Has anyone flew long missions with their Y6? I'm planning a 3.8 mile flight mostly above straight roads, and will follow in the car.
A few questions:
1) What is the maximum advisable speed to fly for the most efficiency? I've been using 12-15 m/s.
2) The current in MP is calibrated as is the voltage. What is the best way to calculate the required
power to fly 3.8 miles? I haven't done a lot of testing, but looking at the current draw I think
it was ~25A at 13 m/s. Does that sound right?
3) My Y6 seems to handle two 6000 mah batteries quite well. The 8000mah battery may be cutting it
close, or maybe not.
Also, suppose battery failsafe engages (FS works in all modes). FS will be in land mode, but what is the proper way to get into stabilize mode without dropping out of the sky? I tried it the other day and it dropped like a rock until I went full throttle. It stabilized but didn't recover altitude and landed hard. I thought the throttle was above 50% when I switched out of FS, but don't know. Is there a time delay when doing that?
Thanks.
Replies
I was looking for additional information about the 3DR Radios and seems that their project is very similar to this:
http://www.hoperf.com/rf/data_link_module/HM-TRP.htm
Hopefr offers other solutions, 5 Km range, but have to check whether they can replace the 3DR Radios 'as-is':
http://www.hoperf.com/rf/data_link_module/HM-TRLR-S.htm
http://www.hoperf.com/rf/data_link_module/HM-TRLR-D.htm
http://www.hoperf.com/rf/fsk_module/RFM23BP.htm
The last one has 33 dbm and I found it at eBay for U$ 17:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HopeRF-RFM23BP-433-or-915MHz-Transceiver-/2...
A way more expensive solution, tested by 3DR, is the addition of an amplifier:
http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/common-using-the-3dr-radio-for-tel...
https://www.shireeninc.com/osc/900mhz-2-watt-oem-amplifier-module.html
Anyway, no matter which radio is being used, or amplifier added,I would first replace the stock antennas by dipoles and see the results.
Hi DG,
You say you have the 3DR telemetry radio connected to your truck antenna. Is the antenna tuned to the correct frequency? Even the basic whips that come with the gear can be deceiving. The stock 2.4GHz 433MHz and 900MHz antennas all look the same but perform very differently. If you accidentally get the wrong antenna you will get very poor range. I know, I accidentally mixed them up once. Even with the standard whip, mounting it on the roof of your truck should improve the reception as the metal sheet should act as a ground plane. Directional antennas are better but you have to keep the antenna pointed towards the Y6.
The other thing that helps is the air data rate. I believe that Lower data rate will increase range but reduce the frequency of the mavlink packets. I don't think this is your issue though and I think that the latest firmware auto adjusts the baud rate to suit the connection strength based on the RSSI of the radios.
Good luck with the flight!!!
The radio was fastened to the antenna with zip ties.
It turns out one of the radios were bad and 3DR is replacing them. Personally I think the antenna itself is a problem as they are made for 2.4 ghz. For anyone wanting more range out of their 3DR radios:
Read here from Pattaya01. Refer to pg 7 and 12
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1963338&page=17
Have built up a few bigger packs from others from 3 or 4 smaller 4s packs in parallel as the weight is better not to mention the cost... Now just been waiting on weather to test it out.
I flew ~1.5 miles today, into wind 5-10 mph, 50m alt, speed 14 m/s. Battery cells at 3.9 after landing. See attached KMZ. Perfect flight and landing.
What's the gripe? Telemetry range is horrid. I have 915 mhz with the radio attached to the truck antenna. Even at open fields where I go it is poor. I must have received 10 "telemetry lost" notifications while it was above me, couldn't have been more than 200m away. Both radios have the latest firmware. I'm about ready to give 3DR a call. 1.5 km my eye.
This flight was with APC 10 x 4.7, will try the CF props next time. I was too busy driving to look at the current draw @14 m/s doh!
108.kmz
Looks like it was a very stable flight, I have trouble with the 915 if I get out at all especially at 165', if I gain alt it seems to get the trees out of the way, 200-250 ft but I have have not pushed it out as far as you yet. looking for the right battery combination
I redid Auto Tune.....much better.
Waiting for new CF props, will see how they work.
I wonder if the antenna is the problem on the radios.
it is just a regular whip, possibly you could make a dipole that would work, you may be able to incorporate it into the landing gear. Not sure anything in the COTS environment but I would watch some IBcrazy videos see what can be done with 915...
I do know of a few repeaters that could give better range, they are sold for relaying Cell phone signals, however you may just want to change the way you are getting telemetry data, right now you get it from the 3dr radio but you can also get it from your TX radio system. Then it is just a matter on how far you batteries will take you. OpenLRS is the open source variant for the UHF band with Immersion RC's product EzUHF. Really I think what I am describing above will be my next step. Currently running 3dr radios + a FrSky X8R from a JXT with a high gain patch, I may be able to get 2-3 miles from this...... I have this as a current project, once it is running I will be happy to show you how I did it...
The problem is according to 3DR their radios should go 1km+. I mean.....100m and I lose contact, or if lucky 300m.
I contacted their tech support.
For batteries I may go with two Glacier 4s 30c 6000mah 555g. I've heard good things about their batteries.
After reviewing the logs, I'm a bit concerned about some of the data. If someone can analyze it feel free to do so.
It seems to me after doing Auto Tune the copter is more twitchy especially on rolling.
108.log
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