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
Dear Austin,
Take a look at the link provided above. There are lot of info to look at, including logs and a 10 min video of the flight and the crash.
Thanks.
1) This stuff is not certified-grade aviation, where *everything* is tested ad nauseam, and certified mechanics are maintaining those systems. Apples and oranges.
2) Saying "Nothing is wrong with recent updates" is a blanket statement, which given that the topic is a complex system, is inappropriate, even if you're right.
Most of the time the fault is with the user. Most users dont really know everything back to front, take shortcuts, dont retune after an update and so on.
But honestly whats the bet, someone who doesnt really know how to setup their copter got it wrong, or the programmers really screwed up and never fly or try their contibutions in real life. I know which i think is the reasonable assumption.
Yes, I did a knee jerk rant. Just been having too much trouble lately and my confidence is shaken.
I'm still an APM fan Im just frustrated.
And I apologize to the peeps that do work very hard to improve a great system and community.
Recalibrated everything again and now flying decent. I need to do some tuning before the thing is 100%
By placing power away from APM, and running compassmot, is usually no problem making it work fine.
Start by making it fly well in stabilize.
Do autotune once you are sure you don't have motor sync problems.
Then do experiment with loiter.
Let loiter stop a running speed flight with heading North, then do the same while heading north-west and so on. There should not be no toilet bowl.
Post .log of you are unsure of what's going on.
Finally: usually the releases are fine, when we see bugs, it's mostly non critical features, not something that causes a sudden crash . As always, before using advanced, new, features - test.
I still say compassmot should be a "mandatory" item, along with Acc calibration, compass calibration etc. That and a dedicated program to run it (to ensure consistent results).
Toilet bowling is completely your fault.
You have placed your compass to close to other sources of EMI, like motors, battery, escs, transmitters or wiring between those bits of equipment. Its very easy to test if you have a working compass. Do the compassmot thing, or if you want to see if its right, simply hookup your apm to a computer. Verify that the compass is pointing in the right direction. If its not solwly move it away from the EMI sources (eg just lift it up) and you will eventually get the correct direction. You can remove your props and throttle up and repeat your tests.
These sensors are cheap when compared to NASA grade sensors, so you will have to make adjustments to your equipments layout. Even in the past planes banned all sorts of electronic equipment during take off and landing for exactly the same reason. Im not here to comment if they were exaggerating the effect on the planes sensors but its obvious sometime somewhere some EMI did make some sensor function incorrectly.
You cant blame the software. Its insane to think each update was released and never tested for such an obvious flaw. That cant happen. THere are other factors, maybe your taking off without GPS and so on.
Its that simple.
.
Not considering the Pixhawk I still think the APM2.5 or 2.6 are great for the $$$.
To bad my compass is soldered to my APM board at the factory.
Still my fault?
My APM sits in a drawer now, because I am experiencing the same sentiment as the OP.
Tough job for the developers, to make it both sophisticated and easy, which pull in opposite directions.
Personally, I would like a to see an APM Lite version. Perhaps use the APM 2.81 firmware as a install-able option and rename it APM Lite. It suffered from none of these issues and as far as I can remember it was bug free. Sure loiter drifted with the GPS lock, but no biggie, it was good enough.
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