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Comment by John Cousins on October 7, 2012 at 4:26am

Evening all.

Stuck out in the middle of the ocean at the moment but looks like i'll be getting home on the 17th of October. Who's up for some flying? I have a Skywalker to maiden and some Autopilot tuning to do. Where has everyone been lately? This group's gone a little stale again! Anyone got any news?

Comment by Stephen Gloor on August 28, 2012 at 11:37pm

Anyone seen this post?

http://diydrones.com/group/apmusergroup/forum/topics/please-help-me...

Which talks about the hardware manual switch that is lacking in the APM2.

I am thinking of implementing it via the MUX that is mentioned in the replies.  Does anyone else have a hardware manual implemented?  

Comment by Stephen Gloor on August 28, 2012 at 5:35am

I started flying in the dim dark days when all I could possibly afford was a second hand two channel radio (Sanwa) and a Trident glider.  It had two sticks so thats how I flew when I graduated to more channels.

I still have the radio.

Comment by JB on August 28, 2012 at 3:15am

Mode 2... I just can't get used to splitting the aileron from the elevator, it seems unnatural, especially after so many hours on flight sim since I was a teen, and doing some hours for my PPL. The rudder in a plane is on the floor with pedals, and has nothing to do with the stick as such. I have heard that mode 1 is meant to give you better separation and control, but I just don't get/like the feel at all. Apparently mode 1 is more common here in Aus, but mode 2 is more common in the US. 

As John pointed out, mode 2 allows for one handed control whilst fiddling with other gear, like the APM MP, or even launching the plane if you can throw with your left hand.

BTW in regards to the "video game" setup, I'm actually using a PS3 controller for APM control via bluetooth to the notebook...at least it has enough buttons (for mode changing etc), and flying with the accelerometer is quite cool too, similar to the AR Drone experience.

Comment by ootktk on August 28, 2012 at 1:39am

mode 2 because the first rc toy i got was mode 2 :D

Comment by John Cousins on August 27, 2012 at 11:12pm

I'm a mode 2 (throttle left) guy.

Just seems more natural to me. Easier to keep a hand free for changing modes, and fiddling with other junk ;-)

 

Comment by Stephen Gloor on August 27, 2012 at 10:56pm

Probably a dumb question however I fly Mode 1 with the throttle on the right stick.  The APM manual shows only Mode 2.  How do you people fly - Mode 1 or 2

Comment by Stephen Gloor on August 27, 2012 at 6:18pm

@Hai

Sorry about the loss of the planes.  Having lost one myself below the treeline - again never to be seen again I know what it is like.

I am a complete nube to this as I do not have my APM yet however I think I am going to go to extreme lengths to make sure the power to it is clean.  UBECs and BECs so not always give clean power so I think I will use one of these that the giant scale modellers use to clean and regulate the power.  It also has dual battery input.

http://www.smart-fly.com/products/Regulator/3.htm

Thoughts?  Any advice would be appreciated.

@John Cousins

Which rig?

Comment by JB on August 26, 2012 at 9:52pm

Nice! This thread is still alive after all!

Hey John

I like your mates ground station setup. Looks like something I'd like to do, always been a big fan of vans...might have to setup our old OKA into one of those! 

I also just bought a Condor (free shipping atm till 31th for $129), the black version. It looks pretty good, hopefully it will more easily handle the weight of all the gear than the Bixler. It gets really slow with the gear on board, I like having  a bit more reserve to get back up to altitude. Maybe we can get together after we maiden?

In regards to PC joystick flying, do you know of any drivers/setup to get some force feedback into the joystick? Maybe by adding some force feedback into the stick the FPV/UAV experience would become more intuitive and less detached than it is now? A sim chair would be even better of course! ;)

BTW when you say dark and noise free environment in the GS-mobile, does that also include Air-con and a fridge in the summer? If so count me in as a permanent tenant!

As for most being too busy...you guys really need to get your priorities straight!! ;) What can be more important than flying FPV/UAV? But yeah, reality is that there is only so much time we can afford to spend, sadly most of us spend it on making money, so that we can spend that on RC gear! lol. Having 4 kids and being self- employed myself, plus the fact you're away for work, I can only to well understand your time problem.

@ Hai

I had a few issues with the APM2 and ESC as well. For some reason 2 of my 20-30A  ESC's wouldn't arm when plugged into the APM output. I don't know if it's related to your issue, but I still cannot figure out why some work and some don't, even after doing the usual trim/reverse/calibration etc on both the RC and APM. Things I do not understand worry me, especially if I want to go long range and need reliability. Your 3-5minute flight and subsequent losses are troubling too...didn't you have the GPS co-ordinates from the APM before she went down? Do you think it could of been a faulty ESC rather than the APM ie full power/no power after getting hot in 3-5min, with the BEC failing/faulty so no RC? We might have to organise a SAR mission to recover and diagnose...what was that about salvage rights again? Finder keeps all? :)

Sorry for your loss btw, two planes is not a nice experience! I still have a EDF F35 I just can't get airborne...well that's not true, rather I just can't do a controlled landing directly after launch! It's really annoying, I've seriously considered installing a spring instead of a nose on that thing! The Habu looks like a nice plane btw, I'm glad you had better luck with that one. What speeds does she do?

Moderator Comment by Hai Tran on August 26, 2012 at 7:51pm

LoL it wasn't fun, but I got back on the horse straight away by maidening my Habu 32  fibreglass EDF 5 mins later.   It was insanely quick, even after over 100 flights on the foam Habu EDF.

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