My Futaba has a reduced power output function intended for range checks.
On a regular copter/airplane this would be simple, just keep walking backwards wiggling the sticks an make note when the rudder movements cease or become erratic. Since my hexacopter doesn't have any moving control surfaces this isn't practical.
I'm planning on hooking up a servo and then observe motion but is there a more practical way to do this?
/RS
Replies
Richard,
I'd say:
1. make sure your radio failsafe is set-up so that when you turn off your receiver the throttle channel goes low (like 950).
2. at your local flying field, turn on copter + radio. Ensure APM is disarmed (and maybe take the props off just for extra safety) and has a GPS lock
3. put your radio on the ground (or have your buddy hold it) and walk away with your copter until you're sure that you must have gone out of radio range
4. download your dataflash logs and check the CTUN message's first field (throttle in) and see when it went low
5. compare the last GPS message (also in the dataflash) to the first GPS message that appears in the log.
So not exactly straightforward but the results will be very accurate!