Warning #1: an issue has been found with Tower's Pause button which can cause the vehicle to fly to an old position if the vehicle has not sent a position update to Tower in some time.
Warning #2: Copter-3.3.2 fixes a bug found in Copter-3.3.1's desired climb rate initialisation which could lead to a sudden momentary drop when switching from Stabilize or Acro to AltHold, Loiter or PosHold.
Warning #3: Copter-3.3.2 fixes an issue found in Copter-3.3.1 which could lead to hard landings in RTL or AUTO if the WPNAV_SPEED_DN was set too high (i.e. >400 or 4m/s) and/or the WPNAV_ACCEL_Z was set too low (i.e. <100 or 1m/s/s).
Warning #4: a bug was found in Copter-3.3 which could cause a sudden crash if you abort a Take-off initiated from a ground station. Video description is here. The bug is fixed in Copter-3.3.1 so we recommend upgrading.
Note #1: AC3.3-rc8 corrected a long standing bug in the HDOP reporting. HDOP values will appear about 40% lower than previously but this does not actually mean the GPS position is better than before.
Note #2: if upgrading from AC3.2.1 the vehicle's accelerometer calibration needs to be done again.
Note #3: set SERIAL2_PROTOCOL to "3" and reboot the board to enable FrSky telemetry like in previous versions.
Note #4: the wiki will be updated over the next few weeks to explain how to use the new features
Copter-3.3.1 is available through the mission planner. The full list of changes vs AC3.2.1 can be see in the ReleaseNotes and below are the most recent changes since AC3.3.
Sadly this version (and all future versions) will not run on the APM2.x boards due to CPU speed, flash and RAM restrictions.
Changes from 3.3:
1) Bug fix to prevent potential crash if Follow-Me is used after an aborted takeoff
2) compiler upgraded to 4.9.3 (runs slightly faster than 4.7.2 which was used previously)
Changes from 3.3-rc11:
1) EKF recovers from pre-arm "Compass variance" failure if compasses are consistent
Changes from 3.3-rc10:
1) PreArm "Need 3D Fix" message replaced with detailed reason from EKF
Changes from 3.3-rc9
1) EKF improvements:
a) simpler optical flow takeoff check
2) Bug Fixes/Minor enhancements:
a) fix INS3_USE parameter eeprom location
b) fix SToRM32 serial protocol driver to work with recent versions
c) increase motor pwm->thrust conversion (aka MOT_THST_EXPO) to 0.65 (was 0.50)
d) Firmware version sent to GCS in AUTOPILOT_VERSION message
3) Safety:
a) pre-arm check of compass variance if arming in Loiter, PosHold, Guided
b) always check GPS before arming in Loiter (previously could be disabled if ARMING_CHECK=0)
c) sanity check locations received from GCS for follow-me, do-set-home, do-set-ROI
d) fix optical flow failsafe (was not always triggering LAND when optical flow failed)
e) failsafe RTL vs LAND decision based on hardcoded 5m from home check (previously used WPNAV_RADIUS parameter)
Thanks for your testing!
Replies
My compass/battery are mounted the same way - how much interference do you get?
Hi Richard,
My blog page is:
http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/fpv-racing-using-arducopter
You can always find it by clicking on my name and going to my blogs.
I have used a QAV250 but I recommend using the 4mm carbon base. You need to remove the second pair of standoffs to fit a standard pixhawk and I mount the receiver under the battery on the base but you may be able to fit it in front of the controller if you use a smaller version of the pixhawk.
There are a bunch of good 250 frames around now. So it is hard to go wrong. The thing that makes the pixhawk different is you need to mount the gps on the top. So frames that carry the battery on the top tend to mean you have to choose between a HD camera and the GPS and putting the GPS (has the compass in it) next to the battery isn't great.
The 4mm carbon base is awesome - feels virtually indestructible, but not cheap. I notice they have a 180mm frame on pre-order now with the camera mounted slightly upwards. Looks cool, but might be too small to get a pixhawk in!
Cool thanks... I think... next you know I'll have yet another project and shy another $500.
Hi Richard,
There are cheaper frames and if you don't crash you can get away with lighter arms. One of the main advantages of my own 250 design is the arms are replaceable individually but based on the crashes I have had so far I won't have to replace an arm for a long time.
