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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              • thanks - yeh that was just someone posting something without actually reading first. bad info posted among good :D

                the quad did a cross axis roll, not flip. i found a video of what that looks like. but thanks for the info on the ch7 flip option.

      • Did another couple of 15 min flights this morning- but first I upgraded to 3.3 final release.  no issues during flight, everything rather normal, 3mph winds.  only error i had on screen (randomly) was "bad ahrs" - it just comes on randomly throughout flight. no more "horizon error x.x" so that's sort of just vanished, maybe with the final release? 

        my EKF params were all within normal, my vibe "Z" column was a bit higher than I'd like and at times it would jump to clipping area.  what specifically is the Z column watching?

        quad is a bit bouncy in poshold mode after running autotune. like when it is holding a fixed spot it is sort of bobbling at all four corners. granted I know it is compensating for slight winds, but before autotune it was much smoother / not as bobbly.  control-wise, it seems good though.

        MP still has the bug where the HUD does not refresh the sat count, and also the flight mode, in the white "user defined" text overlays on HUD.  I just updated to latest version of MP. the "quick" tab screen updates correctly though so the bug is isolated to the HUD overlays.  this was consistent with telemetry over usb as well as remote telem over 3DR

      • I think this is where it occurred3702722471?profile=original - 19 mins into flight and just switched to althold (not sure why poshold shows stacked on top)- the "Roll" event drops way off the chart quickly.

        • Things that I noticed: Your roll and des roll didn't track in that moment, idem Pitch, so I think that your controller didn't want to flip but, perhaps a mechanical failure did it, as James said, very fast switch modes, if you didn't do it check PWM mode values, and the third thing that I notice is that your vibs looks to high and some strange thing in clips but I'm not shure how to interpret them.

          My 2 cents: check your motors/props (bearings, little shaft bolt, etc.)

          As you discover the problem, you have to practice that pirouette, now you know that your copter can do it ;)

          • thanks Cala-  I actually went over the entire mechanics yeterday, tightened all frame points, motor mounts, prop nuts, etc, with typical blue locktight. then i wait at least 12hrs for the locktight to dry.

            this morning before flight i went over the mechanics again, all 100% ship shape, and then post flight, all still 100% ship shape.  motors are new, balanced, lubed etc.

            I have a good idea where my added vibration is coming from-  the RCTimer dome is attached to a deck, the deck holds the FC under the dome (hey isn't that a TV show? lol).  The deck is attached to the main frame via four rubber barrel mounts so it kind of floats. I think this lends itself to wind buffeting of the dome and it moving around independently of the frame with gusts. I'm going to revise how this assembly is attached and I'm pretty sure it will be a large improvement. when there is no wind gusts, there is not much of a vibe issue.

            If you look at the length of the switching between modes, there is at least a minute or two between switching. I was testing drop in alt when going between poshold/althold/drift - and general drop in alt when rolling into the wind for sustained distances. I adjusted the throttle deadband for altitude hold modes and also my general throttle mid. 

            Obviously there may be unexpected results if recklessly flipping modes back and forth within a second or two. Let's be realistic here guys :D

        • You say you didn't switch to Pos Hold? How are your Pwm values? Isn't that the problem

          • no i only use one single switch for three flight modes (2, 4 and 6 according to pwm values on my channel 5 switch)  so the switch is either high, low or middle and falls exactly on either 2,4 or 6 flight mode.  no overlap or use of other switches. I do have ch7 set up for auto tune but that is well separate from ch5 flight modes.

        • dont switch so fast between modes.. make one decision ok i want this mode switch to it and stick with it for 10 seconds min.. then if you want to switch back go ahead but dont switch then switch to something else.. that might be your problem...

          • thanks but that's not the situation.

  • Congrats for the new Release 3.3 !!!

    Is it possible to bring under two small changes i haven't seen so far ?

    1. Throttle mid minimum value seems to remain stock on 300, could it be set to 200 ?

    2. Could the Battery FS Alarm be reset by disarming the vehicle ? As it is now the Battery need to be disconnected.

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