Hi all,
I also posted this on the APM forum.. I was unsure of the correct place for this.. apologies if it's in the wrong place..
I have put together a Quanum Nova for my daughter..(can't trust her on my flamewheel just yet!
)
It flies like a dream in stabilise mode - but loiter is poor.
It's actually a great bit of kit for the pennies I paid for it - but I binned the standard separate GPS and compass units and replaced them with our usual combined item. I also use Taranis TX and FRSKY RX
I did all the usual compass calibrations, I get excellent HDOP and number of sats.... however my loiter performance is poor - it wanders around (seemingly randomly) and the altitude does not hold too well.
Maybe I'm expecting too much - as my 'proper' flamewheel quadcopter is rock solid in loiter..?
The vibration seems ok, although auto analysis reports that there is no autotune data - but I definitely did an autotune.. also is says thrust is poor (Test: Thrust = FAIL - Avg climb rate 35.71 cm/s for throttle avg 711)
Could some kind and knowledgeable soul have a quick squint at my attached log to see if I've missed something obvious? - I would be very grateful.!
I have put together a Quanum Nova for my daughter..(can't trust her on my flamewheel just yet!
)It flies like a dream in stabilise mode - but loiter is poor.
It's actually a great bit of kit for the pennies I paid for it - but I binned the standard separate GPS and compass units and replaced them with our usual combined item. I also use Taranis TX and FRSKY RX
I did all the usual compass calibrations, I get excellent HDOP and number of sats.... however my loiter performance is poor - it wanders around (seemingly randomly) and the altitude does not hold too well.
Maybe I'm expecting too much - as my 'proper' flamewheel quadcopter is rock solid in loiter..?
The vibration seems ok, although auto analysis reports that there is no autotune data - but I definitely did an autotune.. also is says thrust is poor (Test: Thrust = FAIL - Avg climb rate 35.71 cm/s for throttle avg 711)
Could some kind and knowledgeable soul have a quick squint at my attached log to see if I've missed something obvious? - I would be very grateful.!
Ta!
Replies
Have you tried replacing the foam over the barometer and blacking out the inside of the FC case around the barometer?
I found that pluck-foam (from a pluck-foam case) works real well to protect the barometer from air gusts created in the body of the Nova. Use a piece that's twice as thick as the foam that came with the Nova so that it is slightly compressed when you put the case back together. If you don't have any pluck-foam, then a cheap kitchen sponge with open-cell foam is also a good choice. And again, I've had good luck with the foam being lightly compressed against the barometer.
The barometers are also sensitive to light and the plastic of the Nova's body and the FC case will allow enough light that it can affect altitude readings. Just line the inside of the FC case with black tape in the area of the barometer and try to use a dark foam as well.
My CX-20 would fly well when the sun was low in the sky (early morning and late afternoon), but acted up in the same way when the sun was high in the sky. Adding the new foam and blacking the case solved the problem.
The only other thing I would recommend is re-calibrating the compass and the gyro, remembering to do the compass away from metal objects and with everything attached and turned on (like cameras, gimbals, etc).
But my guess is that addressing the barometer issue should handle the problem.
James
PS- I also found that taping the GPS inside the top of the body using multiple applications of aluminum tape (similar to how it's done for the Phantom) made a BIG difference in stability and how many satellites are received, though I left the compass where it was at and just repostioned the GPS that came with it.
Thanks for the reply James...
I completely binned the stock GPS and compass and put a decent combo unit in the 'tower' in the Nova's case where the compass normally resides...
I get epic satellites and HDOP - so I was really confused as to cause of the rubbish loiter!
I will def try your idea and sort some tape and foam in the flight controller case.
After that, I will doe a full calibration again - and perform another autotune..
Thanks!
Look forward to hearing back how it went!
James
BTW- are you doing an Autotune or an Autotrim? If you are holding the sticks to unlock and then continue till the lights start flashing and then hold a hover for about 20 seconds, that's an Autotrim and that would be why the log analysis says there's no Autotune data.
I did both Autotrim and Autotune James..
This time I'll connect my phone to the Nova whilst it performs the Autotune.. then at least I'll hear if it fails or is successful.. - maybe it failed last time...?
I'll get on to the mods this week and test it out and let you know James..
Thanks!