Ok update guys. The last two releases.... whats up?!?!?
Ive now updated firmware twice and both times I regret it.
From the factory my APM was rock solid! Rock Solid.... not Obama rock solid.
Today was my second firmware update and its as satisfactory as the first. The first upgrade caused wandering and subsequent crashes with version 3.1.2.
Saw 3.1.3 was available... so I update in hopes the issues were fixed with 3.1.2
Now if something has a problem you make a fix... or "update". Right?
I mean the end objective is for the thing being updated to work better than the previous right?
Today was my first toilet bowl experience. A little un-nerving since the crashes with the last update.
Yes yes calibrate calibrate.... but lately all I do is calibrate instead of flying confidently.
If people have to be wary that its a coin-toss whether the updates actually improves or degrades the APM performance. They will all be flying NAZA instead of 3DR.
One more bad update and I will no longer be an advocate for the APM and the community.
Replies
It was a design fault in placing the compass inside the APM. Thats why 3DR now make the compass as part of the GPS and they are both external and intended to be placed away from all EMI.
Its your fault in the sense, you and only you can fix this, by buying an external compass and put it in the right place away from EMI. You cant expect the software upgrades to fix this physical problem.
There are a few guides here about how to cut the trace on the board of the internal compass and how to hook up an external one. Its not terribly difficult, but does take a bit of time.
The quad I mention on the next page is an APM 2.5, and it had problems going to the 3.X.X series of code because that series uses the compass a lot more for nav and stabilization than the 2.X.X code did. That's the reason 2.8 worked for you, while the newer versions didn't. I had some hesitation moving to 3.X.X at first, but after changing to an external compass, I've found it to be absolutely incredible, and well worth the extra 15 minutes of work to install an external compass. That's all it took to install it, including disabling the internal compass by cutting the trace.
That issue was hardware, and they made amends by coming out with a revised version within a month to fix the problem (less than a week after the issues experienced were specifically attributed to the relative proximity of the compass to the PDB and batteries) and making sure the word got out about the need for an external compass. Give it a try, I'm sure it will work well! And when paired with a UBLOX GPS.... less than 3 feet of drift on average, even in 26MPH winds. Good luck!
You should try it! I cannot even describe how incredibly fun and valuable this experience has been to me. It's landed me a research lab as a freshman in college, and plenty of job offerings, as well as my quad being one of the most fun things I've ever owned :) If you have a mediatrek GPS module, I would recommend upgrading to the UBLOX + Compass module. I just upgraded a month ago, and it's significantly more accurate. I mean, the difference between 10-20 feet of drift and 3 feet of drift. If you already have a UBLOX, get a standalone compass. I'm actually using the standalone compass with the UBLOX GPS lol. I already had the compass from when I used a mediatrek GPS, and just never switched over. Just make sure that if you get the standalone, you order a 4-pin df13 connector to cut and solder to your compass.
Just a note for installing them: The 2 biggest things to keep in mind are A) ensuring that you connect the correct wires to the correct pins and B) Making sure you have the correct orientation; both physically and selected in the mission planner. Make sure autolearning is enabled, and auto-declension, then fly around for a few minutes. After your first few flights, it will be locked in :)
And if you want a cheap, incredibly robust, 10 minute fight time trainer frame for $250, PM me. I have a hobbyking setup list that I can send you :) Never had to replace a part, even with tumbles from 50 feet and 300+ flight hours on it. So much for cheap Chinese stuff not being durable! Keep us posted, hopefully you'll be flying soon!
Did you do the compassmot test?
Toilet-bowling is a classic sign of compass issues.
What version were you on before 3.1.2? Was it 2.9.1 by any chance?
Was on 3.1.2 when it started having issues with loiter.
It's very easy to see you have no clue.
The firmware does not cause crashes, bad building or ignorance do.
Try a more humble approach, and get help to analyze logs first.
If I had no clue I wouldn't be on DIY drones upset about my once perfectly running Octo.
If I had no clue I'd be trying to piece things together on Range Video or Eagletree sites to try getting the same functionality.
Have you looked at your logs to determine what the issue is? It sounds like it may be a compass problem: http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/common-diagnosing-problems-using-l... .
Do you have dataflash or telemetry logs that you can attach?
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