So if you find a frame with separate arms the frame will probably be cheaper than a QAV250 and cheaper to fix.
what are you pid settings for your qav250? are you running a pixfalcon micro pixhawk?
because i am and just want to make sure i have the right setttings?
Hi James,
Here is my latest QAV250 param list.
#NOTE: 30/11/2014 7:12:26 PM Frame :
ACRO_BAL_PITCH,0.2
ACRO_BAL_ROLL,0.2
ACRO_EXPO,0.3
ACRO_RP_P,8
ACRO_TRAINER,0
ACRO_YAW_P,4.5
AHRS_COMP_BETA,0.1
AHRS_EKF_USE,1
AHRS_GPS_GAIN,1
AHRS_GPS_MINSATS,6
AHRS_GPS_USE,1
AHRS_ORIENTATION,0
AHRS_RP_P,0.1
AHRS_TRIM_X,-0.003750562
AHRS_TRIM_Y,-0.03652697
AHRS_TRIM_Z,0
AHRS_WIND_MAX,0
AHRS_YAW_P,0.1
ANGLE_MAX,4500
ARMING_CHECK,0
ATC_ACCEL_RP_MAX,162000
ATC_ACCEL_Y_MAX,54000
ATC_RATE_FF_ENAB,1
ATC_RATE_RP_MAX,18000
ATC_RATE_Y_MAX,13500
ATC_SLEW_YAW,1000
BAROGLTCH_ACCEL,1000
BAROGLTCH_DIST,500
BAROGLTCH_ENABLE,1
BATT_AMP_OFFSET,0
BATT_AMP_PERVOLT,18.0018
BATT_CAPACITY,1300
BATT_CURR_PIN,3
BATT_MONITOR,4
BATT_VOLT_MULT,10.1
BATT_VOLT_PIN,2
BATT_VOLT2_MULT,1
BATT_VOLT2_PIN,-1
BRD_PWM_COUNT,4
BRD_SAFETYENABLE,1
BRD_SER1_RTSCTS,2
BRD_SER2_RTSCTS,2
CAM_DURATION,10
CAM_SERVO_OFF,1100
CAM_SERVO_ON,1300
CAM_TRIGG_DIST,0
CAM_TRIGG_TYPE,0
CH7_OPT,14
CH8_OPT,18
CHUTE_ALT_MIN,10
CHUTE_ENABLED,0
CHUTE_SERVO_OFF,1100
CHUTE_SERVO_ON,1300
CHUTE_TYPE,0
CIRCLE_RADIUS,1000
CIRCLE_RATE,20
COMPASS_AUTODEC,0
COMPASS_DEC,0.143117
COMPASS_DEV_ID,73225
COMPASS_DEV_ID2,131594
COMPASS_DEV_ID3,0
COMPASS_EXTERNAL,1
COMPASS_LEARN,0
COMPASS_MOT_X,-1.134379
COMPASS_MOT_Y,0.43712
COMPASS_MOT_Z,-4.985419
COMPASS_MOT2_X,-0.1665604
COMPASS_MOT2_Y,1.119968
COMPASS_MOT2_Z,1.301064
COMPASS_MOT3_X,0
COMPASS_MOT3_Y,0
COMPASS_MOT3_Z,0
COMPASS_MOTCT,2
COMPASS_OFS_X,-87
COMPASS_OFS_Y,-17
COMPASS_OFS_Z,-78
COMPASS_OFS2_X,1
COMPASS_OFS2_Y,-88
COMPASS_OFS2_Z,-35
COMPASS_OFS3_X,0
COMPASS_OFS3_Y,0
COMPASS_OFS3_Z,0
COMPASS_ORIENT,0
COMPASS_PRIMARY,0
COMPASS_USE,1
EKF_ABIAS_PNOISE,0.0001
EKF_ACC_PNOISE,0.25
EKF_ALT_NOISE,1
EKF_CHECK_THRESH,0.6
EKF_EAS_GATE,10
EKF_EAS_NOISE,1.4
EKF_GBIAS_PNOISE,1E-06
EKF_GLITCH_ACCEL,150
EKF_GLITCH_RAD,15
EKF_GPS_TYPE,0
EKF_GYRO_PNOISE,0.015
EKF_HGT_GATE,5
EKF_MAG_CAL,1
