Has anybody had good results from using auto mode in conjuction with the mission planner?
and what pid`s are you using? it appears to me that there are a vast range of PID`s being used for auto mode, where as some of the other fuctions such as loiter or stabilise, there is not too much difference in settings? please post your opinions here..
Replies
Yes, well, what do I say...? Have just returned form my first auto run and it looked like everything was going along swimmingly - but now I will be out of action while I wait for new parts...
I took off manually, then switched to auto. I set 4 waypoints at 20m altitude. The quad crept along to each quite smoothly and I dont recall any real issues apart from maybe one or two slight wobbles.
However, what happened next has set me back a couple of weeks. I had programmed in 3 turns around waypoint 4 using LOITER_TURNS before RETURN_TO_LAUNCH and then LAND. That was the plan. But as soon as it attempted to start the turns it totally lost control, swooped off at high speed and then i had to quickly switch to manual mode and kill the throttle before it headed off onto the road.
So, LOITER_TURNS is off my list unless it is executed above 50m and in a massive paddock a long way from civilization.
I have my Nav P set to 1.200 any higher and it goes out of control with the slightest of error.. Like Crispin I have set out a mission over a football pitch so as to see if it does what it is supposed to do using goal post and lines e.t.c. At worst it is probably 30m out on the waypoints but always come to a finish more or less where I set it to. Looking at the logs it shows that there isn`t much response to error, but in reality if it is not in position for whatever reson it can be very aggresive to correct, nearly to the point of losing control the angles are so steep..
Having watched various youtube missions with people using apm, I cant understand how they can get it to move so quick and stop dead on the waypoint and then shoot off to the next with great precision? they were using a much older firmware, but surely the firmware being used now should be better?
Another thing worth noting is the gps, the longer you leave it the more accurate the waypoints are
one thing i have noticed that really makes some difference is STAB D. i recently set this to zero whilst tuning the RATE values and for stabilize mode was very happy with the results. trying to fly in auto like this however (at least in some wind) is like a rollercoaster ride! my hexa dives from side to side trying to hit the waypoints and is generally far too aggressive in its movements. adding some STAB D back in smooths things out a lot, though i dont remember now if i have it set at 0.1 or the default 0.15 - i might even try with this value higher for smoother auto flight.
apart from that i have increased NAV P slightly (3.5 i think) to make headway against the wind (its nearly always windy here), and increased ALT HOLD P to 0.6 in an attempt to make it a bit more aggressive climbing and descending.
ive spent a lot of time recently tuning RATE but have never really dedicated much time to tuning auto - for me it has always worked pretty well with default values.
james
Nope :( My quad is happy flying around (with me driving) and on calm days, loiter ALT-Hold etc are all ok (for me) but every time I tried an auto option it does not work. Always seems to be different things though, fly-aways, clearly deviating from the original plan (always the same square in a football field) and the occasional crashes.
To be fair, I've always set a plan, tried it, failed and not bothered trying it again. Maybe I need to spend more time tuning it? I just want to have fun....