Drone flyaway help

Posted by 0b7cjxcfd1qmc on January 10, 2016 at 2:41pm

Hello Forum,

This is my first post, so I'm not 100% sure if this is the format the group would prefer, however I am stuck in a little pickle.

I decided to build my first quadcopter back in September, which turned out to become relativly simple. With that choice, I choose the APM platform to allow me to explore autonomous operations, as well as its versitility.

My first couple flights were fine, but later on I started to encounter issues.

The day I first tested RTL, the first time I flipped the switch, it worked flawlessly. I went to record the RTL for my video series the second time, but it eventually led to a sudden flip and crash. (Video will be attached).

After repairing the copter, I did a couple of tests in my street. All of them were fine except for one, where I had no control over it drifting and then descending into my neighbors fence. 

The big kahuna of crashes occurred after that, where I once again, intended on testing RTL. The flight was going OK, until I flipped it into RTL, where I felt that it was not working right. I flipped it back into stabilize, where it starting drifting over a neighborhood pool. I'm not positive if I flipped it back into RTL or not, but the copter suddenly shot-up into the sky at full throttle, leaving it out of sight. Eventually we found the copter less than a quarter of a mile away from launch.

I'm still trying to learn the ins and outs of these systems, so I thought posting the video of the last flight, data and kmz logs of the last flight would help me receive some insight of how to fix my quad, as it is grounded until I know this will never happen again.

Raw GoPro video of crash: https://youtu.be/X02X2SxAvTk

All criticisim and comments welcome!

Thanks for the help,

Todd

crash log.kmz

You need to be a member of diydrones to add comments!

Join diydrones

Tags: gps, rtl, crash, drone, flyaway, help, quadcopter, runaway
Email me when people reply –
Follow

Replies

    • Clifton Hipsher > 0b7cjxcfd1qmc January 11, 2016 at 11:15am

      Man there so much wrong here I don't know where to start.

      Did you turn off the Pre-Arm Safety Checks?

      What kind of battery are you using?

      How are you powering the flight controller?

    • Clifton Hipsher > 0b7cjxcfd1qmc January 10, 2016 at 8:16pm

      You had a Brownout.  You had GPS errors, and your loss of signal fail safe (FS_THR) is not set properly:

      Log File C:/Users/Cliff/AppData/Local/Temp/tmp167B.tmp.log
      Size (kb) 1183.400390625
      No of lines 15628
      Duration 0:05:22
      Vehicletype ArduCopter
      Firmware Version V3.2.1
      Firmware Hash 36b405fb
      Hardware Type
      Free Mem 0
      Skipped Lines 0

      Test: Autotune = NA -
      Test: Balance/Twist = NA -
      Test: Brownout = FAIL - Truncated Log? Ends while armed at altitude 28.15m
      Test: Compass = GOOD - No MAG data, unable to test mag_field interference

      Test: Dupe Log Data = GOOD -
      Test: Empty = GOOD -
      Test: Event/Failsafe = FAIL - ERRs found: GPS FS_THR
      Test: GPS = GOOD -
      Test: IMU Mismatch = UNKNOWN - No IMU log data
      Test: Parameters = GOOD -
      Test: PM = NA -
      Test: Pitch/Roll = NA -
      Test: Thrust = NA -
      Test: VCC = WARN - VCC min/max diff 0.476v, should be <0.3v

      I'll go over the log more in the morning...

    • Clifton Hipsher > Clifton Hipsher January 11, 2016 at 10:08am

      Belay my last.  

      It was late last night and I was beat.

      I just read the analysis again, and the FC went into Failsafe for GPS and FS_THR.

      I'm gonna grab some lunch and have a look at that log again...

    • mark whitton > 0b7cjxcfd1qmc January 10, 2016 at 8:09pm

      Wow, you are lucky the copter survived that flight and landed so well.  My failures usually end up with the camera embedded in the mud and pieces scattered everywhere.

      I am not an expert log analyzer, but the log clearly shows errors in GPS, barometer, radio, failsafes starting quite early in the flight.  When I had these kind of errors, I could not get proper loiter, auto, or RTL operation.  I would recommend

      1. rechecking the calibration of compass, accelerometers, radio
      2. range check the radio
      3. check all the failsafes: are the right ones set properly, are the right ones disabled?
      4. ensure your apm is properly covered, a bare board will give you barometer errors.  Use a case and put some light foam over the board so the barometer is not confused by propeller wash.
      5. Ensure external GPS is mounted well away from radio receiver
      6. Run some short test flights in stabilize and loiter modes and check the logs to ensure no errors.

      I am sure the experts can do a better job of analyzing the log but these are my suggestions.

    • 0b7cjxcfd1qmc > mark whitton January 11, 2016 at 9:35am

      Thanks Mark,

      I'm extremely lucky it came down the way it did.

      Nothing is more terrifying than watching your creation turn into a machine that 'has a mind of its own' and is out of your control. Especially at the altitude it reached, and in a crowded Chicago airspace. 

      Although the winds were super strong, the copter landed only a couple blocks east of the launch site. If it wasn't for RTL not hovering over the launch site, I would've been long gone, with more than the $60 in damage.

      On a side note, which failsafes should be disabled?

      -Todd

  • Admin
    Thomas J Coyle III January 10, 2016 at 2:45pm

    @Todd,

    The tlogs and the dataflash logs will give much more insight into your flyaway.

    Regards,

    TCIII AVD

This reply was deleted.