EKF_MAG_GATE,3
EKF_MAG_NOISE,0.05
EKF_MAGB_PNOISE,0.0003
EKF_MAGE_PNOISE,0.0003
EKF_POS_DELAY,220
EKF_POS_GATE,10
EKF_POSNE_NOISE,0.5
EKF_VEL_DELAY,220
EKF_VEL_GATE,2
EKF_VELD_NOISE,0.7
EKF_VELNE_NOISE,0.5
EKF_WIND_PNOISE,0.1
EKF_WIND_PSCALE,0.5
ESC,0
FENCE_ACTION,1
FENCE_ALT_MAX,100
FENCE_ENABLE,1
FENCE_MARGIN,2
FENCE_RADIUS,500
FENCE_TYPE,3
FLOW_ENABLE,0
FLTMODE1,0
FLTMODE2,0
FLTMODE3,2
FLTMODE4,1
FLTMODE5,5
FLTMODE6,6
FRAME,1
FS_BATT_ENABLE,1
FS_BATT_MAH,300
FS_BATT_VOLTAGE,10
FS_GCS_ENABLE,0
FS_GPS_ENABLE,1
FS_THR_ENABLE,3
FS_THR_VALUE,975
GND_ABS_PRESS,98613.5
GND_ALT_OFFSET,0
GND_TEMP,34.15
GPS_AUTO_SWITCH,1
GPS_HDOP_GOOD,200
GPS_MIN_DGPS,100
GPS_NAVFILTER,8
GPS_TYPE,1
GPS_TYPE2,0
GPSGLITCH_ACCEL,1000
GPSGLITCH_ENABLE,1
GPSGLITCH_RADIUS,200
HLD_LAT_P,1
INAV_TC_XY,2.5
INAV_TC_Z,5
INS_ACC2OFFS_X,1.294651
INS_ACC2OFFS_Y,1.339363
INS_ACC2OFFS_Z,1.608879
INS_ACC2SCAL_X,0.9983891
INS_ACC2SCAL_Y,1.025331
INS_ACC2SCAL_Z,0.9866051
INS_ACC3OFFS_X,0
INS_ACC3OFFS_Y,0
INS_ACC3OFFS_Z,0
INS_ACC3SCAL_X,0
INS_ACC3SCAL_Y,0
INS_ACC3SCAL_Z,0
INS_ACCOFFS_X,-0.08017572
INS_ACCOFFS_Y,-0.2566303
INS_ACCOFFS_Z,0.1305826
INS_ACCSCAL_X,0.9972518
INS_ACCSCAL_Y,0.9994074
INS_ACCSCAL_Z,0.9818377
INS_GYR2OFFS_X,-0.05049829
INS_GYR2OFFS_Y,0.04734487
INS_GYR2OFFS_Z,-0.0200304
INS_GYR3OFFS_X,0
INS_GYR3OFFS_Y,0
INS_GYR3OFFS_Z,0
INS_GYROFFS_X,-0.008267328
INS_GYROFFS_Y,0.01590531
INS_GYROFFS_Z,-0.01959998
INS_MPU6K_FILTER,42
INS_PRODUCT_ID,5
LAND_REPOSITION,1
LAND_SPEED,50
LOG_BITMASK,-22530
LOITER_LAT_D,0
LOITER_LAT_I,0.5
LOITER_LAT_IMAX,1000
LOITER_LAT_P,1
LOITER_LON_D,0
LOITER_LON_I,0.5
LOITER_LON_IMAX,1000
LOITER_LON_P,1
MAG_ENABLE,1
MIS_RESTART,0
MIS_TOTAL,0
MNT_ANGMAX_PAN,4500
MNT_ANGMAX_ROL,4500
MNT_ANGMAX_TIL,4500
MNT_ANGMIN_PAN,-4500
MNT_ANGMIN_ROL,-4500
MNT_ANGMIN_TIL,-4500
MNT_CONTROL_X,0
MNT_CONTROL_Y,0
MNT_CONTROL_Z,0
MNT_JSTICK_SPD,0
MNT_MODE,0
MNT_NEUTRAL_X,0
MNT_NEUTRAL_Y,0
MNT_NEUTRAL_Z,0
MNT_RC_IN_PAN,0
MNT_RC_IN_ROLL,0
MNT_RC_IN_TILT,0
MNT_RETRACT_X,0
MNT_RETRACT_Y,0
MNT_RETRACT_Z,0
MNT_STAB_PAN,0
MNT_STAB_ROLL,0
MNT_STAB_TILT,0
MOT_SPIN_ARMED,70
MOT_TCRV_ENABLE,1
MOT_TCRV_MAXPCT,93
MOT_TCRV_MIDPCT,52
OF_PIT_D,0.12
