Hi All -- I spent the last few hours going through everything to get my quad flying via the DIY Drones wiki.
On my very first flight the quad flipped; by using the troubleshooting guide I determined that my ESCs were 1 position to the right off on the PDB - I took everything apart and simply rotated the PDB to correct this. After re-running the motors test everything checked out perfectly. I thought that I had found the source of the problem, but it turned out that it still wanted to flip. I have gone through the troubleshooting list at least 3 times now to no avail -- at this point I am thinking that it may have something to do with my RC controls. I am hoping someone experienced can take a look at the following video to determine the possible cause: Example Video - Tethered
Also, at this point I have the compass and GPS completely disabled. The compass (my 2nd one now) displays nothing but 0's in the settings and when I set the declination it echoes back that it has been set, but when I issue the "declination" command it returns a 0 for the declination setting. I had initially thought that my first magnetometer was bad, but it is not looking that way at this point -- any help on this would also be appreciated.
Thank you!
-Mike
Replies
Its working now. What I would do if I were you is look at the telemetry data with a ground control station. If you are level on the computer and its pulling that way then there really are only a few things it could be.
1. Get eye level (make sure you are back and props are on tight) and start it going. Not fast enough for it to lift off. Just to spin. See if any of the props look like they are not level. If you find one off a bit. Look at the prop and how it mounts. Also make sure, sure, sure, sure. That they are spinning the right way FB CW LR CCW.
2. This one got me and it looked exactly like yours. On your power distro board. YOu know how you solder to the servo wire on every side and then it comes back to the arduino. The servo cable should be R L F B (http://code.google.com/p/arducopter/wiki/AC2_Radio)
If you swap R and L then it also looks like what your video is doing. To really test this. Do a hand test. Remove the props and tilt it left. The LEFT motor (motor that is lower then all the others) should spin faster. You should be able to hear it. Do it again with the RIGHT side. If the RIGHT motor spins faster then you have L and R right. Rinse repeat with the F and B. If you do find that one is mixed up. What I did vs re-soldering crap. Was just use a nice point and lift the pin in the servo connector swap the mis matched wires then try the hand test again.
Riley
Sounds like one or more of your motors are spinning the wrong way, or you have a prop upside down.
Here are the most common reasons I have found for a new quad to not seek level on lift off.
Swapped ESC to APM servo cables (usually #1 for #2)
One or more motors spinning the wrong direction. Remove all props and double check the direction of spin. Use the manual to ensure that #3, #4 are CW, #1 and #2 are CCW. If any are wrong, swap any two ESC-to-motor wires.
Props are not matched to motor direction. Those marked "R" should be on #3 and #4, and textured side should be "up"
ESCs were not calibrated. For most reliable results, manually calibrate the ESCs individually.
Quad frame was not set to either "+" or "X", according to the mounting of the APM. If the APM front points to arm #3, then set for "+", and level. If it points between the arms, then set for "X".
Make sure ESCs and motors are oriented as shown in the manual. #3 is the front arm, or if "X", it is the front left.
The quad might be out of balance (it does not explain your video, just something to be aware of, could be an additional issue; since it is not the core problem from your video, I'll skip it for now.)
On power up, make sure the quad is on a level surface, and hold the yaw hard left for 15 seconds, and watch your HUD to ensure the platform is releveled. Then arm the motors. You don't need to do this every time, but do it at least once to make sure you are not badly out of level.
As for the compass and magnetometer, if you are having trouble with the compass, just unplug the GPS for now.
All these details are in the manual, if you want to follow along with it.
I recommend following some of these steps, and then when next attempting a test with props on, you can hold the quad in your hand, keep clear of the props, and "feel" what it is doing.
If I had to guess, you will discover that one of your props is spinning opposite of the propeller twist, either the motor is wrong or the prop is wrong for that direction. The lower frequency droning sound (rather than the higher pitch buzzing) in the video and the farthest left arm are the most suggestive for this (but videos can be misleading.)
After that, I would look at "+" vs "X" frame setting as the second most likely issue.
Please let me/us know what you find. If none of these things solve it, I'm sure I can mislead you some more.
-Mike
Just FYI - at the start of that video it seems to flip to the left; it actually tries to flip to the back the majority of the time.