Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Terry Brooks on July 1, 2012 at 1:24am

Well done for sharing that Jerry

Mine is a 650 frame but I'm sure this will be useful to many folks and there's just not enough people posting helpfull stuff/responses here

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Normandin on July 1, 2012 at 7:18pm

just remember its a starting point and keep an eyes on your copter.   I think if everyone posts their stable parameters and platform configs we can get a useful database going.

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Permalink Reply by Luke Nyhof on July 12, 2012 at 11:35pm

Hi Terry,

Any chance you could post your PID settings for the 650 Hexa? I'm having a couple of little issues with my PIDs and it would be great to compare them to somebody else's settings.

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Permalink Reply by ward on July 1, 2012 at 4:18pm

How heavy is your quad?  Thanks for the parms.  Very helpful.  Watch parm did you find gave you the best return for a good loiter.  My 2kg quad swings about 3 meters in a 10km wind. No gusts. 

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Normandin on July 1, 2012 at 7:36pm

My quad weighs in at 968g with 2200ma lipo.   I usec the 3dr drones platform parameters as a starting point. Someone posted what parameters they changed for a 540mm platform and similar motors.  The parameter  that cleaned up loiter was located in the first param config page in mission planner.   It's late and getting ready to head to the Cape with the wife tomorrow. Taking the Wrangler along the national seashore.

The param had to do with power displacement  to thrust / throttle. The larger the motor the smaller the number.

I set mine to the lowest value in the suggested range and my oldest son and I were amazed at the rock solid loiter when I changed the flight mode from stable to loiter.   It was windy so I went through my useful available battery time in 3 minutes.   When I got to the last two minutes of available power I had to switch to stable mode to compensate for whatever motor was lagging.    I think I really shouldn't be flying during the last two minutes anyway.    A larger battery is on the way and I will be installing the attopilot voltage and current sensor. 

After vacation I will post the screen shots of the parameters that helped get loiter tight.

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Normandin on July 6, 2012 at 6:12pm

I'm back.  I just checked to see what param I found  gave me the best return for a good loiter.  I have to say for my quad it was Angular Rate Control.  I have that set to 0.090

My motors are NTM 26-28A 1200kv

So far 3 minute stable flights.   I just ordered a larger 6000ma LiPo.  The goal is to get 15 minutes of stable flight.

I'll add dead weigh equal to another battery to see how that impacts my 15 minute flight time.  If it's > 13 minutes then I'll add another battery in parallel. 

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3D RoboticsPermalink Reply by Chris Anderson on July 6, 2012 at 7:24pm

Jerry, can you post your config file? That way I can post in the repostory.

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Permalink Reply by Dave Mancini on July 1, 2012 at 6:03pm

Thanks for posting this Jerry,

 

Brand new to the site and I just ordered the same exact parts for my first build. Really appreciate you providing a starting point that worked for you.

Dave

 

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Normandin on July 1, 2012 at 7:51pm

Cool.   Use Blue Locktite for the build.  It will keep it all together.  I use locktite for the prop mounts too. Test your setup before you mount your props.   Also be sure to configure and test failsafe... Even if you just start with the basic throttle off failsafe.  When calibrating the Escs .... I took the manual approach. It did not take long.   

also when replacing the props I heat the spinner briefly with a heat gun, stick a small drill bit in the prop spinner holes hold the motor and twist.   To reuse the spinner I use some acetone, and a qtip to clean the threads.

So far with my tests a 2200ma battery is good for 5 minutes and if in wind... 3 minute stable flight. I have a 6000ma battery on the way from hobbyking.

when flying for the first time make sure you are in a large field.   I tested with no props first.  

Good luck with your build!

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DeveloperPermalink Reply by Andreas M. Antonopoulos on July 1, 2012 at 8:02pm

+1 for "Use blue locktite"

I just finished re-building my quad from scratch to fix some electrical problems. 

Running a test indoors, just powering up enough to see if it was taking off level. I notice a hex nut on the floor. Hmmmm.... A few second later I see a second one. Then a third. Then the quad started tilting as one of the motors started *lifting off the arm*. Turns out the nuts on the floor were coming off the quad during the test flight. The vibrations at 30% throttle shook 4 hex nuts off the bottom of my quad in less than 30 seconds of flight. 

Blue Locktite - A good suggestion. 

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Permalink Reply by ward on July 1, 2012 at 8:17pm

I use a lot of Nylock nuts.  Loctite is good but each time you remove/replace the nut you should reapply more Loctite.  I find Nylock nuts just keep on holding even after constant remove/replace.  Don't get me wrong, I still use Loctite on more permanent locations.

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ModeratorPermalink Reply by Sgt Ric on July 1, 2012 at 9:02pm

We've discussed here before how you shouldn't use Locktite on composite frames since it expands as it dries and leads to spider cracks which ends up ruining the frame.

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