OF_PIT_I,0.5
OF_PIT_IMAX,100
OF_PIT_P,2.5
OF_RLL_D,0.12
OF_RLL_I,0.5
OF_RLL_IMAX,100
OF_RLL_P,2.5
PHLD_BRAKE_ANGLE,3000
PHLD_BRAKE_RATE,8
PILOT_ACCEL_Z,250
PILOT_VELZ_MAX,250
POSCON_THR_HOVER,531.7854
RALLY_LIMIT_KM,2
RALLY_TOTAL,0
RATE_PIT_D,0.015
RATE_PIT_I,0.9
RATE_PIT_IMAX,1000
RATE_PIT_P,0.225
RATE_RLL_D,0.0065
RATE_RLL_I,0.2
RATE_RLL_IMAX,1000
RATE_RLL_P,0.05
RATE_YAW_D,0.005
RATE_YAW_I,0.04
RATE_YAW_IMAX,1000
RATE_YAW_P,0.4
RC_FEEL_RP,50
RC_SPEED,490
RC1_DZ,2
RC1_MAX,2015
RC1_MIN,990
RC1_REV,1
RC1_TRIM,1502
RC10_DZ,0
RC10_FUNCTION,0
RC10_MAX,1900
RC10_MIN,1100
RC10_REV,1
RC10_TRIM,1500
RC11_DZ,0
RC11_FUNCTION,0
RC11_MAX,1900
RC11_MIN,1100
RC11_REV,1
RC11_TRIM,1500
RC12_DZ,0
RC12_FUNCTION,0
RC12_MAX,1900
RC12_MIN,1100
RC12_REV,1
RC12_TRIM,1500
RC13_DZ,0
RC13_FUNCTION,0
RC13_MAX,1900
RC13_MIN,1100
RC13_REV,1
RC13_TRIM,1500
RC14_DZ,0
RC14_FUNCTION,0
RC14_MAX,1900
RC14_MIN,1100
RC14_REV,1
RC14_TRIM,1500
RC2_DZ,2
RC2_MAX,2016
RC2_MIN,991
RC2_REV,1
RC2_TRIM,1506
RC3_DZ,20
RC3_MAX,2016
RC3_MIN,991
RC3_REV,1
RC3_TRIM,991
RC4_DZ,3
RC4_MAX,2016
RC4_MIN,991
RC4_REV,1
RC4_TRIM,1506
RC5_DZ,0
RC5_FUNCTION,0
RC5_MAX,1822
RC5_MIN,1165
RC5_REV,1
RC5_TRIM,1422
RC6_DZ,0
RC6_FUNCTION,0
RC6_MAX,2016
RC6_MIN,992
RC6_REV,1
RC6_TRIM,1503
RC7_DZ,0
RC7_FUNCTION,0
RC7_MAX,2016
RC7_MIN,991
RC7_REV,1
RC7_TRIM,1504
RC8_DZ,0
RC8_FUNCTION,0
RC8_MAX,2015
RC8_MIN,991
RC8_REV,1
RC8_TRIM,1503
RC9_DZ,0
RC9_FUNCTION,0
RC9_MAX,1900
RC9_MIN,1100
RC9_REV,1
RC9_TRIM,1500
RCMAP_PITCH,2
RCMAP_ROLL,1
RCMAP_THROTTLE,3
RCMAP_YAW,4
RELAY_PIN,54
RELAY_PIN2,-1
RELAY_PIN3,-1
RELAY_PIN4,-1
RNGFND_FUNCTION,0
RNGFND_GAIN,0.8
RNGFND_MAX_CM,700
RNGFND_MIN_CM,20
RNGFND_OFFSET,0
RNGFND_PIN,-1
RNGFND_RMETRIC,1
RNGFND_SCALING,3
RNGFND_SETTLE_MS,0
RNGFND_STOP_PIN,-1
RNGFND_TYPE,0
RNGFND2_FUNCTION,0
RNGFND2_MAX_CM,700
RNGFND2_MIN_CM,20
RNGFND2_OFFSET,0
RNGFND2_PIN,-1
RNGFND2_RMETRIC,1
RNGFND2_SCALING,3
RNGFND2_SETTLE_M,0
RNGFND2_STOP_PIN,-1
RNGFND2_TYPE,0
RSSI_PIN,-1
RSSI_RANGE,5
RTL_ALT,1500
RTL_ALT_FINAL,0
RTL_LOIT_TIME,5000
SCHED_DEBUG,0
SERIAL0_BAUD,115
SERIAL1_BAUD,57
SERIAL2_BAUD,57
SERIAL2_PROTOCOL,1
SIMPLE,0
SR0_EXT_STAT,2
SR0_EXTRA1,10
