Developer

Copter-3.3 beta testing

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!

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      • also, if it helps anything - here is a parameters file.

        7_23_aftertune.param

        https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3702710795?profile=original
      • HI,

        here is the shortest log with this issue, it occurs 3/4 into the circle mode flight, I definitely saw it on the MP screen.

        https://www.dropbox.com/s/8ivq9lsyyow5vd4/13.BIN?dl=0

        Not sure where in the log itself this message can be seen but it has happened, and this flight was done right after I recalibrated compasses.

        Dropbox - Error
        Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring your photos, docs, and videos anywhere and share them easily. Never email yourself a file again!
      • I see this on both my vehicles as i have 2 compasses on both. I did motor compass interference calibration but not sure if it helped anything.

        I will try to post a log tomorrow. I saw this message today repeatedly after getting new compass calibration done, during circle mode at specific position only MP would flash this message. So i have suspected exactly same issue you just spoke about.

        Also, is there a list or xls of all messages with their codes? My taranis has voice files, i think, for messages with code id up to 122 or so, and i noticed some messages are not in the list now, like geofence, ekf, and this compass variance.
  • Just tested 3.3rc7. My problem is that as soon as I arm the copter I got "EKF variance" on apmplanner and I cannot use any GPS mode. Everything working fine under 3.2.1

    • Developer

      Julien,

      Thanks for giving it a try.  Could you set the LOG_BITMASK so that it's logged while disarmed and then attach a dataflash log?

      • Randy,

        here is 2 dataflash log one and two.

        I did not gave enough throtle to take off so the copter stayed on the ground the all time. I switched to alt hold then loiter that triggered an error then back to alt hold stabilize and disarmed.

        Let me know if you need anything else

        rc7error1.bin

        00-01-01_00-01-04.bin

        Dropbox - Error
        Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring your photos, docs, and videos anywhere and share them easily. Never email yourself a file again!
    • I just flashed one of my multi rotors with 3.3r7 and I have no bad behaviors..  I previously had instability in the Z axis, In stable mode, I have to work the stick to maintain altitude, and in alt hold, it was either rising or descending until i overrode with the stick.

      Now with r7  it seems solid both in stab, and in alt hold.  I am not getting pre-arm messages or any kind of EKF or variance warnings either.

      I don't get good gps lock in my back yard so I wasn't able to try any GPS modes.  (High voltage power lines very nearby  seem to mess with GPS, not sure why)

      Description of my multi rotor:

      This multirotor is a quad F-750 with 6s and low KV pancake motors, using an early Pixhawk. I use a 433 immersion  EZUHF receiver with Taranis and a 1.258 Video link (400mw), 3DR radios, Tarot 2D, GoPro hero3 black.  Also i use a minim OSD for pilot feedback on conditions.

      on the ground station I use a DIY repeater to turn 1.258 into 5.8 for video to my fat sharks and 7 inch monitor with built in receiver and DVR.  I use Mission Planner and feel blessed for all the work being done to make all this stuff work.  It is being done by individuals for no monitory gain..

      To the Dev's. Thanks and keep up the great work!

      • Developer

        Richard,

        Good news!  My guess is that the altitude hold performance is improved because of the increased accelerometer range and improved resistance to vibration.  If you graph the dataflash's VIBE messages x,y,z values you'll be able to see more objectively how bad the vibration levels are.  Also if the clip0 or clip1 values are non-zero then there's still some bad vibes happening.

  • First, Sorry for the lengthy post :/

    Using 3.3 RC-7 I am getting some strange/unexpected post auto tune behavior and values:

    Using 3.2 auto tune: Values for pitch, roll, Yaw

    Stab Roll: 14.0      Stab Pitch: 14.0     Stab Yaw 10.0

    Term                Pitch     Roll        Yaw

    KP                     0.297    0.297    0.250

    KI                      0.297    0.297    0.010       

    KD                    .004       0.004    0.0

    Using 3.3 RC-7 all of the values are within the defined maximum range with the exception of Rate Yaw as shown below.

    Using 3.3 auto tune: Values for pitch, Roll, Yaw

    Stab Roll: 5.4      Stab Pitch: 5.7 Stab Yaw 4.9

    Term                Pitch     Roll        Yaw

    KP                     0.107    0.110    0.745

    KI                      0.107    0.110    0.0745       

    KD                    .0047     0.0051  0.0

     

    -  The Quad flies fairly well on both however there is a noticeable slow, but repetitive oscillation about the pitch and roll axis using 3.3. I Suspect the “I” term or Stab roll / Pitch may be to blame here?

    - Using 3.2 there is an oscillation about the yaw axis ~3-5 degree’s.  But pitch and roll remain locked on.

    - I have tried using 3.2 Values on 3.3 but the behavior remains the same.

    - I have tried increasing the Rate P and I terms using 3.3 for roll and pitch however the oscillations get worse and eventually the multirotor develops a decent rate of drift, usually forward and right, but sometimes to the left.

    -  In the log file there is usually an EKF error at the start however I was expecting that due to the metal roof in vicinity of my testing area causing a weak GPS Signal at takeoff (The error leaves once clear view of sky is obtained).

    -  I do not suspect that this is a vibration issue since the log files are reporting X and Y Vibrations of about +/- .1 units in a stabilized hover and +/- .4 units while maneuvering. Z Vibrations follow a similar pattern.

    -  Of note my multirotor has a COG slightly above the Pixhawk control board due to gimbal placement.

    My questions are:

    -  Should I be concerned about the High Yaw KP value post auto tune? It is the only value well above limits as referenced from the parameters list. Lowering the Yaw Kp Value seems to reduce yaw stability significantly to the point where a crash would be inevitable.

    -  I am not sure if the oscillations are visible in the log file looking at Roll Vs DesRoll or Pitch Vs DesPitch. Roll/Pitch does not match DesRoll/Pitch perfectly while stable but seems to track well while maneuvering. The oscillations however, are sufficient to cause unwanted movements of the craft. Increasing KP and KI values for those axis do not seem to effect the problem. What can be done to return the craft to its former stability and reduce these oscillations? Could there be some other component to blame for this odd behaviour (Noise? Acc calibration? ect.?)

    Link to Bin file:

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/0By12f3-1EZywYnYxbmJpdXltQWc/view?u...

    8.Bin

    Any and all assistance is appreciated. 

    • Developer

      Hi Maury,

      Sorry for the late reply!!!

      The high yaw numbers shouldn't be a problem. This is the big change for 3.3. The Yaw controller is different. You may want to try doing the autotune on yaw set to 0.1. If you want to use the 2.2 parameters you need to increase 

      RATE_YAW_FILT_HZ to 20. It is currently very low so you may try just increasing it to 4. (I would autotune with aggr of 0.1 though).

      I can't seem to actually see your oscillations in the log you sent.

      Let us know how you go!!

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