Above are my current settings. I'll write this in as much point form as possible for quick reading (hopefully promotes replies).
My quad:
Jakub's Lunar explorer 4 w/gimbal
NTM 28-30 750kv motors w/10x4.7APC Props
HK Blueseries 20A (simonK) escs
APM2
4s 5000mah battery
Current issues:
-Stabilize
- Bouncy when flying about even in calm weather
- Abrupt stick movements produce jittery responses as if the accelerometer is interfering
- Extremely unstable descending downwards
- Quick yaw motion produces aileron or elevator over correction
-Rate
- Much improved over stabilize
- still bouncy when descending fast
- quick flying maneuvers seem to cause over reactions
- does not feel locked in
- same yaw issue (i hear new firmware should solve this)
I've been trying to tune this thing for a few months now and it's wearing me down. I know a big part of it is my fault but at the same time the wiki does not mention a lot of my issues and i don't know where to go from here.
I think I understand what the PID does P is the amount of thrust applied for a correction, I is the time over which the controller looks at and d is a sort of attenuation?
Replies
Hi, i just have same issues as many 2830a users, coincidence ???
Why pid tuning is so complicated with these motors, whereas others seems fine with default pids? :s
Victor (and APM community),
I only bought the APM 2.0 last month, but I feel like I share the same frustration! I guess i'm off to an okay start, but I really need to get this thing dialed in so I can take my AP/video to the next level. I upgraded to the APM from a hobbyking control board (KK2.0), but unfortunately I don't feel like the APM is as "locked in" as the cheaper board was. The $30 KK2.0 board was rock solid in the air compared to this thing.
Symptoms: I'm getting a lot of drifting (I ran the auto-trim which seemed to help a bit), copter seems to be yaw-ing left irregurlarly, and in general I feel like I have to constantly "fly" the helicopter...which isn't a huge deal, but I want more confidence with the hardware/software in this higher quality board.
My setup:
APM 2.0 v2.7.1
F550 clone with integrated PDB
6x Turnigy Plush 30A ESC
6x NTM 2830 750kV motors
Turnigy 4s 5000 mAh
Gemfan 10x4.5 nylon/carbon props (balanced)
Dx7 Tx & AR7000
AeroXcraft landing gear/camera mount
Tuning: So far my tuning has been to decrease all the "P" settings on both stabilize and rate (quite a bit from default). I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but Rate (pitch/roll) "P" is somewhere around .110 and Stabilize (pitch/roll) "P" is down around 3ish. As for Yaw, I haven't touched the Rate setting (still at default), but I have brought the Stabilize "P" setting up to as high as 7.5 and as low as 3 with no real discernible difference.
I have really high expectations for this board and hope I can get it figured out soon. My plan is to upgrade to the extended arms and put 12" props on in the next two weeks so I'm sure I'll be going through this all over again, but I hope by then I can learn about the PID settings and how to adjust them to suit my needs. I will try to post a video tonight showing the characteristics...
It's almost like I feel as though the open source board is not for me :( I see incredibly stable helicopters flying with similar setups as mine, but it's soooo frustrating trying to get these settings right! I have faith in this product, but I really hope I can get this thing going soon...or else ;)
Thanks!
Will
I'm getting some good results jason, I lowered the rate p to .160 raised stab p to 3.5, stab i to .015, imax back to 40 and d to i think .020.
It's working well, still not locked in. I tried axis mode for acro and it made it either very sluggish or if i turned up it became over responsive.
Another thing, anyone know why the camera gimbal settings seem to constantly reset or reverse? I can't get it working consistently. I set it up and then after power cycling a few times tilting forward actuates both pitch and roll.
Double you tea eff?
Thanks Jason, i'm going out now to try that out. I was under the impression that the higher the p in rate you could get without high speed shaking was best but i will see how lowering the p in rate affects stab. Thanks Martin, yeah everything affects this copter, it's mostly the user having the problem :)
I also dial in a custom build.
The weight, propeller diameter and pitch, motors, esc's,batteries used, all take in consideration.
I am gracefull that this controller can deal with my variances in atmosphere heat, Density altitude, and the abilty to
fly straight up an down.
Hi, so you have a 4s battery and that will generate far more thrust than a 3s. This means the Rate_roll_P, Rate_pitch_P value needs to be lower than normal. That should do it. You can also slowly increase Rate_roll_D/Rate_pitch_d as well. The Flash Sim is the best way to understand the effect of the gains. www.jasonshort.com