SR0_EXTRA2,10
SR0_EXTRA3,2
SR0_PARAMS,10
SR0_POSITION,3
SR0_RAW_CTRL,0
SR0_RAW_SENS,2
SR0_RC_CHAN,2
SR1_EXT_STAT,2
SR1_EXTRA1,5
SR1_EXTRA2,2
SR1_EXTRA3,0
SR1_PARAMS,0
SR1_POSITION,2
SR1_RAW_CTRL,0
SR1_RAW_SENS,2
SR1_RC_CHAN,5
SR2_EXT_STAT,0
SR2_EXTRA1,0
SR2_EXTRA2,0
SR2_EXTRA3,0
SR2_PARAMS,0
SR2_POSITION,0
SR2_RAW_CTRL,0
SR2_RAW_SENS,0
SR2_RC_CHAN,0
STB_PIT_P,10
STB_RLL_P,11.25
STB_YAW_P,4.5
SUPER_SIMPLE,0
SYSID_MYGCS,255
SYSID_SW_MREV,120
SYSID_SW_TYPE,10
SYSID_THISMAV,10
TELEM_DELAY,0
TERRAIN_ENABLE,1
TERRAIN_SPACING,100
THR_ACCEL_D,0
THR_ACCEL_I,1
THR_ACCEL_IMAX,500
THR_ACCEL_P,0.5
THR_ALT_P,1
THR_DZ,100
THR_MAX,1000
THR_MID,500
THR_MIN,130
THR_RATE_P,6
TRIM_THROTTLE,531
TUNE,0
TUNE_HIGH,15000
TUNE_LOW,4000
WP_YAW_BEHAVIOR,1
WPNAV_ACCEL,500
WPNAV_ACCEL_Z,100
WPNAV_LOIT_JERK,1000
WPNAV_LOIT_SPEED,1500
WPNAV_RADIUS,200
WPNAV_SPEED,1500
WPNAV_SPEED_DN,150
WPNAV_SPEED_UP,250
AUAV-X2
Had a few flights now with 3.3 RC12 , everything seems pretty solid and I'm very happy with the way my hexa flies with it. Thanks to the developers for all the work that has gone into this release. Nice job!
Only thing I'm having a problem with is the new retractable landing gear support. I followed the instructions in the wiki and using the switch on my Taranis I can manually retract and deploy the landing gear, but I was expecting the gear to activate automatically (with my gear switch in the middle) when taking off and landing but nothing happens, it just stays in the last position selected by the switch (up or down). Have I missed something? Is there a parameter to set the height at which it should activate? Does the middle switch position PWM value need to be within a specific range to work?
Hey Horsj
As I understand it, the landing gear won't activate (as in retract) automatically - that's something that should be corrected on the wiki - but it should deploy automatically either if you choose landing mode or if it goes into a landing mode in any automated mode (auto or rtl). I don't think the middle switch position matters at this point, in my experience it's either on or off, and the auto deploy should still work in 'on'.