July 22, 2012 at 11:31pm Can you share your config + PID settings?
Permalink Reply by Guido on July 23, 2012 at 5:35am i changed only Stabilize P from 4.500 to 3.800
and Rate P from 0.180 to 0.120
because i use T-Motor 2208-18 1100kv with T-Motor 20A esc
Permalink Reply by Guido on July 23, 2012 at 5:29am Hi,
i need help to know what to do to resolve this problem... See this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XfARq98-jk
what could be? hear the motors spin up sometimes.. (at 0:49 sec)
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