Discussions

Loiter alt hold and crashing problem!

Posted by Nick Wadman on July 1, 2011 at 5:27am

Hi,

 

I am quite new to the arducopter project.   I have flown traditional helis for 15 yrs so have a grasp of rc.

I have built an arducopter to carry my AP camera.

I am quite disapointed with the general stability of it .I have the uprated motors from J drones 30a esc's 12" props. GPS, sonar, mag

I am not trying to carry a camera yet !

I am fully updated on the APM and mission planner. I re-set everthing after updating Running standard PID s and settings

My main problem is when I select alt hold at 1 meter it is OK for a bit then it climbs and does not stop !

If I select alt hold at 6m it climbs straight away and does not stop, when loiter is selected the copter hesitates for 3 seconds then tips about 30 degrees and is off! I have to go back to stabilise a bit quick!

The other problem is when in stabilise it is OK if a little nervous but then it occationally angles over and crashes with no control, but not the same as it did when I lost a motor on two different occations.

I also crashed when it just tipped from about 3 feet having lost lift on one motor due to an esc failing lots of smoke.

I have checked all in settings cli many times its leveled ( but still wants to wander back and left when in stabilise mode.

I have had a 10 day saga of xbee conection problems I have reprogramed many times Jani has reprogramed them , they are ok for about two flights then will not connect.

 

I am sorry to ask so many questions but it really seems hopless regarding ever being able to do AP with my arducopter.

Can anyone say they would mount a $1000 camera on their arducopter and fly it with confidence?

If so please let me know  and please has anyone got any ideas about any of my many issues?

 

Thanks for reading this  Nick Wadman  :(

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Replies

  • Developer
    Olivier ADLER July 1, 2011 at 3:17pm

     

    What is the motor current when you push throtle to the max ?

     

    If you are too high compared to the motor manufacturer datasheet, then you need smaller propellers. This could explain your esc / motor dead.

     

    You need to check as well that each motor is able to give realiable thrust from the lower to higher speed, without ESC synchronisation problems. If it is not the case, then you will crash again for sure.

     

     

  • Developer
    Jason Short July 1, 2011 at 9:03am

    The logs won't be affected by upgrading. And in the future, I can only help you if I know what version of the Beta your running, your logs, and a photo of your setup if you are having major control issues. A dump of your PID values would help as well. 

    Thanks,

    Jason

  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson July 1, 2011 at 7:19am

    Nick, upgrade to the latest firmware (2.0.31) which fixed a bug in alt hold.

     

    Your Xbee problems sound like a loose wire which may be bricking the Xbees when it is disconnected (the unbricking guide is here)

     

    Motors failing are almost always due to poor connections in the wires to the ESC. I recommend you solder the wires once you've checked that the motors are turning in the right direction. It's pretty easy to unsolder them if you need to replace one.

     

    Loss of control is more worrying: can you post a log of one of those incidents? That way we can see if you've got a hardware problem.

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