ArduCopter 3.0.1 has been released and is now available in the Mission Planner, firmware.diydrones.com, GitHub and the new Downloads Area.
Warning #1: Compass calibration and reducing interference is far more important than with 2.9.1b
Warning #2: GPS glitches can cause sudden and aggressive position changes while in loiter mode. You may wish to reduce the Loiter PID P to 0.5 (from 1.0) to reduce aggressiveness (see image below of where this gain can be found in mission planner).
Warning #3: optical flow is not supported but will be back in the next release (AC-3.0.2 or AC-3.1.0).
Warning #4: loiter turns does not maintain altitude. This bug will be fixed in AC-3.0.2.
Warning #5: This release has only been lightly tested on Traditional Helicopters.
Improvements over 2.9.1b include:
- Inertial Navigation for Loiter and Auto meaning much more accurate control (Randy,Leonard,JonathanC)
- 3D navigation controller follows straight lines in all dimensions between waypoints (Leonard,Randy)
WPNAV_SPEED, WPNAV_SPEED_UP, WPNAV_SPEED_DN, WPNAV_ACCEL allows configuring speeds and acceleration during missions
- "compassmot" to compensate for interference on compass from the pdb, motors, ESCs and battery. (Randy,JonathanC) (Set-up video here)
- Safety improvements:
- simple Tin Can shaped Geo Fence
- pre-arm checks to ensure all calibration has been performed before arming (can be disabled by setting ARMING_CHECK to zero). (video description here)
- GPS failsafe - switches to LAND if GPS is lost for 5 seconds
- stability patch improvements to stop rapid climbs in very overpowered or overtuned copters
- Circle mode improvements including "panorama" when CIRCLE_RADIUS set to zero (Randy,Leonard)
- SONAR_GAIN parameter added to allow better tuning of sonar surface tracking
- CH8 auxiliary switch (same features as CH7)
- works on PX4 (some minor features still not available) (Tridge,PatH)
How to upgrade:
1. Make sure you are using Mission Planner 1.2.59 or newer (get it here)
2. Click on the MissionPlanner's Hardware, Install Firmware screen. The version numbers should appear as "ArduCopter-3.0.1", then click the appropriate frame icon and it should upgrade as per usual.
3. Reduce the Loiter and Alt Hold PIDs if you have modified them from the defaults. The modified PID values for the 3DR frame can be seen in the image below.
Note: Nav parameters have been combined with Loiter so do not be concerned if you can't find them.
4. Although not directly related to this release, if you purchased an APM prior to March of 2013, update your PPM encoder to the latest firmware (instructions here).
5. Try out the new version in stabilize mode first, then alt-hold, then loiter and finally RTL and Auto.
Numerous How-To videos are available:
Special Thanks to Marco, DaveC and the large number of testers on the pre-release thread who put their copters at risk during the extended testing period. Some of their videos can be found here, here, here, here, here and here. Thanks also to MichaelO for the MP changes required for this release.
All feedback welcome. Please put your questions, comments (good and bad!) below.
Replies
Randy; do you have a topic about your spraying copter?....sorry the off topic
Not sure of the modes described as:
Guided, Position, OF_loiter, ToyA, ToyM, Sport. Where are these modes described?
Thank you in advance.
Henri
Hi Randy,
I was looking at the 3.1.0-rc2 code, to see how GPS glitch were handled, and I notice several things :
- gps_hdop_good is not check when entering in a mode that need GPS
- when copter is already in a mode that need GPS, where's no check about gps_hdop_good, so gps glitch problem can still occurs
- to handle previous point, we can configure GPS failsafe, but this mode only LAND the copter, there's no other option, like ALT_HOLD, and gps_hdop_good is not handled.
I was wondering about modifying those files to test gps_hdop_good before entering in a mode that need GPS
- Adding gps_hdop_good to system.pde method GPS_ok()
g_gps != NULL && ap.home_is_set && g_gps->status() == GPS::GPS_OK_FIX_3D && g_gps->hdop <= g.gps_hdop_good
- Impact on motors.pde, method arm_checks :
mode_requires_GPS(control_mode) && !GPS_ok()
But to handle gps glitch when copter is already in mode that need GPS, I've modified control_modes.pde method read_control_switch(), but I'me not sure it's the right place
Hi Randy,
I'd like to clarify three things in fw 3.1 rc2.
1. Here's my current settings:
MOT_TCRV_MAXPCT: 93 - Options: 20 80 - Set to the lowest pwm position that produces the maximum thrust of the motors. Most motors produce maximum thrust below the maximum pwm value that they accept.
Question: Should I limit this number (93) up to 80 only?
2. And here's my current settings for GPS HDOP.
GPS_HDOP_GOOD: 150 Options: 100 900 - GPS Hdop value below which represent a good position. Used for pre-arm checks.
Question: Is 150 equal to 1.5 as displayed in my MP?
3. Lastly here's my settings for my compass.
My current settings: COMPASS_EXTERNAL: 0 Options: 0: Internal, 1: External
- Configure compass so it is attached externally. This is auto-detected on PX4, but must be set correctly on an APM2. Set to 1 if the compass is externally connected. When externally connected the COMPASS_ORIENT option operates independently of the AHRS_ORIENTATION board orientation option.
Question: Should I set this to 1 since I'm using an external compass for may amp 2.6 board? If yes, should I also change the COMPASS_ORIENT parameter (Which is currently set to 8 - Roll180)?
thanks.
Sorry in advance if this has already been mentioned or addressed--searching in ning is not always fruitful ;)
Several other users and me have reported in this post:
http://diydrones.com/forum/topics/apm-2-5-super-simple-mode-on-ch7-...
that the feature of setting Ch 7 or Ch 8 > 1800 is not working for most options.
In my case, I have set Ch7 to enable super-simple mode. It doesn't appear to do that. I have confirmed that Ch7 is hitting well above 1800 when I flip the appropriate switch on my tx.
hi Randy,
just watched you GPS Glitch protection video on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN0c0bKlFUs
I'd just like to know the progress on this.
thanks
Joe
I did the update of 3.01 final version to the new 3.1RC2 beta. This version 3.01 works fine with over 70 flights without any problem. Thank you very much to all the dev team and Randy.
Tested 3.1rc2 with my hexa in Stabilize mode, loiter, altitude hold, take off and landing in loiter , altitude hold, everything works fine. But I worrie about a solid yellow LED on the APM board (the Blue and RED LED was solid) that I do not understand why? Could you tell me how to remove it.
My questions are about the compassmot routine.
Does compassmot need to be run again if the prop size is changed?
Can I run it with 10" props and then fly 12" props without running compassmot again?
TIA,
Rick
Hi Randy,
I notice that the gps gets a 3D fix it blink in blue, will that be possible to tweak in FW?
I'm thinking if it's possible to include a patter of blink/s that indicate hdop and satellites.
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